Blaine Harrington’s Photo Exhibit

My friend, Blaine Harrington, is one of the most accomplished travel photographers in the world. He will be the featured photographer in an exhibit called “Unifying the World through Color” at the Denver Photo Art Gallery (for those of you in Denver it is John Fielder’s gallery at 833 Santa Fe Drive) starting on Friday, January 7 and running through Wednesday, March 2. This is … Continue reading Blaine Harrington’s Photo Exhibit

The Joy of Giving

What a beautiful message during this Christmas season! Narayanan Krishnan is a bright light in the impoverished streets of Bangalore, India. His spirit of giving can inspire all of us. He is one of CNN’s Heroes.  When I was in India I often saw desperately poor people squatting down and begging for food. Giving food was a way people would get good karma in their … Continue reading The Joy of Giving

BBC: The Joy of Stats

What a clever way to make complicated and essential statistics user friendly. The BBC hit it out of the park with this program. For anyone interested in global poverty and the inequities between the haves and the have nots, Hans Rosling’s demonstration is must see TV. For more information on Vicky Collins visit http://teletrendstv.com. Continue reading BBC: The Joy of Stats

Photography: Stepping Up My Game

Just bought a Nikon D7000 camera and Nikkor 18-200 mm 1:3.5-5.6 GII lens. Have set a goal to teach myself to shoot and edit video in the year ahead. My television colleagues are trying to talk me into Final Cut Pro. Also looking into continuing education at the Santa Fe Photography Workshops. Need to enhance the skill set. Time to step up as a photographer … Continue reading Photography: Stepping Up My Game

A Westerner Ponders Arranged Marriage

One of the most interesting things I read in the newspaper while in Delhi was the matrimonials in the Sunday Times of India.  The section consisted of page after page of personal classifieds by families unapologetically seeking the perfect made to order husband or wife for children whose time has come to make a love connection. Some of the ads were very specific.  They spelled … Continue reading A Westerner Ponders Arranged Marriage

The Camel and the Cell Phone

Andres from Switzerland, his girlfriend, Paola from Brazil and I were riding on camels in the Thar Desert outside of the western Indian town of Jaisalmer. We were in a spot as remote as I’ve ever been, 21 hours by train from Delhi, just 60 kilometers from the border with Pakistan. It’s a flat, arid locale, punctuated by sand dunes and populated by only villagers, … Continue reading The Camel and the Cell Phone

Varanasi: Karma and Contradiction

My friend, Duncan, and I had wrapped up dinner at a restaurant in Varanasi, India and more than half the food was uneaten. We asked for a carry out bag, knowing in the back of our mind that we would probably never eat the food. While walking down towards the Ganges, we started to pass beggars, beaten down to the ground by years of poverty, … Continue reading Varanasi: Karma and Contradiction

Dog Days at the Commonwealth Games

Stray dogs are one of my favorite sights in Delhi.  They are all mutts and they loaf around the city.  I have even seen them lying in the roadways oblivious to traffic whizzing by.  Delhi has cleared many of them away from the games and venues.  Today they were rounding them up at the field hockey venue. I hear they are in shelters and will … Continue reading Dog Days at the Commonwealth Games

Waste Not, Want Not

The other night my colleagues and I ordered pizza to be delivered to our workplace at the International Broadcast Centre during our shift at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. There have been tons of issues with the catering here so we had food brought in. At the end of the evening there were still four untouched boxes of pizza that were cold and had … Continue reading Waste Not, Want Not

Delhi’s Commonwealth Games Face

When I came to Delhi in 2008 I remember the palpable culture shock.  It was overwhelming even for a rather intrepid traveler.  I had been in Beijing and Uganda earlier in the year so I thought I would be prepared for anything, but nothing I had ever experienced set me up for India.  On the roadway from the airport cows roamed the street.  The traffic … Continue reading Delhi’s Commonwealth Games Face