Nat Geo runs a great
flash-based narrated photo-essay
on Africa’s Okavango Delta, which forms when Botswana’s seasonal floodwaters turns the the plains there into
Africa’s largest oasis. The Nat Geo guys go underwater to explore, and as you might expect, the photos are stellar. And
the crocs hungry for humans.
Make Me an Island
The Maldives are a string of coral islands in the Indian
Ocean that, some scientists have predicted, will disappear beneath the big blue sea sometime in this century. A
few of the islands have already been submerged…a creating peculiar life-style problems for the people who once
inhabited them. But despite this, they remain one of the world’s most amazing diving destinations, with kick ass
beaches to boot. But in order to save some Maldivians,
an
island has been built, literally, out of coral and sand to provide homes for those whose homes have been lost.
No joke.
The new island is called Hulhumale, and is providing a sanctuary for about 1,500 people who now live in a first
cluster of houses built on the 465-acre island. The Maldivian government hopes around 15 percent of the country’s
300,000 mostly Sunni Muslim inhabitants will opt to migrate over the next 15 years, making Hulhumale a quite crowded
place…but of course crowded is better than no place at all.
Open for Debate: More Vacation?
I wrote an article a few weeks ago about the sad state of the American vacation, and brought attention to a group calling itself the Take Back Your Time Day Movement. Among the numerous goals of the movement is to legislate a mandatory three weeks of vacation for American workers. This seemed reasonable to me. And it still does. Especially when we look at the vacation time given to workers in France, Germany and throughout most of Europe, our paltry two weeks (which is neither legislated, nor mandatory) seems almost obscenely limited. After all, (and this is a point Rick Steves made to me when I interviewed him), if we are expected to be good global citizens as the world’s sole remaining superpower, it sure seems like we should make an effort to know the world better. To have more time off and to travel more. In other words, it’s awfully hard to understand the world better when you don’t get out of the country much.
But I have to say that during the research I did, I discovered how new the idea of leisure really is. The notion of a company providing two weeks off is amazingly new. Even the weekend is a relatively recent phenomenon. So there is an argument to be made that we should be happy with what we have because our recent forbears got next to nothing (and they liked it! Didn�t you Spalding?) Of course, we aren�t. This is now, and ours is a modern tech-industrial society, and most of us believe that the workers in it are entitled to enjoy their lives more. I, for one, believe we are. But there are those who disagree and say that more vacation will hurt the economy. Perhaps. But I believe that whatever drop in GDP we suffer from an additional week of vacation is likely to be offset by a rise in the national happiness quotient (the NHQ, which, of course, doesn�t really exist, though it should). Yes, China and India are already suctioning off our jobs, and an intensively competitive global market makes it increasingly hard for companies to stay alive, and therefore keep people employed. Tough arguments to take on. But it is doubtful that making vacation mandatory and adding an additional week will do irreparable harm to the economy. As I say, it could help. This is, perhaps, a lame and simple argument, but I believe it is worth a try.
I�m eager to hear what others think. More vacation, or, as Little Red Riding Hood might have said, things are things juuust right?
And I’m Proud to Be and American…
…where at least I know I can pretend not to be one.
Yes, for those planning a vacation who don’t want to be egged or spat upon a New Mexico T-shirt company has come up
with the ”
Go
Canadian” package, with a Canadian flag T-shirt, a Canadian flag lapel pin and a Canadian patch for luggage or a
backpack. There’s also a quick reference guide – “How to Speak Canadian, Eh?” that will help you sound like John Candy
and Rick Moranis. The “brilliant” albeit slightly insulting and cowardly concept is the brainchild of N.M.-based
company shirtKing.com.
Go See the Eagles
Two years ago I was paddling with some buddies out of Valdez, Alaska, blown away by the number of bald eagles that
just flew about. They were everywhere. And when you see them in the wild, perched atop a towering pine, or dropping
down swiftly and snatching a fish out of the water, it’s really an amazing site. You understand immediately why
the bald eagle (as opposed to the Wild Turkey) became our national symbol (of course, the Wild Turkey went on to become
the symbol for a potent alcoholic beverage that numbs your brain). But whatever. So let’s say on your next adventure
you wanted to go to where the eagles are. Then
here’s an article that
will tell you just that. And perhaps predictably, the top ten places to see bald eagles are all pretty far north. But
what did you expect? Palm Beach?