Dawson City, Yukon, Canada – Dawson City, Yukon, Canada
Jump to the full entry & travel map Dawson City, Yukon, Canada Monday, July 20 – Dawson City, YT – Day 2 Since our group was scheduled to carpool to town at 9:30 this morning, I got out of bed around 8:30. Art told me that he was not going anywhere. He looked terrible. Besides the pain that he’s been experiencing for days, he now has alternating chills and sweats. I intended to crawl back in and stay with him rather than meet everyone else, but he reminded me that we usually take John and Martha with us and that if I didn’t go, they might not have a ride. So I got ready for the day. About 15 minutes before departure, he decided to get dressed and make a valiant effort to grin and bear it.
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Dawson City, Yukon, Canada – Dawson City, Yukon, Canada
Jump to the full entry & travel map Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia It is all happening! Little Yve is going out sailing the seven seas or maybe just two, but you know, still pretty major 
Anthony is taking me as a deckie on his sailboat a Ketch called Grain de Sable. Apart from the one time where I decided to go with Flo to Malaysia after knowing him for one evening, this is probably the sickest thing I’m about to do. It’s a voyage in a very different setting
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The sailing trip starts now! – Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia
At the occasion of the reception of an award for life-time achievement by the U.S. Society for Ecological Economics, Herman Daly recaps the arguments against perpetual growth: “We have many problems (poverty, unemployment, environmental destruction, budget deficit, trade deficit, bailouts, bankruptcy, foreclosures, etc.), but apparently only one solution: economic growth, or as the pundits now like to say, “to grow the economy”– as if it were a potted plant with healing leaves, like aloe vera or marijuana
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Herman Daly on the darkness of growth
Cowen, T.: Good and Plenty: The Creative Successes of American Arts Funding. Americans agree about government arts funding in the way the women in the old joke agree about the food at the wedding: it's terrible–and such small portions! Americans typically either want to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts, or they believe that public arts funding should be dramatically increased because the arts cannot survive in the free market. It would take a lover of the arts who is also a libertarian economist to bridge such a gap
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Jump to the full entry & travel map York, England, United Kingdom Travelodge breakfast time – It all comes in a plastic bag dropped off outside your door – orange juice, instant coffee, boring cereal and an oatmeal bar thing! A bit of difference to the previous two mornings! We were hoping to drop in on Terry and Arlene (Chris’ parents) in Harrogate, but when I phoned Arlene was just off out the door on her way to look after Cath’s little girl for the day in Leeds.
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York – not New York! – York, England, United Kingdom
Jump to the full entry & travel map Punta Cana, Dominican Republic There is something about a week on the tropical island of the Dominican Republic that melts away all your inhibitions about life. Why in the United States do we allow so much stress and pressure infiltrate our daily lives? The people of the DR live in poverty, yet exhibit a peaceful, happy demeanor as they go about their day. I honestly could retire here, whether on the beach or in the inland mountainous region. Each spot on this island possess its own individual beauty….even the potholes in the dirt roads we traveled daily to reach our “tourist” destination. My girlfriends and I stayed at my timeshare which is a small cluster of condos adjacent to the larger hotel and directly on the beach. Most of the guests were also using their timeshare, thus staying at the resort for the entire week of our visit. Meeting people from different parts of the world is the charm of international travel. This is the reason why I travel.
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Living the Life of Leisure – Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
As a preview of his research into the history of artist-run spaces in Philadelphia, curator Richard Torchia, head of the Arcadia University art gallery, showed slides and dredged up some not so recent history for a crowd of more than 100 eager collectivistas and collectivistos at Vox Populi . Arcadia curator Richard Torchia preparing to speak at Vox Populi last week. Andrew Suggs, Vox Populi executive director, is on the left.
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SRO crowd gets a history lesson at Vox
Jump to the full entry & travel map Beijing Normal University, Lanhui Apartments, Beijing, China So now this is the epic catch- up post! I’m sorry I haven’t posted all of this as it was going on, but with starting to settle down into classes, china blocking a lot of the internet and trying to get around that, and going on a lot of excursions- I haven’t had much of a chance! I’m going to write a re-cap post here about the main highlights. Then, I’ve already written something for Saturday going to the Great Wall, so I’ll post that next. So last we left off, I’d been here for about 3 or 4 days and I was just starting to figure things out. Here’s what happened next: Tuesday June 30th Beihai and Jingshan Parks I spent all day with my roommate Lauren and our friends Hwanny, Shasha, Cindy, Minji, and Difan. At first we were planning on going to the Summer Palace, but then decided to wait until a day we could spend more times there. So we headed out for our first bus adventure to Beihai and Jingshan Park. They’re right next to each other just north of the Forbidden City. Beihai Park was built by Genghis Khan (or so I was told) as an imperial garden, originally connected to the Forbidden City. The lake was dug out and added to the dirt dug out for the moat around the Forbidden City to make Jingshan Hill. We went on a perfect day because the sky was clear and blue all day! It was a great way to celebrate before our first day of classes. Beihai Park was beautiful. There were all kinds of temples and pagodas. The gardens were so lush and I really enjoyed the Empress’s get-away with ponds full of Koy fish. One thing I kept seeing were photo stands, where you pay a fee and get to take a bunch of pictures in traditional Chinese dresses. We didn’t buy them, but I’ve seen them at a few tourist places, so I might still on one of my next adventures. There were boats you could rent to go on the lake, but they were a little expensive and then we were running a little late so we decided to pass on that. We walked along the Five Pavilions on the northern shore. They jutted out into the water a little bit and were connected by little bridges. As you walked into each one, you ran into different groups of people doing different things. In the first pavilion, a woman was singing as two other women were performing some very traditional dance. In the next, a man offering to draw portraits tempted you by sketching on the ground with chalk on the end of a long stick. In the next, some older men and women sat around playing games. In the fourth, someone had a radio and there were couples dancing, just for fun.
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So to fill in the blanks… – Beijing Normal University, Lanhui Apartments, Beijing, China
Jump to the full entry & travel map Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States “Wherever a man turns he can find someone who needs him.” ~Albert Schweitzer Rise and Shine! Compared to the past two days this is sleeping in, up at 6:00 AM! Just like at home, I head straight for the coffee. We bask in the warm sun on the porch till breakfast at 8:00. Typical rectory breakfast-bananas, corn flakes, boxed milk, and Laughing Cow cheese. I spread my cheese on a roll that is similar to a stale hot dog bun. Although it’s easy to complain about the food, we must remember we truly eat like kings compared to the rest of the Haitians. Church starts around 9:00. We dress up, long pants for the men, dresses for the ladies. We get the honor of sitting in the front row. Despite the poverty and conditions, everyone dresses very nicely! The youth group arrives dressed in their uniforms. The choir is beautifully outfitted as well in blue shirts and black skirts. Being selected for the choir is an honor, most of the women are looked up to as role models in the community. Dr. Leo plans to train them as service workers (think informal social work). The singing is the highlight of the Mass as the voices are uplifting! Although the Mass is in French we are able to follow along well. It’s beautiful and speaks to tradition that we are able to understand although we do not speak the language. After Mass, three people from the community get up and speak at length (and here we complain about a measly few announcements taking up our time). In total the service lasts over two hours. Afterwords we wander out into the community. We are a curiosity for sure. The atmosphere is joyous with almost a mini-festival feel. This is a day of worship and community fellowship
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Church and Reflection – Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
Louisa Frances Pesel 1899 Louisa Frances Pesel was an embroidery designer in her own right who studied under Lewis F Day, however she was better known during her lifetime as a writer, historian and producer of numerous books on the history of embroidery, she was also a great disseminator of embroidery patterns that she collected in her books, from all corners of the world. She published hundreds of embroidery patterns, many having languished in obscurity at the Victoria and Albert Museum
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Louisa Frances Pesel and Embroidery Design
Jump to the full entry & travel map Hudsonville, Michigan, United States I didn’t get a chance to write this blog the night before we left, so here I am on a 747 plane currently at 38069 miles in the air somewhere over southeast Russia. We have been flying for about 9 hours so far and my body is so confused as to what time it is and what it should be doing that I think I may implode. All I know is that Korean Air rocks! They have already fed us 3 full meals! I digress
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The Final Leg of the Tour – Hudsonville, Michigan, United States
There comes a time when your passion for a cause is so deep that you would regret not using your talents to help out. Listen to the podcast to get ideas on how to contribute your talents to raise money for the cause closest to your heart.
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Podcast: Contribute your talents to a good cause
Weekend Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince + Gold Class Fully Booked! + GV Tampiness: Theatre too cold, seats too hard + Nasi Padang at Hotel Rendezvous + Blogathon at Tang + YSL Muse + Muse Drives the Blues Away + Visit to HDB Hub + Lok Lok in JB with Paul and Tiffany + Sunday Movie Marathon (17 Again *Swoons*, The Haunting of Connecticut, Night at the Museum II) + SilverSea Showroom. To be honest SilverSea sounds Polluted and Poisonous + Beef Bowl Noodles Lunch & Dinner I remember reading this blog entry by Scott Adams a long time ago
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Yet Another Weekend
Jump to the full entry & travel map Beijing, China Let me begin by saying that we had a wonderful night on the overnight train from Xi’an to Beijing. However, getting through the train station in Xi’an was an experience. I have never in my life seen so many people trying to get somewhere in my life. Luckily, Dr. Wang had booked us in 1st class sleeper cars, so we were able to circumvent the crowd as soon as we cleared security. No, not security like the airport, this was more like going into a park. A porter (a young man with a bike attached to a cart) met us at the bus. The descended upon us as soon as the bus stopped. How he got so many suitcases on one cart is beyond me. I can only equate it to the cab drivers in Freeport who tied the trunks with bungy cords because they were so overloaded. After we followed the carts for less than a mile, we found out that they could go no farther because of a blockade, so we paid them and took our luggage. Of course, by now I have 3 suitcases. I don’t know what I would have done if it had not been for Ryan helping me. We finally got into the train to find very nice accommodations. There were sleeper compartments with 4 beds in each. (I kept thinking of Lucy and wanted to pull the emergency brake, but I restrained). The train departed at exactly 8:10 as scheduled. The ride was the smoothest train I have ever experienced. At times, I didn’t even know if we were moving. I had a lower and we could watch the stars as we rode. It was incredible!!! We arrived in Beijing, as scheduled, at 7:30 where we once again were met by porters. They were able to get us almost to the bus, except for the last 40 stairs (Thank Heaven for excalators). Beijing, has not changed in the last two weeks, except that they do not seem to be monitoring the body temperature as closely as they had been. We are now in our final week, and I think everyone is looking forward to coming home. We are wrapping up and having lots of meetings. Lunch and dinner were at the same restaurant where we ate before, but the hotel is different.
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We’re Back – Beijing, China
The author of this post, Stefan Zebrowski-Rubin , is a 2008 graduate of Harvard College in History of Art and Architecture and Italian Studies who works at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal and continues to fuel his interest in contemporary art by attending exhibits wherever his travels take him. Before I knew it, I was implicated.
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Shepard Fairey’s iconoclasm at ICA Boston
Jump to the full entry & travel map San Severino Marche, Marche, Italy My stay in San Severino Marche was recommended by MarcheRustico a tourist marketing and real estate agency that organise accommodations, wine tasting tours , and cookery courses, Developed over the centuries in 2 distinct parts the city of San Severino Marche is a wonderful example of peasant and urban life. The well tended countryside of vineyards, olive groves, wheat, barley and sunflowers versus the mature manufacturing industries of shoes, handbags, fashion, bicycles and marble, all blend magnificently in old and modern styles
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A Passage through History – San Severino Marche, Marche, Italy
Jump to the full entry & travel map Tacloban, Visayas, Philippines Hi Everyone, Last night all the volunteers at my homestay, Nikki, and I decided to camp out at Olot Beach Resort. I think I have mentioned it before. It is basically abandoned except for the house and property of Imelda Marcos. I have never really been camping full out. It was really fun though. There were so many ants that drove me crazy but I ended up with just one bug bite. 
Unfortunately it was cloudy so we couldn’t see the stars. We woke up at 3 am because it was raining. But we moved into a hut and it was fine. In the morning I woke up to the sunrise. It was so peaceful being there. I took a walk down the beach this afternoon and it made me realize how short my time here is. I have just one week left now. I feel like it is going to be really busy trying to finish things up. It was nice to get away and relax before the week starts. I am really going to miss this place.
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Camp out – Tacloban, Visayas, Philippines
Jump to the full entry & travel map Xi'an, Shaanxi, China On Friday morning, we decided to pay 40 yuan (approximately $6) to climb the wall surrounding Xi’an. About 14 kilometers in total perimeter, the wall was originally built to surround the city of Xi’an during the Tang dynasty. The structure of the present wall was built during the Ming dynasty in the 14th century, but signs indicated it had been restored in the 18th century and again in 1989.
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Xi’an City Wall and Railway Journey to Beijing – Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
Jump to the full entry & travel map Hong Kong, China Aine, the hotel Ibis is terrific. The rooms are very small but sufficient and it is Hong Kong. It was much cheaper than the fancier hotel. The cheaper alternatives, the mansions, are deadly fire traps. there are many thousands of people crammed into quite ancient buildings. People live and work here. there are many restaurants with open fires and of course lots of people smoke. The stairs are narrow and winding
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This blog is specially for Aine – Hong Kong, China
Jump to the full entry & travel map Ushuaia, Patagonia, Argentina With an empasis on the CHILLING! The gear we have brought form London has no effect what so ever on the antarctic breeze but we stand our ground refusing to buy more woolly things as we only need it for about a week. Layering is the name of the game…the backpacks are empty now because we are wearing just about every item we have! Most of this leg of the trip was pre-booked at our hostel in Buenos Aires…all except the flight we had to catch because we missed a connection bus due to slow going on the previous bus becuase of ice on the roads
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Chilling at the end of the world! – Ushuaia, Patagonia, Argentina