This is entirely not my kind of thing because I am such a badass, but because I love my readers, and I know many of readers would love this, I give you…
CuteOverload, the blog devoted to all things cute. OMG sooooooooo adorable 🙂
Here’re a few new pics to feast your eyes upon.
In this first one, I did not, in fact, remove the screen of my iBook. I took the image using a technique I noticed on Flickr. I simply captured a snapshot of what was behind my computer and then made the image my desktop wallpaper. This was my clumsy first attempt. Cooler versions can be seen in the Flickr transparent screens group.
This photo, meanwhile, was taken using the camera toss method — you set your camera to night (long-exposure) mode and then throw it up in the air. The light source consisted of some Christmas lights at my buddy’s Chris D.‘s house.
And then, lastly, we have this image, which I’m quite proud of. I was stopped at traffic light and noticed a striking sunset in my side-view mirror.
Gawker Media’s Nick Denton has just added a new title to his panoply of blogs (such as Gawker, Lifehacker, Wonkette, Gizmodo, and, of course, Gridskipper). It’s called The Consumerist, and it’s akin to Consumer Reports — but with ample heapings of cynicism and style.
For my most recent Gridskipper dispatch, I covered last night’s launch party for a new DC guidebook.
In my newest Gridskipper post, I discuss notorious DC graffiti artist Borf‘s recent scrape with the law.
According to the NYT’s Juan Forero, coca-legalization proponent and indigenous coalition leader Evo Morales just might become the next president of Bolivia.
The election of Morales in Bolivia would represent the triumph of indigenous groups over the minority white elite ruling class — as well as the rejection of what’s viewed as American imperialism and the encroachment of globalization on poor people’s lives throughout the southern Andes.
This monumental shift, should it reach fruition, would mirror the central thesis of Amy Chua’s prescient tome “World On Fire”: that the world’s so-called “market-dominant minorities” — the wealthy whites, in the case of Bolivia — become enriched by globalization while the poor majority indigenous population becomes increasingly destitute and disenfranchised. Class tensions, in this scenario, are exacerbated; violence erupts.
The ascent of Morales in Bolivia, if it happens, may signal a sea change in Andean politics. Only time will tell; could Peru and Ecuador, which also have sizeable Indian populations, be next?
I’m delighted to see that my recent articles have been cited in some of my favorite blogs:
— Rolf Potts mentioned “Beating the At-Home Blues” (and a long-term traveler named Andrea chimed in, leaving a comment about her current yearning for the road).
— Mike Yessis at World Hum also linked to the piece.
— The new Indy Travel blog not only mentioned “Beating the At-Home Blues” but appealed to my vanity by calling me “a rising star in the travel writing world” and posting an image of my mug.
— Michael Turton, of the excellent View From Taiwan blog, linked to my scootering misadventures article.
— And, as I mentioned before, Chris Mohney at Gridskipper also linked to my scootering article.
Kate Santich, writing in The Orlando Sentinel, surveys current research on what makes people happy — and discusses the so-called “Latino Bonus”:
One of the most intriguing finds to come out of the research so far is that Latin Americans consistently rank happier in life-satisfaction surveys than would otherwise be expected, given that many in the region live in poverty. In an in-depth study of 120,000 people in 82 nations, the World Values Survey found what one researcher dubbed “the Latino bonus.”
“I didn’t expect it,” says Ronald Inglehart, the survey’s director, based at the University of Michigan. “But the evidence is very consistent. And it is not true of all Hispanic countries, because Spain and Portugal are not high on the (life-satisfaction) scale.”
There are probably several factors at work, Inglehart proposes, the first being strong friendship and family ties, a universal source of satisfaction. Another is religious faith, which, interestingly, seems to boost happiness only in Latin America and the United States. In Europe, which is also predominantly Christian, it does not have the same impact.
Inglehart expects further studies of the Latino bonus, but those who have experienced it find it a powerful force.
Sister Ann Kendrick sees it daily in her community. A Roman Catholic nun, she has spent about 35 years helping the poor – mostly immigrants from Latin America – through the Office for Farmworker Ministry in Apopka.
“I’ll put five Hispanic women in my van to go to Orlando, and they can make a party along the way,” she said. “They get to laughing and telling jokes and carrying on. And there might even be some heavy discussion about something tough – like trouble in their marriage or one of their kids being in jail – but there’s a level of energy to their conversation. They generate a sense of connection that just feels good.”
(Emphasis mine.)
(Via Happiness and Public Policy.)
