Michael Phelps - Olympic Gold Swimmer
Posted on August 15, 2008
U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps is now the top Olympic gold medal winner of all time. Phelps won his fourteenth gold medal on August 17, 2008, in the 400-meter medley relay.
Finishing with eight gold medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing China, Michael surpassed Mark Spitz as the most successful swimmer and Olympian of all time.
Phelps broke Mark Spitz’s 36 year-old record for most gold medals at a single Olympic games, set in 1972 in Munich.
Michael Fred Phelps (born June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American swimmer who holds world records in several events. Phelps won eight medals (six gold, two bronze) at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, which tied the record for most medals at one Olympics.
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Bacara Resort & Spa
Posted on August 15, 2008
Bacara Resort & Spa is a luxury resort in Golita, near beautiful Santa Barbara, California.
“Bacara” (pronounced bah-CAR-ah) is a made-up name that’s meant to evoke the loveliness of the California coast, which is everywhere on display at the resort.
Bacara doesn’t have quite the same cachet as the fabled Miramar and Four Seasons Biltmore because it’s actually in Goleta. But the setting–a dramatically pitched valley in the lee of a sea cliff that opens onto a wild stretch of beach–is its secret weapon.
But as you look down from the top end of the Bacara resort, near the palatial reception building and arrival court, gas seeps are the last thing that come to mind.
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Dressed Not to Be Killed
Posted on August 14, 2008
For the English socialite worried about getting shot, oversize paramilitary gear simply won’t do. Fortunately, London’s super rich can now maintain their security without sacrificing style.
On July 14, Miguel Caballero, the world’s only producer of “designer bulletproof fashion,” started selling his high-security garments at posh London department store Harrods. His new collection includes blazers, raincoats and suede jackets, some replete with a comforting stab-proof lining.
Customers get to select from three levels of ballistic protection. For instance, a polo shirt that can withstand a slug from a 9-mm revolver costs roughly $7,500; a version for about $9,800 protects wearers from automatic weapons, including mini-Uzis.
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Private Balcony on a Luxury Veranda Motor Coach
Posted on August 13, 2008
Self-drive holidays have been a popular vacation choice for decades and with destinations ranging from luxury camping parks to extreme and untouched wilderness, road-trips can be as laid-back or exciting as you choose.
Imagine the scenario, you’ve just arrived at a beautiful location, it’s time to eat and there is the most amazing sunset across the mountain ranges.
But instead of having to haul your chairs, table and BBQ outside, you simply push a button and in less than 20 seconds you are looking at the view from your own private veranda.
Country Coach’s Veranda series of luxury motor coaches incorporate a veranda which is designed to transform your living area into a luxury suite with a view. The veranda is essentially a 4.6 foot wide by 13 foot deep steel desk with railings.
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Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Ashland
Posted on August 12, 2008
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, established in 1935, is among the oldest and largest regional professional repertory theater companies in the United States.
The festival reports that in 2007 total attendance in its three theaters was 404,730, with patrons seeing an average of three shows and almost 90 percent of the audience traveling more than 125 miles to attend.
While it’s called a Shakespeare festival, have no fear, there are plenty of different types of theater to choose from – even different kinds of Shakespeare, for that matter.
There are also modern plays, such as the comedies “The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler” and “Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner,” along with classics such as Arthur Miller’s “A View From the Bridge.”
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World’s Largest and Most Expensive Cruise Ship
Posted on August 11, 2008
It’s destined to be the world’s largest cruise ship – when launched next year, Royal Caribbean’s US$1.24 billion Project Genesis will be 1,180 feet long, and carry 5400 passengers (6,400 at a pinch).
It’s the most expensive ship in history, and it’s longer, wider and taller than the largest ocean liner ever built, (Cunard’s QM II), 43 per cent larger in size than the world’s largest cruise ship, (Freedom of the Seas) and remarkably, bigger than any military ship ever built, aircraft carriers included.
In a world where choice of amenities count, Project Genesis has yet another trump card – in the the center of the ship is a lush, tropical park which opens to the sky.
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Space Tourism - First Suborbital Flight by a Commercial Spaceship
Posted on August 8, 2008
Aerospace engineers have been busy over the last four years, secretly working diligently in a Mojave Desert hanger. Their goal: develop a commercial spaceship to loft rich tourists 62 miles above Earth.
This ambitious venture is the work of British billionaire Richard Branson and American aerospace designer Burt Rutan. Last week, the team rolled out their ship and it will begin a rigorous flight test program that space tourism advocates hope will result in the first suborbital joy rides by the end of the decade.
Interest is high and already 250 wannabe astronauts have paid $200,000 or put down a deposit for a chance to float weightless for a mere five minutes.
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Growing Wine Demand in China
Posted on August 7, 2008
Booming wine consumption in China is leading to a growth in locally produced wines but as Chinese tastes become more sophisticated, local wineries are finding that they need to play catch up in terms of quality and vintage.
According to China Organic Agriculture, Demand in China for foreign wines, including those produced in California, is growing rapidly. In 2007, the import of wine into China totaled approximately 54 million bottles, representing a 125% growth from 2006, according to the latest report of the International Wine and Spirit Competition.
The market share of imported wines in China increased from 6.6% in 2006 to 10% in 2007, while industry analysts project that share will reach 18% in 2008. Total wine consumption in China is expected to increase 65% from 2001 to 2010, a growth rate 6.5 times faster than the global average.
Dozens of wine enterprises have set up operations in the region, which has the latitude roughly similar to the Bordeaux region in France.
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Mandarin Oriental San Francisco - Oriental Suite
Posted on August 6, 2008
The Mandarin Oriental is located in scenic San Francisco California. The luxury hotel’s 158 guest rooms occupy the 38th to 48th floors of a downtown tower that’s currently the third tallest in the city.
This means top-of-the-world views. The lobby and restaurant are down at ground level.
The Oriental Suite is 1,200 square foot, with an 800 square foot terrace.
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Amanda Peet
Posted on August 4, 2008
Despite a strict, Quaker upbringing, actress Amanda Peet has depicted some wildly offbeat and often risqué characters throughout her career. Amanda was born in New York, NY on January 11, 1972.
Peet’s best-remembered TV role was likely that of Lanette, one of Jerry’s especially demanding girlfriends-of-the-week on a 1997 episode of NBC’s monumentally popular sitcom “Seinfeld”.
Peet has had numerous movie roles over her career, and exhibited a tremendous amount of appeal in an underdeveloped supporting role in the romantic comedy “Something’s Gotta Give” (2003), playing the pert young girlfriend of an aging Lothario (Jack Nicholson) who against his will finds himself attracted to the free spirit’s tightly wound mother (Diane Keaton). She’s also been in Identity, The Whole Nine Yards, Changing Lanes, Melinda and Melinda, Syriana, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Ex, and most recently in The X-Files: I Want to Believe.
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