Movie awards season is upon us once again.  This year I was struck by the diversity of the contenders for Best Picture as determined by the Academy.  The films take place in a rich universe.  Two films represent the Middle East (and it’s turmoil), two show 19th Century America, and others deal with France, India, […]

I’ve traveled to a lot of places.  Most of them, due to my being an American, were places that I certainly didn’t speak the language.  I’ve gotten by with the help of hand gestures and pantomime skills.  I don’t want to brag here, but I’m good.  Very good.  I’ve taught class to group of Russian […]

It occurred to me this week that it was 20 years ago that I first traveled to Paris.  It was 1992, and I was a bit leery when I arrived.  This was long before the big “clean up” of the city to celebrate the year 2000.  It was before laws were passed that every building’s […]

The holidays are over and I survived.  This year seemed to be busier than most.  There were of course the normal family dramas, the stresses of finding just the right gifts, and the food, good Lord, the food.  This year also came with lots of traveling for me over the last few weeks.  I made […]

It’s that time of year again!  That’s right Oprah has officially announced her “Favorite Things” list!  Oh, yeah, it’s also Christmas time!  Everyone is currently engaged in my least favorite activity – fighting crowds.  I hate it.  I’m more of a sneak into the mall an hour before it closes a few nights one week, […]

The holidays officially begin this week and cameras everywhere will be wearing out their shutters.  I’ve decided to pass on some tips to optimize the use of your camera.  I’ve been playing around with photography for several years, but it’s only been in the last year that I have invested in a high quality SRL […]

Inevitably, at some point, in even the best-planned trips, the shit will hit the fan. Your luggage will get lost.  You will get lost.  You will miss a connecting flight. You will get sick. The person or people you are traveling with will drive to the edge of sanity.  Something WILL happen, and whatever it […]

You say you want to travel?  You want to hit the road, but you don’t have lots of money to spend?  You are in luck! There are options, for ways to cut corners, and get a bit more out of every dollar you spend.  The realty is, I’m cheap.  I don’t like to spend money […]

When we travel there is a particular aspect of human civilization that most people tend to try to avoid.  Poverty.  Most people don’t want to see it, smell, or experience it in any way.  I can completely understand and relate to this.  For the most part, when people are traveling on vacation, it’s a brief […]

My home and my life are full of the random crap that I’ve picked up along the way, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  It’s interesting to me to look around and see the assortment of things I’ve hung on the walls around me.  Artwork from the Pacific Northwestern U.S. hangs on one wall, […]