Our planet is thought to be approximately 4.5 billion years old and, throughout Earth’s existence, things have changed dramatically. The land has changed, the environment has changed, species have evolved and species have become extinct – our planet’s ‘path’ has unravelled.
Human beings have existed for only a tiny fraction of this 4.5 billion years – an estimated 5 million years. Like every other species, we have evolved and learned to use the resources we can find to build safe homes and survive: birds collect grass to keep their nests warm, humans generate gas and electricity to keep their nests warm. However, unlike our animal friends, we have also developed complex languages, governments, laws and new technology. This was all part of our evolution.
When we talk about ‘destroying the planet’, it’s good to remember what we really mean. Yes, we are jeopardising the existence of certain species and draining resources. But we are not destroying the planet. The planet has and will survive much longer than the human race ever will. Earth will continue to exist, unravelling its path, affected by the actions of the things that exist around it and on it.
What we really mean, is we are jeopardising our own species chance for survival. We are draining resources at a catastrophic rate and this must stop. To protect life on Earth, we must make some significant changes and this will require the collaboration of the species as a whole.
To promote Sunset Dreams, the new slots game at Cyberslotz, we created the following landing page and email.
Landing Page
Unfortunately, it is not possible to enlarge the landing page so I have pasted the copy below.
“Sunset Dreams is the latest Aussie slot machine game at Cyberslotz. We’re giving away a generous bonus of up to £50 to everyone who signs up today, plus free spins awarded to you at random! Bet as little as a penny per line for your chance to win an enormous £4,000 jackpot and discover where your dreams can take you.”
Aside from my entire range of special holiday smellies being seized for security reasons at Luton airport – cleanliness apparently a national security threat these days – our journey to Berlin went without too many hitches.
We arrived at our destination, Schonefeld International, and sat on a bench at the railway station for little under an hour, scanning our German phrase book to piece together the following phrase:
“Two hot dogs and a bottle of coke, please?”
After we had finished our pizzas, we boarded a train, and hoped it was headed for Berlin’s city centre. We spent the day attuning to the transport system, admiring the graffiti that covered every grey wall, and recalled the events of Germany’s unsettled history.
As a centre of politics and culture, Berlin is one of the most important and vibrant European cities. You would never suspect the city, that’s so full of amazing museums, bold new architecture and stately palaces, hides such a turbulent and dramatic past.
There were two major milestones after World War 2: the division into four occupation zones and the rise of the Berlin Wall built in 1961, which separated West Berlin from East Berlin until the German Unification in 1990.
At check-in time, we arrived at the Eastern Comfort, a floating hostel on the River Spree. Charming and spacious, and with an amazing view of the Oberbaum bridge, the cabin was more than I had expected, albeit a little cold. Huddling in the warmth of our cabin bed, we planned our first night out. If only we hadn’t decided to have that nap.
The next morning we awoke, surprised to discover we had slept through our first night in Berlin. We showered and dressed before venturing into the freezing outdoors. Somehow we had both forgotten to bring pants, so we made a quick visit to ‘Kiks’, Berlin’s equivalent to Matalan, and set out to explore Berlin for another day. Fans of history and art should not miss the huge Museum Island (Museumsinsel), a complex of five museums that was added to the German World Heritage list in 1999. Berlin Mitte (Berlin city centre) is the city’s historic core, home to the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag, Unter den Linden Boulevard, Potsdamer Platz and the Alexanderplatz with the Berlin TV Tower .
In the evening, we went to the Arena to watch Manu Chao in concert and then on to Watergate, a stylish club on the canal front that a friend had recommended to us. Somehow, between midnight and noon the next day, the club had transformed into a squat-like rave and at around midday, I was struck with a fever. So, with a high temperature and a bad case of self-pity, I retired back to our cabin for some rest. By Monday I was feeling a little better and, with a peculiar craving for fried eggs, we began on a mission to find a cafe. One full English breakfast, two park benches, a pub lunch and a trip to the Sealife Centre later, we were back at the airport, for our return to the UK.
