Depending on where you travel, you may come to realize that leaving home was a terrible mistake. That’s because every destination with a public relations budget endeavors to attract tourists and drive revenue. Yet every destination doesn’t deserve a visit from you.

A world of tacky, boring, bland, too hot, too rainy, and too cold destinations is eager to seize your vacation dollars. I’m here to expose five of them, although I acknowledge there are many, many, many more. You may not agree with the following selections; I acknowledge one person’s misery (mine) may be another person’s joy.

MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina

Freak Week

Everything crude, tacky and low-rent about America comes to spin its wheels in Myrtle Beach during Bike Week. Miles of fast-food joints and miniature golf courses lure tattooed grandpas on deafness-inducing hogs and their red-hot mamas straight off Walmart mobility scooters. Add in families with too many children under the age of ten, battalions of bleached blonde bimbos in Daisy Dukes, enough rebel flags to upholster every plantation from Fort Sumter to Jacksonville, and you’ll discover that for at least one week a year Myrtle Beach is a visual, auditory, and gustatory assault.

BERGEN, NORWAY

A Whale of a Bad Time

A coastal town with a pungent fish market, a harbor, and a row of historic, gable-roofed structures, Bergen is Norway’s second-largest city. What is there to do? Ride the funicular to the top of Mount Floyen… to look down at the fish market, the harbor, and the old buildings. If you get hungry, don’t try the whale meat. It will take hours to get rid of minke mouth taste. Alternative pescatarian picks await, as well as reindeer and (yes) moose meat. Fortunately, there is also a McDonald’s nearby. As for accommodations, avoid the trendy but terrifying Hotel Oleana. My room boasted a shower with a graphic evoking the famous scene in Psycho. Pining for the fjords? You can take a half-day roundtrip cruise from the port. Trust me: that’s long enough.

ARUBA

Bland Strand of Sand

If all you want on vacation is a beach, well, I have nothing more to say to you. If you like culture, variety, appealing cuisine, and activities other than picking sand out of your crevices, take Aruba off your bucket list. One redeeming aspect: Aruba has casinos. With a little luck, you can win enough money to pay for an earlier flight home to save yourself from dying of boredom.

ORLANDO

Family “Fun”

For any sentient childfree adult, hell is located in this desiccated patch of central Florida. Screaming childrens’ noxious and bacterial excrescences are expelled from every orifice, showering the innocent visitor drawn by exorbitant Disney prices and brain-dead attractions. One memory stands out. We were in Epcot, naively hoping to find something international that wasn’t ersatz. A tow-headed Opie tromped over our shoes and underscored the futility of our search by shrieking, “Maw! We already done France.”

CHINA

More a Poo-Poo than a Wu-Wu Experience

A vast nation with a complex history and culture that span millennia, China still belongs on the casual traveler’s skip-it list. The attractions for which it’s most famous — the Forbidden City, Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, and the Yangtze River are each disappointing in their own way.

Spanning 180 acres and containing nearly a thousand buildings, the Forbidden City is crowded and overwhelming. Just try finding a clean bathroom, a place to sit for a few minutes, or a decent snack on the premises. Thanks, Communist Party.

And forget the city of Beijing. Until China gets its pollution under control, it’ll be a rare day when the entire gray city doesn’t look like it needs to repeatedly go through a car wash. The Yangtze River isn’t much cleaner. Plastic flotsam and Styrofoam jetsam are floating companions to ships that ply the dirty gray-green water.

The Great Wall? More like the Great Staircase. If you went on vacation to escape your Peleton, you’ve found an Asian equivalent. Unless you’re being chased by Mongol hordes advancing on the Badaling entrance, plant yourself in the adjacent café and use their bathroom rather than the public one, which has a long line and revulsion at the end.

As for China’s terracotta warriors, they’re assembled inside a square edifice the size of several airplane hangars and displayed on a sunken floor. Viewers are so far away that it’s difficult to discern their individual features. Fortunately, you can get a lot closer to the models in the gift shop and even pick up a palanquin, which is really the only way to travel.

And don’t get me started on the food. Your corner Chinese restaurant with a C rating cooks more appetizing fare. At least they de-bone fish before serving and keep the most disgusting pig parts off the menu.

The next time you start thinking about a vacation to one of these places, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The post 5 Most Miserable Spots to Vacation appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Of course, so many different places come up for different reasons. For sheer beauty, there’s New Zealand. Everyone raves, setting up high expectations – always a worry. But New Zealand doesn’t disappoint. But for me, the country held a different magical appeal: little Stewart Island to the south of South Island that even many Kiwis don’t know about. With a population of 401 – the number never changed no matter how many people I asked: “Well, Ralphie died so that’s 400 – but no, the twins were born. So 401. Yup, 401, definitely.” Plus a mere 18 miles of roads and more water taxis than land ones, Stewart is 80% national park with an insulated community that still remains a little wary of outside visitors. I was glad they let me in.

Let’s see? For sheer diversity of culture, it’s hard to beat China. Not Beijing or Shanghai, of course – or even Guilin with its magnificent karst Mountains – but way out in the countryside where they still plow the fields with a resident water buffalo and local tribes plant tea in their traditional multi-colored costumes.

And a trip to Namibia introduced me to an even more primitive lifestyle. Not often, ensconced in our usually comfortable Western hemisphere lifestyle, do we take the time to reflect upon how so very much of the world lives very differently. Eighty-five percent of the world’s population live in poverty. And there are some civilizations that have very little knowledge of the world outside their small communities. And no, Talya, you can’t text them for more information.

My time with the Himbas re-enforced that. The beautiful and gentle Himba people are the last remaining tribe in Namibia to cling savagely to its native identity dating back more than 500 years.
Although most of the country’s 12 separate ethnic groups have retained their own language, food and beliefs, many have been converted to Christianity and, while still very poor, have become somewhat westernized. Not so the Himbas. Clad in very little clothing, their bodies covered daily through a lengthy ritual with red ocher pigment mixed with animal fat, the Himbas maintain a primitive culture. There are no stores in the village, no satellite dishes and no outhouses. They use the woods that border their village as their toilet.

Unlike other indigenous cultures, the more isolated and economically self-sustaining Himbas were able to resist the influence of missionaries who wanted them to cover their bodies; change their gods; upgrade their stick, mud and dung huts; and modernize their nomadic lifestyle. I was the one who left newly educated and impressed.

Countries are not known only for their interesting two-legged inhabitants; their four-legged creatures are equally intriguing. And although I’ve been on several safaris, I’d go tomorrow if another opportunity presented itself.

Usually atop an open-air jeep designed for ultimate sightseeing somewhere in Africa, we’d leer, gawk, ooh, ah, jump up, sit down, jump up again, all the while snapping picture after picture of a huge expanse of wild creatures surprisingly willing to share their open spaces, with each other as well as us.
It’s hard to describe the wonder of a leviathan elephant whose tusks almost reach the ground, a black-maned lion baring his teeth or half-a-dozen adolescent zebras cavorting around a waterhole within feet of the jeep. Home to some infinite number of animals, I often felt I had climbed into the Discovery Channel.

Occupying those omnipresent endless plains were millions of hoofed animals continually on the move in search of pasture for survival, constantly watched and pursued by the many predators whose own survival depends on feeding off them. Although I’ve been on numerous safaris, I never get tired of watching that dance. I’d love to take you on one, T.

But there are myriad adventures to be had at home as well. How about the five Utah parks for starters? Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce and Zion share many commonalities, including uncompromising splendor, history of both the earth and the country, and a sense of personal sanctuary. And then there are their differences!

Aptly named Arches National Park is a mecca of some of nature’s most intriguing creations: architectural designs that span space and confound logic for which no man-made blueprint was ever drawn. Nearby Canyonlands requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle – preferably with a driver. At 6000 feet, the view from Island in the Sky looks down at cliffs 2000 feet tall, arising out of a magnificently gouged and painted landscape.

Although geologic history is stressed in every park, at Capitol Reef, it’s what defines it – ranging from 80 to 270 million years old. A stroll along the Grand Wash River bed nearby, so narrow in parts you can touch both canyon walls at the same time, evoked old western film images of the lonely cowboy out on the trail.

Bryce Canyon is synonymous with hoodoos – phantasmagorical images emerging from weird and wonderful rock formations. There are thousands of the little (and not so little) guys in all shapes, colors and sizes. Arriving at Zion reinforces the idea that each park is unique. At the other parks, your line of sight extends out toward the horizon as well as down into the canyons. At Zion, you look straight up-and-up-and-up. Towering cliffs – some of the tallest in the world – flank you on either side. They meet the sky at a point that strains both the neck and the imagination.

But not all travel-writing trips are to magnificent scenic areas or fascinating destinations. Some are just quirky. Enter Scottsdale, Arizona’s Cowboy College where I channeled Billy Crystal in City Slickers – though you may be too young to remember that movie. But I was in training to be a cow hand ready to go on a cattle drive.

Heels down. Toes out. Squeeze with calves, not knees. Lighten up on the reins. Sink your butt into the saddle. So began my first riding lesson which was followed by instructions in grooming, shoeing, advanced riding techniques and roping. My experience up to then had been an occasional trail ride where the horse was presented to me all spruced up and saddled and all I was expected to do was mount it. Not so here.All of which was way outside my comfort zone – and great fun. In truth, most people at the college actually do then go on a multi-day cattle drive. My thighs were just thankful it didn’t have to get back on the horse the next day.

So hopefully, Talya, this gives you some idea of the very rough life of a travel writer. And oh yes, there is one other place high on our list of favorites to visit: your house!

The post Reflections on 35 years of travel-writing: Some Favorite Destinations appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Silly People

It’s hard to believe there are a lot of silly people in America. You see them everyday.

• Silly people are slaves to their little masters.
• Silly people actually volunteer to have a master.
• Many actually spend big bucks to acquire their masters.
• Silly people pick up their master’s hair, clean their mess and feed them gourmet dishes.
• When the masters come beside their slave, silly people are trained to give massages.
• Who dutifully take their masters out in the morning and at night? Silly people, that’s who.
• When silly people go on vacation they do everything they can to take their masters along with them so they can parade their silliness to the world. And if that isn’t possible, they have to find baby sitters or worse — book their masters in an expensive hotel.
• Silly people have evolved up the food chain and learned to walk upright with 2 legs yet they are willingly subservient to their four legged masters.
• Silly people can talk — they say things like “sit, down, wait, beg, roll over.” In contrast, their masters have a very limited vocabulary; they bark, grunt, howl and growl.

It’s crazy why silly people want to have a master! They’re expensive to maintain. They waste your valuable time and drain your savings especially when they get sick.

We have 3 cats and 2 dogs in our home and those animals shed lots and lots of hair. And the hair (especially the soft cottony ones) are so light they go airborne like the Rono virus. Guess who vacuums the dander? My daughter who brought in the 3 cats? No way! My wife who adopted the 2 corgi dogs? Never! It’s poor, forsaken, forgotten, unlucky me.

Our house used to be immaculately clean. Now there are scratches on the wall, on the chairs, the sofa, the floor, the entertainment center, etc. Cat toys, dog toys, litter pellets, etc. have turned our abode into a war zone.

Are you a silly person? I never wanted to be a silly person —- but I guess I am now. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

TGIF people!

Raoul

Hey, we went to a huge Corgi Beach Day 2 weeks ago where 1,500 corgis had a huge party.

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Peter Paul of S Pasadena, CA

Videos of the week

FUNNY: A cute video of animals and their food.

SERIOUS STUFF: Tom L. of Pasadena, shared this troubling video about the CCP’s plan to rule the world.
It’s pretty long. Do you agree with its analysis?

Parting Shots

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Diego of Mexico City

I hope you like this dog joke collection

The post A Dog Riddle appeared first on Traveling Archive.

They may have feet of clay, but these mystery men still intimidate my dreams. Fierce terracotta warriors have transformed an impoverished Chinese countryside – some people still dwell in caves – into a tourist Mecca. Beijing may have the Olympics spotlight, but it is the ancient capital, Xi’an, in central China, one of the great ancient cities, where Chinese history really built its foundations. Peasant farmers digging a well discovered the first terracotta warriors in 1974. The more archaeologists dug, the more stunned they were. Here the world awakened anew to the former splendor and mystery of China. Now encased by a world class museum, the warriors are part of a vanguard supporting the prediction that by 2020, China will be the world’s number one tourist destination.

Hard to believe the museum, still a work in progress, began in 1976, the last year of Mao’s life. Some communist somewhere was thinking tourism. Perhaps Mao – China’s last emperor, loosely defined, and ruthless – felt some kinship to Qin. So how did eight thousand warriors with armor and weapons, with cavalry and horses, congregate here, six thousand in the largest pit, now shielded by a protective hanger structure large enough to house an aircraft factory?

One of the most ruthless of emperors, Qin, had his successes, including launching the endless project of the Great Wall. Qin created the first feudal and centralized empire in China, the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC), by subjugating the various states. But it was a bloody business and many tried to assassinate Qin. He must have anticipated the need for an army to protect him in the afterlife from angry spirits lining up from the scholars he murdered, opposing armies he slaughtered, and his forced labor pool, many of the latter buried alive to maintain tomb secrets. Never mind the 3,000 barren wives and concubines – some revered, some tortured for pleasure – many entombed to keep Qin company. One could assume that he had earned his nightmares. And Qin began earning them young. Becoming king while still twelve, he started building his own tomb in a mausoleum complex spreading over two square kilometers, constructed by 720,000 workers and craftsmen who eventually labored nearly four decades at what was for most of them, the ultimate thankless task.

Embarking on such an endeavor instead of honoring Confucian customs of respecting his late father with a grand memorial brought him the disapproval of 460 Confucian scholars. And because Qin was not keen on critics, he executed them, burning many of them alive. About this time, critics began to see the brilliance in the young emperor’s plan. Qin’s as yet unopened tomb is said to have pearls in the ceiling for stars, and small rivers and lakes filled with mercury.

One distant dig, labeled pit “number five”, surrounded by an orchard, is filled with fragments of armor, like an upended Scrabble game. It is the tip of a huge pit, mostly unexcavated, and thought to contain only armor suits, perhaps tens of thousands of them. As thousands of chariot warriors, infantrymen, cavalrymen and horses were created – as well as dancers, musicians and acrobats – Qin’s theory was rather simple: the armor honors those fallen in battle and not properly buried, so the spirits of the dead and dismembered would be less likely to track him down for vengeance.

Today, the museum is visited by over two million people every year, nearly a quarter of them foreigners. Commerce related to the warriors already generates nearly a fifth of the province’s income, not counting what the surviving peasants who discovered them, local heroes, make autographing museum books. Warrior knockoffs of every size are available for sale everywhere, including gas stations and roadside attractions.

It’s an interesting contrast to the technical industries that have gained a presence not very far away – China’s first satellite and first integrated chip were created in Xi’an, and there are scores of state run laboratories digesting and applying technologies absorbed from around the world. The city itself has contrasts of modernity and the old walled city within it, all of which struggles against the dust and sand blowing in from the advancing Gobi desert. Indeed, the Xi’an sky is as much a signpost of global warming as the world’s defeated glaciers or blanched coral that more often catches the public eye. The sky can be a brilliant blue, but in the morning it can be hard to tell if the dim globe is the sun rising, or the moon. The warriors’ stoic gaze that seems to underpin China’s permanence is mitigated by China firing up a new dirty coal-burning power plant each week.

The sky has the feel of an empire reaching its limits, as empires inevitably do, just as the coal polluted air assaults the terracotta flesh.

At the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeological Research, fragments are assembled in restoration laboratories by German and Chinese scientists who exchange preservation expertise. Fragile artifacts, such as a bronze goose neck and head or sword, are X-rayed and studied to determine weaknesses and original designs. Some are tenderly and meticulously labored over within a sealed glass chamber, the scientists’ arms in long rubber gloves, as if herding renegade microbes. The warriors’ fragility is underscored by the nine or so different moulds that attack the terracotta, said to originate from shifting humidity and tourist breath. Despite the economic boom the warriors generated, funding remains a tough quest. The entire process of putting a single warrior back together can take up to a year.

The Qin Dynasty didn’t last long. Five years after Qin’s burial in 210 BC, a vengeful general Xiang Yu raided the tomb, stealing the real weapons the warriors held, and set a fire in the necropolis that burned for months. Many of the warriors are as shattered as egg shells. They now inspire craftsmanship of a different sort. Today, selected tour operators provide special access for travelers, who photograph themselves with the six and a half foot figures as if they were old chums. Up close and personal, visitors study faces that convey personality, faces that, millenniums ago, would have studied theirs.

It’s the faces that most linger in this writer’s mind, knowing that each, though a notch larger than life, represents a person who walked the earth, fighting in battles that seem otherworldly. We have often seen the idealized faces of emperors across different cultures. We seldom see the faces of Everyman. Their faces speak volumes about the warrior vanities of the day – the moustaches and goatees, the hair buns. Facial features reveal that many hailed from minority populations to the northwest, likely conscripted from conquered populations. The drama behind their searching faces is enhanced by pondering the armies of craftsmen who gave birth to the clay warriors, and the hardships endured. Perhaps it is respect for these toiling workers, not for the emperor, that the warriors most convey, as thousands of them patiently await their chance to shock and awe.

The post Waiting to Exhale appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Inspired by the centuries-old Chinese tradition of private gardens, Liu Fang Yuan is filled with Chinese plants and framed by exquisite architecture. The landscape is enriched with references to literature and art. Visitors can find both physical relaxation and mental stimulation when exploring the dramatic 15-acre garden.

Liu Fang Yuan is a tribute to the gardens of Suzhou, a city located near Shanghai in southeastern China. During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), wealthy scholars and merchants there built tasteful private gardens combining architecture, waterworks, rockeries, plants, and calligraphy. Many of the features in Liu Fang Yuan are modeled on specific Suzhou gardens, eight of which are depicted in the woodcarvings in the Love for the Lotus Pavilion.

Upon entering the gardens the first thing that struck me was all the peaceful ponds and bridges surrounded by meandering walking paths, hundreds of plants and trees and stunning architecture. One of the highlights is the Stargazing Tower, a hillside pavilion situated on the highest point in the garden. Boasting memorable views of the water, pavilions, treetops, mountains, and skies, the tower pays homage to nearby Mt. Wilson Observatory, which is visible from the tower, and to the work of astronomer Edwin Hubble, a neighbor of library founder Henry Huntington. Hubble’s papers are part of the Library’s holdings in the history of science.

Rocks are also an important part of the Suzhou gardens. The stones found throughout Liu Fang Yuan are a type of limestone traditionally harvested from the bed of Lake Tai near Suzhou. The rocks for the Huntington’s exhibits were quarried in various regions of China. For more than 1,200 years, these rocks have been renowned for their strange shapes and many holes. Particularly prized individual specimens, like the towering stone near the teahouse, “Patching Up the Sky,” were seen as embodying energy-like ethers, or “qi.”

Like all Suzhou-style gardens, Liu Fang Yuan has written text on the structures. Every pavilion and courtyard bears a name in Chinese characters. And the entrances to some buildings are also adorned with poetic couplets. These calligraphic inscriptions were written by more than 30 contemporary artists from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The names and couplets that they have inscribed are drawn from classic works of Chinese literature.

Like the text, the construction of the gardens was also a masterful collaboration. Construction of the garden was an international partnership between Chinese and American architects, contractors, and craftsmen who worked together to ensure the gardens are authentic to Chinese traditions of architecture and landscape design, while meeting state and federal regulations for seismic safety and accessibility.

Los Angeles architect Jim Fry developed the detailed construction plans for the expansion, based on the conceptual designs of the Suzhou Institute of Landscape Architecture Design in China. To keep things as authentic as possible, Chinese artisans from the Suzhou Garden Development Co., Ltd. worked on site for several months to complete important details by hand. These craftsmen specialize is skills such as wood carving, roof tiling, and stone masonry.

The 16-acre Chinese Gardens are just one part of the Huntington’s massive outdoor displays. In all, the preserve covers more than 200 acres, of which 120 acres are gardens. In 1903 Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) purchased the San Marino Ranch, a working ranch about 12 miles from downtown Los Angeles with citrus groves, nut and fruit orchards, alfalfa crops, a small herd of cows, and poultry.

Huntington’s superintendent, William Hertrich (1878–1966), was instrumental in developing the various plant collections that comprise the foundation of The Huntington’s botanical gardens. The property — originally nearly 600 acres — today covers 207 acres, 120 of which are open to visitors and include some 15,000 different varieties of plants.

Other themed gardens at the library include tributes to Australia, Japan, California, children, camellias, the desert, herbs, the jungle, lily ponds, roses, the subtropics, sculptures & fountains, and a mausoleum.

The Huntington is currently beginning a phased reopening; the gardens are now open, while galleries remain closed. All visitors, including Members must reserve tickets online in advance. The Library is located at 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, CA 91108. For hours and admission, call 626-405-2100 or visit The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens website.

The post The Incredible Chinese Gardens at Huntington Library appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Joy in the Morning

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Ed of Studio City, CA for sharing this joke.

Video: When China Meets India

Thanks to Ray of Burbank, Ca, USA.
This got me laughing for several minutes. Love the last comment of the guy in tech support.

Video: Venn Diagram Career Path

Thanks to Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C.
Hilarious logical way of deciding one’s career path.

Video: Blacks Attack Chinese Couple

Thanks to Chris of Cebu, Philippines who shared this video. This might upset some viewers.
Restricted. Proceed with caution.

Don’s Puns

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C. who sent this pun.
Dean Martin’s unrecorded verse.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Raffy of Buena Park, CA

Thanks to Naomi of North Hollywood, CA

Thanks to Maling of Caloocan City, Philippines

The post Car Blinker appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Start with Laughter

It’s the weekend of Father’s Day and I wish I had more time to write my thoughts but today was especially busy and this is another photo-finish TGIF edition. I’m not going to even have time to edit so please bear with me.

I have avoided getting into Twitter because I knew it would occupy too much of my time if I ever got addicted. One of the headlines accused Twitter of unfair and unbalanced censorship. So this week I decided to check what all the fuss was about. I decided to follow different political persuasions. What I discovered was a large disparity of media coverage. One persuasion talked extensively about CHAZ or CHOP (the so-called autonomous 6-city block zone) and the other persuasion had avoided any mention of it. One persuasion talked about the Rayshard Brooks killing in Atlanta (where a white cop shot a black man running away with the cop’s stolen taser) while the other persuasion defended the police. Both sides talked about defunding the Police but they both had different meanings of the word “defund.” Of course politicians were playing to the cameras by kneeling (or not kneeling), accusing, blaming, sympathizing, ridiculing — leaving the rest of us confused and more and more distant from each other. After almost a week I realized that it’s true — Twitter is everything I want to avoid.

I understand these are all serious topics but I couldn’t help but  laugh at the silliness. I’m hoping both sides can find common ground. May I suggest we start by laughing at the absurdity?

I decided I’d give you a little test. The first video may upset Conservatives and the last joke may upset Liberals. They’re both clever and funny. If you can’t laugh at them, then may I suggest you’re too serious?  Think about it. We need to unite and help each other create a better world. If you can’t even laugh at these jokes, how do you expect to get there?

Keep safe, keep healthy and don’t forget to greet Dad this Sunday. TGIF people!

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Peter Paul of S Pasadena, CA for sharing this joke.

Video: Asian Son Thinks He’s White

Thanks to Jun of Encino, CA.

It’s a political stand-up comedy. He’s obviously not a fan of Trump so if you are sensitive about this, move on. Otherwise, I think he’s very creative and funny. Lighten up!

Video: Lie Detector Wedding

Thanks to Jun of Encino, CA.

Hope you understand Spanish. Sorry, I couldn’t find an English translation.

Video: Building the Perfect Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder

Thanks to Rodney of Manitoba, B.C.

Video: “Be Thou My Vision” Sung by 300 Irish Churches

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA.

Don’s Puns

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C.who loves puns.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C.

Thanks to Peter Paul of S. Pasadena, CA for sending this strange Father’s Day greeting from a famous Conservative, C’mon, lighten up!

The post Talking Dog appeared first on Traveling Archive.

This week we have a rare contribution from one of my subscribers/friends:

“I dreamed it and couldn’t get it out of my mind, and I swear I was inspired (which is how many of my poems come to me) so I put my dream into verse.” — Lois McKinney

I Had a Dream

(With appreciation for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

I don’t think I will soon forget
A dream I had the other night.
I dreamed I was caring for six little boys.
Three were black and three were white.

The smallest boy kept running off,
With the biggest, happiest grin.
He thought he and I were having a race,
And he was determined to win!

I picked him up by the back of his shirt
And as he squirmed and wiggled,
He became a suitcase as I carried him,
And plopped him on the grass as he giggled!

Then a little black boy fell to the ground.
His white playmate said “You’ll be okay.
Come with me; I have some games
That I think you and I should play.”

The white boy helped his new friend
To sit under a nearby tree,
And then got a pail of water
To wash the injured knee.

The two of them talked and laughed
At riddles, and silly things that rhyme.
It seemed as though these two little boys
Had been good friends for a very long time.

The other four kids found a ball
And tossed it all around.
They’d cheer each boy who caught the ball
Before it hit the ground!

Such sportsmanship warmed my heart.
It made me feel so good
To see that love for everyone
Was something these kids understood.

Six little boys hadn’t known each others’ names –
Timmy, Ralph, Satchel, Sam, Stu, and Wade –
But later that day they knew all the names
Of the new friends they had made.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful
If assumptions didn’t get in our way,
And we’d think the way the kids did
On that really special day?

We’d judge people by the things they do
And not by the way they look.
If that could happen, all lives would matter,
And prejudice would be a closed book!

Lois McKinney
June, 2020

Thank you Lois for sharing that beautiful poem. TGIF people!

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Chuck of Whittier, CA for sharing this joke.

Video: Chinese Social Distancing

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C and Art of Sierra Madre, CA.

Video: Therapeutic Horse

Thanks to Mike of New York City.

Don’s Puns

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C.who loves puns.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Naomi of North Hollywood, CA.

Thanks to Ernie of Manila, Philippines.

The post The Fottle appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Demilitarized Zone

So there I was lining up to get in this Asian store in Fullerton, CA. Everyone was a respectful 6 feet away from each other and wearing masks. I looked at the cars parked outside and it was packed. “Interesting,” I thought, “that there must be so many people inside how are they going to keep their distance?” The minute I got in, all hell broke loose. People were rubbing elbows with each other. You couldn’t find an aisle that was spacious enough to walk through other shoppers. In the sea food section it was worse. I imagined I was in Wuhan China at the break of the Corona virus. I thought I should just walk away while I could but I ordered a Tilapia to be fried and I couldn’t just leave anymore. So I stuck it out. I kept a healthy distance (a foot away) from the people passing by the aisle — just far enough to check if my order was ready.

Fortunately, I’m still alive and healthy. No apparent signs of the virus swimming in my body. But the experience made me realize how impatient we all are and how long it will take to accept the new normal. I can understand the concern of people feeling it is too early to get back to work but I still see a bigger problem if the economy is delayed any longer. I also see how politically polarized this pandemic has made our society. Whose news is true news?  Whose stats are accurate? Which opinions really matter? (I talked about this the last time.)

One thing I know for sure is there are people who love to criticize and complain but are afraid to make a decision. Ask their solution and they would rather play safe than chance being wrong. And there are people who are realistic, struggle with the situation, make their best effort and accomplish something. The complainers usually lag behind and many times reap the benefits produced by the actions of the ones who dared to make a difference. Where’s justice there?

As you probably know, beyond WYNK Marketing, I have a second business  — Alpha property management  business. (That’s code for “glamorized janitor”). Don’t ask me why I took it. There are days I wish I didn’t because all I hear sometimes are complaints. One professional complainer is Maxine. She would call me about drips on her ceiling, on her garage, on the walkways… trash on the road, topless sun bathers, etc. It is not surprising that she struggles with employment. Still, I wanted to help her. One day I asked her if she wanted to earn extra income by taking over the janitor’s responsibilities. She liked the idea. The Association Board know her personality so when I suggested we hire Maxine, they turned it down very quickly. Understandably so. I shared the rejection to Maxine. She gingerly asked if it was because the board didn’t feel she was capable. I only told her it would open a can of worms (which is actually true). I didn’t want to make her feel even more rejected. Well, something unexpected happened. Maxine does not complain too much anymore. Maybe this is a premature conclusion but I think she understood that I stood up for her … that I cared. Maybe all she really needed was some attention.

Have you complained and worked out a solution? Or have you just complained? Hmmmm…

As usual, this is just me.

Keep safe and hold on to your faith. TGIF people!

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Naomi of North Hollywood, CA for sharing this joke.

Video: Clever Face Mask

Thanks to John of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA for this video. I couldn’t stop laughing.

WARNING: Disturbing image.

Video: Quarantine

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA for this scene progression.

Video: No Naps in My Home

Thanks to Rick of Chino Hills, CA who empathizes with this New York Italian comedian.

Video: The New Baby Normal

Thanks to Mario of Manila for these cute videos.

Don’s Puns

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C.who loves puns.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Mike of New York for this remake that fits perfectly.

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C. for this intriguing visual.

The post Covid Blues appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Members’ Selections

Ed Boitano – T-Boy editor:

• Space Needle — Seattle:  I would be amiss not to place this space age tower that has come to define my hometown at the top of my list. As a first-grader, each day at recess I would rush out to my elementary school playground and watch this architectural wonder’s construction, marveling at its new growth and futuristic space age splendor. Little did I know that in 1962 we were at the cusp of new era with the assassination of JFK and the arrival of the Beatles. And with the completion of the Space Needle for the 1962 Century 21 Exposition — Seattle World’s Fair, my little maritime town, seemingly hidden in the northwest corner of America, became a world-class city for the rest of the planet to see.
• Duomo di Milano — Italy: The stunning Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete, and today is the largest church in Italy; a technicality with the larger St. Peter’s Basilica in the State of Vatican City. Occupying an entire city block, the cathedral’s façade of pink-veined white Candoglia marble is adorned with 3,400 statues, 135 gargoyles and 700 figures, and a gold-colored statue of the Madonnina, standing on the terrace’s highest spire.
• Roman Colosseum — Italy: The forerunner of the modern sports stadium, the Roman Colosseum (Anfiteatro Flavio) was the largest amphitheatre the world had ever seen. Constructed in AD 80 with travertine limestone, volcanic rock and brick-faced concrete, it was an engineering marvel with an enormous retractable awning to protect 50,000 to 80,000 spectators from the beating Roman sun. Programs included gladiatorial contests, mock sea battles on water, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.
• Newgrange — Ireland: This megalithic mound was built by Neolithic farmers approximately 5000 years ago. Considered a place of astronomical and religious significance, at the dawn of winter solstice — December 19th to 23rd — the passage and chamber are illuminated by 17 minutes of light.
• Chicago Architecture River Cruise — The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 burnt down 3.3 square miles of the city, destroying 17,500 buildings. The rebuilding began almost immediately with architects pouring into the city, anxious to try out new architectural styles. You can see the results on a Chicago River cruise where 40 notable buildings are on display.

Richard Carroll – T-Boy writer:

• Tikal in Guatemala, dating to 200 A.D.
• Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico, 600 A.D. The Maya sites in Mexico and Guatemala are stunning as old as the Egyptian Pyramids, but a huge step above, as they were cities, and much more thoughtful and intriguing than the pyramids.
• La Cite du Vin Bordeaux: Rising 55 meters into the Bordeaux sky, the creative and unusual architecture appearing like a huge ship’s hull or with a little imagination a wine barrel. The wine complex/museum is ranked number one in the world focusing on cutting edge technology, with incredible videos, like something Disney would create.
• Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, the forefront of architectural design, construction began in 537 A.D. and with enough history to fill a library. A breathtaking experience to visit Hagia Sophia.
• Eiffel Tower in Paris

Here in the U.S.:

• Statue of Liberty
• Empire State Building
• Golden Gate Bridge

Stephen Brewer – T-Boy writer:

• Fallingwater – Pennsylvania
• Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba – Spain
• Acropolis – Athens, Greece
• Empire State Building – NYC
• Mont–Saint–Michel – Normandy, France

Susan Breslow – T-Boy writer:

• Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach
• Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria
• Sydney Opera House
• Dancing House, Prague
• La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
• Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
• Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City
• St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow
• Chrysler Building, NYC
• Taliesen West, Arizona

Jim Gordon – Co-host & co-producer Travel Guys TV:

• 300 ft tall Buddha statue in Leshan, China (filmed there in 2008, just breathtaking)
• Glasgow Cathedral in Scotland (filmed there in 2019, walking through a century of history, snuck a camera in, could’ve stayed for a day)
• Sydney Opera House in Australia (filmed there in 2005 & 2011, stood in awe of the design)
• Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (filmed there in 2009, I’ve seen many similar building designs, but this one with the city’s park beside it, the lights, stunning)
• Old Trafford, Manchester, England (filmed there in 2008, not my team, hate them, but to stand and film in that empty stadium, sporting cathedral really, left me breathless as a British football fan)

Richard Frisbie – T-Boy writer:

• In Sevilla – Parasol Metropol: the world’s largest wooden structure, a series of mushroom-shaped, interconnected buildings with undulating walkways over and through them – simply stunning – with the Roman ruins in the basement that prevented it from becoming the transportation hub it was designed for!
• In Saugerties – Opus 40: one of the oldest and most magnificent earthworks in the US – a series of stairs, ramps, and pools all made of bluestone, centering around a huge stone obelisk, created and built by one man, Harvey Fite.
• In Rio de Janeiro: the black and white tiled walks and walls created by Roberto Burle Marx. Also – any of his gardens, especially the one at his home: Sitio Santo Antonio da Bica.
• In Brasil – Oscar Niemeyer’s Museum: that looks like the star ship Enterprise, from the Star Trek series.
• The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain: Frank Gehry’s undulating titanium masterpiece.

James Boitano – T-Boy writer:

• St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow
• Stave Churches of Norway
• The ‘Three Bridges’ of Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Aya Sophia Mosque in Istanbul
• Grand Coulee Dam, Washington State

Allan Smith – Artist & T-Boy writer:

• Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Spain. Architect: Antonio Gaudi
• Chrysler Building, NYC, New York. Architect: William Van Alen
• Great Pyramids, Giza, Egypt. Architect: unknown
• Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing, China. Architect: Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron
• Reims Cathedral, Reims, France. Architect: Jean d’Orbais
• Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey. Architect: Anthemius of Tralles. Isidore of Miletus
• The Space Needle, Seattle, Washington. Architect: John Graham & Company
• Neuschwanstein Schlosse, Bavaria, Germany. Architect: Eduard Riedel
• Himeji Castle, Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. Architect: Toyotomi Hideyoshi
• Yellow Crane Temple, Wuhan, China. Architect: unknown

Deb Roskamp – T-Boy writer:

• Duomo di Milano – Milan, Italy: The awe-inspiring magnificence of scale… breathtaking!
• Statue of Liberty – NYC: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…T E A R S.
• Arch de Triomphe – Paris: So much history transcribed in its triumphal sculpting.
• Walt Disney Concert Hall – Los Angeles: Makes me happy every time I see it.
• The Space Needle – Seattle, Washington: Whimsical memories of the 60s in my home state.

Alex Brouwer – T-Boy writer:

• Machu Picchu – Peru
• Teotihuacán City/Pyramids – Mexico
• Chichen Itza – Mexico
• Stonehenge – England
• Eiffel Tower – France
• Honorable mention: Roman Colosseum and Leaning Tower of Pisa

Ringo Boitano – T-Boy Writer:

• Neuschwanstein Schlosse – Bavaria, Germany
• Taos Pueblo – New Mexico
• Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Brooklyn Bridge – NYC
• Emperor’s Palace – Imperial City of Huế, Vietnam

Brent Campbell – Musician & Composer:

• St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow
• The Guggenheim Museum in NYC
• Chicago Bean (aka Cloud Gate) in Chicago
• Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing 
• Seattle Space Needle

Greg Aragon – T-Boy Writer:

• Panama Canal
• Hoover Dam, Nevada
• California Aqueduct, which transports water 444 miles from Northern California to Southern California
• Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (886 ft-high), which spans the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada
• Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Fyllis Hockman – T-Boy writer:

• The Great Pyramids – Giza, Egypt
• Empire State Building – NYC  
• Chichen Itza – Yucatan, Mexico
• Mount Rushmore – South Dakota
• The Hermitage – St. Petersburg, Russia

T.E. Mattox – T-Boy music critic:

• Eiffel Tower – That guy lived in an apartment up there
• Roman Colosseum – Massive
• Musee d’Orsay – Paris. Train, train
• Toji – Buddhist Temple in Kyoto, Japan 
• Duomo di Milano – Milan, Italy.  Majestic

David Erskine – T-Boy VP of advertising:

• Knossos on the Isle of Crete – Greece
• Taj Mahal – Agra, India
• Love Temples – Khajuraho, India
• Eiffel Tower – Paris
• Wat Pho ‘Temple of the Reclining Buddha’ – Bangkok, Thailand
• Blue Mosque – Istanbul, Turkey
• Acropolis – Athens, Greece
• Roman Colosseum – Italy
• Empire State Building – NYC
• Munich Franuenkirche – Germany
• Red Fort – Delhi, India

Tom Tapp – Film & music critic:

• Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain
• The Ruins at Petra, Jordan
• The Anasazi cliff dwellings in Gila, Arizona 
• Highway 1 in California 
• The Medina of Marrakesh, Morocco

Raoul Pascual – T-Boy co-founder, illustrator and art director:

• Empire State Building, NYC
• Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy
• Great Pyramids,  Giza, Egypt
• Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island in New York Harbor
• Singapore Changi Airport, Changi, Singapore

Lee Olson – TV producer & writer

• Summer Palace in Bejing – China
• Angkor Wat – Cambodia
• The Alhambra – Granada, Spain
• Versaille Chateau – France
• Chichen Itza “El Castillo” Pyramid – Yucatan, Mexico

Rourke – Film critic & musician:

• Eiffel Tower, Paris
• Roman Colosseum, Italy
• Brooklyn Bridge, NYC
• Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City
• Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong

Honorable mentions:

• Trevi Fountain, Rome
• Holocaust Memorial, Boston
• Pan Pacific Theater, L.A. (burned years ago)

Chloe Erskine – Educator:

• The Golden Gate Bridge – San Francisco
• The Walls of Benin – Edo, Nigeria

The post The T-Boy Society of Film & Music’s Favorite Man Made World Wonders appeared first on Traveling Archive.