TWO previously missing editions of fondly-remembered Saturday morning kids’ show Tiswas have emerged, reports Tiswas Online.

The discovery of the  shows has delighted fans of the anarchic programme, presented by stars including Chris Tarrant, Lenny Henry, Bob Carolgees, John Gorman and Sally James.

Tiswas, produced by ATV and broadcast on ITV between 1974 and 1982, was famed for its mad-cap antics, not least the ever-lurking threat of the Phantom Flan Flinger, and developed a lasting following among students and adults in addition to its target audience.

As reported on the Tiswas Online forum, a recording of the first edition of the sixth series (1979 – 80) and 44 minutes of the first show of the following series have surfaced. They are domestic recordings but said to be perfectly watchable and highly enjoyable.

The first of the two recovered shows (tx 3/11/79) featured future Doctor Who lead Sylvester McCoy and musical guests E.L.O and Darts.

The episodes are available via the website – visit the trading circle forum for more information.

I’ve been living in New York City for a turbulent two months (exactly). It’s been really hard to find a place where I feel like I belong, not to mention a place where I can feel peaceful. I feel really beaten down sometimes, and lonely, a lot.

There are little sprouts of happiness throughout my days though, and I’m discovering them more and more lately. These are the times when I feel inspired, excited to be here, and enthusiastic about exploring. 

One of these little sprouts is Adobe Photoshop. At Deep Dish TV, where I have been volunteering since I’ve been here (and hopefully will be moderately employed as a grant writer… and helping the amazing DeeDee Halleck with her Waves of Change project), I have for some reason become the graphic designer, even though I had never used photoshop before.

My first project was making a program for a screening and panel discussion we held at the Labowitz Theatre at NYU, on November 20. The event was called Behind Bars: Exposing and Transforming the Prison Industrial complex. The screening consisted of clips from the archive of programs we have – everything from a piece on Mumia Abu Jamal to one about the last graduation and end of college programs in prison. After the screening, a really interesting panel of people spoke about their experiences as activists working to end the prison-industrial complex. Pilar Maschi, who I was really moved by, talked about how she was running from the cops when she was pregnant with her first daughter, and now she works as an organizer in the South Bronx for an organization called Critical Resistance. Her daughter, who she calls her “safety blanket” sat on her lap the whole time, and I got to sit across from her at dinner afterward and talk to her more about her story… Here is the program cover that I designed for the event

Starting yesterday, Brian (the director of DDTV) asked me to make a logo for our DIY Media Series: Movement Perspectives on Critical Moments. This is a DVD series that looks at grassroots movements that have developed in response to injustices – there are DVDs on the rise of ACT-UP about AIDS, the environmental justice movement, the protesters of corporate globalization, and the movements that arose to combat US government intervention in Latin America. Anyway, here is the logo that I designed for that all day today. 

Anyway, creating keeps my spirits up – need to do it more consistently.

it’s so cozy, homey and pretty this 3 fine grains unique antique decor made from grain sacks found over at the inspired room. i love those stockings with their little ruffles! {more pictures here}

We all know have at least one sports enthusiast in our life, even if it is ourselves. We’ve rounded up a list of Grommets that are perfect for the athletic/outdoorsy person on your list.

Why Skate When You Can Shred? Imagine the combined sensation of skateboarding, snowboarding, and surfing, and you’ll have a good idea of what the Shred Sled is all about. Reaching for the Dramamine? That’s okay, you’ll never get a chance to ride it anyway, since the daredevil in your life is likely to grab hold of this amazing caster board and never let go. ($119.00) Buy Shred Sled’s caster board here.

Identification To Go. Sometimes outdoor enthusiasts do meet with misadventures. That’s why helmets, elbow pads and life vests are so important, after all. But personal identification gear, such as the Road ID, is just as critical. If there’s an accident, a readily visible ID tag, complete with emergency contact information and medical needs, could make the difference between life and death. ($19.99) Buy Road ID’s ID Bracelet and ID tag here.

Be sun smart. Coolibar makes clothes for the whole family with a UPF of 50+ (UPF is just like SPF in sunscreen, only it measures the protective power of fabric). They even figured out a way to get zinc oxide in the fabric! Apply the sunscreen, layer on a cover up, swim top, or hat from Coolibar, and you’re ready to go. (Prices vary) Buy Coolibar’s UV Sunwear here.

Hang Tight. The Slackline is a new-age, bouncy tightrope, constructed of nylon fabric that’s roughly the width and texture of a seatbelt. The sport, which is sometimes called “jiblining,” was invented by rock climbers who would practice their balance by walking parking lot chains or ropes between climbs. Eventually, the climbers settled on webbing as safer and easier to walk. The Gibbon Slackline kit we’re featuring includes webbing and anchors — everything one needs to quickly “get online.” ($79.99) Buy the Gibbon Slackline for tight rope balance and agility fun here.

No More Fanny Packs. SPIbelt is for the runner in your life who needs somewhere to put their keys, phone, and energy bar. Forget the bulky waist bag, and give this sleek little storage belt a try instead. Athlete and entrepreneur Kim Overton came up with the idea after being frustrated by trying to hold her keys in her sports bra while jogging, and designed the SPIbelt, a slim, no-jiggle belt with an expandable carrying pouch for personal items. This clever container morphs from mini-sized to large enough to hold all your essentials and then some. ($19.95-$29.95) Buy SPIbelt running belts here.

GoMotion Know an outdoor sports enthusiast? To help them stay safe while exercising in the early morning or evening hours, we like GoMotion gear with built-in lighting that lets you see and be seen in the dark. Choose a vest or a belt equipped with LED lights to light his way.($59.00 and up) Buy GoMotion lights for running and jogging here.

A Super Shirt. The performance clothing made by RailRiders was something founder John d’Arbeloff dreamed up almost 20 years ago, when he was part of a ship’s crew during a 24-hour yacht race, working in “soaking-wet canvas pants that chafed our legs and refused to dry.” Youch! As he puts it, the fast-drying, skin-shielding clothes he’s designed, “were born at sea, but they’re ready for anything.” Their Equator HT Shirt is no exception. It’s a hardworking shirt with built-in UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) and insect protection. It wicks away sweat and moisture, and has side vents to keep the wearer cool and breezy. ($76.00) Buy Rail Riders bug and mosquito repellent clothing here.

Bring On The Heat. Polartec’s cutting edge Active Heat technology was designed to keep the body’s core warm for up to six hours—this gives anyone heading outdoors plenty of time to root for a favorite team, walk the dog, or go for a run. A cozy, practical gift! ($169-$199) Buy Polartec Heat’s heated jackets and heated vests here.

Healthytoes Are Happy Toes. Unlike most workouts, with Healthytoes you don’t have to work up a sweat—you can slip the toe stretchers on while watching TV, relaxing in the tub, or curled up with a good book. The more you wear them the quicker you build strength and flexibility in your feet. And when you get really good, you can try walking around with them on—it’s a fun challenge! And you don’t need to be a fitness fanatic to fall in love with Healthytoes—they’re great for anyone who’s active. They can also help with problems like bunions, hammer toe, sciatica, arches, plantar fasciitis, or varicose veins. ($27.95) Buy Healthytoes toe stretchers for healthy feet here.

You Are What You Eat. You Bar allows you to build the perfect energy bar on their website. You choose from ingredients in 8 different categories like nuts and seeds, fruit and grains. A panel with nutrition facts is available as you design the bar, so you can evaluate carbs, fat, calories, protein and sugars before you buy. As the orders come in, Ava, Anthony and their eight “You Bar’istas” weigh and mix the requested ingredients, mold the bars and seal them in packages. They print computer-generated labels stating the bars’ names and nutritional facts. ($37 and up) Buy the You Bar custom protein or energy bar here.

Don’t Slip In Downward Dog. JadeYoga makes mats using natural rubber, which is a renewable resource tapped from rubber trees. The company’s Jade mats contain no PVC, synthetic rubbers or other ozone-depleting substances. They’re made in the U.S. in compliance with all environmental and labor laws. ($59.95) Buy Jade Harmony’s eco-friendly non-slip yoga mats here

Sore No More. Called A Better Back, it’s a lumbar support pillow that can be worn like a backpack if you’re on the go, or strapped onto a chair if you’re working at a desk. You can use it everyday as a gentle reminder not to slouch. The pillow comes with two thermal packs, one for the microwave and one for the freezer. So when pain flares up, you can alternate between hot and cold therapy – a proven method to relieve all types of soreness and muscle tension. ($69.00) Buy A Better Back’s back support pillow here.

A Cooler Idea. Kelty, a premier name in camping and outdoor equipment since 1952, has finally ended our search for the perfect cooler with the Kelty Basecamp Pop Duo. What sets the Kelty Pop Duo apart besides sheer quality? 1.) A convenient prep area – like a mini-counter. No more making sandwiches (emphasis on “sand”) on a beach towel. 2.) Storage section for kitchen utensils. No more wrapping the paring knife in a paper towel. 3.) Simple good looks and spaciousness. This cooler may just be the last you ever buy. Now that is cool. ($24.34 and up) Buy the Kelty portable insulated cooler bag here.

Flat-Out Functional. The Vapur water bottle is designed to collapse when there’s nothing in it. It’s made from flexible plastic (BPA-free), so you can roll it, fold it or flatten it until you’re ready for a refill. That means no more clunky water bottles taking up precious space in your purse, backpack or briefcase. When it’s full, the Vapur bottle stands upright. ($8.95) Buy Vapur collapsible water bottle here.

National Geographic News’s most popular coverage of 2009 scientific finds is swarming with megamouth sharks, giant snakes, a transparent-headed fish, and rare species rescued from obscurity”then eaten.

Source:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091202-top-ten-discoveries-2009-year-science-news.html

The beach was empty except for a small group of people at one end, a jogger and two photographers. A strong cold breeze had moved on shore, sweeping handfuls of finely ground white sand up, then, across the beach into my face. Fighting to control my hair against the wind, I pushed the sunglasses back onto my head and looked around the beach. A warm golden light  moved over the seagrass while the sand gradually took on a soft pink hue. The sun was saying goodbye.

It was an hour before sunset at Fort DeSoto beach, the day after Thanksgiving, and I stood chilled to the bone waiting patiently for something — a colourful transition. Looking at the light and sky, I began to wonder if anything was going to happen.

by Cate

Fort DeSoto Beach located close to Tampa, is a wide open strip of beach with limited shade and bleached white sand. It is popular with sun-worshippers and picnic fans during the summer months providing warm calm waters for swimming and accessible fishing spots. But, sunset’s during summer disappoint with pale oranges and washed out pinks, often deflating the hopes of avid photographers and spectators, including myself.

Winter gave a cameo appearance during Thanksgiving increasing the chances of a golden sunset at Fort DeSoto Beach. I quickly moved into action — taking my fiance along with me. We had both been trailing sunsets along the beach, on and off, since my first visited in 2007 and none of them turned out impressive.

“Not enough dust particles in the air.” My knowledgeable boyfriend said concluding his sunset theory.

I remembered how fire-red the sunsets were during New Zealand’s summer, earned from Australia’s plight with droughts or forest fires. I knew a big amount of particles were needed to create a brilliant sunset.

Last Friday in the late afternoon,  the wait paid off. Particles and dust were in the atmosphere, not a lot, but enough to say — sunset.

by Cate

It did throw up some flames in a final farewell to the day — and in defiance to my skepticism.

by Cate

Ending a wonderfully cool day in Tampa, on a special note.

For more photo Friday stories check out Delicious Baby.

Caffeinated Traveller

As I’ve posted here before, ink markers made with pigmented ink are very nice drawing tools, but one of their main shortcomings is that all the ones I’ve found are made to be disposable. That can get rather expensive and wasteful. It is, however, possible to refill them. This will extend the life of a disposable pen; although, I haven’t yet been able to get one to work quite as well as a new marker.

Dry markers

Prismacolor Liner cut open

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In the image above you will see two pigmented ink markers, Prismacolor and Staedtler liners. Both of these are made as disposable pens that aren’t intended to be refilled. However, it is possible to pull off the metal tip and add more ink. You can see where I’ve cut open the Prismacolor to show the felt inside that the metal point is stuck into. Neither of these tips are glued on, so you can just pull them out with pliers. I took the dropper from a bottle of Higgins Black Magic ink and slowly dropped some fresh ink into the plastic opening. It’s a slow process, but it works fairly well.

The .005 point of this Prismacolor marker is too small for the Higgins ink to flow through, I’ve found, and the new ink just bled out the side of the tube. The .5 size of the Staedtler works better; although, the line is still a bit coarse. A larger .7 point didn’t seem to work any better. Even on smoother paper, the line is still more like a thin dry brush, which is shown in the closeup above. Fortunately, that effect is useful, since as you can see in the drawing below, I’ve used this type of line to lightly sketch in where the black shapes will be for the dress around this woman’s waist. The other lines have been drawn with a metal dip pen nib (Nikko G tip.) That rough line also comes in handy with shading effects to gradually build up the value.

Drawing detail

As I say, refilling them is a cumbersome process that slows down the drawing session a bit as it takes awhile for the felt to absorb the new ink, and you don’t want to overfill it. Still, it’s better than throwing the marker away. I need to try different inks to see if they work any better.

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Addendum:

There are some pigmented markers on the market that are designed to be refilled; however, even though the refill system they use makes the ink flow better, it’s not as economical as what I’ve demonstrated here. Copic Multiliners work as a cartidge system, like a fountain pen. Refills cost about as much as a disposable marker. Letraset also makes refill pens (Aqua Pro) but the tips are not small point liners, and their liner pens aren’t refillable. It might be that their Aqua Pro ink would flow better in my refill system…

since jack was a baby, he has had a good grip and has good hand and arm strength.  i, on the other hand, have had pretty good leg strength, having been able to “stand” on dad or momma’s lap if they give me balance and a little support.  no longer do i require one of them to hold me up in a standing position…i can manage on my own now!  i can even pull myself up to said standing position (didn’t it seem like just a couple weeks ago i was still trying to roll over completely?).

during the day i would try to climb and scale my way up momma’s leg so i could stand, using her for balance.  i tried that as well in the evening with dad, and then, seeing my desire, he stood me up against the rocking chair and let me hang out there for a while getting used to the standing bit.  i was standing for a solid five minutes…until someone (who will remain unnamed) slipped in behind the rocking chair and crawled on the arm making it rock back and forth.  i lost my stability and fell over backwards, but crawled right back over to dad to scale up his leg and stand again.  who knows, by christmas i may just be able to walk through the neighborhoods and do a little caroling on my own.

Normally when I visit a new place, I try to avoid chains and get some local flavor. But, after living here for 2 months, I have given up on trying all the “cool, artsy” sandwich shops around my office. Five Dollar Footlong, here I come! It is seriously the best option. You can get TWELVE WHOLE INCHES OF SANDWICH for five dollars! Five dollars barely gets me a croissant at the stupid Green Café down the block. I am not ashamed of my decision to abandon the quest for a unique, hole-in-the-wall, Cheers-like lunch spot. Thank you, Jared.

this is so fascinating to me! i think it makes chinese characters make sense! this is probably the thing i would try to invent if i were a child trying to learn chinese characters and surely there’s some a element of authenticity to the imaginative way each of these were illustrated –meaning surely there is an explicable reason for how each of the characters came about in the first place. these are the best pictures from inside the book i could find. how fun!

{images via amazon}

Nothing can be a gift without also being a curse.

With the ability to influence my own emotions so easily…I become disallusioned too easily.

while this will be my third christmas season, it will be the first i will be paying attention.  the first two were really just times where dad didn’t have to go to work as much, drank something called eggnog, and i was dressed up in fancy clothes and blinded by camera flashes.  now i am excited because of one thing – christmas lights.  before we went to minnesota, grandma rene showed me the christmas lights they had put up in the front of there house.  they were marvelous.  i became a christmas light junkie, needing to see more and more.

luckily, when we visited grandma holly and grandpa jim, their neighbors had christmas lights up and on a timer, so i was able to see them each night.  one of the evenings we grabbed auntie jamie and drove around the neighborhood looking for houses that had christmas lights.  we found quite a few and there was one house that looked like it was christmas on crack.  this house had lights and figures or the nativity, santa, mickey mouse, and anything else they found at a garage sale that would light up.  it was amazingly awful.  most of the other houses were well done, and i really enjoyed looking at all them

each time i see lights on houses now, i yell out with joyful fascination, “christmas lights!!” and immediately ask for more.  momma tells me to keep looking, and i do.  luke usually falls asleep on these drives in search of christmas lights, but i cannot.  it is too exciting to see all the lights.  i am told that soon dad will put up our very own christmas lights and i cannot wait for that.  in the meantime, he found some videos that most everyone has seen by now but i love to watch them:

for many more, check out the christmas lights channel on vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/channels/27128

In my recent article “Admiring Aurora Borealis” I talked about this stunning celestial phenomenon, visible on dark clear nights from Canada’s Northwest Territories.

Norway is also a good location to see the Northern Lights and The Norwegian Tourist Board has created a new online tool whereby users can create their own Aurora Borealis.

Paint the sky above a dramatic Northern Norwegian coastal landscape with your mouse, or use your astrological constellation, in a palette of colour reflecting your mood, to create your own Aurora Borealis. Your personal Northern Lights display will be saved for you to share with your friends via Twitter, Facebook or email. You can also get information on the phenomenon and the best places in Norway to see the beautiful display.

Opened in October 2009, Amangiri, ‘peaceful mountain’, is located on a 600-acre expanse of wilderness in Canyon Point, Southern Utah, close to the border with Arizona and brings an unprecedented level of luxury to the area that includes Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Lake Powell and the Colorado River.

Boasting one of the most dramatic landscapes in the USA with seemingly bottomless canyons and towering plateaus, the region has been home for centuries to the native Hopi and Navajo tribes and presents the raw scenery for which the American Southwest has become famous. The region is home to a variety of endangered species, including the California condor, and a bevy of dinosaur fossils, some dating back more than 160 million years.

The resort is cradled into a protected valley with sweeping views over massive, colourful 200-million-year-old mesas and rock formations. Architecturally, the resort has been designed to blend into the landscape with natural hues and materials. The structures are commanding and in proportion with the scale of the natural surroundings, yet provide an intimate setting from which to view and appreciate the magnificent old-age landscape.

Amidst the starkly beautiful desert scenery of Utah’s canyon country, Amangiri offers guests unprecedented access to the dramatic Four Corners region of the US. Built around the main swimming pool, the Pavilion embraces a dramatic stone escarpment. Two accommodation wings lead from the Pavilion into the desert: 16 suites are located within the Desert Wing and another 18 suites together with the Aman Spa are located within the Mesa Wing. Outward views from the resort look over the untouched valley surrounded by lofty bluffs.

Amangiri’s 25000-foot spa is a destination in itself. A giant complex of stone, water features and streams of light, it offers a large array of treatments such as hydrotherapy, colour therapy and “Shiatsu in water”.

Stunningly gorgeous, startlingly isolated… this is America.

For a full review of the hotel, read the excellent article “Empty desert and full-on style” by Annabelle Thorpe.

upon waking up, i religiously clear up my emails and check my facebook updates. two interesting thots for the day:

1) how our body kills us: click

2) bombastic mr bean

3) why i need iPhone:

Well I am bored and had nothing to do, ofcourse apart from surfing the net. And while surfing I saw this interesting article about Google Earth’s 10 unusual discoveries

I enjoyed reading it and hope you too would like it.

Sojourner Truth

(1797 – November 26, 1883)

Sojourner Truth (nee Isabella

Baumfree)  was born a slave in

Swartekill, New York. Truth was an

abolitionist and women’s right

activist; she was , obviously, a

woman ahead of her time.  This

speech was delivered at the Ohio

Women’s Rights Convention in

Akron, Ohio

Aint I a woman?

”I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman’s rights. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now. As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart — why can’t she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much, — for we can’t take more than our pint’ll hold. The poor men seems to be all in confusion, and don’t know what to do. Why children, if you have woman’s rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won’t be so much trouble. I can’t read, but I can hear. I have heard the bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again. The Lady has spoken about Jesus, how he never spurned woman from him, and she was right. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha came to him with faith and love and besought him to raise their brother. And Jesus wept and Lazarus came forth. And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part? But the women are coming up blessed be God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard.”

When we first bought the property, we intended to keep the barns as barns and growing spaces and build a house on the hill. Fairly early on we realized that it would make sense to build the temporary quarters in the barn, but in the back of our mind we kept planning the house on the hill. Our goal was to employ very cost-effective building techniques yet make the house very energy efficient. Time was not going to be a factor and we would do whatever we could ourselves. We would use salvaged material when possible. We loved the idea of slip form masonry construction … we like the look and its energy efficiency. We also explored straw bale construction, prefab options and SIPs and kept waffling between them all. One thing we were pretty sure of was the basic design and the idea of tucking the home into the hillside for maximum insulation on the north side. Suddenly an opportunity struck. Our resourceful neighbor let us know about an auction at the local school where there would be bidding on windows. On an exceptionally cold morning we experienced our first auction and secured 15 windows for $75. They are double glazed and are 5 feet high and 6 feet wide. Now we had a reason to get building.

We learned and made mistakes and learned some more. We joke that our farm should be called Do-over Farm. We battled pests, drought, too much rain, too little sun, unexpected freezes and began to figure out how to maximize our resources to build consistency. Of course there are always surprises. Mother Nature just is that way and this year she brought us a potato blight and a tomato “bother.” Although blight-like (the plants got very grumpy looking) we didn’t lose many tomatoes and although they didn’t make it until frost this year, like other years. Unlike potatoes and tomatoes, salad greens have a short seed-to-table cycle, so we grow many, many rounds of greens each year – learning with every round. We anticipate being able to serve up 120 pounds per week next season. Producing one type of product consistently each week is not conducive to something like a CSA or even some farmer’s markets. Variety is important in those scenarios. However it is good for restaurant sales. And that is where we have built the business. We have no intention of giving up the farmers’ market. The opportunity to hear directly from the people eating our food, as well as being able to participate as members of our local food shed is important to us.

I was looking at one paystub and, after connecting the dots with what I’ve learned in Political Science, I realized that this system is not working. For that paystub, I paid $690 in taxes, to which $600 was allocated to lazy people and people who do not (either who can’t or who don’t want to) contribute to the economy or the wellbeing of all others. The same lazy people that ask me for change while free-riding the train and say “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” when free-riding the bus.
Humans are the only species that cultivate their own equals as social parasites.

Ikies – Santorini

Located at the edge of the Santorini caldera in the Cyclades archipelago, Ikies offers dramatic views of the water-filled volcano and the picturesque village of Oia. Ikies makes brilliant use of its surroundings by perching the apartments on these cliffs, and expanding the space even further with private patios, Jacuzzis and pools (see previous article “A selection of the most stunning infinity pools“), all of which are carefully crafted for viewing of Oia’s world-famous sunsets.

Jade Mountain Resort – St. Lucia

Jade Mountain is St. Lucia’s only resort property with the iconic view of both the Piti and Gros Piton mountains floating upon the Caribbean Sea. The location of the property is unsurpassed, rising majestically above the private estate of Anse Chastanet with 600 lush tropical acres bordering two soft, sand Caribbean beaches with pristine coral reefs just off shore.

Ngorongoro Crater Lodge – Tanzania

Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s supreme sights. Cupped within the cone of what was once a giant volcano, this grassy plain is a complete ecosystem from insects to elephants, lions, rhinos, zebras, and wildebeest. Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is perched on the edge of the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater at the Eastern edge of the Serengeti in Northern Tanzania. It lies within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which covers more than 8 000 square kilometres of pristine African wilderness. Inspired in design by the Maasai mud-and-stick manyatta (homestead), Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is without doubt one of the most architecturally spectacular safari lodges in Africa. Individual lodges are based on the traditional mud hut of the Masai, and overlook the grasslands of the crater below.

Commune by the Great Wall – China

The Great Wall of China is one of the most famous historical mega structures and the world’s longest structure created by man, and it makes sense that a hotel offering uninterrupted views of it should be included in this selection. An elevator may take guests to the flat plastered roof to savour self-prepared barbeques while watching the Great Wall in its grandeur.

Salto Chico – Chile

It would be difficult to find or conceive of a more dramatic location than the Torres del Paine in central Patagonia at the Southern end of the Andes. Salto Chico is located on the shore of a tranquil alpine lake, overlooking a colossal waterfall, at the foot of one of the world’s most spectacular mountain ranges. The varied and untouched landscapes of this area led UNESCO to declare it a biosphere reserve. It is one of the most spectacular places on the planet.

http://spinkickthis.tumblr.com/

as i mentioned yesterday, i had loads of fun at the minnesota children’s museum with daddy and auntie jamie.  one thing that completely slipped my mind was when i was on stage with my guitar.  you heard right.  i starred in my very own music video (though the music someone kept choosing was “she’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes”).

in one of the areas, there was a stage with a blue screen behind it.  then from the stage we were able to see the television monitors that had us on stage as well as some background images.  so with the “she’ll be coming…” there were images of horses running by and such.  we all heard the music and danced and some even sang along (his parents must have been the ones to choose the song).  i found a mic and started to sing too, and since i didn’t know that song, i made up my own song by throwing different words together.

i grabbed a guitar and started strumming along to the beat even though it was roughly the same size as me.  at one point i came off the stage and grabbed the guitar by the neck and auntie jamie thought i was going to be a true rock star and smash the guitar on stage, but i was merely getting a better grip – that and it was just a foam guitar.  here is a soundless video of me on stage with the guitar:

My ultimate goal in life…to find someone just like me.

Seeing as that is proabably not possible, I search endlessly for someone where the limit approaches my emotions, my physiognomy, my tastes, my desires, and my beliefs and views.

The only question is when…