Ice Olympics, A Frigid Mess or Mud Puddle?

They train hard, for four years at a clip just so that we the masses can view them swish and swirl...and twirl in the air for that matter... all for about 4 minutes and 40 seconds. What a thrill it is to watch grown men swivel this way and that, when the majority of the male species would prefer to swagger. But in the case of the Olympics, all's fair in elasti-wearland....and it was a real treat for both men and women from around the globe to tune in and view the talented fellas on display. That is until medal granting time.

Eerily like the quality of water, human emotions ran from oceanic tides of ecstasy to ice colder than the floor that night.... as the silver winner, most likely amped up on pure adrenalyn, spilled his guts and emotions to ravenous news reporters...who swallowed up every drop of spit that flew from the Olympian's mouth. Was it just water on the tongue or a calculated ice-pik stab at the gold winner - who by all means, should have had at least one special moment free of 'OPM'...(other people's madness).

After all, four years is a long time to wait for anything. Most of us have the IQ of an infant when it comes to patiently working toward any goal or thing in life. These guys should have gotten a medal just for their long term efforts alone.

Was it the prior Russian Judge cheating scandal that launched the salty tsunami or was it just the pant-wetting tantrums of a poor sport athlete? Who knows? One thing is for sure. Humans, who are made up of approximately 70% water, begin taking on all the qualities of it when their mettle has been tested. Icy, fluid, soggy, wet and wildly uncontainable. This year's 2010 Olympic Men's Ice Skating Event almost washed the tarnish off the Tanya Harding Ordeal. But wait....there's more to come! Stay tuned for Johhny Weir's new Reality TV Fashionista show!

Quiet Contemplation...a Boon or a Bust?

If we were all granted a view of our planet from afar, such as the lucky few astronauts who got to float about AND pee in their pants without reprimand, would it impact us enough to cause us to widen our perspective as to why we're all here in the first place? Probably not. But to give the human race the benefit of the doubt, let's try for a moment to see the higher good behind all the bad & rampantly trashy behavior that humans are and humans do. Because if we're going to get a good solid zen-hold on our lives during these wildly changing, environmentally concerning times, we might as well do it as a collective. After all, we're all bumbling around together on planet whether we like it or not. And it's not likely that Nasa will be shipping regular people off for mini vacations to the moon - even if Branson were to convince Gates to merge assets for rocket adventures.

Maybe there really IS something to the act of pondering the soul when we're in a state of calm, rather than when crisis hits and we're suddenly, madly scrambling for cover. Where do our nutty ideas come from anyway? Most people, never stop to question why they think the way they do or why even they act the way they act....that is until they get themselves into deep doo-doo. Trouble, as the zen masters teach us is our greatest gift; for when we are under water so to speak, we are forced to have to suck up and look at life from different angles. By then things are usually such a mess, that no matter what angle one tries to view a situation, no solution seems in sight.

Well...we might not solve the problems right in front of us and maybe moon travel is just a pipe dream for most of us. But if we can look up once in awhile and stare at the stars from our itsy, bitsy little lives of 9-5 hrs and MOON SIZED mortgage bills, we'll always have our divine right to 'dream on'. Even if we never make full sense of why any of us are really here.

Black and White Equals....?

Grey is a not exactly as exciting or as polarizing as yin/yang, black/white or yes/no....but there are many shades of it and ironically, it is what happens when you mix two drastically opposing colors together. Metaphorically speaking...(or as those of you who have ever spent time in a psychiatrist's office full well know), those grey areas in life are where we all stand a little confused - no matter what life challenge it is that we are being presented with.

Grey is grey...is grey is grey IS GREY!

There is no black and white when you are in the grey. So we decided to put a happy little spin on that color so as to offer a little hope to all those who are stuck mucking about in it, for whatever reason you're there. There's a relatively new invention, or maybe it's old and just coming to hipster popularity in the public arena now thanks in part to Ed Begley; that makes a fun sport out of recycling dirty, used, mucky, yucky grey water. Back to metaphor, we see suddenly that we have the ability to clear the water in our lives so to speak and make the grey into a sparkling and reusable life property that enables us to flourish and flower despite life's challenges.

Nope. No old and worn 'ripple in the pond' theory tossed out by the mind doctor needed here. We just fork over ten grand (that's approx. $10,000.00 of your hard earned beans) for a water recycling unit and clean up the gooky stuff by laundering it...er, sort of. At least that's what Grey Water recycling is all about, fundamentally speaking. Now as for the esoteric meaning of it....we'll leave that to the zen masters.

Metal, Water, Wood, Fire & Earth

We consulted our Aqua Guru on the latest metal water bottle issue to gain greater wisdom over our past human ways, including our latest problem with plastic bottle pollution.

"Ahhh - sooo!" Aqua-fucius gleefully exclaimed. Back up a minute. Gleeful we ask? What could be gleeful about finding bisphenol A contaminant leaching from yet another human brainstorm product designed to contain water for ourselves?

"Sooo, you see - no plastic in Chinese five elements formula, but metal yes?" he queried us. Yes, we understand that Aqua-fucius. So? "Aqua-fucius leave that to you humans to figure out", he gently smiled. Or was that a cruel smirk he just emitted?

"Aqua-fucius beckons you to view greater picture, young souls. What is physical creation about to begin with?", he queried. We admit. We were stumped. "To see how the human mind has separated itself from the Universal Oneness that IS!", he chirped.

Huh? Clarify, oh great Aqua Guru! "Try to see humans as one tiny species of many millions on planet. But tiny humans do not see connection of all living things, including Earth. Humans create with no value given to all other creatures and one day, humans see that their creations have sliced heavily into the delicate fabric of their eco system, like mighty metal warrior sword!", he sternly spat as he stretched his goatee out to a sharp point. Good thing he didn't have his sword on hand that day. Ok, so what? No more plastic bottles and no more metal containers? Straw baskets leak, we dared to challenge.

"Not when made well and with loving hands", our beloved Aqua Guru retorted.

Well if we had lovingly crafted our plastic & metal bottles, would it have made a difference, we asked?

"Before creating, ponder the word 'love'," Aqua-fucius said, "And then add it to all that you think & all that you do.....and see what happens in your world.... Enough now!", he squirted out... and with that, he waddled back to sanctuary, leaving us in the dust of our modern day confusion.

"Solution is no brainer!" the voice jumping out from the back of his teetering head said. Wow. One last hint for us to ponder from the grand and great Aqua Guru. What to make of our conversation that day?

Well.... we're not sure what THE total planetary solution to fully ponder is, but we've got A solution! Try bottleless water!

WATER Is An Extraterrestrial Resource

We think of water as being ours, as in: our planet, our world... our home, etc. And perhaps it might jar the perceptual mindset of a few million humans if we were to suddenly tell them that water is actually from outer space. So, we'll do it gently....right here....within the tranquil, safe haven of our blog.

WATER IS AN ALIEN RESOURCE!

There....see? It's not that bad. We're still here. You didn't explode. The truth does not kill us, as we so might anticipate it would. THE FACT IS: water may have invaded our bodies, as in the movie 'Body Snatchers' but, WE have to take responsibility for allowing it to happen . After all, we used our free will and DRANK it. Nobody forced us to guzzle the liquid. And no matter how much we try to eliminate it from our body forms now that we KNOW it's alien, it will never leave our systems completely. It has taken over 3/4 of our bodies and we now NEED it in order to survive. Which comes to our next point.

If water is alien and we are intrinsically tied to it and perhaps as Carl Sagan hypothesized that all things, beings and planets are from the STARS; maybe we can begin to look at our foreign neighbors from across the world with whom we have perceptual differences - with a slightly gentler eye.

For if it is proven ultimately that we ALL come from the outer galaxies - including water and Earth itself - then WHO is actually terrestrial?

Ice Is Thicker Than Water

Ice floats on water…but who’d a thought it was actually less dense than water? At first glance it sure seems like it could be heavier, harder, colder and thicker than water. Anyone’s whose slipped and fallen on it KNOWS it is a hard surface firsthand! Anyone who’s skidded on it knows it can be slicker than Tony Soprano on a dark night. But badda-bing, badda boom – who’d a thunk that as thick as it may be in wintertime; it actually has more air in it? And that's what helps cause it to float.

In ice, the molecules develop hydrogen bonds tighter than an old Italian family. And the bonding action between the oxygen of one atom and the hydrogen of another atom then pumps up the volume to create a slick greasy hard outer surface; sort of like a noisy bunch of drunken bad boys spewing out of the Badda Bing Bar. TV mobsters take note: don’t axe a guy, freeze him in a cooler, then later try to sink him in a river cuz he’ll pop right up and float like a lighthouse buoy.

Consume VS Conserve Mentality

What is the human economic disaster all about? Does anyone know? Let's let Aqua Guru speak! [Clap, clap, clap!] 'Wisdom is simple', Aqua-fucius says. Chi flow = money flow = smooth flowing society.

For decades, SOME human beings got a shriveled up notion in their itty bitty pin-heads that to starve other people out of their chi-money flow in the interest of gaining for themselves; they could then call themselves RICH. Trouble is, millions of other greedy little-booby-pin-heads thought that turd idea was a great one so they jumped on the bandwagon. So NOW, the decades-long practice of chi stealing has finally backfired to cause a HUGE ECONOMIC MESS. Aqua-fucius says, 'All are one and so dried up, poopy ideas = constipated economy.'

What’s a hardworking, high-minded human to do? GO ZEN. Let the idiots who caused the madness of consumer consumption have ALL the plastic goods they created back. Truth be told, humans need little to be healthy & happy. They need basic shelter, food; good water & loving relationships. Aqua-fucius says, 'Dump consumption, SHARE and BE FLOWINGLY ABUNDANT from within.'

Aquaverve can help get you started for going bottleless means you can ALWAYS fill your cup and YET not waste a single drop of water. Aqua-fucius THEN says, 'May your chi cup be free flowing & forever full!'

YET ANOTHER REASON To Go Bottleless....

Gadzooks! This morning, Yahoo posted on its front page a behind-the-scenes article about the bottled water industry. Here are just a few key points:

‘Bottled Water Isn’t Always Pure.’ In a 4-year review, testing 1,000 bottles of water the Natural Resources Defense Council found that 22 percent of the brands tested contained chemical contaminants at levels above strict state health limits.

‘You May Actually Be Drinking Tap Water. Dasani, is a Coca-Cola product. Despite its exotic name, if your Dasani water was bottled at the Coca-Cola Plant in PA, you’re drinking Philly tap water. 25 percent of all bottled water is taken from municipal water sources, including Pepsi’s Aquafina.’

Ok well, we’re just quoting this stuff from Yahoo, but WOW! How aware are we of what we’re paying for when it comes to name brands? Here's more: ‘It’s Not Clear Where the Plastic Container Ends & the Drink Begins.’ Turns out, when certain plastics are heated at a high temperature, chemicals from the plastics may leach into container’s contents. Hmmmm.

‘Our Country’s High Demand for Oil Isn’t Just Due To Long Commutes.’ To make PET (water containers), you need crude oil. Specifically, 17 million barrels of oil are used in the production of PET water bottles ever year. PET bottles take 400 to 1000 years to degrade. Hmmmm again. How much do we love Mother Earth?

Before Name Brand Mega-buck companies make scapegoats out of all of us, might we not re-consider where're we're putting our dollars? Want to save AND be safe? Visit us at Aquaverve! We've got a great handle on how to be drink-safe and economical!

The Plump & Juicy Summer Water Diet

So... it's summertime and everyone is sprawling out to deepen that long anticipated beach tan, because there's nothng more sexy than adonis bronze, sun-kissed skin. Zits suddenly disappear off motley faces. Varicose veins mysteriously retreat into the twiligt zone from whence they came and a beautiful array of 'bubbies' in bikini's start popping up like wildflowers after a spring's rain. Who DOESN'T love the beach? EVERYONE appears just a little prettier or a bit more handsome.

With that thought in mind; if you're going to soak up the sun's rays all summer long, the least you can do for your Vita-D saturated skin is flush it regularily so that your skin cells remain plump and juicy despite the frying UV rays. Despite the fact that the Baywatch babes might have used 'other' plumping techniques to appear eternally juicy in their beach scenes, truth be told - water is the best cell fattener around. Lay off the pizza and beer and guzzle water on the beach. Tint it with a tea bag, drop a lemon in and repeat...all summer long. Not only will you feel great, look plump & juicy AND bronze; you can lay back read 'Raisin in the Sun', instead of being one!

Fun Facts About Water Parks

The First "official" waterpark created was Wet 'N Wild in Orlando, Fla., by George Millay (creator and founder of Sea World). WWA officially proclaimed Millay as "Father of the Waterpark Industry" in 2004 and awarded him with the Association's first-and only, to date-"Lifetime Achievement Award."

The estimated attendance at North American waterparks during the Summer 2006 season: about 78 million (includes United States, Canada and Mexico), with growth average 3-5 percent each year.

The tallest, fastest single-person, free-fall waterslide in the world is: 120-foot tall "Summit Plummet," Blizzard Beach, Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The largest indoor waterpark in the United States under one roof is: Kalahari Resort, Sandusky, Ohio. (173,000 square feet)

The tallest raft-ride waterslide is: 11-story tall "Insane" at Beach Park, Fortaleza, Brazil.

The largest wave pool in the world is: Dino Beach Water Park, Shanghai, China, at 181 feet wide by 360 feet long.

Whad-a-ya know? Water's not just for drinking! Happy Fourth of July!