Premiere of Harmony at Sundance London Inspired by HRH The Prince of Wales

GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST SET TO SHINE IN WORLD PREMIERE OF HARMONY, INSPIRED BY HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES Filmed at King Pacific Lodge, environmental film debuts at inaugural Sundance London Film and Music festival NORTH VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, April 26, 2012 – Inspired by HRH The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles), Harmony, A New Way of Looking at Our World will make its world premiere on April 28th during the inaugural Sundance London Film and Music Festival. Harmony grows out of three decades of work by Prince Charles to find innovative solutions to the global environmental crisis, with the goal of creating a more sustainable, spiritual and harmonious relationship with the planet. The project, which filmed at King Pacific Lodge, a Rosewood Resort, features environmentalists, entrepreneurs, farmers, as well as business and government leaders who are working collectively to restore the balance between man and nature. While at King Pacific Lodge, producers captured spectacular images of the pristine wilderness along British Columbia’s coastline, and learned more about the lodge’s efforts as a leader in modern conservation and sustainable tourism. As a floating luxury wilderness lodge operating in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, King Pacific Lodge works hard to seamlessly blend sustainable philosophies and unparalleled luxury travel experiences, believing that fish counts are as important as thread counts. For more than a decade, the lodge has been at the forefront of creating a new model for sustainable tourism, one that embraces a triple bottom-line business philosophy equally concerned for social equity, environmental conservation, and creating both memorable and benevolent travel experiences for guests. King Pacific Lodge has made great strides in demonstrating this commitment; first by being the initial private tourism operator to forge a working partnership in 2001 with the Gitga’at First Nation in Hartley Bay, thereby recognizing their rights and title to their traditional territory, and by being the first resort in North America to offset its own carbon footprint as well as that of its guests. Additionally, Condé Nast Traveler has rated the lodge as the number one resort in Canada for four consecutive years. Harmony is produced and directed by Julie Bergman Sender and Stuart Sender, whose work has received Oscar nominations and a Director’s Guild nomination for best documentary feature. To view the trailer for Harmony, A New Way of Looking at Our World, visit www.TheHarmonyMovie.com.

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Think Like A Man Thinks Green

In time for Earth Day 2012, Sony Pictures RELEASES FIRST-EVER INDUSTRY PRODUCTION USING COMPLETELY ENERGY-EFFICIENT LIGHTING

Culver City, CA (April 19, 2012) - As an industry leader in environmental innovation, Sony Pictures has long experimented with energy-efficient light sources and technologies for use in its productions. But for the Screen Gems feature Think Like a Man, Sony Pictures took its efforts a step further and reached an industry first by using 100 percent energy-efficient (LED) lighting sources on the production.

“Sony Pictures is committed to making great content with a smaller and smaller energy footprint, and Think Like A Man is a great example of Screen Gems’ continuing tradition of actively reducing the impact and waste of a major feature film production,” says Gary Martin, President, Production Administration, Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Conventional lighting for a motion picture requires a significant amount of energy to run and generates a lot of heat on set. This, in turn, must be cooled using air conditioning, requiring additional control equipment. Compared to a conventional incandescent bulb, however, LED lighting can generate over four times the amount of light with the same amount of energy (over four times the lumens per watt), and is also able to maneuver into tighter spaces and be transported more efficiently.

“Lighting is a crucial component in the visual art of filmmaking and brings to life the emotions of a story. LED and other energy-efficient types of lighting, when designed well, can be more efficient, easier to set up, versatile and longer lasting while still providing the visual aesthetic necessary for film production,” says Glenn Gainor, Senior Vice President, Physical Production, Screen Gems.

“Although not perfect, energy-efficient lighting is making great strides. We were excited to incorporate this industry-first in lighting into our production, and look forward to continuing to work with manufacturers to test and improve the technology,” says Mason McConnell, Executive Director of Set Lighting for Sony Pictures.

In addition to many other efforts, Think Like a Man further greened the filming by shooting the entire production in locations near the studio lot, cutting both transportation requirements as well as the need to construct sets. It also used many environmentally-friendly products and processes in the daily administration of the film.

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Birch Tree Trio Slimming Therapy

To celebrate the imminent arrival of beach season (in the Northern Hemisphere anyway), Weleda, the beauty company that has always been organic - since 1921! - has launched three new products on the market that, when used together as recommended, work to aid the slimming process.

These Birch Tree based products are to be used in tandem with a healthy exercise regime. Celebrity personal fitness coach Julie Ferrez (clients include French First Lady Carla Bruni and French President Nicolas Sarkozy) recommends a super-effective and not-very-time-consuming training circuit that you can do at home with a balance ball on your floor.

Ferrez, recently dressed all in Victoria's Secrets Pink workout wear ("I only wear U.S. clothes," confessed this adorable and Top French fitness trainer) led a group of assembled journalists interested in getting back in shape before bikini beachwear season strikes again. 

First exercise: Start by sitting on the balance ball. (Easy enough, eh?!) Then as you walk your legs forward, the ball will sit on your lower back to mid-back. Your legs are now supporting your lower body. From this position, do as many crunches as you can (watch to not lift your chin too high!). Do at least ten. If you can do 30 or more until your muscles fatigue, that's going to give you the best results the fastest. Do several reps of this.

Second exercise: Stand with the ball between your legs. Squat low enough so that your derriere brushes the ball. Stand up. Repeat. Be sure to keep your posture straight so that you don't put pressure on your lower back, but on your glutes and your thighs. If you do "fall" and land on the (soft) ball, no problem. The muscles that you exercise regaining your balance yield an effective workout, too. 

Have fun! Do as many reps as you can. This workout can be done in about 15-20 minutes, either morning, midday or evening.

Now for the Birch Tree Slimming Trio from Weleda...

Ferrez stands by Weleda's claims that when used together and in the context of a healthy exercise and diet regime, these will help to eliminate toxins, firm skin and rid body of cellulite and what the French call "orange peel skin."

1. Birch Tree Juice - mix 3 Tablespoons of the juice in a 1.5 liter bottle of water and consume this every day. The Birch Tree Juice helps to eliminate toxins and aids with digestion and purification of the liver.

2. Birch Tree Exfoliating Cream: Use 1 - 2 times per week. This exfoliating cream - made with a base of organic sesame oil, coconut oil, beeswax, apricot kernel oil and more good and organic things - is to be used in the shower to smooth and stimulate the skin and also circulation.

3. Birch Tree Massage Oil: Here is where some self-pampering comes in. After you bathe, apply this oil with deep self-massage (unless, of course, you have a personal masseuse!) by working the oil into the skin. In problem areas (thighs, stomach, underarms) methodically knead the skin, above the muscle, so that the oil deeply penetrates and can aid in circulation and elimination of fat cells. 

Ferrez and Weleda swear that with proper and continued use, you will see a reduction in cellulite over the span of weeks.

Check the Weleda Site for more info. And click on Julie Ferrez to watch her exercise video!

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Sustainable Design: A Critical Guide

Sustainable Design A Critical Guide David Bergman   7" x 8.5" / 144 pages / 175 color $24.95 / paperback   The fact that we live in a closed system with limited and dwindling resources is something many of us prefer, or choose, not to think about. But this concept of finite planet should be seen as an opportunity for designers to implement impactful, forward-thinking, and broad-reaching change. In this spirit of “eco-optimism,” Sustainable Design: A Critical Guide navigates the array of issues related to sustainability in clear and helpful terms. Written for students and professionals, this books presents a concise and well-illustrated overview of the most important techniques available for reducing energy footprints, along with the professional context for their use. In addition to tackling the discipline’s ethical responsibility, each chapter takes on specific considerations such as rainwater harvesting, gray-water recycling, passive heating techniques, green roofs, wind energy, daylighting, indoor air quality, material evaluation, and green building certification programs. Founded in the three Rs of environmentalism—reduce, reuse, and recycle—Sustainable Design encompasses a critical fourth: rethink.  Chapters: 1. Ecodesign: What and Why  2. Site Issues  3. Water Efficiency  4. Energy Efficiency: Passive Techniques  5. Energy Efficiency: Active Techniques  6. Indoor Environmental Quality  7. Materials  8. Labels and Ratings: Measuring Ecodesign  9. The Future of Sustainable Design  About the author: David Bergman is a LEED-accredited, New York City-based architect specializing in sustainable design. He teaches at Parsons The New School for Design.