2012-02-09T17:14:32+01:00 Radio Prague http://radio.cz/en/article/145476 urn:uuid:cecaf5b0-696e-5cda-9766-bba3765fe81b 2012-02-09T17:14:32+01:00

Computers and the internet have become an integral part of our lives to such an extent that it is hard to imagine how we ever managed without them. However a recent survey conducted by the Czech Statistical Office shows that Czechs are still lagging behind many EU states when it comes to computer literacy and internet access.

urn:uuid:521ce749-8a31-54fe-aabb-3390d19aa3a3 2012-02-02T16:33:52+01:00

Aggressive behavior in young children and adolescents is on the rise and there are indications that parents are increasingly unable to deal with it. Schoolteachers are ringing alarm bells and therapists are warning of the dire consequences of failing to deal with the problem in time.

urn:uuid:03b3db64-119c-5681-9ae9-9152ac30fb34 2012-01-26T13:28:34+01:00

A centuries old tradition –the pig-slaughtering feast – will soon be a thing of the past. Those who consider the gory ritual an act of barbarism are cheering, others for whom it is an important part of village folklore are determined to maintain it at any price.

urn:uuid:10f382bf-8d96-5374-90d3-72179e86f021 2012-01-19T16:41:44+01:00

It is the country’s most smelly specialty – Olomoucké tvarůžky – dubbed by foreign visitors as “the stinky cheese of Olomouc” is not something you can easily overlook. Its pungent odor hits you the minute you open the fridge and will render you a social outcast several hours after consuming it. However many consider it to be one of the country’s biggest delicacies and the Czech Republic fought and won a six-year war with Germany and Austria over a protected geographical status trademark.

urn:uuid:8e4cdd5f-fc0b-558a-82b3-814c87327cc9 2012-01-12T17:01:21+01:00

Hard Rock Café is celebrating its 40th birthday this year with a travelling exhibition of memorabilia relating to the greats of the music world who frequented its many outlets the world over. Entitled The Art of Hard Rock the exhibition, which opens to the Prague public on January 12th at the Dvorak sec contemporary art gallery in Dlouha street, is a collection of musical instruments, paintings and drawings donated by the likes of Jim Morrison, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Frank Zappa, Pete Towshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Paul Stanley, Ringo Starr, Lou Reed and Billy Idol.

urn:uuid:8f0e9258-6a03-5835-a24d-93d175e5af2d 2012-01-05T16:17:38+01:00

Panorama : thousands of people undertake a traditional New Year’s pilgrimage to the Basilica of the Virgin Mary in Hostýn, over a dozen enthusiasts strap on wooden skis to mark the centenary of the first downhill ski race in Central Europe and -home is where the heart is – a stray dog keeps returning to the dog shelter where a vet saved his life.

urn:uuid:91a11e02-0ac3-5199-a8d8-f6059f35e67b 2011-12-29T16:04:42+01:00

‘English is attacking Czech from all sides’ one newspaper columnist recently despaired, while others talk of Czech’s ‘battle for survival’ in a world in which ever more English is spoken. From terms like ‘setobox’, ‘vygooglovat’ and ‘mobil’ on the one hand to words like ‘sorry’, ‘byzy’ and ‘lůzr’ on the other, English does seem to be making an impact on today’s Czech. But are these English borrowings really a threat to the Czech language, or do they enrich it instead? I asked some Czechs for their opinion:

urn:uuid:67cbc06d-9072-5c08-9b90-abbfcfd157ab 2011-12-15T16:43:43+01:00

In this week’s edition of Panorama: a student orchestra packs concert halls with famous movie soundtracks, a computer as a work of art, chocolate as the ultimate gourmet experience and kangaroo Vendelín becomes a household name.

urn:uuid:83f300cc-7223-5087-a327-f1c8d48965c8 2011-12-08T16:43:08+01:00

Twenty-two years after the fall of communism Czech shops are crammed with goods and people have long forgotten the hours they spent waiting in line to buy bananas and oranges for their Christmas table – a rare treat unavailable throughout the year. Shopping malls and supermarkets now offer a wide variety of goods sold across Europe. But beneath the surface of the glossy packaging –there’s a small hitch. Discerning shoppers often find that certain brand products they relished abroad still don’t taste quite as good in the Czech Republic. I met up with Miroslav Huml from the consumer protection agency spotřebitel.net to find out why this may be so and how the position of the Czech consumer has changed over the years.

urn:uuid:913f9187-a007-594a-837d-4e1222fd9eb4 2011-12-01T16:54:48+01:00

Stanley ‘Robotman’ Povoda is the father of Czech robotics. After over half a century of bringing people’s old colanders, chandeliers and vacuum cleaners to life, Stanley has just become the subject of his first own retrospective in Prague’s Trafačka Gallery. Stanley (real name Marián) Povoda has been back in the Czech Republic for five years now, after spending most of his life in exile in North America. On a recent tour of his new show, Stanley told me where his passion for robots began:

urn:uuid:37ea1404-d2fe-5962-be45-9f8700e5b9c3 2011-11-24T16:54:43+01:00

An exhibition titled Czech inventors and inventions is currently underway at the National Museum in Prague. It introduces visitors to the life and work of more than 20 Czech or Czech-born inventors who made their mark in the world. The exhibition covers achievements in many fields of human activity - engineering, medicine, agriculture, biology, chemistry, as well as in the humanities. But you will also find curious and somewhat absurd creations which never went beyond the prototype stage. I asked Pavel Douša, who heads the museum’s cultural heritage department, to show me round and we started our tour in the entrance hall where a group of people were admiring an enormous snowmobile.

urn:uuid:fe4c4fb6-d27c-57d7-a4e2-02bd83b14099 2011-11-10T16:59:30+01:00

One hears a great deal about the importance of fighting free radicals, but it is not often that one sees the benefits of this in practice. Czech researchers from the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences have an outstanding success story in this respect. They have developed a gel that has proved exceptionally effective in healing both chronic and acute wounds with the aid of free-radical-binding technology.

urn:uuid:caf61c49-11cf-5212-b0b5-d62dbd4e53d6 2011-11-03T00:00:00+01:00

In this week’s Panorama: how walled-in windows can be a big attraction, the Vltava river gets a symbolic lighthouse and, the nation’s fierce one-eyed commander is back on his horse on Vítkov Hill - facing a new enemy.

urn:uuid:edd22ad8-2448-57e5-ba28-49518cf021bc 2011-10-27T16:15:50+02:00

In Panorama this week: mistletoe is associated with Christmas good cheer –in the Czech lands it is believed to bring good health, good luck and prosperity –but what happens when it turns into a killer? A Czech hospital discovers the magical properties of Kiwanis dolls in treating children and, the country’s new hero Super Václav is unmasked.

urn:uuid:e3057414-5561-5690-b5ed-03880b0c22a0 2011-10-20T16:34:50+02:00

In Panorama this week – military history buffs invited to take their pick from Warsaw Pact era equipment and facilities. Will Karlovy Vary get a life-size statue of Peter the Great? And why producing a stuffed elephant can be a tall order.

urn:uuid:2aa34ced-d67e-59c9-b0fa-748c11f1b2d6 2011-10-13T16:48:41+02:00

A group of Czech volunteers are helping to save stray dogs in neighbouring Slovakia where there is a widespread practice of exterminating them. Over two thousand animals a year are legally put down in this manner, regardless of the fact that many are perfectly healthy or only puppies. Prior to their extermination, which usually takes place within a week of their capture, they are placed in overcrowded, dirty kennels and in most cases left hungry. These dog shelters are often referred to by the locals as “concentration camps for canines” and their tragic fate has prompted a network of volunteers on both sides of the border to develop a fast-alert system which would get them out in time. Iva Mullerova, who is actively involved in the project, explains how it works.

urn:uuid:1d2369af-9ff8-5fd1-ad0e-f6ca3ed77019 2011-10-06T16:45:21+02:00

A booth on Prague’s Jungmann Square is making people stop and stare. Individuals walk inside, close the door and yell at the top of their lungs – to come out smiling moments later, as someone else takes their place. What you hear there is not a frustrated employee letting off steam after a bad day at work –it’s a voice raised in support of fair trade and making companies observe human rights and give people decent work conditions in countries where it is easy to abuse them. The Czech NGO Na Zemi has launched a campaign to raise awareness of how many people in the developing world work in shocking conditions for large multinational companies and try to put a stop to the practice. Anna Lazorova from Na Zemi is one of the organizers.

urn:uuid:f9a70d6a-40d1-5afb-aed4-e34dd132e3fb 2011-09-22T16:32:05+02:00

In this week’s Panorama :a play at Prague’s National Theatre highlights the problems of coexistence between ethnic Czechs and the Roma minority, Karlovy Vary protesting against too many foreign language signs, and, Czech politicians make headlines from here to Belgrade.

urn:uuid:df58b419-3384-5548-be52-cd9655821aab 2011-09-16T16:32:57+02:00

Michal Thoma – like his father Zdeněk – is a well-known Czech photographer, traveller, and author focussing on countries in Asia, including India and Nepal. In Part 2 of this special Panorama, we focus on Manang – a village in the Himalayas which was unchanged for centuries when Zdeněk Thoma visited and photographed there in 1979. Thirty years later, his son Michal followed in his father’s footsteps and has since put together a joint-exhibition about Manang which you can see at The House at the Stone Bell in Prague.

urn:uuid:421c70f0-4216-5a7e-a700-988bda37227e 2011-09-15T16:25:01+02:00

Michal Thoma – like his father Zdeněk – is a well-known Czech photographer, traveller, and author focussing on countries in Asia, including India and Nepal. Publishing in Czech alternatives to National Geographic like Lidé a Země and Koktejl, Michal and his father and mum, have made travel writing and photography in exotic countries pretty much a family business and the Thoma name something of a ‘trademark’. In Part I, of this special Panorama Michal talks about how he got into photography and travel, beginning with his father’s career.