Tips for taking photos of memorials on Memorial Day

by Jamie Rhein on

Perhaps you’ve been one of the people jockeying for position to snap a photo of a memorial that other people are also trying to capture. Getting a photo that looks different than what the person standing next to you has taken can be a challenge. Plus, memorials are inanimate objects that might not look all that interesting in those vacation photos after all.

I came across these photo tips for taking photos of memorials from Rambling Traveler . Each are simple to follow and effective. The focus of her shots are memorials in Washington, D.C., but would work anywhere you happen to be.

One of the tips I particularly like is to take photos with people in them. Notice that these are natural shots. There are none of those types where family and friends are looking at the camera.

If you want shots of people reading quotes, don’t think it’s cheating to move someone reading a quote to get a better angle and tell them to stay still while you’re focusing. You’re creating a composition. Sometimes this is necessary to make sure a person isn’t hidden in a shadow, or that the quote is visible. Take more than one shot to make sure you get one that you like.

This photo by David Paul Ohmer on Flickr of the Vietnam War Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery the National Mall has the added detail of the wreath and the small flag. The white hat and the raised arm with the pen pointing at a name also add visual interest. If you look at the larger version, you’ll see reflections of other people. Well done!

Autopalooza August is part of Michigan’s Year of the Car

by Jamie Rhein on

As pointed out in this article in the Detroit Free Press, this summer marks the 100th birthday of the Model T AND the beginnings of General Motors Corporation.

Just think what a difference 100 years have made in car travel. Even though gas prices have jumped tremendously, Detroit would be a fun place to celebrate the car. Detroit could use some tourist dollars besides and Autopalooza August, the multi-location festival series looks like it could be a winner.

There are five major happenings going on each week from the end of July to the end of August.

  • The Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance in Rochester
  • Cruisin’ Motor Cities in downtown Detroit
  • Detroit Festival of Speed
  • The Woodward Dream Cruise through the suburbs
  • Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix

July and September also have car related events. There is a parade in Flint on July 20 and a Model T gathering at the Ford World Headquarters. Each of these are part of Michigan’s Year of the Car.

If you do go to Detroit, Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum are close by and worth a trip to Michigan on their own. You can, tour both as a package deal. If you can swing two days, one for each place, that’s better. You can thank car money for giving Henry Ford the umph to think up these two very different museums. On June 14-15 is Motor Muster Weekend and the village will be open until 9 p.m. on those days.

On the other side of the entertainment spectrum, check out Grant’s post on Detroit’s Motor City Casino. For info about travel happenings in Michigan, check out www.motorcities.org. There is a map that shows the cities where attractions are. By clicking on drop down menus, you can see what each place offers. Clever.

Murray City, Utah: American Idol runner-up, David Archuleta’s hometown

by Jamie Rhein on

As I wrote in my post about Blue Springs, Missouri, David Cook’s hometown, I wondered about these hometowns during the segment of American Idol where the contestants go back to visit where they are from. The places that are big enough to hold the crowds that gather to cheer on their hometown favorites always seem to be a mall or a football field–not the things that distinguish one town from another or draw travelers to them.

Even though David Archuleta didn’t win, here’s a Murray City post anyway. Its history, like Blue Springs’ history, tells the tale of settlers moving west. In Murray City, the first to show up were the Mormon pioneers, however, over time, the ethnic groups and religions have become quite diverse, partly because of the railroad. Murray City once had the largest ore smelter in the region.

Murray City is also similar to Blue Springs in its population count and its location to a large metropolitan area. Murray City is close to Salt Lake City.

So, what is there to do in Murray City besides troll around looking for David Archuleta hangouts? There is a lot to do if you live in Murray City, but it’s not set up for tourists that I can tell. Here’s what I found to do.

You can tour the Murray City Museum at the city hall to find out about the city’s history.

At the Heritage Center there are dances and various classes that you might be able to stop in as a visitor, but they are set up for town residents, I imagine.

The Murray Park Amphitheater offers performances through the Arts in the Park Series. Just like in Blue Springs, you can golf.

In my impression, Murray City is one of the places to live, and not necessarily to visit, unless you’re on the lookout for David Archuleta. Just remember, the guy is a person and not a tourist attraction.

Bolshoi in Russia: Moscow truly is a ridiculously expensive city

by Iva Skoch on

Greetings from Moscow! Bolshoi in Russia is my variation on Big in Japan. (Bolshoi means “Big” in Russian. Get it?) Stay tuned for my live dispatches from Russia this week.

Moscow has been ranked the world’s most expensive city for two years now. Still, it’s one thing to see the ranking in the newspaper and another thing to actually be here and pay the prices. In an average bar or restaurant, this is what you are looking at:

  • $5-10 for a shot of vodka
  • $8 – 10 for a latte (and they insist on putting a straw into it, to make matters worse)
  • $8-10 for a beer (sometimes, they put a straw in beer, too)
  • $20-$30 for lunch (and I am taking sausages, not an actual meal)
  • $50 for a decent dinner

It is the price of coffee which would kill me here. It would be very hard to just hang out in a coffee shop without going completely broke.

The funny this is, the average salary in Moscow is about $1,500/month. Most people, however, make less than $1,000. How do they afford this stuff? The easy answer is they don’t. You see kiosks all over Moscow where people grab lunch, dinner or beer to go. Every metro station has a cluster of these kiosks and people simple hang out outside of them, drinking beer and talking. What do they do in the winter? You got me.

There are, however, some really affordable aspects of life in Moscow:

Take metro tickets, for example. They are only 19 rubles, or roughly 80 cents. The subway system has great coverage and is extremely efficient. Trains come every 1-2 minutes. They pretty much have to because the subways are always packed.

Another bargain in Moscow? Theater tickets. We paid 300 rubles (or about $15) to see a classical music concert in the Moscow International Hall of Music. Really nice venue, great music, all that for the price of two lattes. As much as I love coffee, I would have to opt for music here. Even the Bolshoi Theater has bargains.

The other thing that is fairly affordable in Moscow is sushi. Like many place around the globe, Moscow was swept by the sushi wave about five years ago. So many new sushi restaurants opened, that they all had to reduce prices. Mind you, it is still not a bargain, but comparing to everything else in Moscow, California roll for $10 is a good deal. They really go crazy with rolls here, by the way. Most of them don’t even have fish in them. You can get a Caesar salad roll, (yes in a Japanese restaurant), pizza roll, ham and cheese roll…you see my point.

Let’s see, what else if affordable in Moscow? How could I forget! You can see dedushka Lenin in his tomb for free! I saw him today. He looks very peaceful in there. I couldn’t tell if he is real or if its just a wax figure, as some conspiracy theories suggest. At the end of the day, who cares.

Then, of course, there is vodka. You can get some good deals on Vodka, but I wouldn’t suggest going with the cheapest stuff. You an get a shot from as little as $3 to as much as $20. Russian Standard is a good brand. A shot would set you back about $5. With a little vodka in you, the cost of hanging out in Moscow doesn’t hurt as badly.

From Russia, with love.

Absolutely unforgiving insults from around the world

by Abha Malpani on

Learn a new language and you’ll see that the first few things you remember are the insults. It’s fun to insult in a foreign language and there is normally a whole lesson dedicated to them at language schools (well, there was at mine, anyway!)

Today I received in my inbox a link to this piece: “The 9 Most Devastating Insults From Around The World” — they are really rude, no — they are obscene and you will wonder what kind of people talk like this. Unfortunatley, such phrases are an essential part of the culture of these places. Here they are:

*Warning: The rest of this post is full of bad language. If you are easily offended, don’t continue reading*

  • The Spanish: “Suck butter from my ass” (Chupe mantequilla de mi culo): Yup, I’ve heard this one many times — I didn’t know it came from another most commonly used insult here “I shit in the milk” (me cago en la leche), which is insulting because milk comes from your mother and you drink it, so obviously taking a crap in it is just an outright offence.
  • The Arabs: “A thousand dicks in your religion” (Elif air ab dinikh): Ouch.
  • The Irish: “He’s as thick as a bull’s walt” (that is, as dumb as an erect bull penis).
  • The Bulgarians: “Let a hungry Carpathian long-haired she-wolf blow your dick, fuck” (Gladna Karpatska valchitza s dalag kosam minet da ti prai deeba): I’m not quite sure how good that translation is, but yikes…
  • The Chinese: “Fuck the 18 generations of your ancestors” (Cao ni zu zong shi ba dai): Wow, that’s a curse that insults everything you stand for!
  • The Icelanders: “Grandfatherfucker” (Afatottari): I’m surprised that hasn’t carried over to the English language.
  • The Armenians: “I’ll make sarma with your penis’ skin” (Glirit mortin hed sarma shinem).
  • The Serbians: “May God give you to search for your children with a Geiger counter” (Da bog da trazio detzoo Gaygerovim broyachem): I totally don’t understand this one.
  • The Romanians: “Stick your hand in my ass and jerk off with my shit” (Sa-mi bagi mana-n cur si sa-mi faci laba la cacat): BY FAR THE WORST I HAVE EVER HEARD.

Here is a list of common Hindi insults, none of which compete with the above!

What are the worst insults in your country?