For me, quality travel literature goes beyond a travel journal or a simple list of dates and events. The “travel-adventure” genre is WAY overdone and generally quite boring to me. Travel literature is writing of high literary value that sets down for posterity the experiences of a man or woman traveling in a land and/or [...]
The Cow-Headed Man
In my parents basement there was a series of colorful plywood doors. Behind the doors were piles of yellowed books crammed into a dark recess in the foundation. They were all of the books in the house. I never understood why my parents, who were avid readers, kept books hidden in the basement. “Can you [...]
Kasha-Katuwe: Tent Rocks National Monument
A Short Guide To: Tent Rocks National Monument (be sure to check out the slide show at the bottom) It is a place for hiking and birding, sure, but this is also a good place to just sit and do nothing. I like those kind of places. Located at about 6,000 feet (1900 meters) on [...]
Manje Kreyol: A Day in the Life of Haitian Food Culture
By eight o’clock in the morning we were bunched up with the boxes, sacks, mules, chickens, children farmers and merchants at the edge of the Artibonite River. Everyone talked at once and the crowd on the opposite shore whooped and hollered encouragement. The boys running the service bailed the silty orange water with plastic cups. [...]
New Mexico’s Valley of Life
The Valle Vidal is a lush mountain basin located in the heart of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in northern New Mexico. Donated to the American People in 1982, the Valle Vidal is managed by the Carson National Forest primarily for it’s wildlife, as well as it’s outstanding scenic and recreational opportunities. The Valle Vidal [...]
Should You Buy Local When Traveling?
Simple answer: Yes. Ok. So you’re the conscious traveler type concerned with how you impact the places you visit. How can you spend money and still benefit the people, environment and communities you visit ? Shop local. I’m a big believer in putting my money where my mouth is. I strongly believe in economic and environmental [...]
Just GIMP It!!
Editor’s note: My good friend John Mata sings the praises of GIMP for photographers who want to have fun and play with their images. I have yet to spend much time with it and suggested that a quick rundown for visitors to this site would be in order. Just GIMP it! We’re all familiar with [...]
New Mexico’s Very Large Array (VLA)
This is the Very Large Array. That, as opposed to the Overwhelmingly Large Telescope, which must be bigger than the Very Large Array, or the European Extremely Large Telescope which must be huge because it is “extremely” …but you don’t really know if it is bigger than “Very Large”. Certainly it is smaller than “Overwhelmingly [...]
Saltstarumen Sound, Norway
In Moby Dick, Melville told us about the “Norway maelstrom”. Well, this is it. For over two-thousand years this amazing place has gripped the northern mind. Located at the base of the 250 million year old Caledonian Fold Belt Mountains you can find the Saltstarumen in Norland, about 30km southeast of the small city of [...]
Sweden’s Unsustainable Logging Practices
Guest Post by Erik Hoffner Before departing for a recent reporting assignment for Yale Environment 360 reporting on Sweden’s forestry industry I read Jim O’Donnell’s book that chronicles his 1500-mile trek across Finland. Biodiversity activist Olli Manninen Biodiversity activist Olli Manninen What Jim described in Notes for the Aurora Society was good background for me [...]
Please. Today Voice Your Opposition to SOPA
Please, for those of you in the USA, take a few minutes today to contact your Senator and Congressman and voice your opposition to SOPA – the latest and most serious attempt to censor the internet. Please oppose S.968, the Protect IP Act. This bill could destroy the Internet as we know it. What is [...]
Jim O’Donnell
Author, photographer, explorer, permaculturist, archaeologist, book hound, father…with a bucket list a mile long. And I laugh a lot. I’m committed to diversity, ecology, creativity and justice. I’m the author of “Notes for the Aurora Society
My Shot of the Day
River cops. Orlando, FL
(click photo to view in full)
Current Location:
Orlando, Florida, USA
Currently Reading;
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