Lady Liberty’s B-day

by Erik Olsen on

Just in case you weren’t paying attention, let it be known that the Statue of Liberty celebrated her 120th birthday today…12 decades of standing out there in the harbor all be herself in the heat and cold, never complaining about a tired arm as she holds aloft the torch of freedom. Nary a sigh over the ridiculously high cost of real estate in Manhattan (bring me your poor….but send them to Queens).

I’ve been to Liberty Island twice now, and each time came away very impressed, very happy to be American. I’ve also paddled by her several times, even at the risk of being shot at or arrested by the Coast Guard. She’s a lovely symbol that we should all be grateful for…even if that means being gracious to the French, who gave her to us, after all. What I’d most like to see, however, is the ability for folks to climb up to her crown. That, I’ve never done.

Iran Photo Gallery

by Erik Olsen on

This is a travel site, not a political site, so we try not to get too deep into sensitive, polarizing issues. I’m sure you all remember the phrase “Axis of Evil” and the context in which it was used. Now whether or not you agree with the use of the phrase, well, that’s neither here nor there. Let’s just say that we all have our notions about how beneficial it is to classify an entire country as “evil”.

So with that out there as a rather leaden preamble, I want to point you to a gallery of photos taken in Iran. I have ALWAYS wanted to visit Iran. I’ve been told from numerous sources that it is lovely, culturally vibrant and that the people, as opposed to being mean, nasty, America-hating evil-doers, are actually very fond of Americans and terrifically friendly.

It seems to me like we could do away with a great deal of all this name-calling and cultural misunderstanding if we each took 2,000 people and swapped them for a month. Move 2K Americans to Iran and 2K Iranians to the US…say, Seattle. Make a reality show out of it.

But that idea aside, I really do urge you to check out these fab photos by photographer Bobby Model taken during a month-long trip to Iran. Better than the stuff Sean Penn took, for sure, and quite revealing about a country that most Americans know only as a part of the AoE.

Halloween in Calcata

by Erik Olsen on

And you thought Halloween was an American-centric holiday largely foisted upon us by the confectionary industry, quietly hatched behind closed doors by a star chamber of big name candy magnates with names like Mars, Wrigley and, um, Snickers. Or, at least, that’s the conspiracy theory I dreamt up when I was young. Everything originated here in my head back then. Christmas, too, was all American, and as far as I was concerned those snooty Europeans were just borrowing it from us. Well, the fact is that Halloween is celebrated in other countries as well. Which ones? Well, mostly the ones you’d expect. Our brothers in arms, as it were. Countries like Canada, the UK, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Australia and New Zealand.

But as my buddy and eminent travel-writer David Farley explained to me in an email recently, it turns out that they celebrate Halloween even in wee Italian villages, for example the Italian village of Calcata where, among other creepy things, rumor has it that the Holy Foreskin was once kept in secrecy. Yes, THE Holy Foreskin, the very one clipped from baby Jesus all those years ago. I shall not go into great detail here about this grave and serious matter, rather I’ll leave it up to Herr Farley to explain in a podcast right here on Gadling at some later date. But suffice it to say, this is village rich in tradition, history and holy parts. Farley is actually living there right now, gathering facts and putting together what is sure to be a best-seller rivaling in suspense (and sales) the fictional Dan Brown opus, the Da Vinci Code.

But back to Halloween. In a recent email Farley explained to me that the medieval village of Calcata “is a near-360 island, perched high up on cliffs surrounding a dense forest”. Farley believes that the village achieves a kind of Halloweenish perfection based on its layout and geography. Better, anyway, than a cookie-cutter housing development in Fresno. Farley continues: “What also makes it unique is that the village is made up of artists, so they’re going to go all out to deck the village out: there’s going to be a giant spider web draped above the intimate main square, there will be gothic-era passageways that will become a haunted gauntlet, and, of course, there will be plenty of partying going on the entire evening.” If that does not make for lots of wonderful Fall-based fun, I don’t know what does. We expect to receive a post-mortem, as it were, from Mr. Farley after he recovers.

Famous Fossil ‘Lucy’ to Visit U.S.

by Adrienne Wilson on

The first time I’d heard of Lucy was at this afterhours spot in LA. A friend of mine had taken me there promising I’d love the reggae music and low-key atmosphere. I did. Red, ites, and green paint coated the walls crying out RAS-TA-FAR-I. Posters of Selassie, famous Reggae stars and the Lion of Judah were pasted up over much of the paint and red lighting tinted the rooms. Everyone paid attention to no one in particular. They did their own thing. They minded their own business. While I swayed to the sounds of Bunny Wailer on the dance floor, they found dreamlands through their ganja. That was their business and none of mine. What I didn’t know was that it was a place full of intellectuals.

I made my way to the door to stand for a moment – to gather some fresh air. Just as I tried to peel my eyes away from an older man who had been high for hours and noticed my presence, it was too late. It was then that he put me onto Lucy and her greatness. “You from the bone of Lucy?” he asked me. Huh? Who? I hadn’t a clue what this strange man wanted to know. “The first ape-man bone found in E-ti-o-pia. You from the bone of Lucy?” he repeated. Was he saying I looked Ethiopian? Like an ape-man? Still no clue, but he went on to talk about the bone of Lucy, Ethiopia and other things I could not make out. I listened, nodded my head and took off for home when my friend had finally returned.

Something about Lucy stuck with me that day and for days after. Was the wise high fellow trying to relay something about me I didn’t know about myself? Probably not. Lucy is one of the world’s most famous fossils. Unearthed in Ethiopia back in 1974, the 3.2 million year-old Lucy skeleton could never be an ancestor of mine. Or could it?

In any event, I recently heard news that Lucy will be displayed in the United States for the first time ever next year. According to this CTV.ca piece the Ethiopian public has only seen Lucy twice and the real Lucy stays locked tight in a vault, while a replica stays on display in Addis Ababa. The tour is scheduled to kick off next September and will run for six-years, traveling through Washington, New York, Chicago and Denver. Those who are lucky enough to check Lucy out will also be able to view 190 other fossils, relics and artifacts traveling with the ancient skeleton. I’d say this is an amazing opportunity for some of our museums here in the U.S. and that anyone with even the tiniest interest in the early beginnings of man should make sure to go to the exhibit. I personally, will make it a priority to attend one showing, but of course I have a special connection to Lucy.

Yosemite as Art

by Erik Olsen on

I picked this one up from a great Web site on he National parks called Park Remark, and this could be a cool event for folks who love both art and the National Parks. The Autry National Center is currently hosting a cool-looking exhibit called “Yosemite: Art of an American Icon“, which features lots of paintings of, you guessed it, Half Dome and El Cap and the whole Yosemite Valley….sans traffic clogged roads, smog and fat kids holding their wieners…the BBQ kind, I mean. You can check out the exhibit website to see what it’s all about. It’s actually quite well done with audio narration around some of the many prints and paintings on display. Bierstadt is covered, but oddly, I saw no Ansel Adams…I’m guessing those photos were either too expensive to get or they couldn’t get permission because an Adams exhibit is already on the road somewhere.