This really was amazing. Thank you, Arianna!
“Congratulations on the success of the Oasis!” is something someone says to Arianna Huffington as she trots through The Huffington Post Oasis. At the Oasis there are soft white cushions to sit on and there are candles whose smell is so hefty that, after a moment, you feel like you are encased within a peach. There are yoga classes, there are masseuses on hand, there are people who give you facials, there are people that do your makeup. There is food. There is Greek yogurt that is provided by, if rumors are to be believed, the sister of Arianna Huffington. There is bottled water that claims to be both “non-flavored” and to contain “Australian flower essences.” There is a full service cafe. There are teeny wax paper bags of mixed nuts, ready to be picked at by newly-relaxed fingers. All of these things are free. You just take them, you just ask for them, you just show up. You find yourself eating yogurt because, well, this yogurt isn’t gonna eat itself. These things are free if you have a press pass. And lucky you, you do. You did something right, it turns out, and now they’re just hurling priceless wonders at you. Being at the Oasis does not come without a modicum of social guilt. That guilt is readily allayed by a refill of cucumber water. Of course the Oasis is a success. There are literally no obstacles to its success. Its model is giving away free luxuries in an idealized environment. There are methods of screwing this up, I am sure, and Arianna Huffington did not pursue any of these methods. The Oasis is magnificent, splendiferous, a success. —Tag
