Carnival erupts in Rio amid scorching heat wave

By BRADLEY BROOKS (AP) RIO DE JANEIRO — Carnival’s raucous street parties flooded Rio with drum-beating local revelers and sweaty foreigners escaping snowbound cities. Thousands danced to a samba beat on the cobbled streets of the bohemian Santa Teresa neighborhood, donning skimpy costumes bordering on blasphemous. At the “Carmelitas” party — named after a nearby [...]

Worlds Largest Luxury Cruise Liner

When the Oasis of the Seas hits the waters in late 2009, she will be the largest and most revolutionary cruise ship in the world. Made for Royal Caribbean International, the Oasis of the Seas cruise ship is the epitome of luxury, featuring 16 decks, 2700 staterooms, and the capacity to accommodate 5,400 guests at [...]

Cleveland terrible city, silver lining

So why in the hell was I going to Cleveland, the place known affectionately to other’s from Ohio as the “Armpit of Ohio”? Well work, of course. More specifically I was visiting the partner company to my current employer. I’ll leave the company names out, mostly because I really love my job and our partner [...]

Blame it on Rio

“Blame it on Rio” or “The bitch who tried to ruin paradise” or “Beautiful, the story of Rio”. Take your pick, but our trip to the center of the male universe could have been titled many things and all of them would have easily applied. For many, the only vision they can recall of Rio [...]

Joshua Tree

Humans have occupied the area encompassed by Joshua Tree National Park’s nearly 800,000 acres for at least 5,000 years. The first group known to inhabit the area was the Pinto Culture, followed by the Serrano, the Chemehuevi, and the Cahuilla, hunting and gathering along a slow-moving river that ran through the now dry Pinto Basin. [...]