Category Archives: Climate Change

The 'Gap' Delusion

Hold on to your seats, the rollercoaster is about to rocket skyward...definitely maybe?

The image above illustrates the current $14 Trillion debt pile being faced by the US administration. Some commentators are describing this as the biggest crisis in US history and given the influence the US has on the rest of the world, we can be sure the challenge and consequences will not be confined to within its shores alone.

To me, this chart could be seen equally as depicting the growth and reality checks resulting from the impact of the web and the world moving from a sporadically connected economy to one that is totally wired and always-on.

Hmmm – an interesting choice of words there I think… Continue reading →

iCar = Efficient + Intelligent + Fun

When I first started my current role in the automotive industry last year, I met with a bunch of publishers to understand more about the industry and how the media were covering it. Towards the top of the list was Future Publishing with titles like Fast Bikes, Fast Car and Redline and well known car mod events such as TRAX, JapFest and FordFair.

Fast forward 12 months and Future has just launched Issue One of iCar described as ‘The Definitive Guide to More Efficient Motoring’ and with a tagline of Efficient, Intelligent, Fun.

Now, there are posts on this blog that make it clear I like ‘fast’ and I like ‘fun’ however, having attended a few of these car mod events in the last year, I have to be brutally honest and say that the words ‘Efficient’ and ‘Intelligent’ would be pretty low down the list of adjectives I’d associate with them. Therefore, reading the manifesto of the iCar editorial team is like taking a breath of fresh (exhaust fume free) air… Continue reading →

Something well worth boasting about…

In contrast to my previous post about the self-congratulatory double page spread McDonalds had in The Times the other day, IBM took a more modest single page today to publicise their 100th anniversary.

As readers of my often cynical and sceptical blog posts about the murky activities of corporate organisations may know, I have deep respect and a bit of a soft spot for ‘Big Blue’. To say that it is an organisation with substance and authenticity is an understatement and just those few highlights of achievements in the advert below reinforce that view.

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The 100 Icons of Progress can be read more easily and in its entirety here. Here are my top ten from an organisation that really has changed the world for the better… Continue reading →

This has 'guilt' written all over it…

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This gem of corporate advertising stood out to me from the pages of The Times yesterday. (Click for a larger image if you are remotely interested in reading it for yourself or find the longer online version here…)

It’s basically McDonalds, a corporation that has been merrily polluting our bodies and the environment for many decades, proclaiming their health giving properties and ‘eco’ credentials.

While I’m sure they have enough evidence of their claims to avoid action by the Advertising Standards Authority (a pretty toothless body if ever there was one) the way I read this personally was as a list of ‘guilty as charged’ pronouncements.

To me, McDonalds has always been a very ‘reactive’ organisation and the majority of the statements it makes in this advertisement (to investors one presumes) have only come about due to upsurges in public opinion, changes in legislation and profit imperative – plus the fact it feels obliged to have a ‘corporate and social responsibility’ these days.

All the time it could get away with poisoning us, insidiously indoctrinating our children and spreading its detritus across the world at as little cost to itself as possible, it has done so – therefore, this type of pompous corporate bullshit really sticks in my throat – a bit like their double quarter-pounders with cheese 😉

Disney and the Pleasure Principle

I admire Walt Disney. It is sad that he died at a comparatively young age  the year I was born while working on plans for Disney World in Florida. His plans came to fruition five years later under the guidance of his brother Roy – who in turn died before his time in 1971 on the day he was to open the first Christmas Parade at the recently opened and renamed Walt Disney World. In all, quite a tragic beginning for the Disney family for a creation that has become the most visited theme park in the world.

I have visited this ‘world’ three times now and, much to my surprise, I don’t get bored of it. In fact, I found this last visit even more pleasurable than the previous ones. In part it is because I am in awe of a place that is almost as old as I am now and how they manage to keep it all in such good condition and running so smoothly. The logistics of the operation are immense and I didn’t, until this visit, appreciate just what is happening under the Magic Kingdom. It is also because I have great respect for those with vision and those who can inspire amazing creations that are ahead of their time. Continue reading →