One for the Road (04/07/07)

by Kelly Amabile on

Here’s one for the kids — recently released Lightship is a colorful history of floating lighthouses, a special fleet that used to warn other ships about storms and hazards at sea.

Artist Brian Floca uses vibrant watercolor drawings to illustrate what life was like on one of these essential safety ships. The anchored boats, which operated in U.S. waters until 1983, used foghorns and lights to signal moving vessels through rough waters. Children in awe of big boats and brave sailors should enjoy this nautical narrative.

And if so, they may also like Floca’s other transportation and travel-themed books for kids: The Racecar Alphabet , Up in the Air, Five Trucks and Dinosaurs at the End of the Earth, based on the true story of an explorer’s expeditions into Mongolia’s Gobi Desert.

One for the Road (04/04/07)

by Kelly Amabile on

Alfredo Estrada’s personal tribute to Havana was released last month. Havana: Autobiography of a City tells the story of Estrada’s hometown from its’ 1519 founding to present day, covering such topics as cigars, slavery, gambling, rhumba, Hemingway and baseball. Publisher’s Weekely says “Estrada is at his best chronicling Castro’s revolution…and pays particular attention to…Che Guevara’s authoritarian streak and talent for guerilla warfare.” PW does note that the book is a bit too fact-heavy to make it an enjoyable read for some, but history buffs should find it a useful primer on this fascinating place.

And again (I’m three for three this week!), it just so happens that we’ve got information on an appearance by the author, taking place tonight at 7 pm, deep in the heart of Texas. Austin folks, head over to Bookpeople on North Lamar to see Estrada for yourself.

Shanxi Province–More than Polluted Linfen

by Jamie Rhein on

Linfen, China is indeed one of the most polluted cities in the world as stated in my post on April Fools Day. That isn’t the joke. The mask give-a-way is, however, even though it’s not uncommon for someone to wear a face mask to cut down on pollutants, particularly when riding a motorcycle.

What is also true is that Linfen is in Shanxi Province and the province is worth an extensive visit. One reason to make the trip is because of the history that’s found there. In the province’s Wuzhou Mountains are the Yugang Grottos and the 51,000 statues that were carved in their niches beginning in 453. Several of them are Chinese style Buddha images, but Greek and Indian influences are present as well.

The province also has the ancient city of Pingyou and the tallest wooden pagoda in China. Besides the cultural and historic treasures, the natural scenery includes waterfalls and mountains, totally opposite to what one might expect when considering that one of China’s most polluted cities shares this same corner of the earth.

George Bush Jr. Gives a Tour of the Oval Office

by Jamie Rhein on

While collecting information for my Easter egg hunt post, I found myself in the Oval Office of the White House where George W. Bush started to talk to me. No, this is not an April Fools Day post. That was yesterday.

The White House website has video tours of various White House locations and The Oval Office is one of them. President Bush gives an up close, personal account of the place where he conducts business. The camera angle is such so that he is not directly looking into it. Instead, it’s as if you are following behind him sometimes and to one side as he walks you around the room while he points out details.

Here is the thing. I really liked this tour. I actually listened to it again after I watched it–maybe because it loops if you don’t turn it off. Oddly enough, I liked hearing it for the second time, as well. Perhaps because the tour seemed natural and chatty, even though Bush repeated details as if the director was telling him, “Say it again from this point.”

On the tour, President Bush presents little known facts. The medallion rug with the U.S. seal, the desk, the artwork, and other details about how each president makes the office personal are some of the things he talks about.

Regardless of your politics, this is an interesting way to get a view of an American president and the place he spends some of his time. Through some of Bush’s comments, it’s a way to gain some insight into what interests him on a personal level and how he views some of the men who have served before him. If you want to find out more about the Oval Office, check out this link. It’s to the Oval Office’s history.

Three More Honorees for Women’s History Month

by Jamie Rhein on

Since this is the last day of Women’s History Month, here are a few more historic homes of women to add to your places to travel to list. The National Park Service features three properties that are on the National Register of Historic Places. The website is also filled with other women’s history information.

Marjorie Kinnan’s House and Farmyard is one of them. It’s located in Cross Creek, Florida and is part of the Florida State Park system. Here, Kinnan penned her best seller, The Yearling.

At the Nathan C. Aldrich House and Resthaven Chapel in Mendon, Massachusetts, Catherine Regina Seabury, founder of the Women’s Mutual Improvement Society opened a retreat center for female factory workers of Boston in 1889. She also lived here where worked to enhance the lives of women.

Between 1919 and 1928, Carrie Chapman Catt lived in this house in Briarcliff Manor, New York where she, along with Susan B. Anthony, fought to give women the right to vote.