Review: Unhinged (the Omarosa book)

Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House by Omarosa Manigault Newman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am one of those curious people who not only can't fathom how Trump's brain works, but am still flabbergasted that he got into office. I though Omarosa's book might give me some insight, and it did.

I casually watched the first season of The Apprentice, so I thought her story would provide an interesting lens. And it did.

It makes me a bit sad to think that she really thought they were friends, as he seems incapable of truly caring about another person, but their time in the White House let me behind the veil. It was as frightening as expected.

I found Omarosa hard to relate to - her allegiance to Trump, ministry and experiences as an African-American woman are far removed from me - but I respect the good she was trying to do.

I can't say I loved the book, but it was ok. I enjoyed her narrating her own book. I listened on Audible.


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Review: No One Would Listen

No One Would Listen by Harry Markopolos
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Shocking really describes this book. When I began listening, I thought I would hear the story of the whistleblower who took the crook down... but no one really did listen. Only when Bernie's house of cards fell down did this story come out. Shocking that this small group of men (aka heroes) figured out the fraud and put the ponzi scheme in the security authority' hands, only to be dismissed and ignored oner and over and over again. What a sham of 'oversight'. I didn't know this part of the story, and am still shaking my head. A good listen.

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Port Frejus: seaside Roman ruins in France

A largely European invention, 3-4 week 'long stays' escapes in France, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Spain, are popular with budget-minded travellers. It was as I was searching long stays apartments in the French Riviera for a client that I stumbled across Fort Frejus. Its seaside location and Roman ruins caught my eye, and I was called to learn more.

Fréjus (Occitan: Frejús, French pronunciation: ​[fʁe.ʒys]) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one town.

The many ruins around Frejus make one curious about how the town came to be.

The origins of Frejus probably lie with the Celto-Ligurian people who settled around the natural harbour of Aegytna. The remains of a defensive wall are still visible on Mont Auriasque and Cap Capelin.

The Phocaeans of Marseille later established an outpost on the site.

Julius Caesar founded the city as 'Forum Julii' meaning... [read more on my cruisetravelbug blog].

Swedish Crown Jewels Heist

I have long been fascinated by art and jewelry heists, so am tracking last week's stunner: the brazen daylight theft of Sweden's crown jewels, getaway speedboat and all!

First, a little context...

The setting: Strängnäs Cathedral sits on a hilltop is located about an hour from Stockholm by train. The brick cathedral was built in the mid-1300's in characteristic Scandinavian Brick Gothic style. It replaced the original wooden church, built on a spot where pagan rituals took place in the 12th century.

The treasure: A glass case in the cathedral holds the 17th century burial regalia once belonging to King Karl IX and his wife Queen Kristin.

The heist: On July 31,2018, a theft raid was carried out inside the church, the thieves making off with two crowns and an orb.

The idyllic setting of Strägnäs Cathedral
made it perfect for a speedboat getaway
Creative Commons image henrikj on Flickr

"From 'The Italian Job' to 'Heat', Hollywood has been obsessed with pulse-racing heist movies for decades. And for the perfect robbery flick, you need always need two crucial elements: absolutely shameless self-confidence and a killer getaway plan. Now robbers in Sweden have put together an operation that rivals anything Hollywood could come up with. According to Reuters, thieves have stolen two 17th century crowns and an orb from the Swedish royal family’s collection, before making off in a motorboat..." [read more].

A pair of brazen thieves appear to have made a clean getaway after stealing Sweden's crown jewels. [In] the daring daylight robbery... two men smashed their way into a display cabinet and grabbed two historic royal crowns and an orb. An alarm sounded, but no one in the church was able to stop the men as they hopped aboard two bicycles and made their way down to the shore of nearby Lake Malaren, where they had moored a speedboat. Police carried out a search using their own boats and a helicopter... but could find no trace of the thieves. 'By boat you can reach Malaren, Koping or Arboga in the west, or Vasteras, Eskilstuna or Stockholm if you drive east' ..." [read more].

Strängnäs Cathedral
Creative Commons image henrikj on Flickr

"Sweden's government and police force has declared a 'national alarm' following the theft of priceless crown jewels, including two crowns and a royal orb. The national alarm in used to alert police forces about a serious situation that needs extra measures, revealing the severity of the daylight robbery at Strängnäs Cathedral... The gold-plated and jewel-encrusted crowns belonged to Queen Kristina and King Karl IX respectively, and the cathedral has now been closed to closely examine the crime scene..." [read more].

"The cathedral was open to the public when the jewels were stolen from locked-up glass boxes. Karl IX was the King of Sweden from 1604 until his death in 1611. The two crowns are the burial crowns from 1611 but were later exhumed and put on display. Both crowns are made of gold and inset with pearls and other precious stones. Christofer Lundgren, dean of the cathedral, said: 'This is part of the national cultural heritage - this is a theft from Swedish society.'..." [read more].

Interesting fact: This isn't the first time an attempt has been made to steal the Swedish treasure. Thieves managed to steal part of the crown jewels in 2013, but they were recovered in a ditch following an anonymous tip.


To learn more
Thieves steal Swedish royal crowns, flee in motorboat - Reuters
Sweden declares national alarm following theft of crown jewels
Priceless Swedish Crown Jewels are STOLEN - Daily Mail
The Swedish crown jewels have been stolen in a heist straight out of Hollywood - Shortlist
Theft of Swedish crown jewels sheds light on other high-stakes robberies - CBC

Review: Deep Down Dark

Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free by Héctor Tobar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Unimaginable survival and rescue...
It's hard enough to imagine being trapped underground, but to come out alive after months is almost beyond comprehension. I did think the rescue was remarkable when it happened, but I didn't "get" how complex the rescue was until I read (listened to) the book, and looked again at the diagrams of the site. How each man survived, not just physically, but mentally, is the heart of the story. The PTSD they suffered afterwards is both heart wrenching and not surprising. The book only touches this, but it's instructive. A good book if you are intrigued by the human condition. I was reminded of the incident and was drawn to the story again recently when the schoolboys were trapped in the underground cave in Thailand recently (now rescued as well).

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Review: Bad Blood

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gripping, read right through...
Remarkable that this actually happened. Perhaps it was innocent enough, with Elizabeth Holmes naively pushing ahead when a prototype wasn't ready, but it was so quickly out of control it's unforgivable. The degree of the fraud at Theranos is stunning, and quite the yarn to untie, given the powerful investors who wanted to turn a blind eye. The fact that it was a woman does make it more interesting, though it shouldn't. The book read like a novel, so it was rather strange to Google and find the real covers of Inc. and Fortune. It was also ironic to learn how much Elizabeth Holmes tried to emulate Steve Jobs... but she was a tyrant and treated employees like dirt. A FASCINATING listen.

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Review: The Queen of the North Disaster - The Captain's Story

The Queen of the North Disaster: The Captain's Story by Colin Henthorne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating look behind the scenes of this disaster. Aside of a few long technical sections, which were actually quite important for context, this was a compelling story. I appreciated the way facts were clearly laid out, and what was not known was not guessed at.

Only after some time, after Henthorne has laid out the the whole story as known to the public, explained the lay of the land (sea) as to where the ship was, detailed how the ship is navigated (including recent changes to the navigational equipment), and described his personal experience as Captain that fateful night, does he conjecture on what might have happened. He never says what happened to cause the accident, because he does not know. The situation was way more complicated than what non-mariners might imagine.

What he does do well is dispel myths and rumours that have captured the public's attention. He also defends the competence of the officer of the watch, Lilgert. He does not believe Lilgert was negligent. He does believe Lilgert made an error that caused him to lose situational awareness, and has some guesses as to what that might be, but believes in Lilgert as an experienced and capable professional doing his job.

There is lots about this story that is disturbing, and one is left with as many questions, but its an important story nonetheless.

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Death by Selfie: is social media worth it?

Shannon Falls, British Columbia

The tragic death of three young people at Shannon Falls, near Vancouver, BC, Canada, while out for a day fun with friends, has saddened many.

The group of friends were hiking near the falls, when one, a young woman, fell in. Two young men, one her boyfriend, fell or jumped in while attempting to rescue her. All three died.

News of the positive yet daring adventures of one of the deceased - a vlogger* - made me think of this death-by-selfie piece I wrote a few years ago. For me, the connection is the drive to share life experiences in social media. I'm not suggesting the friends were doing anything foolish when the accident happened; it just seems timely to share.

*Vlogging is a form of blogging based on videos (the vlog category is popular on YouTube).

DEATH BY SELFIE

- by Roberta Westwood

Think that selfie is fun? Harmless?

Aside of the downsides of "missing" the experience of where you are, because you're so busy capturing your selfie, you may be surprised to to learn that taking selfies is actually dangerous.

What starts as playful fun can cross the line when selfies become an obsession, in which you become less aware of your surroundings and take ever-increasing risks.

Especially for men. The truth is that while women take more selfies than men, 75% of selfie death victims are MEN.

Selfie deaths?!? Really? You bet.

Selfie-takers have been killed by:

• Falling off cliffs while taking selfies (many)
• Falling over viewpoint barriers
• Falling over a cliff when leaning on a gate that gave way
• Sitting on boulders forming a safety barrier over a gorge, which gave way
• Falling into a volcano crater
• Falling down stairs
• Falling down stairs while taking a selfie at the Taj Majal
• Falling off bridges (many)
• Falling off dams (several)
• Falling into a pond
• Falling into a spring
• Falling in irrigation canals
• Falling into water reservoirs
• Falling into a quarry filled with rainwater
• Falling into a well, while leaning over it to take a selfie showing the depth
• Taking selfies in a melt hole (cave) at the front edge of a receding glacier, when the roof gave way
• Taking selfies with waterfalls (several)
• Standing in rivers while taking selfies
• Waves, when standing on the beach (several)
• Waves, while standing in the surf, in a storm, taking selfies
• Taking selfies with trains (several)
• Falling off moving trains while taking selfies
• Climbing on top of moving trains
• Climbing on top of stationary trains mistakenly believed not in service (many by electrocution)
• Crashing cars while taking selfies or uploading selfies while driving
• Being hit by cars
• Being hit by a car while taking selfies with airplanes
• Standing in a boat to take selfies (drownings)
• Climbing on a fountain to take selfies
• Climbing onto a glass dome to take selfies, and falling through
• Climbing on girders in a construction site to take selfies
• Preparing to take a selfie by hanging from a rope from a high-rise
• Leaping to take a "flying selfie" (at Machu Picchu)
• Falling into a geyser while taking a selfie
• Posing with guns (many!)
• Posing with grenades
• Posing with a rattlesnake
• Posing with tigers at the zoo (several)
• Taking selfies with a walrus at the zoo
• Posing with a bison in a national park (gored)
• Posing with an elephant near their tent on a safari
• Getting out of a vehicle to take selfies with a herd of elephants blocking a road

Places where selfies have banned, due to deaths:

• In Pamplona, Spain, during the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona
• At New York State zoos (tigers)
• Anywhere in Mumbai (India has very high selfie deaths)
• In Japan, selfies and selfie-sticks on train station platforms are banned

Places where selfie bans have been proposed, due to high selfie deaths:

• In Paris, at the Eiffel Tower
• In Rome, at Trevi Fountain
• In Rome, on the Spanish Steps

Do you believe me now?

Even if you are not killed, just imagine the extent of serious injuries any of the above could cause.

Seriously, have fun out there, but don't let it cost you your life (or limbs!)


Related resources
List of selfie-related injuries and deaths - Wikipedia
40% Selfie Deaths from India, Selfie Obsession kills over 60 people Worldwide - Phone Radar
Mumbai sets no-selfie zones as deaths linked to selfies rise - Associated Press
No Selfies Allowed: Social Media Bans at Landmarks - Conde Nast Traveler
Selfie deaths: six people who died while taking a selfie - The Week
In Goa, red flags go up on beaches after tourist deaths: Selfies can be dangerous - The Indian Express
Selfies can be deadly - and India leads the way - Economic Times
Two young women struck by lightning while taking selfies - Economic Times
Death by Selfie - Martin Parr

Review: Blackberry Planet

BlackBerry Planet: The Story of Research in Motion and the Little Device That Took the World by Storm by Alastair Sweeny
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

".... assuming the Blackberry prayer position"

I chose this audiobook for a listen, even though it is long out-of-date (it was published in 2009) because Research In Motion was a Canadian success story. Sadly, I do mean 'was'. What a shame that the company tanked, and Blackberry lost its position in the smartphone market (I had one myself, long after the company's high, and gave it up with regret). Hope to read a sequel one day, so I can understand what happened.

Listening to the first part of the book ~ about the emerging executive Crackberry addiction, and USA President-Elect Barack Obama's angst and efforts to convince the Secret Service to let him keep his ~ I was struck how absurd it all sounds in today's context: everyone is addicted to smartphones now, and the USA's oval office is upside down and backwards, with an out-of-control President tweeting gibberish and lies from bed.

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Review: Resilience - Navigating Life, Loss, and the Road to Success

Resilience: Navigating Life, Loss, and the Road to Success by Lisa Lisson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was not what I expected, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I am drawn to stories of people recovering from tragedies, but a mom with kids dealing with the 'loss' of her husband isn't one that I relate to. I suppose it was the parallel story of Lisa's role as a senior executive in Canada that intrigued me. The third aspect of the book ~ Lisa's descriptions of her leadership style and business philosophy ~ was unexpected and, at times, seemed out of place. Yet it makes sense, if she is writing a book about her journey, that they would be included. Looking back at the title, it does seem to fit. I suppose the chosen audio clip for the preview was so laser focused on the tragedy of her husband's heart attack, that I wasn't expecting the rest. But... still a good read. I wasn't thrilled with the narration; at times the narrator spoke so fast I actually checked to make sure I hadn't inadvertently selected 2x speed.

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Emeco 1006

This is not just a chair. It is the the Emeco 1006 Navy Chair, and it has a storied history.

Originally built for US Navy warships during World War II, the Emeco 1006 (pronounced ten-oh-six) found a second life as a designer chair used in high-end restaurants and by interior designers.

The story of Emeco and its famous chair is told in episode 310 of 99% Invisible. I found it fascinating.

Listen to the podcast.

Or read the transcript.

Campiglia Marittim (near Livorno)

If you are fortunate enough to return to Livorno, Italy on a cruise port call, and have already visited Florence, the surrounding countryside, and Livorno itself, you may find a daytrip to a nearby historical town is a relaxing alternative. Here is a little town I discovered when a client asked me this exact question.

Piazza della Repubblica

Campiglia Marittima is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) southwest of Florence and about 60 kilometres (37 mi) southeast of Livorno.

Situated in a hill overlooking the sea and the surrounding countryside, the town has medieval origins but traces of Etruscan and Roman civilizations can be found as well.

Apritiborgo Festival scene
Creative Commons image, tanran2 on Flickr

If you visit in August, you may be in for a treat. This is when the town hosts Apritiborgo Festival, a street art festival that has been held annually since 2005. It usually takes place in mid-August, from around the 11th to 15th (be sure to check the actual dates for the year you visit).

Campiglia Marittima's past is linked to metal-working activities, This is evidenced by the Val Fucinaia furnaces and the remains of mining and metallurgical works in the Archaeological-Mineral Park of San Silvestro.

Rocca de San Silvestro

Archaeological-Mineral Park of San Silvestro

All other images: Wiki Commons

Review: Over the Edge

Over the Edge: The True Story of Four American Climbers' Kidnap and Escape in the Mountains of Central Asia by Greg Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Unexpected Drama

Four mountain climbers plan a trip to far-off lands, to climb rock faces new to them. It's a place where others have been, but not many. It's away from everything, a quiet escape, to challenge themselves, to do what they love. Aside of a missing bag of gear, all is going well until, when sleeping in tents up a cliff face, someone starts shooting at them.

If you wonder how people get kidnapped abroad, it can happen like this.

The story of their kidnapping, their dramatic escape, and the fallout that left them estranged from each other are story enough. But there's more, when one of their captors, presumed dead, unbelievably turns up alive. It's a stunning turn of events that's hard for anyone to understand. A true story with an ending that changed while the book was being written. Definitely lots of unexpected drama.

I enjoyed the book, and Greg Child's approach. The only problem I had was keeping the three male climbers separate in my mind.... I find that happens with non-fiction books where everyone is referred to by their last name.

Overall, Arnold Schultz's narration was good, but sadly he just couldn't pull off the Australian woman's voice... perhaps he overplayed it, and it may have been ok if he just toned it down a bit.

I'm not a mountain climber, but suggest that anyone who is would find this book very compelling.


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A Berghain tragedy

Creative Commons image sakena on Flickr

Today, when surfing for city travel information, I stumbed across a reference to Berghain, Berlin's famed but unpublicized techno nightclub.

Where have I been living, under a rock? I spent 5 weeks in Berlin, and thought I had researched all the city had to offer, including off-the-beaten-track places and activities. But this place never hit my radar. Upon reflection, it's not really surprising. Not into the drug scene or clubbing, I am more plain vanilla than I like to admit to myself.

I was fascinated, half wishing I'd known about it, so I could have gone, but quickly tossing that aside with knowledge that I'd probably not make it in. I may be able to act bored and non-chalant, but at my core I am naive and wear deception on my face. I can't tell a lie, pull off a prank, or hide a secret - my face gives me away. Not that it bothers me ~ integrity runs deep in my veins, and I have no desire to lie or deceive anyways. So it's not a problem, per se. But I wouldn't have made it across the threshold.

But still, I was curious, and started to write a blog post (not this one). As I was collecting stories and links to augment my post, I came across one story from last month that stopped me dead in my tracks.

It was a story about an overdose death at the club. Sadly, not a rare thing these days, but the subheading caught my eye:

Deafening Silence After Overdose at Berghain - During an around-the-world trip last summer, a couple from California visited Berlin's legendary Berghain techno club. A few hours later, one of them was dead. Even today, no one seems willing to accept responsibility for the tragedy.

I immediately thought of all the travel bloggers trekking the world these days, especially those younger and more carefree than me, chasing excitement and experiences that I can't even imagine. Sometimes I worry about them, so this story just brought that all into focus for me.

The story is on Spiegel, which I appreciate for its thorough coverage of stories, its willingness to go down rabbit holes, to question the unexplained, and to expose loose ends that can't be neatly tied up.

Read it, I suggest.

For me, I think this is going to be on my mind for awhile...

RIP Jennifer.

Rome 1960

The Opening Ceremonies of the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome...
who knew what controversy had been stirring, and what was still to come?

I first bought Rome 1960: The Summer Olympics That Stirred the World, by David Maraniss, when it first came out. I was so interested in the topic that I paid full price for the hardcover (rare for me). It did not disappoint. If you are interested in Rome, or the Olympic movement, or both, I can highly recommend this book.

Here are a few reviews of Rome 1960: The Summer Olympics That Stirred the World

• New York Times
• GoodReads
• Sports Prof
• Tyler's Booklist

You can read a Q & A with David Maraniss, the book's author, on his website.

For a sampler, you can look inside the book or listed

Wrestling at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome

metroburb

The "before" -  the former Bell Labs corporate campus 

Today I learned a new word: metroburb.

metroburb 

It's probably not in any dictionary yet, but perhaps its time will come, if more corporate campuses are reborn like Bell Lab's.

If you're not familiar with corporate campuses, they are huge purpose-built structures designed to hold all of an organization's staff under one roof. I've been to a few, including a number of visits to the a certain big box supplier's campus in Minneapolis (think a great big yellow tag). So specific are the designs that its hard to imagine a new use once the the corporate giants have downsized, decentralized or disappeared.

Architect Eero Saarinen designed more than one of these properties, including Bell Lab's monstrosity in Holmdel, New Jersey, USA.

Developer Ralph Zucker had a rather brilliant vision for what the building could become, creating one of his "metroburbs", the word he uses to create each "metropolis in suburbia" transformation of such spaces. The result, in this case named Bell Works, features offices, co-working spaces, retail, restaurants, meeting spaces and a library. A hotel and residential developments are to come.

In A New Urbanist Developer Gives Saarinen a Reboot, CityLab describes the vision and the outcome well. It's a good read. Check it out.

Atlantic City's Streets of Monopoly

Goofing with Monopoly signs in Atlantic City
Creative Commons image shoshanah on Flickr 

I stumbled across this 2014 story - "The Avenues of Monopoly, Captured in Pictures" - and found the premise compelling: a photographer's photo essay on the Atlantic City streets made famous by the original Monopoly board game. It's worth looking to see the photos:

"Headlines from Atlantic City today read like they might be pulled from Monopoly, the most famous board game ever made about Atlantic City, or any other city. "Atlantic City Allowed to Collect Up to $30 Million Unpaid Revel Property Taxes," reads one from The Wall Street Journal. It's a bank judgment in the city's favor, practically a card drawn at random from the Chance deck. "Economist: Atlantic County Job Losses Among Worst in Nation," reads another story, about how the city is suffering the worst single-year contractions in employment in recent national history. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200..." [The Avenues of Monopoly, Captured in Pictures].

Here are a few other interesting Monopoly stories I found along the way:

A Monopoly "spinner" used in
WWII when dice were unavailable

"During World War II, Allied soldiers in German prison camps used Monopoly games for more than just amusement. Thanks to an ingenious scheme by a branch of the British Ministry of Defense known as MI9, these soldiers were actually able to use Monopoly games to escape to freedom. Allied prisoners received these games as part of aid packages that usually came from charities like the Red Cross.

The Germans believed that the games kept their POWs from planning to escape by providing them with amusement. Ironically, many of the packages’ Monopoly games were designed by their U.K. manufacturer to have the opposite effect entirely, and, in fact, secretly doubled as escape kits. The plan involved having fake charities deliver aid packages containing these games, which, in truth, contained various escape tools, including “playing pieces” that were actually compasses or metal files that could be used to cut through barbed wire.

Even the games’ “play money” was actually real French, German, and Italian money that could be used for food, bribes, or train tickets. Hidden within their boards, the games also had silk maps that prisoners could use to travel to safety after leaving their prison camps. The manufacturer made the maps with silk so that they would neither deteriorate in water nor rustle when POWs unfolded them, thus not alerting German guards..." [read more].

Elizabeth Magie's 1904 Patent US1509312A

"Monopoly is arguably one of the most popular board games in modern history. But, the original version, released in 1906, doesn’t look like the version sitting on your shelf at home right now. In fact, it didn’t even have the same name.

A young woman by the name of Elizabeth Magie created the game to show a “practical demonstration of the present system of land-grabbing with all its usual outcomes and consequences.” She was inspired after reading Henry George’s book, Progress and Poverty. The first version of the game was called The Landlord’s Game..." [read more].

If that's news to you, it's probably because Charles Brace Darrow was best known as the claimed inventor of the Monopoly board game (he went on to become the first millionaire game-designer in history.

In fact, however, Elizabeth Magie was the original Monopoly inventor, and Darrow's version was derivative.


About the photographer
The Avenues of Monopoly, Captured in Pictures - CityLab
Mike Osborne: Monopoly - Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas
The Monopoly Project - on the photographer's website
Mike Osborne Photography - the photographer's website

Charles Darrow's 1935 Patent US2026082A
(read more)

To learn more
76-Second Travel Show: Monopoly Travel - Lonely Planet
The Search for Marvin Gardens (1972) - The New Yorker
How Allied Prisoners Used ‘Monopoly’ To Escape Nazi POW Camps - All That's Interesting
This Is What the First-Ever Monopoly Game Looked Like - Reader's Digest
Monopoly’s Inventor: The Progressive Who Didn’t Pass ‘Go’
Monopoly House Rules - WikiBooks
Hasbro Monopoly Game - official website
List of Monopoly Games - Wikia
20 Monopoly Games You Never Knew Existed - All That's Interesting

Thinking of visiting Atlantic City?
76-Second Travel Show: Monopoly Travel - Lonely Planet
What's New in Atlantic City for 2018 - Martz Railways
24 Hours in Atlantic City - Traveling Greenes
Atlantic City Stemming is Losses - Globe and Mail
Atlantic City was once a bustling tourist hub — here's how it has changed

Review: A Higher Loyalty (the Comey book)

A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book by the recently departed FBI Director.

Although I expected to be intrigued by the most recent goings on (his firing, and the fallout), I was actually more engaged when listening to his personal and professional life up to that point.

I found the insights into how the FBI works fascinating, while I founds insights as to how DC works (or doesn't) even more bizarre than I expected.

Most importantly, I found James Comey to be honest and credible. He is a man of strong convictions ~ and I liked them. Mostly, I believe him, and have no doubt as to the lack of integrity of the fool that fired him.

View all my reviews

Barcelona Precincts, by Ben Holbrook

Barcelona Precincts: A curated guide to Barcelona’s best shops, eateries, bars and other hangouts

By Ben Holbrook

Travel blogger and author Ben Holbrook has a new book. It's called Barcelona Precincts, and it's stunningly beautiful!

Barcelona Precincts is Holbrook's personal guide to the city’s 12 hottest barrios (neighbourhoods). Anchored with a map, Ben shares his favourite places to eat and drink and shop, topping off each area with an interview with a local.

"Each chapter features beautiful imagery (it nearly killed me photographing the city throughout the blistering summer heat), maps, an interview with a local. This book was a true labour of love and consumed me entirely for much of the year."

"The finished product is something I am immensely proud of. Not only is it a gorgeous object of desire, something that will make a beautiful gift or look seriously sexy on your bookshelf or coffee table, but it’s something I poured my heart and soul into (and plenty of blood, sweat and tears along the way). This is not just a book, but a little slice of my very being...[read more].

Buy the book

amazon.ca
amazon.com
amazon.uk
Hardie Grant - Publisher

Tip: If you buy the print version of the book you can also download a FREE digital version to browse on your smart device ("though I should add that it’s simplified and doesn’t quite have the same magic as the print version," advises Ben).

Follow the author
Barcelona Precincts - book's page on author's website
More Barcelona - on author's website
Biography
@ben_holbrook on Twitter

Related resources
Ben Holbrook's Perfect Day in Barcelona - Homage to BCN
Meet Driftwood Journals Blogger Ben Holbrook - The Culture Trip
Ben Holbrook's articles - The Telegraph

Athens reads

The city of Athens is often overlooked as a destination, but has a lot to offer. I really came to appreciate the city when I rented a flat here for a month.

If your travel takes you through Athens, plan to stay a few days to explore.

Here are a few books worth reading, to get you in the mood:

	Dinner with Persephone: Travels in Greece - by Patricia Storace "I lived in Athens, at the intersection of a prostitute and a saint."  This is how this book begins, a memoir of the author's year in Greece. I truly adored this book. I read it while I was in Greece, and it really gave me great insight into the Greek people, particularly in Athens.
	The Acropolis: The Acropolis Museum - by Katerina Servi The new Acropolis Museum is housed in an amazing building at the foot of the Acropolis, with a stunning view of the Parthenon. This book guides you through the museum, giving interesting information and highlights the most important exhibits. The museum is spectacular to visit - don't miss it!
	Athens: The City Beneath the City: Antiquities from the Metropolitan Railway Excavations - by Liana Parlama, Nicholas Stampolidis During excavations for the Athens metro (built for the 2004 Summer Olympics), many archaeological artifacts were discovered, as highlighted in this book. The contrasts of old/new are quite striking if you view the artifacts (or replicas), at several metro stations.
	Time Out Athens I read this Athens guide cover to cover... not sequentially, but like an explorer... long before I made plans to visit the city. It helped me know I wanted to stay a month, which I did. A bit out of date, but I don't imagine that what made this book special has changed much - just be sure to refer to a current guidebook as well.
	Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day - by Philip Matyszak Set in Athens in 431 BC (you'll meet Socrates), this book is designed to educate and amuse. This "well-researched yet irreverently unacademic guide" gives context for Athens today. If you like this book, you may be interested to know that the author has written other similar works, including Rome.

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A quarterly box for your cat

Torn between laughing and something bordering on outrage. Well, not quite, but how dense an companies get?

But your cat will like the box...
Creative Commons image chromewaves on Flickr 

A travel magazine has added a whole new feature, launched with great excitement: a quarterly subscription box, that for a mere $89 a quarter - or choose the $39/month option - plus tax (of course), you get your magazine (separate subscription) in a box full of consumer goods meant to inspire you to travel. Free shipping! WTF?!?! Like this makes sense?

$350 a year can go a long way towards a vacation.

It's certainly not green: that box filled with fancy pasta made in Italy, along with gourmet olive oil, some one-of-a-kind wooden spatula (lovely, I'm sure), a little just-add-water herb garden and a boring (or exciting) scarf won't just sprout wings and fly.

Yes, I am a travel agent, and yes, I help people burn jet fuel to hop around the globe... the contradiction is not lost on me.

But here's what I'm thinking:

What a waste of money and resources.

Why not 'sell' contributions to micro-loans or give-a-family-a-goat or literacy abroad? Send me a story about who is being helped. Maybe fund an annual draw for a trip to a village helped? Or something both innovative and inspiring?

Just getting people to give their credit card (on a non-secure webpage no less), contributes nothing to the greater good.

It doesn't get the subscriber any closer to their travel dreams; rather it adds to consumer debt (for many).

It's madness.

PS. Looking for an image to put with this post, I tried 'carrier pigeon'.. and stumbled across a service that will actually carry a letter part way by bird - delivering it to the postal service to take it the rest of the way (along with a pigeon certification). It's called Pigeongram. More here.

WOW Air's Dream Job for 2

WOW Air is hiring for a dream job for 2. Is that you?

WOW Air is looking for a person - and their "best friend" - to visit some of the airline's 38 destinations around the world and document their travels in a digital guide. The job is just 3 months long. You will be paid, will be given an apartment in Reykjavik and, no doubt, will work your ass off!

Application deadline: May 14

Travel Guides announced: May 18
Start Date: June 1, 2018

Considering the "winners" will be announced a mere 4 days after the application deadline, your video application is going to need to be good! They are looking for you to show off your hometown, so get to work!

Where you'll report for work on Day 1

Want the job? Key links:
Now hiring for the world's best summer job
Travel Guide Job Details & Application Process
YouTube Video


Resources
Dream Job Alert: WOW Air Wants to Pay You to Move to Iceland and Travel the World - Mental Floss
Dream job alert: Airline will pay you to travel around the world - Good Morning America

Parikkala Sculpture Park

Creative Commons image mikeancient on Flickr 

Just 3 hours east of Helsinki, tucked next to the Russian border, lies the town of Parikkala.

Creative Commons image
1030333033@N08 on Flickr 

While relatively isolated, the tiny town receives more than its share of visitors, drawn to incredible sculptures created by Veijo Rönkkönen.

Officially known as the Parikkala Sculpture Park, the Veijo Rönkkönen Sculpture Garden is one of Finland's most important examples of contemporary folk art.

"Rönkkönen is more than an installation or a sculpture park; it’s a community, and although some of the artwork is disturbing, the forest is unquestionably quite magical, an amalgamation of many different worlds coming together all in one place." (The Culture Trip)

Creative Commons image 1030333033@N08 on Flickr 

What causes the sometimes 'creepy' reaction is the facial expressions of the concrete statues. Some even have human teeth. The uniqueness of each statue is also what makes the whole collection so special.

"Veijo Rönkkönen was only 16 years old when he started working on his park. Veijo had recently got a job as a press worker in a paper mill in his hometown Parikkala, a job he held for 41 years. With his first pay check, he purchased ten apple tree seedlings and a bag of concrete to create a garden around his family home. For the next fifty years, until his death in 2010, he dedicated all his spare time and money planting flowers and trees and creating hundreds of caricature-like sculptures, mostly of full scale human figures." (Amusing Planet)

Creative Commons image
1030333033@N08 on Flickr 

A recluse who enjoyed his own company and practiced yoga, Veijo continued to live in the family home, adding to his works.

"Veijo Rönkkönen's yard, and the path leading to it, are filled with over 450 statues, 200 of which are self portraits of the artist in Yoga positions he has mastered. The statues have loudspeakers hidden inside them, and the sound effects add to the eeriness of this place." (Oddity Central)

Creative Commons image 1030333033@N08 on Flickr 

While Rönkkönen was happy to share his sculptures, leaving his park open to the public, he never wanted to meet his admirers. Instead, visitors left impressions and notes to him in a guestbook.

Veijo Rönkkönen was recognized with the Finlandia prize in 2007, but sent his brother to collect the prize on his behalf.

Following his death in 2010, Rönkkönen's family sold the site, hoping it would be preserved. The ITE Association is partnering with the new owner, an art lover named Reino Uusitalo, to repair the sculptures and provide guided tours.

Curious?

Satisfy your curiosity with this view of the park entrance (on Google Street View).

Creative Commons image mikeancient on Flickr

If you go, why not stay a few days? There is plenty to see and do, including ample birdwatching, Ateljee-Koti Seppo Saukkonen (250 works by the artist), Honkakylä Merchant’s Museum, Museum of Horse-Drawn Vehicles & Agricultural Implements, Parikkala Dairy Museum and the Papinniemi Archaeological Site. (Visit Parikkala)

Resources
Parikkala Sculpture Park - Official Website
THE RÖNKKÖNEN SCULPTURE PARK - Go Finland
The strange Park of Veijo Rönkkönen - Big in Finland
Veijo Rönkkönen Sculpture Garden - Atlas Obscura
The Sculpture Park of Veijo Rönkkönen Is the Weirdest Place in Finland - Oddity Central
Veijo Rönkkönen’s Sculpture Park - Amusing Planet
Recluse Dies, Leaves Behind Hundreds of Secret Sculptures in Finland - The Culture Trip
The Parikkala Sculpture Park Reviews - Trip Advisor (rating 4.5/5)
How to get from Helsinki to Parikkala - Rome2Rio
Cottages and Vacation Rentals nearby - Go Finland
Parikkala Sights and Attractions - Visit Parikkala

Creative Commons image mikeancient on Flickr