Flying as an Unaccompanied Minor: ‘It was Great!’
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What a relief, after last week’s two incidents of unaccompanied minors being put on the wrong flights (and the resulting catastrophizing about the “risky proposition” of letting kids fly alone at all), to read something positive about the UM program.
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R.I.P. Farrah Fawcett
REUTERS/Staff
The actress has died at 62 after a three-year battle with cancer. Among many other roles, she starred in the cross-country road trip race movie, The Cannonball Run.
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Which Tourist Sites are Better Than the Big Names?
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There’s an interesting “Better Than…?” series going on over at This Just In. In each installment, a regional guidebook author picks a busy, major attraction and offers a comparable (or arguably, even better) alternative—and, happily, manages to do so without putting down anyone who might prefer to see the big-ticket sites as tourist sheep. The targets so far: the Duomo in Florence, Buckingham Palace and Stonehenge.
Got any “Better Than…?” suggestions of your own?
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Photo We Love: Soaring With Cranes
REUTERS/Johannes Eisele
French microlight pilot Christian Moullec flies with a flock of cranes during an air show in Langenselbold, 25 miles east of Frankfurt.
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R.I.P. Ali Akbar Khan, Indian Musician
Ali Akbar Khan. REUTERS/Adam Tanner
The Bengali-born musician, who died last week at the age of 87, was regarded by many as a genius who helped popularize Indian classical music around the globe. He played the 25-string sarod.
When he arrived in the U.S. half a century ago, many he encountered were confounded by his origins.
He told Asia Week:
“When I came in ’55, because I was in Indian dress, people on the street in New York came out of the bars and shops and followed us. They asked me, ‘Who are you? Where are you from?’ When I said, ‘India,’ some of them didn’t even know where it was. Or others who knew I was a musician asked funny questions like, ‘How can you play music in India with all the tigers and snakes and monkeys you have to fight off?’”
Here he performs via YouTube:
Orignal From: R.I.P. Ali Akbar Khan, Indian Musician
Google Unveils City Tours, Comes One Step Closer to World Domination
Look out, guidebook publishers—Google is coming for you. The all-new Google City Tours provides users with suggested urban itineraries and then allows for customization from there. The Guardian’s Benji Lanyado takes it for a test drive.
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The White House Luau: President Obama ‘Wants his Hawaii Grinds’
Luau performer in Hawaii. Photo by
The first-ever White House Hawaiian-style luau is scheduled to take place tonight, with President Obama hosting a meal created and prepared by Alan Wong.
Good for Obama. He loves his home state of Hawaii, and Hawaii loves him back—though, as seen in this slideshow, sometimes it loves him in funny ways.
In any case, Obama will get some Hawaiian food—the chef’s shopping list includes 84 pounds of Hawaiian macadamia nuts, 130 pounds of salmon and 650 pounds of pork butt—cooked by the proprietor of one of his favorite restaurants. And Hawaii hopes it will get what it desperately needs: a boost for tourism.
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It Is Not About The Bread
Okay these pictures have nothing whatsoever to do with what I am writing about, except it does have to do with Blake,my mighty warrior!
Blake doesn't mince words he always tells it like it is. When I say Blake you shouldn't say that, because we are in public and he might be hurting someones feelings...He just smiles and bows his head a little and says, but it's true. It may be true , but one does not always state the truth for the whole world to hear. Some things are to be discussed in private.
Two Sunday's ago as we sat in Sacrament meeting, on the second row from the front, right where the Bishopric has a good eye line with us and a good earshot too, Blake says to me in a not so quiet voice, during the sacrament, after the bread has been passed, " I don't like this Ward. We should leave." Blake." I say in a hushed whisper " Be quiet and think about Jesus." {my standard answer}
Then he says louder and kind of whiny "I don't like this Ward." " Blake, shhhhh." I say { the Bishop is looking right at us} as I begin to think what on earth has brought this all on? Has some one been mean to him? This is only our second time visiting here and I was with him the whole time last week, because of his crippling shyness. Then he says in another whiny voice "The bread here is terrible." "What are you talking about?" I think.He can see me confusion and says," The Sacrament bread, it is bad. You said last week that maybe someone made homemade bread for the sacrament and that this week it would be different." It is all coming back to me and as I look up I see the Bishop smile at me. I smile back.
Last weeks bread was some what different, true....." I don't like it." he says again. " It is not about the bread. Think about Jesus honey." I say. We finish with the rest of the Sacrament. The Bishop stands up and looks at us and smiles. I am ready for him to announce the speakers. Instead he says," Some of you are new to this Ward and may have noticed our bread for the Sacrament has a different texture....{this is where I want to crawl under the pew and disappear. He heard the whole conversation} We have several people in the ward that are allergic to gluten, so we try to accommodate them." he smiles again "It is a small thing, but it insures that we all can participate in this ordinance."
How nice I think. Blake frowns, " I don't like the bread." he whispers. "It is not about the bread." I say again. This time with a better understanding.
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Ganador de la cámara de fotos
César Jodra Fernández de Bibliófilo Enmascarado y Cinéfilo Enmascarado ganó el concurso de la cámara de Sony.
En palabras de César:
Lo cierto es que no me lo podía creer. Llevo dos años siguiendo tu blog, y nunca me había dado por escribir un comentario hasta el sorteo de la cámara, y de hecho, no sé por qué lo hice porque nunca participo en este tipo de cosas porque soy bastante escéptico. Fíjate tú, el impulso me ha salido bien.
Estas son dos de las primeras fotos de César con la cámara recién estrenada:
¡Muchísimas gracias a TODOS por participar! ¡Fuisteis casi 3.000 participantes!
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El doctor Nakamatsu
Hace unos días descubrí a “El doctor Nakamatsu”, no se porqué nunca había oído hablar de él. Es un inventor japonés que tiene 81 años y tiene ya más de 3.000 patentes bajo el brazo, más del triple de las que consiguió Thomas Edison en vida. Muchas de sus primeras patentes fueron licenciadas a IBM y dieron lugar a la creación de los disquetes (floppy). IBM lo reconoce como el inventor del floppy. También tiene un montón de patentes relacionadas con la creación de los primeros relojes digitales y sintetizadores musical, Casio lo reconoce como el inventor del reloj digital. Además ha escrito algo más de 80 libros y dice que antes de morir va a conseguir llegar a más de 7.000 patentes-invenciones.
Entre todas esas más de tres mil invenciones tiene algunas de lo más curiosas. Por ejemplo las zapatillas voladoras PyonPyon que te permiten saltar más alto y correr más rápido:
Más detalles de las zapatillas PyonPyon aquí
También ha inventado un sillón para echar siestas que ayuda a energizar el cerebro, se llama “Cerebrex” y dice que lo usa él mismo todos los días para poder conseguir inventar más cosas aún:
Más detalles el sillón Cerebrex aquí
Otra de las cosas curiosas que hace Nakamatsu es que saca fotos de todo lo que come desde hace 35 años y anota todos los días cómo se siente para ir viendo que efectos tiene cada comida en su estado de ánimo. Este estudio de la comida que ha consumido durante más de tres décadas le sirvió para ganar el Premio Nobel Ig en el 2007. Además, se ha presentado cuatro veces a las elecciones de gobernador de Tokyo, nunca ha ganado pero la última vez consiguió más de 100.000 votos. Roy me envió un par de fotos de la participación de Nakamatsu en las últimas elecciones de Tokyo:
Furgoneta del Doctor Nakamatsu en la campaña electoral.
Cartel electoral del Doctor Nakamatsu. En la foto de este cartel tenía 78 años.
Su invención más conocida en Japón es el “Love Jet”, que es una especie de spray estimulante sexual que según Nakamatsu es mucho más potente que la viagra. Nakamatsu dice que esta es una de sus invenciones en las que más esfuerzo ha puesto porque quiere ayudar a que Japón salga de la crisis, quiere ayudar a que los japoneses tengan más hijos y restaurar la pirámide que ahora mismo está totalmente invertida. Lo interesante del Love Jet es que el Dr. Nakamatsu lo vende más barato de lo que le cuesta producirlo, dice que lo hace para ayudar al país, que no hizo el Love Jet para ganar dinero, podéis comprarlo aquí.
El Dr. Nakamatsu anunciando su solución al problema de la natalidad en Japón, el “Love Jet”.
Un crece pelo, también invención de Nakamatsu.
En este vídeo Nakamatsu explica algunas de sus técnicas para mantener la mente creativa. Lleva una dieta muy estricta, muchos de los complejos de vitaminas que toma los ha inventado él mismo, duerme cuatro horas al día, utiliza el Cerebrex para dormir, hace deporte regularmente y lo más raro de todo es que para “idear” se sumerge en una piscina con un bloc de notas:
Dice que bajo el agua se le ocurren muchas más ideas, sobre todo cuando apenas le queda aire en los pulmones.
Nakamatsu fardando de inventos en la tele británica.
¿Os apuntáis a probar las zapatillas voladoras PyonPyon, el Love Jet, el sillón Cerebrex y a apuntar ideas bajo el agua? Por cierto, el boli y la libreta para escribir bajo el agua también los ha inventado Nakamatsu.
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Meet Two Roadside A-Kitschianados
OK, all my kitsch-lovin’ friends, here’s a site for you.
Vintage Roadside sells T-shirts and advertising images of just the kind of kooky roadside kitsch we love so much. Not only is the stuff super fun, but a portion of all Vintage Roadside sales are donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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Obama in Hawaii: Commander in Kitsch
Obama bobbleheads! Obama license plates! Obama meets Elvis! Pam Mandel reports from the souvenir section of Obamaland.
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Cheap European Travel Deals Paying Off
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According to Jean-Philippe Pérol, Chairman of the European Travel Commission, “for the first time in many months, global traffic to Europe is growing,” thanks in part to the fact that the dollar is stretching 15 percent further across the pond today than it did a year ago. The boost in primarily leisure travel was also fueled by drastically lower trans-Atlantic fares and packages, like these discount tips just posted by Frommer’s.
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Beyond the Gondola: Kayaking in Venice?
Photo by Eva Holland
If you think about it, paddling on the canals of Venice makes a whole lot of sense—and yet, you don’t see many kayaks competing with the gondolas and vaporettos. WhyGo Italy checks in with a Danish entrepreneur who aims to change that.
My only question: Will kayakers be allowed to pack bag lunches?
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R.I.P. Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald, South Pole Physician
Dr. Jerry Nielsen FitzGerald on the ice in 1999. REUTERS/Ho New
Dr. Jerry Nielsen FitzGerald captured the world’s attention in 1999.
She was at the National Science Foundation’s Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station when she discovered a lump in her breast. Isolated by bad weather, she followed instructions over the internet to perform a biopsy on herself and then began cancer treatment with drugs delivered in an air-drop. In so doing, she came to personify courage in the face of adversity.
Her sister-in-law told CNN: “She would want to be remembered for the adventure and, you know, living every day, and not just the sickness.”
Her cancer went into remission but reappeared in 2005, her husband told the Associated Press. She died at the age of 57.
Orignal From: R.I.P. Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald, South Pole Physician
Audrey Scott Hits the Travel Wall
After more than 900 days of travel, the Uncornered Market co-blogger has some blunt observations about (temporarily) reaching her limit. There’s even a handy emotion graph.
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Travel Headline of the Day: ‘Ryanair Passengers ‘Could Put Own Luggage on Plane’’
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Forget a blurring of the lines: the boundary between Onion-esque humor and real airline news is long gone. Today’s headline caps a story about the budget airline’s plans to scrap checked luggage entirely. The Independent adds blandly: “An in-flight online gambling system is also being considered.”
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South Carolina Governor’s Mystery Vacation: Is He a Tango Addict?*
Photo by Nobody seemed to know where South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was for days. His wife said she didn’t know but wasn’t worried. His staff said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. The police got involved.
Well, today the governor emerged at the Atlanta airport saying work had been stressful and he had gone to Buenos Aires because he needed a vacation and “wanted to do something exotic.” He said he spent the week driving the Argentine coastline.
Some don’t buy his story. Speculation about what he was really doing is rampant. Talking Points Memo has put together a handy timeline of events surrounding the mystery trip.
Anyone have any good theories?
Call me crazy, but I’m going to suggest the governor did indeed go to Argentina—because he has a tango addiction. I have no evidence for this. I just like the idea of it and think it would make for a good HBO movie.
Come clean, governor. Is it tango? If it is, it’s OK with us.
*Update 11:37 a.m. PT: Well, I was close. The governor gave a press conference clearing up the mystery. It was a tango of a different sort.
*Update 4:34 p.m. PT: Gawker commenter flossy has the line of the day on the mixed messages earlier about the governor’s whereabouts: “In all fairness to his aides, “I’m getting some Argentinian tail” sounds a lot like “I’m hiking the Appalachian trail” when you’re on a fuzzy satelite phone connection. Who hasn’t had that kind of innocent misunderstanding?”
Orignal From: South Carolina Governor's Mystery Vacation: Is He a Tango Addict?*
In Defense of British Food
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Over at The Titanic Awards, Britain has easily carried the win in a poll on the world’s worst national cuisines, with 25 percent of the vote. I’m not surprised—“British food is bad” is a truism that even many Brits buy into—but I do want to take a moment for some spirited dissent.
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How to Sleep on a Plane: A Tip from John Kerry
John Kerry says listen to a John Kerry speech on your iPod. That and an Ambien, and the Senator says he’s “out in seconds.” I believe it.
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Never Heard of it? ...Now You Have!
We are living in an apt. that is not tiny by the worlds standard. Three bedrooms, small kitchen and a living area. We have comfortable beds with all manner of bedding. We are guest of Skip's Company for the next couple weeks and have been for the past few and we do have indoor plumbing. For all these things I am eternally grateful. I realise so many are not blessed with such abundance........the one bathroom thing is quite challenging though.
I was little when we lived in a house, probably this same size, with one bathroom, seven kids plus mom and dad and cloth diapers {believe me this is a huge factor in the bathroom problem. I am talking early seventies here, no service, not the cool green diapers they have now. Which I would still never use, because I am a wimp!}
Sometimes, with a little girl, and maybe this would happen with a little boy too - she seems to have to go the minute you get in there. Come on it's like the Pavlov theory. It is ridiculous. Even when she doesn't need to be in there she bangs on the door.
Like most moms I need my quite time and lets face it, sometimes the minute or two that you are in the little girls room maybe the only solace you get all day. It seems not so for me. In this small apt. the kiddos can locate me, ask their questions in rapid fire succession and need me to locate the most random things the minute I close the powder room door.
Claire will knock until I let her in... for the love of Pete, I can only take so much knocking and questioning. Like a fool I think if I let her in the small throne room she might give me a break, smile at herself in the mirror, sing a song to herself, maybe ignore me all together. Then today for instance she wants to play store with me...really? Are you kidding me? I guess I had it coming, I mean I am a captive audience. She hands me a clip for her hair, tells me it is a credit card, and that I will be purchasing hair products - all while I am sitting there minding my own business. {sorry if this is to graphic} There is no way out. I try to play it down with short answers, no eye contact and your basic Mom ignoring tricks. She will have none of it. " I am here to organize your stuff ." she declares to me as she grabs me by the cheeks and looks me straight in the eye. {I am directly at her level} " Give me your credit card please....there, doesn't that look nice." She is lining up all the hair products on the radiator and giving me a cheesy smile just like a salesman. All I can say is "Yes, thank you." And then I high tale it out of there... after a five minute session of washing hands which she proudly participates in. NO Solace in the bathroom for me I will have to search else where!!!
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One more short tidbit on my three going on thirty little girl. Have you ever had a child ask you a question. One that you have an answer for and then you give the answer and they say no that's not it.
Well, the other night as we were getting ready for prayer {which is like wrangling wild mustang} I am having a conversation with Claire. She is telling me all about a girl in a movie that is an aprentine. I say "Apprentice?" She says " No an aprentine." I say ,"I think you mean she was an apprentice." " No, an APRENTINE." She declares with much emphasis. I say, "Oh, well I have never heard of an aprentine." To which she replies with a teaching smile on her face, "Well, now you have!."
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Old Eyes!
I am trying to finish some posts about our move here to Seattle, but I can't quite get them done.
I know I am getting older and my eyes are not what they once were....for that matter none of me is! The blush is fading on this old rose.
I went shopping with Skip on Saturday for some clothes. We were mostly looking for him. I had it in my mind that if we had time I would try to find a summer sweater or jacket to go with a black skirt I have. It was 9:30PM and the stores were still open as we were walking back to the car. I spotted ANNE TAYLOR and they were having a sale. I said lets stop in here and check it out. I hate shopping and I like to get in and out as fast as possible. I went immediately to the sale racks. I looked for a minute and nothing really caught my eye. I thought," Try one more time through the rack." I found a cute, white, short, box cut jacket, which was too small. I kept looking and could not find my size, but I did find my size in black.
I was very happy. Ten minutes tops and we were out of there. I felt good about the purchase, 70% off what a deal! When we got home tried it on with my skirt and it was pretty cute. I thought tomorrow I will look pretty darn good.
Sunday I dressed, checked myself out in the mirror, asked Skip if I looked okay and away we went. { of course I did dress, feed, comb, and generally make sure the kids were ready for our trek to church.} It is a trek .....
We are going to be moving to a place called Bainbridge Island, but right now we are living on Mercer Island. The first week we were here we attended the Ward here and the members were so excited to have a new family. I felt bad about giving them false hope and since I had already been in touch through e-mail with like half the Ward over on Bainbridge, I thought we might as well go over there till we move. The tricky thing is that in order to get there you must take the ferry. What an adventure...the first couple times.
We need to leave by 8:15 to catch the 8:45 ferry to get to our 10:00 meeting on Bainbridge. It is getting a little old. I think the kids love it every time though. Are we nuts or just devout? I wanted the kids to get to know the teachers and kids in the Ward especially since Jack and Sam will attend scout camps with these kids in a couple of weeks.
Back to my clothing story....So I am sitting in church, looking around smiling at ward members I have been introduced to, feeling good about my wardrobe choice and thinking were here in this new ward , new setting , trying to fit in and I have the church bag, wet wipes, tissue...do I have tissue? I look down and catch a glimpse of my cute coat laying against my cute skirt and there is something wrong. The colors don't match. At first I think," Ah, two different blacks I can deal with that..not my favorite but I can deal. Then I realise it goes beyond black. One material is jet Black and one is a beautiful deep shade of NAVY. Dang-it how could I have missed this. As I stare at the jacket it seems to get more navy by the minute. It is like some magical spell has over taken the coat and it is changing before my eyes. Pretty soon it is so obvious to me I really don't want to get up. I think did I iron the whole blouse I am wearing underneath this coat or just the part that is going to show....Please, I know most people have done this..... I remember, yes, I ironed the whole thing. I will just take it off.
You may think, "Laurene you are a basket case." And I would say," Yes ,yes I am." The thing is I wear long sleeves for a reason, I am cold all the time, but this time I just couldn't take wearing my navy, navy jacket with a jet black cotton skirt. I went for the white blouse and froze. Really, they should mark in these clothes what color they are. On the bright side, now I have a cute new navy jacket that I need to find something to wear with.
Orignal From: Old Eyes!
No se admiten tatuados o borrachos
Fijaos en el detalle de las flores-tatuaje del avatar.
Que respondan sólo aquellos que no han estado nunca en Japón: ¿Qué tipo de instalaciones son éstas en las que no se admite gente tatuada o borracha?
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Encuentro con Takahashi Meijin
Hace algo más de un año Ale y yo tuvimos la suerte de encontrarnos con Takahashi Meijin. Takahashi es una leyenda mediática el mundillo de los video juegos que trabaja en Hudson Soft, los creadores de Bomberman. Para algunos jugones y jugonas es un auténtico mito e incluso muestran con orgullo su firma.
Ale junto a Takahashi Meijin.
Este es un vídeo de Takahashi Mejin que grabé que va acompañado de música de Ale.
Este es uno de los vídeos más famosos en los que sale Takahashi haciendo de las suyas, es famoso porque es capaz de pulsar botones de un mando a velocidades “infinitas”.
Ale cuenta más cosas sobre el encuentro en su blog, y si queréis saber más sobre Takahashi este es un post que escribí hace un tiempo sobre él.
Orignal From: Encuentro con Takahashi Meijin
Day Tripper Beatles Tribute: Abbey Road Era - Hommage aux Beatles Canada
Revolution, Penny Lane, With a little help from my friends, all you need is love, something, get back, hey jude, a day in the life Day Tripper Montreal, Canada's youngest and most authentic Beatles Tribute!! L'Hommage aux Beatles le plus authentique au Canada! All Clips live in Montreal, March '09. Help spread the word!
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Remembering America’s Lost Train Stations
The Infrastructurist has a terrific then-and-now photo essay of beautiful American train stations that fell to the wrecking ball. Write Yonah Freemark and Jebediah Reed: “One lesson of this legacy is that what replaces a well designed and centrally located rail depot can is rarely of equal worth to the city.” (via @frugaltraveler)
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In Thailand, Visit ‘Moscow in the Tropics’
Here’s another intriguing story about the rise of the Russian traveler, this one about luxury travelers descending on the “neon beacon of sleaze” that is Pattaya, Thailand.
Writes Patrick Winn in GlobalPost:
Russians have helped revitalize Pattaya, first transformed into raunchy nightspot decades ago by Vietnam War-era U.S. troops. The city has since seen its ups and downs, but now it has a new look. Pattaya abounds with Cyrillic signs advertising scuba shops, restaurants and bars. There’s even an all-Russian local TV station.
Last June, the New York Times put a piece about newly prosperous Russian travelers hitting the road on its front page.
Orignal From: In Thailand, Visit 'Moscow in the Tropics'
Non-Places and the End of Travel
Frank Bures on airports, Dubai and Marc Augé's "Non-Places: An Introduction to Supermodernity"
Orignal From: Non-Places and the End of Travel
T.G.I. Friday’s in Tokyo
In Slate, Daniel Gross goes to Tokyo and tackles the city’s “SPC ratio” (Starbucks per capita) and other oddities of the Japanese love affair with American chain food outlets.
Orignal From: T.G.I. Friday's in Tokyo
See This Now: ‘Give Peace a Chance’
Photo by Eva Holland
As we’ve noted, this spring marked the 40th anniversary of John and Yoko’s iconic “bed-ins” for peace, first at the Amsterdam Hilton and later (and more famously) at Montreal’s Queen Elizabeth Hotel. The commemorations in those two cities have passed, but a powerful exhibit about the Montreal bed-in has just opened at the Museum at Bethel Woods (aka the Woodstock museum), and it will remain open through the summer.
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Dancing Around the World
Photo by
Nope, nothing to do with Matt Harding this time. The Big Picture’s latest photo essay showcases an eclectic collection of dancers worldwide. I can’t even pick a favorite.
Orignal From: Dancing Around the World
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