Environment: Hostile

The METEOR CRATER near Winslow, Arizona, is the windiest place I have ever been to. So much so, that all tours skirting the impact crater’s rim on the day we visited had been cancelled, out of fear of tourists plummeting to their deaths, some 170 meters towards the crater floor!  If I were being completely […]

AMITY ISLAND: Birthplace of the Summer Blockbuster

  INDEPENDENCE DAY,  the most important of all US public holidays, has not been the same since 1975.   The terror invoked by the iconic “DER DUM” of John Williams’ award winning score, has changed our relationship with the sea forever. Jaws’ absence from the movie makes it all the more powerful, the suggestion of his presence fuelling […]

Captain America: Star-Spangled Super-Hero (Independence Day 2012)

O say can you see Captain Steve Rogers hosting his first 4th July party?! In 2012 , the release of the First Avenger movie triggered the start of a new theme-based approach to our annual Independence Day celebrations.  As the quintessential American patriot, the red, white and blue palette provided the perfect backdrop to this […]