Latest articles on Books by The Cool Hunter - for more checkout www.thecoolhunter.net http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:56:39 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk Latest articles on Books by The Cool Hunter - for more checkout www.thecoolhunter.net http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1315&Itemid=8 The World's Coolest Hotel Rooms - (http://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Coolest-Hotel-Rooms-Hunter/dp/0061353868/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 s=books qid=1212179258 sr=8-1)the first in a series of the cool hunter-branded books has just been published by Harper Collins Publishers (US). Next in the line will be The World's Coolest Houses, The World's Most Creative Work Environments, The World's Most Innovate Retail Stores and a few other special book projects. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:51:55 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1197&Itemid=8 The World’s Coolest Houses Our first book, the World’s Coolest Hotel Rooms, will come out June 1. Published by Harper Collins Publishers (US) and designed by the Sydney based War Design, (http://www.wardesign.com.au/) the inaugural Cool Hunter book will soon be followed by the next volume, the World’s Coolest Houses. To make that happen, we are on a furious hunt for supremely cool projects from beach homes, country homes and city pads to holiday houses and ski retreats, we want to know where the coolest houses are. We are looking for the most unique houses from Sao Paulo to Sydney. Slightly cool, standard-issue luxury won’t do it. The houses we want must think like Zaha Hadid who said “I like architecture to have some raw, vital, earthy quality.” So, if you are an architect of such a house, please submit your project for consideration or if you're a photographer who has photographed such a house, please get in contact - bill@thecoolhunter.net (bill@thecoolhunter.net) Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:03:16 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1121&Itemid=8 Welcome to the Wild Wild Web, a modern-day gold rush that has created a new economy where, in theory, anybody with a computer and an internet connection can make their fortune. And just like the Californian and Australian gold rushes, it’s a time for heroes, villains, geeks, geniuses, charlatans, visionaries . . . and suckers. In the Wild Wild Web, some fortunes are made, some are lost and the pace of change is lightning-fast. There is always a new kid in town and there is always a new plague to watch out for, though this time it’s not cholera or typhoid, but spam and spyware. There is always some new tool to help make that fortune faster and a landscape paved with golden opportunities: email, broadband, blogs, the people power of Web 2.0, maps, video-sharing, Skype and virtual worlds, to name just a few. Fortunes have been made at a rate never seen before. Google made its first $1 billion in less than six years. It took McDonald’s 24 years to do that. eBay partner Jeff Skoll’s fortune arrived so quickly he was still living in a share house when the company listed in 1998 and suddenly made him worth $4.8 billion. No wonder every man and his dog wants to start a successful internet company (or even just a blog). As of June 2007, there were an estimated 1.1 billion internet users around the world and some 110 million active websites*, including 70 million blogs. Out of all of this chaos, 50 Great e-Businesses and the Minds Behind Them is a collection of case studies of some of the most inspiring people behind many of the Web’s success stories.The oldest company we feature in the book, Amazon, started in mid-1995. Astrology.com, created by Australians David and Kelli Fox, started soon afterwards, in December 1995. The newest companies we feature, NYCgarages and Twitter, were started in 2006. As well as the big guns such as YouTube, Google, eBay and Amazon, we have looked at a variety of other sites, some chosen for their rapid success, some for their popularity, and others for their ingenuity: their ability to cleverly harness aspects of the Web and create new ways of making money. Many started from scratch: from lounge room to global brand (aussieBum), basement to multi-million-dollar buyout (CollegeHumor), sideline experiment to $38.9-million sale (RSVP).Gary Vaynerchuk launched a video site called WineLibrary.com with a camera and a desk in the back of his father’s liquor store in New Jersey. Finishing college is not a prerequisite for internet success: several of the founders profiled here dropped out of Harvard, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. In 1995 there were an estimated 18 million users of the internet. Growth in internet usage was increasing at 2300 per cent per year (despite the frustration of dial-up services). The well-documented dotcom bubble began. A big idea and a cute domain name could inspire investors to pour millions into a project. The ill-fated Boo.com fashion venture burnt through $160 million in cash before the company was liquidated in May 2000.Walt Disney’s Go.com ended up writing off $790 million in losses. Pets.com raised $82.5 million in an IPO in February 2000. It closed months later. Ouch. It was a time when businesses with the turnover of a few country shops were being valued at more than $1 billion.... Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:20:43 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1079&Itemid=8 Welcome to the Wild Wild Web, a modern-day gold rush that has created a new economy where, in theory, anybody with a computer and an internet connection can make their fortune.And just like the Californian and Australian gold rushes, it’s a time for heroes, villains, geeks, geniuses, charlatans, visionaries . . . and suckers. In the Wild Wild Web, some fortunes are made, some are lost and the pace of change is lightning-fast. There is always a new kid in town and there is always a new plague to watch out for, though this time it’s not cholera or typhoid, but spam and spyware. There is always some new tool to help make that fortune faster and a landscape paved with golden opportunities: email, broadband, blogs, the people power of Web 2.0, maps, video-sharing, Skype and virtual worlds, to name just a few.Fortunes have been made at a rate never seen before. Google made its first $1 billion in less than six years. It took McDonald’s 24 years to do that. eBay partner Jeff Skoll’s fortune arrived so quickly he was still living in a share house when the company listed in 1998 and suddenly made him worth $4.8 billion. No wonder every man and his dog wants to start a successful internet company (or even just a blog).As of June 2007, there were an estimated 1.1 billion internet users around the world and some 110 million active websites*, including 70 million blogs. Out of all of this chaos, 50 Great e-Businesses and the Minds Behind Them is a collection of casestudies of some of the most inspiring people behind many of the Web’s success stories.The oldest company we feature in the book, Amazon, started in mid-1995. Astrology.com, created by Australians David and Kelli Fox, started soon afterwards, in December 1995. The newest companies we feature, NYCgarages and Twitter, were started in 2006.As well as the big guns such as YouTube, Google, eBay and Amazon, we have looked at a variety of other sites, some chosen for their rapid success, some for their popularity, and others for their ingenuity: their ability to cleverly harness aspects of the Web and create new ways of making money. Many started from scratch: from lounge room to global brand (aussieBum), basement to multi-million-dollar buyout (CollegeHumor), sideline experiment to A$38.9-million sale (RSVP).Gary Vaynerchuk launched a video site called WineLibrary.com with a camera and a desk in the back of his father’s liquor store in New Jersey. Finishing college is not a prerequisite for internet success: several of the founders profiled here dropped out of Harvard, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.While not quite in the same league as the YouTubes and Amazons, Australia has its share of wildly profitable Web successes, including Seek, Wotif and RealEstate.com.au. All three started from nothing and outfoxed giant corporations who were sceptical about the Web’s potential. Much of this success has to come down to the brilliant DNA of the companies: Seek’s cohesive, highly compatible executive directors Paul and Andrew Bassat... Thu, 27 Sep 2007 07:49:13 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1024&Itemid=8 Do you remember pop-up books? Those cumbersome hardbacks filled with leaping tigers, squawking birds and various other fantastical images? Well, Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart have taken it upon themselves to transform this childish novelty into something close to art. Their trilogy of pop-up books, known as ‘Encylopedia Prehistorica’, can easily claim to be among some of the most sophisticated books ever made. Ornate depictions of sharks and dinosaurs are painstakingly constructed from scratch to create and mimic the movements of the animals in their natural habitats. The books, although designed principally for children, have found a huge adult audience, achieving cult status alongside other pop-ups such as ‘The Pop-Up Book of Sex’ by Melcher Media. The third and final book in Sabuda’s and Reinhart’s collection, ‘Mega Beasts’, tackles the furry titans of the ancient world. Sabre-toothed cats, bears taller than basketball hoops and the elephant’s hirsute cousin the woolly mammoth, are all beautifully crafted to leap out at you over 35 pages. As well as joint projects, the two have been working on their own individual books. Reinhart has recently completed ‘Star Wars’, and Sabuda is currently working on his version of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’. ‘Encyclopedia Prehistorica: Mega Beasts’ by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart (http://www.walkerbooks.co.uk/Encyclopedia-Prehistorica-Mega-Beasts-9781406305913) is published by Walker Books in the UK. By Matt Hussey. Thu, 14 Jun 2007 09:13:21 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=924&Itemid=8 After a hard days work, the last thing most of us feel like doing is having to say hi to your neighbor over the fence or cook dinner. The first can be avoided by building a bigger fence or telling your neighbor you can't stand them. The second can be achieved by cooking on days when you can be bothered and freezing the meals for a time that you can't be stuffed. Can I freeze It? (http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780060797027/Can_I_Freeze_It/index.aspx) is a collection of innovative recipes which are easy to make and totally freezable for future consumption. Imagine how you will thank yourself when you get home exhausted and simply defrost and re heat a delicious meal you made from the book three weeks ago. From Marsala Beef Stew through to Lemon Roasted Chicken and back , this book has it all. Can I Freeze It, has chapters which look at cooking for a crowd, and how to 'eat now and save for later'. Written by acclaimed New York based food writer and stylist, Susie Theodorou, this remarkable book is filled with luscious color photographs which will make your mouth water. Can I Freeze it, is the perfect book for the busy gal or the guy on the go. By Lisa Evans (After%20a%20hard%20day%20at%20work,%20the%20last%20thing%20most%20of%20us%20feel%20like%20doing%20is%20having%20to%20say%20hi%20to%20your%20neighbor%20over%20the%20fence%20or%20cook%20dinner.) Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:13:38 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=852&Itemid=8 It's the ultimate solution for the time poor erudite urbanite - an iPod-style gadget that stores the digital audio to your favorite books, from bestsellers to classics. Now there are no more excuses to not finish reading 'War Peace' - you can listen to a narrator read it to you on the subway, on the way to work, or during your morning workout session. The playaway digital stores 6-20 hours of content and allows you to place up to 50 'bookmarks' in the audio so you'll never loose your 'page'. by Lisa Evans Tue, 19 Dec 2006 02:23:14 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=744&Itemid=8 After the success of the 'Puppetry of the Penis' phenomenon, which involved the live stage show and later, a DIY book version, the penis is back in vogue. Apart from their obvious use, the willy can be employed as a comedy tool, as this brilliant book from Quirk Book publishing demonstrates. PENIS POKEY is a fun book which has holes cut through the centre of it for ones willy to poke through. Once inserted into the hole, the willy interacts with the illustration on the page to create a very funny scene indeed. From monkeys to underpants, the pages unveil cute opportunities to create various stories with your Johnston as the main star. The only thing missing was a page with a politicians head on it with a hole through the forehead, although we don't necessarily need a demonstration. by Andy G Fri, 03 Nov 2006 05:49:26 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=715&Itemid=8 Here at the Cool Hunter, we have a few exciting projects in the works which we will be pleased to announce to you in the next few weeks.One upcoming project is the release of a series of Cool Hunter branded books. The Cool Hunter and Harper Collins Publishing U.S have signed a deal to bring you a series of lifestyle books from the pages of the Cool Hunter. One of the first releases will be Sleeping Beauties - The World's Coolest Hotel Rooms . The book will feature the finest and coolest hotel rooms the world has to offer. If you know of a great room in a hotel in your part of the world, we would like to feature it in our upcoming book. From mountain retreats and ski resorts, to city pads and beach side getaways, we welcome any cool tips you may have. bill@thecoolhunter.net (http://www.thecoolhunter.net/)This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it Wed, 01 Nov 2006 06:28:34 +0100 http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=774&Itemid=8 The newest offering from Kids Republic (design/HAVEN-FOR-THE-LITTLE-IMAGINATIONS-IN-BEIJING/) Fri, 15 Sep 2006 23:42:39 +0100