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Atitlan in WSJ

Shared Items From Google Reader - 28 August 2010 - 11:57am

The English writer Aldous Huxley once called Guatemala’s Lake Atitlán, deep in the Mayan highlands and surrounded by three volcanoes, “the most beautiful lake in the world.” Then came Guatemala’s bloody civil war. Thousands died—many on the lake’s shores—and by the war’s end 36 years later in 1996, the visitors were nearly gone.

It’s taken years for Atitlán to rebuild what once made it the talk of travelers. Now the high-altitude lake is emerging as an offbeat destination for luxury tourists—a quiet oasis in a country known mostly for roughing it with a backpack. It also offers something typical posh destinations don’t: the chance to rub elbows with a native culture of the highlands Maya, as much of a draw as the dramatic setting.

On a steep hill overlooking the lake, Casa Palopó, a nine-room hotel in a converted villa above the village of Santa Catarina, offers a peek into where luxury tourism alternatives in Central America might be headed in an effort to grab that kind of traveler. Spacious rooms are painted in deep colors, reminiscent of old Spanish colonial buildings, and the hotel interior is tastefully appointed with antique furniture along with striking artworks by contemporary artists from the region. A stylish restaurant recently served rack of lamb and grilled bass from the lake (the menu changes frequently to the chef’s tastes). Morning coffee comes in French presses on floral china.

A short distance away, a very different world exists.

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Categories: Reads Worth Sharing

Men: Pee And Wash In The Same Fixture!

Shared Items From Google Reader - 27 August 2010 - 3:31pm

Lenny Bruce would have had such fun with this, but this just makes so much sense, a sink built on top of a urinal! And designer Yeongwoo Kim has made it look good, too. The theoretical sequence is that you use the urinal, then wash your hands and the washwater rinses the urinal, saving water. Since of course, everybody washes their hands after peeing, right?...Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)0844566284431091332106116302025693436521167585598482457636300746712882075172592411154940922701035368181414763778893101931756409356302988641711604648712486555455002438787021348229171701639787959555703212026511718355646950160220870141352539050603305337507734183912544061393816218310064563100205252598140109600125685780123007143015570121462744141683962838888740461256269571775398386801374071352157307711044971838887923880900812115545027308154012993595760391121856

Categories: Reads Worth Sharing

Men: Pee And Wash In The Same Fixture!

Shared Items From Google Reader - 27 August 2010 - 3:31pm

Lenny Bruce would have had such fun with this, but this just makes so much sense, a sink built on top of a urinal! And designer Yeongwoo Kim has made it look good, too. The theoretical sequence is that you use the urinal, then wash your hands and the washwater rinses the urinal, saving water. Since of course, everybody washes their hands after peeing, right?...Read the full story on TreeHugger
(author unknown)0844566284431091332107467128820751725924111549409227010353681814147637788931019317564093563029886417002438787021348229171701639787959555703212026511718355646950060330533750773418391254406139381621831006456310020525259814010960012568578012300714301557012146274414168396283888874046013740713521573077110449718388879238809008121155450273081540

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Did Weak Copyright Laws Help Germany Outpace British Empire?

Shared Items From Google Reader - 23 August 2010 - 11:37am

There's a new thesis making the rounds that has already stimulated plenty of discussion about the benefits and costs of copyright laws. Could more protection of intellectual property lead to the creation of less intellectual property?Matthew Lasar0759237632313511567916731698520437230144003910732602741899031217040125287120039514091191528591934455080078660959447796830955995325683931545610341899005847812627

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