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Posted on April 29th, 2008 by Phil.
Categories: Food & Wine, Consumer Products, Philanthropy & Environment.
Reading Myk’s dinner party tips got me thinking about cooking. When I think about cooking for dinner parties, I usually think about Italian food. When I think about Italian food, I think about olive oil. My family produces olive oil, so I get a lot of info on the state of that market. My father sent me a very interesting article today, and that puts into very clear terms something that we’ve all known about and been irked by for ages - that fact that so called “Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil”, is usually nothing of the sort, and unsuspecting consumers are getting duped. Beyond the fact that much of it is not extra virgin, much of it is not even Italian.
The public is starting to become aware of this due to a lot of recent police activity in Italy. This week 40 people were arrested and more than 25,000 liters of suspect olive oil was seized. The olive oil crackdown was the second in less than six weeks. A similar operation occurred in mid-March, when 23 people were arrested in a $100,000,000 raid. Police had been watching some of the olive oil operations in question for more than two years. The suspects are accused of adding chlorophyll to sunflower and soya bean oil and selling it as extra virgin olive oil in Italy and abroad. TV news footage showed police scientists demonstrating the process and the cheap oil turning a darker, greenish color, like that of the traditional extra virgin olive oil. The authorities said they had recently blocked “huge” shipments of the doctored oil to the United States and Germany.
In less dramatic cases, the police have also taken action against dozens of olive oil producers in Italy that have for years been selling their olive oil as “Made in Italy”, but in fact using olive oil pressed and shipped in from north Africa and parts of eastern Europe. It was estimated by some that the bulk of olive oil being exported from Italy was either not made from olives grown in the country, not made from olives period, or at the very least, not extra virgin. (Extra virgin is a measure of acidity. True extra virgin olive oil should be 0.75-1.0% acidity or less.)
The string of olive oil arrests came only a month after scares over mozzarella production and adulterated wine caused demand for a whole host of Italian food goods to plummet. In my view, this is all the more reason to buy locally grown and produced goods, especially when it comes to food. Beyond the lack of guaranteed quality and myriad possibilities for everything from simple mistakes to dangerous mistakes (China) to bold faced fraud, there are compelling arguments from the perspective of environmental responsibility. Follow this chain for examples: Olives are grown and pressed in Tunisia, packaged for shipment, trucked to a local port, shipped to Italy, bottled and labeled, re-packed for shipment, shipped to the east coast of the US, trucked to another state in the US, placed in a warehouse, and finally trucked to a local store. The amount of oil (gas) used to get that bottle on a shelf is staggering, let alone the waste of packing materials and time. And for what? To get lower quality and a questionable product. Why not support a local grower, the local economy, the national economy, your own health, and the health of the planet.
Posted on April 28th, 2008 by Myk.
Categories: Philosophy & Spirituality, Food & Wine, Arts & Literature, Humor & Pop Culture, Storytelling.
“Being on the dinner party circuit requires a skill set that I lack. I know how to nod, but only for limited periods of time.” (allow myself to quote myself). Being a thrower-of-dinner parties as well as a goer, I can say navigating the dinner party is an art. While we are aware that there are many faux-pas, there are also certain techniques to make yourself indispensible to a great evening. Here are a few tips for emerging unscathed from your next social gathering…using 10 quotes from famous and not-so-famous persons:
Posted on April 25th, 2008 by Myk.
Categories: Travel & Leisure, Philosophy & Spirituality, Philanthropy & Environment, Science & Technology, Arts & Literature, Sports & Health, Storytelling.
A friend of ours Brian Johnson, the person who started the conscious social network Zaadz and subsequently sold it to Gaiam, has launched a really amazing new project called Philosopher’s Notes. In the time I’ve been acquainted with Brian (5 years ), he’s been questing for knowledge under every rock. He compiled a seriously intense list of quotations that I used to peruse when I had time for hobbies, and his book recommendations have always been just about 100% on.
Well, that’s what Philosopher’s Notes are about. Brian takes books on all aspects of self-development (self-realization really), distills them to their essence with their Big Ideas, and provides the result in both PDF and MP3 formats. The titles range in topics (spirituality, health, nutrition, productivity, environment) but they all have serious wisdom that we can apply to our lives. They are penned by contemporary spiritual leaders such as Deepak Chopra to classic American thinkers like Emerson to ancient philsophers like Rumi.
What’s really important here is that most of you and certainly Phil and I just don’t have the time to research what books to read. We rely on our trusted friends to recommend a book and so we discover knowledge that is both interesting and useful. Brian’s JOB is to uncover this wisdom making him a trusted source of information. Not only that, he’s paring it down for our busy lives. Even if you’ve read most of the books he highlights, it’s STILL useful as a memory aid on the main topics.
This latest project by Brian is completely Vitruvian in nature and I highly recommend that you check the site out because it has the potential to facilitate your personal development. Here is an example note of Wayne Dyer’s The Power of Intention (here). Very cool stuff.
Posted on April 22nd, 2008 by Mayur.
Categories: Travel & Leisure, Consumer Products, Arts & Literature.
Ever had restless nights wondering what the next fashion and luxury trends are? You can now leave those worries behind by simply attending the best runway shows, parties and sample sales listed below.
These events have been posted on Vitruvian World.
April 22, 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM
A Cointreauversial Affair cocktail party, Angel Orensanz Foundation, 172 Norfolk St., NYC. Featuring the American debut of Dita von Teese’s new burlesque performance and unveiling of her signature cocktail, the Cointreau Teese
April, 28th - May, 2nd
Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Spring/Summer Collections (Sydney)
April 30, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Vogue Celebration of “Photobook” by Michael Roberts for Carlos Miele, 408 W. 14th St., NYC
May, 2nd - May, 4th
Dolce & Gabbana and D&G Resort and S/S 08 Sample Sale, D&G Showroom, 85 Spring St., NYC
July 18-22
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami Swim, Miami
August 7-12
Copenhagen Fashion Week, Copenhagen
August 13-19
Stockholm Fashion Week, Stockholm
August, 27th - August, 31th
MasterCard Luxury Week, Hong Kong
September, 5th - September, 12th
Benz Fashion Week New York, NYC
September 13-21
London Fashion Week, London
September, 22th - September, 29th
Moda Donna (Milan Fashion Week), Milan
September, 30th - October, 8th
Paris Fashion Week, Paris
October, 24th - October, 30th
Moscow Fashion Week presented by VISA, Moscow
Posted on April 21st, 2008 by Phil.
Categories: History & Politics, Philanthropy & Environment.
I am never happier than when I am in the water. Surfing in the ocean, swimming in a pool, soaking in a bathtub. I keep a cooler of cold water near by bed so I have a constant supply, day and night. I live in an area where it rains about 60 inches each year, and I can be at the beach in less than ten minutes. In my life, water is abundant.
It is not the same for everyone. For many, getting water is a constant struggle. Water to drink… water to clean… water to keep plants alive… water to grow food… It is a matter of life and death.
I’m sure any of you reading this are aware of this fact. But here are some in some interesting facts to color in your knowledge of what issues our world faces in regards to good old H20:
Editor’s Note (Myk): if you didn’t believe Phil that water is important to him, check out our rotating quote today at www.vitruvianventures.com. This is what I believe is called synchrodestiny :).
Posted on April 19th, 2008 by Mayur.
Categories: Food & Wine.
Fred’s is a smartly perched bistrot on the 9th floor of Barney’s New York recommended by CitySearch as “the best lunch spot to see and be seen”. Therefore we decided to pay Fred a visit this afternoon to see and be seen. During our 45 minute wait, I couldn’t help but notice a concoction of high-heeled housewives (some more desperate than others) engaging in light banter while having “lunch”. My quarrel is not so much with them as with the implicitly derogatory use of the word “lunch”. The kind of repast that these women were indulging in was essentially a Chardonnay-fueled shopping break with a partially eaten mesclun salad on the side.
I feel that this is a travesty to the true meaning of lunch.
I am all in favor of healthy and light lunches, but whatever happened to a real lunch? From time to time, I believe it’s important not to focus on the Chardonnay and instead to focus on the true essence of “lunch” - food and friends.
By food, I mean - how about having a real meal occasionally? Perhaps a salmon carpaccio followed by a steak au poivre? Or how about a turkey club sandwich or certified angus burger? Or perhaps some spinach ravioli or penne basilico for the vegetarians? Any thing but a few mesclun greens and a glass Chardonnay to wash them down…please.
By friends – I’m referring to real conversations about real issues. In the words of FT columnist Harry Eyres, “a good lunch can remind us how lucky we are still to be in a place where words, if we speak them thoughtfully and from the heart, can still have rich meaning and delight”.
Posted on April 18th, 2008 by John Zur.
Categories: Storytelling.
Time for some more flash fiction from our man John Zur. Be warned, this one’s on the darker end of the spectrum.
The Suburban Neighborhood
The gloaming came in after daylight’s death and wandered about throughout the homes while the families slept comfortably in their beds. The children were tucked in and dreamed of captaining pirate ships through periwinkle seas of graying skies and washing ashore on the tops of watermelon mountains. They snuggled their woven blankets with tattered ends and saw personified animals in the ceiling and pixie spies under windowsills. They spoke to their imaginary friends and took hints from the carpetbaggers’ ghosts passing through.
The parents wrestled demons to the floor and put anxieties to rest in order to dream of upper-middleclass ideals not known to the innocent ones. Not a sound sung low, nor high, in Mister Moonlight’s presence. Treasure chests of pain relief and golden happy handshakes sprung from underneath the dark’s gallows with a message for all from beyond. Mirrors reversed themselves and ran out backward talk of waking without a snowball for the sun and trees made of papier-mâché. The refrigerators drank the milk while the cats ate the microwaves. And as time went forward, clocks turned upside-down and went to recess in pajamas. The parents’ bank accounts overflowed with pink silly putty as cars made of cotton replaced cars made of plastic. All were not amused when Mister Moonlight spit on all of this and ran behind Mars.
And the suburban neighborhood slept much the same and dreamed much the same. The fathers awoke the following morning and tied their shoes, tied their ties, tied their children to the banisters, and left for work. The mothers untied the girls and beat the boys with daddy’s belt (more…)
Posted on April 18th, 2008 by Christian.
Categories: Travel & Leisure, Humor & Pop Culture.
All hail the technoviking. He is a god among men and is venerated as such by his people. Watch as he punishes the weak of body, mind and spirit. Watch as he receives offerings of water from his people. Watch as he begins his holy, frenzy induced dance moves. All hail the technoviking… and whatever you do, don’t F$%* with this guy.
Posted on April 16th, 2008 by Phil.
Categories: Consumer Products, Science & Technology.
The Point is a website for organizing group actions and combining forces to make things happen. Campaigns (group actions) on website are all based on the “tipping point” model – participants take action to solve their problem, but only once a critical mass of people have committed such that the combined force will “tip” the issue. The Point essentially helps people know in advance whether their participation will make a difference.
This is really clever, and it can be used for loads of applications:
• Activism: Advocating an issue on website is different from organizing a traditional petition or boycott — on The Point, no one acts until enough people agree to take action to force a solution to the problem.
• Fundraising: Unlike traditional fundraisers, no one parts with a dime until enough people pledge funds to reach the tipping point.
• Creating a Social Contract: Some group activities require safety in numbers to be worthwhile. The site lets you form a contract with your peers that no one is obligated to uphold until the tipping point is reached.
The sit was launched in September 2007 and is increasingly popular. It also has social networking qualities. Effective collective action is built on strong communities. To that end, every user of website has a searchable public profile, listing their interests and campaign affiliations. It’s easy to send someone a private message or add them to your contact lists and keep up with their site activity.
I can think of a lot of ideas that this could be great for, and plan on testing it out soon.
Posted on April 15th, 2008 by Myk.
Categories: History & Politics, Philanthropy & Environment, Business & Finance.
Some days I think to myself, what would I do with unlimited money and more wives than I know what to do with (both unlikely scenarios)? Well, in Trend Central I saw my unlikely scenario played out in reality by an unlikely source. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is launching a University called…wait for it…King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST). Ya, you hear me, the Saudis are spending $10 BILL on a brand new university, located on the picturesque Red Sea. I have to ask, why use of ALL that wealth to do something positive and socially accretive as opposed to buying a really fast camel (no really, read this) or yet another Gulfstream. Well (poor decision on Abdullah’s part aside) Education IS a lever that makes people more moderate, more tolerant, and smarterer so let’s hope KAUST will be used as a tool for embettering the region.
US educational institutions are doing pretty well with this–KAUST has partnered with the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University–each of the universities will score $25 million from the deal. First Sovereign Wealth Funds went after the banks…now our schools–we’re pretty cheap now I suppose.
At least women will be allowed to attend, so that’s something. Anyways, check out the propoganda video–looks like it will be a beautiful campus.
