UAE hotel erects 11-million-dollar Christmas tree

From: http://news.yahoo.com/

 

AFP – An Emirati man walks past an 11-million-dollar Christmas tree at the Emirates Palace hotel in the Emirati …

by W.G. Dunlop

ABU DHABI (AFP) – Christmas came in extravagant fashion to the Muslim desert emirate of Abu Dhabi as a glitzy hotel unveiled a bejewelled Christmas tree valued at more than 11 million dollars on Wednesday.
It is the "most expensive Christmas tree ever," with a "value of over 11 million dollars," said Hans Olbertz, general manager of Emirates Palace hotel, at its inauguration.

The 13-metre (40-foot) faux evergreen, located in the gold leaf-bedecked rotunda of the hotel, is decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments and small white lights.

But the necklaces, earrings and other jewellery draped around the tree's branches are what give it a record value.

It holds a total of 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones, said Khalifa Khouri, owner of Style Gallery, which provided the jewellery.

Click image to see photos of the tree

AP/Hussein Malla

"The tree itself is about 10,000 dollars," Olbertz said. "The jewellery has a value of over 11 million dollars -- I think 11.4, 11.5."

This will probably be an entry into the Guinness book of world records, Olbertz said, adding that Emirates Palace planned to contact the organisation about the tree which is to stay until the end of the year.

Asked if the tree might offend religious sensibilities in the United Arab Emirates, where the vast majority of the local population is Muslim, Olbertz said he did not think it would. "It's a very liberal country," he said.
The hotel has had a Christmas tree up in previous years, but this year "we said we have to do something different," and the hotel's marketing team hatched the plan, said Olbertz.

The tree is not the first extravagant offering from Emirates Palace -- a massive, dome-topped hotel sitting amid fountains and carefully manicured lawns.

The hotel, which bills itself as seven-star, in February introduced a package for a seven-day stay priced at one million dollars.

Takers of the package have a private butler and a chauffeur driven Maybach luxury car at their disposal during their stay, as well as a private jet available for trips to other countries in the region.

And in May, the hotel opened a gold vending machine, becoming the first place outside Germany to install "gold to go, the world's first gold vending machine," said Ex Oriente Lux AG, the German company behind the machine.

Time-Lapse Of The White House Christmas Tree

Posted by Lawrence Jackson 

 

 

Download Video: mp4 (33.4MB) 

 

My boss, Chief White House Photographer Pete Souza, and I talked about how we could show all of the work and energy that’s put into decorating the White House for the holidays. A time-lapse seemed like a good way to present the progression, change and finished product. We decided on the official White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room of the White House. Delivered by horse-drawn carriage, the Douglas fir stands more than ten feet high and is nearly thirteen feet wide – it’s truly the centerpiece of all the decorations. In four and a half days of shooting, the time-lapse camera took a total of 6,078 images.

I set my digital camera and 16-35 mm lens on a tripod with two weights on it to keep it from moving too much. In the first two days, the camera was set to fire two times per minute and was bumped up to three frames per minute during the last two and half days. Our White House Photo Office intern Spencer Millsap put it all together with video editing software, making it a fun and fast-paced multimedia piece.

There’s also funny moment with the White House electricians. Since they handle all things electrical – they installed the lights on the Christmas Tree before any of the other decorations were placed on the tree. So, I’ve got pictures of the guys installing the lights and when they’re done they gather around the tree for a group shot. You see these guys in a flurry getting the tree ready, in one frame they’re posing with big smiles on their faces, and in the very next frame they’re gone!

Lawrence Jackson is an Official White House Photographer

GE Unveils the World’s First OLED Christmas Tree

by Evelyn Lee

Recently the OLED research team over at General Electric unveiled the world’s first OLED Christmas Tree! Forging ahead of the usual end-of-the-year slowdown, GE’s Global Research Center headquarters in Niskayuna, NY rang in the holidays with a 6-inch-by-15-ft. OLED system all rolled-up into the form of a tree. The radiant source of holiday cheer provides a glimpse of how OLEDs can transform the future of the lighting industry.

“We haven’t quite achieved Rockefeller or National Christmas tree lighting status yet, but we’re well on our way,” said Anil Duggal, who leads GE’s OLED program. “We hope GE’s OLED tree lighting will inspire and capture people’s imagination during the holidays on the limitless possibilities of this next generation lighting concept.”

The tree was a follow-up to the breakthrough GE scientists achieved earlier this year with their roll-to-roll manufacturing process for OLED lighting devices. Similar to a newspaper printing process, the roll-to-roll manufacturing will play a key factor in making OLED lighting commercially available to the general public.

“Customers will recognize that while this demonstration was more for holiday spirit and team camaraderie, it does reinforce how far OLED technology has come and how it is poised to revolutionize lighting and interior design,” says John Strainic, global product general manager with GE Consumer & Industry, which will commercialize OLEDs for businesses and consumers in the coming years.

+ General Electric

Innovative Christmas tree