Tag Archive for: bottled water

Best of 2009: Bottled Water for Pervs

Our favorite global water brand discovered in 2009! I dare you to refresh yourself with this bottle!

We’re taking it easy the last week of the year with reposts of some of our 2009 faves! In case you missed it: the bottle that proved “the best” is always a fleeting label.

—REPOSTED, Original Link Here
The amazing Yellow Surprise motivated me to begin this blog and I believed that it (along with ASS) would reign supreme in funny-water brand-land forever. Never say never. Yellow Surprise and ASS, meet the challenger, Golden Stream.

Eternal thanks to bikespod on Flickr for sharing this memory of his trip to Varkala, a coastal town on the Southern tip of India.

Designer Water is SO Last Year

In 2008 and 2009, Evian partnered with influential international fashion designers Christian Lacroix (2008) and Jean Paul Gaultier (2009) to create limited edition “Prêt-à-Porter” water bottles. (For you non-fashionista types, “Prêt-à-Porter” refers to the mass market version, not the highest-qualtiy, rich-person couture stuff.) Both the Gaultier Version and the Lacroix Bottle are available right now at shopevian.com for $13.95 each.

But fashion is a fickle business, no? That’s why smart shoppers like myself have recently spotted the la-dee-dah bottles at Big Lots and Homegoods (both of which are closeout/discount retailers.)

I’ll be honest: with the talents of two of the world’s most acclaimed designers behind them, these bottles are certainly beautiful. (Gaultier’s frosted ice design is particularly awesome.) I’m going to delight in my 89% discount on designer goods and refill and reuse the sturdy glass bottles over the holidays, paired with some festive bottle stoppers.

But…how shall I maintain my all-tap, all-the-time boycott against bottled water? I’ll be serving these bottles’ original contents to Dixie, the family Labrador. Chacun ses goûts!

Your Boughs are Green in Plastic Glow

Of all the trees most lovely is this whimsical 2008 installation at the Tanglin Mall in Singapore decorated with artfully-crafted recycled plastic bottles. (I much prefer seeing them on a Christmas tree rather than a grocery shelf!)

Christmas Tree, Tanglin Mall, Singapore, 2008

Christmas Tree, Tanglin Mall, Singapore, 2008

Detail: Christmas Tree, Tanglin Mall, Singapore

Detail: Christmas Tree, Tanglin Mall, Singapore

Detail, Tree Topper

Detail, Tree Topper

Photos by chooyutshing on Flickr, thanks!

I Feel Good, I Knew That I Would, Now

Via the post, “Don’t Make That Indian Cry” at wheresmyjetpack.blogspot.com,

Do I recycle? Yes, almost obsessively. But if I were completely honest, I would admit that the activity is more ceremonial than practical. Somewhat like wearing a (non-organic) t-shirt that proclaims, “SAVE THE PLANET!” or tooling down the highway in a hybrid at 70 mph with a “FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE!” bumper sticker.

It’s not a new argument that the costs, energy and yes, water, used to prepare, collect, transport and process recyclables often exceed the resources used to produce new goods. So rather than congratulate yourselves on your recycling prowess, perhaps ask yourself if you really needed to use it in the first place.

So, gotta go now, it is getting dark and I need to plug in the spotlight that illuminates our “WE RECYCLE!’ yard sign.

Ducks Cheerleader Should Have Ducked

Will this water-bottle violence never end? (Our rule: Three observances equals a certified trend! Here’s the first and the second!)

In the latest installment of water bottle as weapon, irate University of Arizona football fans hurled polyethylene projectiles onto the field in a November 21st post-game bottle-throwing incident that sent an Oregon cheerleader to to the hospital.

Next time, remember, D-E-F-E-N-S-E after the game, too! The normally-cheerful gal lost consciousness after being struck by a full water bottle and was treated and released from the University Medical Center in Tucson.

Oregon senior associate athletic director Joe Giansante commented,

“As the team was coming in, they were getting bombarded with water bottles, batteries, and various other items coming out of the stands,” Giansante said. “We were yelling at everybody to keep their heads up, but one got through and hit Katelynn in the head. All the kids (on the cheerleading team) are scared, but hopefully she’ll be OK.”

Is There Tap Water in a Time Warp?

Travelers must get desperately thirsty zipping through the space-time continuum, and one shouldn’t trust the quality of the tap water in a time warp, I’d think. (The “Doctor” character in the famous British TV series Dr. Who has the power to regenerate his body when near death… I guess that means both he AND his licensed single-use container are recyclable!)

Photo: Approved by Dr. Who water by St. A on Flickr

Mysterious Fruits of Water: Lychee Fruit

Installment #4! The world’s most esoteric fruits are helping marketers de-commoditize bottled water with mysterious, value-added flavorings.

I shelled out $2.50 just so I could share this Borba Water with Lychee Fruit with you! The lychee (aka laichi or lichuare) is a fruit tree native to Southern China and is now cultivated throughout parts of Southeast Asia, reaching Hawaii in 1873, Florida in 1883, and California in 1897.

Lychees require seasonal temperature variations with warm, humid summers and cool, dry winters for best for flowering and fruit development. Young lychees can be killed by a light frost, but mature trees have survived temperatures as low as 25° F when fully hardened off. According to the California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc., there are trees in San Diego, California that are over 90 years old with no sign of decline in sight.

And this fruit has some sexy roots! An early Chinese historical reference to lychees was made in the Tang Dynasty, when it was reportedly the favorite fruit of an emperor’s number-one concubine. Since lychees were only grown in southern China, the emperor had the fruit delivered by the imperial messenger service’s fast horses, whose riders would take shifts day and night, like the Pony Express, to get the just-picked lychees to the capital.

Another interesting story: the “Hanging Green” cultivar is the most famous and rare lychee in existence. For centuries, Hanging Green was an item of tribute to the imperial government of various dynasties until people in Canton revolted during the Qianlong era against the tributes and chopped all but one of the Hanging Green trees. The sole remaining tree still produces fruit each year, and fruits from that tree are now called “Zhengcheng Hanging Green.”

That’s fascinating, but I’m too distracted by Borba’s label to think about lychees, particularly THIS gem:

Can you IMAGINE that?! Right on the other side of my skin lies a supermodel, needing only BORBA water to get out! Suddenly, $2.50 seems wildly reasonable! WHY didn’t someone tell me about this years ago, so that gorgeous me could revel in intoxicating global attention? Thankfully, they’ve included directions but I’m a bit confused…do I have to do the Twist, or would other cool moves be acceptable? Do I sip WHILE dancing, or afterward? When will “Inner Babe” bust out? Is it immediate, kinda like kryptonite? Let me know…

Surveying our Vast Plastic Landscape

Is today’s tidal wave of plastics rooted in the actions of centuries past? Ellen Driscoll’s installation FASTFORWARDFOSSIL: Part 2 (at Brooklyn, NY Smack Mellon/Dumbo Arts Center) is composed of 2600 discarded #2 plastic bottles she has painstakingly cut up and reformed as a ghostly, translucent landscape. The installation was conceived to provoke a critical look at the environmental and human damage inflicted by the oil and water industries in the last two centuries on regions as diverse as Nigeria and the United States.

According to Driscoll,

This installation is a continuation of a multi-year series which explores the dynamics of resource harvesting and consumption. This part of the series focuses on oil and water. Rising at 5:30 AM, I harvest #2 plastic bottles from the recycling bags put out for collection on the streets of Brooklyn. For one hour, one day at a time, I immerse myself in the tidal wave of plastic that engulfs us by collecting as many bottles as I can carry.

A nineteenth century trestle bridge plays host to an eighteenth century water-powered mill which spills a twenty-first century flood from its structure. The flow contains North American, Middle Eastern, and African landmasses buoyed by a sea of plastic water molecules.

Exhibition dates are September 26 – November 8, 2009 at Smack Mellon/Dumbo Arts Center: Art Under the Bridge Festival 2009. Photos by See-ming Lee 李思明 on Flickr

Retro Water Advertising Film Fest Part 2

Part Two: And now, a word from our water sponsors from decades past! We’ve been interrupted by advertising for drinking water for at least a half a century. Following, more of of “the way we were.”

Brita Filter Ad from 1989 using the then-relevant “Funny British Guy” marketing tactic.

1986 Soviet dance party featuring Michael Jackson’s “Killer” and Varska Mineral Water.

Combine the 1986 coolness of Flashdance and Pumping Iron, then add Evian water.

“Nothing else will do” but Perrier in this jazzy, stylish-in-’87 animated spot.

Hey, Culligan Man, It’s 1984 and “the future is calling for you!” Little did we know!

Retro Water Advertising Film Fest, Part 1

And now, a word from our water sponsors from decades past! We’ve been interrupted by advertising for drinking water for at least a half a century. Following, a taste of “the way we were.”

1958 Perrier Party, the only thing missing is the Rat Pack and Vegas imagery.

Technically for Hamms Beer, but includes a “rain dance” for the beer that’s “refreshing as the land of sky blue water.” (1950s-vintage)

1978 Arrowhead Water tastes like “mountain snow, not chlorine!”

Those naughty French marketers! Perrier’s hysterical, risque 80’s spot promoting their larger bottle.

Bo Derrick look-alike and hipsters on the tennis court for Perrier in ’82