Words About Things

A new guide book aims to be an eccentric guide to the coolest spots in five of the coolest European cities. We have all read stuffy guide books which haven’t been updated in 20 years which point out areas of historic interest but lack a personal touch. Le Cool (what an awful name) was created to offer an up to date alternative with details of all the best hard-to-find spots and hidden gems.

If you want to find cheap hotels in London or car hire in Barcelona these aren’t the guides for you. But if you want a locals guide to the best record shops, undiscovered pubs and art galleries then Le Cool is the guide for you. The design is adventurous and the tone is light which isn’t something you could say about most guide books.

The London guide is edited by former Suade bassest Mat Osman. He says that the guide is for

“…people who love the city. People who love scooter shops that turn into coffee shops, and flats with aeroplane wings through them, and manga libraries, and doll’s house furniture shops, and bubble-and-squeak stalls, and hairdressers-cum-art galleries-cum-nightclubs, and rollergirls, and so on and so on …”

More info on the Le Cool website.

I know it’s a bit old but this video still manages to amaze me. I’m not particularly scarred of heights but sometimes a video manages to make me feel nauseousness (for example this one of the El Camino Del Rey trail). The video in question features Roger Federer and Andre Agassi playing a game of tennis on top of the 1050 foot high Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.

The Burj Al Arab features a helipad on top of the 28 double-storey floors so that rich guests to travel to and from the hotel in style. The hotel in on a man made island 920 ft off shore and is otherwise only accessible via a purpose built bridge. You can see the hotel from some flights to Dubai, be sure to keep an eye out for any brave tennis stars.

Personally I wouldn’t be able to play Tennis in that situation, I would be clinging to the floor crying. As you can see from the video it can get quite windy on top of the hotel and there is no wall around the helipad. All it would take is a strong gust of wind and a misplaced foot and it would be game, set and match.

Like most automotive companies Volkswagen are looking to the future and designing electric vehicles. Unlike most Volkswagen already have a design classic under their belts in the form of the iconic Beetle. The Volkswagen eUp! (complete with unessential punctuation) owes a debt to the Beetle in terms of style and ambition.

The eUp! aims to have widespread appeal in order to become “the Beetle of the 21st century”. This should come as a surprise from a company whose name translates as ‘the people’s car’.  By the time the eUp! comes out in 2013 there should be quite a lot of competition in the electric car market although it may have the stats to make it stand out:

The range is expected to be up to 130 kilometers (80 miles) on an overnight 230-volt charge for the five hours when electricity is cheapest while you’re asleep. Charged in this way, the E-Up! could be driven 100 kilometres for just two Euros in electricity costs (about 14 Euro cents per kWh). This would be the equivalent of driving 62 miles on $2.97 worth of electricity at $0.20 cents a kwh (McMansion Californian electric rates), or about like buying gas for $1.50 in a 31 mpg car.    – gas2.org

The eUp! is the smallest VW to date at only 3.19 meters long and 1.64 meters wide. Hopefully this vehicle will lead to Volkswagen creating other, larger electric vehicles across their range. With van emissions being clamped down upon we need more electronic vans for sale.