armchair-field-trip

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Armchair Field Trip to Grenada: Chocolate!!!

Oh, God bless the Grenada Chocolate Company, makers of the world's best organic dark chocolate (the Guardian agrees with me on this). I learned one particularly interesting factlet on the tour of the darling factory, which claims to be the world's smallest -- a fact so surprising that I almost hated to check it, lest it turn out to be untrue. But Yahoo backed it up: Because of the ingredients, many people (including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) don't consider "white chocolate" to be chocolate at... READ ON

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Armchair Field Trip to Grenada: Parang!

In Europe they have the Eurovision Song Contest; in Carriacou, there's Parang, which features slightly less ridiculous outfits but has all sorts of other elements of competitive showmanship: The main objective of organizing the festival was to revive and keep alive the "house to house" serenading of string bands. At that time this indigenous aspect of our culture was slowing dying. "¦ Carriacou Parang is filled with fun, humor and excitement. The lyrics in the songs are rather... READ ON

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Armchair Field Trip to Grenada: Carriacou

We're currently settling into our little cottage on Carriacou, the largest of the Grenadines, the island chain off Grenada. And by "large" I mean 13 square miles and a population under 5,000. The main cultural influences here are French, Amerindian, Carib, and British. This last has some very real consequences: The queen of England is also the queen of Grenada, and the village of Windward on Carriacou has a big population of Scottish and Irish boatbuilders. Also, according to Wikipedia,... READ ON

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On my Christmas list #5: A Week in the Caribbean

And this is one you're going to be hearing about all next week, as I gloat take you with me on an Armchair Field Trip (or in my case, an actual trip) to Grenada. I got my wish! But don't worry, I'll still be checking in with you guys while I'm traveling, because I am an enormous dork. A little trivia from Wikipedia and Grenada Explorer to get things started: The recorded history of Grenada begins in 1498, when Christopher Columbus first sighted the island. The Amerindians called their island... READ ON

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What Happens in Intercourse

I just returned from a very enjoyable weekend in picturesque Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Lancaster is the heart of Amish Country, the mecca of sexually suggestive towns, and -- for one day in 1777 -- home of our nation's capital. Let's tackle those in random order. Our nation's capital. On September 27, 1777, after fleeing Philadelphia, the Continental Congress set up shop in Lancaster. But only for a day. The mobile capital tour moved on to York, PA. Sexually suggestive towns. On the way... READ ON

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The only thing that makes more sense than a gun/guitar

That's right, it's a cooking range/chair. I don't know... it actually looks kind of fun from the pics, and the perfect gadget for keeping your seat toasty in the winter. And I'm sure it'd be a big hit in closet-size apartments the world over (fire hazard issues aside). Click here to read more. Link via... READ ON

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I'm rubber, you're glue...

I saw this superglue ad on ettf and thought it was pretty amusing. Oh, if only the UN could invest in a bit of rubber cement or Scotch tape and patch up the... READ ON

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Armchair Field Trip: Rhinebeck, NY

Ah, historic Hudson Valley"¦ the place where allergy sufferers go this time of year to keep Kleenex in business. Having recently been there, I can tell you this is a) true and b) most unfortunate because c) it's so gosh-darn beautiful up there, you'll want to whip out a canvas and paint some landscapes "“ which can get pretty messy if you have to stop every few minutes to blow your nose. Another reason to wander up yonder is the Beekman Arms: our country's oldest continuously operated hotel,... READ ON