What was the value of the loot bag for the Oscar nominees? Forbes came out on top of the retrieval list with: "Inside the $100,000 Oscars Gift Bag of 2018."
It is named the "Everyone Wins" Nominee gift bag. It went to the 25 nominees in the acting and directing categories. The participating companies donate the items and pay a promotional fee of at least $4,000 to have their products included. Distinctive Assets is the company putting this all together. It has 'toned down' the extravagance - in 2016 the bags were worth $230,000 each. In this year's bag, there are three vacation packages - Greece, Hawaii, and the big one to Tanzania:
12-night Tanzania vacation for two
This package from International Expeditions is the most expensive gift, costing more than $40,000. The journey includes spa services, a private safari guide, wild game drives and a hot air balloon safari with champagne breakfast.
Here's a summary of what's included: 'This year’s offerings include a slate of skin-care, weight-loss and anti-aging products designed to fend off the inevitable progression of human life, as well as something called “Chao Pinhole Gum Rejuvenation.” The bag features fancy chocolates from Chocolatines in flavors unknown to the proletariat such as “Champagne Diamond” and “Ginger Sake Pearl.” We sampled the “Pomegranate Balsamic Ruby” but couldn’t taste the ruby'. The full list is on thesuns website.
What happens afterwards to the dozens of products? I wondered about whether they are transferable - can they be given away as gifts? Another article says that occasionally, celebrities are required to turn down gift bags because they have signed conflicting endorsement deals. Others give theirs away; George Clooney opted in 2006 to donate his bag to a United Way charity auction, where it sold for $45,100. And still others object to the mere idea of gift bags on moral grounds — in 2007, Edward Norton called them “disgusting and shameful,” suggesting that the Academy instead make a charitable contribution in winners’ names.
Is there a downside to this windfall? Yes - a big tax bill. From time.com: "But while these giveaways are usually thought of as freebies, that’s not how the IRS sees them. The tax man considers everything in the bags to be income, and therefore subject to the same tax rates as wages and other windfalls like gambling or lottery winnings". That's how the Oscars/Academy got out of the business and Distinctive Assets took over. After 2005, the contents were taxed.
We're looking at another beautiful orchid from the Royal Botanical Gardens orchid show in February.
Wasn't it two days ago that I looked at the duplicate place names? Last night I went to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, ON and heard a speaker from Burlington, Wisconsin.
He is Roy Diblik, a garden writer with a garden design vision that focuses on modern design using native plants and creating 'native landscapes'. One of his areas of expertise is understanding plants as members of a living community. He is not amongst those people who view a plant as a potted possession.
He made it clear that we garden selfishly and without consideration for the plants and their needs and requirements. Roy's method of gardening is to create communities of plants that are 'companions' - meant to grow with each other. They cover the soil, keep out weeds, and create naturalistic gardens that can live on for decades. They maintain themselves without the need for mulch or fertilizers. This is possible when we give them their natural conditions.
Roy worked with Piet Oudolf and is best known as the plantsman behind Oudolf's midwestern garden designs. He designs and creates award-winning public gardens in the Chicago and surrounding area. Best known is Lurie Garden at Millennium Park in Chicago.
This is a bit of a wake-up call for someone like me who loves to go to the garden centre and purchase the latest new hybrids. Roy can create a stunning garden with about 20 plants. There's a great deal to learn from the simplicity and discipline he espouses. Here's Roy's website, Northwind Perennial Farm.
Today's pictures show the Toronto Botanical Garden's front walk way garden. It was designed by Piet Oudolf, and gives you a sense of the style of garden that is the subject of Roy's designs. Our pictures show scenes through the seasons.
