NSFW: At the Baghdad Cafe with Margrét, My New Favorite Amazon Model
Very little has shocked me like Volkswagen’s “Luv Bug” commercial did this past week… Basically, the spot goes something like this: Over Dean Martin’s brilliant rendition of “The Birds and the Bees,” the ole “if it’s a rockin’ don’t come knockin'” adage rolls through the first ten seconds, complete with foggy windo
Catching up with Margrét, My New Favorite Amazon Model
Margrét, my “New Favorite Amazon Model” has become some sort of a cult hero in the Media Guy Struggles Pantheon of characters. Ah yes, Margrét. Many hold her in the highest regard after an appearing in my number one all time story: Nude Modeling. Funny you ask because just hours before I left for my […]
The AMAs and the One-Armed Man
A funny conversation happened to me during my mad rush to reach Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater to cover the American Music Awards for Fox. Cover might be a reach; I mean working the red carpet isn’t exactly a Pulitzer Prize assignment, but it helps pay the bills. I know what you are saying right now, […]
They Didn’t Make the Cut…
“He who never made a mistake never made a discovery. ” I love this quote quite frankly; it says it all. I hope this past weekend, I didn’t make a mistake with my forthcoming book. In the weeks after two wildly lucky winners in Missouri and Arizona divvied up the $600 million Powerball jackpot, I found myself […]
World Portraits: Soaring
Arabian Peninsula—Rare in many parts of the world, three eagle species, the Greater Spotted Eagle, Imperial Eagle, and Lesser Kestrel, spend winters and early spring throughout the Arabian Peninsula in search of prime areas to mate and lay their few eggs (only one to three per mating season).
World Travels: Snapshots of Forgotten Places
The Middle East is marked by incredible diversity and indelible images. One extended visit erases the misconceptions and opens an entire new world filled with laughing people and overwhelming hospitality. Sights, unseen outside of the region, jump with historical significance and endless stories. Here are just a few. Isfahan, Iran…The cool blue tiles of Isfahan‘s [&hell
World Portraits: Deal or No Deal
Marrakesh, Morocco…By far the biggest challenge you’ll face in Marrakesh is a shopping trip, as the art of the deal is a way of life in Morocco. Everyone bargains, sometimes over tea or trinkets, and it’s only considered a satisfactory purchase after the bargain is settled upon. The usual practice with tourists is to ask […]
World Portraits: Sabkha
Umm Said, Qatar…Sabkha is an Arabic name for a salt-flat or very saline areas of sand or silt lying just above the water-table. The salt crust can easily support the weight of a human and sometimes cars. While unseen in the image, a solid desert of white sand sits only yards beyond the flat.
World Portraits: Escape
Maalula Village, Syria—According to legend, Saint Tekla was stalked by an unforgiving, scorned fiancé who tried repeatedly to kill her for her religious beliefs. Eventually she sought refuge in a grotto in the cliff around the bend where a convent — now named in her honor — was built. She used this escape route to move […]
World Portraits: Catered Coffee
In the center of the grand souk in the shadows of the massive sandstone minarets, stands Ahmed. For 30 years the “human drinking fountain,” as he is known, has provided sparkling cupfuls of liquid relief from the hot desert days. He says that shoppers, who repeatedly visit him throughout the day feel as if they […]
