The Amateur Traveler talks again to Jason and Janie about their hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia. Charlottesville was has deep historic roots and the homes of Presidents Jefferson and Madison with the home of Monroe close by as well. Charlottesville is also the home of the University of Virginia and Thomas Jefferson was more proud of founding the institution than of being president. The area is now the home to numerous wineries and numerous restaurants and hosts a thriving food culture. Charlottesville is also a gateway to the Shenandoah Valley as well as other areas for hiking and outdoor activities.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Michael Tieso about his recent trip to Bolivia. He was traveling from Argentina to Peru and at first Bolivia was just in the way, but he discovered a country worth seeing.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Lee Moore again about China. Lee comes back on the show to talk about his time in the Yunnan Provence in the southwest corner of China. Yunnan is on the border with Laos, Myanmar and Tibet. 

The Amateur Traveler talks to Photographer Ralph Velasco about two of his favorite cities in Spain, Toledo and Segovia. Both Toledo and Segovia are a short distance from Madrid and both offer interesting and historically significant cities with UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Hear about travel to Victoria Falls as the Amateur Traveler talks to Nir Ben-Dov about his trip to this spectacular falls on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. This was Nir’s second trip and his wife’s first trip from their home in Israel to this famed set of falls in southern Africa.

Hear about travel to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jodi Ettenberg from legalnomads.com.

Hear about travel to Vienna, Austria as the Amateur Traveler talks to Gerhard Strassgschwandtner who is a tour guide and owner of the Third Man Museum in Vienna.

Hear about travel to the island of Vieques off Puerto Rico as the Amateur Traveler talks to Ira Winston from Philadelphia about his recent trip there. Vieques is an island thais 8 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico.

Hear about travel to Riga, Latvia as the Amateur Traveler  talks again to Spud Hilton, the travel editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, about his recent trip there. Riga is a surprisingly beautiful European city and the 2014 Capital of Culture for Europe.

Hear about travel to the Silk Road in China's Gansu Province as the Amateur Traveler talks again to Lee Moore from Silk Road Hitchhikers about his trip to this historic and remote part of China.

Hear about travel to Seville, Spain as the Amateur Traveler talks to Cat Gaa from sunshineandsiestas.com about life in her adopted city. Hear about what to see, do and eat in Seville. 

Hear about travel to Tel Aviv, Israel as the Amateur Traveler talks to Shimrit Elisar from diytelavivguide.com about her home city.

Hear about travel to Louisville, Kentucky as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jason Falls, social media author and speaker about his home town.

Jason says, "Louisville is a fantastic city, it also has a lot going on from a tourism standpoint.

A special live episode of the Amateur Traveler with three guests, Aaron Saunders, Jonathan Souza and Mary Quincy talking about the recent VikingSocial, Viking River Cruise on the Douro River in Portugal.

Hear about a Baltic Cruise on Viking Ocean as the Amateur Traveler talks to Mary Jo Manzanares from travelingwithmj.com about their recent Viking Homelands cruise on the Viking Sea.

Hear about travel to Richmond, Virginia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Becky Pekora from TheGirlAndGlobe.com about her adopted hometown.

Hear about travel to Northern Vietnam as the Amateur Traveler talks to Cindy Carlsson about her trip to some popular sites and some way off the beaten track places.

Hear about travel to Providence, Rhode Island as the Amateur Traveler talks to Tamara Gruber from we3travel.com and the Vacation Mavens podcast about travel other home town.

Hear about travel to the U.S. and British Virgin Islands as the Amateur Traveler talks to Captain Shane McClellan about a sailing trip to the area.

Hear about visiting Universal Orlando Resort as the Amateur Traveler talks to Eric Stoen from travelbabbo.com about he and his kids favorite theme parks.

In this special episode of Amateur Traveler, I get to introduce to you some of the wonderful people who joined me in Africa last May. We drove overland from Johannesburg, South Africa to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. 

Hear about travel to Virunga National Park as the Amateur Traveler talks to Niall from Ireland about his visit to this stunning national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Hear about things to do in Asheville, NC as the Amateur Traveler talks to music journalist and cocktail aficionado Bill Kopp about his adopted hometown.

Hear about travel to southern West Virginia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Ethan Starcher from WaywardWings.net about his home state.

Imam Shaker Elsayed offered an explanation for the coronavirus pandemic that is not surprising considering the source: He blamed the Jews. The controversial imam didn’t stop there during his sermon at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center last month. The Falls Church, Virginia, mosque has a history of ties to terrorism, according to the New York…

The post Virginia Imam: Allah Used COVID-19 To Punish Jews appeared first on The Western Journal.

At a cost of $7.5 million a patient, they were 16 very expensive field hospitals. Yet, according to NPR, those hospitals are now “stand[ing] down.” You probably remember them from headlines early in the pandemic: makeshift medical centers being assembled at breakneck speed by companies contracted by the Army Corps of Engineers in anticipation of…

The post After Treating Barely Any Patients for a Massive $7.5 Million Each, 16 Emergency COVID Hospitals Are Standing Down appeared first on The Western Journal.

Eleven members of the Secret Service have tested positive for COVID-19, according a new report. Yahoo News reported Friday it has seen Department of Homeland Security documents which show that 11 individuals currently have the virus and that 23 members of the Secret Service have recovered from the disease. Another 60 employees of the agency…

The post Report: Secret Service Discovers Nearly a Dozen Coronavirus Cases in Its Own Ranks appeared first on The Western Journal.

This past year, I predicted the fall of both Zuck and Trump, not to mention the triumph of cannabis and rationale markets. But in 2019, the sociopaths won – bigly. Damn, was I wrong. One year ago this week, I sat down to write my annual list of ten or so predictions for the coming … Continue reading "Predictions Review: Trump, Zuck Crush My Optimism In 2019"

Who’s Really Behind That “Death of the Techlash” Narrative?   One of my least favorite kinds of journalism is the easy win. It’s the kind of story that just lands in your lap. It feels contrarian, yet of the moment, it’s often predicated by the appearance of a primary source dangling easy data, and unlike most … Continue reading "Will The Coronavirus Save Big Tech?"

By easing distancing measures, the Greater Montreal area could experience a substantial increase in the number of deaths per day due to the coronavirus, according to a new document published by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) in collaboration with experts from Laval University.

Bitcoin will “halve” for the third time next week, slowing down the discovery of new bitcoins and preventing disruptions from new miners. Read more...

Google's video chat app got new features this week. No, the other one. No, the other other one.

In a Friday blog post, Google announced some snazzy new features for Duo, one of its three video chat services. Let's get this out of the way early: Duo is the one that's mobile-friendly and resembles FaceTime more than Hangouts and Meet.

The new features make more sense with that in mind. Google added something called "Family Mode" to Duo, in which you can draw silly little doodles on the video feed, presumably to amuse the little ones on the call. There are also AR effects you can use on one-on-one calls on Android and iOS, similar to those available on Facebook's video calls. Read more...

'Hollywood' actor Samara Weaving lets us in on all of the movies and television she's been watching during quarantine.   Read more...

TL;DR: Give a meaningful gift during these difficult times with a Tribute Video Montage for $64.99, a 34% saving as of May 9.

A Zoom happy hour only goes so far.

If you're looking for a way to celebrate and send affection to your loved ones, regardless of the reason, check out Tribute Video Montage as an alternative to those wonky (and sometimes awkward) video calls. 

Sending a Tribute might just be one of the best morale-boosting presents you can send during these trying times. It's a way for friends and family to share their love and appreciation for someone they want to celebrate, whether for a major milestone, like a 50th anniversary or 30th birthday or just because. The platform is super easy to use and breaks a 10-hour process down to just 10 minutes. Read more...

Internet of Yum digs into all the things that make us drool while we're checking our feeds.

The famously sensitive strongman, actor Terry Crews, is screaming at the top of his lungs. In another time and place, you would be sure he was getting tortured. Which, essentially he is — just not as a form of punishment. Instead, the misery is all in the name of promotional entertainment, with Crews' self-inflicted tears generating views for the YouTube series Hot Ones.

Across the centuries, people have watched transfixed as others dare to eat disgusting, torturous, or sickening amounts of food. The specifics change with the venue, but it is a consistent form of entertainment.  Read more...

Americans have been receiving contradictory information about the coronavirus pandemic, so much so that it's become a joke. One example is face masks: In March, the World Health Organization advised people to not wear masks if they aren't sick or caretakers of the sick. 

But given that some coronavirus patients are asymptomatic, opinions of masks from top officials have shifted. The CDC and the media now advise you to wear a damn mask. And a new study may provide more evidence that masks can help beat the outbreak.

According to this study, if 80 percent of Americans wore masks, coronavirus infections would plummet, Vanity Fair reports. The title of the study makes the researchers' view clear: Universal Masking is Urgent in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Read more...

Rita J. King, co-director and EVP for business development at Science House, recently conducted a series of interviews with business leaders, exploring the challenges and hurdles companies face in evolving business landscapes. In this interview, King chats with James Jorasch, founding CEO of Science House, about the importance of innovation and how to inspire and […]

Rita J. King, co-director and EVP for business development at Science House, recently conducted a series of interviews with business leaders, exploring the challenges and hurdles companies face in evolving business landscapes. In this interview, King chats with Dana Codispoti, head of HR Transformation at AIG, about how to address the human factor in business […]

Yesterday saw the online premier of a mini-episode of a new animated comic series based on the classic Gilbert Shelton underground comic, the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. As a hippie wannabe teen in the 70s, this (and Zap! Comics) was everything to me.

In 1969, life in San Francisco consists of free love, communal living, and political protest. Freewheelin’ Franklin Freek (Harrelson), Fat Freddy Freekowtski (Goodman), Phineas T. Phreakers (Davidson) and their mischievous, foul-mouthed cat, Kitty (Haddish) spend their days dodging many things —- the draft, the narcs, and steady employment -– all while searching for an altered state of bliss.

But after partaking of a genetically-mutated strain of marijuana, the Freaks wake up 50 years later to discover a much different society. Quickly feeling like fish out of water in a high-tech world of fourth-wave feminism, extreme gentrification and intense political correctness, the Freaks learn how to navigate life in 2020 -— where, surprisingly, their precious cannabis is now legal.

OK, sounds good. But is it? If the reaction to the first mini-episode is any indication, maybe the Freaks should have remained in their drug-induced coma. As one Facbooker commented: "Get yourself a collected set of the original comic and skip this drivel!"

Read the rest

The Leopards Ate My Face subreddit is dedicated to mocking people who thought the Republican party would hurt their enemies only to be surprised to find that it hurts them, too. Inspired by a tweet by Adrian Bott—'I never thought leopards would eat MY face,' sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People's Faces Party—it has now banned posts about people who claimed Covid-19 was bullshit only to die of Covid-19. There are simply too many, and it's getting depressing.

"We've seen a billion of them in the past two weeks and the vast majority of them don't fit the subreddit," writes moderator u/ROBOT_OF_WORLD. "People dying from their decisions isn't justice, karmic, or funny." Read the rest

CNBC reports that an aide to Pence has tested positive for COVID-19. This follows yesterday's report that Trump's personal valet tested positive for the virus.

A spokeswoman for Pence did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Pence was scheduled to travel to Des Moines, Iowa, in the morning, but his departure from Andrews Air Force Base was delayed by nearly an hour as staff dealt with news of the diagnosis. Reporters traveling with Pence said several staffers disembarked from Air Force Two just before takeoff.

Photo of Pence: Know Your Meme Read the rest

The Gothamist is reporting the sad news that Gem Spa, the iconic NY corner store that has been a fixture at St. Marks Place and Second Avenue for around 100 years is being forced to shutter its doors and windows for the last time. The Spa has been struggling to keep up with increasing rent prices and COVID-19 has apparently proven to be the final nail in its coffin.

"It’s where Robert Mapplethorpe bought Patti Smith an egg cream on the day they met. It’s on the back cover of the New York Dolls’ 1973 debut (and where, according to lore, Johnny Thunders and others went for post-heroin sugar fixes between sets at CBGB). Before that, it was where Abbie Hoffman gathered Yippies to rain money on the New York Stock Exchange. It’s where Allen Ginsberg, Ted Berrigan, and other neighborhood poets went to pick up the Sunday New York Times on Saturday nights (and which was inevitably commemorated in their poems)."

Read the rest.

Image: Alex Lozupone, CC BY-SA 4.0 Read the rest

Magician Roy Horn, 75, died Thursday after developing symptoms of Covid-19 several days ago. Horn and partner Siegfried Fischbacher ran the most popular stage show in Vegas throughout the 1990s, featuring hundreds of performers, pyrotechnics and a coterie of white tigers at the Mirage hotel. Horn was forced to retire after suffering a stroke before or as a tiger dragged him from the stage by the neck.

TMZ received a statement from Fischbacher:

"Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend. From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried."

Siegfried goes on ... "Roy was a fighter his whole life, including during these final days. I give my heartfelt appreciation to the team of doctors, nurses and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked heroically against this insidious virus that ultimately took Roy's life."

My first visit to the U.S. was a trip to Vegas in 1999. The first thing I remember seeing of America, stepping blearily out of the taxi at the Mirage Hotel after 15 hours in the air, was a colossal fiberglass statue of Siegfried and Roy. God bless America.

Read the rest

Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy, the duo whose extraordinary magic tricks astonished millions until Horn was critically injured in 2003 by one of the act's famed white tigers, has died. He was 75.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, who reported 81 new cases of the disease in her daily update, says there are 4,020 recovered and 1,963 active cases.

Quebec public health officials announced Saturday that a total of 2,786 people have died from COVID-19 and there are now 36,986 confirmed cases.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says three children in the state have now died from a possible complication from the coronavirus involving swollen blood vessels and heart problems.

Canada Post's main plant in Calgary has six confirmed cases of COVID-19. That news was confirmed Friday by Dr. Deena Hinshaw at her daily update.