Ashley Hughes and David Foster raising money for Charity

Ashley Hughes and David Foster

To say that everything David Foster touches turns to gold – and frequently platinum – would be an understatement. The songwriter and producer is a 16-time Grammy Award winner (including three for Producer of the Year) with an unprecedented 50 nominations, a recipient of 7 Canadian Juno Awards, an Emmy Award and a three time Oscar nominee, all over the course of four extraordinarily successful decades. Add to that, a slew of monster hits with some of the world’s greatest singers of all time.

Ashley Hughes was fortunate enough to work with this amazing gentleman for his Charity Gala in Toronto where they raised 6.5 Million for his cause. 

Raise a reader.

Ashley Hughes - Canada 

One can never read too many books.

She turned her can'ts into cans...

Ashley Hughes Toronto

And turned her dreams into plans.

Don't be fooled by your emptiness...

There is so much more room for happiness.

How Billionaires Control Our Lives

Keren Blankfeld

The wealthiest control what you eat, what you wear and how you listen to music. 

Here's an example of some of the wealthiest Americans influence on one fictional New Yorker.

Why should we care about the rich? Besides the obvious interest in their lavish lifestyles, everyone should care about the super wealthy because, in many respects, they control almost every thing we do, every hour of the day.

Don't believe it? Follow Alex, a fictional yuppie New Yorker who is admittedly lazy and a bit of a lush.

How Billionaires Control Our Lives:

It's Monday morning, exactly 6 a.m. Alex wakes up in her apartment at Donald Trump's West Side Trump Place with a slight headache--the residual reminder of a Patron tequila-induced hangover (thanks, John Paul DeJoria) from a reckless Sunday night with friends. Her iPhone jingles, playing the latest iTunes download, courtesy of Steve Jobs. An hour later, Alex drags herself out of bed.

She steps onto her Sierra Pacific Industries hardwood floors (Archie Emmerson). In a daze, Alex gets ready for work. She showers using Kohler fixtures (Herbert Kohler), purchased last month at Home Depot ( HD - news - people ) (Arthur Blank, Bernard Marcus).

Alex tosses on some mascara and lip gloss (Ronald and Leonard Lauder), then throws on some lingerie from Victoria's Secret (Leslie Wexner), a pair of slacks and a cute button-down shirt and sweater set she'd gotten with her mom at the Gap ( GPS - news - people ) (Fisher family) last fall.

Breakfast is always a crisis of conscience: should she sit down at home and enjoy a honeydew melon and banana from Dole Foods (David Murdock)? Or hurry to work, grabbing a coffee and a Boston cream doughnut from Dunkin' Donuts (Tom Lee, David Rubenstein, Daniel D'Aniello, William Conway) on the way? Since it's Monday and her head is still throbbing, Alex decides on the latter.

Alex is the rare New York driver who avoids public transportation at all costs--any cost. After a silly mishap with her own car over the weekend, she's forced to drive a rented Enterprise sedan (Jack Taylor). She squints at the bright sunlight outside and slips on her Oakley ( OO - news - people) sunglasses (James Jannard).

When Alex finally arrives at her Times Square office (Leon Charney), she has copies of the Daily News (Mort Zuckerman), New York Post and The Wall Street Journal(Rupert Murdoch) waiting for her on her desk. She turns on her Dell ( DELL - news - people ) computer (Michael Dell), which runs with an Intel ( INTC - news - people ) processor (Gordon Moore).

Alex is almost through the Page Six gossip column when her overbearing boss pokes his head in, asking her to generate a spreadsheet on Microsoft Excel (Bill Gates). Alex rolls her eyes, but it's 11 a.m. and she might as well start working. She calls a client on her cellphone, run on technology developed byQualcomm ( QCOM - news - people ) (Irwin Jacobs).

By 11:30 a.m., Alex is hungry and bored. She searches onGoogle ( GOOG - news - people ) for a new restaurant while watching a hilarious puppy video on YouTube (Sergey Brin, Larry Page). After much ado, she decides to order pizza with her co-workers. Loaded on top: mozzarella cheese from Leprino Foods (James Leprino).

Feeling a bit lethargic after lunch, and not really in the mood for number-crunching or clients, Alex posts pictures of that embarrassing (though funny) Saturday morning car mishap on her Facebook page (Mark Zuckerberg). The digital pics were loaded on a memory card from Kingston Technologies (David Sun and John Tu).

It's 3 p.m. and her boss has gone off to a client meeting. Alex slips a (thin) issue of Vogue (SI Newhouse) from her purse and flips through it.

Later, after checking several stocks on the office Bloomberg terminal (Michael Bloomberg), Alex calls her Schwab broker to make a few trades (Charles Schwab). Great timing: The mailman delivers her paycheck from Paychex ( PAYX - news -people ) (B. Thomas Golisano).

Before getting off the phone with her broker, Alex has spent half her paycheck on self-help books and fitness DVDs onAmazon.com ( AMZN - news - people ) (Jeff Bezos). She considers spending the remainder at WalMart.com (the Walton family), but manages to restrain herself.

Finally, it's 6 p.m.--time to clock out. Alex stops at a gas station (George Kaiser) to refuel her rental car. Before heading home, though, she makes good on her New Year's resolution and goes for a quick jog in Central Park, sporting her brand newNike ( NKE - news - people ) gear (Philip Knight).

When she gets home, Alex turns on CNN to catch up on the day's news (Ted Turner). A football junkie, she heads to the neighborhood bar to watch the Dallas Cowboys (Jerry Jones) take on the New England Patriots (Robert Kraft) on Monday Night Football. After the game, she watches The Daily Showand Colbert Report (Sumner Redstone). The cable service is provided by Cablevision ( CVC - news - people ) (Charles Dolan).

By midnight, Alex is ready to go to sleep. But as soon as her head hits the pillow she starts worrying about her performance review Tuesday, which she didn't prepare for at all. After much tossing and turning, she goes to sleep with the help of a generic sleeping pill bought at a pharmacy serviced by Kinray (Stewart Rahr).

As Alex falls into a deep slumber, hundreds of miles away, her Saturday night dinner is being prepared. Crops and meats are being processed in Ohio. (The Cargill and MacMillan families). Helping them grow faster, larger and stronger: fertilizer produced by Koch Industries (Charles & David Koch).

Meanwhile, documents she sent earlier in the day are being flown to London via FedEx ( FDX - news - people ) (Frederick Smith). Her local grocery store is being restocked with food brought in on trucks owned by Schneider National (Donald Schneider).

In an hour, the cycle will begin again. This time, for breakfast, Alex will choose to enjoy the fresh fruit. And after the disastrous performance review, she'll decide she needs to spend more time working and less time fooling around.

How to read this blog

Believe nothing. No matter where you read it, or who said it, even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

Buddha

Always leave them wanting more.

"She's a mysterious girl and I think that ladies like her who have a mystery – where there's something hiding beneath the surface – are the really interesting ones."

There can be no prestige without mystery, for familiarity breeds contempt. 

Ashley Hughes, Ashley Hughes Vancouver, Lady Ashley Hughes, Lady Ashley Hughes Vancouver, 

Marg Helgenberger to co-host our Fundraiser October 20, 2012 in Vancouver

Ashley Hughes and Marg Helgenberger 

On October 20th, 2012 Fraser Riverkeepers host their 5th anniversary fundraising gala with co-host Marg Helgenberger.

From vancitybuzz:

Fans of the original CSI series get a rare chance to meet the show’s star Marg Helgenberger in Vancouver this weekend as she co-hosts a fundraiser for Fraser Riverkeeper (FRK). The fundraising gala kicks off a renewed campaign to bring Fraser River conservation into the mainstream.
“In the Lower Mainland, we live at the gateway to the Fraser River, which supports more salmon runs than any other river in the world,” says executive director Lauren Hornor. “We are the gatekeepers of the river, all of us who live in Vancouver to Hope. How we treat the Fraser here affects not only fish but hundreds of thousands of people throughout BC. The fundraiser is one fun way people can support our work to help protect it.”

The fundraiser takes place on October 20^th and will feature sustainable seafood, local wines, a swimwear fashion show, music, and a silent auction featuring local artists and designers.
The issue of clean water is a passion for Helgenberger, who supports the FRK’s initiatives. “I grew up fishing, swimming and boating the Platte River in Nebraska with my father,” says Emmy-winning Helgenberger. “Those are treasured memories for me, and I believe we have to all fight for the clean waters we love. I’m a huge fan of the work Fraser Riverkeeper and other Waterkeeper Alliance groups are doing for swimmable, drinkable, fishable waters across North America.”

Among their projects, the FRK has initiated legal challenges, removed garbage from the Fraser near Chilliwack, and most recently launched a free smartphone app, Swim Guide, that gives users up-to-date data on water quality at their favourite beaches.

The Fraser Riverkeeper group wants to restore the Fraser River the same way their sister group, Hudson Riverkeeper, was able to do in New York State. “This event is a chance for Vancouverites to give back and support a cleaner, healthier Fraser River by having a good time, “ says Hornor. “It’s going to be an incredible evening thanks to Marg Helgenberger and all the talented artists, business-people and organizations that have donated their time and resources.”

The Fraser Riverkeeper an autonomous Canadian member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, an international organization founded in 1999 by Robert Kennedy Jr.

What: Fraser Riverkeeper’s 5^th Anniversary Fundraising Gala
When: October 20, 2012, 7:00 p.m.- 10 p.m.
Where: The Arthur Erickson Waterfall Building, 1540 West 2^nd Avenue, Vancouver
Tickets: $125 (include admission to BarNone after party)
For more information, please visit fraserriverkeeper.eventbrite.ca

Event committee: Ashley Hughes, Lauren Hornor, Ms Evans, Victoria Mackie and Lesley Mapstone.

FRK: Lauren Hornor, Tyee Bridges and Cassie Beecham

Fraser Riverkeepers

Photos from FRK Fraser Riverkeepers 5th anniversary fundraiser.

FRK Fraser Riverkeeper's Fundraiser (Vancouver - October 20, 2012)

Dear friends of clean water:

In the past five years, FRK has joined forces with hundreds of volunteers to clean over 30 tons of garbage from sensitive salmon-spawning riverbeds and took legal action against Metro Vancouver to stop them from dumping raw sewage into the waters we drink, swim, fish and play in.

Now they need your help.

On October 20th, 2012 Fraser Riverkeepers are hosting their 5th anniversary fundraising gala with co-host Marg Helgenberger.

For tickets, click here

Fraser Riverkeepers

Relationship building

Hermes is one company that prides itself on it relationships with preferred customers.

Aim high. First page.

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As your case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.

There is always hope.

Ashley Hughes Vancouver UECS. 

PS: If this works, my next quote will be higher.

For Al-Nashir Jiwa and Dev Randhawa. This is a test to see if I am able to assist you. 

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Dead and dying seas. Bodélé Depression

The Bodele Depression is all that is left of Lake Megachad. The remains of this freshwater lake now plays hosts as the dusiest place on earth. The depression is a major source of dust for the Atlantic, depositing calcium, iron, potassium, and phosphorus needed by phytoplankton. It is also the major source of dust that fertilizes the Amazon basin in South America.

Kings, Heroes and Lovers

Parviz Tanavoli (born 23 March 1937 in Tehran) is an Iranian sculptor, painter, scholar and art collector.

He belongs to Saqqakhana group of artists who, according to the scholar Karim Emami, share a common popular aesthetic. He has been influenced heavily by his country's history and culture and traditions, (he was once cultural advisor to the Queen of Iran, and has always been fascinated with locksmithing.

Tanavoli's work has been auctioned around the world leading to overall sales of over $6.7 million dollars, making him the most expensive living Iranian artist. 

Ashley Hughes attends a special tea with this amazing artist to discuss possibilities and how to acquire nothingness.

A lesson in perspective...

Q: Are you Naughty or Nice?

A: Depends on you


I don't give my card out to just anybody.


I once learnt that some reporters write out their stories in a secret code - a shorthand - that they can only read. I use a theory of that to store phone numbers in code names on my phone to protect my contacts and to jot down important key pieces of information in a language unique to me. I discuss the Voynich Manuscript and Leonardo da Vinci; Cryptanalysis, code-breaking and shorthand with my friends...

The question and answer above is meant for a reflection based lesson. It works only for those that think outside the box. The ones that can touch the stars. The ones sending us to outer space.


If you don't recognize the exact card from which I am quoting and referring to, I have attached a hint below.

I don't give this card to just anybody.

Are you naughty or nice?

This concludes a small lesson in judgement.

Post is dedicated to the lovely Cayman's Island. Special note to the play on words.

"the main marketing man", Virgin, Richard Branson Vancouver, Ashley Hughes Vancouver, Marketing, SEO, Sir Richard Branson, Lady Ashley Hughes     

The twelfth night

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."










this post is for raj

Après-Ski

Ashley Hughes on the peak of Vail

Ashley Hughes soaking in the natural hot springs

Groomed

Ashley Hughes, Ashley Hughes Vancouver, Lady Ashley Hughes, Lady Ashley Hughes Vancouver, skiing, vail, beaver creek, aspen, whistler, hot springs

The air up here

Heli-skiing in Beautiful British Columbia

You know a sport is dangerous when...

Play safe.

Ashley Hughes enjoying an afternoon in the helicopter

Ashley Hughes, Ashley Hughes Vancouver, Lady Ashley Hughes, Lady Ashley Hughes Vancouver, skiing, vail, beaver creek, aspen, whistler, helicopter, heli-skiing

Cue the antagonist.

Magnum Jodanger. 


It just sounds so James Bond to me. Especially with the Scandenavian accent. 


As my life constantly feels like I am in the midst of an adventure novel and when the real life Magne Jordanger was introduced to me at a business lunch, his heavy accent made it sound like Magnum Jodanger.  


We then carried on the conversation about fisheries and fish farming but I was lost in swirling thought about the perfect villain name... even though his company was very pleasant. I seek inspiration from some of the strangest things. 

Hooray!

Lady Moura

Nasser Al-Rashid


http://www.rashidengineering.com/


This post is just acting as a reminder for me.

Quintessentially Emirati

Ashley Hughes and little falcon in the desert in UAE

If one is looking for a royal activity, observing or flying falcons in the Arabian desert is the sport.

Ashley Hughes Vancouver, Lady Ashley Hughes Vancouver, photographs, business, investments, consultant, international, real, of vancouver,  Falcons vs. Pigeons at French Open: Officials at the French Open have had it with pigeon droppings. The slimy deposits can alter how balls bounce on the courts, not to mention the mess is just unpleasant. So the tennis organization has introduced some avian competition: falcons. Eight falcons with knife-like claws and soaring speeds were released at Roland Garros to take on the pesky pigeons. Despite the falcons' killer reputation, officials claim they're just hoping the birds of prey will scare off the pigeons -- not necessarily kill them. Indeed pigeons have already cleared out, but falconer Ludwig Verchatse says that doesn't mean they'll stay away, explaining, "pigeons are stupid. They don't transmit the information to their friends." Expect the falcons to become a long-term fixture at the courts. Talented, regal birds of prey.