Tales from the Crypt: Global Gems from the OS Morgue
pat-on-mars Earth at Night
It's been a long political year in the U. S. of A. and I, for one, am feeling quite enervated. And working the midnight shift here in the Open Salon morgue is probably not prescribed in the Materia Medica as a sure fire rejuvenator. But lo and behold! in the course of my 2 A.M. rambles, I came across this wondrous image of the earth posted by pat-on-mars . Inspired, I kept discovering pieces from around the world which quite distracted me from my parochial, quotidian concerns, as I hope they do you. What impressed me most is the range of knowledge, wit, erudition and expansive, eclectic interests displayed by our fellow Open Salonistas here.
The selections are, of course, arbitrary. They all portray some part of the world outside the U.S. Each includes an arresting image. And, at least, for me, they illuminate some aspect of the relevant country or culture that may not be found in a travelogue. (You can click the hotlinks or the pictures themselves to go to the original post.)
Procopius The Turks are at the Gates
Lotf Ali A Visit to Tehran 
The Not-so-Old World. Susanne's piece is a moveable feast. Try her ribollita recipe (we did --vegetarian style-- yumm.). In all his diaries, Rob displays a non-picture postcard eye and flair for the unusual. Is there anywhere Artsfish has not been and photographed for our delight? Her Australian sojourn after 9-11 is particularly touching. And I was moved by Sally Swift's piece for what it was, without sub-text, an evocation of a happy reunion of an extended, global family.
And, finally, Oy Canada ('twere always thus -- last but not least, Canada). I wish I could honestly say it was a close contest between Cam Battley and the actual winner as to who would be the better companion for traversing that vast winter wonderland. But it wasn't. I mean I would personally hang with Cam, who is charming, erudite and articulate , and my fellow canines Angel and Russ; but on those endless, cold nights on the frozen tundra the public voted overwhelmingly for the eventual winner ..... Toronto's own:
G'Amour
Aanya Whiteside The Glittering World of Gamour
If I have missed any worthy candidates, pray be not offended. Just put them in the Comments field. As Gonorrhea said to her aged P.:
How have I offended?
All's not offense that indiscretion finds
And dotage terms so.
-- King Lear II,4
And if you've read this far, THUMB ME before you leave. And please, if this post leads you to visit some of the sites that inspired me, as I hope it will, leave your pawprints there as well.
WOOF
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Comments
Anyway - Fabulous! I love your "tales from the crypt " series - you have such a good nose for it - and thanks for the notice of my Aussie post, I think I just got a "CCC's PICK"!
I can't wait to check all these gems after the little ones go to bed.
Seriously, this is one thing missing from the way Open Salon runs. It's a set of highlights from the past 24 to 48 hours, with very brief list of greatest hits off to the side. But really, there's a lot of richness and connections that just go by unless someone (i.e. CCC) puts it all together.
Don't miss DogWoman's new post folks, it's beyond current definitions of AWWWWWsome! Find it at http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=32691
I don't know why it is not yet an Editor's Choice. She included Kerry's kitty after all!
To echo Liz: Booonus canis! Boooonus canis!
Matt
Like Kellylark, I too have bookmarked this and will come back to it.
Thank you so much.
How I wish I had more time to read all the amazing posts here on OS.
Someday soon...hopefully.
Margie.
But what I really want to test is whether this sort of compilation or anthologizing induces anyone to go and read the noted posts (assuming my tastes and critical faculties aren't totally wacko). And the only way to find out would be if those of you who actually do visit these sites, rate them -- I've, of course, noted the original stats prior to posting.
Thanks again.
WOOF
Delicious, colorful, inspirational and so much fun!
tried to fig out ur ID, cd only find caveat emptor (beware the buyer), caveat venditor (beware the seller), cave canem (beware the Dog), croce b (critic), so probably urs wd = beware the Dog critic or perhaps "beware the Dog's critique" - what do u prefer?