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New York Post
23 minutes ago
- New York Post
Gun-toting Arctic influencer reveals surprising reason she stays locked and loaded — even in one of the world's safest places
Bear this in mind! Content creator Cecilia Blomdahl documents her undeniably unique life on the icy Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard on YouTube and TikTok — and viewers can't get enough. Now, the intrepid influencer has revealed she totes a gun while out and about to stave off an unusual predator. Advertisement According to Blomdahl, it's 'not uncommon for polar bears to break into off-grid cabins' in the region. She adds that there was recently a polar bear spotted very close to the local town, so being constantly cautious of the animals is a must. She said a firearm is a must for 'polar bear protection.' 'I've never in my 9 years here had to use my rifle,' Blomdahl said. However, she and her husband keep the rifles close by, but typically reach for flare guns when out and about in the wilderness. Advertisement She says that the loud sound and blinding light it creates are typically enough to ward off the average ursine. Though Svalbard used to be known as a coal mining town, its main industry is tourism, with its wild, wintry sights being a primary draw. Don Landwehrle – Advertisement Inside the town, the protective pieces aren't allowed, and Blomdahl is explicit that the guns are to be used for 'life-threatening situations only.' In a statement from 2024, the office of the Governor of Svalbard clarified that carrying loaded firearms into shops and public buildings in the town of Longyearbyen is indeed expressly forbidden. However, owning a gun isn't required by law — but being prepared with something to fend off the predators absolutely is. Residents in the area must also obtain their guns directly from the governor's office and must apply before receiving one. Though polar bear sightings in town are few and far between, locals say they still pose a potential threat. Advertisement The TikToker posted another recent video diving into the need-to-know on the island's fuzzy neighbors. According to Anne Merete, the station manager at the local Isfjord Radio station, a polar bear broke into the building's liquor storage and was spotted climbing out of an itty-bitty back window covered in incriminating red wine stains. Though she lives out in a remote region of Svalbard, the nearest town Blomdahl lives near just so happens to be Longyearbyen, which is infamous for instituting yet another bizarre bill — it's illegal to die in the settlement. Blomdahl lives in a fully operational modern house most of the time, but she and her husband also have a smaller, secondary off-grid cabin for weekends and getaways. Gennady Kurushin – The ban was put into place back in 1950, when local authorities discovered that due to the frigid temperatures, bodies weren't decomposing, posing an issue for health and safety standards. If residents appear to be knocking on death's door, they are sent to the mainland to be nursed back to health or to be buried.
Forbes
24 minutes ago
- Forbes
BMW Presents Raphaëlle Peria And Fanny Robin's Poetic Photographic Journey At Les Rencontres D'Arles
Raphaëlle Peria. Gathering the Whispers, 2025. Courtesy of the artist / BMW ART MAKERS. Courtesy of the artist / BMW ART MAKERS. In a powerful convergence of memory, photography, and environmental reflection, French artist Raphaëlle Peria and curator Fanny Robin unveil their collaborative exhibition Traversée du fragment manquant ("Crossing the Missing Fragment") at the 56th edition of Les Rencontres d'Arles, one of the world's most prestigious photography festivals. Staged at the atmospheric Cloître Saint-Trophime–a 12th-century Romanesque cloister and UNESCO World Heritage Site–this exhibition is the winning project of the BMW ART MAKERS 2025 programme and marks the 15th year of BMW France's cultural partnership with the festival. The result is an elegy in images: a poetic dialogue between past and present, childhood and adulthood, memory and loss–rendered through a deeply personal story with universal environmental implications. Fanny Robin and Raphaëlle Peria, BMW ART MAKERS. Photograph by David Coulon (2025). DavidCoulon (2025)/ BMW Art Makers A Fragment Reconstructed The exhibition began with a photograph–several, in fact. Raphaëlle Peria, only three years old at the time, embarked on a journey with her father and sisters along the Canal du Midi aboard their family barge. That memory was hazy, half-lost–until a family photo album resurfaced decades later. "Page after page, the story of this crossing unfolded," she says. That rediscovery became the catalyst for a multi-layered project combining old family photographs, newly shot images of the same canal, and Peria's own signature techniques of photographic transformation. But there is a darker undertone. The plane trees that line the historic canal, once captured in the glow of childhood and sunlight, are now dying—devastated by an invasive fungal disease known as canker stain . 'There are parts of the canal now with no trees at all,' Peria says. 'In ten years, they'll be gone.' Lever les voiles sur le passé Raphaëlle Peria - BMW ART MAKERS Raphaëlle Peria - BMW ART MAKERS Photography As Archaeology Curated by Fanny Robin, the exhibition is an ambitious feat considering the rapid timeline: from selection in December 2024 to full production and installation by May 2025. Robin, Artistic Director of Lyon's Bullukian Foundation, has worked with Peria on multiple projects over nearly a decade, but this exhibition marks a turning point. 'This is our fifth exhibition together,' she says, 'but it's much more experimental than anything we've done before.' The body of work displayed in Traversée du fragment manquant is structured around a dialogue—between Peria's own photographs, captured during a return journey to the canal this spring, and her father's archival images from the 1970s. Peria explains, 'There are three types of works in the show: my scratched photographic prints on paper, new works on plexiglass, and archival family photos scratched into copper-toned paper. I chose copper because the fungus that kills the trees leaves behind a copper stain on their bark.' This act of scratching—an almost archaeological gesture—serves to reveal and conceal at once. In Peria's hands, photography is not merely a process of documentation, but a tactile excavation of memory, decay, and disappearance. The scratch marks, delicate yet insistent, reflect the tension between time's erosive nature and the human desire to preserve. A Journey Through Scenography At the heart of the exhibition is a stunning immersive installation, designed by Robin in close collaboration with Peria. Constructed from wooden structures and double-sided panels, the scenography invites visitors to move through the space as though navigating the narrow corridors of a barge. On one side are Peria's modern-day images; on the other, her father's archival photos—each one scratched, sculpted, and recontextualized into new meaning. 'It's a dialogue of transparency between past and present,' Peria explains. The setting enhances the work's emotional gravity. The Cloître Saint-Trophime envelops viewers in ancient stone and filtered light, a living monument to time's passage. Robin and Peria's construction mirrors that experience, with framed images glowing subtly through semi-translucent supports, evoking the canal's reflective waters and the memory-traces of a vanishing ecosystem. Robin notes that while the work will be shown at Paris Photo later this year, the scenography will shift. 'It will be adapted to the Grand Palais and its light,' she says. 'But the emotional core remains the same.' BMW ART MAKERS exhibition "Traversée du fragment manquant" at Les Rencontres d'Arles 2025 by artist Raphaëlle Peria and curator Fanny Robin. © Raphaëlle Peria/BMW ART MAKERS (07/2025) Memory, Melancholy, and Urgency Beyond the technical and curatorial achievements, what truly defines Traversée du fragment manquant is its emotional resonance. The title itself hints at absence—the missing fragment that Peria seeks to reconstruct not only through image, but through sensation and memory. The photographs bear poetic titles— Le Reflet de ce qu'il reste ( The Reflection of What Remains ), Gathering the Whispers —underscoring the elegiac tone. These are not just images of a canal; they are meditations on how landscapes carry human histories, how childhood moments become mythologized, and how fragile our ties to nature really are. 'I think it's important to show the evolution of an ecosystem,' Peria says. 'The trees are like ghosts now.' The urgency of climate change and environmental degradation is never stated explicitly—but it haunts every image. In revisiting the route of her childhood voyage, Peria finds the trees she once remembered reduced to stumps, scars, and absence. In bringing them back through her art, she creates a powerful tribute to what is already lost and what may soon vanish. Les fantômes du canal, Raphaëlle Peria - BMW ART MAKERS (2025) Raphaëlle Peria - BMW ART MAKERS (2025) The Power of Partnership BMW ART MAKERS, the program that brought this collaboration to life, is unique in that it funds a curator-artist duo, rather than a single artist. It's a model that fosters deep artistic dialogue, something both Peria and Robin have clearly embraced. 'The BMW program gave us the chance to take risks,' Robin says. 'It was a very short timeline, but that urgency led to something much more alive and immediate.' BMW's 15-year partnership with Les Rencontres d'Arles represents a long-standing commitment to cultural support, but Traversée du fragment manquant feels particularly timely. As industries reckon with their role in environmental crises, supporting work that speaks directly to issues of memory and ecology feels less like branding and more like responsibility. Raphaëlle Peria, BMW ART MAKERS (2025). Photograph by Lee Sharrock © Lee Sharrock A Family's Silent Witness As for Peria's father–whose photographs sparked the entire project–he had not yet seen the exhibition at the time of our interview. 'He found out about it in the newspaper,' Peria laughs. 'He'll come at the end of August.' One imagines that the experience will be profound. His casual snapshots have now become a visual cornerstone of an exhibition that combines intimate family history with urgent environmental commentary. What began as a child's summer adventure is now transformed into a work of art seen by thousands—and possibly, a record of a natural world that may not survive another generation. Le reflet de ce qu'il reste. Raphaëlle Peria, BMW ART MAKERS (2025) Raphaëlle Peria, BMW ART MAKERS Final Reflections In an age of digital overload and synthetic imagery, Raphaëlle Peria and Fanny Robin offer something far more tactile, poetic, and haunting. Traversée du fragment manquant isn't just about looking–it's about remembering, feeling, and mourning. It reminds us that photography, at its best, doesn't just capture the world; it interrogates our place within it. As Peria so poignantly puts it: 'Trees are living beings that carry our memory; they are the guardians of our secrets.' Through this remarkable collaboration, those secrets whisper again–etched in light, scratched into history, and carried forward, even as the waters rise and the trees fall. Traversée du fragment manquant is on view at Cloître Saint-Trophime, Arles, until October 5, 2025. The exhibition will also travel to Paris Photo in November at the Grand Palais Éphémère. Cloître Saint-Trophime, Marseille. Photograph by Lee Sharrock © Lee Sharrock
CNET
an hour ago
- CNET
Two Days Left to Score Babbel for Life at a Special Price
If you've traveled internationally this summer, you know how helpful it could have been to know the language of where you went. But learning a language can take more time than most of us have, especially if you're starting from scratch. Whether you're looking to learn French, Italian or Portuguese, a Babbel subscription can definitely help. With programs available right on your phone, you'll be speaking another languge before you know it. Thankfully, StackSocial has a limited-time offer for the language learning platform right now. Act soon and you can get a lifetime subscription to Babbel for only $135 when you apply the coupon code LEARN. That'll save you 58% off the usual asking price, and it's the kind of deal that you definitely don't want to sleep on. Unfortunately, this kind of deal expires on Aug. 7, so you only have two days left to pick one up. Babbel's extensive language software includes French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. Lessons are short so you won't find yourself overwhelmed with information. Skill levels range from beginner to advanced and the content is self-paced. And it's right at your fingertips, perfect for any busy person. Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money. Babbel's speech recognition software offers instant feedback so you know what you're doing right and where things can be improved, and personalized review sessions help reinforce what you've already learned. The Babbel app works on phones and computers and while you do need an internet connection to get the most out of it, an offline mode provides access to key features if you download them ahead of time. Why this deal matters A lifetime subscription is always a good way to avoid adding another monthly fee to your growing collection and it removes the pressure of putting a restrictive timeline on your learning. Plus, buying lifetime access directly from Babbel would normally cost $599. Even with the current promotion, this StackSocial deal beats the price by a long shot. Just make sure to order your subscription before this deal ends on Aug. 7 and remember that you have only 30 days after your purchase to redeem the subscription. This isn't the lowest price we've seen, but it's only $5 more. For a lifetime of learning, it's hard to beat this limited-time deal. Note: Although this is advertised as a lifetime subscription, there are no guarantees that purchases will be supported for life. As we've seen in the past, a change of ownership, a service shutting down or some other unforeseen circumstance may result in your lifetime subscription ending sooner than anticipated.
