Little Slices of Nowhere

by Erik Olsen on

Have you ever heard of Transnistria? Perhaps Somaliland sounds more familiar? Or
Nagorno-Karabakh? The latter, I know, has been in the news for years because of the dispute over territory there with
Armenia and Azerbajan. But that’s all I know.

It seems that places like these, the small, odd places, are the ones that are now getting some attention. They are
the little motes on the map that some adventurers want to visit. A new show by Simon Reeve called Holidays in the
Danger Zone: Places that Don’t Exist, is written up in
the Guardian.  

Explorers Club Dinner

by Erik Olsen on

I meant to post this a while back, but will do so now because I remembered I had some pics from the event. I’ve been
producing a TV story on the Explorers Club here in NYC, one of the most
prestigious clubs around, and every year their dinner attracts legions of big-time explorers.

It takes place in the gargantuan and opulent main ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria. Really amazing. I got to meet
some pretty cool folks like Steve Fossett (left), as well as
Scott Carpenter,
James Watson and
Kathy Sullivan (right: pictured on the stage).
That’s Explorers Club President Richard Wiese coming in on a camel (center). Obviously as a complete nobody, I had to
hang out on the fringes, but it was an exciting experience to meet some of these folks. Before the event, they have a
cocktail hour where exotic foods like scorpions and insects are served…all quite tasty I might add.

Tehran Metro Art

by Adrienne Wilson on

Here’s a cool little place to click through if you’ve got a little spare time on your hands. 
Tehran Metro has some great art work featured in their underground
tunnels of speedy transportation. Full of contemporary middle eastern flair and some traditional
art these metros have got some of the best works I’ve ever come across.  Take this one found on Line 2 in the
Imam Khomeini station, notice the way the writing dances up and down metro walls in beautiful nastiliq
shape.  This particular piece is titled “Poem” and was crafted by Fakimi who did an
amazing job.  Least that’s my opinion, but check them out yourself.  Know any other neat metro
art spots? 

Latitudes Magazine

by Erik Olsen on

A nice new discovery: Latitudes Magazine.
Well designed, decent articles and with sound to boot. Done in Flash, it took a while to load, but once it did I was
very impressed with the photos. There are pieces on St. Barth, Laos and even a clever little cartoon. Kind of tough to
navigate, but hopefully it’s a work in progress. 

Kind of strange how they seem to lay out the actual magazine and scan it in, but I liked it. I browsed a couple of the
pieces and will likely keep an eye on this one. I the meantime,
check it out for yourself.

Book on Bombay

by Erik Olsen on

Bombay blew my mind.

I’d never experienced a place quite like it. The crazy mixture of Bollywood glitz, Hindu iconography, dot-com wealth
and unfathomable poverty…it is really one of the most unique cities on the planet. While I have not read the book…yet…I
did head over to Boldtype from Writtenroad.com and found this review for a
new book called Maximum City: Bombay Lost and
Found by Suketu Mehta.

In the book, Mehta returns to his native Bombay with his wife and children after 21 years in the US and offers his
take on how his city has changed. Quite a bit I’d imagine. Much of India has gone through rapid change in the last 10.
let alone 20 years, and Bombay has borne the brunt of MOST of that change. So, I am eager to read this, especially
since boldtype salutes Mehta’s “generous, confident prose”.