It’s happened to all of us. You’re lounging at the beach or by the pool, feeling all warm and glamorous. You want to remember that feeling forever, so you have a picture taken. Then, you look at the picture and realize you hate yourself.
Carson Kressley, who I had the privilege of interviewing over on StyleList, has put together the above video to help you look good in your swimming suit photos. No more “Oh my God, you have to delete that” out of you!
I’m wild about independent films with ultimately feel-good heart. Milk and Opium is a film that caught my attention in 2007. So did Binta’s Great Idea. Here’s another film project I’m excited about: I Ran Iran. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem, from what I’ve discovered, that the film has been completed. That’s too bad. The trailer and the story behind the film are intriguing. By the end of the trailer I was smiling and curious as to what happened to the project. Intrigue and smiles means two thumbs up by me.
Here’s the scoop. Tyler MacNiven who, along with his teammate B.J. Avril, won season 9 of the Amazing Race, set out to make I Ran Iran as a way to illustrate the warmth and hospitality of the Iranian people and the richness of their culture. To do so, MacNiven set out in 2006 with his best friend, Bobak Bakhtiari, an Iranian-American, to run the the 1000 miles or so between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. Some of Bakhtiari’s family still live in Iran so family visits were also in order.
Unfortunately, the two were stopped from completing their journey a few days after it started because Iranian officials were concerned that the purpose of the run was political. It wasn’t, but from what I read in MacNiven’s explanation in this Lonely Planet article, he made an off-handed comment about Iran’s ability to pursue nuclear energy to a reporter. That comment snowballed into a political statement, something MacNiven was horrified by.
Instead of finishing their run, MacNiven and Bakhtiari were told to leave Iran. About a week after starting, lickety split, they were in Amsterdam with memories of Iran still floating through their heads as they tried to wrap their minds around the unexpected scenery change.
I’m hoping this project is able to be completed and am wondering where it now stands. Perhaps there is a funding issue. Perhaps there are political issues. From what MacNiven wrote, it’s too bad if there are political issues because from what they found, there is a warmth towards Americans by many Iranian people.
If MacNiven and Bakhtiari are unable to complete the film as they intended, I’m hoping it shows up in a larger venue in another film about the trials and tribulations of making a film in another country. I feel as if I’ve been engrossed in a book and have reached the end, but the last two chapters are missing and the author has disappeared.
Reading this story is a reminder that when traveling in another country, off-handed comments and actions can have unintended consequences. It’s unfortunate that exuberance and curiosity can sometimes kill the cat, or at least curtail its efforts.
The Canadian born on Northwest Airlines Flight 59 yesterday is the daughter of a Ugandan … who is also a permanent resident of the United States. So, at least we know that the newly-minted citizen of our northern neighbor is not Dutch. Sasha, the newest NWA passenger, was delivered mid-flight by Dr. Natarajan Raman and Dr. Paresh Thakker. Raman is a radiation oncologist who hadn’t delivered a kid in 20 years (but remembered the steps. Thakker is a general practitioner.
Of course, there’s no such thing as unbiased news, right? The only way to get to the truth is to see what everyone is saying. There were two doctors involved in this effort: Raman and Thakker. But, there can only be one ego in charge. It can make parceling out props a nightmare, but sometimes a bit of investigation is necessary. After all, credit must be given where it is due. After the jump, see how the two hopeful heroes stack up against each other.
BBC: both doctors chipped in, but Raman gets the quotes
Based on my math, and I do have the numeracy of a journalist, it’s close. The Star Tribune gives the nod to local boy Raman, while the Telegraph throws its vote to Thakker. NECN plays it down the middle, not giving either doc the lead role.
So far, it’s 1.5 to 1.5.
KARE and BBC are a bit tougher. The former says that Raman “assisted” but didn’t describe Thakker’s role. Also, Raman does get the moniker “heroic” and some loving quotes from colleagues. Thakker gets squat. So, we’ll toss Raman a half point for this one.
Raman 2, Thakker 1.5.
The BBC is a bit more even than KARE (which is another Minnesota news outlet). It doesn’t give either doctor the prominent role, but Raman gets all the quotes. That’s worth a quarter point.
And, we have a winner: Raman 2.25, Thakker 1.5. That being said, in whatever capacity each served, they did bring a new life into this world under circumstances that are far from idea.
My favorite video of all times is Matt Harding’s Dancing. Every time I’m at a friend’s house and someone is on the Internet, I say, “Hey, there’s something you have to see.” The last time that happened was two days ago in Ottawa, Ohio, the town whose flood I wrote about last January.
Janelle Nanosen at Intelligent Travel offered up Harding’s video yesterday as worthy of end of the year attention. Considering that I had just visited Harding’s website, and it’s such a feel good look at the world’s people, here it is again.
Janelle mentions that Harding was given kudos by World Hum as Traveler of the Year. Of course he was, and rightfully so. As my friend, Tom Barlow at Wallet Pop said when he first saw it, “People in Hollywood spend millions of dollars trying to create the feeling that this guy was able to do in just four minutes.”
As we move into 2009, here’s hoping your travels bring you this feeling every day of the year. Wouldn’t that be great?
Here’s a humorous round-up of news stories that made it big in 2008. Uncle Jay, whoever he is, sings a medley of carols with the words changed to offer a unique twist in the explanation of some of this year’s major events. His cast of characters and happenings include Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, gas prices, the economy , the Olympics and more. While watching the video, I thought of Gadling posts that also made reference to the themes of these stories.
Here are 10 Gadling posts by 10 different bloggers that have related to the news. There are scads of other posts. This is merely a sampling.