Pirates of the High Seas

And you thought they didn't exist anymore!

Urban Camouflage

Here's how to blend in seamlessly at an IKEA. Urban Camouflage is the newest international pastime. I challenge everyone to attempt an Urban Camouflage at least once this year.

Tehran Cops: Lady Killers

This video isn't of just any police academy. This is the Iranian Women's Police Academy Graduation Ceremonies. And if you're not up on your Iranian culture, then you don't know it's against the law for a woman to walk around wearing anything less than a four-person tent. I gotta admit, I admire the heck out of these women! Someone needs to make an action movie pronto.

WHITE of Way

Here's my belated scavenger shot for "white." Didn't even know there was a new word! oops! This was one of the statues at the entrance to the Buddhist Temple in Richmond, BC, Canada where we ended our Honeymoon voyage last July.

STREET hunt

This week's word "street" inspired me to post this collection of shots from Napa Valley last October. By the way, if you ever want someplace AWESOME to hang for a weekend, Napa Valley would be it. This stretch of road is actually Highway 29, near Mondavi Vineyards.

Scavenger Hunt: RED

Oooh! how dramatic! Tara chose this week's Scavenger Word: RED.

And I chose Beniamino Bufano's St. Francis statue that welcomes visitors to the Robert Mondavi Vineyard in Napa Valley. Apparently the owners are big statue fanatics as they had several about the place. We drank RED wine and the sunset was RED behind the buildings, but after we READ the prices we decided not to buy any. But their statues were cool. This one has a RED cardinal on it. Pretty! : )

(from our engagment trip.)

Kolam on the Floor

In the process of designing an Indian themed wedding I came across the art form of Kolam or Rangoli, in which rice flour is poured or brushed on the floor in patterns of dots and continuous lines. Some of these patterns are quite elaborate and in parts of India, these kolams are drawn by women at the doorstep daily to protect those within from evil and to invite prosperity (and ants). While I'm not so sure about the protective qualities of flour, I do like the designs a great deal. One website intimated that the dots represent obstacles we face, while the line (traditionally one continuous) represents our life starting with God, passing around many obstacles and returning to God, which I thought was a beautiful sentiment. The photo below leads to the nicest kolam blog I've found online:


You can design your own Kolam with this Kolam Generator. Learn more about Kolams.

Happy Birthday, Voyager I

Guess who else turned 30 this year? Voyager I, and it's still out there sending us pictures. Imagine this, it's 9.5 billion miles away and takes 13 hours to send its signal (at light speed) to earth. That puppy wandered far! Keep up the good work, little space Voyager! (Get this, they even included a record of "earth sounds" for extraterrestrials to listen to to get to know our planet. Wasn't that thoughtful?

Shop Till You Drop

Those crazy Swedes!

Bird Saliva is Expensive

Ever heard of Bird's Nest Soup? Do you know what it actually is? Learn. (I don't think I'll be indulging in its medicinal benefits anytime soon...) *coughbirdflu*

Pimp My Van

Take a peep at what the Crazy Japanese are up to. And who said minivans had to be boring?

What the World Eats

I am fascinated by this photo essay from time.com on What the World Eats.

In fact, I was riveted by one family in particular; the Batsuuri family. First of all, I didn't see how they could spend so little and get so much, and of more interest to my Western eye was their dress and accomodations.

Mongolia: The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar
Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02
Family recipe: Mutton dumplings

And so I began to wonder where this place "Ulaanbaatar" was. So I looked it up. Ulaanbaatar is the capital city of Mongolia. And if you knew that then you might also know that Ulan Batar means "red hero," in honor of Mongolia's national hero Damdin Sükhbaatar. (He liberated Mongolia from Ungern von Sternberg's troops, Chinese rule, and called in the Soviet Red Army. His statue still adorns Ulan Bator's central square.)

Knit Grafitti

Coloring the streets of Stockholm with yarn. Very cool. Wish we had some yarn-tagues here in Cleveland! Although we do have the tree cozy. : )

*sadly, the tree cozy will be coming down sometime this Summer. : (

Animals on the Underground

They did it with the stars, why not with the tube?

Mom Awareness Day

You know how important moms are? Everybody has at least one. Some of us get more than one in a lifetime. Some of us share one with a spouse. Some of us keep one in our house. Some of us are mothers. Some of us wish we were. All of us have appreciated the care of a mother at one time or another. All of us have at least one fond memory of a mom. I know I do!

Here's mine:
My mom plays the piano beautifully. As children, we would often fall asleep to the sound of our mother playing hymns or classical pieces as a way to wind down from a busy day with five (!) children. I loved to hear her play. And when I was older, I would stand behind her as she played and sing songs with her, sometimes for hours. She filled my childhood with music and beauty and for that I thank my wonderful Mother! Happy Mother's Day!

In order to build a little awareness in myself, I investigated motherhood in other countries. What's it like to be a mother in other places in the world? Did you know that Ethiopia is one of the hardest places to be a mother? The incredibly high orphan rate is partly owing to the fact that only 6% of all births are under the care of skilled medical practitioners. Young children have it hard there, too, and even though the numbers are improving, the mortality rate is still one of the highest in the world.

I would just like to honor another mother whose twin girls will hopefully be coming home to the US from Ethiopia next month! Congrats, El Fid, and Happy Mother's Day!

Mr. Airport Baggage Handler

I was ignorant of the Bud Light "Real Men of Genius" campaign until my boyfriend introduced me. This one is particularly rich. Enjoy with a nice tall cold one!

Ghost of a Town

Lostdog sent me this link to a wonderful site full of photographs of ghost towns around the US. There is something oddly comforting and eerie about ghost towns. I like being reminded that the earth I live on is older than the span of my own life. I like imagining how long it took those boards and windows to fall into such disrepair. I like letting my mind wander through the decrepit mines once the hubs of civilization, now abandoned and unmarked holes in the ground.

It reminded me of a coal pit mine in West Virginia that I played on once as a child. I was 11 or so and our family had traveled that way to visit friends. I and another child (can't remember who at the moment) went for a walk through the land of an old, abandoned coal mine. The entrances to the mine were large, gaping caves, the entrances blocked with iron gates. I remember the surprising coolness of the air gushing from the caves into the hot, humid air. It was like a giant, outdoor air conditioner. We walked down a steep set of stairs (and by steep, I mean, nearly perpendicular to flat ground) flanked by a pair of rails. I tried to imagine how fast a cart would roll down that hill on those rails, but it made me dizzy. The steps were made of large, roughly-cut blocks of wood and stood about a foot high. It was a great workout!

At the bottom of the hill was a processing or refining machine. It was rusted out almost beyond recognition. We took turns walking up the steep ramp which was used as a conveyor belt to move coal up to the top of the three story structure to be piled high and to the side. The belt and conveyor mechanism were so rusted and full of holes that there were places a child might have fallen through. We, however, did not fall through, but climbed to the top and looked out from the mouth of the yawning rusted beast at a desolate, but beautiful mountain landscape. Of course now one would never send a child to play on a rust heap without full body armour and a tetanus shot, but for that day and that moment in time I was playing on the skeleton of a dragon. I still remember it as clearly as I see today and the image of that place will never leave me.

North Dakota

Did you know...

...the capital is Bismarck
...it's the birthplace of Angie Dickinson, Phil Jackson and Lawrence Welk
...17th largest state
...milk is the official state beverage
...the town of Rugby is the geographical center of North America (a 15 foot obelisk marks the spot)
...the town of Rutland cooked the World's Largest Hamburger weighing 3,591 lbs, feeding 10,000 (now been surpassed by an 8,000 lb burger, I believe...gross!)
...grows more sunflowers than any other state, but the state flower is the wild prairie rose
...the all time high was 121º F at Steele on July 6, 1936
...the all time low was -60ºF at Parshall on Febraury 15, 1936

Las Vegas Elopement 411

This is terribly romantic...

But then, I'm a sucker for poor decisions. : )

Happy Valentine's, everybody!

Beach Resort by the Beach

So, let me get this right: there's a fake beach right next to the real beach? Sigh. Japan needs to get out more.