It’s an embarrassing day to be Haligonian. The two best mentions the city got today reveal provincial tourism minister Len Goucher to be a blowhard who’s perhaps never used a computer, and give props to a global warming denier at Dal. How totally awesome. Full links below.
WILL SAY ANYTHING FOR MONEY
from Vancouver
The provincial government launched its new, $15-million tourism campaign at the Halifax airport yesterday, and most of its effort will try to boost the province’s online profile. “No guff,” you or me might say, it’s like 1998’s news that people plan trips using the internet. But the Vancouver Sun enables the province in saying that it’s actually 2007’s news, with a story that heavily quotes tourism minister Len Goucher:
“People are time-sensitive, and they want to be able to make their decisions right away.”
Visitors to the province’s official tourism website will be able to click their way around Nova Scotia and visit popular tourist attractions – albeit virtually.
Google Earth, an online world map that meshes satellite photos with regular road maps, will be used to show tourists 100 points of interest, represented by tartan dots.
The dots will link to information about tourism highlights, including cycling the Cabot Trail, touring vineyards in the Annapolis Valley and seeing the Bluenose II schooner in Lunenburg.
Nova Scotia is “the first place to use the technology for tourism marketing,” said Goucher. (full story here)
Oh boy, where to start with this one? Goucher’s “we’re first” boast is predictable Nova Scotian self-consciousness. It’s also ludicrous. A YouTube search for tourism bring up about 6,170 results: First on the list is Tourism Malaysia, where the government “came up with a great promotional video to promote Malaysia to the world.” (it’s here) Tourism Nova Scotia isn’t on the first page. A search for Tourism Nova Scotia doesn’t even find Tourism Nova Scotia. “We’re number none! We’re number none!”
Maybe Goucher’s talking about Google Earth specifically, rather than YouTube or ‘net itself. But he’d be full of shit on that score too. As just one ferinstance, the official Google Earth community announced a bunch of tourism related stuff April 10:
100% Pure New Zealand – created by Tourism New Zealand, a geo-guide to the top-rated tourist destinations and scenic highlights of New Zealand. In the Travel and Tourism folder.
Roads and POIs for Singapore and IndiaBrazil POIsTransit data for many more US cities and parts of EnglandSwiss Mountain Railways, Skilifts and Gondolas (check it out here)
Maybe he’s talking about the tartan dots. $15 million for something that wouldn’t even pass muster as a smiley, an open invitation to a whole world of computer users: come to our backwater home, run by backwater folks.
SHOW ME THE GLOBAL WARMING
from Orange County
Remember back in the day, when punk bands from California all talked about this nutjob conservative bastion called Orange County, and it seemed a world away? Now this nutjob bastion and its nutjob local media are as near as porn. Exhibit A: The OC Register, which just published a really long piece from editorial writer Mark Landsbaum challenging “the alleged scientific ‘consensus'” about carbon dioxide, fossil fuels and global warming. It’s a terrifying read that will make you want to move to California and start a punk band. Unless you want to stay here and start a punk band, because one of the “experts” Landsbaum quotes has local ties:
“Scientists who want to attract attention to themselves, who want to attract great funding to themselves, have to (find a) way to scare the public … and this you can achieve only by making things bigger and more dangerous than they really are,” said Petr Chylek, professor of physics and atmospheric science at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, as quoted in the book, “The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming.” (full story here)
If there’s a saving grace here, it’s that the same technology that sends such shit around the globe can be used for good as well. One response to the article has a pantload of facts and figures as counterpoint, and points out:
Landsbaum’s global warming column follows shortly on the heels of his Easter editorial in which he asserted with equal certitude that non-believers would receive the “just punishment” which their “rebellion” “deserves.” Landsbaum is more than a true believer; he is a demagogue.(full story here)
Welcome to the internet…bitch.
Suddenly I’m missing the stories about Halifax hockey heroes. Send any good links here.
This article appears in Apr 19-25, 2007.