Volvo Ocean Race 2005

by Adrienne Wilson on

Only 26 days rest between the start of this
years Volvo Ocean Race to kick off in Vigo, Spain.
From that point seven teams will spend a year competing to see who
can circle the globe fastest. This year’s race has several new participants as well as some previous Ocean
Race faces and what’s even newer are the boats. The
VO70’s are said to get the teams around the
world 21 days quicker, but will this make their challenge easier? It very well could considering the numerous obstacles
they may have to face in each leg of the
race, but not that easy. In Leg 1 alone the teams will have to navigate through rough weather, deal with demanding
conditions of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, find ways around the South Atlantic high pressure system and
possibly face the wind shadows from Table Mountain. Insane!

Stops will be made in Spain, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Baltimore, New York, England and
Sweden with a finish date of June 17, 2006. For those ready to set sail with the teams check out the extremely detailed
web site, where you can sign-up to become a Virtual- Spectator, get the latest news from the crews, and most
importantly root for your favorite team.

In terms of around-the-world trips, this one has to be one of the greatest experiences anyone  could ever have!
Hands down.

Columbus the Explorer

by Kelly Amabile on

Despite all the controversy that exists about what he did or did not discover, this week the accomplishments of
famous traveler Christopher Columbus are celebrated and acknowledged. The 61st Annual Columbus
Day Parade kicks off this morning in Manhattan, and countless other parades and festivals have taken place around the
country this past weekend.

There are plenty of resources available to learn more about the controversies surrounding Columbus. Here is one
recently released study from the Order of the Sons of Italy in America —
Columbus: Fact of Fiction that communicates one point
of view.

The John D. Calandra Italian American
Institute, associated with CUNY’s Queens College, is a great place to go to learn more about cultural and
historical events going on throughout the entire month of October, which is officially known as Italian Culture Month
in the US.

The Arctic Gold Rush

by Erik Olsen on

First the bad news: the Arctic is melting and sea levels may rise wiping out a good portion of life on the planet or
at the very least affecting things from weather patterns to species extinction. Now the good news: You might be able to
make a buck from the whole process!

Yes, according to

this piece in the New York Times, the melting of the Arctic has created a new gold rush for the entrepreneurial
minded as folks head to the far, far North to stake a claim to land, oil and whatever else they can get their hands on.
It’s actually a fascinating read, and opens up a whole series of interesting questions about the future of the Arctic
region and what company, country, person will control the potential resources up there.

Savannah-hhhh

by Erik Olsen on

People seem to be talking a lot about Savannah these days. I just finished
the most recent Atlantic Magazine dispatch from Bernard-Henri Lévy (unfortunately not online), in which he rhapsodizes
about Savannah’s charms, saying of all places he could live in the US, this elegant, historically-rich little city in
the South ranks first (Seattle is apparently second). And then I came across
this article in the Delta in-flight magazine
which also extols the city’s great charm.

Now, I was in Savannah not long ago, and while I enjoyed the town’s “quaintness” (a horrible word, I admit, but one
that seems to be used profusely when talking about Savannah). Sure, it’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to
actually live there (;-0).

In da Bginnin God cre8d da heavens

by Erik Olsen on

There you are, riding the bus or the subway…or maybe out camping…and you find you are seriously in need of some
Biblical inspiration. You need a passage from Genesis to help you describe the lovely surroundings perhaps, or
something out of Leviticus to shout down the glutinous sinner in the seat in front of you. I don’t know…let’s just say
you never know when you might need a bible.

Well, now you can have a
copy of the good book right on your cell phone. The Bible Society in
Australia recently launched a cell phone translation of all 31,173 verses of the Bible…and someone, some hip, lucky
monk with his cap on backwards, I suppose, got to translate the whole thing into the abbreviated language of cell phone
speak.

Here’s one example:

U, Lord, r my shepherd. I will neva be in need. U let me rest in fields of green grass. U lead
me 2 streams of peaceful water. (Psalm 23, verses 1-2).

Makes you wonder if today Moses would come down from the mountain with the Ten
Commandments on his Razr.