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lost-decade · 2 months

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Your top 5 WDCs ranked on their hairstyles?

Your top 5 journeys you've ever done?

Okay this made me realise there are/have been a lot of very generic hairstyles in F1

1. James Hunt. Absolutely luscious locked. Longer hair on men – big plus from me.

2. Lewis. I mean, everything about the man is beautiful, including his hair. No elaboration necessary

3 & 4. Nico and Jenson because pretty blonde twinks

And then IDK…Nigel Mansell for the tache

Top 5 journeys got rambly so under the cut

1. I did a three week coach trip to Berlin and back via Estonia, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland that was pretty epic. Also my first solo trip (well, solo but with a whole bunch of Aussies, some of whom became great friends. I was never brave enough to do the backpacking thing totally by myself)

2. When I was in sixth form my parents took me to the US for a month around my 17th birthday. I seem to remember there being a few arguments but other than that it was a great opportunity and there were so many places I fell in love with that I would dearly love to go back to. We started in New York and flew to San Francisco, then drove down the Pacific Coast Highway to LA, which was just an incredible journey. I was very into classic Hollywood at the time, and also reading the Beats so SF was awesome to me. Then we drove out to Vegas, also took in Palm Springs, Death Valley. I think we went to Yosemite too. There’s a brocedes fic which is inspired by that leg of the trip. After that we flew to New Orleans and Memphis, both places I’d love to revisit

3. Morocco – from Marrakech up to Casablanca, Rabat and Fez, and then down through the edge of the Sahara. Such gorgeous landscapes

4. Not a specific journey, because my memory of being really young gets hazy, but when I was a kid we had a VW camper van and used to go away in it for the whole of the school holidays every summer (as a kid I was not exactly thrilled at being taken away for seven weeks every summer and tbh I think it encouraged my bookish only child tendencies) but now I am very grateful for all the places I got to see. We used to drive all over Western Europe and my pervading memories are of the smell of the car deck on a big old ferry. I loved the car ferries and still do

5. Following on from the ferries, being on one between Greek islands as the sun is setting is just magical. I got to do this last year on my way to Sifnos for the first time in a while and there’s something about just feeling like you’re a lifetime away from home and work and responsibility, just surrounded by the ocean and pretty islands passing by with the lights coming on in the villages. I don’t get why everyone just goes to fucking Mykonos lol, it’s awful

#answered #personal

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uswntxfootball · 3 years

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all smiles here (jackie groenen x photographer!reader)

focusing on your new job turns out to be a hundred times harder after seeing the smiley dutch midfielder..

word count: 2343 ish

——

today was the day.

here you were, 22, fresh out of college and about to step foot onto the dutch training pitch for the first time and start your new job.

last night you had spent hours fretting over tiny details, making sure your cameras were charged and ready, your lenses were wiped clean, and that everything was nice and tidy.

you had planned to wake up extra early, making sure you had time to get everything situated and set before practice began.

that was the plan.

that’s.. unfortunately not what happened.

in your excitement, you had forgotten to set an alarm, which led to your current predicament, biking as fast as you can, racing through the dutch streets.

you glance down at your watch, narrowly missing a parked car as you do so.

you arrive at 7:58, just in the nick of time.

seeing that the team was already out stretching, you throw your bike down with a crash and run onto the field.

the crash of your bike hitting the pavement caused a few heads to turn your way, with a certain number 14 taking particular interest in your entrance.

blind to the commotion you caused, you laid your camera bag gently down along the side of the field (amongst the other photographers), then bend over unceremoniously, trying hard to catch your breath.

considering you had biked 5 miles in 10 minutes, you were spent, forgetting all your excitement in the process.

when your heart rate had somewhat slowed, you began setting up your equipment, and quickly the nerves and excitement arose once again.

you picked up your camera and took a photo of the closest player to test lighting (that player being sari van veenendaal), all the while internally screaming that that was the fifa 2019 best goalkeeper while doing so.

disregarding how much of a mess your morning was, the next hour went splendidly.

you managed to get a few shots of miedema with gorgeous lighting, photos that your manager undoubtedly would want to publish later on.

few photos were “unusable” (you were pretty damn good at your craft), and your camera roll was soon flooded with a wide variety of individual and group pictures.

at this point you had almost gotten all the players individually, your task being to get each of them by the end of practice, which was coming up shortly.

you snapped a few pictures of wilms, grinning widely when you see how well they turned out.

scanning quickly through the list of players, you sigh with relief when you realize you only have one more player to take photos of, #14.

you scan the field with your camera quickly and your breath promptly catches in your throat.

jackie was laughing at something daan was saying, her smile gorgeously on display.

you couldn’t help but stare, your hand lowering the camera as you forget the task at hand.

but how could anyone blame you?

she was, without a doubt one of the most gorgeous people you had ever seen.

her gaze meets yours suddenly, you let out a squeak of surprise in response and fumble your camera, breaking eye contact as you lunge forward to catch it.

you let out a sigh of relief when you grasp it, cheeks blood red at your actions, the older photographer next to you letting out a chuckle as he shook his head.

“kid you gotta be more careful.”

you nodded and smiled at him kindly, before shaking your head quickly and resuming to the task at hand.

with the ten minutes before the end of practice, you took, in total, one photo of jackie.

this was a disaster.

you just kept getting lost staring at her, this time through the lens of your camera, so starstruck that you forgot to actually take pictures.

you let out a sigh as you began thinking of an excuse for your boss later.

walking into the locker room, jackie rolled her eyes at jill’s words.

“but did you see her jacks? that new camera girl is..” jill letting out a low whistle to finish her statement.

“i mean i’m taken but i have to agree she is pretty cute” daan said, popping into the conversation.

soon whole the locker room began chatting about this “new camera girl”, and jackie couldn’t help but blush.

she had to agree with everyone, you were absolutely adorable, and watching you almost drop your camera upon seeing her only solidified that.

jackie was brought out of her thoughts by jill who, very loudly, pointed at her and said:

“oh. my. god. you like her.”

jackie swatted jill’s hand away.

“shut up no i don’t.”

“oh my god she’s blushing she totally does,” daan squealed.

the locker room was soon buzzing with excitement over jackie’s new crush, filling the air with:

a lot of “omg jackie!”

and

even more “ask her out!!”

with jackie of course very adamantly denying such a proposition.

even through all of the teasing, jackie couldn’t help but hope that she would see you again tomorrow.

you arrived earlier the following day, much much earlier, so much so that no other photographers had arrived yet.

you set your bike nicely against the rack this time, taking your time to admire the nice day as you lay your bag along the edge of the field.

you take a quick look at your watch, 7:17, and upon seeing that no one was around, picked up a soccer ball you found in the corner of the field.

having played a little bit of high school and college soccer, you juggled the ball around a little bit and then attempted to score from midfield.

you hit the ball right into the corner of the net on your second try, jumping up in excitement, when you hear someone speak behind you.

“for a sports photographer, that wasn’t all that bad.”

you turn around abruptly and let out a small squeak of surprise when you’re greeted by the very girl who had enchanted you the day before.

she lets out a dazzling grin before putting out her hand and saying:

“hi i’m jackie.”

“i- uhm y/n” you mumble, eliciting a giggle from the dutch girl before you.

you wipe your palms against your jeans quickly and take her hand, trying to desperately ignore the sparks that shot up your arm from the contact.

an awkward silence followed for the next few seconds, until jackie spoke.

“so, y/n, do you want to kick a ball around with me before people get here?”

“i’m, uh i’m not that good i mean i played a little in high school and college but like just for rec teams and i mean you’re on the national level so like i’m i don’t know i should probably just stick to photography i hope i didn’t offend you i’m just not that great and i yeah.”

you stop your rambling and blush, hoping she can decipher your message through your jumble of words.

jackie just lets out a laugh and your heart melts a little at the sound.

“i can take a few pictures of you though if you’d like?” you offer, hoping to spend a little bit more time with the midfielder.

“i would love that.” jackie says, letting out an even larger smile if possible.

for the next fifteen minutes you took dozens of photos of jackie, all the while learning about her life in manchester and belgium, how she broke a bike on the way to practice once, her dogs, and other snippets of her life.

you honestly couldn’t believe that this girl, this incredibly attractive and funny and just stupidly gorgeous girl was talking to you.

it was 7:50 when the other players arrived, jill letting out a whistle and yell when she saw who was already on the pitch.

“get it jackie!”

the other players cheered as well, letting out wolf whistles when they saw the two of you.

jackie got up but before she left she turned and gave you a hug then saying:

“sorry about them. they’re quite an obnoxious bunch.”

you let out a laugh and the two of you parted ways as practice was about to begin, your heart beating so fast you were afraid it would burst.

“y/n.”

your boss let out a sigh as he took his glasses off.

“why are there 864 photos of jackie groenen in your camera roll?”

“i- i dont know” you stammer.

“this isn’t what i meant when i said you took too little of her yesterday.”

you flushed a deeper shade of red in utter embarrassment.

if your conversation with your boss was any indicator, practice was a disaster.

it wasn’t the players or practice itself.

it was you. your gay mess of a self.

but you just couldn’t help but trail the midfielder for the entire practice, your lens (and eyes) never leaving her.

it was only at the end of practice when you looked through your camera roll when you’d truly realized just how many photos you had taken of her.

each and every page filled with pictures of the number 14, her smile as bright as the day.

in your defense, you had taken quite a few fantastic photos of her, though there was one that was your favorite in particular, with the sun shining at the midfielder at just the right angle, illuminating her eyes and leaving her smile with its signature glow.

and of course that was the photo that caught your boss’s eye, despite his disappointment of today’s “turnout”.

and of course he wanted to publish it immediately.

and of course jackie saw it. and posted it. and tagged you in it.

where did she even get your handle from?

it was sort of an unspoken agreement between the two of you, with both arriving early each practice to spend time with one another.

each time there’s jackie, always smiling and always gorgeous, and each time there’s you, always bumbling and always blushing and always tripping over your words.

and occasionally your feet.

but jackie only saw it as endearing, and continued to talk to you even when you were making a fool out of yourself.

eventually came the time for the netherland’s first matchup against a team, that team being estonia for the euro qualifiers.

you were brimming with the excitement at attending your first match as a photographer, and you arrived extra early match day to set up and get a good spot on the field.

“well if it isn’t my favorite photographer.”

you spun around quickly to spot jackie in her full kit, a blush promptly forming on your cheeks and your heart skipping a beat upon seeing her.

somehow you managed to reply:

“well if it isn’t my favorite player.”

this was your first time saying something that remotely resembled flirting with her, clearly catching the midfielder in surprise, as her face flushed a bright red a second later.

“i’m offended. i thought i was your favorite player.” daan said, appearing behind jackie, who stood frozen.

you rolled your eyes.

“hate to break up the love fest though, but we’ve got a game to play.” daan said, tugging on the arm of an even redder jackie groenen.

after they left, you continued setting up your equipment, checking lighting and just making sure everything was all set and ready for the game to start.

and boy was it a game.

in short,

the netherlands absolutely destroyed estonia.

in a huge 7-0 victory for the netherlands, there were an abundance of great photo opportunities, and you got them all.

goal scoring shots and celebration shots, everything.

you however, did let out two very loud cheers when jackie scored, once in the 26th minute and again when she completed her brace.

you had forgotten how empty the stadium was in your excitement.

each time you shouted the dutch girl, blushed, met your eyes and grinned before being pulled away by a teammate, who said something that sounded a lot like:

“your girlfriend’s here cheering for you.”

but in general,

you had expected the dutch to win.

you had expected daan, jackie, sherida, aniek, and katja to score as much and as well as they did.

you had even expected that you would embarrass yourself in some way during the match.

what you didn’t expect however, was for jackie groenen to come running at you after the match.

you were packing up your equipment when you saw the dutch girl approaching, and you opened your mouth to congratulate her on the brace and win.

but before you could get a word out,

she pulled you in by the camera straps around your neck and kissed you.

you stood, frozen, as if you couldn’t believe what was happening (because you really couldn’t).

jackie had started to realize you weren’t reciprocating and began to pull back when you came to your senses.

you kissed her back, hands moving to her waist to steady the two of you.

it was everything you wanted a first kiss to be, passion fueled and full of sparks, her hands moving from your chest to cup your cheek.

jackie was the one who pulled away first, a smile plastered on her face much like the one that had drawn you to her that very first day at practice.

you pulled her in to kiss her again, forgetting that your camera was still looped in front of your chest, only noticing it when it was in the way of getting her closer to you.

you pull back with an annoyed huff and gently take the camera off, turning to drop it on the bench behind you.

“go out with me sometime” you say when you turn around again.

jackie’s face just splits into a sparkling smile.

“i thought you’d never ask.”

#jackie groenen #jackie groenen x reader #jackie groenen imagine #woso imagine #woso imagines #uswnt imagine #muwfc imagine #nedwnt x reader #uswnt x reader #muwfc x reader #nedwnt imagine

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blockbustersgang · 3 years

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When work brings you new homes around the world

Thoughts of working abroad and lessons so far learned by our Co-Founder Iiris, working as an 1st Assistant Director, currently in Stockholm Sweden until mid-March 2021.

There was a time when I only fantasised of working outside Finland - or even just outside of Helsinki. I thought I’d never have the opportunity to be on a crew of any international productions and especially anything that’d be filming somewhere else than in Finland.

Firstly this myth was broken when I joined Iron Sky team to work on the post production of extended cut of the film. Obviously I realised I’d jumped into a massive three counrty co-production, coordinating crews from Germany, Australia, Finland and even Slovenia. I was puzzled, over the moon. At 20 years old I found myself already accomplishing my dreams.

Lesson #1 learned: dream cost-effectively, dream even of small things, like working on any international film, on any role. You may realise suddenly and very quickly you’ve already accomplished it.

My first film markets as part of Iron Sky team, Berlinale & EFM 2013 and Cannes Film Festival & Marcé Du Film 2013.

After my work at Iron Sky I visited animation world quickly by being Director’s Assistant on Angry Birds Toon series. We had crew from dozens and dozens of countries on board - literally I’d hear a new accent every day when walking to the studio. I met top level animators, storyboard artists and directors of the world. Even though I wasn’t really doing exactly what I wanted I got lots and lots of practice on understanding leadership and different working cultures - not to mention animation workflow itself.

Lesson #2: international productions aren’t that simple or easy. Actually they require two times more communication, to make sure everyone is on the same page though they’re not using their first language.

Farewell card and Rovio team card with office breakfast in 2014. Still miss these amazing, crazy and inspiring animators!

I would have maybe never understood my potential unless there’d been Production Value workshop that was recommended to me. It was truly jump to the deep end, I felt like I’d die of the scare I had, that I’d never be as good as all the rest in the workshop. Still to this day I have no idea how I got in as I didn’t have that much experience. But somehow someone saw something in me and this is the pure reason why no one should ever stop trying to chase their dreams.

“It has become very clear to me it was a step to the right direction and has given me more confidence and skills than I (or anyone else) realised. Suddenly I do understand making films outside Finland will be possible for me and there is no limit when I just keep on going. I never really thought about this so far but now it feels making my first international co-production in the AD department could be just around the corner.”

This is what I wrote to my final report in the beginning of 2015 when completing my training. I’m deeply thankful for getting that sparkle in.

Soon after I’d finished my work at Rovio began an era I truly started my 1st AD work on professional films. On the first years I was the most frustrated of only landing in domestic productions, not getting to widen my ideas of ADing, sometimes being even arrogant on thinking these wouldn’t educate or challenge me enough. I made enough mistakes to get real and understand every single production teaches me. I am never ready. I always have things to learn.

Fast forwarding to lesson #3: even domestic teaches you to be more ready for international stuff. Work.

I think the first time I ran a professional, large scale set outside Finland was in 2016 for some commercials in Estonia. I didn’t have much time to prepare and I knew no one in the crew. I was more or less horrified - and lucky, as it went well. I found solutions I could offer and met some people who later became my good friends (also tell a Finn who doesn’t love jumping into an Estonian set and meeting old schoolers who know how to speak Finnish with them, with the lovely, warm Estonian accent). But my real stepping stone was filming feature film Heavy Trip in Norway in 2017.

Dear lord I had craved for a production like that. I was thrilled. I loved every second. And somehow besides the chaos it all just went very well in the end (at least for me as a 1st AD). We were exactly on time and figured out massive plan B’s and C’s when needed. Yes it was rough. It wasn’t a surprise these things mostly are. But I noticed my energy being many levels up compared to former productions. Somehow the multi-nationality crews and locations further away keep my heart beating stronger and lungs breathing clearer.

Last night feels before my first shooting day in Norway as 1st AD.

Since that everything just moved rather quickly and now I’ve run sets in Sweden, Estonia, United States and Djibouti. After Heavy Trip I only did one domestic feature - all others have included filming abroad and at least two countries co-producing. More or less all other productions have somehow had an international aspect on them. I’ve also loved filming international projects in Finland.

I think one of the key factors of me getting to do these projects I’ve so massively wanted to participate is that I really put a lot of energy, time and money into understanding filmmaking outside Finland. No one will come and get me from my home, right. So I’ve stepped out, humbly joined events and conversations, made a fool of myself, learned so much of networking and taken my English to a new level while working and working and working on it. (Still not perfect, unfortunately.)

Giving a lecture of 1st Assistant Directing in Greenwich University January 2017. Would not have had the chance unless amazing former Intern Luisa would not have suggested me as a guest lecturer to her teachers.

Lesson #4: Networking matters. It might be someone surprising who gives you the next opportunity to show your skills and talent.

My first shoot in the States as 1st AD - Iron Sky the Coming Race pick ups with Digital Sputnik in LA May 2018.

Lesson #5: Jump in to every crazy, stupid, badly paid production if you feel like it’ll give you something more than others.

Working Together workshop gang in the end of 2018. Never stepped this strongly out of my comfort zone. Not only changed me as a filmmaker - but also as a human.

Lesson #6: European organisations offer fantastic professional trainings for filmmakers and many countries (like Finland) offer scholarships or funding for them to participate. Invest some time to look for these and apply!

On-set friends in Estonia and Djibouti in 2019.

I must say - after four features in a row outside my home country - that working abroad can be quite exhausting. I’m missing home and I appreciate Helsinki lot more than I used to. I’ve always felt it as my home but now I really know it’s got a special place in my heart. I'm actually really looking forward getting back home and working in Finland for a change. I’m really enjoying speaking in English though - which my mom must find very amusing as I absolutely hated studying any languages in school - and am wishing I can keep evolving my language skills even when getting back to Finland.

Ah - I’ve tried to learn other languages too. When leaving to Djibouti last fall 2019 I’d been studying French for 2 months. Let’s just say I only got to say hello, how are you, thank you and good night. And in Sweden it’s been a bunch of all three languages I can somehow speak - everyone else speaking Swedish together (I can follow up around 60-70% of discussions) and English to me and me trying to balance with my elementary Swedish that translates to Finnish in my brain but still mainly talking English. It's been lots of work for my brain.

Lesson #7: Working on other languages and within other cultures might be exhausting no matter how much you enjoy it. Try to rest more than usual. Tell your family and friends you might be more tired than normally and ask for additional support if needed.

I don’t think I’ll ever satisfy into not having the world open anymore. Covid-19 is truly testing my limits on all levels - work and personal ones. I don’t need to travel at all times or only work on big sets. I was very happy just at home with my dogs and spouse for two months last spring during lockdown. But there’s so much to see - so why not go when having a chance.

I recommend you all: take that chance. Make a little effort to get the first one, and the next ones will follow.

With love from eternal dreamer,

Iiris

#blockbustersgang #workabroad #filmmaking #1stassistantdirector #bbgtravels #bbgcareerstories

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brituvahetusaasta · 7 years

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I guess this is it

This is the last time I’m writing my blog in Australia. I thought I’d write it in english. Just because it’s not about the Estonians anymore. Just because I probably have more friends who can speak English than Estonian. Just because English is now my language too. I’m sitting on a plane. It’s hard, Way harder than I thought. I had to leave my family who became MY family and my friends who became my best friends. To go back to MY family and MY best friends. After I had to say goodbye the only thought I had in my mind was that why did I ever decide to go on an exchange. Look how much misery It brought. But really, I had the time of my life, it was nothing like I thought it would be. It was so much better. Everything that happened had to happen. I had my doubts about Murupara in the beginning. I was often homesick and at some point I was sure that I’m gonna go back home, but then I met people who later became my friends. I learned sosososo much about Maori culture and fell in love with the little family I had. I met Bo, who quickly became one of my closest friends. After joking about it for a while, her family decided to host me as their exchange student. They treated me as one of their own, they spoke to me like I was born in Australia( which means that I had no idea what they were saying). We got close and I had the most amazing summer road tripping and enjoying the sun in South Australia. School started and a few days Later I had made friends who later became my new bestfriends. My australian mates. I loved school and I had the coolest weekends surfing, eating Maccas and hanging out with a bunch of really cool spontaneous people. Time was flying by and I soon realized it is soon time to start packing. It was so unfair, I was so close with my new awesome friends and I actually felt like I belong here. I was so used to people making fun of my accent and country. I was so used to catching the bus home with Jazz, having girly talk and eating our leftovers. Getting home and having a nap. Making tea with mark and Bo. Going to the beach. Listening to bangers in Bo’s car, pretending I don’t speak english, ranting about vampire diaries and gossip girl with Bo, eating nuggets with Lou and being mean To connor, sitting in homegroup with Shai and making fun of Wiss. I had the opportunity to do things for the first time. I have friends all over the world. I have a family in Woodside and in Murupara. I have sisters in Japan, Australia and Estonia. I am so lucky. I’m so lucky to fight the tears I’m fighting now, so lucky to have a life to go back to, to habve people whom I love and who love me. I just wanna say thank you to Deb and Georgie for being the coolest second mums I could’ve hoped for. Thank you for showing me the culture of your two beautiful and so different countries. Rio: you’re amazing babe. You the most honest and kind girl I’ve ever met. You were there for me when I went through the hardest month of my life. You hugged me whenever I needed it and you came and stayed with me when u knew I needed someone. Don’t let anyone change you, you’re perfect just the way you are. Keep doing what you’re doing, love you and come to Estonia already. To Melesha and Kingi: you two are friends everybody needs, you were there there for me when I was sick, tired and moody.Enjoy NZ for me, you live in a gorgeous place. Don’t forget your bestfriend 17000 km away. Oakbank and murupara school for welcoming me with open arms and making me feel like I’m part of you(although I looked nothing like you in Murupara) Marlee: Thank you for showing me around and being my first friend, for introducing me to your friends. Jasmyn, Louanne and Shai: I will always remember you guys, you are my squad, I’m going to miss having lunch and recess with you. You're all amazing and I love you with all my heart Connor: where do I even start. You went from being “the cool dude” to being one of the best friends I have ever had really quick. I miss you so much already. Lets keep the streak and make sure that you won't let some dumb chick take my place as your nr 1 best friend on snapchat xx All the foreign exchange students: whether I met you in Murupara or at south Island. You have a special place in my heart. There's nothing like a friendship between exchange students. Miss you all and love you all. I’m sure I’ll see you somewhere some day. Storm: you’re so beautiful and strong. I miss our waterfights and us cooking together. Don’t forget me and take care of Saff. Mark: You legit are the coolest hostdad ever. We had so much fun and I enjoyed every minute of it. I know I’ll see you again sooner or later, but I still miss talking to you so much, alllll the shit we discussed. We’ll soon drive 2 and a half hours just to buy fruit again. You have a beautiful family. Bo: Writing your part is definitely the hardest. Thank you for giving me the coolest exchange year. Thank you for being my best friend, my driver and the most annoying sister. I don't know how to tell you how much you mean to me. Trying to think of all the adventures and memories we’ve had makes me the happiest and the saddest girl on this planet. The things we did in NZ, Christmas, your bday, new years, surfing, OUR Sundays, crushing Chuck and Damon. Gossiping about dumb boys and psycho girls. All the roadtrips and our songs. Don’t forget to keep me updated on all the drama. I miss you and love you so much it literally hurts.

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zalia · 7 years

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RULES: post 10 random things about yourself and then pass it on. Please repost, do not reblog.

TAGGED BY: @tj-dragonblade TAGGING, no obligation: @littlefists @fragilespark @thischarmingand @straydog733 (I keep forgetting your username is not actually SD XD @hayleycreagine @crownleys @sarahrunsfromzombies @akisawana

1. I got to run around the Victoria and Albert museum room full of Raphael artwork while being chased by zombies.

It was amazing.

2. I lived in Poland for a year while I was teaching. I really liked it out there. I sometimes get a pang of sort-of homesickness for some things there.

3. I’ve sat on the actual TARDIS on the actual set of Doctor Who (not the museum one, the actual set)!

4. I have been to over 30 conventions since I turned 18 in 2003. A lot of anime cons, a Worldcon, 9Worlds Geekfest, Yaoi-con, NYCC, amongst others.

5. I presented a paper about Fanfiction at the Mix Digital Media conference in 2015. It is the most nervous I’ve been about talking in front of an audience. 3 people came to listen which was... pretty amazing when my talk was opposite a bunch of other really fascinating talks by professional academics and I was just an MA student talking about her hobby.

6. Speaking of which, I took drama classes for about a decade and I still think it’s one of the most useful things I’ve ever done. Especially in university when I had to give presentations. I learned how to breathe, how to project my voice (you can *always* hear me XD), and eradicated any concept of stage fright. Seriously guys, if you can, get at least a couple of classes or something that teach you to project your voice and breathe properly when speaking.

7. When I was little, there was a spider that lived in the box around the outdoor water tap (for the hosepipe, etc), which I called Veronica and used to say hello to every day.

8. Countries I have visited; Scotland, Wales, France, USA, Canada, Spain, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, technically Netherlands but I don’t think the airport counts, Vatican City. I really want to visit Germany, but Finland is the next one again, for Worldcon this year (with possible side-trips to Sweden and Estonia!).

9. Even with my variable mental health, the further I get from my teenage years and early 20s, the happier I am in myself. I know better who I am, I have people I am good friends with, I am no longer in fucking high school.

10. I have lived in the same village for most of my life! It’s nice here, even if there’s not much to do in terms of entertainment. All you can see across from my house, is trees and fields. And occasionally cows or sheep.

#meme

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jetsjanorra · 6 years

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Heart surgery

This is exactly what DTS and most of the team weeks feel like. Like massive heart surgeries.

Our last team week before going on an outreach actually lasted for 2 weeks straight. I got to go to Lillesand and Høvåg - both in the southern part of Norway.

It was an incredibly blessed time with so many gifts I couldn’t possibly count them all. We got to stay at two beautiful campgrounds! It was a dream come true because each morning we could climb on top of the rocks to watch the sunrise and at night you could see the stars. I loved it so much!

During those two weeks we would mainly work with kids. Some churches have “after school” times where the kids can come and have a meal, have help with their homework and also hear a message and play games. We did that in both cities. It was so great to see the kids get all excited and it broke my heart to leave them. At first I thought that this is going to be a super uncomfortable time since I have not worked with kids (age 10-14 mostly) that much but it was a blast. We also got to participate in two different KRIKs which are like a christian sports club in the evenings and we got to go to schools to attend their meetings that happen during a break between classes.

We also got to attend prayer meetings, youth nights, confirmation school and visit an elderly house to share a message and Barnie and David led worship. It’s so encouraging to see their eyes bright up as they listen and discuss.

We met so many people who blessed us in incredible ways. We were taken to the zoo, a businessman who’s the most humble person I’ve ever met spent a whole day with us providing us with food and inviting us to his home to pray for his sick grandson and even took us to a swimming pool! He’s a wonderful man of God and seeing his life really humbled my heart - needless to say I cried.

Another crazy thing was how for each dinner we were invited to homes. Strangers opened their doors for the evening and made food for us. They took the time to prepare a meal for all of us and to spend that evening with us. These conversations, shared laughter and prayers shaped my heart the most. Just being able to witness their lives in their everyday settings and hear about their hearts just broke me down. Especially the Rolands. I cried having to say goodbye to them. It’s funny how God uses people to teach us such simple but significant things. They taught me so much about family and love in that one brief night!!! I miss them so much my heart hurts.

I love it when other people become a part of the small family. Our team felt like a Lillesand/Høvåg family as we were there and our contact person Ivar became a part of that. He really took care of us and I definitely felt like I met Jesus’ love, compassion and hospitality through him. He even came to visit us in Skien. Now he’s in Kenya on a missions trip so if you could join our prayers for him and the team his working with helping to open a missions centre.

The last photo is a perfect example of our life here. Helped David fix his haircut haha.

My momma and brother visited me in Oslo!

We had such a fun time exploring the place and I was more than happy to see my family. My little brother is a karate kid and he’s getting really good at it. He recently won a silver in Estonian championships and he’s going to learn the guitar from one of my favourite people - Kaur! My mom is my best friend so I was so happy to share more laughters and hugs with her. She went out of her way to bring me my favourite food from Estonia and I just love her so much and the servant heart she has that’s filled with so much love for other people!

We had a fundraising race for YWAM Norway Ship.

We ran for 1h and our friends and families had an opportunity to sponsor our run either per lap or a fixed amount. I did my best and ended up running 14laps (7km in total). On the 3rd km I had an asthma attack and I really felt like giving up but Kendal prayed for me and I kept pushing myself and the Lord gave me a new breath so I kept running! As I signed up for the run I already knew that I would not be doing it from my own strength and the way God kept me going when I was totally out of it was a huge encouragement for me. My favourite part was seeing a bunch of kindergarten kids with their teachers stop to ask us why we were running and I invited them to run half a lap with me and they did!! I played some music and cheered as their little legs were making the cutest sound running that lap with me. It melted my heart and seeing them sing later as they were eating the bananas and chocolate our base people gave them. That’s God’s love right there. In its purest form.

I hope this blog can also be an encouragement for you and everything your experiencing in your life. I pray that you’d not only see the cool stuff that’s happening but you’d see the One who makes it all work and happen. God is so good and we really can trust in Him. Even when we have no idea how to trust Him or what His love looks like He’s there waiting for us with open arms. If you ever have any questions or prayer request let me know! I’d be more than happy to try to answer and encourage/pray for you.

Honestly with all my heart and love Jette

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touristguidebuzz · 7 years

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How this Boomer Canadian Couple Traveled the World for a Year

As a solo backpacker, there are are certain areas of travel I’m not yet an expert in. Fortunately, there are plenty of experts in our community who can share their travel experiences! Lately, there’s been a growing trend among boomers taking sabbaticals, early retirements, and buying vans and just saying “Screw it! Let’s go!” when the kids move out. More and more of my emails come from boomers looking for advice – not young college kids! It’s an awesome trend. So, today, I wanted to interview with Esther and Peter. They’re are couple from Canada traveling the world on a year-long sabbatical. They share their advice on health issues, budgeting, and much more!

Nomadic Matt: Hi Esther! Thanks for doing this interview. Tell us about yourself! Esther: I am an elementary school principal who has taken a self-funded leave for one year. I remarried a few years ago, and my husband, Peter, is my travel partner. I celebrated my 52nd birthday at the Pyramids of Giza, and Peter celebrated his 58th at a variety show in Bangkok. We call North Delta (a suburb of Vancouver) home.

How did you get into travel? I think it happened in stages. When I was still in elementary school, my parents bought me a desk that had a map of the world on the top. I used to stare at that and dream of all the incredible places there are to explore in the world. Then, when I was thirteen, my parents bought a time-share. This allowed our family to travel to Mexico and Hawaii, which were my first tropical experiences. I loved the sounds and smells and the exotic feel of it. As a university student I studied languages in both Freiburg, Germany, and Bordeaux, France. During those two years I traveled in Europe, and I think that is when the travel bug really bit me. I have yet to recover from that bite!

Where have you been? Before this round-the-world tour, I had already traveled extensively in Europe, Mexico, Hawaii, Cuba, China, and Canada. Since August 2016, my husband and I have visited Holland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal, and we are currently in Thailand. We still have three or four months of traveling ahead of us, and the current plan is to explore Southeast Asia, but we are open to other possibilities, too. Ironically, as we travel, my list of places to visit is growing longer rather than getting shorter!

What’s been the biggest lesson so far? The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that the world is simultaneously small and big. By this I mean that it is small enough to explore. It is big, however, in that there is an abundance of everything we require to sustain ourselves. If we were to put aside politics and borders and simply focus on ensuring that we distribute the riches of the world, there would, I honestly believe, be more than enough of everything for everyone. Living out of a carry-on suitcase has taught me that we actually “need” very little.

What’s your number one piece of advice for new travelers? Plan, plan, and plan some more. It is not only necessary but exciting! Then be prepared to abandon your carefully made plans for unexpected opportunities that will arise. This trip we decided to forego a portion of Eastern Europe to serve as crew on a sailboat in the Dodecanese Islands, and we blew our budget to sail down the Nile on a dahabiya (passenger boat). We don’t regret those decisions one bit.

A second piece of advice would be to document your journey. I am not normally one to journal, but I do while traveling, and it is tremendous to look back on even now. We also are sharing our travel adventures through blogging and social media. I am confident that the digital and hard copies will become treasured memories when the trip is over.

How do you travel on a budget? We basically draw from three pots of money: my salary, Peter’s pension and savings for the trip, and the income from renting our house. We are fortunate that all three sources of income come in monthly, which makes it easy to budget. We also have savings to dip into should the need arise, but so far we haven’t had to.

We look for budget accommodation. Hotels.com is where I do most of our bookings; because I write reviews of our stays, I get a percentage off subsequent stays and a free night for every ten paid nights. We have also used Airbnb on occasion.

We have been fortunate to spend some time with my relatives in Austria and also with many Couchsurfing hosts. I hesitate to put either of these in the budget category though, because we don’t use these to save money but rather because it is such an enriching experience. We have been fortunate to have had wonderful hosts in the past eight months.

What budget tips do you have for other travelers? Track every penny you spend. While Peter tracks things electronically using an app called Andromoney, I try to keep a running total in my head. Often my total is WAY off, as it is easy to forget a taxi ride, a cup of coffee, a snack at a roadside stand. We go over our $150 [Canadian] for the two of us some days, knowing we need to make it up on others.

Your husband has some health issues. How do you handle that on the road? While we have been planning this round-the-world trip for a few years, our resolve became greater when Peter had a stroke two years ago. He worked hard to recover, but it was a reminder that life is uncertain and that we don’t know how many days or years any of us have ahead of us, so we should fill them doing what we love.

We delayed our trip by one year while Peter worked on recovering. Originally, we planned on driving around Iceland so we could hike to the natural hot springs. Peter’s high blood pressure and hot springs aren’t a good combination, so instead we decided to sign up for a bike and barge tour in Holland.

His medical condition also caused us to think carefully about which travel insurance would cover pre-existing conditions. Peter packed a year’s worth of medication and his blood pressure cuff, and he monitors his blood pressure regularly. Additionally, I have a bad hip, and the doctor has told me I will eventually require a hip replacement. We strive to live a healthy, mainly vegetarian lifestyle while traveling, but it is difficult in many countries.

Between the two of us, we are mindful of our physical limitations and that some activities we might have undertaken in our twenties simply aren’t for us now. That is the reality of growing older (for us at least). We are still able to do all of the activities we enjoy…just scaled back a bit.

Have you had to see any doctors on the road? Was getting a year’s worth of medicine difficult? I had a really bad cold while in Sri Lanka over Christmas so we went to the hospital. The hospital visit and medications were only $25. I also had to have a doctor make a house call to the hotel while in India due to vertigo caused by a buildup of water in the ear, and he charged $23 for the house call and medication. For both of these medical interventions we paid cash, because it wasn’t enough to send to our medical insurance.

As far of the year’s worth medication, through the Canadian medical plan you can only purchase six months’ worth, so the other half was out of pocket. Apparently, we could have picked up these medications cheaply in some countries but found that out too late. I am not sure we would want to have counted on that though because we find that even trying to get baby aspirin in the right dosage can be a challenge.

Do you meet a lot of travelers your age on the road? If so, how? This has been tricky. Most of the travellers our age are on group tours so they don’t tend to seek to expand their circle of friends. I make a point to start conversations with people wherever and whenever I can. Hostel and hotel lobbies are often good spots to connect with people.

The most significant meetings have definitely been through Couchsurfing. When looking for a host, I don’t focus too much on the age, as our age bracket makes up a small percentage of the Couchsurfing world. Besides, I can enjoy the company of someone regardless of their age. Connecting with younger people has also been great and is quite rejuvenating. We have definitely made friendships on the road that I am confident will endure.

Do you find being older travelers makes it harder to find Couchsurfing hosts? A lot of older travelers worry that the site is “just for young people”. I don’t think our age has been an issue at all with Couchsurfing. If you make it clear that the Couchsurfing will be mutually satisfying, then age should not be an issue. I’d say more than 50% of the “surfers” are younger than us and we have had wonderful experiences. Actually, I think that a lot of the younger Couchsurfers take a lot without giving back by either not hosting themselves or just being a guest that sees it as a free hotel room. So being young could sometimes be viewed as a disadvantage in finding a host, in my mind.

What’s one mistake you’ve made that you could have avoided? Today we were robbed by our cabbie. My husband had been to the bank earlier in the day. Usually, we split up the money between us and also stash some in some secret places so as not to have all our money in one spot. Today, we were in a hurry, hot, and tired, and we were going to do it once we got back to the hotel. It was a perfect storm. In the end, the cabbie got about 3,000,000 dong ($180 USD) by feigning outrage and then grabbing a bunch of bills from my husband’s open wallet. Not knowing what he was going to do next, we got out of his cab as soon as he hit the unlock button. He was acting quite irrational, so we were happy to remove ourselves from that situation without greater loss. It has rattled us a bit and reminded us to follow all the common-sense safety measures.

What advice do you have for travelers your age? GO NOW! Many people are waiting for retirement or the economy to improve or their children or grandchildren to be older. There is always something that will hold you back. Independent traveling won’t get easier as the years pass. Some people might feel it is a selfish indulgence, but perhaps that isn’t such a bad thing. We have spent decades dedicating ourselves to working, raising children, and dreaming about “one day.” It is OK to decide that day is today—pack your bags and go!

Become the Next Success Story

One of my favorite parts about this job is hearing people’s travel stories. They inspire me, but more importantly, they also inspire you. I travel a certain way but there are many ways to fund your trips and travel the world. I hope these stories show you that there is more than one way to travel and that it is within your grasp to reach your travel goals. Here are more examples of people who found work overseas to fund their trips:

How Jim Didn’t Let a New Disability Change his Travels

How (and Why) This 72-Year-Old is Backpacking the World

How Families and Seniors Can Use the Information on this Website

How this 70-Year-Old Couple Bucked Tradition to Travel the World

P.S. – We are hosting a Q&A with Couchsurfing on September 28th. Come join and find out how to crush it on Couchsurfing and meet locals on your travels!

The post How this Boomer Canadian Couple Traveled the World for a Year appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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fadingfartconnoisseur · 7 years

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How this Boomer Canadian Couple Traveled the World for a Year

Become the Next Success Story

How Jim Didn’t Let a New Disability Change his Travels

How (and Why) This 72-Year-Old is Backpacking the World

How Families and Seniors Can Use the Information on this Website

How this 70-Year-Old Couple Bucked Tradition to Travel the World

P.S. – We are hosting a Q&A with Couchsurfing on September 28th. Come join and find out how to crush it on Couchsurfing and meet locals on your travels!

The post How this Boomer Canadian Couple Traveled the World for a Year appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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#IFTTT #Travel Blogs

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tamboradventure · 7 years

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This Canadian Couple Took a Year Off to Travel the World

Become the Next Success Story

How Jim Didn’t Let a New Disability Change his Travels

How (and Why) This 72-Year-Old is Backpacking the World

How Families and Seniors Can Use the Information on this Website

How this 70-Year-Old Couple Bucked Tradition to Travel the World

P.S. – We are hosting a Q&A with Couchsurfing on September 28th. Come join and find out how to crush it on Couchsurfing and meet locals on your travels!

The post This Canadian Couple Took a Year Off to Travel the World appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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#IFTTT #Travel Blog – Nomadic Matt's Travel Site

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theladyjstyle · 7 years

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Become the Next Success Story

How Jim Didn’t Let a New Disability Change his Travels

How (and Why) This 72-Year-Old is Backpacking the World

How Families and Seniors Can Use the Information on this Website

How this 70-Year-Old Couple Bucked Tradition to Travel the World

P.S. – We are hosting a Q&A with Couchsurfing on September 28th. Come join and find out how to crush it on Couchsurfing and meet locals on your travels!

The post This Canadian Couple Took a Year Off to Travel the World appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

This Canadian Couple Took a Year Off to Travel the World http://ift.tt/2fdPdny

#Travel Blog – Nomadic Matt's Travel Site digital nomad

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nofomoartworld · 7 years

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Hyperallergic: Required Reading

Photographer Murray Fredericks’s series of photographs on Lake Eyre in South Australia are eerie and quite gorgeous. (via Colossal)

Sarah Bond writes about our tendency to see ancient history as “white.” She says:

My main thesis is that despite our knowledge of the prevalence of polychromy on ancient statuary, there is a predominantly neon white display of skin tone in respect to classical statues and sarcophagi. This assemblage of neon whiteness thus creates a false sense of homogeneity across the Mediterranean world. Moreover the idea that white marble is beauty is not an inherent truth of the universe; it was in part developed by influential art historians during the early modern period in Europe. This visual argument continues to be asserted and to shape what we in the West consider to be pulchritudinous.

An Indian immigrant to the US sat for a portrait by Alice Neel in 1966, and no one had identified her until now. A lovely story:

The answer to the mystery finally arrived in an email from a research archivist at the David Zwirner gallery: “The sitter in the portrait is known to be the daughter of the Indian social-realist novelist Bhabani Bhattacharya (1906-1988), who had been invited to New York at the time by his American editor Millen Brand of Crown Publishers. At the time of this sitting, Bhattacharya’s daughter was enrolled as a student at Columbia University.”

Bhattacharya was a pioneering Indian writer who wrote in English. He was a contemporary of RK Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao. His books were translated into several European and Indian languages. The New York Times’ literary critic Charles Poore, in a 1952 review of Music for Mohini, wrote about Bhattacharya’s protagonist Mohini: “We’ll all be lucky if we meet a more appealing heroine this year.”

It took five hours to locate his family. Their names are not in any academic paper, news clipping or obituaries about Bhattacharya, who spent the last two decades of his life in the US. His two daughters and a son are mentioned in a small 1988 funeral notice in the St Louis Post-Dispatch, a local Missouri newspaper: “Surviving are his wife, Salila Bhattacharya; a son, Dr Arjun Bhattacharya of Ladue; two daughters, Ujjaini Khanderia of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Indrani Mukerji of Calcutta, India; and six grandchildren.”

Eunsong Kim and Gelare Khoshgozaran of Contemptorary interviewed Mari Matsuda, who is a founding critical race theorist, activist, and artist. Her father grew up in LA’s Boyle Heights neighborhood, and she shares her experiences and explains why critical race theory emerged:

Critical race theory emerged from a tiny corner of legal theory called the critique of the critique of rights. We were trying to hold on to a contradiction: telling people they “have rights” when any random state of exception snatches rights away in an instant is just participation in mental slavery. AND rights claims have moral power. They have narrative power. They have visioning power. Oppressed people have used rights claims and longed for rights and been willing to die for rights. Their struggle tells me there is something to this form of thinking that is has real value. I’ve written a bunch of words about this, but the theory is not my creation – it comes out of struggle. Last month you heard people yelling in the streets all over the U.S. “Health Care IS, A, RIGHT, health care ISARIGHT.” It had a rhythm, a beat, and a radical vision of rights coming out of human need. So yes, know your rights and make your rights. Art is a right.

Student journalists in LA’s Boyle Heights neighborhood are making waves:

Boyle Heights Beat, also known in Spanish as Pulso de Boyle Heights, has carved out an important place in an area with one of the highest population densities in the city of Los Angeles.

East L.A., where Boyle Heights is situated, is approximately 97 percent Latino.

A few years ago, two prominent journalists decided to do something about the lack of coverage when it came to issues in this neighborhood.

“Boyle Heights was not adequately covered by mainstream papers like the Los Angeles Times,” said Michelle Levander, the founding director of the USC Center for Health Journalism. She co-founded and published Boyle Heights Beat along with Pedro Rojas, former executive editor of Los Angeles’ Spanish-language newspaper La Opinión. “So we thought, who knows a community better than its youth?” said Levander.

Levander and Rojas are deeply involved in the Beat, overseeing everything from reporters’ pitches to front-page decisions. The Beat was founded in 2010, and their first edition came out in June 2011.

If you hate Little Free Libraries, then maybe you should read a paper by two librarians that describes them as “neoliberal politics at street level.” CityLab writes:

The case against Little Free Library is not necessarily a case against little free libraries. “I wouldn’t go down hard and say that Little Free Libraries harm public libraries,” Schmidt says—although she and Hale expressed lasting anxiety over the library budget attacks waged by former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his austerity agenda. Both librarians are eager to acknowledge places where Little Free Libraries are put to good use by public-library systems. They mention Winnipeg, where librarians give book-exchange stewards in marginalized neighborhoods first dibs (and free access) to the system’s friends-of-the-library book sales. “I don’t think we can definitively say that they [don’t] reduce inequality,” Schmidt says. “I just don’t think they can say they reduce inequality, either.”

Christopher Hawthorne, the architecture critic for the LA Times, took a new online architecture course offered by Harvard, and this is what he found:

And what one solitary piece of writing were we asked to read for those first two weeks? An essay by Hays, of course: “Architecture’s Appearance and the Practices of Imagination,” from a journal known for publishing wooden prose and called — you can’t make this stuff up — Log.

Hays’ piece, though mercifully short, was predictably hostile to the idea that any neophyte might effectively grasp what he was trying to say. And this is a course, remember, designed largely if not directly for neophytes; it marks the school’s widely promoted first attempt to engage a broad digital public.

Sady Doyle takes down Ivanka Trump’s new book for Elle magazine:

This is typical of Ivanka’s feminism, which has always been less about providing specific, workable solutions than it is about presenting marketable, aspirational images of Ivanka herself. She’s meant to be the Exceptional Woman, the one woman with all the skills necessary to survive and thrive within patriarchy; we’re meant to believe that emulating her will serve us better than engaging with the underlying structures that disadvantage women in the first place. Even in her pre-presidential efforts, like her pitch for a never-produced #WomenWhoWork podcast, which was obtained by The New York Times, it’s clear that Ivanka’s specific feminism focused on image and inspiration over policy.

The Vod are a “disappearing” ethnic group in Russia, and here is some of their story:

According to the most recent census data, there are 64 Vods left in Russia, with a handful more living in Estonia. The problem with these numbers is that they only show how many people self-identified as Vods, when asked about their nationality. It’s unknown how many Vods (including pure-blooded Vods) listed themselves as “Russians,” or missed the census altogether.

Luzhitsy’s population peaked in the early 1940s, when its numbers grew to about 550 people. Today, the village has just 35-40 permanent residents, with some additional visitors staying during the summer.

How Thomas Cook helped create the global tourism industry:

Cook’s venture was rooted not in a tourist’s desire to kick back a pint and visit a few historic sights, but in his fervor to keep would-be globetrotters from drinking in the first place. Convinced from an early age of the evils of alcohol, he spent much of the 1820s and ‘30s walking the English countryside, spreading his religious message to all who’d listen and distributing pamphlets extolling the dangers of beer to those who wouldn’t. It was a desperately inefficient means of advancing his cause.

And so when the world’s first railway network began to open right on his doorstep, Cook was quick to recognize its value. By arranging free or discounted train trips, he could ferry large cohorts of temperance supporters to rallies across the country. With the development of telegram wires, 2,000 miles of which were laid in Britain by the early 1850s, he was soon even able to direct his temperance tourists’ itineraries from afar.

It didn’t take Cook much longer to grasp that these cash-churning expeditions might earn him more than heavenly favor. Putting his missionary work on hold, he started organizing and then guiding sightseers on trips around Britain. In 1855, he ventured over the English Channel to France, then to Switzerland a few years later. No sooner had the American Civil War ended than he shepherded a tour across the Atlantic to New York.

What the future of the internet could look like without net neutrality:

@deray No #netneutrality visualizedhttp://pic.twitter.com/REmV9ApYXR

— David Carroll (@profcarroll) April 30, 2017

From all over the internet (incl. Giphy) and too good not to share:

Required Reading is published every Sunday morning ET, and is comprised of a short list of art-related links to long-form articles, videos, blog posts, or photo essays worth a second look.

The post Required Reading appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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carot-dj · 7 years

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3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected.

4.0 out of 5 stars a small glitch ... beautiful atlas, very helpfulwe found a small mistake on page 118: the 3 Baltic countries - (north to south order) Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania are printed in the wrong order - (North to south direction) Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia.on page 119 the order is OK, but on page 118 not... Go to Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent atlas We purchased this atlas hoping for something current and informative, and this atlas definitely delivered. The maps are excellent, the information current, and the graphs and texts are relevant. We were pleasantly surprised by an area featuring flag, population, and statistics for most countries. The only downfall we've seen so far is that a few of the maps "disappear" into the fold of the book, but not many, and not very much of the maps.All in all, we are very happy with the quality and content of this atlas, especially for the price. Excellent buy! Go to Amazon

3.0 out of 5 stars Get it from a store front. It's National Geographic. What more to say. Wife wanted to replacethe one from 20 years ago. Guess it was about time! Most of the nameshave changed!They managed to insert politics into it. Didn't need that.My biggest complaint concerns Amazon throwing this in a larger boxthan the book. It resulted in all four corners getting hammered on thetrip here. Books from Amazon used to get shrink wrapped to a palletand secured. I won't buy any further hard copies from them. Go to Amazon

4.0 out of 5 stars Good global atlas Very nice atlas, with brief almanac-like data on each country (population, square miles, average income, etc.). This has been a great resource to have to put international news into perspective, and to update my knowledge. The world has changed since I first learned geography in junior high school! Some maps are printed across 2 pages, and the page-break sections are not easy to read. Go to Amazon

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Idea Book for Armchair Travelers If I were to say that the big, hefty, well-put-together "Four Seasons of Travel" book is a "typical" National Geographic publication, I would be both praising it on the one hand and condemning it on the other.I praise it because, in the inimitable NatGeo manner, the color photography it contains is simply fantastic. In my opinion, no one else comes close to consistently matching the sharp, vibrant, saturated color photographs that are NatGeo's hallmark. The photos in "Four Seasons of Travel," many of them at page-and-a-half or two-page-spread size, are stunning.However, I condemn the book (mildly) because, again in the NatGeo tradition, it falls short of being really useful in the amount and type of information in it. I've always found NatGeo's books to be long on visual style and relatively short on substance, and "Four Seasons of Travel" is no exception. "Not that there's anything wrong with that..."The descriptions that accompany the 400 or so seasonal "getaways around the globe" in "Four Seasons of Travel" are relatively superficial, and thus are not really of great value in planning trips to the getaway spots. To NatGeo's credit, most descriptions include a "Planning" footnote listing websites that feature the specific areas, and many have sidebars with more information on recommended lodging and details of other local sights. Still, it's a broad-brush treatment, as it practically has to be in this format.So my bottom line is that "Four Seasons of Travel" is a nice coffee-table book and a potential source of ideas for places around the world that a traveler might want to visit.Read more › Go to Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than expected Just exactly what we wanted! The organization is what sets this atlas apart. Others combine topographic, informational and geographic maps in the same section so it's impossible to look up, say, two neighboring countries on separate pages. The pages are continuously numbered, so you can find anything by checking the index. Plenty of detail, up-to-date, interesting in its statistical sections, the right size for under the coffee table--every household should have one! Go to Amazon

2.0 out of 5 stars It's Gratuitously Huge This book left me frustrated. Overall, it seems like an excuse to publish a bunch of beautiful National Geographic photographs.It's a collection of travel destinations, organized by the seasons of the year. Worldwide, but weighted toward Europe and North America, the destinations are a mix of the familiar and an idea book of unfamiliars. In most cases, it's obvious why the location/event is matched to the season (e.g. conditions of nature, cultural calendars, etc.) but there are a few surprises (e.g. Yosemite in winter). Each entry is accompanied by beautiful photographs -- full-color; often full-page and even two-page spreads -- plus a bit about the location/event, sources for more information (e.g. websites), and a sidebar with tips or trivia. Some of the entries prompt separate Top 10 lists (e.g. where to go for the best holiday lights, the best outdoor music venues, the best carnival-type celebrations, etc.).But the book annoyed me rather than inspired me. There's not much information, and the short essays that are sprinkled throughout ("recollections" by a few celebrities and some NatGeo writers) are underwhelming and forgettable. And it's gratuitously huge -- the pages are too thick and the book is too heavy. At best, this is one to browse through at the library. Or, much better to browse (or to own) is Off the Tourist Trail: 1,000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives. Go to Amazon

#Andrew Evans: 9781426211676: Amazon.com: Books

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