Rich people starting to "jet pool" to private islands to help save the planet ~ gee, thanks
Necker Island, the private island retreat of Richard Branson, is the global warming locale of the moment as several celebrity-status entrepreneurs and politicians gather there to talk about a world "on fire" according to the International Herald Tribune.
The best line of the article is this: "Some of them, like [Google co-founder Larry] Page, carbon-consciously jet-pooled in from Silicon Valley."
Look at these ridiculous people from the article’s photo:
Who are they trying to kid? I’m sure those life vests are just drills to practice for rising water levels, right? They have nothing at all to do with fossil-fueled recreational watercraft. No. Surely not.
A meeting like this is like trying to fund a war against drugs with money from the sale of cocaine. It’s like pastors having affairs with their wives boyfriends after their adultery speeches. It’s like billionaires having fun and writing the expenses off their taxes while trying to get some good publicity.
Either that or they’re talking investments in a way that they find pleasurable. Good on ya. The great capitalist way. If nothing else, good on them for actively seeking other sources of energy. No, really, I mean that one.
They at least did some sailing, and we all know that wind is the old world water-commuter’s dream energy source.
[Photo credit: Andrew Ross Sorkin/The New York Times pulled from IHT article]
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Posted on March 20, 2008
Filed Under Global Warming, Islands, Society | Leave a Comment
A new meme for butterfly cliches
This comic takes on the butterfly. Finally. Thank you.
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Posted on March 20, 2008
Filed Under Butterflies, Music | Leave a Comment
Mini Clubman ~ Etch-A-Sketch Paradise
The Clubman in the Mini line of cars has at least two paradise ads floating around the Internet. The scenes look like this:
You can see that no dolphins, flamingoes, or hairy-chested men in Speedos were spared from these fantastic line-art displays.
Here is the speedboat/dolphin version:
And here’s the Speedo/airplane/flamingo/metal-detector version:
In spite of the everyday symbols of paradise, they’re both amusing, and the artist is clearly very talented. There’s also the weird version in which the Mini races a rocket cowboy, a cheetah, and a unicorn:
Weird, right? Searching for these, of course, led me down a completely new YouTube path. Apparently, for several years now, there have been tons of Etch-A-Sketch drawings posted there.
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Posted on March 17, 2008
Filed Under Animals and Pets, Automobiles, Beaches, Dolphins and Whales, Medium to Paradise, Palm Trees, Sea and Oceans | Leave a Comment
New island wallpapers available at National Geographic
Bora Bora came up in the Gulfstream post, and luckily I found my way to a really beautiful picture of it on National Geographic’s website:
There is a whole series of island photos called "Patterns in Nature: Island Aerials," all of which are available for wallpaper downloading at resolutions of 800 X 600, 1,024 X 768, or 1280 X 1024 pixels. National Geographic has a large and beautiful array of photographs. If you like the island pictures from the above gallery, you may also want to visit the Palau gallery.
The photo above is by Jodi Cobb.
Palm Sunday
Churches were filled today for Palm Sunday. Did you know that at times in the distant past when palm fronds were scarce that it was called "Branch Sunday"? Today, hundreds of millions of palm fronds are harvested every year for US church ceremonies.
The number is so large that major newspapers have picked up on the cause to promote a more sustainable religious tradition. In 2006, The Washington Post had an article called "For a Greener Palm Sunday Celebration" that is still relevant today. In 2007, The New York Times printed "U.S. Churches Go ‘Green’ for Palm Sunday."
As populations grow and our ecosystems change from consumption, churches will find themselves more and more pressured to alter their collection techniques.
Will Branch Sunday eventually return?
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Posted on March 16, 2008
Filed Under Palm Trees, Religion | Leave a Comment
Surfwise ~ the story of one 11-member family who left behind their old world to become surf nomads
Doug Pray has a film coming out in May called "Surfwise." It’s about Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz and the 10 other members of his family who set out on an off-the-grid odyssey in a 24-foot camper. Here’s one [movie] trailer:
Here’s another trailer at Apple. Part of the documentary’s description from that site reads: "Like many American outsider-adventurers, Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz set out to realize a utopian dream. Abandoning a successful medical practice, he sought self-fulfillment by taking up the nomadic life of a surfer. But unlike other American searchers like Thoreau or Kerouac, Paskowitz took his wife and nine children along for the ride, all eleven of them living in a 24 foot camper."
You can read more about the family’s surf camp and about Doc’s book Surfing and Health. The family’s philosophy shines through on these pages.
Jen at Casual Slack brought this to my attention. Thanks for the post, Jen.
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Posted on March 14, 2008
Filed Under Film, Society, Surfing, Utopia | Leave a Comment
Gulfstream G650 ~ fast trip to paradise from pretty much anywhere
Gulfstream announced a new jet yesterday: the G650 (warning: long Flash load time and bad music). It can travel 7,000 nautical miles at 0.85 Mach or 5,000 nautical miles at 0.90 Mach. Yes, that’s just short of the speed of sound. But the real story here is the fine publicity shot that they chose:
Oh, yes, that’s a beautiful island. Is it Bora Bora? Nope. It looks like Kauai. See the sand in this picture from the University of Utah:
They have other pictures on the Gulfstream site; one looks like the Waimea Canyon area on Kauai also.
It’s good to see that they’re off to important business destinations for this business jet. Let’s let them write it off as an expense on their tax returns. They were on their way from New York to Sydney after all for that important takeover meeting.
Paradise is not just for pleasure anymore.
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Posted on March 14, 2008
Filed Under Business and Commerce, Medium to Paradise, Technology | 2 Comments
Warren E. Buffett sums it up ~ ‘You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out’
In his annual letter to shareholders last month Warren Buffett, Chairman of the Board of Berkshire Hathaway and the world’s richest man, summed up beautifully the state of the economy:
"Today, our country is experiencing widespread pain because of that erroneous belief. As house prices fall, a huge amount of financial folly is being exposed. You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out – and what we are witnessing at some of our largest financial institutions is an ugly sight." [emphasis added]
Yes, the tide is out. Love the metaphor. I hope you’re not picturing any old Wall Street guys naked.
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Posted on March 14, 2008
Filed Under Business and Commerce, Sea and Oceans | Leave a Comment
Volvic ~ what exactly is this ‘Volcanicity’?
In early March, AdForum had a Focus section on "Birds." That’s a prime topic in which to find a paradise-inspired landscape. I found one in this featured Volvic ad from 2007:
There are so many weird cross-cultural and trans-landscape things happening in this video. Whether you’re talking about "your birds" (which are actually dinosaurs, but still possibly offensive to some women in the UK) or the citrus-covered palmy landscape, which bears little resemblance whatsoever to the volcanoes of the Massif Central in the middle of France where Volvic water finds its source (although, admittedly, I have no idea what the prehistoric landscape of the region looked like). Then there’s the notion of flavored water. We all marvel at it likes it’s some new invention.
The end line is: "Volcano filtered, so it’s full of Volcanicity." What is that? It’s not like it tastes like Lagavulin, the expensive Scotch single-malt whisky that tastes like you licked a fireplace shovel. So does Volcanicity just mean unrestrained machismo? I have never associated Volvic with that image.
This is one of the most confused ads ever. Volvic is just an amazing spring water. Years ago, I lived a few miles from Volvic for a short period of time. I had the opportunity to do the Marche des Volcans years ago, which takes you all around the old and eroded tree-covered volcanoes of the area. It was during that time that I actually tasted the same water coming naturally out of the ground. It’s amazing.
For as evil as bottled water is, I have a hard time taking a glass of tap water over a bottle of Volvic. Too bad I would rather watch Coke commercials than this weird Volcanicity series.
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Posted on March 14, 2008
Filed Under Advertising, Commercials, Food and Drink, Volcanoes and Lava | Leave a Comment
Corona takes on Guinness with a little lime origami
Corona has a little St. Patty’s day ad out in which a mystery hand reaches in and grabs the lime from the top of the bottle by the beach and returns a few seconds later having morphed the citrus wedge into a four-leaf clover. Watch out Guinness. Paradise is coming for you:
Meanwhile, Guinness is trying to make St. Patrick’s Day an official holiday through their "Proposition 317" initiative. As the petition-signing Zelinski family said, they signed because "It’s awesome. We have so much fun."
What better reason to make a national holiday? The site says they need a million signatures by March 16th. They’re not even close now at 237,055 (at the time this posted).
If you’re going to make a holiday out of St. Patrick’s Day, make it the 18th. I mean really.
Surely there are better causes in the world. But if Coke got Christmas and Hallmark got Valentine’s Day, then why not give the 17th to Guinness?
This ad is available at the AdForum Focus section (after March 18, 2008, it may still be available here).
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Posted on March 14, 2008
Filed Under Beaches, Food and Drink, Fruity Slushy Beverages | Leave a Comment
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