January 2010
22 posts
iPhone World Article (Part II) - see page 66 →
December 2009
33 posts
Tarzan's Journey (Part I), published in ERB... →
Tarzan's Journey (Part II), published in ERB... →
BATHROOMS I SHOULDN’T HAVE
Human history is notorious in its lack of restroom facilities, but considering that the alternative is having bathrooms, going without is probably the better course, because like baking a quiche, a bathroom not done right is worse than no bathroom at all. My own excrement expertise is a result of several ill-conceived camping experiences and extended travel in Africa and the Middle East but I’m...
MONKEY ANTICS
Africa conjures visions of monkeys perhaps more than any other creature. We had our share of monkey experiences, definitely enough to say we were in Africa. Here are some of the best.
First, baboons are monkeys, not apes, even though they seem very intelligent - because they have tails. A baboon’s natural habitat is wherever it wants it to be. Baboons go where they want, eat what they want,...
TRAVEL MALADIES
Let’s define a travel malady as something that hinders your ability to sleep because if a few days go by without a refreshing slumber, you’re travel experience will certainly turn evil. When first starting our journey through Africa, the stimulating locale and experiences brought along a few discomforts, especially for novice travels. Over a period of several sleepless nights the following...
MADAGASCAR
Madagascar doesn’t get enough press. We’ve all heard of the Galapagos Islands – they’re famous. Everyone knows that Galapagos is where you go if you want to see a bit of evolution carved off and put under glass in a museum. Darwin made them fashionable but those islands have entered cultural mythos. Not to slight Galapagos but I’ve got to say that if biodiversity and strange and wonderful...
ETHIOPIA
Ethiopia gets a bum rap. The World’s impression is of bloated, starving black babies with flies crawling around their eyes. This impression is like judging the U.S. by what happens in South Central L.A. I suspect NGOs (private charities) have created this dire perception for their own ends – guilt Americans and the rest of the world into donations. Whatever the reason, from firsthand...
ZANZIBAR
Zanzibar conjures comparisons to Xanadu and Shangra La, except that it really exists. It’s an island off the east coast of Africa: it used to be its own nation but now it’s part of Tanzania. Patriarch of the “spice islands,” its history stretches into the millennium past, and its culture reflects a sophistication not found in most of Sub-Sahara Africa. The people are an Arab, African,...
