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Aug

Wordplay: Wit and Wisdom in Public Spaces

by Joyce McGreevy on August 16, 2016

A hair salon in Glasgow, Scotland typifies the wit and wordplay of signage in public spaces. Image © Joyce McGreevy

Hair-salon puns, like this one in Glasgow, Scotland, are permanent highlights of signage.
© Joyce McGreevy

Reading the Language of Signs Worldwide

Maybe it’s a sign, you think. You mean that literally. It’s Day 1 in Sofia, Bulgaria, and you’re staring at a wall of words that may signify the name of the street. Or a local ordinance. Or the route to Romania.

You know this much: it’s definitely in Cyrillic. Suddenly, you’re back in the pre-literacy of early childhood, experiencing the world as a dense forest of language whose mysteries you’re not yet able to penetrate.

Oh, I see: Signs are an indispensable element of our public spaces. Read more...

Joyce McGreevy 9 Comments

Art of Travel/Wordplay/Worldwide Sites

Jul

A Ticket to Surf (No Fear)

by Eva Boynton on July 11, 2016

A shark fin in the ocean, prompting creative thinkers to invent shark repellent (image © DIgitalStorm/Thinkstock).

The shark fin—native to its ocean habitat and symbol of horror films.
© DigitalStorm/Thinkstock

Creative Thinkers Invent Shark Repellent

Ahhhh. A beach vacation with adventure—

Catching a wave in Australia

Diving in Hawaii’s coral reef

Kayaking the coast of California

You won’t be alone . . . dunah . . . dunah. That’s right, there will be other tourists there too! And of course, marine life, possibly sharks.

Surfers, who decide to play in the playground of a predator, are used to taking a ration of fear along for the ride. But now ocean enthusiasts and other creative thinkers have teamed up to develop a shark repellent that relaxes the mind and eliminates the fear for surfers. Read more...

Eva Boynton Comments

Adventure Travel/Innovations/Rides (Land, Sea, Air)/Worldwide Sites

May

The Travel Sketchbook

by Eva Boynton on May 23, 2016

A hand holding a travel sketchbook on a hike, illustrating that many an aha moment waits inside. (image © Kolby Kirk).

There’s an Aha Moment on Every Page!

For me, it’s impossible to start a trip without this one essential item: my travel sketchbook. It is my eyes, my memory, my inquisitive mind on paper. Together we take on the world.

It is in the act of drawing that I learn to look, listen, perceive, and remember. In fact, I have not experienced a place fully unless I have sketched it.

Drawing of a jungle collection and inside of a house, showing an aha moment within a travel sketchbook (image © Eva Boynton).

Eva Boynton 6 Comments

Art of Travel/Life Lessons/Worldwide Sites

World Views: