Magazine
Ecstasy Street? Right here in the Czech Republic. The rules governing the naming of streets have become much more lenient. Looking for a really exclusive sports car? Build it yourself - some Czechs won't settle for less. And, the man who is making big money in jail -controversy over a billboard featuring a man jailed for murder. Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
How would you like to live on a road called "Heaven", "Ecstasy" or "No Name"? For years the privilege of naming a road was in the hands of the communist authorities, who were relentless in what was and what was not acceptable. Today firms and civic associations have a big say in what the road they live on should be called and they clearly like taking the initiative. The south Bohemian town of Hostice made famous by a popular Czech comedy recently re-named all its roads and alleys according to the main characters in the film. "Hostice makes a lot of money from tourism - everyone now comes to see the places where individual scenes were filmed - and the familiar names will make it all better," said the town's mayor who had the last word in the re-naming process. "Besides, he added, many of the locals here played in the movie and they love to recall those times. We're a small town and this makes us like one big family -pretty much the way it was in the film called Sun, Hay and Strawberries." In the bigger cities the naming of streets is a more conservative process and you have to have a good reason to re-name a street. After the fall of communism the renaming process was so widespread that it was difficult to keep abreast of the changes. But now things have settled down and town hall authorities largely deal with the naming of new streets, on the grounds of whatever proposals they get. Many streets are named after famous Czechs. But sometimes even the best intentions can go wrong and one is left wondering why the street named after professor Otto Wichterle, the Czech who invented contact lenses, is in fact a blind alley.
You know how much boys love construction sets? Well, according to Blesk magazine, a certain Czech firm is now producing the real thing for men. "Want a really exclusive sports car? Build it yourself!" says their ad. The sports car comes in some 200 pieces and will cost you over 350 thousand crowns. You can get a cheaper version for 170 thousand but it is not complete and you'd have to buy some of the missing parts at garages sales. Czechs love DIY jobs and building their own car must be every man's dream, the owner of the firm says. The cars are exclusive models that can reach 200 km per hour and look fabulous on the road. Apparently all manner of people accept the challenge -businessmen, teachers, doctors or labourers. Some put it together in three months - some work on it for years. But you won't meet many of them on the road. Last year the firm sold 17 cars in all. For those who have money to spend -and want something really special - the firm will put a car together for them according to their requirements. It will be delivered -ready to run- for close to a million crowns. In addition to the price there's just one small hitch- putting it together takes all of six months. "Well, it is hand made and original" the firm says "and it's well worth waiting for".
The Czechs have lost their marmalade -the Austrians have held onto theirs, reads a headline in the Czech papers this week. As of May 1st, the date of the Czech Republic's entry to the EU, all marmalade labels on home made fruit preserves that are not made of citrus fruits will have to go, the papers reported, suggesting that no one in the Czech Republic had cared enough to put up a fight for them. Meanwhile in neighbouring Austria the marmalade saga has been a hot issue and the man who is allegedly responsible for pushing through an exemption to the law for Austria, the country's Euro Commissioner Franz Fishler, is hailed as a hero. Just across the border Czechs don't really see what the fuss is all about. "So, we'll call it jam," one marmalade producer shrugged.
The scandal over the controversial billboard promoting private Radio Kiss showing a man currently serving a life sentence for murder under the heading "a radio station for life" has not yet died down. Although the Council for Advertising has declared the billboard to be in violation of ethics the beaming face of Jiri Kajinek remains plastered all over Prague. The radio's programme director Petr Zizka has announced that the station would take what he called "corrective action" to make the billboard ethically acceptable within a week. Meanwhile the station is making huge promotion capital on the whole affair - the billboard has appeared prominently in the papers and on TV as a result of the scandal. Now people are kept in anticipation wondering what the "corrective action" could possible be. Naturally everyone will be looking out for it all week - and even if the Council for Advertising orders it to be removed later on it will have more than fulfilled its purpose.
Good news for lovers of Czech beer! If you want to vacation on Easter Island you will no longer have to take cans of Pilsner with you! A small Czech brewery has just opened there - in one of Rapa Nui's luxury hotels - and brews the authentic product under the name Iorana - Original Czech Beer Lager. Iorana is reported to be a local greeting. So if you are heading that way it's a word that may come in handy - in more ways than one. Cheers!
