Adventures by Disney offers an interesting approach to travel

It's not that the Walt Disney Company needs more publicity, but I ran across some nice reviews about their relatively-new holiday service. If you haven't heard about it, it's called Adventures by Disney.

The company's touring branch offers 17 world destinations. The staff prepares unique, hands-on travel experiences for adults and children. Because of its size, Disney has the clout to open doors that are not always accessible to regular tourists.

The company offers an engaging three-minute video description of the service here.

Some people don't like the Disney "everything-can-be-perfect-if-you-want-it-to-be" approach, but travellers seem to be responding favourably to Adventures.

National Geographic's travel blog recently posted some information and reviews that make for interesting reading, if you're an armchair traveller like me. You can learn more here.

For a related story about Disney, see how the entertainment company is reaching out to the business community and providing consulting services.

Thanks to C May for the photograph of the Disney Caribbean Beach Resort, Orlando.

After 40 years, Martin Luther King Jr.'s words take on added meaning.

On the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr. day, I think it would be fitting to recall some of his words. I was listening to one of his speeches being re-played on the radio and I was struck by the force of his conviction.

It was a speech from 1967, in which he outlined why, in his view, America should not be involved in Vietnam, why it was wrong for America to try to take on the role of the world’s policeman, why America should instead work positively to “remove…conditions of poverty, insecurity and injustice” that he said were the “fertile soil” feeding communism at the time.

When you hear the speech today, it’s impossible not to perceive, forty years later, an uncanny and almost spooky resemblance to the present situation in Iraq.

I’ll post the links to the full speech at the bottom, but first I wanted to post an excerpt and say how his words on the radio hit home with me. Hearing him refer to the concerns of the time, which were related to the Cold War and the United States' fear of a global wave pushing communism into many parts of the world, it’s impossible not to see a new reading in it for us today, at a time when Europe and the United States are trying to understand the rise in militancy in many parts of the world. Martin Luther King seems to issue a new call to find a dignified way to help people. I wonder whether things would be better if we had chosen this path in the struggle with militancy in the Middle East.

Martin Luther King:

"A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.

This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one's tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind. This oft misunderstood, this oft misinterpreted concept, so readily dismissed by the Nietzsches of the world as a weak and cowardly force, has now become an absolute necessity for the survival of man. When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I am not speaking of that force which is just emotional bosh. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality. This Hindu-Muslim-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality is beautifully summed up in the first epistle of Saint John: ‘Let us love one another, for love is God. And every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love.’ ‘If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us.’ Let us hope that this spirit will become the order of the day.
We can no longer afford to worship the god of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate. And history is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate. (…)

We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood -- it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, 'Too late.' There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect. Omar Khayyam is right: 'The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on.'

We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation. We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.

Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful, struggle for a new world. This is the calling of the sons of God, and our brothers wait eagerly for our response.”

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If you'd like to hear the entire speech, the audio is on YouTube at this link

The talk, delivered as a sermon to the congregation at the Ebenezer Baptist Church on April 30, 1967, was entitled, "Why I am opposed to the war in Vietnam." You can read it here. This site also has an audio link.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. For more information about his legacy, see here.

The illustration above is public domain, courtesy of wpclipart.com

The wonders of Dubai

Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, located in the eastern Arabian Peninsula, must be one of the world's most interesting places to visit. The ambitious construction projects underway in this desert city continue to make headlines.

You may already be familiar with this building: it's the Burj-Al-Arab hotel, one of the most expensive hotels ever built. Note the helicopter landing pad up high on the left. Very tall and shaped like a sail, it's luxury is unparalleled. You can read all about it's unique features here.

Now there's word that Dubai has entered into an agreement with the city of Lyon, in France, to build a replica of Lyon's cobblestone streets and quaint buildings in the desert city. The intent is to attract even more tourists to a place that is increasingly focusing on travelers for revenue. National Geographic's Intelligent Travel blog has an article with a photo here.

Dubai also has the distinction of offering the world's most amazing indoor skiing facility. You've go to see this place to believe it. Here's a YouTube video taken by a skier heading down the run. Check out some of the other videos (one shows a wonderful snow slide for those not interested in skiing or snowboarding. It's here.)

You may have heard about Dubai's famous palm-shaped land reclamation projects. Now, the world's tallest building is under construction in Dubai. A company is also building the world's first rotating skyscraper, and another the world's first luxury underwater hotel. Proposed name: Hydropolis. For an overview of this city's innovative architectural features with illustrations see the Dubai City online guide.

Given the political structure of the Emirates, I'm not sure what it would be like to live there; but I would certainly like to visit. If you have been there, post a comment and tell us all about it!

Thanks to Pravit Nuntanasirivikrom of Thailand for his nice photograph of the Burj-Al-Arab hotel.

Mona Lisa's descendants alive (and still wealthy).

Following yesterday's news about the identity of the woman we know as Mona Lisa, the Toronto Star newspaper today printed an interview with one of her ancestors, a Tuscan woman who is quite used to the limelight.

According to feature writer Sandro Contenta, the lineage of Lisa Gherardini (Mona Lisa) runs to the family of princess Natalia Giucciardini Strozzi, who today helps manage her family's 1,000-year-old winery and who twice hosted former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the estate.

Strozzi is thirty years old and traces her roots to two noble Florentine families of the Renaissance, the Gucciardinis and the Strozzis. She muses about Leonardo's famous portrait and tells the Star, "I don't have her smile at all. But around the eyes, people have said there's a resemblance...But our father, when he does that smile, it's precisely the same. You can see our father in the Mona Lisa's smile."

The Strozzi family history is a fascinating read, a story that includes relations with some of the greats of the Italian Renaissance - artists Michelangelo and Leonardo, important banking families and the philosopher Machiavelli.

If you'd like to follow the details of this story, the link to the Toronto Star article is here.

Thanks to photographer Jack Kuzuian for his beautiful photograph of Florence's Arno River at sunset. He made his photo available at http://www.sxc.hu/

Related post:
Reflections on Leonardo's Vitruvian Man

Two mysteries solved !

The newspaper offered fascinating revelations today about two famous historical figures and two mysteries apparently solved.

The first relates to the inspiration for this street artist in Paris. It's one of the most famous faces in the world, the woman with the beguiling smile. We know her, of course, as Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. For 500 years, her true identity has been cloaked in mystery and speculation. Who, in fact, was this woman?

Well, German scholars from the University of Heidelberg now seem to have proof that she was indeed Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a rich merchant from Florence, Francesco del Giocondo. It turns out that her married name, Lisa del Giocondo, more popularly expressed as La Gioconda, is correct.

A manuscript expert recently discovered some notes made by a Florentine city official who knew Leonardo Da Vinci. In the notes, the official makes reference to three works the great artist was completing at the time, one of which was a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo. Art experts, who have matched the dates of the painting and the comments, say this is a real breakthrough.
It seems certain to end the speculation about her identity once and for all.

You can read the Reuters account here.
If you prefer, you can see the description of the painting in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The second revelation relates to a famous navigator and an unpleasant disease. The disease is syphilis, probably the best-known of the venereal diseases. Ever since the first European outbreak in the late 1490s, people have debated over the origins of the malady. Where did it come from?

The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that medical experts in North America now believe they have solved the mystery. Scientists say they have genetic evidence that points directly to Christopher Columbus. The researchers say Columbus and his men mingled with natives of the Americas and brought a bacterial strain back to Europe. Unfortunately, that strain later killed millions of people over the years.

The newspaper reports that a team of Canadian doctors treating the poor in Guyana scraped a tissue sample from the sores of children in the jungle and found a genetic link to the band of explorers. The children are relatives of the native people Columbus met on his voyages. The Globe says scientists "...believe syphilis to be the tragic story of a New World bug transformed by sexual contact with Old World men."

The bacteria was brought back on the explorer's ships. In Europe, a plague first broke out among French troops when they invaded Naples in 1494. It's estimated that before antibiotics finally made the disease a curable one, it had killed about five million people.

You can read the fascinating account of the syphilis mystery and Christopher Columbus in the Globe article here.


Thanks to Valentina Jori for making her photograph of the street artist available for use on the stock.xchng.

Celebrating achievements in a new country

In a country like Canada, which attracts so many immigrants, it’s interesting to see how new communities develop and grow. In the years after the Second World War, Toronto attracted many Italian and Portuguese workers. In recent years, Asian and South Asian immigrants have predominated. In the last fifteen-twenty years, Toronto has also become home to many Polish and Russian families.

Last night, I attended an event organized by the Russian community to celebrate the achievements of its business people and entrepreneurs in Canada. It was an elegant gala at a suburban banquet hall that attracted several political dignitaries and also Alex Shneider, the Russian-Canadian billionaire who heads the Midland group of companies (Midland Resources Holding Ltd.).

Immigrants arrive in a country, work in small groups, gradually establish themselves and go on to form larger and more influential organizations. Meanwhile, immigrants in groups that preceded them become integrated into the larger society and the younger generation moves forward in the context of a new cultural dynamic. It’s the wheel of immigration. Canada owes much to it.

Immigrant groups do well when they get together and share their accomplishments with the local community. It sets the tone for greater prosperity but also sends out a very positive message of conciliation and cultural enrichment that also benefits the host country.

Last night's award recipients were very interesting people.

Madeline Ziniak, who has been instrumental in the development of ethnic media in Canada, received a lifetime achievement award from the Russian Canadian Business Association. She’s the national vice president of OMNI Television, Canada’s first and most important multilingual television system.

Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman, who founded the Jewish Russian Community Centre of Toronto, received the award for leadership and commitment. The Centre runs a number of programs to facilitate the integration of Russian immigrants in the Toronto Jewish community.

There were many other others, including a talented friend, Valery Tokmakov, who was recognized in absentia for his many activities in the community.

(My thanks to BSK for the silhouette illustration.)

Two new planes on the frontiers of civil aviation

Wealthy business travellers looking for alternatives to airport line-ups will soon have another option in the corporate jet market. You see it here. It’s the world’s first supersonic business jet, currently being developed by Aerion Corp., a Nevada firm. The plane uses technology pioneered in the Concorde. It can fly up to 12 passengers at speeds of 1.6 times the speed of sound (1,700 km/h), over the sea and special land corridors. The company says it will be possible to fly from Europe in the morning (GMT) and arrive in New York the same morning (ET). The jet has also been designed with noise-reducing technology to permit acceptable sound levels for fast flying over many countries. The Economist magazine reports that Aerion has already received deposits from 20 customers. Last year, sales of business jets outside the United States for the first time outstripped domestic sales.


On the other side of the spectrum, take a look at this unique design (click on the photo for a close-up look). British low-cost airline easyJet is planning to introduce this environment-friendly “Ecojet” turborprop for short-haul flights by 2015. The plane will emit 75% less nitrous oxide and 50% less carbon dioxide than jet airplanes in use today. It’s unique engine position and propeller design should also make it one of the quietest airplanes of its size in the world.

To learn more, click here

Thanks to Aeiron Corporation for its illustration and easyJet Airline Company Limited for its promotional photograph.

Picture of the day


Now that we've passed the winter solstice, and as the days slowly become longer in the northern hemisphere, the city mind, sometimes trapped in the frustrations of street traffic and entanglements of work schedules, gently drifts into reveries like this one.

This is Passo San Pellegrino, in the Trentino area of Italy. I hope to be one of those skiers some day.

Thanks to Elisabetta Grondona, a graphic designer, for making her photograph available on the stock.xchng.

Grazie, Elisabetta!

The American presidential election -- a complex machine, running since 1789 (...without an oil change).

The winds of change are beginning to sweep across the American political landscape. For those of us living outside the United States, the 2008 election is an interesting opportunity to observe the American electoral system and compare it to that of other democracies (like the French republican or the British parliamentary system, for example).

All of the attention being given to state caucuses or primaries was never something I clearly understood until I realized the importance of what Americans call "electors." At first I didn't comprehend the difference between "electors" and typical "voters". In Canada, we tend to use the term interchangeably. However, the difference in the U.S. is crucial. That's because the president and the vice-president are the only elected federal officials that are not elected by direct popular vote. Instead, they are put into office by the Electoral College, which is made up of citizens and party representatives -- "electors" -- chosen state-by-state during the long and arduous campaign.

History.com, in remembrance of the first American presidential election that brought George Washington to power, today posted a good summary (Jan. 7) of how the system works.

At the end of the campaign "marathon," after the big national election day in November and the results of the popular vote have been recorded, then the official electors meet in each state and cast their votes in representation of the voting public in their state.

History.com writes,"Although electors aren't constitutionally mandated to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, it is demanded by tradition and required by law in 26 states and the District of Columbia (in some states, violating this rule is punishable by a $1,000 fine). Historically, over 99 per cent of all electors have cast their ballots in line with the voters."

The American system has been followed faithfully since 1789, as set out in the U.S. Constitution. Many debate the merits or weaknesses of this system. Is it antiquated? Is it fair? You can decide for yourself. As for me, I find it interesting to follow.

The Boston Globe
recently published a handy guide to the caucuses and primaries, including comments on what is happening in each state and a draft schedule. Did you know that Republicans in Hawaii hold neither a primary nor a caucus? The Globe's special section is available here.

My thanks to Steve Woods in the U.K. for his photograph of the voting boxes with pencil and to Mike Thorn in the U.S. for his photograph of the White House.

Related political post....
Would you vote for a World President?

Airline seat troubles

If you’ve travelled in economy class on a commercial airliner, you will no doubt be familiar with the challenge of staying comfortable in the tight seats. If you’d like to laugh (or cry) about the experience, don’t miss the latest post on the New York Times’ blog devoted to flying ("Jet Lagged"). The story by Wayne Curtis is entitled “A User’s Manual to Seat 21C” and any traveler will identify with some of the observations. Here’s an excerpt:

Directly ahead of you is the TRAY TABLE, which may be lowered for“snack service.” The circular depression in the upper right corner is for your plastic cup, an item you may find oddly wide-mouthed for something conveying sticky beverages in an environment subject to sudden and dramatic up-and-down and to-and-fro motions. Also, note the cup is designed such that empty mylar pretzel pellet bags stuffed in them to facilitate trash collection will not remain there, but will repeatedly and mesmerizingly creep back out and onto the tray table.

To read the full article, click here.

The blog’s contributors include a pilot, a flight attendant and several seasoned travel writers. The blog also lists as writers Clark Kent Ervin, the first Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, and essayist Pico Iyer.

Another well-known publication, National Geographic, has an interesting travel blog, called “Intelligent Travel.” It recently posted a story about the first carbon-neutral airline in the world. It's called NatureAir. Read how the Costa Rican company achieved this distinction here.
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Thanks to Ana Schaeffer for her photograph of the airline seat tray. She made it available at the stock.xchng.
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Related posts:

Off the beaten path

Reuters reports that baby boomers are increasingly choosing adventure and educational holidays instead of more traditional or sedentary trips. In a survey of more than 100 travel experts conducted by a branch of the Canadian Automobile Association, demand for "experience-travel" increased last year in Canada, in the UK and in Australia. People are interested in trips that offer culinary seminars, educational opportunities, health or spa activities and exploration in offbeat destinations. The growth in this type of travel is coming from people who are over the age of 50, want to stay active and can afford these types of vacations.

You can read all about it on the Reuters site here.

And speaking of adventure travel, a group of scientists decided recently to discreetly observe the most feared of all sharks, the Great White. A marine biologist chose to paddle in a kayak in the ocean off the coast of Africa. In an article entitled, "It's behind you: Great White stalks ocean canoeist," the UK's Daily Mail newspaper tells the story of an experience of a lifetime with an exceptional photograph. You can see it here.

If you have other links about adventure travel, let me know. Or better yet, why don't you post a link in the "comments" section in the gray area below?

A big thank you to Marcelo Terraza for his photograph of a bridge to trees in the Ecological Reserve Vaga Fogo, Pirenópolis, Goiás (Brazil). Obrigado.

Related posts:

Global view: travel blogs for everyone

Hemingway lives on in Cuba

A reflection

The first day of the year began in Southern Ontario with an abundant snowfall, followed by dropping temperatures promising a frigid first week of January.

This was a great day for reviewing plans and setting out goals for the next twelve months.

The New Year's Day church service focused on the idea of peace, and I noted the intersection point between all the major religions: peace is rooted in acceptance and living in the present; not re-living the problems of the past and not worrying about the future. If we focus on the present and fully absorb its essence, not allowing the mind to run wild, we might find peace.

Something to try this year.

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