Christmas may be over, but we can still appreciate Klingons and Charles Dickens. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at “A Klingon Christmas Carol” based on the Dickens’ classic and adapted for Klingons and Star Trek fans. Photos by Jim Young of Reuters.
Miles away from their families and their homes, troops in Afghanistan held Christmas celebrations at military bases and outposts. Soldiers from the U.S., France, and other countries involved in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) shared each other’s company for a traditional Christmas meal at the Kabul International Airport on Christmas Day. German Bundeswehr soldiers, meanwhile, set up traditional Christmas markets at their military outposts in Afghanistan.
Baltimore has a monument lighting, New York has the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, and Washington has a national menorah lighting. Around the world, though, holiday traditions range from religious ceremonies (like nine consecutive masses in Manila) to contemporary takes on pagan traditions.
What’s your favorite holiday tradition? Tell us in the comments.
“Rough Cut” is a loose edit from The Baltimore Sun’s photographic coverage of the National Football League. Fanatic fans, marching bands, cheerleaders and lots of game action are just part of the spectacle that is the NFL. This week photojournalists Gene Sweeney Jr., Lloyd Fox, and Karl Merton Ferron photographed the Baltimore Ravens 33-14 win against the New York Giants at M&T Bank Stadium.
Protests for stricter rape laws in New Dehli turn violent, air strike in Syria kills dozens at bakery, fishing in Peru, an active Copahue volcano and more in today’s daily brief.
Baltimore residents put on stellar displays for the holiday season, from Hampden’s luminous 34th Street decorations to complex Christmas gardens. But how does a “Bawlmer Christmas” stack up against its global equivalents? We’ve rounded up some of the world’s better light displays to find out.
Colonial Williamsburg was a success when it opened to the public in 1934. But when visitors continued to arrive into the fall and the Christmas holidays, town fathers were at a loss for attractions, so they placed live candles in the windows of all the restored buildings and paid staff members to baby sit them through the evenings so the buildings would not burn.
But as time passed, officials decided that a Christmas decorating contest would give residents of the town the incentive to put on a show for visitors. Today, the contest is more competitive – and creative – each year, with bragging rights and a cash prize on the line.
If you live in Baltimore and you’re on Instagram, there’s a good chance you’ve come across @flynnfinity aka Josh Flynn. Flynn, who lives and works in Baltimore, won the award for “Best Instagram” at the Mobbies this year.
The Darkroom caught up with Flynn about Instagram’s Terms of Service debacle, his series #baileystraightchillin and the advantages of using a camera phone on the fly.
Senator Daniel Inouye’s casket is brought to the Capitol to lie in state, Santas do some window washing in Tokyo, more Afghans finish police training, Kansas gets hits with a snowstorm and more in today’s Daily Brief.
Would you spend $50 on a cup of exotic coffee?
The world’s most expensive coffee hails from Thailand thanks to Canadian coffee expert Blake Dinkin and his Black Ivory Coffee. The unique blend is made from Thai arabica hand-picked beans, and naturally refined by Thai elephants. What?!? A Thai elephant you say.
The process includes waiting 15-30 hours for the elephant to digest the beans. Once that happens, coffee beans are plucked from the dung, washed and roasted. Approximately 10,000 beans are picked to produce 1 kg or about 2.2 lbs of roasted coffee. At $1,100 per kilogram, the cost per cup equals $50, making the exotic new brew the world’s priciest cup of joe, according to Getty.
Photos taken by Paula Bronstein of Getty Images.
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