Looks Beautiful…Just Don’t Surf!
I was out here in LA for meetings this Oscar week and got an offer to borrow a board. Then it rained, and I was shocked to learn that the pollution is so bad that you’re not supposed to surf for three days afterwards. I knew you weren’t supposed to surf the next day, but […]
La Luna
On my second evening in Nosara, a bunch of “Harmonizers” went over to La Luna: one of the few restaurants in Nosara right on the waterfront. Apparently, it was built before regulations prevented direct waterfront development. We were a funny sight: a centipede of people stumbling around in the dark, except for Paul, who sped […]
Fever Charts
From the Sierra Club: several charts based on the National Climatic Data Center’s findings that 2006’s average U.S. temperature was the warmest on record! The map breaks their findings down by state, so you can see which states had the worst “fever” last year. Seriousness aside, notice that the big climate change loser last year […]
Dennis
Today’s featured Harmony staff is Dennis. He’s originally from Limon, Costa Rica, and has worked at the Harmony Hotel for a while now – even pre-John and Susan. He says that the hotel has seen many great changes in the past couple of years. I asked if he likes to surf. “No,” he said. He […]
Strange Smoke
I was digging through my photos from Nosara and found this one, taken from the plane. It looks like smoke columns billowing out of the middle of forest land. Does any one have any idea what this is? A forest fire? A factory hidden under the canopy of trees? That looks like an awful lot […]
News of DJ Spooky
Harmony guest DJ Spooky has a track on the Yoko Ono album that came out last week. The album is called Yes, I’m A Witch, and the track is called “Rising.” “This is just a quick email about a project I’m really happy about. I’ve been a big Yoko Ono fan for years, and this […]
Fabulous Women’s Co-operative
One of the highlights of my visit was a culinary one – definitely worth a stop especially if you are travelling over-road to Liberia – this seemingly ageless spot for local food was really special, locals also call it the tortilla factory. It is in Santa Cruz and you will have to ask the locals […]
Presidents’ Day Part II
In honor of Presidents’ Day, Treehugger asks readers: Which US president has been the best conservationist? You can even vote in their online poll.
Rubber Tires in the Sea: Actually Not a Great Idea
Why did sea life fail to form in the artificial reefs created by used tires? The Associated Press asked some scientists about it: “No one can say with certainty why the idea does not work, but one problem is that unlike large ships that have been sunk for reefs, tires are too light. They can […]
A Clock for Global Warming
Lee Hirsch, the director of Amandla!, brought up an interesting idea over dinner at La Luna (Paul’s favorite restaurant in Nosara). “Remember the debt clock?†he asked. He was talking about that giant odometer-like LED display that hung out for years in New York City that kept a minute-to-minute tally on the increasing national debt. […]
Save these Trees! Drop a GreenDime
Green-based service companies are proliferating and some seem incredibly promising. GreenDimes is one of them. Guess how many trees have the honor of being chopped down every year for junk mail? Did you say 100 million? Then you’re right. Now you want to find out about how to get off those lists, now right? But, […]
James Turrell And Skyspace
Okay, just bear with me a bit while I compare the artist James Turrell to the musician R. Kelly. 1) They create things that are very moving (shut up, haters of R. Kelly) 2) They both believe they can touch the sky Last night in New York City, Turrell spoke about the use of natural […]
Valentines and Doing-It-Yourself
A woman named Marian Bantjes hand-drew over 150 valentines for her friends. Who needs Hallmark’s when you’ve got yourself?
Marc Newson at Gagosian Gallery
Michael recently ferreted out an art show we’d all like: Gagosian’s Chelsea Gallery is displaying several objects by Australian designer Marc Newson, including surfboards made of hollow nickel. Michael will be blogging about the installation soon, but in the meanwhile, New Yorkers should go check it out before it comes down on March 3rd.
Cross Stepping
Okay, so I am learning to cross step and its taking me a little while. I understand the part about taking the bottom turn, coming up high and stalling to bury the tail of the board, but this whole ninja walk thing on the board feels… er, new. Though she is still learning, Susan is […]
Two Hearts
Valentine’s Day is ripe (too ripe?) for poetry, and this Robert Browning poem is as sexy as they get, and totally worth the eye rolling one may get for pulling out verse on the day of St. Valentine. By the way, those two silver hearts in the picture were made for me and Susan and […]
Welcome to Harmony Hotel’s Blog!
The Harmony Blog is officially up and running today. Happy Valentine’s Day! Stop by for for your daily dose of sustainability, surfing, and creative culture…
Sand Surfing
I had been curious about sand surfing, so this last Fall, on our way to the Maldives, we stopped in Dubai and drove out to the desert to try it. I can tell you that the scary thing wasn’t sand surfing but rather driving up to the highest dunes to get decent pitch for your […]
Chickens and Environmental Design
The pioneering folks at North Carolina State University are partnering with ERSystems to test out the success of “cool roofing” (EDC Magazine) on chickens. The predicament of these fuzzy little guys, of course, is already somewhat sad.
Costa Rica: Land of Kittens and Monkeys!
This photo wasn’t actually taken in Costa Rica but it could have been! There are kittens and monkeys aplenty there!
