Holocaust Museum Opens in Israel

by Erik Olsen on

There is a
new museum in Jerusalem dedicated
to the Holocaust that just opened is is certainly worth a look if you’re heading to the biblical city.

The Holocaust History Museum is an addition to the Yad Vashem Holocaust
Memorial complex in the outskirts of Jerusalem and overlooks the towns and valleys to the west of Jerusalem. It is a
fairly spacious 47,000-square-feet, and centers its attention on the personal experiences of Jewish victims and
survivors. The museum was designed by Jerusalem architect Moshe Safdie, at a cost $56 million. 

Open Skies With India

by Erik Olsen on

Good news for Indiaphiles.

India’s cabinet yesterday approved an open skies policy with the United States that removes restrictions on the number of flights operated between the two countries. The deal would replace a 50-year-old agreement that limited flights and the ports of call between the two countries. The deal, one would assume, will help make flights cheaper and should be a great opportunity to expose more Americans to the wonders of the subcontinent. Nearly two million passengers currently travel between the two countries each year.

Seriously, take advantage of this. If you have not experienced the wonders of India. Go. Go now. India is one of the most amazing places on the planet and you owe it to yourself to see it before your draw your terminal breath.

LA From a Local’s Perspective

by Erik Olsen on

Being from LA, I always bristle at people who dis my home city. Yet, I have to say I bash it a bit myself. I mean, it’s great and all: the amazing weather, the beaches (don’t even get me started on the beaches!) but when you add up the traffic, the smog, the Hollywood culture…there are other places I’d rather be.

So while I have my own reasons for not wanting to go back and live there, it always irritates me when people criticize it as a place where there’s nothing to do, when they say that they went to Disneyland or Hollywood and Vine and found LA wanting.

So it was nice to read an article in the CSM by a local who offers some of the great places in LA that the average visitor might not catch. Places like the Museum of Art, Thai Town, Little Ethiopia and so on. The fact is, culturally, Los Angeles is a rich and textured place…probably more so than most other big cities that lay claim to being culturally rich. Even if I don’t want to live there, I still have a place for it in my heart.

Pope on a Slope

by Erik Olsen on

He was really one of the great statesmen of the 20th Century, and after many days of extensive media coverage, many
of us know a lot more about the Pope than we did before he departed for a better place.

But most people are probably still unaware that the Pope was quite the outdoorsmen in his time. Yes, according to this
Outside article, the Pope could
really carve a turn. In fact, he owned a pretty sweet pair of 195-centimeter Head Pros with Tyrolia bindings.

Dude! Cool. Yes, back in Poland the Pontiff, or JP2 as he is affectionately known, was a hiker, kayaker, and a
hard-core camper. That explains now the  smell of campfire smoke wafting from the Pope’s quarters late at night
and the odd overnight packages arriving from REI.


Dual Citizenship

by Adrienne Wilson on

It is a known fact to many that I tend to worry myself sick by little silly things. Things that really make no huge difference in my day-to-day life like uh… obtaining dual citizenship for example. If I can have it, I want it. For one I think there are several perks to having citizenship in two countries and just to have options. Options I say! So now that I’ve revealed a little piece of my bratty, silly, worrisome ways here’s an article I found in the CBC News out of Canada on dual citizenship.

It’s a little dated, but will be a good starting point for anyone whose ever been curious about obtaining dual citizenship. There’s a good chance you may already be eligible for it and not even know. Do your research and do it well. Find out which countries recognize dual citizenship – Denmark, Norway, Finland, Japan, and Thailand are just a few that don’t. The U.S. will allow dual citizenship so long as the other country allows it as well. Then again, after 9/11 re-entry into the states could just become one huge headache. How life-changing dual citizenship is and whether it is worth all the trouble is up to you. Just something to think about.