Head Hammock Traveler (Reviewed: June 2011) There are a lot of items that claim to make sleeping in airplane Economy seats more comfortable - with limited success, most we've tried are related to pillows or a brace behind your head/neck. The Head Hammock is somewhat different in that it allows you to lean your head forward slightly and rest against a well supported cotton hammock. This simple yet ingenious invention is the brainchild of Theri … [Read more...]
Museum of Flight, Seattle – June 2011
An entire day, or at least most of the day needs to be reserved for a visit to Seattle's Museum of Flight. Do not underestimate the amount of time needed here! This is a huge museum that spans several buildings and when you are displaying large aircraft invariably you have to spill the exhibits outdoors. The museum is located at 9404 E. Marginal Way South, right next to the King County International Airport about 8 miles south of Seattle. The … [Read more...]
Life in a Tree House – memoirs of a 2-week vegetarian
I had been surfing the internet, looking for a volunteer opportunity that would allow us to stay in Buenos Aires for a couple weeks. We thought it would be good to get our hands dirty again, stay in a place for a while, and meet some fantastic people. We were right! We saw the website and thought we'd give it a try. From the name, it was a little risky, here are my immediate, unfiltered thoughts: eco - will we have warm showers? Will we be … [Read more...]
Once in a Lifetime
What did I know about birds? Enough to feed spinach greens, not stale muffins, to the domestic ducks at Recreation Park in my hometown of Long Beach, CA. Enough to avoid annoying the thirty-pound swans in London's Hyde Park. Enough to understand that silence was golden while trailing knowledgeable birdwatchers in the woods near The House of the Doves at Uxmal. And once, at my grandmother's house in Los Angeles when I was ten, I learned the hard … [Read more...]
Suds and Solace
"The future is an opaque mirror. Anyone who tries to look into it sees nothing but the dim outlines of an old and worried face." --Jim Bishop The morning of September 11, 2001, as a Peace Corps trainer I'd scarcely opened an HIV/AIDS seminar in a shabby hotel two hours north of Port-au-Prince, when the Haiti health program manager pulled me aside. "The World Trade Center and the Pentagon have been attacked by planes," she whispered. "It's … [Read more...]
Encore!
A spiny lobster crawled on top of the other, lifeless sea creatures displayed on the table. Chef Paul Bartolotta easily picked it up with a gloved hand. The olive skin in his slightly round face glowed as he spoke knowledgably and enthusiastically about the dishes he loves to create-fresh seafood from the waters surrounding Italy, made more savory by his blends of herbs and spices and his techniques. Bartolotta clearly takes the work he … [Read more...]
Romancing the Past
Mid-afternoon in the Apollo Room, Alexander Purdie stands before its brownish brick, marble-mantled fireplace and laments the loss of happier days. Mr. Purdie and the fireplace are flanked by two doors of the same teal-green as the rectangular room's wainscoting and window frames; they stand out against the cream-colored upper walls. The golden slats of the wooden floor give slightly underfoot. I love this room. Restored in the 1930s, the … [Read more...]
Night at the Museum
I stood in front of the Galleria Borghese, my eyes darting between three lines that seemed to snake for equally infinite distances through the elaborate Baroque gardens before the villa, trying to decide which to join. It was Museum Night in Rome: the single night of the year when all of its fabled attractions are open to the public, and at 8:00 P.M., when the evening began, the most famous sights were mobbed. It was also my first night in Rome, … [Read more...]
Hanging out in China
Nice to be back in China and on Asia time - was in Beijing last year, this time around I've already re-visited Hong Kong and now in Shenzhen on way to Shanghai in a few days. Hong Kong is crazy with all its traffic and hundreds of high rise apartment buildings but so is Shenzhen! Last night was just mesmerized by all the lights driving by what seemed like never ending row after row of high rises. Cities you've hardly heard of in China have … [Read more...]
The origin of Spanish stereotypes
When people hear the term "stereotype" it has somewhat of a bitter taste to it and one immediately assumes it is something negative and it slips into the meaning of "prejudice." However, if we are being accurate a stereotype is merely a popular belief about a specific group based on assumptions and conceptions. Curious about it, however, is that whether we condone them or not, we often use them as a point of orientation, when we don't know much … [Read more...]
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