culturetrek

shuttle launch over the lake

2009-08-29T07:31:00.003-05:00

(this is not last night's launch, I missed that because of sleeping. this is one from earlier in the year)

me in brazil

2009-05-20T18:19:00.002-05:00

this is a true story

2009-05-09T16:04:00.021-05:00

So, I am watching this movie from the 70s on TV. It is about frogs and lizards and snakes that have decided they've had just about enough, and start swarming all over and killing rich folks.

I had just posted this twitter tweet about how these things were just not scary at all. The frogs were even kind of cute when they all hopped menacingly together. And lizards? Who could even be scared of lizards?

Then, I went to the kitchen to put away our leftovers from lunch and was digging through the cabinet for some tupperware when a lizard jumped up out of the back of the cabinet and onto a bowl, knocking me over. I screamed. Then he looked at me like, "tweet this, loser." And ran away.

And I sat there and laughed.

The end.

I can show you what is left.

2009-02-08T19:56:00.005-05:00

American Book Review's 100 best first lines of novels I'm not sure any of these are my favorites.

h/t good magazine

sunshine and red balloons

2009-01-28T15:30:00.003-05:00

for my friend azuree, hope it works!!

where the quote below came from

2009-01-21T19:41:00.010-05:00

style is the answer to everything.
a fresh way to approach a dull or a dangerous thing.

to do a dull thing with style is preferable
to doing a dangerous thing without style.

to do a dangerous thing with style, is what I call art.

--from Style by Charles Bukowski

more info on the "The Poet Laureate of Skid Row" here.

style

2009-01-03T15:40:00.002-05:00

I think this is a good thing to keep in mind...

happy new year!

2009-01-01T20:25:00.003-05:00

The Journey
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do...

--from The Journey by Mary Oliver

more here

Night Journey

2008-12-31T19:44:00.009-05:00

Beyond the mountain pass
Mist deepens on the pane;
We rush into a rain
That rattles double glass.
Wheels shake the roadbed stone,
The pistons jerk and shove,
I stay up half the night
To see the land I love.

--From Night Journey by Theodore Roethke

more here, or here

Photograph from assignment: Chicago: city of contrasts, by Stanley Kubrick while he was a staff photographer for LOOK magazine, 27 January 1949.

nice seeing ya...

2008-12-30T20:43:00.002-05:00

capturing thoughts

2008-09-28T07:38:00.001-05:00

Rick Stevens on travel journaling for CNN.

adventure racing camp

2008-07-15T05:55:00.002-05:00

Instruction in whitewater paddling, ropes, navigation, mountain biking, race training and logistics planning, mountain biking, river rescue, flat water paddling, nutrition, and ending with a 12 hour adventure race.

for beginners and intermediates...
more info here

free music friday

2008-05-16T22:16:00.005-05:00

from another of my favorite sites, boingboing...

If you like bluegrass, which I do. And you like rap, which I do. You might like this..

amazing style

2008-05-16T17:49:00.015-05:00

Simply beautiful. Makes me want to get older...

Image via The Sartorialist...hands down the best fashion website on the planet.

eat like a local in seattle

2008-05-16T11:13:00.000-05:00

here's where to go according to cnn...

discovering brazil through literture

2008-05-09T08:56:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I can't always be traveling. But I can always escape through a good story...

article at salon.com

apparently your memory is NOT like an ear of corn

2008-05-09T07:41:00.006-05:00

You have two different types of memory: verbatim, which allows you to recall specifics, and gist, where you put the event in context and give it meaning.

"We were taught you extracted the gist from the verbatim memory," recalled Reyna, an experimental psychologist and former senior research adviser to the U.S. Department of Education. "It was like husking an ear of corn. You threw away the husk, which was the verbatim, and you kept the gist, which was the kernel of meaning."

Turns out, this may not be true. New studies have shown that verbatim and gist are actually separate, parallel systems and that this explains why we sometimes remember things that never happened.

Gist memory is designed to look for patterns and fill in perceived gaps. As our verbatim memories fade away, in our need to put the facts into some kind of context, we can create a vivid but illusory image in our mind.

Mental snapshots soon fade; what lingers are our impressions of an occurrence, which are shaped by the meanings we attach to it.

full article at miller-mccune.com

anthropologist creates oceanic manga fantasy

2008-05-04T20:28:00.004-05:00

"I want to portray in manga what I gained from field investigation, but cannot fully express in scientific papers," Tsuru said at his office in Toyama. "For me, my studies are not inconsistent with manga."

yomiuri.com

what you can bring back

2008-05-03T13:26:00.004-05:00

When you travel abroad it can be hard to know what is OK to bring back into the country. USA Today sifts through the many regulations to help you keep from getting arrested by the food police...

Fresh meat generally is forbidden. No steaks, no chops, no sausage. Unless it comes from New Zealand. Or is a wild bison. From Canada. That you killed yourself (keep your hunting permit with your passport.)

article at usatoday

quick trips and last-minute travel

2008-03-04T12:35:00.001-05:00

MSNBC tells you how to save big bucks on short notice...

amazing chemistry videos

2008-03-03T13:15:00.001-05:00

Wired's blog brings you the Top 10 Amazing Chemistry Videos.

bamboo bikes

2008-02-23T08:47:00.001-05:00

Calfee Design's bamboo bikes are gaining ground with serious bikers - and environmentalists.

sit back and relax, it's a show! God said

2008-02-20T22:00:00.010-05:00

I'm not sure why watching the moon disappear for an hour in an entirely predictable way would be so cool--but it was. The clouds came and went just enough to add some drama.

The moon will come back out at 10:51. The next total eclipse will be in 2010.

Learn everything you want to know about today's eclipse here.

(image courtesy of Thomas Knoblauch via Wikipedia commons)

currently reading

2008-02-19T00:03:00.004-05:00

our irrational selves

2008-02-18T19:23:00.006-05:00

Interesting article in the New Yorker about what goes into our choices (not always a lot of logic, apparently) from the book
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely (great title)

“Our irrational behaviors are neither random nor senseless—they are systematic,” he [Ariely] writes. “We all make the same types of mistakes over and over.” So attached are we to certain kinds of errors, he contends, that we are incapable even of recognizing them as errors.

urban dare

2008-02-17T20:17:00.006-05:00

It's a mini Amazing Race--run around, solve puzzles, take pictures. The next one is here in Orlando on March 8th.

more info here...

update from the comments: there is another similar race called High Trek Adventure, you can get more info here.

any others? I'd like to try one of these races this year...

Here are more urban adventure races I've found:

The Great Urban Race: includes a championship race in Las Vegas with a $10,000 prize at the end of the season

Austin Found Citywide Treasure Hunt (Austin, TX)

geek the vote

2008-02-04T19:49:00.000-05:00

If you are interested in learning what the candidates think about a number of science and technology issues--from digital technology to science education--Popular Mechanics has the scoop here.

currently reading...

2007-12-18T19:45:00.000-05:00

divisadero by michael ondaatje

"Only the rereading counts, Nabokov said. So the strange form of that belfry, turning onto itself again and again, felt familiar to me. For we live with those retrievals from childhood that coalesce and echo throughout our lives, the way shattered pieces of glass in a kaleidoscope reappear in new forms and are songlike in their refrains and rhymes, making up a single monologue. We live permanently in the recurrence of our own stories, whatever story we tell."

or as I like to call them, ugly chicken ducks

2007-12-17T21:50:00.000-05:00

These ducks like to hang out in our back yard by the lake. Called a Muscovy Duck, they are native to Mexico, Central and South America and the most common domestic duck species in Florida. Lots of people don't like them much. There is a family of them that loves to take their time crossing the street when you are in a hurry...

have some lemon with your tea

2007-11-14T08:31:00.000-05:00

It is better for you that way!

cultural understanding through literature

2007-10-30T17:51:00.000-05:00

Want to understand people from other cultures?

Curling up with a good book could be the best way to do that, according to Nobel-prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk.

"Obviously we cannot hope to come to grips with matters this deep merely by reading newspapers and magazines or by watching television," he said in a speech he gave at Georgetown.

You can listen to a webcast of his talk here

(via The Washington Post)

New Orleans musicians arrested

2007-10-30T17:36:00.000-05:00

for “parading without a permit” during a funeral procession

“Funeral processions are an essential element of New Orleans culture, and the impromptu variety in particular--honoring the passing of someone of distinction, especially a musician--are a time-honored tradition in neighborhoods like Tremé, which some consider the oldest black neighborhood in America. For black New Orleans residents who have returned to the city, these and other street-culture traditions--second-line parades and Mardi Gras Indian assemblies--offer perhaps the only semblance of normalcy, continuity and community organization left.”

Sometimes I feel like we’re trying to turn the whole country into one big manicured, quiet, suburb so we don’t ever have to bump up against anything loud, irritating or uncomfortable.

Full story at Salon.com

I vote get rid of it altogether

2007-10-30T17:35:00.000-05:00

A researcher at the University of Munich has reported that our daily rhythms don't adjust to the time changes during daylight savings time. Especially, those of us who take our waking slow:

“This is especially obvious in the late chronotypes in spring when one looks at their daily activity patterns. Essentially, their biological timing stays on standard, winter time, while they have to adjust their social schedules to the advanced clock time throughout the summer.”

I am very happy that it is almost over...

Blast Off!

2007-06-08T19:28:00.000-05:00

After a year and a half in Orlando, I finally have witnessed a live space shuttle launch. The last one I caught on TV as I was channel surfing, I ran out onto the deck to look, but was too late. Tonight as I was leaving Publix, I noticed that there were a number of people looking at the sky with goofy looks on their faces. After passing three or four of them I looked up and saw it. It was bright and was moving fast.

rough new prizes

2007-04-09T11:39:00.000-05:00

Listen! I will be honest with you,
I do not offer the old smooth prizes,
but offer rough new prizes,
These are the days that must happen to you:
You shall not heap up what is call’d riches,
You shall scatter with lavish hand
all that you earn or achieve,
You but arrive at the city to which you were destin’d,
you hardly settle yourself to satisfaction before
you are call’d by an irresistible call to depart…

--from Song of the Open Road by Walt Whitman

Portuguese meetup

2007-03-31T21:52:00.000-05:00

Tonight we checked out the Portuguese Language Meetup Group that we found with meetup.com.

We went to the always delicious Camila's on International Drive in Orlando. It is a Brazilian buffet-- I love the chicken and french fries with black beans over the top. About eight people showed up, about half Brazilian so I got some good Portuguese practice in. Everyone there was really nice and we had a lovely time.

Meetup.com has groups for many languages (and just about any other subject you can think of) so if you want to get some conversational practice in I would definitely recommend it.

(this is the Camila's bus)

alligator on the St. John's river

2007-03-31T11:40:00.000-05:00

The first alligator I have seen since moving to Florida. It was sunning itself on the bank of the St. John's river, and swam away after we buzzed by in our little boat. We saw many more that day, but this is officially the first.

I'm still getting used to the thought of kayaking with them. I figured I'd start with the fishing boat and go from there...

fighting AIDS in Botwswana

2007-03-30T12:29:00.000-05:00

My friend Kara is heading off to Botswana with the Peace Corps to do AIDS education and prevention. Botswana is one of the countries that has been hardest hit by the disease, with almost a quarter of the population infected. But it is also a country that is leading the way in addressing the problem.

The photo here is from a book I did some publicity for called Hope in the Dark. The photographer, Jeremy Cowart, did an amazing job of capturing the pain, tragedy, hope, strength, joy and tremendous beauty he found as he traveled through the country. The website for the book also includes a list of organizations that are working to fight the problem. Just in case you want to help out too...

I want to find an underground river!

2007-03-02T12:40:00.000-05:00

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Cave divers in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula have discovered what may be the world's longest underground river, connecting two cave systems with a waterway at least 95 miles long. Link (Reuters)

adventure cruises

2007-02-26T13:19:00.000-05:00

In an effort to draw more active passengers, cruise lines have widened their excursions to include activities that sound more like endurance tests than a lazy vacation, giving passengers a chance to hike, dive, kayak, bike ride, zip line and even go motorcycle riding.

Link (NY Times)

communication via knots?

2007-01-28T18:39:00.000-05:00

This is cool: anthropologists & mathematicians work together to solve an Andean mystery.

Led by Belgian cryptographer Jean-Jacques Quisquater, they are now trying to shake meaning from the knots with a variety of pattern-finding algorithms, one based on a tool used to analyze long strings of DNA, the other similar to Google's PageRank algorithm. They've already identified thousands of repeated knot sequences that suggest words or phrases.

(wired.com)

real-life tomb raiders

2007-01-28T18:35:00.000-05:00

Tomb raiders provide important service, according to this guy who is on trial for the raiding of tombs. "I saved hundreds and hundreds of works that otherwise would have ended up buried under cement,'' he said.

cooking classes in Bangkok

2007-01-03T19:08:00.000-05:00

I always like to learn when traveling and learning to cook Thai food in Bangkok looks like it would be serious fun.

The Blue Elephant, one of Bangkok's top restaurants, is located in a century-old home that once housed the country's first department store, then served as a Japanese headquarters during World War II. Today, its teak-paneled rooms are filled with orchids and recall a more tranquil time before the invasion of skyscrapers and traffic. Day classes, held in a student kitchen on the restaurant's third and top floor, cost $85.

top 100 books of the year

2007-01-03T18:51:00.000-05:00

Publisher's weekly gives the book industry take on the top 100 books of 2006.

tomb raider legend

2007-01-02T22:19:00.000-05:00

Finally, finally, finally. I own Tomb Raider Xbox (yes, I know it came out in April, I've been waiting for someone to give it to me as a gift.) Yea!!! I started playing over the break and I love it. It reminds me a lot of the early games but gameplay is much nicer.

I just started but will give a full review once I'm done.

Tomb Raider Legend on Amazon.com

i don't hate chains

2007-01-02T21:58:00.000-05:00

In fact, after spending 2 hours driving 15 miles into Chattanooga in the middle of a 20something hour trip from Iowa to Florida, we were thrilled to find a Ruby Tuesday attached to a Red Roof hotel. We were exhausted and knew we'd get a good meal with a great salad bar and a decent place to sleep. And it was.

But I have to say that I'm a little sad that I don't have a lovely little locally-owned, only found in Chattanooga restaurant to review for you today...

x-tudo

2007-01-02T18:54:00.000-05:00

A Gridskipper editor had a bad experience with one of my very favorite Brazilian foods, the xis or x (x in brazil is pronounced sheese--i.e. cheese) x-tudo just means one with everything. The x's I get in the southern Brazil are nothing like a cheeseburger and are always amazingly good. There is a choice of chicken or beef--steak, not hamburger--and a delicious combination of soft, creamy cheese, onions, bacon, egg, and mixed veggies on a grilled piece of bread the size of a dinner plate.

NYT adventure destination of the year

2007-01-02T18:07:00.000-05:00

The New York Times has named Yemin the Adventure Destination of the Year. New outfits in the country are offering:

...grueling treks to mountaintop villages, four-wheel-drive safaris through untrammeled deserts and sailing voyages aboard ancient dhows to isolated, Galápagos-like islands.

Sounds beautiful.

article in RELEVANT Magazine, The Scene: Rio

2006-11-09T09:15:00.000-05:00

My article on Rio de Janeiro is in the current issue of RELEVANT Magazine (unfortunately, it is not online so to see it you'll have to pick up the issue on newsstands everywhere...)

The Scene: Rio
Rich with history, culture and religious heritage, Rio de Janeiro is a city full of opportunity to learn, relax and even shop. International traveler Susan Simcox explores the beauty of one of South America’s most famous cities.

horse and cart

2006-09-22T12:24:00.000-05:00

friends in Brazil

2006-09-22T12:14:00.000-05:00

brazilian boys

2005-10-30T21:13:00.000-05:00

cows walking in Brazil

2005-10-30T21:11:00.000-05:00

gaúchos

2005-10-30T21:01:00.000-05:00

car parked somewhere in Germany

2005-10-30T20:47:00.000-05:00

learning to surf

2005-10-30T16:37:00.000-05:00