Check out Frida in Philly

by Iva Skoch on

I was in Philadelphia this weekend and went to the Art Museum only to find out that I am missing the Frida Kahlo exhibit by a few days! I will have to come back. Make sure to check it out if you are in the Philly vicinity from February 20 – May 18, 2008.

According to the Philadelphia Art Museum website, Frida Kahlo is the first major Kahlo exhibition in the US in almost 15 years and it is organized in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth. It presents “over 40 of the artist’s most important self-portraits, still lifes, and portraits from the beginning of her career in 1926 until her death in 1954.” It also features a selection of nearly 100 photographs of Kahlo and her husband, Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, by preeminent international photographers of the period, such as Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Lola Alvarez Bravo, Gisele Freund, Tina Modotti, and Nickolas Muray. Personal snapshots of the artist with family and friends, including such cultural and political luminaries as André Breton and Leon Trotsky, are also on view. Enjoy!

My first stint at guidebook writing

by Catherine Bodry on

Travel-writer is one of those professions, like National Geographic photographer or Michelin restaurant-reviewer, that has glamorous connotations. Who wouldn’t want to get paid to visit a foreign land and write about it in a glossy magazine?

I’ve spent the past year-and-a-half building clips so I can quit my full-time job and travel-write full time. What that means is that I work full-time and spend the rest of my time writing. I don’t read the newspaper or do the crossword anymore; even my weekends are devoted to writing. There’s a fine balance between taking on enough work to allow you to quit your full-time job, and taking on too much work in general — I’m not sure where that line is yet.

I’m currently working on a project for an unnamed guidebook publisher, and this summer I’ll pound the pavement for Lonely Planet. Unfortunately, neither project is taking me far from home — both are for South Central Alaska, where I live.

But I like to think I’ve nearly reached my goal, and here are a few things I’ve learned along the way.

1. It’s not that glamorous. So far, I haven’t had offers to fly me off to Rio and put me up in a swish hotel. Researching for the unnamed guidebook last weekend took me no further than my blizzard-encircled home town, where most of the lodging and restaurants are closed for the winter. Next weekend I’ll venture a bit further down the icy highway, likely driving around in my Subaru hoping someone will have a room available with heat. Places I can’t visit, I fact check by phone during the week.
2. I won’t be buying that second home anytime soon. At my level, freelancing full-time will allow me to eat and pay the mortgage, but I won’t be buying myself any first-class tickets to Rio.

3. Writing is a bit anti-social. I hope that when I’m out for Lonely Planet (for whom I am required to visit every listing) this summer I’ll be able to mingle a bit. Right now, it’s pajama time in front of the computer with a strong cup of coffee. The most interaction I have with other people is my email account. Which I’m sort of addicted to checking.

4. Pitching takes a lot of work. Whenever someone offers me low pay, when I’m adding up my costs I remember the energy I put in to pitching an idea. I can’t wait for the day (if it ever comes) when someone starts assigning me topics. How fun not to have to come up with some “new” angle!

5. Even though the job is not so glamorous and won’t buy me a new car, the freedom is wonderful. I love puttering around in my pajamas drinking coffee, thinking about words and sentences.

My hope is that some day, travel-writing will become glamorous. Until then, I’ll keep my pajamas on.

World Heritage Site new “Tentative List” Places to Love”: Serpent Mound

by Jamie Rhein on

For the Gadling series “World Heritage Site new “Tentative List”: Places to Love” we are covering the 14 sites that have been submitted for possible inclusion as an official World Heritage Site in the United States. The sites will not be posted in order of importance or in the order they appear on the list.

Number 12

Name of site: Serpent Mound

Location: Adams County, Ohio

Reason for importance (in a nutshell): The largest serpent effigy in the United States. At more than 1/2 mile long and more than three feet high in places, this mound of earth is shaped like a coiling serpent. This mysterious structure was created by the Adena culture somewhere between 800 BC-AD 100.

Jamie’s Take: When I moved to Ohio, I knew all about the Anasazi culture of the Southwest but little about the ancient folks who used to inhabit this part of the United States. When I visited Serpent Mound I was fuzzy about what it is. It’s like the Stonehenge of the Ohio in a way. Instead of huge slabs of rock that people ponder over, there’s this serpent shape. There is conjecture that the placement of the serpent has meaning. The alignment of the head and tail may be in relation to the directions of the summer solstice sunset, the winter solstice sunrise and the equinox sunrise. It’s purpose has an aura of mystery. You really need to come and see it. Adams County is also one of Ohio’s most beautiful.

Bananas, politics and the economy

by Jamie Rhein on

If you eat bananas in your cereal for breakfast and don’t refrigerate them because you were taught not to, there’s a reason. There’s a new book out called Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World that explains those habits, as well as how the Victorian era folks had a penchant for masking its shape lest it offend anyone. Most importantly, the book covers the politics of how the banana gained its fame, making fortunes for some and misery for others.

Terry Gross interviewed Dan Koeppel, the author of the book on Fresh Air yesterday. I caught part of the show and was fascinated. The story of the banana incorporates much of the world, offering insight into world economics and politics, particularly in Central America. The banana, for example, led to the overthrowing of the president of Guatemala in the 1950s and his exile.

During the conversation they also talked about the various types of bananas there are in the world and why they aren’t sold in the U.S. Buying various types of bananas overseas is a market going pleasure. I’ve found that the ones not much bigger than a finger are often the sweetest. There are these reddish colored ones, though, that are quite yummy. Reading this book, I think, would make a person eye those bananas in the grocery store in a different light. I do.

(Here’s the link to the broadcast page.)

China bans ghost stories

by Aaron Hotfelder on

There will be no spooky slumber-party tales for Chinese children anymore, at least if the government has its way. As China prepares for the 2008 Olympics, the government is attempting to rid the country of any evidence of vulgarity. Recently, China banned “vulgar” ads for items like brassieres and sex-enhancing drugs (even provocative sounds such as “ooh” and “ahh” were banned from airwaves). Last week, China went one step further and banned ghost stories.

That’s right. Ghost stories.

Any video or audio content containing ghosts or monsters needs to be reported to authorities in the next few weeks. Reuters quotes the administration in saying that offending content includes “wronged spirits and violent ghosts, monsters, demons, and other inhuman portrayals, strange and supernatural storytelling for the sole purpose of seeking terror and horror.”

Reuters suggests that China “is keen to step up its control of the cultural arena ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August, which are widely seen as a coming-out party for the rising political and economic power.”