ATHENS -- On Monday morning, forklifts nosed through a sprawl of antiquities in the second-floor gallery of the New Acropolis Museum here, bearing marble statues and steles. Technicians tugged at bulky black cables, laborers drilled and welded, and a cleaning crew -- many of its members working on hands and knees -- scraped mounds of white plaster off the floor."My apologies," said Antonis Samaras, Greece's culture minister, who was overseeing the final preparations for the museum's debut on Saturday. "But it's like the Olympics," he added, referring to the 2004 Athens Games. "Everything will magically come together on opening night."If it does, Greece will finally, after decades of preparation, procrastination and acrimonious debate, have a large-scale, architecturally ambitious and modern center for the care and display of artifacts from its most important ancient site. The museum, which cost $200 million and sits near the base of the Acropolis with a direct view of the Parthenon, is one of the highest-profile cultural projects undertaken in Europe in this decade.
"My apologies," said Antonis Samaras, Greece's culture minister, who was overseeing the final preparations for the museum's debut on Saturday. "But it's like the Olympics," he added, referring to the 2004 Athens Games. "Everything will magically come together on opening night."
If it does, Greece will finally, after decades of preparation, procrastination and acrimonious debate, have a large-scale, architecturally ambitious and modern center for the care and display of artifacts from its most important ancient site. The museum, which cost $200 million and sits near the base of the Acropolis with a direct view of the Parthenon, is one of the highest-profile cultural projects undertaken in Europe in this decade.
Tschumi usually makes more exotic buildings. One of his 80s projects were the Parc de la Villette follies in Paris.
For decades Amsterdam was known as the world's 'Gay Capital', a place where gay and lesbian couples could kiss in public care-free, and where local couples enjoyed levels of social acceptance and legal equality unimaginable elsewhere. A series of violent attacks on the openly gay have tarnished Amsterdam's crown. The city council has set aside 1.2 million euros to polish it back up. The most high-profile incident came in 2005, when a prominent American gay man was assaulted on Queen's Day in Amsterdam. Chris Crain, chief editor of the Washington Blade gay magazine, was walking hand-in-hand with his boyfriend when he was spat on by a young man. Within seconds seven men surrounded him, beating and kicking him in the body and face. Mr Crain recounted the incident on his blog. "For as long as I live, I will never forget the looks on the faces of our attackers. What I saw was more disgust than hate, but it was there, and it was chilling." The gay community took notice. Pink tourism dollars are shifting to other cities with vibrant gay scenes like Berlin and Barcelona. This week, the Amsterdam city council launched a three-year, 1.2 million euro campaign to turn the tide.
For decades Amsterdam was known as the world's 'Gay Capital', a place where gay and lesbian couples could kiss in public care-free, and where local couples enjoyed levels of social acceptance and legal equality unimaginable elsewhere. A series of violent attacks on the openly gay have tarnished Amsterdam's crown. The city council has set aside 1.2 million euros to polish it back up.
The most high-profile incident came in 2005, when a prominent American gay man was assaulted on Queen's Day in Amsterdam. Chris Crain, chief editor of the Washington Blade gay magazine, was walking hand-in-hand with his boyfriend when he was spat on by a young man. Within seconds seven men surrounded him, beating and kicking him in the body and face. Mr Crain recounted the incident on his blog.
"For as long as I live, I will never forget the looks on the faces of our attackers. What I saw was more disgust than hate, but it was there, and it was chilling."
The gay community took notice. Pink tourism dollars are shifting to other cities with vibrant gay scenes like Berlin and Barcelona. This week, the Amsterdam city council launched a three-year, 1.2 million euro campaign to turn the tide.
Some people truly have no shame. A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds; a man of deeds and not of words is like a garden full of turds — Anonymous
And if they are forced, well, then, they have recourse to the law, right? In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
