The Point Is...

Last night was a long night: Happy hour / farewell to a co-worker who’s moving out of town… Music, drinks, dancing, pictures, sweating, good friends. Followed with meeting other friends a couple of hours later… dinner, talking, nice loungy music and atmosphere, meeting a new friend, not getting home until late… really, really later... the point is that I woke up exhausted today and had to actually go to work.

But again, not the point. The real point is that I have some things to do and places to go, so the blog will be rather dead until tomorrow evening. I will continue with the events tonight and I'm certain there will be stories, which I perhaps will share.
Have a great weekend!

Bravo for Mika Brzezinski!

Landscape Couch

If I had a big house I would definitely buy the Luna couch and invite all my friends over. It measures 17'3" x 14'7" and is designed to seat up to 30 people comfortably in a retro-inspired luxury. Constructed from wood, steel and polyurethane foam, the 100% wool upholstered Luna took over 2000 hours to build. You can purchase Luna at Dune Furniture.

Island of Jura

Jura is a Scottish Island designated as a National Scenic Area. It is not easy to get to Jura: the fastest way from London (taking two airplanes and a small car ferry) takes about a day. With a population of about 180 inhabitants, Jura is a secluded island with only one road that follows the southern and eastern coast land of the island. Even though it has a good size and is close to mainland, the island has been kept private as per the resident’s request.
The main settlement is the village of Craighouse on the east coast, which is home to the island's sole distillery, producing Isle of Jura whisky, award winning and one of the top best whiskies in the world. It also has the island’s sole shop, church and hotel: the Jura Lodge.




This magical lodge has such eclectic interiors that you’ll probably feel uncomfortable wearing jeans while visiting.
The style is Nordic folklore with a punch of luxury. The rooms are large… enormous. The details are exquisite and humorous at times.


You can rent one of these wonderful rooms starting at £1500 (about $3,000) a week or £1000 (about $2,000) for a long weekend. These fees mean that you either cook yourself or bring your own chef, but Jura Lodge can also help you hire a chef… for a fee.

Via The Cool Hunter

My Birthday In A Month!

Consider yourselves warned! We are exactly one month until my birthday! I still cannot believe I'll be 28 soon…ouch!

Folks, a birthday is a time for evaluation, to cherish old memories and… and to look forward to the future with hope, faith and determination for another wonderful year…

But screw that for now!

What I will get into now is possible birthday presents. The following is a list of things that I would like for my birthday. Please work out among yourselves who's getting what…

• A piece of chocolate cake
I love cake and making wishes. Except the year (I mean twenty eight. TWENTY EIGHT!). Makes me want to hyperventilate…
• (For those who know me personally…) Phone calls, emails, comments and/or a visit to congratulate me and to tell me how awesome I am (even better if you can bring a small serving of Cuban coffee… but don't tell my doctor)
• A pack of diet Coke or Pepsi
• Flowers
• A slice of pizza at Andiamo
• A bottle of Warsteiner. Killian or Bass at the local bar
• Of course, there is one thing that I've been wanting for months, but so far I haven't gotten it. And it is…….. (drum roll please)……. a bowl of Atlanta Bread Company's pumpkin soup.

Now, Why I think I deserve presents? Well, aside from being your awesome friend, I've written a lot of stuff on here, bringing you quality entertainment almost every day, often at the risk of employment status, romantic prospects, and my health. . And you've spent a lot of time reading this website.

So, up until June 2007, I have written 152 articles, meaning that I have written 73,642 words. In other words, a standard size book is about 80,000 words. Therefore, if you've read every article on this site, you've read almost the equivalent of one book. So congratulations! You're officially a reader!

Thank you for reading and continue enjoying The Pompomist. I hope you come by for more…
But that's about it. I'm a simple woman with simple needs…

Featured Artist Of The Week: The Bird And The Bee

Inara George (Bird) and Greg Kurstin (Bee) are a Californian duo. She’s a singer and daughter of Little Feat frontman Lowell George. He's a producer and keyboardist who has worked with Beck, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, his own band Geggy Tah and Lily Allen. The two have a successful solo career but, because they liked creating music together, they formed The Bird and the Bee with a mission to create wonderful jazzy electro pop.
The Bird And The Bee is a solid debut which will certainly attract anyone who likes pop with a twist. I had the great opportunity of interviewing the duo, which I will be more than glad to share with you…

The Pompomist: What is one sentence that perfectly describes Californian duo The Bird And The Bee?
Inara for The Bird And The Bee: Psychedelic pop.

TP: Can you tell me a little bit about how you got together as a duo?
The Bird And The Bee: Greg was playing on my solo records and we hit it off and started to write and play together.

TP: How did you come up with the name ‘The Bird And The Bee’?
The Bird And The Bee: We took it from our song, birds and the bees.

TP: The Bird And The Bee delivers wonderfully a mixture of 1960’s pop, jazz, and Brazilian Bossa Nova, all with a Californian energy. Can you tell us a little bit about your great self-titled album?
The Bird And The Bee: We never really intended on making a record with such a wide release. We had started writing and recording songs together... and at some point we decided we had an albums worth of material... but it took about 3 years of stolen afternoons of writing in Greg's echo park home studio to finish it. So maybe some of L.A. creeped in there.

TP: What makes this CD different?
The Bird And The Bee: It's not really a question that I'm good at answering... you probably would know more than I. The music to us is very familiar.

TP: Well I can definitely tell you that your music is different because is a soft, vintage, light and sophisticated electronica pop with a delicate mix of jazz and Bossa Nova groove and celestial vocals. Is something new and fresh compared to what people are used to hear on the radio.
Now, can you describe your shows, musically and visually?
The Bird And The Bee: There are 6 of us on stage. Me (I play bass), Greg (keyboard and guitar), two back up singers, a drummer and another guitarist. We get pretty dolled up and I think we have a pretty good time.

TP: Tell us about your next show and why we should be there.
The Bird And The Bee: We have a show at the El Rey (L.A. July 20th) and the Independent (S.F. July 19th) and we will be performing some new material... and debuting some new outfits... so should be a fun night.

TP: What musical groups do you think influenced The Bird And The Bee’s sound?
The Bird And The Bee: Gal Costa, The Velvet Underground, Prince...

TP: Is there anything you would like to tell the fans of The Bird And The Bee?
The Bird And The Bee: Hope you like the music.

TP: What can we expect from The Bird And The Bee for the rest of the year?
The Bird And The Bee: We are playing fuji rock in late July... putting out an EP in the fall... maybe touring Europe and Japan in September... pretty loose schedule at the moment...

TP: Thank you!

Here's a music video from their debut single 'Again And Again':



For more info about the duo and samples of their music, visit The Bird And The Bee's website and their myspace profile.

The iPhone

Photo Credit: The Cool Hunter

So Cingular, or now recently switched to AT&T, is already announcing their iPhone plans. You might be asking yourself: how much would it actually cost to own a brand new iPhone? Well, let’s do the math:

A 4GB iPhone would be $499, and an 8GB would be $599, plus the sales tax here in FL is 7%: that is $533.93 and $640.93, respectively. Include a $36 activation fee to that.

AT&T iPhone plan rates are as follows:

450 minutes for $59.99 ($64.19 after taxes)*
900 minutes for $79.99 ($85.59 after taxes)*
1,350 minutes for $99.99 ($106.99 after taxes)*
*(All plans require a “minimum new 2-year wireless service plan and activation fee required to activate iPhone features, including iPod.”)

So how much would you end up spending in the first month?

A 4GB iPhone with 450 mins: $634.12; with 900 mins: $655.52; with 1,350 mins: $676.92.
An 8GB iPhone with 450 mins: $741.12; with 900 mins: $762.52; with 1,350 mins: $783.92.

The iPhone will go on sale at 6pm this Friday in Apple Stores across the US... Apparently there’s already a waiting line in NYC.

New Chinese Cars Are Frightening

Yep, the Chinese have started building cars. This is a crash test footage filmed at a German vehicle safety lab while testing the new "Brilliance" BS6 Sedan. I strongly recommend not driving these... it's like a car-shaped coffin.

A House Powered By Spinach?

Spinach is not only good for your body, but for your house as well. This is a residence which obtains its electricity from spinach, designed by Matthew Coates and Tim Meldrum. It doesn’t really mean that the house is powered by spinach; the way it works is that the house has a solid-state photosynthetic solar cell based skin, whose main ingredient for producing electricity from the sun is a protein called Photosystem I, which is derived from spinach: a system developed by MIT researchers.


The residence has a landscaped roof garden designed to collect and filter rainwater, and uses soy-based walls and recycled concrete materials to provide a sustainable choice to the common construction materials.
Via Inhabitat

As Rick James Would Say: 'Cocaine Is A Hell Of A Drug'

No, it is not the latest crop circle done by aliens to recently land on our planet after drinking. These bizarre patterns have a less astrological explanation.
They were made by a cocaine fulled young guy who was trying to escape from the police in his father's car in a corn field in Holland.
This picture kinda reminds me of those experiments done some years ago on spiders. You can find the results of the spider experiment here. Or you can watch a humorous parody about it here.
Four police cars were damaged while preventing the out of control driver from driving on public roads, but they could not save the crop from damage. In the end, the man was successfully captured.
Via Boing Boing

Parental Worries

[Friday night. 9:55pm]

Me: “Hi Mom. How are you?”
Mom: “Hey sweetheart! What are you up to right now? You're about to go to sleep?”
Me: “Oh. I am on my way to meet some friends. We are gonna have dinner at a restaurant and…”
Mom: “OMG! Do you know what time it is?! Girl, you be careful out there driving so late! Are you wearing your seatbelt?!”
Me: “Um, yes, Mom. So like I was saying, we are going to meet at this very nice place in…”
Mom: “Don’t you know how dangerous it is to drive at this time!? So many drunk drivers on the street!”
Me: “Mom, it’s okay, really. Don't worry, I am taking precautions… plus, is not like I inform you every time I go out at night, I am used to this… remember? Anyway then we will walk together to…”
Mom: “People die in accidents!!! I see it on the tele everyday. I once met this woman at work who had an accident in the middle of the night. She got hit by a bus really bad… she almost died!”
Me: “I know mom. It’s okay… I’m being careful. No worries. Anyhow, there’s this very cool art exhibition we really want to see tonight and…”
Mom: “Can you believe it?! A bus hit her… a public bus that is. She was falling asleep while driving.”
Me: “… and today is the last day of the exhibition so we have to get there before it closes or else we will not have the opportunity to see it. Gigi really likes this kind of art, and since her wedding anniversary is coming soon, her husband is planning on…”
Mom: “… and the next day she had her daughter’s college graduation. But she couldn’t go because, due to the accident, she was rushed to the hospital and stayed there for days.”
Me: “...he’s planning on buying an art piece for her. So we will help him pick a good painting tonight. Isn’t that a great gift?”
Mom: “It was a horrible accident!!!”
Me: “I am not planning on going with them to the club though because tomorrow I have to wake up early for…”
Mom: “Do you have you lights on? and... and the doors locked?!”

Saturday Activities...

Yesterday I spend most of the day at a co-workers gathering or ‘Fun Day’. It took place at a beautiful park which had access to the beach. My time was occupied by two main activities:

1. a significant portion of the afternoon was spent taking pictures… one of my favorite hobbies. Even though some of the attendees thought I was crazy because of my tendency to take pictures of branches, trees, benches and other things people usually ignore but can be motivating, I was able to capture some interesting shots. Like these ones:

2. I also spent some time playing volleyball. Going back in time, I learned how to play tennis when I was 9 years old... and was very good at it. My tennis professor used to say that if you’re fairly good in tennis, then you’re not good in volleyball, basketball or ping pong…
The answer? I suck in volleyball… big time! I was indeed the worst player of the team. They were better off not having me there. I was definitely at the bottom of the barrel (my scores: crappy, defeated, zero, nada, not even close). They were all laughing at me... even I was laughing at myself.

I also saw some very amusing events. Like this SUV driving with about 3-4 bikes hanged in front of the car like a public bus… a great way to get into an accident and obstruct the view to the wonderful scenery.

Late in the afternoon, we all headed to a nice seafood restaurant. The dinner was unbelievable. The seafood was so good that if used properly could easily win us the war in Iraq. Now the bad thing is… I have intolerance and/or allergic reaction to most of this delicious seafood. I ordered something I can eat, but it’s inevitable the fact that traces of the unwanted foods will be present on my dish. Oh well… I ate most of it anyways. This was followed by a shared chocolate ‘suicide’ cake (yes, that’s the real name of it)…goodness gracious! Unreal… just plain unreal.
Half an hour later, I started feeling joint pain and my hands started to swell a little. Shortly after I got home, I developed hives… great... I took an anti-allergy pill and went to sleep.
I told myself several times between the hours of 2am and 4am that I have to go to work. Then my biological clock woke me up at about 6am, and that’s when I remembered it was actually Sunday… not Monday. Boy! Isn’t that great when you realize the weekend isn’t over yet!?
I still have some hive marks today but not too bad. At least it didn’t stop me from enjoying my Sunday.
Anyhow, I had a good time on Saturday: spent some time with friends, enjoyed the outdoors, and showcased my horrible volleyball skills (at least it was fun and humorous). Tonight, I am going to get some sushi, plan next week's articles, take another anti-allergy pill, and sleep for hours.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

When I buy a magazine, these are my requirements:

• It has to be non-tabloid related. I don’t want to buy something with Nicole Ritchie on the cover and a headline saying: ‘Does that little belly bump means she’s pregnant? I couldn’t give two sh*ts about either their personal life or opinion.
• It has to be non-sports related. I find these booring.
• It has to be non-fitness related. Or health, or bodybuilding…
• It has to be non-golf/fishing/puppies related. Why would anyone subscribe to a cats or dogs magazine? Perhaps if you own a puppy shop… and still…
• I don’t like political journals. When it comes to political inclinations, I am a middle-of-the-road citizen. Some political articles can be interesting, but most of these magazines are full of either extreme liberal notes or conservative bulls*t and I’m not into that at all.
• I don’t like to read about things I can’t afford. This can be fun once in a while, but I don’t need one-hundred pages of Rolls Royce, Cartier, Tiffany or seeing photos of billionaires at some important social gathering.


• Muy Interesante. I like to read about interesting stuff and useful items I can afford, written by people who are cool enough and not by people who try too hard to sound “cool”.


Many of you readers know my tastes fairly well by now. I want something I can like enough to purchase on a consistent basis.

Irritating...

Those who know me are aware that I do like the nightlife and have a good time with friends, but this is just plain irritating and disgusting...

I Think I'm Turning Japanese

Japanese game shows are hilarious! Here's their TV Tetris game. Enjoy!

Featuring The New 'Just A Thought' Series

Feel free to submit your own 'Just A Thought' graphs! (Don't worry... I will always leave it anonymous).

Magic Trick With Explanation

For more magic tricks with explanations, visit Magic Uproar.

Via Boing Boing

More From The Music Department

'Once Upon a Time' Air
I’ve been a fan of this Indie duo since I was a freshman in college. Their use of chilled out, down-tempo electronica, and subtle synths are there to create a celestial feel to their sound. So far, all their previous albums have been wonderful, but ever since they released their latest CD ‘Pocket Symphony’, I’ve wondered if this one would be as good as the rest. After listening for the first time, this single and possibly the entire album will be much appreciated by the old school Air fan.


'Cold Wind' Arcade Fire

This Indie band has gained popularity in the past months. It’s a great band but their sound is mainly dark… but not dark as in gothic or punk… dark as in slow paced, atmospheric and sometimes melancholic sound. This song starts with a nostalgic acoustic guitar, and later on is mixed with an organ. And when I think organ, I think of a creepy sound in an old church. Do not discard this band if you’re not convinced when you first listen to it. The band’s sound is very layered and dense. It will possibly grow on you… possibly.

'All I Want' Jehro (Stephane Pompougnac’s Hotel Costes: Vol. 9)

I have been an avid Hotel Costes fan, and this latest compilation is fantastic. I think this song is the hero of the collection. If you like lounge music, you’ll be the next Costes fan… or maybe you are already.

Titanic Lamp

Isn’t this a cool lamp? The name is Titanic… the name suits perfectly, doesn’t it? It was designed by Charles Trevelvan and made of lacquered wood base, cotton and steel shade. You can purchase this wonderful lamp here.

How Did We?!

Can somebody explain to me how we got from this 1950s swimwear model:

To This (1960s):

And then this (1970s):

Following with this (1980s):

Continuing with this in the 1990s (skinny, but at least she has a butt and thighs...)

And finally this in the 2000s:

Holy cow! Was she in a concentration camp?
I don't understand how nowadays guys are attracted to bones, ribs and shoulder blades that could kill anyone. I mean, is this really what you guys consider hot? Or hawt?

Sad, very sad...

Origami

Students from Sidney’s University of Technology have created an amazing origami exhibition. The result of creating 3,500 cardboard molecules is a cool installation which emphasizes architectural space and the basic elements of design. They filled the room by adhering lots of geometric shapes in walls and ceiling, and illuminating them with neon lights, creating an enchanted space.

Via Cool Hunter

World's Worst Currencies From The Most Unstable Economies

Somalia
Currency: Somali shilling (SOS)
Inflation rate: Nobody knows, but is definitely not low.
Exchange rate: 1,387.77 SOS per US$1
The reason: Everything. When the Somalia collapsed back in 1991, the Central Bank of Somalia and entire banking system collapsed at the same time. The World Bank estimates that as much as 80% of the currency in circulation is forged or reprinted.

Iraq
Currency: The Iraqi Dinar (NID)
Inflation rate: 40.92% in April 2007
Exchange rate: 1,260 NID per US$1
The reason: The war.

North Korea
Currency: North Korean won (KPW)
Inflation rate: Who knows? Prices are set by the central government.
Exchange rate: 2,500 KPW per US$1
The reason: When was it ever right?

Venezuela
Currency: The Bolivar (VEB)
Inflation rate: 19.5% as of May 2007
Exchange rate: Lately, the Bolivar has been trading as high as 4,110 Bolivars per US$1 in the black markets.
The reason: Thanks to President Hugo Chávez’s nationalization campaign, Venezuela’s currency has lost 21 percent of its value since January 2007, the worst performance of all 72 currencies tracked by Bloomberg News.

Zimbabwe
Currency: Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD)
Inflation rate: 3,714% and rising…
Exchange rate: As high as 60,000 ZWD to the US$1
The reason: President Robert Mugabe. His economic mismanagement has led to hyperinflation. According to Boing Boing, ‘the exchange houses in London don't even have a "buy rate" for Zimbabwean money, because the inflation is so rapid that they don't want any more of it.’

Via Foreign Policy

Mika At Studio A

Last night I went to the Mika concert at Studio A. I’ve never heard of this artist until maybe three weeks ago and, to be honest, after hearing a short demo, I immediately knew his music was not my type. Regardless, I decided to go to the concert since anything that’s music related I love and, because it was a free pass (a friend of mine, who works in the music industry, gave me a free ticket), I had nothing to loose other than sleep.
The concert was okay. The Lebanese-born Brit delivers ultra flamboyant razzle-dazzle, transmitted mainly through his ear-damaging falsetto, and drawn mostly from Queen, Wham! and The Bee Gees... Oh, boy! This was like hate-yourself-in-the-morning kinda pop!
The music was like babysitting a hyperactive four year-old: lots of restless energy, repetition and irritating playfulness. By the end of it, you may be wishing Mika would just go to sleep.
Perhaps it’s because I am so used to the wonderful Indie world, but to me, the music seemed to be like a money-hungry mission to transport music lovers to a horrific place where pop songs are perfect for cruise line entertainment. Well, there’s still room for growth… you never know… maybe that hyperactive child will become a great artist in the future. I’ll wait and see.

Obama's Lack Of Experience

I’ve heard a few comments of people who are very concerned about Barack Obama's lack of experience... people saying he is too young to run for president.
But let’s think about this for a minute… does anyone really have experience being president, before actually BEING a president? Unless they change the law and let Dubya run again (Oh, God! No!), then EVERYONE will be inexperienced… Well, except for Hillary Clinton…
Now, if we talk about having experience as a governor, or some sort of important governmental position, then I am not sure if that should be a prerequisite to run for presidency.
To get an idea of whether experience is something to consider, lets take a look back at some of the past presidents in the US history:

James Buchanan: 29 years
Gerald Ford: 25 years
George H.W. Bush: 17 years
Richard Nixon: 14 years
Bill Clinton: 12 years
Ronald Reagan: 8 years
George W. Bush: 7 years
Abraham Lincoln: 2 years
George Washington: 0 years
Dwight Eisenhower: 0 years

The former president with the most experience, James Buchanan, who had 29 years of service as a representative, senator, ambassador and Secretary of State, is arguably the worst president in the US history. While Abraham Lincoln (with only 2 years experience) and George Washington (with no experience), are considered some of the best. Going by this list, it is difficult to say that more experience is better.
I mean. Haven't we learned in the past 7 years that you really don't need experience (or literacy in Bush’s case) to be president? I don’t think Bush is a bad president because he has little experience compared to other previous presidents… he's just awfully stupid, unwilling to accept different viewpoints and ignorant of reality. It's more than experience what matters. Sure this may be a good point to look at while selecting a candidate, but I truly don’t think it should be the essential reason for choice.

So go for it Barack!

The Day After Father's Day

My Pops...

This is my Dad and I. My father is the most caring, giving, hard working, resilient, loyal, honest, positive, responsible, and intelligent man I know.
This photo was taken back in Dominican Republic circa 1986 during a trip to a beautiful lake called Enriquillo, located on the West side of the country.

Thanks to Dad, I got to travel all around DR when I was a little kid. It was a lot of fun and one of my best childhood memories.
Since advertisers keep telling me that Father's Day is all about getting your Dad gadgets, here is a message for all the great dads out there: Geogreeting

Happy Father's Day, Pops!

People Who Read

It’s funny. None of my friends, until maybe last year when I started posting entries on MySpace blog, have ever thought of me as a writer… especially now that I have an official weblog. Sometimes I actually have a hard time explaining this to everyone I know. So conversations go sort of like this:

Friend A (a loyal reader): Have you ever read Jamie’s site?
Friend B: No. What kind of a site is it? Is she selling stuff over the internet?
Friend A: Haha! No. She has a weblog now.
Friend B: A weblog?! What the hell is a weblog? Oh, wait! Isn’t it one of those like personal diaries or journals? Who would like to read someone’s journal anyway? And what would be the purpose of such a waste of time? I don’t get it!
Friend A: Well, first, she likes writing and I think she does a good job at it. And second, she posts some interesting stuff for us to read. It’s very entertaining.
Friend B: Eh. I still think is a waste of time... a waste of my time.

Now, let me tell you something: if you're reading this blog (or just scanning through it), or any book or blog for that matter, you're a minority… Yes, believe it or not, you’re somewhere on an island alone and (sad to say) you’ll be there for a long time because you're outnumbered: 60% of the people in the world are like Friend B. You know, the world's a place way bigger than the internet, and the types of people who don’t read are more common in the world than the people who do.
Reading is the exchange of ideas and experiences that expands the mind and the imagination. People who read tend to think globally and be more open-minded. People who read are more likely to be more creative and socially active.
Just by having the tendency to walk into a bookstore and flip through books, you're already ahead of the game.
So you should be proud of yourself. And I thank you.

No, I Will Not Fix It

If you work as an IT or you are the geek in the family, now you can politely (or at least more politely than you would in person) tell them all to buzz off. This t-shirt from Think Geek says it all.

Just A Thought... (Reloaded)

A friend sent me this graph today based on a previous post named 'Just A Thought'.
[Thank you my friend! You rock!]

Whoops! Truck Spills Orange Paint On Highway

This morning, near St. Louis Missouri, drivers encountered a wide orange stripe of paint in a very popular highway. It seems that, a truck carrying the paint spilled the road and just kept going without noticing the mess. The stripe has a distance of more than 3 miles.

Highway officials are trying to figure out what to do about the paint. They’re now worried that the paint may be reflective, and could cause problems at night.

The driver, if found, could be held responsible for the cost of the damage.

Women's Traditions and Rights In The Middle East Compared to Westerners

What a coincidence... today, while having lunch with some co-workers, we had a short talk about women having no rights in Saudi Arabia, and now tonight I bumped into an interesting photo I found through Reddit.


Is called ‘The Difference of Love’ and, as you can see, the woman on the right is wearing a burka. The burka is a traditional Muslim coat which symbolizes the extreme limit and suppression of women and female sexuality that exists in some extremist Islamic civilizations. The couple on the right can't do what the ‘western’ couple on the left is doing…It doesn’t matter if they want to. The freedom of expression is denied by the Islamic faith. Like someone said one time: ‘We weren't meant to live in denial of attraction’.
This American Dad clip is very much related to the photo’s message:


Clip Via Accordion Guy

Gibbs Aquada: The Amphibious Vehicle You Can 'Almost' Afford

Photo: Popular Mechanics

Gibbs Aquada is the first amphibious vehicle developed by England’s Gibbs Technologies. It is a refurbished vehicle that runs up to 100 mph on land and about 30 mph on the water. The new Aquada will head to production late next year; is already available overseas for about $200,000, and in 2009 will go on sale in the U.S. for less than $100,000. But buyers beware! Even if Aquada is considered a vehicle, you’ll still need a boat license.
This car reminds me of that submarine car in the Bond film ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’.

Just A Thought...

The Wee House

I consider myself a city girl, and if you were to ask me today if I would move somewhere in the mountains permanently, I would say: "Oh! No way Jose!". But I do know there might be a time in my life, when I am much older, that I probably would be willing to live some place like that… if I had 10 wee houses like this one to fit all my treasures… AND with power and internet access…


The Wee house by Alchemy Architects is a lovely pre-fab modular house with a nice modern design, and according to the architect's website, it starts at a construction cost of about $69.5K… which is not bad considering that the fit and finish are as good as the ones you see on site built custom home.


The size, layout and finishes are completely custom to each client so one can upgrade the home as they wish.
It's a good idea for those days when a little house in the middle of nowhere seems like a perfect escape plan.

Jules Verne's Famous Book Printed In A Very Unique Way

For those of you who have read Jules Verne’s masterpiece Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, here’s a new Italian limited tribute edition of the book, designed by Paolo Orsacchini. The book is printed on waterproof paper and enclosed in a clear pouch filled with real sea water.

Via Core 77