All The Ladies In The House

Are you a lady? (Sorry fellas, it’s not about you this time).

Do you like to travel? Do you sometimes travel by yourself?

OR…are you afraid to travel because of horror stories you have heard?

OR…Do you have a horror story you want to tell?

OR…Do you have a tip? An antidote? A happy moment? A scary one?

Do you have any questions?

Well, if you do…I have something for you!

My friend Sarah has started a new travel blog called Women Rockin’ the Road.  She has asked me to be a part of it and I think it’s a great idea. Her and I plan to co-write some stories of our times on the road as women – how sometimes the horror stories your grandma told you are myths…and sometimes they are true but you deal with it.

What we hope to accomplish is a few things: ladies, it is always good to hear other people’s stories to get an idea of what you are up against or in for. Also, we hope to debunk any fears people may have that travel for women is unsafe. We also hope to talk about and figure out ways to get around challenges. And of course, we try to be funny if possible. Don’t we all?

So, please come on over and check out what we’ve got started. 

Also – and this is the most important part. We want YOU to contribute. We will be looking for a person to guest post once a week if possible.

What’s your story?

If you don’t have a story, perhaps you have a question you want to know the answer to.  For instance: where do you go to the toilet in Nepal? Good one! We will be happy to answer anything!

Tomorrow I will be posting about traveling alone in a scary place.... Stay Tuned!  

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Vururum ve Dönüp Arkama Bakmam Bile!!!

Canım arkadaşım Lafea beni şu yazısında yani En Acıklı 5 Nostaljik Türk Filmi başlığında mimledi. Türk filmlerini ne kadar çok sevsem ne kadar çok izlesem de benim için aşağıdaki filmlerin yeri bambaşkadır. Belki bazıları 'en' acıklısı değildir ama bence 'en' anlamlısıdır. O yüzden bende 'en iz bırakan' filmleri yazdım bende. Zaten hepsi acıklı :D  Hepsini tek tek detaylandırmak istemiyorum şimdi. Zira bu mimi alan arkadaşlar çoktan işi detaya döktüler :) (ne şanslıyım) Diğer yazmak istediklerim. Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalım, Babam ve Oğlum, Canım Kardeşim ve Serseriler Kralı.

En sevdiğimi, en beğendiğimi ve en anlamlı bulduğumu sizlerle paylaşmak istedim. :)

Bizim Aile ~ yada diğer bilinen adıyla Yaşar Usta

Filmi anlatmak imkansız mutlaka izlenmeli. Tabii ki şu efsane diyalog unutulmaz.

Yaşar Usta: Saim Beyi görecektim.
Sekreter: Randevunuz var mı?
Yaşar Usta: Yok. Ama Yaşar Usta derseniz beni kabul eder. Çok önemli.
Sekreter: Hiç sanmıyorum ama bir sorayım.(telefonda) Saim Bey, Yaşar Usta diye biri sizinle görüşmek istiyor. Peki efendim.(Yaşar Usta'ya) sizi bekliyorlar, buyrun.
(içeri girer)
Saim Bey: Söyle ne istiyorsun?
Yaşar Usta: Bak beyim, sana iki çift lafım var. Koskoca adamsın. Paran var, pulun var, herşeyin var. Binlerce kişi çalışıyor emrinde. Yakışır mı sana ekmekle oynamak. Yakışır mı bunca günahsızı, çoluğu çocuğu karda kışta sokağa atmak, aç bırakmak. Ama nasıl yakışmaz. Sen değil misin öz kızına bile acımayan, bir damlacık saaddeti çok gören. Anlamıyor musun beyim, bu çocuklar birbirini seviyor. Ama ben boşuna konuşuyorum. Sevgiyi tanımayan adama sevgiyi anlatmaya çalışıyorum. hıh. Sen büyük patron, milyarder, para babası, fabrikalar sahibi Saim Bey. Sen mi büyüksün. Hayır ben büyüğüm, ben, Yaşar Usta. Sen benim yanımda bir hiçsin, anlıyor musun, bir hiç. Gözümde pul kadar bile değerin yok. Ama şunu iyi bil, ne oğluma ne de gelinime hiç birşey yapamayacaksın. Yıkamayacaksın, dağıtamayacaksın, mağlup edemeyeceksin bizi. Çünkü biz birbirimize parayla pulla değil, sevgiyle bağlıyız. Bizler birbirimizi seviyoruz. Biz bir aileyiz. Biz güzel bir aileyiz. Bunu yıkmaya senin gücün yeter mi sanıyorsun. Dokunma artık aileme. Dokunma çocuklarıma. Dokunma oğluma. Dokunma gelinime. Eğer onların kılına zarar gelirse ben, ömründe bir karıncayı bile incitmemis olan ben, Yaşar Usta, hiç düşünmeden çeker vururum seni. Anlıyor musun. Vururum ve dönüp arkama bakmam bile.(çıkar)

Bu mimi kimler aldı kimler cevapladı takip edemedim. Ama ben mydestiny  ve secret i ebelemek istiyorum. Ebesiniz canlar :) Bu mimi yanıtladıysanız pas geçebilirsiniz. Şimdiden kolay gelsin. Ayrıca bu mimi başlatan canım arkadaşım LaFea'ya da buradan sitem eder 'Nedennnnnn' diye haykırmak suretiyle isyanımı arz ederim :)

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ROBERT GONZALES 02

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A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step…

Don’t look back; you may never see how far you have come…

Even the strong falter…

Blah, blah, blah!

What happens when you are on your 500th step, and your feet are tired and aching?

Dieting is one of the hardest things about getting in shape. You can get acclimated to frequent weightlifting and bouts of cardio.

You can get used to the yells of the Group X Instructor as (s)he bellows instructions and new exercises.

You may even start to enjoy the clanging of weights and murmured discussions in the weight room over the loudspeakers.

Dieting is a completely different animal, though. Getting acclimated to the diet is part of the problem!

What happens when you have been on the same diet for 6-8 weeks, and the results are still coming?

Obviously, there is no need to change the diet if it is still “working”…

What do you do when you are looking great, feeling energetic, BUT you are absolutely TIRED of your diet?

Even if the food is interchangeable, you still need to follow the numbers. You need to measure your protein in ounces, measure your carbohydrates in cups, and your fats in tablespoons or teaspoons.

The process of dieting: prepping meals in advance, mixing protein shakes to store in your cooler or lunch pack, timing your meals consistently, and worst of all, EATING, is very exhaustive, but it is necessary!

The only thing that can keep your head on straight is the results you achieve by adhering to the plan.

Watching your body transform before your eyes has a way of disciplining you.
You previously weighed 217lbs. at 32% body fat. Now, you weigh 195lbs. at 27% body fat. What got you there? DIET!

Forget about how long you have been dieting without a cheat day, or even a cheat meal! Worry about results!

Don’t eat a chicken and rice meal… Eat a net loss of 2lbs. of straight body fat!

Don’t eat 3 whole eggs with 2 slices of Ezekiel toast… Eat 1-2lbs. of lean body mass and an increased metabolic rate!

Eat for a purpose! Eat for a change! STICK TO YOUR DIET!

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BUNLAR FOTOĞRAF DEĞİL HEPSİ RESİM

Bu resimlere inanması okadar güçki nedenmi işte nedeni ,bu resimler gerçekten bir ressamın elinden çıktılar yani bunlar fotoğraf değil.Evet biliyorum buna inanmak gerçekten çokzor değilmi resimlere bakınca bu gerçeği anlamak neredeyse imkansız görünüyor.İşte dünya üzerinde okadar yetenekli ressemlar varki bakın ne harikalar yaratabiliyorlar.

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DÜNYANIN EN GÜZEL MAĞARALARI

Mağara deyince insanın aklına genelde hep aynı soğuk karanlık ıslak ve ürpertici kaya oyukları geliyor ama dünya üzerinde öyle büyük ve hayret verici güzellikleriyle insanı büyüleyen mağaralar varki insanın resimlerine bakınca bile ah keşke ordaolsaydım ve bu güzelliği yaşayabilseydim diyesi gelen mağaralar var.

İşte bazı muhteşem mağaraların resimleri.

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Hiroshima Email – twisting history for political ends

I was forwarded a fascinating email today by a co-worker, it is a single email showing a series of images from 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The email discusses how both cities were devastated by atomic weapons in 1945 by the United States, then the email shows a series of pictures of modern Hiroshima.  They, of course, depict the modern vibrant city that is now Hiroshima, many of the shots are lovely nighttime images of the city aglow with lights and life.  The email then includes a series of images of modern Detroit, drawing a link between the dilapidated conditions in Detroit today and the amazing wonder of Hiroshima, the email argues that both cities suffered devastation but Detroit was not rebuilt while Hiroshima was.  The conclusion drawn by the email is that this key difference between Hiroshima and Detroit is that in Japan there is no welfare system but in the United States we have welfare institutions in place, therefore in Japan there was an incentive system that encouraged the citizens to rebuild while in Detroit the free money of the U.S. welfare system encourages people to simply not care.

First off, logically, it is incredibly simplistic and, bluntly put, downright wrong to draw a parallel between the situations in Detroit and Hiroshima and then blame it solely upon the existence of a larger U.S. welfare/social services network then any present in Japan.  (Which on its own is wrong because in the U.S. social services/public welfare systems are handled on a blended model of local/state/national administration.  Japan has a similar structure for its social services.)  More critically though this email bluntly ignores the reasons for the rapid development of Hiroshima at the end of World War II.  The city of Hiroshima was rebuilt during the U.S. Occupation of Japan, which took place from 1945 through 1951.  During that period the government of Japan, with permission from the U.S. Occupational Authorities, levied special taxes upon the entire nation of Japan specifically to fund the rebuilding of Hiroshima.  In addition the U.S. directly poured funding into rebuilding Hiroshima during this period as well – the devastated infrastructure of the city was cleared and new structures rapidly built to help restore the cities economic value and functionality.  In fact Hiroshima had to appeal for the extra funding with a proposal to use it to build a new “Peace Park” as the center of the city, to commemorate peace and condemn in very general tones the horrors of war.  That fit well with post-war U.S. policy towards Japan and hence why the “Peace Park” is in Hiroshima to the present day.

Hiroshima – a city rebuilt by massive direct investment in infrastructure repair and restoration by a national government and a large foreign government providing direct aid.

Detroit, on the other hand, is in a state of decay due to gradually shifting economic factors and market forces that have been changing how the United States functions as a nation since the mid-1960s and early-1970s.  With the decline of the northern manufacturing industrial base upon which Detroit heavily rested, the massive riots in the late 1960s throughout the U.S. during the civil rights struggle (the 1967 Detroit Riots were considered some of the worst of this period.)  There has been no major effort by the U.S. on a federal level to rebuild Detroit nor to attempt to offset its economic decline by a national effort.  Detroit also did not suffer a single devastating disaster but instead deflated as a city, declining slowly as population left the city and nothing moved into the empty spaces to keep its economy fully functional.  However currently there appears to be a slow movement by young populations back into Detroit – slowly bringing with them economic strength, consumer demand, and investment income.  Which, in turn, has slowly begun to spark the beginnings of a renaissance for Detroit.

All of which, at best, has only a peripheral link to welfare programs between the U.S. and Japan.  One could as easily draw a link between Hashima Island in Japan (an abandoned coal mining island which has an incredibly dense, highly urbanized city on top of it now simply allowed to decay) and Texas City, TX and its devastation after the 1947 industrial explosion and how today it is a thriving city with great economic development.  Of course you can then link that to the amazing welfare system in the U.S. as compared to Japan.

If you see this email do yourself a favor – look at the pretty pictures, smile to yourself, and then delete the damn thing!

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June Book List

Girl in Translation.  Kimberly Chang emigrated with her mother from Hong Kong to New York City under the sponsorship of her Aunt.  Her Aunt doesn't end up as benevolent as it first may seem as she puts them up in a hovel: an untenable apartment that is infested with cockroaches and doesn't have any heat to get them through the bitter winters.  To earn their keep even young Kimberly must work at the factory her relatives own.  Yet even under these dire circumstances Kimberley thrives academically earning her way into a prestigious private school, which ultimately puts her on the path towards a better life.  Amidst her struggles she meets another young factory worker, and they embark on an innocent love affair that turns out to be much more serious with life changing consequences.  What makes this story even more compelling is that it seems like a thinly veiled memoir, as the author herself emigrated from Hong Kong, worked in a factory, and received stellar grades gaining her entree into an Ivy League University.  Girl in Translation was this month's book club pick and the consensus was that the controversial ending made it lose a few points in our ratings.

The Tiger's Wife.  After the death of her grandfather, Natalia begins a quest to discover the mystery surrounding his death.  Interwoven with Natalia's present as a doctor working at an orphanage after the Balkan War, are folk tales her Grandfather told her as a child, which help her come to grips with the surrounding circumstances.  Often reading more like short stories than a cohesive novel, some chapters left me riveted while others were tedious.  What compelled me to pick up this book was the young author: in her mid-twenties, Tea Obreht, has earned the title of The New Yorker's one of the twenty best American fiction writers under forty, and despite some of the slow chapters I can still see why she earned that title.

Mini-Shopaholic- The newest book in the Shopaholic Series.  I have read almost every book Sophie Kinsellas has written, certainly all of her Shopaholic books.  I was excited to pick this one up but Becky's shopping travails often fell flat in these economic times, as it read extra frivolous this go around.  I did find myself getting immersed in it mid-way through, as I had to see how Becky would manage to get herself out of immeasurable obstacles to escape financial ruin again.  Coming off reading Kinsella's Twenties Girl, which I enjoyed much more than expected and found surprisingly funny, Mini-Shopaholic is still a fun read but if choosing between the two I would definitely pick up Twenties Girl.

The Glass Castle- I read this at the insistence of a friend even though I always avoided it, because I thought the subject matter would be too depressing.  I'm glad I finally listened, they say "truth is stranger than fiction" and it would be hard to imagine such a childhood that Jeanette Walls endured.  A fascinating biography that I wish hadn't taken me so long to finally pick up.

Dreams of Joy-The long awaited sequel (at least by me) to Shanghai Girls.  This book picks up where Shanghai Girls ended, with a guilt ridden Joy fleeing to Communist China during the Great Leap Forward.  What I found most interesting is that most everything I have read about Communist China during this time period has been from the perspective of what it's like to live in the United States, but never have I heard about what it would be like for a US citizen to return to China.  Joy's naivete was sometimes grating and I found myself waiting for the chapter's with her Mother/Aunt's perspective. While definitely paling in comparison to the first book, I still highly recommend Shanghai Girls and this sequel as very interesting historical fiction.

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Missing Home

The above photo is part of the FTLOB Picture Perfect Challenge. 

  And here is one more I took on the same day:  

While on that walk, I ran into this:

In case you are unsure, yes, that is a rattlesnake. I don't miss him!  Don't miss more great photos of: Where I Live IWhere I Live IIWhere I Live III

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Ready to Ride the High Speed Rails

Flight booked. Train tickets booked. Hostels booked. Europe here I come. What do I hope to get out of this trip besides credit card debt? For one, I'd like to get some perspective on the current debate here in America about building a high speed rail network.

What can we learn from the Europeans? What are they doing right? What have they got wrong? What are the challenges? What are the advantages?

I'll be riding high speed rail lines in the U.K., Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, France and Spain. I will blog about my experiences on the rails and in the cities I'll be visiting. Some of my more general blog posts will be on this site, others more specific to clean energy and clean transportation will be found on my Green Center Blog. Click here for my clean energy/green economy blog site.

Here is my itinerary:

I'll be flying overnight on Virgin Atlantic from Washington Dulles to London Heathrow. My flight departs the evening of Thursday, July 14th.

I'll be staying in London briefly for one day and night. Then early the next morning it is off to Benelux. Well, specifically Brussels, Belgium. I'll be traveling on the Eurostar high speed train with a top speed of 186 miles per hour. That should get me into Brussels in a brisk three hours.

Here is the historic Brussels skyline. What a minute. Are those Brussel Sprouts? Ooops.

After a day and night in Brussels it is off to Berlin on Sunday, July 17th. The super fast Inter City Express train clocks in at up to 200 mph. Wow. Now that is a fast train. It will be a seven hour trip, with a connection in Koeln, Germany.

Now this is a nice cockpit. If I can't get a job here in the United States then I'm training to become a conductor for the Deutsche Bahn ICE!

I'll be spending a couple of days in Berlin, where I hope to visit the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the area where the Berlin Wall stood. And of course, I want to experience modern Berlin -- one of the most progressive and democratic cities in the world. It will be satisfying drinking a beer in the city that has survived Nazism and Communism and is now a thriving, diverse metropolis. Here is a picture of the Brandenburg Gate.

On Tuesday, July 19th it is time to hop on another train to Prague. The trip is a little under five hours on the EuroCity Hungaria train. And it's a fast train right? Faster than Amtrak right? Ultra modern right? Wait. This is what it looks like?

OK. So not all of the trains will be true high speed. But I still haven't gotten to France or Spain!

Out of all the cities I will be visiting, next to Barcelona I'm most excited about Prague. There is so much history to this beautiful city. And I will take lots of pictures of old buildings. But that isn't the only sight seeing experience in Prague.

On Friday, July 21st it will be the overnight train to Paris on the City Night Line. I'll be sleeping in a cabin with three total strangers. I hope no one drools or snores!

I'll be arriving in the City of Lights the next morning at 9:59 a.m. I'll do the typical tourist sight seeing. As an avid Capital Bikeshare rider here in Washington, D.C., I'd like to ride the Velib -- the largest bike sharing system in the world.

On July 23rd it is south to Barcelona. And I'll be riding on the king of the high speed rails -- France's TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse, or High Speed Train in English). The train tops out at 200 mph.

Then it is three days in Barcelona. I've never been on Spanish soil so I'm really looking forward to the last leg of the trip. My only experience with Barcelona is playing FC Barcelona's soccer team in the video game FIFA Soccer 11 on my Xbox 360. Somehow I think seeing the actual Barcelona will top that experience.

As for the end of the trip? I might fly from Barcelona to Tel Aviv and work on an Israeli Kibbutz for two months before flying back to the States in early October for my sister's wedding in D.C. Or, I might fly back to Washington from Barcelona or Madrid. Either way, I can't wait for the European adventure to begin!

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