Off the Cluetrain

So, Fortune magazine has a "Business Life" special issue. In it, they have a roundup of movies, and make the claim Bend It Like Beckham is a "pretty good bet for Best Foreign Film."

The problem, of course, is that the actual title of that Oscar is "Best foreign language film of the year" (look here for last year's list of Oscars).

Which means Bend It Like Beckham doesn't even qualify, let alone does it stand as "good bet".

So.

So I browse through the mag, looking for where to send a letter to the editor. The section isn't in there. No problem, I think, I'll go to their web site and find an e-mail address.

I can't find it. Nor can I find any letters on the web site.

Fortune to readers: Fuck off.

Boy am I glad, a) this subscription was free, and b) I'm not going to renew.

Aquada

In the wake of my post about the aircraft carrier (with a tip of the hat to PNH's recent post at Electrolite), another aquatic vehicle that's droolworthy:

The Aquada.

(NB: That site is very much Flash heavy, so if you don't have the Macromedia Flash plug-in, go get it.)

The Aquada is an amphibious sports car that can do 100mph on land, and 30kts (34.7mph) on the water. It can convert from either surface to the other in 6 seconds.

Range is about 50-60 miles in water, 350 on land.

Price: £150,000 (about USD$250,000)

The Gibbs folks, who built it, tout the ability to, say, use the Thames rather than roadways. But one can think of a number of cities where this thing would be super to have: Stockholm. Copenhagen. Sydney. San Francisco. New York. Boston. DC.

And, um... Puget Sound? {cough}

{"Where we're going, we don't need... roads!"} {Or ferries} {Or bridges}

Another oddity is that the front seat is a three seater, with the driver in the center. I'm not sure if this is to better command the craft in water, or to hedge the bet as to whcih market to sell to, US or UK. :)

They also point out it needs to be licensed and insured both as a vehicle and vessel, which might be a bit pricey.