Patagoniacs

The earth hour !

Vote for environment !

Customer experience ... and copycat. Or, how 2 good ideas are developed on 2 sides of the Atlantic ocean at the same time

If you have a bit of time I encourage you to visit http://www.hoalen.com. 

It's a brand I mentioned few years ago when they started. Since then they grew up ... 

When I was in New York City few weeks ago I visited the Holister shop. Holister is one of the brands derivated from Abercrombie. The stores, the sites, the clothes ... everything is strongly driven by a real marketing strategy to create a customer experience. 

When I visited http://www.hoalen.com/# I noticed several things: The music on the site (like the music in the Holister shop). And a "vintage" trend, also visible in Holister's fashion lines. 

Hoalen has a "real" surf/watermen positionning, while Holister is absolutely not acting in the surf business (I never saw Holister in a surf shop, or any ads in a surf magazine, still it's been a long time since I read a US surf magazine). They have ambassadors (like Patagonia), a blog (like Patagonia) ... Well, it looks like these guys are taking the best practices and apply them ...

Today I really wonder who's the egg, who's the chicken and who started first on this path ... 

I never tested Hoalen's clothes. I wonder if they are at the same level than Holister or Patagonia's one ... Will check that and will tell you. 

Florilege

The reality show of the French Army ... More here. Very funny. May be more sex and strip tease  to make it more attracting to enrol soldiers for Afghanistan ? 

I can Haz Cheezburger. A joke ? No, a real company. More about it here and there. Use the LOL BUILDER to have fun ... or just to find that very very disappointing ...

Found by chance on the web. In between something nice, funny and something a bit old fashioned and seen several times.  

 

The ski station where you have to go this winter : La Rosiere in France (and ask for Thomas Faucheur if you want a Mountain Guide). 

More about Turkmenistan and horses here (in French). (ok this one has nothing to do with web, fashion, surf etc, but why not changing a bit the rules sometimes. 

 

GMHM in India

Some news from the GMHM in India, available here

Climbing the Mukut Parbat !!!

 

(Photo GMHM)

Surf art, or art with a surf !

Seen in New York City, 25 W, 52nd street near the Paley Media Center. 

I wonder who's the shaper. I'll check that. 

Movies and water !

http://www.freeswimmovie.com/film.html

Learn more on Patagonia's blog 

Surfart

Nice pictures there : MIACS 2009

This kind of art means something to me :-). 

 

Snow and no !

Being in Moscow now, I see snow, ice, cold. Nothing unusual for this city. Kids are wearing warm clothes, sometimes they look like they're going to the Annapurna, which is easy to understand given the fact that the temperature outside is -12.
While I am here, contemplating the snow falling slowly on the roads, parks, I read the news from France, and I am surprised by the following ones:
- In Paris, the kids cannot go in the parks etc because it may be dangerous due to the snow.
- In Marseille, there is a polemic about who's responsible for the big mess (due to the snow)

The contrast is big with for example the Canada. I watched the news about what's going on there and saw that there are snow storms. Every body know it and they just remain patient and organized.

That's really strange and unbelievable to see that kids can't enjoy one of the most funny and interesting in Winter : SNOW !
I guess it's mainly due to this large trend which is to find someone responsible for anything instead of finding solutions to face a nature that we will never control.
I was stuck in the airport 10h this week, due to the snow falls. Then I had the choice of loosing my temper and loose my energy, because that does not solve anything, or just to wait and use the time to do what I never have time to do : Read, sleep, call, walk ...
It's just a question of state of mind. I wish in 2009 people we'll be more

(picture: 36 cm of snow in Istres - Thanks Marion for the picture).

War in Chad - Cease Fire ?

Latest news from the AFP. The rebels accepted the principle of a cease-fire.

What I like is the comment of the rebels about the Air strikes :

Le porte-parole des rebelles Abderaman Koulamallah a reconnu l'intervention des hélicoptères, mais assuré qu'ils n'avaient causé "aucun dégât".
  "Nous sommes dissimulés sous les arbres, et étalés sur une vingtaine de kilomètres, entre 10 et 30 km au nord", a-t-il ajouté. "Mais N'Djamena peut toujours fanfaronner, nous encerclons la ville et avons conservé nos forces quasiment intactes".

It's the first time I see that trees are strong enough to protect people against Air strikes.
I think that in Irak and Afghanistan now, they will use trees to protect from Apache's attacks ... :-)

And as usual, a lot of deaths, refugees, and civilian casualties for what ?

Crazy world !

War in Chad - Update

Message received right now, 12h48 GMT :
Withdrawal to the French Operation Base. We fear another attack.
(picture : AFP/SONIA ROLLEY)