Today's Blog
© Thomas Wilson Shawcross 17 April 2005
Usually, I write a “Today’s Story.” But, as a recent arrival to the blogsphere, I started wondering what it would be like to write a “Today’s Blog.” Suddenly, it dawned on me that I knew very little about blogs, and it might do me some good to research some of my fellow bloggers and see what they were doing. It might give me some inspiration for my blog.
The first blog I checked was that of Gordon Dioxide’s. Here is an excerpt from his blog:
source: http://www.gordondioxide.com/blog.htm
Sunday 6th February 2005
Today, I wrote a short piece entitled "The Art of Writing a Good Children's Story", and here it is ...
Writing a good children's story is a science, not an art. It requires a detailed knowledge of chemistry and an understanding of the chemical reactions that take place in a child's brain.
Children are not adults and adults are not children. Although most children eventually grow up to become adults, they are in fact very immature for their age. For example, a small child may have a mental age of seven or less.
This concept is critical when deciding what words to use in a story. Furthermore, the words have to be written in a standard sequence in order to ensure that their meaning is not lost. Words such as "graceful" and "telecommunications" should never be combined into a single phrase.
Many writers have failed because of their unwillingness to comply with these basic rules. The writer of Goldilocks and the Three Bears may have been more successful had he realised that bears actually prefer fish to porridge.
Good advice, I reasoned. Next, I checked the travel blog (trip journal) of Tony Wheeler, the founder of Lonely Planet travel guidebooks. On his way to a travel conference in Macau, Tony decided to backpack from Singapore to Macau, and this blog can be viewed at: http://lonelyplanet.mytripjournal.com/tony_wheeler_singapore_to_shanghai
Then, as it so often happens, I allowed myself to be diverted from serious blog research, and I started reflecting on a recent article I had read about Tony. In it, his wife commented that Tony is compelled always to want to see what is around the next bend in the trail. He wants to see what other tourists may have missed. That struck a chord with me.
So far, I have traveled to 48 states in the US and 31 non-US countries. In doing so, I have done more than my share of “heritage” travel (seeing high-profile historical places, such as Andrew Jackson’s plantation home in Tennessee or low-profile places such as the mansions once owned by chewing gum magnate P. K. Wrigley in Arizona and on Catalina Island).
I have also done my share of museum visits, such as the Uffizi, the Museé d’Orsay, and the Louvre. I have even stood on the sky bridge between the twin towers of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
The sky bridge of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur begins at 558 ft above street level and connects the 41st and 42nd floors of this 1483 foot building
In short, I have lined the pockets of the travel industry tycoons, and I expect the good people at Grey Line Tours will erect a statue to me after I am gone. But curiously, when I think about the places I have been, my most favorite memories are typically of spots that I have found serendipitously, and which are not usually found on the “Must See” travel checklists.
For “Today’s Blog.” I have decided to write about two of these places that are special to me: 1. Canyon de Chelly, and 2. The Iceland Store in Rickmansworth.
Canyon de Chelly
Certainly, one could build a case to say that Canyon de Chelly is in fact a tourist destination. I have seen images of it on travel posters, and the Navajo Nation does seem to encourage visitors.
But on the day that I visited, I was the only human there, so it seemed even more special.
I had driven to Canyon de Chelly from Four Corners, where the states of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico touch at a single shared spot. There, on the plaque marking their juncture, I had done all the things that we sophisticated world travelers do: I stood with one foot in New Mexico and one foot in Utah. Then, I stood with one foot in Arizona and one foot in Colorado. I did a Mexican-hat-dance inspired jig on all four states. I finished my routine with a dog-like on all fours stance in all four states at the same time! Surely, no other visitor to that spot had ever thought of doing this (at least, not in the preceding five minutes).
But, Canyon de Chelly is what I think about now, not the hat dance. I arrived on the plateau overlooking the canyon. Gingerly, I walked to the edge (I am afraid of heights) and looked over, into the canyon. Spectacular!
I was about to turn back to my car, when I noticed something. There appeared to be a trail that led down into the canyon, should I try it? I am so glad that I did. It was a rather long walk to the bottom of the canyon. At the bottom, a sparkling trickle of a stream that I had not seen from the rim meandered through some short green grass and red rocks. Walking on, I crossed the canyon and approached the other cliff face, where I saw an abandoned pueblo village. How old was it? I don’t know. Did it have a name? Probably, but I didn’t know it. I remembered an Uncle Scrooge comic book in which Scrooge and Donald Duck and Huey, Dewey, and Louie had encountered a place such as this on their quest for the riches of the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. I climbed up to the lower pueblo buildings and looked around, hoping to find an arrowhead or maybe some Cibolan gold jewelry. Then, I realized I had already found the riches. This was a special place, and being there was a privilege. Sometimes, when I am stressed, I imagine myself being in that place again, and I feel peace and happiness flow over me.
Iceland Frozen Foods store in Rickmansworth
In 2000, I was doing some consulting work regarding the merger of the UK electricals stores known as Comet and the French electricals stores known as Darty. Both stores sold white, grey, and brown goods, but there the similarities more or less ended. Most of the time, I worked and lived in Paris, but I traveled frequently to England for meetings at the Comet office in Rickmansworth.
I have a good sense of direction, and most of the time I have a pretty good idea where I am, but I must be frank and tell you that to this day I do not know where Rickmansworth is. We always took the train there from London. England being England, I don’t recall seeing the sun while on the train, so I never did know in which direction we were traveling. Oddly, I think that is part of the appeal that Rickmansworth has for me, so I have steadfastly refused to look for it on a map. To me, Rickmansworth is a charming little Brigadoon village, and I prefer to leave it that way.
One day, instead of eating lunch, I decided to leave the Comet office and take a short walking tour of Rickmansworth. Oh, I liked the look and feel of this town. Just as it was time to return to the office, I noticed a shop with a sign that said “Iceland.” I thought that was odd. I had seen stores in the US that said “Ireland” and sold Irish products. Was this store like that? What would they sell, anyway? I wasn’t familiar with the “Made in Iceland” logo on any products. Maybe they sold those fake reindeer antler caps I had seen on occasion (or maybe I just dreamed I had seen them).
Later that evening, while having a pint at a local pub with some clients who were debating the merits of Scotch Eggs, I remembered the Iceland store, and I asked how it was that the products of Iceland were so popular in Great Britain. They looked at me quizzically. What was I talking about? I told them about the store I had seen.
After the laughter subsided, I discovered that “Iceland” was a chain of frozen food stores. What? A store that sells only frozen foods? Were they kidding? I thought they were joking when they told me about “Red Nose” day, but they weren’t kidding about that, so maybe they were serious about Iceland.
The next visit, I couldn’t wait to go back there and see what the Iceland store was like. It really did sell frozen foods. I hadn’t realized there were so many kinds. In addition to a mind-numbing array of frozen foods, they sold fridges and freezers (at brilliant prices, according to the adverts).
Standing there in the Iceland store, I felt as if I had escaped planet Earth and gone into some Isaac Asimov science fiction store of the future. Here I was, in a place that I didn’t know where it was, and in a type of store that I didn’t know existed. Like Tony Wheeler, I had gone around the next bend, and I was the happier for it.
Scotch Eggs recipe
6 hard-cooked eggs, well chilled 1 pound breakfast sausage 1/2 cup flour 2 eggs, beaten 3/4 cup fine bread crumbs Vegetable oil for frying
Peel eggs and set aside. Divide sausage into 6 portions. Roll each egg in flour and with hands press a portion of the sausage around each egg.
Dip sausage-wrapped eggs into beaten eggs and roll in breadcrumbs. Heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cook each egg in oil about 4-5 minutes or until sausage is cooked and browned. Drain on paper toweling. Serve warm.
Usually, I write a “Today’s Story.” But, as a recent arrival to the blogsphere, I started wondering what it would be like to write a “Today’s Blog.” Suddenly, it dawned on me that I knew very little about blogs, and it might do me some good to research some of my fellow bloggers and see what they were doing. It might give me some inspiration for my blog.
The first blog I checked was that of Gordon Dioxide’s. Here is an excerpt from his blog:
source: http://www.gordondioxide.com/blog.htm
Sunday 6th February 2005
Today, I wrote a short piece entitled "The Art of Writing a Good Children's Story", and here it is ...
Writing a good children's story is a science, not an art. It requires a detailed knowledge of chemistry and an understanding of the chemical reactions that take place in a child's brain.
Children are not adults and adults are not children. Although most children eventually grow up to become adults, they are in fact very immature for their age. For example, a small child may have a mental age of seven or less.
This concept is critical when deciding what words to use in a story. Furthermore, the words have to be written in a standard sequence in order to ensure that their meaning is not lost. Words such as "graceful" and "telecommunications" should never be combined into a single phrase.
Many writers have failed because of their unwillingness to comply with these basic rules. The writer of Goldilocks and the Three Bears may have been more successful had he realised that bears actually prefer fish to porridge.
Good advice, I reasoned. Next, I checked the travel blog (trip journal) of Tony Wheeler, the founder of Lonely Planet travel guidebooks. On his way to a travel conference in Macau, Tony decided to backpack from Singapore to Macau, and this blog can be viewed at: http://lonelyplanet.mytripjournal.com/tony_wheeler_singapore_to_shanghai
Then, as it so often happens, I allowed myself to be diverted from serious blog research, and I started reflecting on a recent article I had read about Tony. In it, his wife commented that Tony is compelled always to want to see what is around the next bend in the trail. He wants to see what other tourists may have missed. That struck a chord with me.
So far, I have traveled to 48 states in the US and 31 non-US countries. In doing so, I have done more than my share of “heritage” travel (seeing high-profile historical places, such as Andrew Jackson’s plantation home in Tennessee or low-profile places such as the mansions once owned by chewing gum magnate P. K. Wrigley in Arizona and on Catalina Island).
I have also done my share of museum visits, such as the Uffizi, the Museé d’Orsay, and the Louvre. I have even stood on the sky bridge between the twin towers of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
The sky bridge of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur begins at 558 ft above street level and connects the 41st and 42nd floors of this 1483 foot building
In short, I have lined the pockets of the travel industry tycoons, and I expect the good people at Grey Line Tours will erect a statue to me after I am gone. But curiously, when I think about the places I have been, my most favorite memories are typically of spots that I have found serendipitously, and which are not usually found on the “Must See” travel checklists.
For “Today’s Blog.” I have decided to write about two of these places that are special to me: 1. Canyon de Chelly, and 2. The Iceland Store in Rickmansworth.
Canyon de Chelly
Certainly, one could build a case to say that Canyon de Chelly is in fact a tourist destination. I have seen images of it on travel posters, and the Navajo Nation does seem to encourage visitors.
But on the day that I visited, I was the only human there, so it seemed even more special.
I had driven to Canyon de Chelly from Four Corners, where the states of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico touch at a single shared spot. There, on the plaque marking their juncture, I had done all the things that we sophisticated world travelers do: I stood with one foot in New Mexico and one foot in Utah. Then, I stood with one foot in Arizona and one foot in Colorado. I did a Mexican-hat-dance inspired jig on all four states. I finished my routine with a dog-like on all fours stance in all four states at the same time! Surely, no other visitor to that spot had ever thought of doing this (at least, not in the preceding five minutes).
But, Canyon de Chelly is what I think about now, not the hat dance. I arrived on the plateau overlooking the canyon. Gingerly, I walked to the edge (I am afraid of heights) and looked over, into the canyon. Spectacular!
I was about to turn back to my car, when I noticed something. There appeared to be a trail that led down into the canyon, should I try it? I am so glad that I did. It was a rather long walk to the bottom of the canyon. At the bottom, a sparkling trickle of a stream that I had not seen from the rim meandered through some short green grass and red rocks. Walking on, I crossed the canyon and approached the other cliff face, where I saw an abandoned pueblo village. How old was it? I don’t know. Did it have a name? Probably, but I didn’t know it. I remembered an Uncle Scrooge comic book in which Scrooge and Donald Duck and Huey, Dewey, and Louie had encountered a place such as this on their quest for the riches of the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. I climbed up to the lower pueblo buildings and looked around, hoping to find an arrowhead or maybe some Cibolan gold jewelry. Then, I realized I had already found the riches. This was a special place, and being there was a privilege. Sometimes, when I am stressed, I imagine myself being in that place again, and I feel peace and happiness flow over me.
Iceland Frozen Foods store in Rickmansworth
In 2000, I was doing some consulting work regarding the merger of the UK electricals stores known as Comet and the French electricals stores known as Darty. Both stores sold white, grey, and brown goods, but there the similarities more or less ended. Most of the time, I worked and lived in Paris, but I traveled frequently to England for meetings at the Comet office in Rickmansworth.
I have a good sense of direction, and most of the time I have a pretty good idea where I am, but I must be frank and tell you that to this day I do not know where Rickmansworth is. We always took the train there from London. England being England, I don’t recall seeing the sun while on the train, so I never did know in which direction we were traveling. Oddly, I think that is part of the appeal that Rickmansworth has for me, so I have steadfastly refused to look for it on a map. To me, Rickmansworth is a charming little Brigadoon village, and I prefer to leave it that way.
One day, instead of eating lunch, I decided to leave the Comet office and take a short walking tour of Rickmansworth. Oh, I liked the look and feel of this town. Just as it was time to return to the office, I noticed a shop with a sign that said “Iceland.” I thought that was odd. I had seen stores in the US that said “Ireland” and sold Irish products. Was this store like that? What would they sell, anyway? I wasn’t familiar with the “Made in Iceland” logo on any products. Maybe they sold those fake reindeer antler caps I had seen on occasion (or maybe I just dreamed I had seen them).
Later that evening, while having a pint at a local pub with some clients who were debating the merits of Scotch Eggs, I remembered the Iceland store, and I asked how it was that the products of Iceland were so popular in Great Britain. They looked at me quizzically. What was I talking about? I told them about the store I had seen.
After the laughter subsided, I discovered that “Iceland” was a chain of frozen food stores. What? A store that sells only frozen foods? Were they kidding? I thought they were joking when they told me about “Red Nose” day, but they weren’t kidding about that, so maybe they were serious about Iceland.
The next visit, I couldn’t wait to go back there and see what the Iceland store was like. It really did sell frozen foods. I hadn’t realized there were so many kinds. In addition to a mind-numbing array of frozen foods, they sold fridges and freezers (at brilliant prices, according to the adverts).
Standing there in the Iceland store, I felt as if I had escaped planet Earth and gone into some Isaac Asimov science fiction store of the future. Here I was, in a place that I didn’t know where it was, and in a type of store that I didn’t know existed. Like Tony Wheeler, I had gone around the next bend, and I was the happier for it.
Scotch Eggs recipe
6 hard-cooked eggs, well chilled 1 pound breakfast sausage 1/2 cup flour 2 eggs, beaten 3/4 cup fine bread crumbs Vegetable oil for frying
Peel eggs and set aside. Divide sausage into 6 portions. Roll each egg in flour and with hands press a portion of the sausage around each egg.
Dip sausage-wrapped eggs into beaten eggs and roll in breadcrumbs. Heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cook each egg in oil about 4-5 minutes or until sausage is cooked and browned. Drain on paper toweling. Serve warm.
posted by Tom Shawcross | 7:04 PM
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