Monthly Archives: December 2015

It turns out Santa is real, and he lives in North Pole! Not the real place, but an Alaskan suburb that shares the same name. Santa Claus is actually the real name of one of its residents, and he’s running for a seat on the local city council. In North Pole, the streets are always decorated in holiday spirit, the light posts look like candy canes and the streets have names like ‘Snowman Lane’ and ‘St. Nicholas Drive’. Mr Claus himself sports a bushy white beard and red clothes, but unlike his namesake, he seems to be quite a serious guy and not the jolly man of Christmas myth. “Please do not send me requests for presents,” he says on his website. “Please note that I only reply to business enquiries. I do not respond to messages, calls, emails, or letters from children.” Mr. Claus also ran for President of the United States in the 2012 elections, but pulled back early in the race, due to lack of support. If only children were allowed to vote, just think of the very different world we would be living in right now.

While top-end furniture manufacture may be a dying art in the West, here in Bali those traditions have never been stronger, with companies like Warisan leading the way with a determination for nothing but excellence in the production of a huge range for both hospitality needs and that of the private home. Employing only the most skilled of Indonesian craftsmen they ensure the continuation and survival of the long established arts of furniture and cabinet making in their Bali workshops. Pictured here is just one example of the high quality items they produce, the French Polish Deck, a pure combination of modern minimalism crossed with traditional finishing techniques which have resulted in a timeless beauty for the home or office that will stand the test of fashion for a thousand years. www.warisan.com

Social media is all about sharing images of family, friends and travels, and now blind people might be given the chance to ‘see’ these pictures online themselves. The social media giant plans to offer its 1.5 billion users a new device or in-built app, which will also describe the image for those who can’t see it. “You just think about how much of your news feed is visual and so often people will make a comment about a photo or they’ll say something about it when they post it, but they won’t really tell you what is in the photo,” says Facebook’s first blind engineer, Matt King. For example, an image of a beach at sunset could be labelled, “nature, outdoor, cloud, foliage, grass, tree”, so to give the ‘viewer’ more of an idea of what’s in there. This might not be 100 per cent yet, but even if it’s just halfway there, the level of engagement that’s possible, the amount of enjoyment I can get, that’s like going from zero to at least 50 per cent of what a sighted person might get,” he explained.

After a decade working in the Maldives, Singaraja-born Wayan Arsiana has come back home to head up the Body Temple Spa at The Canggu Club as the new spa manager. With a resume that contains glowing references from the likes of Alila, Hyatt, Sun Hotels and the Jumeirah Group, she has tonnes of experience and training in the services offered at Body Temple Spa, and she understands the need to maintain the highest standards and ensure clients leave feeling as though they have received nothing but top-notch treatment in luxurious surrounds. Working in spas is all about being a people person and Wayan loves to interact with the customers. She seeks feedback from clients about their individual spa experiences in an effort to ascertain what they want and need and to then infuse this knowledge into practice out in the spa in order to ensure a product and service that is second to none. Stop by the Body Temple Spa and say hello and enjoy one of their many treatments, or even a whole day of indulgent pampering. With Wayan at the helm you will be in great hands. www.bodytemple.com

It’s amazing what a difference a typo can make to a story, particularly when it’s the word of God; it puts the price of the book up for a start, but it also has the potential to cause a whole lot of religious strife and marital mayhem along the way. The book in questionis a copy of the King James Bible printed in 1631; or should we say misprinted, for the Seventh Commandment states clearly “thou SHALT commit adultery”, offering up an out for sex addicts and cheaters everywhere. Known as the Sinner’s Bible, only 1,000 copies were ever printed and distributed and it took over a year before anyone noticed. Charles the First ordered the copies to be burnt, before stripping the printers of their license and imposing a heavy fine. Like all good scandals, a few survived and a copy went to auction in London in November fetching the mighty price of £44,000 for one lucky philanderer, who no doubt wants to hedge his bets on Judgment Day.

It is widely estimated that by 2050 there will be between 9 -10 billion humans on the planet, and if we don’t think of new ways to feed ourselves we are going to be in trouble. It’s lucky for some that innovative chefs are taking the task in hand and looking to an abundant food resource that is right under our feet – bugs! Chef Andy Holcroft has set up Grub Kitchen in the UK in an effort to both solve a problem and to make people think about what they eat by promoting entomophagy – the practice of eating insects, which the Food and Agriculture Organisation at the United Nations has suggested holds the key to avoiding a global food shortage in the future. It’s not just a pile of dead bugs on a plate, and there is a definite gourmet twist to the plate with signature bug burgers (a blend of toasted crickets, mealworms and grasshoppers, spinach, sundried tomato and seasonings), an insect tasting board, cricket falafels and worm Pad Thai curry. Yumm!?!