My 16 year old son is mad at me. When I call home his anger is palpable. He does not understand why I leave home for extended periods of time every couple of years to work at the Olympics. He won’t listen when I try to explain so I’m putting it out to the world. Being part of a production team at the Olympics is, … Continue reading Why I Work at the Olympics
I walked out of my hotel room this morning carrying a plastic bottle of water and by the time I was at the front desk it was empty. I handed it to the concierge and asked if he could throw it out. Before I could correct myself a hotel manager did it for me. Recycle! From what I can tell, Canada is an enlightened country. There are as many … Continue reading Enlightened Canada
I walked out of my hotel room in Vancouver this morning to see a flock of seagulls squacking their heads off. That’s the most noise I’ve heard since I arrived in Canada. Toto, we’re not in Beijing anymore. In 2008, with the Olympic Games a week and a half away, the city was buzzing with anticipation and chaotic with last minute preparations. Thousands of people were … Continue reading Olympics: Canada Style
This blog was born so that I could post to my friends, family and anyone else interested from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Now on the eve of 2010 Olympics, as I prepare to board an airplane for British Columbia, I find myself blogging again and reflecting on the only other time I was in Vancouver. I was 10 years old and my great uncle … Continue reading Greyhound Bus to Vancouver
The Los Angeles Times and the New York Times are doing a great job reporting a backstory in Haiti. Their journalists are telling how broadcast and cable news handled the incredible logistics of deploying their people to Port Au Prince to cover the story. This is not to diminish the role of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube and cell phones, but to get people like Anderson Cooper of CNN, … Continue reading Haiti Earthquake: Telling the Story
My story on slum tourism or “poorism” has been chosen by Ode Magazine as one of its top 10 positive stories of 2009. It ran in the April travel issue. This is my first magazine article and it came as a result of stories I introduced on my blog. http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/62/slum-tours/ http://www.odemagazine.com/exchange/13599/ode_s_top_10_positive_stories_from_2009 For more information about Vicky Collins visit http://www.teletrendstv.com Continue reading Slum Tourism
To celebrate Barbie’s 50th anniversary a line of Muslim Barbie dolls have been released to help Arabic children connect. There’s a love/hate relationship with Burka Barbie. They wear hijab and brightly colored burkas. What do you think of this diversity doll? http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2009/12/arab-world-burka-barbie-iconic-doll-gets-an-islamic-makeover-for-50th-anniversary.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BabylonBeyond+%28Babylon+%26+Beyond+Blog%29 For more information on Vicky Collins visit http://teletrendstv.com. Continue reading Burka Barbie
Hawaii is seeing the biggest waves in 40 years. We were at this exact spot on the North Shore of Oahu at the end of October. Waimea Bay was calm and my son, Blair, jumped off the rocks that these people are videotaping from. To give perspective Da Big Rock, as it is called, is about 75 feet high. Earlier this week the waves were up to … Continue reading Hawaii’s Big Waves
It’s hard to wrap your head around what Aron Ralston had to do in a slot canyon in Utah in 2003. While hiking he dislodged a boulder and his arm was pinned beneath the huge rock for six days. To escape certain death he amputated his own arm then rappelled down a 65 foot wall and hiked eight miles before he found help. The act … Continue reading Meeting Aron Ralston
Esther Heller tells me she used to be a dancer. She says she won competitions in Paris and Athens and even Kamchatka (although she no longer is certain where that is.) She used to teach dancing in Denver. Waltzes and Polkas and Fox Trots. She did it for free so people could learn to move their feet. But now Esther’s feet have betrayed her. Until … Continue reading Esther’s Last Dance
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