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Category: Travel Photo Essays

Travel tips, photos & travelogues from all over the world.

Zombie Christmas: In cyberspace, everyone can hear you scream

You know the old tagline from the movie Alien, “In space no one can hear you scream”? Personally, I think one of the best things about the internet is that: In cyberspace, everyone can hear you scream – especially if you use all caps! Speaking of screams, I’ve been musing about zombies lately. Heck- who doesn’t this time of year? The folks who run Zombie Christmas have created a site that’s chock full of the undead, including zombie holiday music. Another person with zombies on the brain this holiday season is Judie (who I found from the NaBloPoMo December blog…

Reverb 10: Lesson Learned & Being Effective

Today’s Tara Weaver who wrote the book, The Butcher and the Vegetarian: One Woman’s Romp Through a World of Men, Meat, and Moral Crisis. (Heck of a title, eh?) What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward? While I am not sure what the most important thing I learned about myself this year is, I have learned something lately from these Reverb 10 prompts: For some reason, when I reflect upon myself, the bad is much easier for me to see than the good. Yikes! I have…

Armageddon knock knock joke

If you thought Armageddon was right around the corner, would you offer a big sale at your store? That’s precisely what LTD Jewelers did in this commercial. How’s that for surreal? The guy seems so cheery about it. I kept expecting him to say, “We won’t be under-souled!” or break into a song and dance number. It reminds me of a cheesy-but-effective knock-knock joke I came up with years ago to repel a long-winded man who came by my house determined to convert me to his particular religion. It was a beautiful spring day and I was planting my garden…

Coping with Christmas Music Burnout: Free Holiday Music Downloads

Are you sick of Christmas music? If so, you are not alone. Any song gets annoying if you hear it too many times in a row. The first restaurant job I ever had was in a gyro joint where the guy would play “Funky Town,” over and over. Oddly, I still like that song, but it makes me crave falafel every time I hear it. Guess that isn’t the best example, but you get my drift, right? I bet you even quit humming “Feliz Navidad” for a moment, too. Oh, sorry – didn’t mean to get that stuck back in…

Reverb 10: Appreciate (I am unfurling!)

Sometimes, like this fall crocus, you’ve got to let yourself go against the prevailing theme of the season. I skipped work today. There were no deadlines, but still, Tuesdays are my Monday. It’s not like there wasn’t plenty of work to do. Instead, I chose to continue unpacking my things. I have been living here in Texas with my fiance for 14 months. It’s about time I unpacked, don’t you think? As I quoted Gwen Bell yesterday, “Our internal lives are heavier than our luggage.” Her words morphed into a recurring echo of, “thoughts are heavier than things,” in my…

Reverb 10: Action steps (& my struggle with clutter)

Today’s Reverb 10 prompt comes from Scott Belsky who wrote a book called Making Ideas Happen Prompt: Action. When it comes to aspirations, its not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step? Lately, it feels like there are more ‘next steps’ in my life right than there are in this season’s “Dancing with the Stars” choreography. Do you ever feel that way? Don’t get me wrong, though; I’m enjoying the dance of life right now. I’d much rather have things to learn and look forward to than feel stuck and stagnant. I have had times like…