Everything (Potpourri) – Page 21

The Coldest Place I’ve Ever Visited

February has arrived, and that means that the worst days of winter are almost behind us (even though Punxsutawney Phil suggested otherwise upon seeing his shadow yesterday). Speaking for myself, this has been a mild winter so far, at least by East Tennessee standards. It has snowed just three times, with zero inches of accumulation at lower elevations, and we’ve had nary a day of below-zero temperatures. Even my birthplace of Chicago has been spared its usual 10-week Arctic blast, save for a few exceptionally chilly nights of course.

Still, we’re not out of the woods just yet. February can be nasty cold. It is also said to be the best month for viewing the Northern Lights. It was with this weather phenomenon in mind (the Aurora Borealis, not the cold) that I joined my friend Jules for one long, crazy, February, 2007 weekend…in Barrow, Alaska.

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Photo Locale of the Month – January 2015

I have decided to introduce a new feature on this blog that I hope to turn into a monthly recurrence: the Photo Locale of the Month.

Each month, I’ll highlight a particular place from my travels – not just a city but a specific site within that city – and I’ll introduce it to you through pictures.

As always, all images are the property of GringoPotpourri unless credited otherwise.

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For the first month, I thought I’d feature a favorite place from what is perhaps my favorite city in the world. The place is Chapultepec Castle and the city is Mexico City.

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Top Ten Stephen King Books

As you may know, I do not currently have the financial wherewithal to do the kind of travel that I yearn to do. Although I am working on changing that, in the meantime, the head-in-the-clouds dreamer that I am often passes the time by reading.

I frequently go through genre/author phases when I read. Five or so years ago I went on an “American classics” kick (think J.D. Salinger and John Kennedy Toole). One summer I devoured those dystopian sci-fi masterpieces from the mid-20^th century (“Brave New World,” “Fahrenheit 451,” and “1984” – my favorite novel of all time). I read all seven “Harry Potter” books in just 12 days. During my late teens I raced through several political yarns by the late Tom Clancy. I even convinced myself a few years ago that Russian literature should be my next foray into classical literature…but I failed after just one book – Boris Pasternak’s snail-paced “Doctor Zhivago.”

My favorite author is – and always has been – Stephen King. I first discovered his writing in the late 1980’s when, as a teenager, I went through a serious horror phase. I subscribed to Fangoria and Cinefantastique magazine and I rented every grade-D slasher movie that I could get my hands on – never mind the fact that I was under 17. In fact, I was only 13 when I first saw Mr. King’s “Pet Sematary” on an end cap at the local Waldenbooks. The cover art – which showed an angry cat and the silhouette of a man carry a dead body towards a cemetery – spoke to me. I figured that the word “sematary” was deliberately misspelled, but why? I parted with five dollars of my hard-earned paper route money, bought the book, and was hooked.

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Hiking the Milford Track

Last fall, I vowed to write more hiking-related entries. My travels have given me the opportunity to check several multi-day hikes off the ever-lengthening “bucket list.” The third long hike in this series (you can also read about Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and the Backbone Trail of Southern California) was completed in February of 2009 – six years ago!

One Month in Middle Earth

My first trip “Down Under” – to use common geographical slang marketed to the U.S. by the likes of Paul Hogan, Qantas, and Fosters – was to Australia in 2003. I loved Australia and had long yearned to return to that region of the world. “Across the ditch” from Australia lies New Zealand, a bastion for backpackers and nature lovers. The success of the “Lord of the Rings” films, shot there, effectively priced me (and many other backpackers) out of the market, and it wasn’t until the end of that decade that things went down in cost…and even then only marginally.

The Fiordland region of New Zealand’s South Island is blessed with pristine natural beauty, verdant greenery, Norwegian-style fiords, and more than the island’s fair share of waterfalls. The country’s hiking trails are renowned as being some of the greatest in the world, and many of them are appropriately marketed as such, under the name “Great Walks.” On the North Island you can hike around – and to the top of – what moviegoers know simply as “Mount Doom,” via the Tongariro Crossing. (Mount Doom’s real name: Mount Ngauruhoe.) Three multi-day Great Walks are in Fiordland. Arguably the best of these – and certainly the hardest for which to obtain permits – is the Milford Track.

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Paris, je te aime

The nation of France – and Paris in particular – has had a tough week. On Wednesday, radical Islamist terrorists gunned down twelve employees of the Paris-based magazine Charlie Hebdo, allegedly in retaliation for that magazine’s publication of satirical cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. One suspect turned himself in and two others – brothers who were once under surveillance until the French government decided it simply had too many “persons of interest” to continue monitoring the ones it was already keeping tabs on – were ultimately hunted down and killed.

The manhunt was well underway by international authorities, and makeshift memorials of flowers and candles were already being left near the magazine offices, when it happened again on Thursday: a policewoman, just 26, was gunned down by one of the suspects in the suburb of Montrouge.

And again on Friday. The killings returned to Paris-proper when two terrorists gunned down four people inside a kosher grocery store in a predominantly-Jewish section of Paris. One terrorist was killed in a standoff but the second, a female, is still at large and is believed to have since fled to Syria.

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Photo essay: Panoramas

I don’t always consider myself to be a good photographer. I am self-taught, which is respectable, but as shutterbugs go, I am not the most patient. Additionally, I so often pack my tripod for a trip and then opt not to haul it around. As such, night photography is often in “P” (Program) mode rather than “M” (Manual) mode. I still pull off some good shots, but I don’t deny that they could have been better.

One category in which I excel – I think – is panoramic photography. It isn’t so much that I’m a natural; some places simply lend themselves to “wider-angle” photography. Natural wonders are obvious choices – the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, the Alps, I could go on and on. On rare occasions, cityscapes make for terrific panoramic images as well. The trick, of course, is a) to seek these vista points out, b) to step back and recognize a place’s potential, and c) to have a camera on your person.

Below are several of my favorite panoramic photos from my travels. My process is to snap snap snap an epic view from left to right, then “stitch” the individual images together in post. I use Windows Live Photo Gallery for this feature. It is a free program; don’t be surprised if a version of it is already installed on your computer.

Unless otherwise indicated, pics were taken using a Canon Powershot or a Nikon DSLR. You may have to click on them to see the full detail.

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Six Months In: Tennessee Livin’

Happy New Year, Loyal Reader! A new calendar year begins and I am excited to make 2015 a good year. As it happens, I am also coming up on six months as a Tennessee resident. Where does the time go?!

I thought you’d appreciate an update about my life in the Volunteer State. The last time I really wrote about Tennessee was four months ago; you can read that optimistic blog post here.

Because I’ve had several months to take in my surroundings, for this entry I’m going to comment in bullet form about some things I’ve noticed that are unique to the south or unique to the state of Tennessee in particular. Several of these points are generalizations, and much of this is written with tongue firmly in cheek, so I hope I don’t offend. 🙂

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One Last Pop Culture Musing for the Year

I won’t be posting a “Top Ten Movies of 2014” entry, unlike last year. I simply didn’t see enough films to create a fair list. Instead of going to the cinema, I’ve spent many late nights these last few months watching late night television. I channel surf during commercials (no TiVo in this household), but usually settle on “The Colbert Report,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” and “Saturday Night Live.” All three shows have had newsworthy moments of late, and I wanted to share those moments with you.

The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)

R.I.P. to “The Colbert Report.” This biting satire of conservative talk shows won several awards, and deserved each one. The one-two punch of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report” gave savvy newshounds – particularly those with a liberal bias – much to savor with fresh episodes four days/week. “Colbert Report” host Stephen Colbert earned big, brilliant laughs as “Stephen Colbert,” a pompous, dim-witted neo-Conservative. I put his name in quotes because – if you haven’t seen the show or you never got the joke – the real Colbert is actually a well-read, progressive liberal of great intelligence.

His character was retired nine days ago after a terrific ten-year run. No doubt Comedy Central wanted him to stay, but how could he turn down an offer to take over for “Late Show” host David Letterman? It is still uncertain when he will take over Letterman’s reigns, but what is certain is that Colbert will hit the comedic ball out of the late night park for CBS.

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Holiday Travels – Part Five

Christmas is just around the corner, and this year I’ll be spending the holiday in Eastern Tennessee. I doubt that it will be the “White Christmas” of song – temperatures have been just a bit too warm for snow – but it’ll be spent with my dad. The family as a whole – mom, dad, sis, niece, dog, and me – is celebrating Christmas a few days early, with my mom traveling back to Memphis to spend several days (including December 25^th) with her daughter and granddaughter. When family members live in other parts of the country or state, it’s challenging to coordinate the logistics of getting everyone together. And I say this having a small family! Anyway, I’m sure many of you can relate.

I am a sucker for nostalgia, and I often spend time that should be dedicated towards, say, finding a job, gathering proverbial wool or thinking happily of days gone by. As such, I thought I’d continue my series of “Holiday Travels” entries with another bit of fond musing. If you’re curious, my previous post in this series was last December’s Québec City and Montréal entry. I hope you’ll give it a read; the “Related” section at the bottom of that post should then direct you to older entries in this series.

From Memphis to Londontown (2006)

2006 was an epic year for yours truly. I had the best financial year of my life and a generous vacation allotment, resulting in several terrific trips. Mexico, Turkey/Denmark, Singapore/Malaysia…it was grand. As the end of the year rolled around, I hankered to experience my first New Year’s Eve in Europe, but also remembered that I hadn’t visited my parents at all that year. My vacation time was wearing thin, so I finagled something brilliant: four days in Memphis, three days of work back in LA where I lived at the time, and then six days in London. Exhausting? Sí, señor.

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Ten More Holiday Movies (11-20)

I love Christmas. Not the race-yourself-to-be-the-first-in-the-door-at-Best-Buy-on-Black-Friday aspect of the holiday, but the childhood nostalgia of time spent with family – dysfunctional or not – mom’s home cooking, carols, egg nog, and the lot. And to top it all off, people (outside of big box stores, that is) actually make a more concerted effort to be nice to each other, however short-lived their kindness might be.

I found myself watching several holiday movies on late night cable TV of late. And why not? Most of these films only show up on broadcast television once a year in November or December, and sometimes not even then.

The best holiday movies celebrate the virtues I mentioned above. “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” and “Miracle on 34^th Street” come to mind. Those are just three very re-watchable classics that made my Top Ten Holiday Movies list from last year. A few friends asked me what movies would come next on the list, and I couldn’t readily answer. I have since given the subject some thought.

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