Viking Ship Of Popsicle Sticks Sets Sail

by Jamie Rhein on

On Monday night I heard a story on CNN about the Viking ship made of popsicle sticks that recently set sail across IJesslmeer lake in the Netherlands. One of our sister sites, Engadget covered this story when the ship was first completed. The hope for this ship is that it will be seaworthy enough to follow the Viking route to North America. An accounting of the project was also covered in last Saturday’s The Gazette, a Montreal paper. There is a photo of the ship as well. (This photo is a popsicle raft featured in garretsbridges.com. Maybe a post idea for our newest sister site DIYLife?)

The story behind the popscicle Viking ship story is intriguing. Robert McDonald, the man in charge of this project, was badly burned as a child and his family killed in an explosion. Afterwards, because of his injuries, he was told that he wouldn’t be able to do what other kids can do. Ever since he has gone on to prove the naysayers wrong. He writes about his life and projects on his Web site, OB Viking Ship. Come to think of it, it does seem that McDonald, an American, is unable to do what most people do which is to buy a normal ship instead of building a replica of a Viking ship out of 15 million recycled popscicle sticks with the help of 5,000 school kids. His aim is to show that what people think is impossible is possible and intrigue kids to manifest their dreams. Here’s a TV report from the Netherlands on this latest undertaking to cross the Atlantic. There are English subtitles. I love this story.

Where to Savor Wine

by Jamie Rhein on

A friend just sent me a link to A Fine Living Hub. I think it’s where people network about various topics. One topic forum that caught my attention was, “If you could drink a glass of wine anywhere…” Various people have offered up their favorite wine drinking spots. I’ve included their wine recommendations if they offered one.

The Most Dangerous Job in Cairo

by Iva Skoch on

Today’s NY Times’ article on Cairo’s most dangerous job–traffic officer–grabbed my attention. I remember the crazy drivers in Egypt and have immense respect for anyone trying to control the traffic in any way. I always just closed my eyes when crossing the street.

I especially liked the quote of Salah Eissa, editor of Al Qahira, a weekly newspaper published by the Ministry of Culture explaining that the problem of Egypt is not that the Egyptian people do not like order: “It is the problem of making exceptions in enforcing this order – and this applies to traffic. It is something that provokes Egyptians and pushes them to think that since it is all a question of bullying, then every man to himself and everyone becomes a bully.”

Every man to himself. Sounds like capitalism in its purest form.

One for the Road: Osterie & Locande D’Italia

by Kelly Amabile on

Travelers who love Italy (are there any who don’t?) and those interested in the Slow Food movement will want to get their hands on a copy of Osterie & Locande D’Italia, which combines two older Slow Food guides into one. Published by Slow Food Editore and distributed in the US by Chelsea Green, this guide contains listings for 2,100 traditional places to eat and stay in Italy.

Recommended by the Slow Food organization, these traditional taverns, inns, trattorias, wine shops and hotels are guaranteed to give you a taste of Italy’s regional diversity — the cheese, the seafood, the fresh produce, the wine!! The book is organized by region –from Piedmont (where the Slow food movement was born in 1986) to Sicily, and everywhere in between. It also contains a handy glossary of Italian culinary terms and a place index in the back. Published for the first time in English, this comprehensive guide will be a useful tool for food lovers planning their next Italian gastronomic adventure. Mangia!


Reactions to World’s Biggest Smoking Ban: Londoners Fired Up

by Iva Skoch on

London–the alleged smoking and drinking capital of the world by sheer volume of alcohol and cigarettes consumed–put its smoking ban into effect, kicking and screaming, on July 1st. Although other cities, such as New York or Paris, have gone through similar labor pains, London’s is the biggest smoking ban yet: it affects 3.7 million businesses, including 200,000 pubs, bars and restaurants.

So far in the last two weeks, smokers have reluctantly gone outside to smoke, but the government is not stopping there. It is planning to change the law so that, among other things, employers can be fined if they fail to stop workers dropping cigarette butts on the street.

The Independent offers a glimpse into the London smokers’ sentiments by quoting a few “influential” ones:

  • ‘I am appalled at it. They are treating us like children. I’m not a schoolboy. Mr Brown thinks he’s a prefect’. David Hockney, Artist
  • ‘We’re suppressing everyone these days, not allowing adults to make their own minds up’. Antony Worrall Thompson, Chef
  • ‘The alleged danger of so-called second-hand smoke is so phoney it stinks to high heaven’. Joe Jackson, Musician
  • ‘You would have to search the world very hard to find a single government that would say it was abolitionist’. Paul Adams, British American Tobacco
  • ‘Smokers should not be discriminated against simply because they smoke’. Chris Ogden, Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association
  • ‘I’m inventing bike sheds to attach to buildings so it’s somewhere people can go to smoke’. Joanna Lumley, Actress

Hmmm, I am a semi-militant non-smoker myself but I realize that smoking bans do raise important questions about personal liberty in civilized societies. Makes you wonder, what’s next?