Fake Helipads. Now, there's a beezer of an idea of mine, with $$$$$'s literally dripping off it in big, bold 96 point font. Actually, the only thing to differentiate a real helipad from a fake would not necessarily be the quality of the artefact itself, more the absence of a helicopter. So, fake isn't the right term. Maybe 'wannabe'.
But, whatever the accurate description is, there's no mistaking the perceived value suggested by such a novel corporate accessory. And that's precisely what makes me certain that if I ever get fired from my current gig, the first thing I'll be buying with my severance pay will be a job lot of expired white paint and a big H stencil.
Fiona and I visited Asia in 2000 and stopped off in Singapore for a few days. It was during this trip that one particularly enterprising taxi driver offered to take us to an 'exclusive' store way off the beaten tourist track which sold the 'best quality fakes' in the whole of Singapore. When we arrived, the fake shop was rather unassuming from the outside but inside was a veritable Aladdin's cave of quality fake merchandise. The face value of their stockholding was probably in the hundreds of thousands of Singaporean dollars, the fake value undeniably in the hundreds of millions.
Apparently their fake Rolexes were the best in town and as such, they commanded a premium over the other fakes I could find in any of the tourist areas. The same went for their fake Armani handbags, their fake Cartier bracelets and so on. The irony was oozing out of the place in 'The Blob' like quantities. This was evidence of an entire fake market ecosystem, complete with fake snobbery value. It was fantastic.
But aside from these obvious or traditional markets for materialsitic counterfiet goods like Rolex watches and the thousands of copies of the latest DVD's and CD's available, is there a market for non lifestyle or non aspirational counterfeit realities like fake helipads?
Again, my fake helipads won't be fake as such, and their owners will get plenty of use and benefit from them, just not the kind of use and benefit other helipads might engender.
And it also leads me to wonder if this subverted, recycled or just plain alternate purpose for a bland utility item such as a helipad - most of which frankly just sit about doing nothing most of the time - is any less legitimate than if it's owner's actual intent was any more genuine?
Not so much a fake economy or even an alternate rendition economy, actually it's more an improvised economy that transmits on such a different frequency, that you'll need to retune your receivers to see it. Better still, I have a great deal on some quality perception receivers just freshly in from my contact in Singapore...
But, whatever the accurate description is, there's no mistaking the perceived value suggested by such a novel corporate accessory. And that's precisely what makes me certain that if I ever get fired from my current gig, the first thing I'll be buying with my severance pay will be a job lot of expired white paint and a big H stencil.
Fiona and I visited Asia in 2000 and stopped off in Singapore for a few days. It was during this trip that one particularly enterprising taxi driver offered to take us to an 'exclusive' store way off the beaten tourist track which sold the 'best quality fakes' in the whole of Singapore. When we arrived, the fake shop was rather unassuming from the outside but inside was a veritable Aladdin's cave of quality fake merchandise. The face value of their stockholding was probably in the hundreds of thousands of Singaporean dollars, the fake value undeniably in the hundreds of millions.
Apparently their fake Rolexes were the best in town and as such, they commanded a premium over the other fakes I could find in any of the tourist areas. The same went for their fake Armani handbags, their fake Cartier bracelets and so on. The irony was oozing out of the place in 'The Blob' like quantities. This was evidence of an entire fake market ecosystem, complete with fake snobbery value. It was fantastic.
But aside from these obvious or traditional markets for materialsitic counterfiet goods like Rolex watches and the thousands of copies of the latest DVD's and CD's available, is there a market for non lifestyle or non aspirational counterfeit realities like fake helipads?
Again, my fake helipads won't be fake as such, and their owners will get plenty of use and benefit from them, just not the kind of use and benefit other helipads might engender.
And it also leads me to wonder if this subverted, recycled or just plain alternate purpose for a bland utility item such as a helipad - most of which frankly just sit about doing nothing most of the time - is any less legitimate than if it's owner's actual intent was any more genuine?
Not so much a fake economy or even an alternate rendition economy, actually it's more an improvised economy that transmits on such a different frequency, that you'll need to retune your receivers to see it. Better still, I have a great deal on some quality perception receivers just freshly in from my contact in Singapore...