Aha!

I think I've figured out why it's not working: I'm using Internet Explorer. I'm following the instructions for embedding a YouTube video into a GoogleMap provided by Google, but I think that IE might be messing everything up.

Second Try

View My Havana in a larger map

First Attempt

So I made a map of Havana to embed within this blog, but because it's Cuba, they don't allow you to use the YouTube layer as well. When I tried, it immediately disabled that function. Go figure...

View My Havana in a larger map

Lists, Lists, Lists

Places I want to visit before I'm 30, in no particular order:
• Patagonia, Argentina
  
• Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
  
• Santiago, Chile
  
• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  
• Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  
• Caracas, Venezuela
  
• Basically anywhere. Going somewhere? Take me with you.
  

My favorite cooking websites, in a very particular order:
1. Epicurious.com- The most comprehensive recipe source on the internet. Hands down.
   
2. Cookstr.com- Compiled by chefs, for chefs. Their weekly top ten recipes are constantly inspiring, yet attainable.
   
3. CooksIllustrated.com- Love all the recipes and the scientific approach used to explain them. I just wish it wasn't a subscription based site, otherwise it would top my list.
   
4. EatMeDaily.com- Not a recipe website, per se, but the best compilation of food news, videos, and other content on the web.
   

Spring Break: Photography

I got back from spring break 2010 late on Saturday night after spending the week in Peru and Panama.  I had the most amazing time, despite the fact that my childhood dream of visiting the Incan city of Machu Picchu had been dashed by torrential rains that closed the cite.  We didn’t let this get us down, though, and embarked upon a 3 day trek through the Andes, visiting many Inca sites and Quechua villages along the way.

I’m currently taking a photography class, and dragged my film SLR camera along to capture parts of my journey.  I’m excited to develop my film and see how amazing the glacial mountains look on old fashioned black and white celluloid.  Hopefully some of the photos will count towards a critique I have due in a couple of weeks, but even if they don’t I will not be disappointed.  I’ll be glad to have a tangible record of my trip, and I’m looking forward (for once) to spending hours in the dark room perfect the prints.

I also took along my digital point and shoot camera, which turned out some pretty decent pictures.  I was traveling with my family, and each of us were taking pictures at every turn, so by the end I started relying on them to take the photos.  My parents are still in the Amazon, but will be returning this weekend, and I can’t wait for them to send me their photos.  I know my Dad in particular took lots of pictures of Quechua children, who, in my humble opinion, are some of the most beautiful kids I’ve ever seen.  With their bright rosy cheeks, dark tan skin, big chocolate eyes, and strikingly colorful outfits, the photos are sure to be breathtaking.

I was glad to talk about photography in class today, and it seemed to relate well to my interests at the moment.  I’ll embed some photos here, and add some more once my parents send their photos along.  Maybe I’ll even scan some of my film prints to see how that translates onto the web.  There’s nothing like holding it you hands, though, so I might save them for my personal collection.

Lions, Tigers, and Blogs, Oh My!

I read a lot of blogs on a fairly regular basis, and what type of blogs I'm reading at any particular time usually coincides with something going on in my life.  So last year, when I was working at a boutique in Dupont Circle, I read gofugyourself, Yahoo answers, Perez Hilton, and mental floss to keep me entertained during my long shifts in an empty store.  Each blog had been recommended by a different coworker.  The only one that has stayed in my bookmarks is gofugyourself.  I really think its a great, if not always fashion forward, blog.  Its very accessible: everyone can relate to trash talking the terrible outfits that celebrities wear.  It also lets you vote on outfits to decide how terrible they are, engaging the audience with the content.  These reasons, and the biting criticism, keep me coming back for more week after week.

After going abroad to Cuba, I started picking up on a lot more political blogs.  I had always read Wonkette and DCist, but this summer I started following GeneracionY, a blog written by a Cuban dissident living in Havana, Yoani Sanchez.  I added half a dozen or so other Cuba related blogs to my feed to keep up on news coming from my semester-long home. 

Last semester I took a class called Political Ecology of Food and Agriculture with Professor Simon Nicholson here at AU.  This class raised many interesting issues surrounding food sources, sustainability, and responsible production. At the same time, I was beginning to cook more and more at home, mostly because I had a new apartment with a kitchen that was big enough to actually work in, as opposed to the dorm kitchens or the ones in the Berks.  Following this trend, I sought out foodie blogs to keep me on the cutting edge of food news.  I joined Cookstr, a site operated by chefs, and expanded my recipe box on epicurious.  I also started reading Eat Me Daily, my favorite food blog.  It was the perfect compilation of news, recipes, photos, and entertaining tidbits.  Unfortunately, it has gone on hiatus, and I have not found an adequate replacement.

Now, I'm taking a photography class and have started reading (or viewing, more accurately) a lot of photo blogs.  Most of these are fashion related, like purple DIARY, The Sartorialist, and Fashion Gone Rogue.  As a second semester senior, I have also decided I want to take advantage of all the district has to offer while I'm still young and not too set in my ways.  In this vein, I've started reading social guides like Pamela's Punch and BYT to get a better sense of the up and coming places to go, things to do, and people to meet.  

And of course, there are a couple of blogs I read just for fun.  Right now, Slaughterhouse 90120 is at the top of my list, but This is why you're fat, People of Walmart, and Texts From Last Night (obviously) are up there too.  I also check Craigslist Missed Connections on a frighteningly regular basis.  It may not be a blog per se, but the posts are just as hilarious as any other intentionally comedic blog out there.  

Surprise!

I made it to class on time! For the first time this section, possibly this semester.  Even though I was on time, the extra time didn't really help much.  HTML and CSS are still super confusing to me.  Especially once we started using  DreamWeaver.  I understand the basics and the theory, I guess, but DreamWeaver is just ridiculous.  It makes me glad to be a journalism major and not graphic design, computer science, or anything with web design.  

Blog Analysis Choice:

For my blog analysis assignment, I will analyze thesartorialist.com, a fashion photo blog created by Scott Schuman. I love Schuman's approach to fashion, and his appreciation for the out-of-the-ordinary. I hope my analysis will allow me to better understand the aspects of a great blog.

Trial Audio