Topics

Oct

Aha Moment: Halloween!

by Joyce McGreevy on October 31, 2016

A 19th century, bat-themed French Halloween costume offers an aha moment about Halloween around the world.

In 19th century France, Madame goes batty for Halloween.

Goblin Day Goes Global

What’s as changeable as a costume shop and has more frequent flyer miles than a witch’s broom? Halloween, of course.

An ancient tradition that’s as new as this season’s marketing trends, the popularity of Halloween around the world is soaring. An agile shapeshifter, it both adapts to and changes the way cultures celebrate.

A vintage ghost-themed Halloween sign offers an aha moment just right for Halloween around the world.

Halloween’s treats can be tricky!

But just when you think you’ve captured the essence of Halloween—solemn, scary, crass, or silly—it surprises you. Read on for an aha moment or two on global Halloween trends, tricks, and treats: Read more...

Joyce McGreevy 1 Comment

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Worldwide Sites

Oct

Photographing Amazing Places on Earth

by Meredith Mullins on October 18, 2016

Ocean wave over lighthouse in North Portugal, one of the amazing places in the world to photograph. (Image © John North/iStock.)

A collision of forces (North Portugal)
© John North/iStock

Lighthouses: A Magnet for the Collision of Nature’s Forces

Some of the most amazing places on earth are at its edges. Drama is inevitable at these gateways to the vast beyond.

Collisions of nature’s forces are expected—at the polar tips and rugged coastlines, at the intersection of earth, sea, and sky.

These are the same places that made the early explorers afraid of the treacherous, cavernous ledges—at the edge of the flat world—as the curves of the earth disappeared from their view.

And it is here—in these natural theaters—that productions are anything but ordinary. Read more...

Meredith Mullins 4 Comments

Adventure Travel/The World's Photography/Wales

Oct

Discoveries: Serenity in Cities

by Joyce McGreevy on October 10, 2016

The Culture of Urban Quiet

Marit Krogh's "Seated Girl with Headphones" in Oslo, Norway exemplifies the potential discoveries in urban peace and quiet (© Joyce McGreevy)

Ah, the quest for urban tranquility. “No man should live where he can hear his neighbor’s dog bark.” That’s how ardent ruralist Nathaniel Macon admonished city dwellers.

Macon was born in the 1750s, when 3 percent of the world’s population lived in cities. He also said those words while active in what some consider a major source of annoying noise, the U.S. Congress.

A sign for Quiet Street in Bath, England is one of the more whimsical discoveries in the quest for urban peace and quiet (© Joyce McGreevy)