Saturday, June 07, 2008

The Worldly JUNE 2008 Issue

Dear reader,The following posts represent our new articles for the June Issue of The Worldly. Click on the post titles to read the full articles, and please feel free to comment on any and all of them. We have some great topics up for discussion this month, from travel to culture to race relations.

For the unacquatined, The Worldly is a web magazine and 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We rely on your support and donations to keep running. Meanwhile, 100% of profits from our store go to a different international charity every month.

This month we're raising $250 to buy a water buffalo for poor families in the Philippines, so stop on by!



THE TROPICANA - A World of Cuban Fantasy

Situated on the outskirts of Havana in lush tropical gardens, the Tropicana, from 1939 until our times has been a myth mixed with fantasy. Established as a casino/entertainment nightspot by the mafia, it became a mecca for American tourists before the Cuban revolution. Then after the overthrow of Batista, it was turned into a folkloric cabaret for workers who performed well at their jobs. Today the wheel has turned a full circle and again the Tropicana has become a major tourist attraction - sans the mafia, roulette wheels and slot machines...


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SHANE COOPER STAYS INSANE - An Unconventional New Zealand Artist Creates Provocative Museum Pieces When He's Not Engineering Software

Shane Cooper’s day job keeps him sane. His artwork, according to him, keeps him insane, and for that, he is very grateful.

As a software engineer, his work “satisfies some weird, autistic urge inside me,” says Cooper. “It’s not that my work is boring, it is in fact highly challenging and I am constantly learning new things, but I need an outlet for the bizarre thoughts and images that are constantly flowing through my brain...”


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THE LAYERS OF LIFE IN SAYULITA - A Small Mexican Beach Town is Heaven... Or Is It?

This last May I spent the entire month in Mexico. I stayed in a little beach town in Nayarit called Sayulita. Like most places today, the city has reached a crossroads between progression and modernization, or maintaining old traditions. I heard conversations about rising costs, increasing numbers of Americans buying property and continuing modernization. The oldest ATM machine has only been around for two years. People there still remember the days when horses provided the only means of transportation...


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MY LUFTMARE - A Traveler Encounters an Un-crossable Barrier in Frankfurt


When we travel internationally, we usually concentrate on passports, visas, impending lack of sleep, and possible diarrhea. And so when I was to make what would be my final return trip to Russia in 2004, I thought I had all eventualities covered...


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