2008 January | Words & Tricks

4 differences between Belize and Costa Rica

January 30th, 2008 | 4 Comments | Posted in Advice, Travel by Chris Pommier

While Jonah and I braved the winding mountain roads above Arenal Lake on our way to Monteverde, I couldn’t help but think back to our travels in Belize a year ago. I’m admittedly biased against tropical vacations, and I’m easily distracted. Put those two traits together and I found myself wondering, what the hell was I doing here? Didn’t I see this palm tree last year? I swear, didn’t I hear that same bird in Belize?

To take my mind off the dizzying drop to my left, I listed a few of the differences between the two destinations. Our van dipped and lurched and clambered into the foothills as I counted … More »

Talking Trackbacks

January 29th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in Advice by Chris Pommier

For some reason I’ve always been confused by the process of using trackbacks and why they are important in blogging.

Thank goodnedss for the web. Teli Adlam explain it well
here, at least in terms of WordPress. Considering this blog is now WordPress-powered (I migrated from Blogger), I found it very handy.

New German monument to gays and lesbians killed in the Holocaust

January 29th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in Gay, News by Chris Pommier

As reported in the New York Times today:

On Monday, Germany’s minister of culture, Bernd Neumann, announced that construction could begin in Berlin on two monuments: one near the Reichstag, to the murdered Gypsies, known here as the Sinti and the Roma; and another not far from the Brandenburg Gate, to gays and lesbians killed in the Holocaust.

Geopolitical Sci-Fi: Parag Khanna Delves into the Future

January 29th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in Opinion by Chris Pommier

Parag Khanna, senior research fellow at the New American Foundation and director of the Global Governance Initiative, wrote a treatise in the New York Times Magazine this weekend on a post-American globe.

It is 2016, and …America’s standing in the world remains in steady decline.

Mr. Khanna defines global leadership in terms of the marketplace and which superpowers “make the rules.” He portrays the United States as losing ground to both the EU and China. He dismisses Russia, the nation of Islam and India. It is well worth a read, though a little long for perusing at work.

What do you think?

A whole year? And, upcoming ….

January 28th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in Travel by Chris Pommier

So, it’s been an entire year since I last posted to my old blog. I’ve since moved the whole mess to WordPress, which took me weeks to learn and tweak and set up. Finally, here it is.

Oh yeah, and I’ve gone to Costa Rica. I’ll be posting some of what I learned traveling there for 11 days.

Our itinerary

From the San Jose airport my partner and I bussed to El Castillo located near the southeast shore of Lake Arenal, where we stayed at the Hummingbird’s Nest. The nest night we stayed at the Arenal Observatory Lodge as close to the volcano as you can safely get. Then, Monteverde and Santa Elena, back to San Jose, and finally Hotel Plinio in Manuel Antonio, one of the most gorgeous places you can visit in Costa Rica. If you need any advice on those areas, leave a comment below, or email me at chris [at] chrispommier.com.

Some highlights from my trip: More »