Very very very funny: via DC Earthquake Devastation via jmckinley’s posterous

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Subaru (and Mitsubishi) pisses me off. All the best WRX STi (and EVO) street rally cars are either kept in Japan, in the case of this 2011 WRX STi tS, or shipped all the way to the UK and Europe. Look at this gorgeous beast:

Learn more, thanks to a first drive from Car and Driver magazine:

The STI tS loses the STI’s massive rear wing, instead sporting a discreet lip spoiler. The carbon-fiber roof cuts nine pounds, as does an aluminum hood, and ultra-lightweight wheels with a unique design save another nine apiece. Arai-san points out a strut brace up front, and says that the suspension has been reworked extensively. The Impreza STI tS is only available as a four-door sedan.

The powertrain is unchanged from that in the Japanese-market STI: a 2.0-liter turbocharged flat-four making 304 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque. Those who want an automatic can have one, but they get downgraded to a 296-hp 2.5-liter that makes only 258 lb-ft. Called “A-Line,” the automatic car is significantly cheaper than the manual tS.

How’s this for one sweet okole (Hawaiian for terrific ass):

I have Lost in Translation playing on the TV in the background, recorded off of HBO, I guess, onto DVR.

It really is one of the best movies ever, in my humble estimation.  Sofia Coppola gets a lot of shit, I guess, for being the daughter of Francis Ford, but her talents are profound.  She understands negative space.

She understand the pregnant pause.  She understands ambiance and naturalism.

The most gorgeous moments of Lost are environmental.

That and the willingness and shamelessness of the camera to fetish the impossibly young and ethereal Scarlett Johansson.

Virtually no makeup, a shaggy head of hair, and the pleasantly apropos preppy kit she probably brought with her, un-stylishly, to Japan from Yale, which fit in beautifully, of course, in the school girl-obsessed Tokyo: flat canvas shoes, peacoat, a little girl’s clear plastic brolly.

And, though Sofia is obsessed with Scarlett as a possessed, out-of-context, wild thing in a cultural alien landscape bereft of appropriate levels of appreciation and adoration, she is also obsessed with Bill Murray.

Every crag of his face, every arch of his brow, every flyaway hair on his receding hairline.  She is fascinated with Bill and Scarlett equally — with the sort of emotional detachment proffered by a German nature documentary.

They’re like wild things in a wilderness that is actually a wilderness park.

They’re like two alien life forms contained in what their captors how are good enough manifestations of their natural environment.

But in this Japan, in this particular containment in Tokyo, it is not through luxury or pleasure or even their family that they find the courage to finally venture into alien land and find their comfort and joy and safety in and through each other.

Can you find a home in someone else’s simulacrum?

Can the simulacra become one’s home?

Yes, but only through another.

I love this movie.

In The Daily, there is an op-ed called The Cost of Tourism by Diana McCaulay about how tourism has destroyed Jamaica.  Is this anything new? Jamaica is one of seniors when it comes to having become a tourist trap.  Jamaica and Hawaii are the elder statesmen of tourist exploitation and the defilement of nature.

Can’t put the genie back in the bottle. The horse is out of the barn.  Insert your cliche of choice.

I grew up in Hawaii and this is the same thing. Truth is, tourism is the worst thing for any economy and the worst thing for any ecology. Even eco-tourism opens delicate and sensitive areas to way more traffic — and even considerate traffic is traffic.

OK, but tourism is also like organ transplant. In Hawaii, agriculture gave way to tourism; trade gave way to tourism. Pineapple and cane sugar were industries of the islands — some might say just as exploitative, if not more so.

But once the transplant occurs, not only are you committed to the new organ but there is a whole host of associated new problems.  Call them unintended consequences.  Once you get the new organ, you have to commit to taking all the anti-rejection drugs forever.  Tourism is like that. Yes, it saved your life and the life of your economy in a time of need, but at what cost?  Additionally, tourism is fickle — both in terms of where people go as well as whether they go at all. Maybe it isn’t ‘not Jamaica’, but it can always be ‘not anywhere’ as the 2007/8 crash proved: people weren’t going anywhere, even if they had the money. (It just looks bad).  And, when they were, they were going someplace super-exclusive where nobody would see them, as in ‘not Jamaica’.

Jamaica and the rest of the islands — including Hawaii — around the world have very little hope of reforming unless they pull a Cuba.

Myself? I guess I have never thought of Jamaica as anything but someplace completely ravaged already by tourism and exploitation. A lost cause, in much the same way that many people see Hawaii. In many ways, Jamaica has already been lost to addiction. I doubt the economy could survive the loss of tourism. Hasn’t it already?

Back in the 80s, Hawaii became addicted to Japanese money. When Japan coughed, Hawaii got the plague. When I was growing up, we realized that the Hawaiian islands were forever going to be a service economy — serving tourism and serving the military.

And then there’s the drugs. Hawaii and Jamaica have quite a few things in common:their own native animist cultures and a love of marijuana. But that’s another story for another time – the ravages of the war between drug-producers, drug-buyers, and state & federal law in the context of marijuana being illegal. Oh, what a terrible tale.

Oh, and Diana McCaulay: stop being so bloody nostalgic.  Are you serious?  D’you only want the travelers, and the people who engage with the culture, who engage with the people, who are interested and curious?  And if we American travelers are not up to snuff — if we only want a sunny place with warmth, booze, relaxation, entertainment, some Reggae, and the ocean — then shouldn’t we just stay within our own borders?

Not bloody likely – but guess what?  I guarantee you that that is the best idea anyone has had: spend vacation money at home, in our own economy, putting it into our own businesses!  Now, that’s what I like to hear.  Unfortunately, American travelers won’t even consider Jamaica any more.  The elite 1% that you’re so hungry for has moved on to Cambodia and deep Asia and is hot and bothered for Cuba.  What gentle 1% elite traveler is going to Jamaica any more?

In Hawaii, we called to the 99% of Americans that were left — the Americans who go to Hawaii and Jamaica on package tours, and are exactly like the 99% of Britons who go to Majorca and fight with the 99% of the Germans over sun beds at their all-inclusive package holidays.

You’re not being terribly realistic, Ms McCaulay but I forgive you — as I beg you to forgive me — because I grew up in the paradise known as Hawaii, on Oahu, and I can tell your heart is broken.  I have not been back to Hawaii since 1998, partly because I cannot bear the sort of heartbreak that comes from seeing the reefs I dove on destroyed, or the fish I swam with gone, or the paths to the waterfalls I used to walk with bare feet cursed with bottles and cans.

I can see that your naivete was just the result of the little girl remembering Negril coming out, and that I understand. I am so sorry and my heart breaks for you. The state motto of Hawaii speaks to the land, the defilement of which breaks our heart:

Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono — The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness

I hate to admit it but when it comes to the general health and wealth of the people, one often pushes to the side the land, the other beings, the pride of the native people and culture. I have seen Hawaii nei with loads of tourists from around the world and I have seen the opposite and I prefer the tourism with a caveat that will drive you nuts, Diana. I want a contained tourism in Hawaii.  I want the tourists in Waikiki or on the Kohala Coast or safely contained in the tourist traps of Maui than have them tramping the rest of the land.

I believe that the unintended consequences of eco-tourism and the curious footprints of the 1% traveler — the sort of which you approve — is unbearable.  For it is this traveler who brings his photos and experiences back home and conveys the true beauty of the land to his friends, thereby ruining it for real.  At least in Hawaii we can hide the most beautiful bits from the 99% tourists — it is in the bold 1% that absconds with the true gems and true secrets.

I hate those people.

The following chart is interesting in light of all this talk about how China has ascending to the second largest economy, knocking Japan out of the number two spot. The US is still number one. I thought it would be interesting to see how we in the US rate city-by-city in terms of earning. If I can find a chart that compares personal net earnings country-by-country, I will post that chart in a follow up.

This chart obviously does not include all US cities, since I am pretty sure that Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA, and other cities are doing better than Delhi and Jakarta.

However, we all know that China isn’t a 1st world country and is still a developing economy. We also know that there are still peasants and subsistence farmers — so China is just powerful based on the size of its economy and not the wealth of its people. I wondered.

What people like to bandy around is the per-capita GDP, which is simply, as far as I can tell, the GDP divided by the population, which does not reflect the wealth of the population, just the efficiency of the country… sort of like taking the gross weight of a sports car and dividing it by the peak horsepower of the car, thereby coming up with a power-to-weight ratio.

That’s a great number for a car, since it allows light cars with smaller engines to be able to compete with huge sedans with enormous engines — it sort of flattens the playing field and allows apples and oranges to compete.

However, for people, is it a good number? While I love this city-by-city comparison — as the US only exists in

Berlin is surely the coolest city on earth. Erika La Tour Eiffel (AKA Erika Mauer) was my next-door neighbor for a while in Berlin.  She is an Objectum Sexual and here is her story! (You can watch all of the episodes here):

Don’t let the unique nature of her sexual orientation to turn you off to her.  She’s a badass and have accomplished amazing things in her 37+ years. She is coo, she is creative, and she is unique, for sure! I like her, she’s cool and doing cool things and definitely living her life her way.

Erika “Aya” Eiffel is authentic, amazing, and a world-class Olympic archer and was trained in Japan in the art of the Samurai sword and was actually conferred a world title in Soga-Ryu iai-batto-jutsu, san-dan (3rd level black belt) in Toyama-Ryu iai-batto-jutsu, and san-dan in the Zen Nihon To-Do Renmei:

From Erika “Aya” La Tour Eiffel’s Bio

I always had a fascination for weapons. Strange you say? Strange enough, that it lead me to start martial arts. I wanted to learn to use the Japanese katana. My plight eventually took me to Japan to study with the true masters of Japanese sword fighting. A few years ago my back nearly won the battle but after seven months of rehab, I returned and won a World Title and became the youngest instructor in the art of Soga-Ryu iai-batto-jutsu. I continued my love of the Japanese sword and earned the rank of san-dan (3rd level black belt) in Toyama-Ryu iai-batto-jutsu and also achieved san-dan in the Zen Nihon To-Do Renmei. I know, I know, I need start a webpage just dedicated to my other life as a swordswoman in Japan!

How cool is that?  Amazing!  Well, it doesn’t stop there… Erika “Aya” Eiffel transitioned away from swordsmanship to becoming an Olympic archer using her beloved recurve bow, Lance:

Archer Spotlight on Aya La Brie By Steve Ross

Having only started her archery career four years ago in 1999, Erika “Aya” La Brie had a tremendous year competitively in 2004. She was part of the Women’s Compound Team that took home a gold medal and new world record at the World Target Championships in New York City this past July. At the NAA Nationals, she shot both recurve and compound taking 10th and third place respectively. Aya also shoots the modern Longbow, traditional Japanese bow and is skilled in martial arts. I managed to catch Aya during an archery “holiday” due to a mountain bike accident.

USAA: I heard you recently had a serious mountain bike accident. What happened and will it impact your archery plans for the rest of the outdoor season?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: Well, I prefer to commute on my mountain bike as a form of cross training for my archery and last Wed. was no different. I was crossing a street on the walk signal and a truck came from the outside lane and turned in front of me. He sent me sailing when I tried to veer and brake. I flipped twice and crashed in a heap in the middle of the street. He paused only long enough to see if I was alive and sped off once I sat up.

I ended up with three mashed ribs, elbows, knee and ankle and large scrapes on my back. Fortunately, I always wear a helmet, which cracked. Otherwise, I have no crippling injuries. However, it did put a damper on the IBO Worlds, which I had to fly to the next morning followed by a five-hour drive. I managed to shoot but was in a lot of pain the whole weekend. Since my return, my training has been put on hold for the next few weeks to let my ribs and knee heal. I have never taken more than two weeks off from training and will have to rely on mental imagery until I can shoot again. Mental training helped me earlier this year when I was hospitalized for two weeks. All the experience gained from this year will help put together a good regimen until I’m ready to hit the range again.

USAA: I’m glad you’re ok and will only need a short break. You have had a fantastic year; shooting on the women’s compound team that shot a new world record must have been great.

Erika “Aya” La Brie: “Fantastic year” is more of an understatement to describe the year I’ve had! I started archery with recurve in 1999 and shot for one year before an injury forced me to shoot with a release if I wanted to continue shooting. So I picked up compound and shot for a year until last year when my hand healed and I could shoot fingers again. I switched back to recurve and made the U.S. World Field Team and alternate for the World Indoor Team. However, after shooting the Vegas Shoot this year with compound and recurve I decided I wanted to shoot both bows for NAA ranking. I had already decided I would shoot both bows at the Target Nationals, so I needed to divvy out the USAT events between both to meet the requirements. Indoor Nationals was the first step for my compound and decided the AZ Cup would be the second. The rest of the season would be recurve. Famous last words…

USAA: Tell me about shooting at the World Target event; do you treat it any different than just a normal FITA event?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: I was still in a dream-like state when I arrived in New York after making the U.S. Compound Team. I never ever imagined I would win the FITA and OR at the Arizona Cup, Texas Shootout and Gold Cup! Now I was standing on the shooting line at the World Target Championships!

All my FITA’s up to that point, I had trained myself not to fear the consequences of my shooting because I shot only for me. If I shot poorly, surely I would not shrivel up and die. Now for the first time I felt the weight of being on a team and representing the USA. My teammates were all experienced veterans and after having some difficulties on the first day of the FITA, I was afraid I would not be permitted to shoot the team round as the coach and other members questioned my experience. I pushed myself even harder and achieved several personal bests in the FITA and the matches. Now I felt that I had to prove myself to my team and to my country. To my greatest relief, the coach chose me to be the starting shooter in the team round. Since I was a rookie and had no expectations other than to shoot my best, I feel very blessed that I share a world record and have a gold medal.

USAA: Did you do any special training?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: Two weeks prior to the World Target, I moved to the Archery International Training Center in Carbondale, Ill. I worked on my backup bow and practiced shooting matches and having to deal with equipment failure etc. Good thing because I had to use my backup bow for one of the team matches. But not all my training was for the Worlds. I also had to train for the ESPN Great Outdoor Games, which was held just prior to the worlds. The Games required a speed setup and also a considerably faster shooting style than I use for target.

USAA: I don’t know of many archers who in the matter of just a few years are competing at the level you are. Do you credit some of this to your background in martial arts?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: I have made two world teams in four years with two different bows. I guess it is not common, but I have always felt my archery was a continuation of the martial arts I started many years prior to picking up a bow and arrow.

USAA: From what I understand you were a serious student of Japanese swordsmanship and Kyudo (Japanese archery). Can you describe this training?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: When I started martial arts, I quickly realized that contact martial arts was not a field I should explore if I wanted to preserve my kneecaps. So it seemed reasonable that I should fall in love with weapon’s work. The Japanese sword became my top choice from an arsenal of amazing traditional weapons. Along with training to draw, block and cut, I learned the value of becoming “one with your weapon.” This approach to fighting is where I found the most valuable tool for the mental game I currently use. Being so in tune with my katana definitely facilitated my way to winning the World Cup seven years ago. The katana was not a choice weapon for women. The training was rigorous and dangerous as we used live blades and actually cut in practice. Ask me how dangerous someday!

When I started Kyudo, I found myself getting very frustrated because of a handicap in my right shoulder. Regardless of how much I practiced, my shoulder refused to relinquish the flexibility I needed for certain motions in the shooting sequence. I shot four hours every day on a rooftop range at a Shinto shrine in Kamakura with my Japanese bow (yumi). Six months later I beat my entire school at a dojo tourney. I also was the first female non-Japanese to be inducted into the Ogasawara School of Mounted Archery. However, I knew that the beauty that made Kyudo an art would never be found with the imperfections in my form. I never even cared if I hit the target. I only wanted to shoot with beautiful style and form. I most definitely credit my training in martial arts to my advancement in archery. My bow is NOT equipment but an extension of my own being, just as my katana and my yumi were. My form, also unorthodox in many ways, is a style of my own and one that I am committed to.

USAA: You shoot Olympic style recurve, FITA compound, and various traditional bows. As for tournaments, you participate in NAA, 3-D, FITA and NFAA. Am I missing anything?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: I am still new to 3-D but have competed in a couple ASA and IBO tournaments each. I would like to shoot more 3-D but most are on the other side of the Mississippi. Since moving to Colorado, I have enjoyed shooting in CSAA (Colorado State Archery Association) tournaments and have broken nine state records since last December with all three bows. I am also new to the NFAA this year and was surprised to find a whole different organization with a different approach to target and field shooting as compared to the NAA.

USAA: Do you find it difficult switching between styles?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: This is the most frequently asked question. I learned recurve from a coach in Japan, but I taught myself to shoot compound and recently, modern longbow. Strange enough, my styles are so different from each other that I do not find it hard to switch, even in the same tournament and on occasion, the same shooting line. I find it a challenge to shoot all three bows at the same event, kind of like an archery triathlon.

USAA: Do you have a personal coach?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: When I started recurve archery in April of 1999, I had a wonderful coach for six months: Tastuo Nobori. He was my only coach and was very strict about mental and physical conditioning. But the foundations that he laid, I still use today. I’ve never had a compound coach. I just wanted to continue shooting so badly that I figured out how by applying what I learned with recurve to compound.

USAA:What is your training schedule like?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: I try to shoot four hours every day with focus on repetition of my shot sequence. At the end of training I usually do stamina exercises with my bow followed by a short run. I also cross-train by riding 30-50 miles or more a week on my mountain bike. I also jog 5 miles/run, a couple times per week. Every night just before bed I take a hot shower and stretch for 20 min. NO exceptions! I also do a lot of visual training using former pressure situations as the model.

USAA: Would you like to mention anyone in particular for giving you support this year?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: I never dreamed I would have the support that I do in archery. My greatest being from the Lord above. My sponsors are TechnoHunt, Doinker, Sure-Loc, Golden Key Futura, Carter and Specialty Archery. I would like to thank Hoyt USA for making great compound and recurve bows.

USAA: What are your compound and recurve setups?

Compound: 60# Hoyt UltraTec XT3000 Cam 1½, Easton X-10 500 Spin Wings, SureLoc Supreme, Specialty Super Scope 6X, Doinker² Stabilizer,

Recurve: 44# Hoyt Avalon+ and FX Limbs, Easton ACE 570, SureLoc FITA Extreme

She is also on the 2009 National Team for Archery, Recurve Bow:

The 2009 Senior USAT Team includes:

Recurve

Men       Women

Dan Schuller – Mercer, PA   Karen Scavotto – Enfield, CT

Joe McGlyn – Floral Park, NY  Erin Mickelberry – Bothell, WA

Jason McKittrick – Holton, IN  Stephanie Miller – Naperville, IL

Dakota Sinclair – Ridgecrest, CA  Lori Cieslinski – Howell, MI

Ted Holland – Westminster, CO  Kendra Harvey – Rio Rancho, NM

Jake Kaminski – Edgewater, FL  Erika “Aya” Eiffel – Suisun, CA

Timm Hines – Kent, WA   Amanda Nichols – Cheyenne, WY

Tyler Domenech – Holtwood, PA  *Jennifer Nichols – Cheyenne, WY

*Vic Wunderle – Mason City, IL  *Khatuna Lorig – Los Angeles, CA

Here are some more newspaper articles you can check out:

Woman with objects fetish marries Eiffel Tower

Erika La Tour Eiffel, 37, a former soldier who lives in San Francisco, has been in love with objects before. Her first infatuation was with Lance, a bow that helped her to become a world-class archer, she is fond of the Berlin Wall and she claims to have a physical relationship with a piece of fence she keeps in her bedroom.

But it is the Eiffel Tower she has pledged to love, honour and obey in an intimate ceremony attended by a handful of friends.

She has changed her name legally to reflect the bond.

Before returning to Paris for her first wedding anniversary, Mrs La Tour Eiffel visits the Berlin Wall, where her affection for what many Germans see as a symbol of repression leads to an uncomfortable encounter with a member of the staff at the Checkpoint Charlie museum.

She explained that she feels an affinity with the wall: “I am the Berlin Wall. Hate me, try to break me apart, but I will still be here, standing.”

‘I married the Eiffel Tower’

Imagine a world in which people seem hostile while inanimate objects appear friendly – even affectionate. Imagine dreading the touch of another human but longing for a passionate encounter with a large public structure. This is the strange world of the “objectum sexual”– a group of people, mainly women, whose intimate lives revolve around objects with which they say they share romantic and sexual love.

As a documentary film-maker passionate about exploring psychological aspects of human nature, I have made films about bigamists, domestic violence and co-dependent anorexic twins. Modern society is a never-ending source of these stories. It is still exceptional for a father to lock up his daughter for 24 years in a cellar, but scratch the surface and it seems that good personal relationships are rare. To fill their emotional needs, people are increasingly turning to a variety of substitutes: from internet virtual reality and food to… well, objects.

On first meeting, Erika La Tour Eiffel appears extraordinarily ordinary. An ex-US Army soldier, the 36-year-old lives in San Francisco. She is also a former world champion in archery – propelled to success, she believes, by her love for Lance, a bow. She now claims to be married to the Eiffel Tower, following a ceremony with friends last year in Paris, at which she promised eternal love to the iron monument and changed her name legally to reflect the bond. “There is a huge problem with being in love with a public object,” she says sadly. “The issue of intimacy – or rather lack of it – is forever present.”

She is currently married to the Berlin Mauer, which is why her name has changed to Erika Mauer.

One thing that I am not is touchy about the fact that I love what I love. And I love Moleskine notebooks.  And I love manual typewriters, especially the Hermes 3000, and I love quite a lot of other like-minded stuff.  Well, Moleskine notebooks are #122 in the list of Stuff While People Like. Sad but true.

This particular type of notebook is very expensive and was quite popular with writers and artists in the olden days.  Needless to say, these are two properties that are highly coveted in the white community.   In fact, it’s a good rule of thumb to know that white people like anything that old writers and artists liked:  typewriters, journals, suicide, heroin, and trains are just a few examples.

Let’s see what else I like that white people like — the bold ones I feel especially strong about:

• #122 Moleskine Notebooks
• #120 Taking a Year Off
• #119 Sea Salt
• #115 Promising to Learn a New Language
• #108 Appearing to Enjoy Classical Music
• #107 Self Aware Hip Hop References
• #106 Facebook
• #99 Grammar
• #98 The Ivy League
• #92 Book Deals
• #90 Dinner Parties
• #88 Having Gay Friends
• #81 Graduate School
  
• #80 The Idea of Soccer
• #79 Modern Furniture
• #78 Multilingual Children
• #77 Musical Comedy
• #73 Gentrification
• #72 Study Abroad
• #70 Difficult Breakups
• #61 Bicycles
• #58 Japan
• #57 Juno
• #56 Lawyers
• #55 Apologies
• #54 Kitchen Gadgets
• #53 Dogs
• #52 Sarah Silverman
• #51 Living by the Water
• #50 Irony
• #49 Vintage
• #48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops
• #47 Arts Degrees
• #46 The Sunday New York Times
• #45 Asian Fusion Food
• #44 Public Radio
• #43 Plays
• #42 Sushi
• #39 Netflix
• #38 Arrested Development
• #37 Renovations
• #36 Breakfast Places
• #35 The Daily Show/Colbert Report
• #34 Architecture
• #25 David Sedaris
• #24 Wine
• #23 Microbreweries
• #21 Writers Workshops
• #20 Being an expert on YOUR culture
• #19 Traveling
• #18 Awareness
• #16 Gifted Children
• #14 Having Black Friends
• #13 Tea
• #8 Barack Obama
• #7 Diversity
• #6 Organic Food
• #5 Farmer’s Markets
• #3 Film Festivals
• #2 Religions their parents don’t belong to
• #1 Coffee

Holy fuck, I am pretty darn white!

I don’t know where you have been, but if you’re not touching the Life Changing Box, you’re missing out on all sorts of opportunities to win killer televisions, rocking trips to Japan and New York, lots and lots of consumer electronics and prizes valued from $400-$14,000. Add the Life Changing Box game to your Facebook profile and then touch the Life Changing Box up to 24-times-a-day! That’s it!  Oh, and check out the Life Changing Box Group and Life Changing Box Page. Here’s our winners so far — there are 8 more boxes that are still closed and will be opening soon!

Congratulations to Christian Jolicoeur of Farmington Senior High School who has won our second prize, a 52″ Full HD LCD Sharp Aquos TV!

Congratulations to Marcus Baskerville of Sacramento, California, who has won our first prize, a 32″ Full HD LCD Sharp Aquos TV!

One great thing about owning a Social Media PR firm is that I get to do cool stuff. Another great thing is that I can bogart some of the stuff. Well, I am number-one box of the Life Changing Box, which you can see over on my Facebook Profile! (Please feel free to add me) I will be holding onto the box for a full eight hours today, so feel free to “touch my box.” You know you want to — and you don’t have to go “through” me — feel free to just join up yourself directly! I have a feeling that you can add the app to your Facebook Pages as well — check it out! Long story short:

The game launched at 10AM today, June 12th. Prizes include 52″ flat screen televisions, exclusive tickets to sporting events, international trips, home theater systems — 20 prizes in all — with values ranging from $400 to $14,000. There are two of everything so everyone who wins a prize wins its twin for the person who invited him or her. Lowe’s client doesn’t want to be revealed just yet, so please plug some words into the query box on the teaser site, LifeChangingBox.com.

Please enjoy this handy widget you can come back to again and again to watch the current course of the 10 boxes as they move around, awaiting to be touched by you!

Life Changing Box Facebook Game Launches!

• The promise of the extraordinary
• The surprise of something new
• The power to bring change
• It all starts here!
  • The Box: www.lifechangingbox.com
  • The Game: apps.facebook.com/lifechangingbox

The Life Changing Box game is a Facebook application believed to be the first of its kind…A contest with BIG PRIZES – many worth thousands of dollars!

Quick Links: News Facts | About Life Changing Box Facebook App | Screen Captures | About LifeChangingBox.com | About Lowe Worldwide | About Abraham Harrison | Contacts | Social Media | Tags

News Facts

• Life Changing Box the game is an application for Facebook which resembles Hot Potato in reverse. In our case, the “potato” is a box and inside each box is a prize. The goal of the game is to be in possession of the box when it opens, thus winning the prize. Part of the fun of Facebook is the option to invite your friends to install an application you enjoy. We encourage you to do so with a creative twist. If someone you invited into the game wins a prize, you win the exact same prize!
• There are 10 boxes total in the game. The currency the game uses to allow players to take possession of the box is called a “Touch”. Players get 24 “Touches” per day. Each “Touch” enters the player into a Round. At the beginning of each Round, the box will randomly jump to one of the players that entered that Round. A Round lasts between 30 minutes and 8 hours, randomly decided by the application. If the box didn’t open that Round, a new Round will begin and everyone must “Touch” the box again to participate.
• Since there are 10 boxes, 24 Touches, and up to 48 rounds per day, players will have to strategize their Touches in order to maximize their chance to win. This creates engaging and addictive play
• Click here to go to the Life Changing Box Facebook application page

About Life Changing Box Facebook App

LCB is a lottery-style game based around 10 boxes that open to give prizes to whomever is in possession of them.

Enter to Win

To get possession of a box you go to its application page and “touch” the box. Whoever touches the box first is in possession of it. Email and other contact info must be entered in case you win. The pic and name of the holder appears next to the box on the app page.

Gameplay

The game play is based around timed rounds where a box either opens to reveal a prize or jumps to another player’s page.

If you have touched the box you are in for that timed round only.

If someone else is in possession of the box for that round, your touch means that you are eligible to get the box only if it doesn’t reveal a prize on that round.

Then you are in a pool of people that the box will randomly jump to.

Strategy

All 10 boxes appear at the same time but they open sequentially over a four-week period. Nobody knows when they open, or how many rounds of “touching” there will be until they do so you get a limited number of “touches” per box to use at your discretion. You choose if you want to sit out a round and save your touches. If someone else wins and you have touches, you can roll them over into another game. If you invite a friend to the application and they win, you win a duplicate prize.

• There are 10 boxes total in the game
• To gain possession of a box, users use a currency called a Touch
• All players get 24 “Touches” per day
• Each Touch enters the player into a Round
• At the beginning of each Round, the box will randomly jump to one of the players who entered that Round
• The player given the box holds it for the entirety of the Round, which lasts between 30 minutes and 8 hours, randomly decided by the application
• If the box doesn’t open in a Round for the player, a new Round will begin and everyone must Touch the box again to participate
• 20 prizes will be awarded with values ranging from $400 to $14,000
• If you invite a friend to the application and they win, you win a duplicate prize
• Click here for the rules and regulations

Screen Captures

(click on thumbnail to view full-sized image)

About LifeChangingBox.com

• The Life Changing Box is part of a marketing strategy developed to promote a new campaign from Lowe New York. The client sponsoring the application will be revealed as the game progresses
• LifeChangingBox.com is a mysterious website designed to intrigue users and let them guess what is inside this “Life Changing Box.” This first of its kind contest will run for one month starting on June 12th, 2008
• Shhhhh! Try these words in the search bar (but don’t tell anyone!):
  japan, takumi, komayama, baseball, mlb, sports, world series, home run, diamond, catch, hit, bat, swing, glove, catcher, short-stop, hitter, batter, grand slam, bases, loaded bases, stadium, major league, pro, professional, pastime, Pennant, uniform, outfield, out, fly ball, foul, umpire, fans, seats, tickets, dugout, couch, run, score, safe, call, official, play, slide, signal, contract, stealing, cleats, walk, pop-up, heckler, fanatic, stats, cards, card, mitt, bullpen, inning, infield, color, crystal, HDTV, light, molecules, contrast, hertz, refresh rate, pixels, resolution, high def, high definition, home theater, remote control, display, flatscreen, big screen, picture, image, clarity, brilliance, transmit, transmission, spectrum, 108 inch, portal, window, viewing, friendly, sun, solar panel, energy, efficiency, carbon footprint, ecosystem, ecology, save the environment, nature, natural, earth, planet, light, air, water, animals, birds, clean, renewable, grid, power, future, tomorrow, responsible, generate, generation, sustainable, mother earth, habitat, species, food chain, change, harmony, low emissions, summer, spring, kitten, life, movies, film, action, comedy, romance, chick flick, hollywood, horror, terror, stars, celebrity, sitcom, documentary, channel, surfing, classics, script, dialogue, cinema, art, expression, acting, show, shows, commercials, soundtrack, theater, news, cartoons, prime time, ratings, re-runs, director, genre, audience, flick, blockbuster, live, on air, season, video game, theater, game, calculator, pencil, mechanical pencil, japanese, scientist, factory, technician, engineer, invention, inventor, innovator, innovation, leader, first, company, brand, pioneer, legacy, technology, electronic, electronics, advancement, vision

About Lowe Worldwide

Lowe Worldwide is an interconnected global community of marketing agencies. Its client roster includes Unilever, Saab, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle and Stella Artois. The agency is founded on the belief that the greatest service it can render its clients is High Value Ideas coupled with Problem Biased Thinking. Lowe is a member of Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG), one of the world’s leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies.

Lowe New York is one of the cornerstones of Lowe Worldwide with a client roster including Milk, Perdue, XM, Sharp and more. www.loweny.com

About Abraham Harrison LLC

Abraham Harrison understands that the Internet is not just a different advertising medium, it is a different culture with unique customs and protocol. Knowing this culture allows us to translate your unique company message to relevant online communities. This approach drives business your way—our primary and sincere goal. www.ahllc.eu

Contacts For Press Inquiries

Sal Taibi
President, Lowe New York
sal.taibi@loweworldwide.com
(212) 605 8750

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Tags

TV, electronics, travel, environment, Japan, baseball, solar, LCD, flat screens, consumer electronics, game, Facebook app, Facebook, Life Changing Box, lifechangingbox.com, Facebook Application, game, hot potato, musical chairs

Here’s the official Press Release from Lowe Worldwide:

Lowe Launches First-of-its-Kind Facebook(R) Application
12/06/2008 – 13:00

Today Lowe Worldwide announces the launch of an industry-leading application on Facebook Platform called The Life Changing Box. The application, developed by Lowe New York for one of the agency’s global clients, is an interactive game giving users a chance to win prizes, some of which are worth thousands of dollars.

The Life Changing Box is part of a marketing strategy developed to promote a new campaign from Lowe New York. The client sponsoring the application will be revealed as the game progresses.

The application on Facebook Platform resembles the classic game Hot Potato, only in reverse. Facebook users who install the game can take possession of a box from another player, which is then passed around to other friends who have installed the The Life Changing Box application. The goal is to be in possession of the box when it opens, thus winning the prize it holds inside.

There are 10 boxes total in the game. To gain possession of a box, users use a currency called a Touch. All players get 24 “Touches” per day. Each Touch enters the player into a Round. At the beginning of each Round, the box will randomly jump to one of the players who entered that Round. The player given the box holds it for the entirety of the Round, which lasts between 30 minutes and 8 hours, randomly decided by the application. If the box doesn’t open in a Round for the player, a new Round will begin and everyone must Touch the box again to participate. 20 prizes will be awarded with values ranging from $400 to $14,000.

“We are excited about this groundbreaking contest we are bringing to Facebook Platform. It is a unique offering that will give users the chance to win actual, tangible, valuable prizes rather than just the virtual trinkets usually found on Facebook,” commented Mark Wnek, Chairman of Lowe New York. “What is really great about this program is that if someone invites a friend to play the game, and their friend wins a prize – they win a duplicate prize. This will add significantly to the viral nature of this program while increasing the level of both awareness and engagement with lifechangingbox.com.”

Since there are 10 boxes, 24 Touches, and up to 48 rounds per day, players will have to strategize their Touches in order to maximize their chance to win. This creates engaging and addictive play. The game will last through July 14, 2008, to coincide with the full launch of lifechangingbox.com.

About Lowe

Lowe Worldwide is an interconnected global community of marketing agencies. Its client roster includes Unilever, Saab, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle and Stella Artois. The agency is founded on the belief that the greatest service it can render its clients is High Value Ideas coupled with Problem Biased Thinking. Lowe is a member of Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG), one of the world’s leading organizations of advertising agencies and marketing services companies. Lowe New York is one of the cornerstones of Lowe Worldwide with a client roster including Milk, Perdue, XM, Sharp and more. www.loweny.com

Lowe New York
Sal Taibi, 212-605-8750
President

Lisa Hayes popped me an article by Denis Hayes, a man who suspiciously seems related to Lisa, “Fantastic new article by Denis Hayes about energy policy — please feel free to share far and wide!” Well, I am the biggest fan of Lisa and so here we go — my attempt to share this article a wee little further and wider: Climate Solutions: Charting a Bold Course A cap-and-trade system is not the answer, according to a leading alternative-energy advocate. To really tackle climate change, the U.S. must revolutionize its entire energy strategy.

Opinion: Climate Solutions: Charting a Bold Course

A cap-and-trade system is not the answer, according to a leading alternative-energy advocate. To really tackle climate change, the U.S. must revolutionize its entire energy strategy.

by Denis Hayes

More than 30 years ago, President Jimmy Carter called for a daring transition to a new energy future, an effort he likened to “the moral equivalent of war.” But the hard truth is that the United States is in far worse shape in the energy realm today than it was when Carter left office.

Since 1981, annual greenhouse gas emissions have grown from 4.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide to 5.9 billion metric tons. America imported 1.6 billion barrels of oil in 1981; by 2007 imports had ballooned to 3.7 billion barrels. Today, oil prices have surged past $130 per barrel, and the best evidence suggests that total global oil production is at or nearing its peak. Under President Carter, America dominated the world in renewable energy research, development, and commercialization, but in the ensuing decades our federal government has thrown away that lead.

With the economy now staggering from its addiction to oil, and with evidence of global warming having persuaded all but the knuckle-draggers, is America at last getting serious about freeing itself from carbon fuels?

Actually, no. Most environmentally sensitive politicians and even many national green groups are remarkably blithe that the Lieberman-Warner bill — a 500-page cap-and-trade law filled with more holes than a Madonna dance outfit — will take us there.

The tragedy is that we still have a chance to solve the global warming crisis, but we are blowing it by chasing false hopes in the form of an inadequate cap-and-trade bill.

Acting fast enough and on a large enough scale to avoid unthinkable climate consequences will require a more ambitious effort than the New Deal, the Interstate Highway System, and the Manhattan Project, all rolled into one. Serious efforts to stabilize the world’s climate will have dramatic consequences for industry, transportation, architecture, agriculture, leisure, and consumerism, and so, many of these changes will be fought tooth and nail — as was evident last week when Republican Senators attacked and derailed the Lieberman-Warner bill, forcing Democratic leaders to place the initiative on hold until a new president takes office.

The truth is that all our largest current energy sources will need to be replaced by new sources — over the ferocious opposition of the powerful companies that market them.

The story of how we got into this crunch is a tale of political opportunism and shortsightedness. For had America continued on the course we’d embarked upon in the mid-1970s, the task ahead would now be much less expensive, much less painful, and much more certain of success.

In 1979, after the Arab oil embargo, Carter announced that by the year 2000 America was to get at least one-fifth of all its energy from renewable sources — mainly solar energy, wind, and biofuels. The Solar Energy Research Institute, which I then served as director, was at the heart of this effort. Leading a team of scientists and analysts drawn from national labs and major universities, SERI prepared the detailed technical and policy blueprint to meet or surpass the 20 percent goal.

In 1981, halfway through his first year in office, President Ronald Reagan abandoned the 20 percent goal, reduced SERI’s $125 million budget by $100 million, and installed a dentist named Jim Edwards as Secretary of Energy. To demonstrate his contempt for the notion of alternative energy, Reagan ordered the solar water heaters ripped off the White House roof. We’ve never recovered.

The successive administrations of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, bobbing along on a sea of cheap oil, did little to shift America’s economy to renewable energy sources. And for the past seven years, the United States has been led by a president who projects such a breathtaking marriage of arrogance and incompetence that his refusal to even acknowledge the reality of climate change has not generally been considered one of his more glaring flaws.

As climate science has grown increasingly clear, many corporate CEOs have become convinced that global warming has a human signature. The brightest CEOs of Fortune 100 companies realized that once the Democrats took back control of Congress, it would be only a matter of time before climate legislation was enacted. The next president, whoever it is, will demand action. These CEOs all wanted to be at the table — in Washington, if you aren’t at the table, you’re likely to wind up on the menu.

Environmental groups soon found themselves being courted by business leaders who recognized that the climate threat would require a serious national response. They formed the U.S. Climate Action Partnership and other alliances that offered benefits for environmentalists but also entailed subtle costs. The most obvious benefit was that environmental leaders are taken more seriously on Capitol Hill when they arrive linking arms with the CEOs of General Electric, Caterpillar, DuPont, and General Motors.

The cost was the natural downside of consensus building: Policies cannot significantly harm the core interests of any of the participants. When the participants include the world’s largest automobile company, the largest manufacturer of jet engines, the largest maker of mining equipment for coal and bituminous sands, etc., this is not an insignificant cost.

What emerged from this unexpected alliance was a consensus that the centerpiece of climate policy should be a cap on CO₂, generally applied as close to the point of emission as realistically possible. Additionally, there was widespread agreement that (a) between 25 percent and 80 percent of all emissions permits should be given away to major emitters for a transitional period; (b) the law should provide ample “offsets” available for purchase by companies failing to meet reduction targets; and (c) “safety valves” should permit relaxed enforcement in case greenhouse gas reductions cause temporary economic hardship.

Unfortunately, these are genuinely terrible ideas. They are not bad because they lack ambition; rather, they are bad because they move boldly in the wrong direction. They don’t merely ignore the way that the global economy responds to real-world policies; they ignore everything we have learned about human nature since Rousseau’s belief in humanity’s innate goodness crashed on the shoals of 18th-century reality.

So what should a serious energy and climate policy look like?

Carbon Must be Capped Where It Enters the Economy, Not Where It Leaves It

The backbone of any comprehensive policy to limit greenhouse gas emissions must cap carbon at the places — coal mines, oil fields, pipelines, ports — where it enters the economy. Instead, at the behest of corporate behemoths and their green enablers, our political leaders are focusing most of their attention on smokestacks, and when that is obviously impossible (e.g. with gasoline or propane) on refiners or distributors. They want to cap CO₂ where it enters the atmosphere — an approach that is guaranteed to fail because there are far too many point sources.

Europe has already attempted a cap-and-trade program, and it belly-flopped. Senators Warner and Lieberman, who should be applauded for at least acknowledging that global warming is a problem, failed to absorb some important lessons from Europe, including:

• The most important part of cap-and-trade is the “cap.” Any successful law must place an impermeable lid on the amount of carbon that enters the atmosphere. To whatever extent additional trees or windmills are used to “offset” additional carbon-based fuels, the exercise is self-defeating.
• In contrast to regulating a sea of smokestacks, the best course is to require carbon permits at the 2,000 sources where carbon enters the economy. It would be simple, straightforward, and impossible to “game.” It is vastly more effective than trying to police carbon dioxide wherever carbon is burned. In setting the number of carbon permits issued — and thus determining how much coal, oil, and gas can enter the economy — the government would be setting an absolute, easily-enforced cap on emissions.
• All carbon permits should be auctioned — not given away. In Europe, permits were given away to large carbon users to ease their transition to the new regime. Major polluters made cheap improvements, lowered their emissions, and sold their unneeded permits. This gave windfalls to the worst polluters, penalized companies that had already invested in efficient new factories and renewable energy, and helped guarantee that Europe would miss its Kyoto targets.Auctioning 100 percent of all carbon permits is fair and transparent; it eliminates backroom special-interest pleadings. By reducing the number of permits auctioned each year, the government can guarantee that its emissions targets are met.

Use Auction Revenues Intelligently

The most vital use for most of the revenues would be to serve such climate-related public purposes as building the infrastructure needed for a national “smart grid” for electricity and for high-speed electrified railroads, assuring large federal markets for the sunrise industries of the post-carbon economy, and finding ways to accelerate the solution of the climate problem through huge boosts in federal support for basic research. However, a portion of the revenues should compensate for the regressive nature of what is effectively a carbon tax, perhaps by using them to meet the shortfalls facing Medicare and Social Security and helping to underwrite training for green-collar jobs.

Promote Renewable Energy

Government has a long tradition of helping sunrise industries supplant their well-entrenched predecessors. Canals were encouraged as more efficient than horses. Railroads were viewed as a way to open the west. The interstate highway system replaced many of the functions performed by railroads.

Some renewable energy sources would benefit greatly from a focused, long-term federal commitment to R&D. Others are already poised to ride learning curves to lower prices through economies of mass production — but require guaranteed markets to elicit the necessary investment. (Computer chips went from being high-priced luxuries to cheap-as-dirt commodities only because the Air Force and NASA bought them in bulk until their prices fell to a level where the private market took over.)

The federal government should be buying photovoltaic devices in bulk and installing them on all federal buildings, military bases, and the backs of billboards, and pouring the power into the grid. The goal should be to grow the market in a rapid yet predictable way linked to constantly lower prices. The start-and-stop unpredictability of renewable energy tax credits over the last 30 years has severely undermined the wind and solar industries, and placed American companies at a huge disadvantage with foreign competitors. As recently as 1998, America was the world’s largest manufacturer of solar photovoltaics — a technology that was invented here. But Japan, with a long-term strategy, sped past the U.S. the following year. A few years later, led by Germany, much of Europe implemented tariffs that vaulted the solar field into hyperdrive. If current trends continue, annual global photovoltaic production by 2011 will be a stunning 30 gigawatts, of which the U.S. will contribute perhaps 4 percent.

Construct a Resilient Nationwide Smart Grid to Take Power from Anywhere to Anywhere

The arguments for a national smart grid are legion; the arguments against it don’t hold water. Many carbon-neutral renewable energy sources are intermittent or diurnal, and the best locations both for sources (sunlight, wind, geothermal) and for storage are widely dispersed. We need to be able to knit the nation together. Only the government can assemble the corridor rights to make such a development possible.

Get Serious about Automobile Mileage

In World War II — without Representative John Dingell Jr. to protect it from reality — Detroit was ordered to stop making cars and start making tanks. Today, Detroit needs to be ordered to stop making civilian tanks and start making cars. Manufacturers should be free to use any technology that can get 50 mpg by 2020 and 100 mpg by 2030. The world cannot afford yet another abysmal failure by the once-proud American automobile industry.

Build High-Speed Electrified Railways for Our Busiest Corridors

The answer to every intercity travel need is not an airplane or a car. America is the only industrial power on earth without high-speed electrified rail — a super-efficient mode of intercity travel that can be carbon-free. I don’t know a single American who has traveled on the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka who hasn’t wondered, “Why can’t we do that from Boston to Washington? From San Francisco to LA?” It would require the same sort of government effort that built the interstate highway system — or, for that matter, the original railroads.

Set Strong Building Energy Performance Standards

We need to make all new buildings carbon-neutral by 2030, requiring vast increases in efficiency and walls and roofs that harvest energy directly from sunlight. The astonishing rate at which voluntary LEED standards have swept across the country suggests a deep hunger on the part of smart architects and builders for structures that will make sense throughout their 50-year lifetimes. We need to build on that momentum to create a new generation of energy efficient “living buildings.”

Train the Labor Force

Reversing climate change has an enormous potential to put America back to work. The greatest employment opportunities are for those who will transport and install solar modules, build and maintain wind farms, construct and operate the high-speed rail system and the “smart grid.” Programs, mostly at community colleges, to teach these new skills need to increase 100-fold, and a special emphasis should be placed on retraining the “losers” in the energy transitions — such as workers in coal mines and coal-fired power plants, etc. — and inner-city poor who have seen their job prospects disappear in the globalized economy.

The Time is Now

Following decades of political denial of climate science, America now lags far behind Europe and Japan in creating most of the basic building blocks for a carbon-neutral era. In several core renewable energy technologies, we have already been passed by China.

It’s not too late to get back in the game. But the global industry is rapidly expanding and maturing, and it has supportive government policies in Germany, Japan, the Nordic states, the Netherlands, South Korea, and China.

America has unparalleled scientific and engineering excellence, formidable financial muscle, bountiful natural resources, a democratic political system, and an entrepreneurial culture well-suited to helping to lead the world into a prosperous, carbon-neutral era. But we have been dragging our heels, as if this were a problem for our children to fix.

Global warming is our problem, and it’s time to get serious about solving it.