DJ John Digweed: eight of the best clubbing capitals

The British DJ and record producer gives us his inside track into the world’s coolest partying destinations

Miami

Miami is a year-round clubbing destination catering for everyone from super rich VIPs to underground clubbers looking for the cooler side of electronic music. I just played at Treehouseon South Beach, which has a real quirky feel to its layout and a very relaxed vibe.  British Airways flies to Miami

Watch: John Digweed live at Treehouse, Miami

San Francisco

This is easily one of my favourite cities in the world. San Fran is so beautiful during the day and very lively at night. Mighty is an old warehouse style venue with a state-of-the-art Avalon EAW sound system and super friendly and energetic crowd. I always have so much fun playing here. British Airways flies to San Francisco

Bombay

India has recently been bitten by the electronic music bug. The last time I was in town I played at a new club called Blue Frog which has several venues throughout the country. The crowd seemed really enthusiastic — there’s a new generation of young people who are working, have disposable cash, and just want to go out and have a good time. Read more: DJ schools in Mumbai 
 British Airways flies to Bombay

Las Vegas

People know Vegas for its mega hotels, casinos and clubs, but it’s also home to one of the world’s biggest music festivals — Electric Daisy Carnival runs over three days (19-21 June 2015) and leads the way in terms of out-of-this-world productions by some of the best DJs in the world.  British Airways flies to Las Vegas

“In Montreal, the crowds party right through to the afternoon on the following day”

Ibiza

For summer clubbing, it you can’t beat anywhere else on the planet. Ibiza has it all — great beaches, restaurants and nightlife. I have a residency at the legendary Pacha in Ibiza Town for its ‘Insane’ Friday night party, running until the first week of October.

British Airways flies to Ibiza

New York


New York is special for me — I was the resident DJ at club called Twilo from five years. The city’s got a great vibe. There’s a club there called Output in Williamsburg, which not only has an amazing sound system, it’s got a no camera/no bottle service/no VIP policy, so it attracts a proper clubbing crowd, without any pretension. I’d rather play for people who want to dance, not people who want to look at a DJ through a camera. British Airways flies to New York

Montreal

Home of the famous after hours nightclubbing scene (the clubs don’t open until after midnight), Montreal has always been a top city for me to play in. They invest in the clubs there and make them better. Stereo has one of the best sound systems in the world — not to mention a well-educated crowd who sometimes party right through to the afternoon the following day. British Airways flies to Montreal

Amsterdam

When it comes to electronic music, Amsterdam Dance Event is the place to be: the five-day conference and festival (14-18 October 2015) features over 2,000 DJs and act, so it’s a great time to network and party at the same time. There are parties on every night of the week across the city. I always host a Bedrock party at the Melkweg to a very up-for-it international crowd.  British Airways flies to Amsterdam

After New York’s first naked yoga studio, the nude Ibiza yoga retreat that has become a sell-out success

It is the trend that is encouraging New York yogis to bare it all, literally, and now it is making its way to Europe – in the form of a naked yoga retreat.

The unusual concept of stripping off to indulge in some downward dog has taken the Big Apple by storm, with classes at the Bold & Naked studio in Manhattan selling out.

Now luxury travel company Formentera Yoga has experienced similar success with its first all-naked holidays on the Balearic island of Ibiza.

Feeling free: Ibiza has always had a reputation as an island that doesn’t follow the rules

The retreat is open to both men and women and is on sale from £921. It will combine mixed yoga classes for the de-robed at a luxury finca (country house) set in 20 acres of fragrant pine forests on the north of the island overlooking the sea. The retreat has its own swimming pool and even a helipad for VIP guests.

The first experience, due to start in mid-May, has already sold out, so the company is hurriedly adding extra dates to cater to upmarket holidaymakers looking to get back to nature.

Company founder Jax Lysycia told MailOnline Travel: ‘I’m delighted to now be able to add Naked Yoga on to our rosta of retreats at Formentera Yoga and look forward to adding more dates on to our schedule this year as it’s been incredibly popular.

Rural retreat: The luxury finca is located in the pine forests of northern Ibiza, looking out to sea

‘We realise here at Formentera Yoga that naked yoga is not for everyone, but we are delighted to welcome our naked yoga teacher Annette to our yearly programme of unique retreat events as it is an incredible form of self acceptance.’

She added: ‘Clothing is optional – not everyone has to be naked. These special retreats are about freedom and not necessarily just about being naked.’

Yoga teacher Annette, who requested her surname not be published, explained the thinking behind her naked yoga practice.

She told MailOnline: ‘Naked Yoga is an opportunity to reclaim the innocence of the body, rediscover delight that is available to us with as we become one with nature and practice, or enquire into the possibility of practicing, yoga naked within this safe, peaceful and magical haven in the quiet hills of Northern Ibiza.’

Exciting times: Formentera Yoga founder Jax Lysycia is adding more dates for naked yoga courses due to demand

Annette began teaching naked yoga in London and explained: ‘The feedback from the courses was so overwhelmingly positive right from day one (I was blown away, and still am blown away by the messages I receive from people having attended the classes) so I thought “I must be doing some good…” and continued to offer them. As such Naked Yoga London was born.’

The instructor explained: ‘The benefits range from simply feeling great and free, experiencing the liberation of your body free from clothes and moving in contact with the air, and also a sense of phsychological liberation in this.’

She added: ‘Also people report becoming deeply relaxed, more deeply relaxed than they can remember and being able to take that experience into their lives.  People report being able to cope more with what life flings at them, being more accepting of themselves, getting over weight issues, being less self-conscious in many ways, loving themselves more.

Inner peace: The retreat is supposed to offer a ‘safe’ place to try out nude practice and experience its benefits

‘Also, and I feel very importantly, gaining deeper respect for themselves and others and, as such, being less judgmental of themselves and others. Also simply just feeling amazing.’

Sunrise walks, meditation and health and beauty treatments are also available during the retreat, which includes food from a private chef and excursions to local beaches.

The Mysteries and Tragedy of Russia’s Bottomless Karst Lake (PHOTOS)

The water is serene but deathly cold – and danger lurks beneath its surface. Yet, in the aquatic depths the promise of discovering hidden underwater caves and relics of our past awaits. Here, beauty and allure belie risks – but risks that some are prepared to take.

“A sapphire in a ring of green trees.” That’s how this stunning lake has been described. Even on overcast days, the water has a deep, crystal blue color like the gemstone to which it has been compared.

But there is much more than splendor to this lake. Beneath its smooth surface lie mysteries as yet unsolved. And some of these are secrets that the lake will not easily give up; at least, not if the recent tragic death of one diving explorer and the hospitalization of another are read as telltale signs.

9 Magical Zen Gardens

Zen garden is an interesting and deeply spiritual aspect of Japanese gardening traditions. The typical Zen garden consists of an enclosed and shallow sand box of sorts which features predominantly sand or gravel with rocks of various shapes and sizes.

The rocks and sand (or gravel) are the chief elements of the garden, which generally creates the scene of islands in the sea. The sand or gravel in a Zen garden represents the sea or ocean and is used instead of water. It will be carefully raked by tending monks to create the impression of waves on the surface of a body of water.

The rocks themselves represent islands or rock formations jutting out from the water. The overall goal is to create a small-scale recreation of an aerial or cliff-top view of an intricate coastal scene. One of the primary differences between a Zen garden and most other varieties is the lack of living elements. Although grass may sometimes be included, no other plant or flower species will be found in a classic Zen garden.

This can be both unusual and exotically appealing to people with no past experience with the history and meaning of a Zen garden.

The world’s most extraordinary hotels in pictures

Mihir Garh, Rajasthan 
“The fort sits in splendid isolation amid the Thar Desert near Jodhpur. It looks like an enormous sandcastle, a mirage, and is not just a unique place to stay; it’s a shrine to the artistic and architectural traditions of Rajasthan in general and Jodhpur in particular.”

Planet Baobab, Botswana
“Botswana’s Makgadigadi Pan comprises the world’s largest network of salt pans – a thirsty, mirage-inducing landscape of flat, shimmering expanses under hard blue skies. Halfway along the sole tarred road through this arid moonscape, a statue of an anteater towers at the dusty verge. It is a surreal sight, and an appropriate signpost for the distinctive Planet Baobab.”

Prendiparte B&B, Bologna, Italy
“A medieval high-rise turned romantic hideaway, the Torre Prendiparte is unlike anywhere else you’ll ever stay. The living area is on the first two floors and comprises a snug, classically-furnished living room, mezzanine bedroom, and kitchen. Above this is the former jail where you can still see graffiti left by prisoners on the 2m-thick walls.”

Qasr al Sarab, UAE
“Rising from the shifting sands, Qasr Al Sarab appears like a mirage on the edge of the vast Empty Quarter desert. Outside high crenellated walls echo fortresses of old. Inside rooms continue the dream of Arabian Nights with sumptuous fabrics, carved Islamic designs, woven rugs, wooden doors and metalwork lanterns.”

Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge, Tasmania, Australia
“A stay at Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge plunges you into the heart of Tasmania’s wilderness, with luxury that feels as organic as your surrounds. The cabins are nestled privately in the bushland, with wallabies bounding past the windows and wombats shuffling amid the trees.”

Free Spirit Spheres, British Columbia, Canada
“Suspended in the trees on sturdy guide ropes, Vancouver Island’s Free Spirit Spheres look like giant eyeballs peering deep into the British Columbia woodlands. Step inside and the handmade orbs – accessed via spiral rope staircases or slender steel bridges – are lined like comfy boat cabins with built-in beds and cabinets.”

Taskonak Hotel, Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey
“Göreme has dozens of beautiful cave-hotels but Taşkonak manages to dish up the cave-suites and stupendous views Cappadocia is famous for without breaking your budget.”

Thonga Beach Lodge, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa
“One of few such lodges within the extraordinary 328,000 hectare iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a Unesco world heritage site.”

Saugerties Lighthouse, New York state, USA
“Saugerties Lighthouse is a historic 1869 landmark that makes a wonderful base for exploring the scenic Hudson valley. It is 100 miles north of New York City, and the red brick building has played a pivotal role in safely guiding steamboats, barges and other vessels safely along the Hudson river over the years. More recently (in the mid 1990s), the lighthouse was transformed into a two-room B&B, providing safe haven of a different sort.”

The Gibbon Experience Treehouse, Bokeo Reserve, Laos
“The tree houses erected by conservation group Animo are a thing of architectural wonder, straddling the giant trunks of strangler fig trees. But more extraordinary still is that to reach these vertiginous eyries you’ll have to trek through the fecund realm of the tiger, then catch a series of exhilarating zip lines strung across the forest canopy, before flying into your night’s accommodation.”

Amazing color pictures from 1960s Budapest

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National Geographic Photo Contest

 

 

 

 

100 years old pictures in colours before World War I

Türkei, Bursa, Ladengeschaeft einer Confiserie, Auguste Leon, 1. Juni 1913

Vietnam. Tonkin, Leon Busy, 1914

Indien, Statue des Heiligen Stiers, Stephane Passet, 29. Januar 1914

Österreich, Wien, Judengasse, Fotograf unbekannt, 23. April 1913

Mongolei, nahe Ulaanbaatar Urga, Stéphane Passet, 23. Juli 1913

Irland, Galway, Marguerite Mespoulet, 26. Mai 1913

Indien, Uttar Pradesh, Agra. Mausoleum Taj Mahal von Shah Jahan für Mumtaz Mahal, Stéphane Passet, 19.-21. Januar 1914

Indien, Amritsar. Marmorne Strasse zum Goldenden Tempel, neben den rituellen Reinigungsbecken, dem Darbar Sahib und dem Hari Mandir, Stéphane Passet, 15. Januar 1914

China, nach Kalgan. Nomadenlager, drei Männer und ein Junge vor einer Jurte, Stéphane Passet, 18.-21. Juli 1912

Water pipe smoking. Samarkand

Mongolei, Ulaanbaatar. Der Finanzminister des unabhängigen Staats Mongolei auf dem Marktplatz, Stéphane Passet, 22. Juli 1913

Major Lazer & DJ Snake – Lean On (feat. MØ)

Listen To A Rare 1965 Recording Of Stanley Kubrick’s Most Profound Interview

When physicist and renowned author Jeremy Bernstein (born December 31, 1929) penned a terrific piece on 37-year-old burgeoning director Stanley Kubrick for The New Yorker, the story gained so much attention that Bernstein was commissioned to write an even more elaborate profile of the legendary filmmaker. Normally Kubrick would have flat-out refused, however, he agreed due to the fact that he shared a common passion with Bernstein — chess. When Bernstein travelled to Oxford, England for the conversation on November 27, 1965 it was also captured on tape. The interview remains to this day one of the most profound conversations with Kubrick ever recorded, and you can listen to it in full below.

Helios – Hope Valley Hill (Arms and Sleepers Remix)

Keith Kenniff – Helios

Mac DeMarco // “Brother” (OFFICIAL SINGLE)

 

Alan Watts: Sense of Nonsense

November 27, 1965: A Rare Recording of Stanley Kubrick’s Most Revealing Interview

“People react primarily to direct experience and not to abstractions; it is very rare to find anyone who can become emotionally involved with an abstraction.”

George Orwell on how to make the perfect cup of tea

Excerpt from Orwell’s fantastic 1946 essay outlining his 11 “golden” rules of tea /

Harald Grosskopf’s 1979 Masterpiece “Synthesist” Is 7 Minutes Of Pure Amazingness

Yesterday TEEN DAZE released a new mixtape which you can stream and download by visiting ThePlayground.co.uk.  The 8-track collection provides a perfect ambient backdrop for pretty much any situation, but the crown jewel of the mixtape is unquestionably Harald Grosskopf’s brilliant track “Synthesist”.

Shanghai Tower (650 meters)

Raskalov and Russian photographer Vadim Mahora broke into and climbed the Gensler-designed Shanghai Tower, soon to be China’s tallest and the world’s second tallest skyscraper at 632 meters (2,074 feet) high. Although the tower will eventually boast the world’s fastest elevators (reaching 40mph), the pair had to climb the 120 flights of stairs by foot (taking them about two hours); they then spent another 18 hours sleeping and waiting for the weather to clear. The staggering resulting images show not just the dizzying heights, but also fantastic views of the adjacent Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center (together, the trio of buildings that are re-defining the Shanghai skyline).

Adam Magyar – Stainless, 42 Street (excerpt)

High speed video recording in NYC at Grand Central station.

Tolkien & Sendak On The Psychology Of Fantasy & The Powerful Effect Of Fairy Tales On The Adult Mind

In March 1939, renowned fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien penned an essay enitled “On Fairy-Stories” which explores the nature of fantasy and the cultural role of fairy tales. His argument is the same — that there is no such thing as “writing for children.” Tolkien writes: “A ‘fairy-story’ is one which touches on or uses Faerie, whatever its own main purpose may be: satire, adventure, morality, fantasy. Faerie itself may perhaps most nearly be translated by Magic — but it is magic of a peculiar mood and power, at the furthest pole from the vulgar devices of the laborious, scientific, magician. There is one proviso : if there is any satire present in the tale, one thing must not be made fun of, the magic itself. That must in that story be taken seriously, neither laughed at nor explained away.”

Tolkien adds: “Creative fantasy, because it is mainly trying to do something else … may open your hoard and let all the locked things fly away like cage-birds.” You can read more excerpts from Tolkien’s essay by visiting BrainPickings.org.

The Aqualibrium Garden – The Future of Food

The Aqualibrium Garden – The Future of Food by “Aqualibrium”

The fish in the self-cleaning aquarium in the bottom chamber of the Aqualibrium Garden provide the nutrients that feed the plants in the self-watering grow space in the upper chamber. This cycle… like nature herself… is automatic, providing the potential to grow an abundance of fresh vegetables, herbs and flowering plants all year.

The Real Walter White (VIDEO)

When AMC’s Breaking Bad premiered in 2008, one of Alabama’s most successful meth cooks was already knee deep in building a massive meth empire. His name? Walter White. In this documentary, Walter tells us the secret behind his product, how he stacked up thousands of dollars per day, and why his partner is now serving two life sentences.

A new industry born from the disaster — LED indoor farm

A new industry born from the disaster — LED indoor farm

Awesome pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope

 

 

 

 

Great Gardens: “Prospect Cottage” by Howard Sooley – NOWNESS

http://vimeo.com/103807651

Great Gardens: “Prospect Cottage” by Howard Sooley – NOWNESS

Speeding Around The World in Under 5 minutes Time Lapse

17 Countries. 343 Days. 6237 Photographs. One incredible journey.

GoPro: Wild Downhill Ride with Claudio Caluori

Claudio Calouri and Will Longden takes us on a wild run through the UCI Downhill Course at Leogang in Austria.

World’s smallest cat – Big Cats

森の木琴

TOUCHWOOD SH-08C http://answer.nttdocomo.co.jp/touchwood/

“TRUMP ANTHEM” — A Bad Lip Reading of Donald Trump

Snow falls in the Sahara desert

The town of Ain Sefra, on the edge of the Sahara desert, was hit by icy weather last week – and even snow.

Snowfall is very rare in the Sahara, despite the fact that it can be cold at night – because there’s rarely enough water around for any kind of precipitation.

Unbelievable Unlikely Animal Friendships Compilation 2017

Winds on this mountain in the US will make it feel like -67C

Temperatures on a mountain peak in the US state of New Hampshire could fall so low you risk getting frostbite in just a couple of minutes.

Micro Wind Turbine

Oxmo Puccino – 365 Jours

The Future Of Transportation

The World in 2050