vacation from the life

quiet american one-minute vacation S urely you can spare a minute to clean your ears? Take a one-minute vacation from the life you are living. One-minute vacations are unedited recordings of somewhere, somewhen. Sixty seconds of something else. Sixty seconds to be someone else. A new one-minute vacation will be added each week on Monday if I can manage it. T he first year's worth of vacations are archived here , the second here , the third here . You can also purchase compilations of the first two years' worth of vacations on CD; all profits go to charity. You can read more about the project here . Y our participation is encouraged. If you have a recording that you would like to share, here are instructions on how to submit it. If it's your birthday, this is your present. podcast , write me if you have comments. ' Let's go away for awhile, you and I, to a strange and distant land, where they speak no word of truth...' (Weezer) december 19, 2005 950 KB A second week of song: of today's vacation contributor Bradley Iverson-Long writes, 'This was recorded during the Celebration of the Angels concert in Aristotelous Square in Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece. The group on stage in a children's choir; you can hear a lot of the crowd as sadly I wasn't that close to the stage. Most people were there to see Sakis Rouvas, a pop singer, but I think the combination of the crowd mulling and the high voices singing "Little Drummer Boy" in Greek encapsulates the Christmas spirit.' december 12, 2005 1.4 MB 'Driving through the highlands of Michoacan in central Mexico, I heard the soft sound of a band in a distant field, and I asked my driver to help me find the source. A few minutes and a steep ride down a dirt road later, we joined a procession of two hundred people going to a wealthy bus drivers house for St. Jude's festival. When we arrived the friendly owner invited us with a big smile into the courtyard, where local women (at least the ones who were not cooking!) gathered on one side of the house singing a prayer, while men and the village band assembled on the other side. My recording documents the call-and-response between the singers and band that went on for over an hour. For me the charm of this music is in the off-key way the makeshift band started its performance — and that as the day went they jelled, so that by the prayer session's end, they sounded well-practiced. Recorded with an Edirol R1 and a cheap set of binaural microphones from Microphone Madness.' So writes today's contributor, Siamack Sioshansi . december 5, 2005 1.6 MB For today's vacation we thank contributor Kirke Godfrey , who writes, 'Sitting at a local cafe on the Rue Montiguile in the 2eme arrondissement of Paris on October 5, 2005. It's my first morning after the flight in from Sydney. The street is paved and partially blocked to traffic, so its really nice to sit there and simply watch the world (and gorgeous women) walk by. I don' speak enough French to understand the conversation at the table next to me; I hope it wasn't too personal! Recorded on a Sony TVR30 DV camera.' november 28, 2005 1.4 MB Winter is here, and with it: 'Sled-dog sounds from the 2005 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, an annual race from Duluth, Minnesota, to near the Canadian border and back. It's cold and crisp under clear blue skies at a beautiful pine-shrouded checkpoint where many sled dogs and mushers are catching a few hours' rest. One by one, the teams gather their strength for yet another leg in this grueling 390-mile marathon. The dogs are specifically bred and trained for this, so getting ready to run fires them up even when they're tired. I'm positioned about fifty yards down the trail from the place where the teams leave this remote checkpoint. The dogs bark excitedly until the moment they start down the trail... Recorded early in 2005 on a Sony TCD-D7 DAT recorder with a pair of Shure WL-183 microphones in an experimental head-like array.' The words of today's contributor, accomplished field recordist Curt Olson . november 21, 2005 1.2 MB For today's vacation we thank contributor Travis Nobles , who writes, 'This was recorded September 17th at the 2005 Ocean Air Show in Virginia Beach, Virginia, right before the Blue Angels [military aircraft] demonstration. You can hear the crowd's reactions to the show so far and the "wooshing" of the Blue Angels' engines as they taxi to the runway; part way through the MC's voice comes over the PA system. My recording equipment was the internal mic on my iRiver compact flash MP3 player, all I had in the moment.' [As we Americans gather for Thanksgiving this Thursday, I feel myself stirred anew by those immortal words from Team America : "America! F--k yeah!" -Ed.] november 14, 2005 1.4 MB Today's contributor, the enviably multitalented Rick Moody , tells us, 'This recording is of the jetty on the harbor near my little country house (where I write). I made it for a friend's "Exquisite Corpse" game last summer. The location is Silver Eel Pond, Fishers Island, NY; the voices are the African-American guys who come over to the island by ferry boat to fish on weekends.' [My birthday is this week, so this is my present! -Ed.] november 7, 2005 1.4 MB 'It was January 2005, during the Russian Orthodox Christmas, which we celebrate on the 6th and 7th every year. We have a place in Moscow called Kolomenskoe, it's a little nature reserve plus museum of architecture in the open air. That day there was a bell-ringer there dressed in old clothes: he looked like a monk really. Three rows of many different size bells he played on; it was a great sight and I think the sounds are amazing. I think they are worth your listening.' I think so too. For today's lovely vacation we thank contributor Elena M , who recorded this with her Samsung X600 phone. Elena adds that the sounds at the end are fireworks. october 31, 2005 715 KB Today's vacation comes to us from Laura Vitale , who writes, 'When I recorded this I was in Nanegal, a tiny village in the cloud forests northwest of Quito, Ecuador. There was a party in town that night and while walking home I could hear the band playing with the birds and the night bugs. Everything in the air felt festive... Recorded with an AKG cardiod mic and a Marantz PMD660 compact flash recorder.' october 24, 2005 950 KB 'Three in the morning in Bloomington, Indiana. The rain is pouring down onto my roof as I lay still in my bed. I can't ask for better sleeping conditions! Wait, I really want to record this before turning in for the night... but by the time I get out of bed, gather my equipment, and stumble onto the porch, the rain had ceased and all I have left to record is the fallen water running through my gutters. Recorded with a Sony MD (MZ-NH700) and Panasonic 61 Series Miniature Stereo Binaural Mics.' With that, today's contributor, Zak Rosen , who I had the pleasure of meeting in person this weekend, bids us goodnight. october 17, 2005 1.4 MB I learned my own love of field recording in Vietnam almost exactkly seven years ago, so it's with special pleasure that I share Tim Cabassi 's contribution today. About his recording Tim writes, 'This was recorded on a recent trip to Hoi An in Vietnam. I was riding my bicycle along one of the main streets of the town and heard a street vendor. Not sure what he was selling or advertising. If you listen closely you can hear the freewheel of the bike; and also near the end the attempts of a cyclo driver trying to drum up some business. Why he would choose someone already on a bicycle you would have to ask him! Recorded using a Sharp MD831 and an Audio Technica AT822 stereo microphone.' october 10, 2005 1.4 MB Autumn is in the air, so how about a new coat? You can get one in today's vacation, which comes to us courtesy of Waco Moore , who writes, 'August 6, 2004, on the sidewalk in SoHo: it is sunset and a whole family of hustlers has rolled a couple of garment racks of coats out onto the sidewalk on the corner of Broadway and Price or Spring (I can't remember now). They are barking in true carnival/street vandor fashion and people are swarming and taking the bait — it is a classic New York moment. Enjoy! Recorded with a Sony ECM-MS907 mic and an iRiver IHP-120 MP3 player.' october 3, 2005 1.4 MB Contributor Scott Langstaff writes of today's vacation, 'This recording was made in May, 2005, during my holiday to St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Sitting on the ground near the summit of Ruival on Hirta, it captures the sounds of the birds, the indistinct voices of other members of my walking group, the wind, and the noise of the sea below. It was recorded with a Sharp MT80 MD recorder and Soundman OKM II binaural mics.' september 26, 2005 1.4 MB For today's vacation we thank Ambrose Pottie who writes, 'I recorded this from my dining room table in Tepoztlan, Mexico, in March of 2003; the soundscape includes a banda playing outside at a barrio fiesta probably a mile away, as well as a solo female singer who is probably amplified and situated half a mile away herself — there was a Buddhist retreat center in the area and the woman is probably related to that. There are also a couple of loud firecracker explosions which occur regularly in Tepoztlan — every fiesta features them prominantly and as there is usually a fiesta in at least one of the many barrios every day, the fireworks are more or less constant! Geographically, Tepoztlan is situated in a canyon with craggy cliffs on all sides, so any sound is uniquly amplified...' september 19, 2005 1.6 MB Film photographer Arnaud Lemorillon writes of today's vacation, 'Last night, the 14th of July, it was Bastille Day in France, so there were fireworks in Paris. I made this recording at the end of the fireworks in the Champs de Mars, behind the Eiffel Tower; I hope the quality is not too bad; I just bought a Nagra V recorder and a couple of Schoeps MS microphones to make stereo recording three months ago since I'm interested by sound and field recording...' september 12, 2005 1.4 MB Of today's vacation contributor Greenmachine writes, 'I recorded this piece in Bavaria, Germany, directly after the performance of a symphonic orchestra in a huge old church. People were sharing their opinions all around — it created an interesting ambient noise, which I couldn't resist recording. Imagine yourself a part of this crowd for a minute... Recorded with miniature omnidirectional stereo microphones mounted to glasses and a Sony Hi-MD machine.' september 5, 2005 1.4 MB Labor Day in the US, and like many I celebrated it without a hint of labor. So for today's vacation, the sounds of revelry, for which we thank Kurt Tidmore , who writes, 'A regular Sunday evening sesson in traditional local pub on the north bank of the River Lee, in Cork, Ireland, where I live. The pub's called Siné, which in Irish means "there you have it" or "that's all there is." The musicians are mostly amateurs who gather here every weekend to drink and play together; the crowd is lively and the beer flows freely and the music can sometimes go on for five or six hours.' august 29, 2005 1.4 MB Today's vacation like the ANWR recording earlier this month features wildlife. It was contributed by gear-blessed Greg Weddig , who writes, 'This recording was made at a Brant's Cormorant "blind" in the abandoned Model Industry building on the west side of the Alcatraz. I made it the evening San Francisco's KFOG radio station presented their Kaboom fireworks. As the shells started bursting in air, Western Gulls were silhouetted against the sky fleeing from their nesting area on the east side of Alcatraz at the Parade ground. Strangely the many nesting pairs of cormorants just below the mics seemed more upset at the fleeing seagulls than the fireworks themselves. After the final shots rang out the cormorants continued their grunting, gracking, and growling, as if nothing had happened. Recorded with a Schoeps MK-21 ORTF pair, via a Grace Lunatec V3, into a MDP500 MD recorder.' august 22, 2005 700 KB For today's vacation we thank incoming Grinnell College (Iowa) student Chris Farstad who writes of his contribution, 'This is a recording of the organ inside St. Paul's Cathedral in London. It was visiting the city for the first time with my high school in October of 2004 and I was lucky to capture this unique sound environment during an organist's practice session; a fitting sound event for the space. Made on a Sharp 1-bit portable MD recorder with Sony binaural microphones. Enjoy!' august 15, 2005 1.5 MB Today's vacation excerpts a twenty-five minute soundscape made by Nature Recordists mailing list moderator Martyn Stewart , who wrote of his recording, 'I was in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in June and I recorded these magnificent ambient sounds there. Millions of songbirds, waterfowl and shorebirds inhabit the tundra and costal plains; the ANWR is a vital breeding ground for many of our birds and is in danger of being destroyed: Congress opens this month and maybe in September they will vote to drill in the area. I intend to go to the various rallies that will be held in Washington DC on the 20th of September; I made this recording to make people aware of the beauty of this place. Please oppose drilling in the Refuge and lobby your congressional rep; I believe ANWR is not just for us but for our children and our children's children.' [Just so. -Aaron] august 8, 2005 1.2 MB For once, how about a really virtual destination for a virtual vacation? Of today's recording, contributor fluffy Pennyfeather writes, 'These are some virtual wind chimes — that is, they don't physically exist. In Second Life (an MMO -like virtual environment ), someone built physically-modeled wind chimes which behave like real-life ones, responding to the wind (also modeled with a simple weather simulation) and to other objects and players passing through them. Although the recording is technically artificial in nature, I did record it with my trusty Kenwood MD recorder (which I use for other field recordings); and it blurs the line between the natural and the artificial, as the sound you here was generated by random processes similar to those of nature... just not in the physical world. I realize this may not fit into the One-Minute Vacation project, but I feel that it's an interesting thought experiment nonetheless.' [Interesting enough to share today, while I'm on an electronica bender... and the date cries out for it! -Aaron] august 1, 2005 1.4 MB Today's vacation comes to us from Andreas Jonsson , who writes, 'I recorded this in a city centre slot machine and games arcade here in Glasgow, Scotland, in September, 2004. I happened to be walking past it recording sounds in the street and got drawn in by the sheer cacophony of bleeps, chirps and noise a place like this produces. The rather robotic calling out of bingo numbers only adds to the sterility and overload of such a place. Amusingly, with repeated listening the chaos becomes suprisingly similar in places to some contemporary electronica! Moments after this recording, a security guard forced me to leave the premises, as I apparently needed permission from the manager to record there. The relative quietness outside seemed deafening. Recorded with a Sony ECM-MS907 microphone and a Sony minidisc recorder.' july 25, 2005 1.4 MB Today's contributor, composer-with-sound Joseph Young , takes us into 'a thunderstorm in northern Italy captured on a recent family holiday. The environment around Lake Como is surprisingly lush and green given that temperatures are regularly up in the mid 30's [that's upper-90's for you ametrical Americans -Ed.] during the summer months. The greenery is comes from the heavy thunderstorms that occur on a regular (weekly?) basis. I recorded this one from the window of our flat in a small town called Lambrugo, when the storm was at its height, using Soundman OKM binaural microphones and a Sony MZ-N707 minidisc recorder.' july 18, 2005 1.7 MB Contributor Ari Noguchi writes of today's vacation, 'I caught this moment at a temple in Nara, a very old city in Japan, two years ago. It was very early morning, sunny but very chilly; the temple and environment were just about to wake up for the long day. I was trying to record the sounds of birds, but through the microphone I heard an old lady striking a bell and chanting in front of an offertory box. I could tell that she had been coming every morning for a long time and that this activity was a part of her life... While I was recording kids came to the temple on a school field trip, and a man who works for temple also tried to clean up the street with a broom; but the lady never stopped chanting. It was a very intense moment.' july 11, 2005 525 KB For today's vacation we thank Angela Femia , who writes: 'I caught this using my Fuji digital camera while travelling in France in September, 2003. We had just arrived in Reims and found a lovely place to eat outside in the main square. As we were enjoying our first real "French" experience a large group of young people walked together through the area singing and shouting at one another; they sounded like they were having a fun kind of argument, trying to out-sing and out-shout each other with their song... what a lovely way to argue! (Unfortunately I have no idea what they are saying!)' july 4, 2005 2.2 MB Today's vacation, a bit of Americana for the American Independence Day, comes to us from contributor Jerry Berrier , who writes, 'As my wife and my guide dog and I approached the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle in a late morning in April, 2005, I could hear the sound of a lone singer and his guitar. My wife told me later that he also had a harmonica in a holder on his neck and a tambourine placed where he could tap it with his foot. He could still be heard once we entered the store, in spite of the high noise level from customers, workers arranging and selling seafood, and what sounded like a fork lift. I had been told in advance that workers throw fairly large fish back and forth between them to entertain visitors; at the very end of this recording you can hear their banter as they toss a fresh specimen back and forth! Recorded with a Sony MZ-R70 MD recorder and a small Sony ECM-DS70P clip-on plug-in powered stereo microphone.' june 27, 2005 1.4 MB Today's vacation comes to us courtesy of Chris Owens , who writes: 'I recorded this on a Saturday afternoon in April just outside the local Town Hall in Reading, UK; as you will hear the recording was started just before three in the afternoon (British Summer Time for the purists out there). The focus of this piece, and the intention of my being there with a recorder, was the chimes of the town clock; it is getting increasingly rare to hear chimes like this as many have been silenced to avoid causing a nuisance. A couple of minutes before this snippet a large lorry thundered by the Town Hall — in my opinion that's a more serious annoyance!' june 20, 2005 1.4 MB Summertime, and the living is easy this week courtesy of contributor Robert Dodson , who writes, 'I recorded this in Fairfield, Connecticut. I was sitting on my front porch after dinner. You can hear a plane overhead, a car go by, some very peaceful birds, and my son practicing his saxophone. This is one of my first recordings on my new Edirol R1 compact flash recorder, using the built-in mics. Enjoy.' june 13, 2005 1.3 MB Multi-modal Swedish artist Wolgang Peter Menzel sets the scene for today's vacation: 'You are running in the streets — looking around and listening to the traffic, staring at people, you wonder where you are, all your senses are touched by new things, smells and impressions of a complete "differentness" compared to what you are used to; it overwhelms your person, this slowly getting into this condition of phenomenological basic behaviour. That is what happened to me there, at a street corner in the Chinese part of the former Portuguese colony Macau, at least — even the traffic light sound became something else. Recorded as usual with my Sharp MD recorder and a Sony stereo mic.' june 6, 2005 1.2 MB Today's vacation comes to us courtesy of Kevin T. Allen , who writes, 'The recording was done in downtown Calcutta in July 2004. I was looking for a film library in the center of town and got terribly lost. I passed a row of government buildings where I saw hundreds of people queued up outside; on the street were makeshift carts and stands, where people dictated to men using manual typewriters for their official paperwork. The sound of the manual typewriters tapping away outside in the context of the bustling city sidewalk struck me as beautifully surreal and Kafkaesque, so I pulled the mic out of my bag so only the tip showed and walked down the street. It was a real acoustic treat, especially on such a frustrating day! Recorded with a minidisc recorder and a top of the bottom of the line microphone.' may 30, 2005 1.4 MB This past Saturday some friends I met on a tour of Tibet were married in Vermont; I had the honor of composing their processional using sounds I recorded on that trip. Today I share one of the recordings I used: nuns chanting with one-handed self-beating drums at the annual single-day unveiling of a building-sized thanka down a cliff side in Gyantse, Tibet. For Kate and Zack, luminous travelers, who so patiently waited for me to record this and many other things... Recorded with Sonic Studios DSM-6/EH microphones and a Sony MD recorder. (Aaron) may 23, 2005 960 KB Of today's vacation, second-time contributing phonographer Mark Ragsdale writes, 'This recording was made on an outcropping of rock at Haeundae Beach in Busan, Korea, right outside the Westin Chosun Hotel. The recording was made on a moonlit night as I lay prone on a rock with my head in a giant crevasse, trying to capture the gurgling of the sea plunging rhythmically. Recorded with Sonic Studios DSM-6S/EH mics with WHB headband windscreen, running into MD. [The same gear I used to record most everything on this site! -Ed]' may 16, 2005 1.4 MB 'This track captures a war protest parade when it reached its end point at the Boston Commons on March 20th, 2005. The police helicopter hovering overhead set a tone of tension as the protesters were surrounded by police motor cops, paddywagons, and anti-riot police armed with clubs. A drum circle formed right next to the bench where I had been sitting and recording, and the sounds of drums, didgeridoos, and chants began to drown out the sounds of the helicopter... Recorded on a Sony MZ-R700 minidisc recorder with homemade binaural microphones.' So writes today's contributor, Boston-area experimental DJ, sound artist, phonographer, and theremin player Fred Yarm . may 9, 2005 1.2 MB Today's vacation (or rather, a vacation from a vacation, now our vacation...) comes to us from traveler Damon Nomad , who explains, 'This is a recording we made on our honeymoon: these are night sounds outside our window in the mountain village of Anogia, Greece. You can hear the bells of sheep and goats on the slopes below the village, as well as other sounds. Strangely enough, the lady at the car rental place in Iraklion vainly tried to talk us out of going there, asking, "why you want to go there? It is not much... just a traditional village." It ended up being just what we needed, a peaceful escape from the more touristy sections of Greece we'd already visited: a vacation from our vacation. Recorded on Sony MZ-R37 MD recorder with a Sony ECM MS907 microphone.' may 2, 2005 1.4 MB Nata Lukas writes of today's vacation, 'During the summer of 1997 my good friend James Adrian Stewart came to visit, so we did some camping on the Puget Sound. To entertain our selves Jim played his bag pipes and I played with my camcorder. In this moment recorded at Deception Pass, Jim was around a corner practicing his chops and I snuck up on him; I really dig how the sound of the waves gives way to his improvised chops! Recorded with my Sony CCD-TR3000 video camera (great zoom mics!). By the way, I ended up using this recording as part of an installation I did a couple years ago called If Only I Had a Seaworthy Vessel .' april 25, 2005 970 KB Of today's vacation, Argentine sound artist Anla Coutis writes, 'I was walking this afternoon in a street of Buenos Aires downtown and I heard some great birds; fortunately I had my minidisc with me and I decided to record them. So here is one minute of Buenos Aires Street Birds in Action, I hope you'll enjoy them! Recorded with an Aiwa AM-F5 MD recorder with an Aiwa stereo microphone.' april 18, 2005 595 KB Field recordist Rod Stasick writes of his contribution, 'I have an owl friend who lives in a magnolia tree just outside my studio here in Dallas, Texas. Owls have been in the neighborhood for the past few years and during various stretches of time will make their presence known. At close to the same time each day my friend calls to another owl nearby; if you listen closely, you can hear the other owl responding... This minute was recorded on March 3, 2005 at about 4:30 p.m., with an iAudio M3 digital audio recorder that I use for field recordings.' april 11, 2005 1.4 MB Contributor Marco Landn writes of today's vacation, 'I recorded this when I passed by a children's playground in a kindergarten in a back street in Cancun, Mexico. The kids, all Spanish-speaking and approximately 5 years of age, were playing on a big contraption toy with swings and slides and monkeybars. What truly captivated me was the unrestrained voices, the pitches of which differ greatly from children in Angloamerica; there is a very stacatto nature to the language, especially from the girls in the playground. Recorded using the built-in mic on my Apple iBook G3.' april 4, 2005 1.4 MB Of today's vacation, contributor Takahiro Kawaguchi writes, 'This minute was recorded in a Japanese temple at the moment 2004 became 2005 and was rung in with a gong: a happy New Year Japanese sound. The specific location was Shitennouji Temple, in Osaka, which you can learn more about here . My recording system is a Sony TCD-D8 DAT recorder and a Sony condenser mic. I hope you enjoy listening!' [Time of transition for time in transition: here in California we lost an hour to Daylight Savings this weekend! -Aaron] march 28, 2005 1.4 MB 'Here's a vacation, from my vacation: a recording I made last year while skiing here in Australia, as I went up the mountain on a chairlift. The mic was resting directly on the metal of the chair to capture the deep thrumming that I could hear when I pressed my ear to the chair. Occasionally other skiers can be heard in the background. Made on a Sony MZR-909 with an ECM-MS907 mic, at Thredbo, in the aptly named Snowy Mountains.' Fall arrives in the south, but with this recording from Ben Dixon we in the northern hemisphere bid farewell to winter. march 21, 2005 1.4 MB Biking to work today under silver clouds and through a heavy cool rain, I looked forward to posting today's vacation, which comes from enigmatic sound artist Ben Owen , who comments, 'One of the few moments that is taken to pause in the day is the onset of rain. It is when I stand by the back door of my apartment [in New York City] looking out over the yards and obstructed sky to watch and listen.' march 14, 2005 1.4 MB Repeat contributor John Tenney writes of this week's vacation, 'Saturday night at the Lucky Ju Ju in Alameda, California. Two dozen-plus vintage pinball machines — bright lights flashing, flippers whacking the balls madly, spinners spinning — and every one of them set to free play! Make a reasonable donation on entry and you can play as long as you want to — talk about bringing out the inner kid! Plus there's a good jukebox, though the 70's and 80's songs are decades younger than most of the machines. The place is a labor of love taken on by an obsessed collector looking to share his mania; alot of folks are more than willing. Recorded July 17, 2004, with a Sony MZR-50 MD recorded and RadioShack's late lamented 33-3028 stereo mics.' march 7, 2005 1.4 MB Of today's vacation, contributor Anders Östberg writes, 'A demonstration of steam engines in Eskilstuna, Sweden. Here on an islet the Faktoriet motor museum is situated: a museum of industry and the history of technology, including the first fire engine used in Sweden. On the first Sunday of every month (except in December and January) the air gets hot and humid when the steam engine demonstrations are running! Recorded to compact flash on February 6, 2005, with an Edirol R-1 24-bit WAV/MP3 recorder, using the internal stereo mic.' february 28, 2005 950 KB 'Recorded in Yerevan, Armenia, the night of November 13, 2003, with a video camera, in the well-kept standard-issue apartment of Rafik and Gohar, an elderly couple I stayed with for five days. Although they spoke no English, they welcomed occasional international visitors as a way to supplement their meager pensions. During this short clip from the eve of my departure from the country, they entertain my basic Russian phrases, all the while encouraging me to pick up bits of Armenian — a language of which they are fiercely proud and protective.' For this week's vacation, we thank contributor Peter Thiede . february 21, 2005 1.1 MB Today's vacation comes from Tim Cabassi , who writes: 'This particular snippet was recorded in January, 2004, from my third floor balcony in Momodani, an innercity suburb of Osaka, Japan. I am from Australia but I am currently living and working here with my girlfriend. Thanks to Justin Brown for clarifying that the sound is from a hot sweet potato (o-imo) van; o-imo and other vendors (such as yakitori, skewered grilled chicken usually sold in restaurants) randomly roam the streets around 10 p.m., which is the time most drunken salarymen are stumbling home and most in need of a quick bite... Recorded on a Sharp MD831 with an Audio Technica AT822 stereo microphone. Hope you like it.' february 14, 2005 1.4 MB I'm in New York this week, so how about a bit of local love for Valentine's, as recorded by today's contributor, Robert Van Heuman : 'The A Train in New York City, around Christmas 2004. I usually find it very hard to make recordings in subways as the low frequencies tend to distort the recording. This time, I experimented with the "Low Sensitivity" setting on the microphone input of my minidisc recorder and a really low recording volume. And it worked: I like the rhytmic quality of the announcer, the fact that he mentions Jersey City (where I used to live), the baby and the sounds of little childrens toys a Chinese women is demonstrating while walking through the carriage... Recorded with a Sony NH900 HiMD recorder (in uncompressed mode) with OKM II binaural in-ear microphones.' [Regular listeners will know that binaural means, use those headphones! -aaron] february 7, 2005 1.4 MB Of today's vacation, contributor Lonesomehank from Montreal, Quebec, writes: 'Recorded February 2nd, 2002, in Barcelona on a Sharp MT877 MD with Core Sound binaural mics....... around 8:30 at night...... heard the drone far off and came across four old men in some sort of burnt-out social centre....... watched them play through a little window...... they were drunk and lost in the sound of it all....... heartbreaking / beautiful......... was recorded outside from the street ...... didn't want to intrude...... the right channel craps out in a beautiful way when I walk off...... crappy mini-plug connector.......' january 31, 2005 1.6 MB 'Recorded in 2002: Banger racing season in Smeatharp in the county of Somerset, England, as gutted old saloon cars painted in lively colours roar round an oval dirt track, attempting to knock each other out of the race. Exhilarating stuff but the only means of recording it I have on hand is my mobile phone: so I send myself a race as an answering machine message.' For today's banger contribution we thank quick-thinkig Darren Giddings of colander.org . january 24, 2005 1.7 MB Today's vacation comes from sound artist Bill Thompson , who originally shared with the phonography mailing list on Yahoo! groups with these comments: 'Thought you'd like to hear this: it's a recording of 'hogmanay,' what the Scotish call New Year's. It's a bigger deal then any other holiday here, bigger then Christmas; that day everything closed at 4 p.m. and has been closed all weekend. The recording is of the boats out on the North Sea blowing their horns at midnight. Each horn is a different pitch and each boat is at a slightly different distance and location from the Aberdeen shore, where I was huddled in the drizzle trying not to move. I drove all the way back from Manchester (seven hours) just for that 5 minutes :) — and about 10 minutes into the recording I realized that I had just experienced the turning ot the new year alone, huddled by a rock in the rain. Ahhh, the romantic life of an artist... :)' The vacation is an excerpt from a five-minute MP3 can hear here ; if you like this, you might also like the vacation posted last year for September 22 archived here ... january 17, 2005 1.4 MB 'Recorded late summer 2001 up north in Quebec, at St-Michel des Saints: north enough, we saw aurorae borealis that summer! This is part of my first recordings, using an MZ-R90 [MD recorder] from Sony and binaural mics from sound professionals. It was maybe four or five in the morning, we had to kill that fire because the summer was really dry, dangerous for forest fires.. So this is it, water in fire, fire on logs, earth and life...' For this elemental recording, which ushers in the fourth year of the one-minute vacations project, we thank field recordist and sound artist Nicolas Kuzyk , who Montreal residents might know from his soundscape radio program Biophone. There are more: archives of the first , second , and third year. You can also purchase compilations on CD; all profits go to charity! podcast beta, write me if you have comments. Thanks to Annabelle Port for this LP

Switzerland Travel lastminute.com offers

Switzerland Travel: Deals and travel information for Switzerland, Europe Mobile site | Security | Your account | Help find - find.html -- Travel to Switzerland Home > World > Europe > Switzerland Travel lastminute.com offers a fantastic array of incredible Switzerland travel deals. Whetherbooking a hotel, flight, holiday or car hire, lastminute.com is your one stop travel shop. So, either check out our special Switzerland travel deals below,use our search box to find the perfect trip or browse through our vast list of destinations to see all we have to offer. Let lastminute.com help you plan the most rewarding journey you've ever had. Search Travel Flight+Hotel-SAVE £££ Holidays Flights Hotels Holidays search Destination: list destinations Departure area: Show me all Any London Airport / Station Any East Anglia Airport Any Midlands Airport Any North East / Yorkshire Airport Any North West Airport Any Scottish Airport Any South West / Wales Airport Northern Ireland Price: Show me all Under 100 Under 200 Under 300 Under 400 Under 500 Under 600 Under 700 Under 800 Under 900 Under 1000 More than 1000 Day: Month: Any 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 false Any December January February March April May June July August September October November Give or take: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ( days ) Board type: Show me all All Inclusive Bed And Breakfast Fly Drive Full-board Half-board Room Only Self Catering Length of stay: Show me all Short Break / Weekend (1-5 Nights) Week (6-9 Nights) Fortnight (10-16 Nights) Longer (17 Nights Or More) Hotel star rating: Show me all 1* 2* 3* 4* 5* Temperature: Show me all Warm (over 15c) Very warm (over 20c) Hot (over 25c) Very hot (over 30c) Travel time: Show me all Less than 3 hours 3 To 6 hours 6 To 9 hours 9 To 12 hours Over 12 hours Keywords (eg 'Pool'): Jump to... Switzerland Hotels (266) Switzerland Holidays (161) Switzerland Flights Switzerland Car rentals (41) Switzerland Short breaks Switzerland Guide Deals Area Info Attractions Events Deals Today's Top Deals La Reserve Hotel Spa Geneva 3* Skiing Holiday in Chateau d'Oex, 7 nights half board Genevafrom 503 Flora Hotel Luzern / Lucerne 3* Skiing Holiday in Engelberg, 7 nights from 545 Area Info Small, mountainous and wealthy, with a population of just seven million, Switzerland is renowned for its enviable quality of life in a country that ticks along like clockwork. Its products are sought after the world over, from dangerously delicious cheese and chocolate to luxurious watches whose timekeeping is as sharp as a Swiss army knife, another popular export from this clever little nation in the Alps. Switzerlands famed political neutrality and isolated location, ring-fenced by mountains, have enabled it to play a safe but central role in European affairs. These factors also gave rise to the coveted Swiss bank account, whose anonymity, along with tax relief and what may be the safest banks in the world, have made Zürich one of Europes major financial hubs. The conveniently central location in the middle of Europe has also made Switzerland a favourite meeting place for conventions and international conferences Geneva, for instance, is home to the United Nations. Switzerland is not only a place for professionals, though. As a stylish tourist destination it offers top ski resorts like Zermatt and celebrity-studded St Moritz, while the white peaks of mountains set against blue skies make a wonderful backdrop for summertime hiking. The ancient capital of Berne provides opportunities for sightseeing and elegant shopping, while nightlife can prove to be a lot of fun, too, since the Swiss like their food and folk music even in discotheques and nightclubs. Engadin Tourist Office Address: Chesa Cumuenela, 7504 Pontresina, Switzerland Phone: +41 (0) 81 842 6573 Attractions Rhine Falls A stunning natural wonder, the Rhine Falls in Neuhausen are the largest waterfalls in Europe, cascading down cataracts which are 450 feet wide and 75 feet high. Augusta Raurica In its heyday, 1800 years ago, 20,000 people lived in the Roman town of Augusta Raurica, 15km from Basle. Many of the traces left behind by the native Celtic inhabitants and the Roman conquerors have now been excavated and are accessible to the public in the largest open-air archaeological museum in north-west Switzerland. Engelberg-Titlis Less than two hours from Zürich lies the scenic ski resort of Engelberg, a beautiful mountainous haven notable for its fine snow conditions and off-piste skiing. The official ski season here lasts from November until April, although skiing is possible throughout the summer on the glacier that saddles the impressive 3200-metre high Titlis mountain. Zrich Zoo Perched on the beautiful green slopes of Zürichberg hill, Zürich Zoo offers panoramic views of the city and Lake Zürich. This conservation-conscious animal park is set in extensive grounds that are home to 250 different wild species, many of which are endangered. Goldau Nature and Animal Park Discover the wonders of nature and the animal kingdom at Switzerland's premier animal park, situated in the beautiful boulder-strewn wilderness of Goldau. Many of the animals here are free-roaming and can be petted and fed - with care of course! Grossmnster Church Grossmünster Church with its imposing towers, soaring spires and fascinating history, features among Zurich's principal landmarks and offers panoramic views over the city centre. Schipfe The "Schipfe" is one of Zurich's oldest districts, whose name originates from the nautical term " schupfen " (push), used by the fishermen to describe how they pushed their boats to the river bank and back. Opera House Zurich's Opera House is not only a cultural centre of great distinction but also one of the city's most beautiful buildings. Swiss National Museum With fairy-tale turrets that glisten in the sunshine, the tower of the Swiss National Museum in Zurich has become a recognised symbol of the city. The museum building (which dates from 1898) houses the largest collection of cultural and historical artefacts in Switzerland. Bad Zurzach Effervescent crystal waters bubble, gush and flow from every crevice at Bad Zurzach, one of Switzerland's leading thermal baths, offering four steaming outdoor pools, jacuzzis, rapids, a gym and a spa complete with saunas and steam rooms. Situated close to the German border and approximately half-an-hour's drive from Zurich and Basel, this Swiss spa oozes minerals renowned for their therapeutic properties. Events International Lauberhorn Ski World Cup 11 - 15 Jan 2006 (annual) Wengen NOKIAN-X-TREME Snowbike Festival 13 - 15 Jan 2006 (annual) Bergün International Christmas Tree Festival 1 Dec 2005 - 8 Jan 2006 (annual) Geneva International Ice Climbing Festival 6 - 8 Jan 2006 (annual) Kandersteg Speed Race Dec 2005 (annual) Titlis Glacier ; Part of the lastminute.com group. lastminute.com , travel4less.com , travelselect.com , holidayautos.co.uk , medhotels.com , holidayhotels.com , onlinetravel.com , ifyouski.com , exhilaration.co.uk , gotofrance.com Holidays Hotels Citybreaks Gifts Experiences Entertainment Flights Site map Search site Skip navigation links Home Travel World Europe In Switzerland... Aargau 3 Hotels 2 Car rentals Basel 20 Hotels Flights 2 Car rentals Short breaks Bern 49 Hotels 16 Holidays Flights 4 Car rentals Geneva 46 Hotels 69 Holidays Flights 4 Car rentals Short breaks Graubuenden 8 Hotels 7 Holidays 3 Car rentals Luzern / Lucerne 35 Hotels 2 Holidays 2 Car rentals Schwyz 1 Hotels Solothurn 1 Car rentals St. Gallen 1 Hotels Ticino 14 Hotels Flights 6 Car rentals Valais 7 Hotels 59 Holidays Flights 5 Car rentals Vaud 17 Hotels 3 Holidays 6 Car rentals Zurich 65 Hotels 5 Holidays Flights 6 Car rentals Short breaks Popular areas Zurich Lugano Lausanne Interlaken Bern Sion Hotels in... St. Gallen Luzern / Lucerne Zurich Aargau Valais More Switzerland Hotels Holidays in... Luzern / Lucerne Zurich Valais Bern Vaud More Switzerland Holidays --

Family vacation adventure Fear

--Fun family vacation adventure-- Finding Happiness and Self-actualization Happiness HOME Top 5 ways to find happiness Personal growth articles Daily Happiness free ezine Self-help book on happiness The Get Happy Workbook Happy Class free online Find happiness Definition of happiness Find happiness products Happiness directory Best happiness books Find self-actualization Free ebook: daily inspiration and motivation Selfactualisation? self actualisation? Humor column Guest articles Best self-help books Be happy with The Happy Guy Motivational keynote speaker Happiness coach Rave reviews Contact The Happy Guy Your privacy FAQ The Happy Guy's bio Link to The Happy Guy Be a Happy Guy affiliate Advertise with us! Business directory "Unfortunately, some people believe their schedules are more important than their lives." David Leonhardt, as quoted in The Reader's Digest "This above all, to thine own self be true." William Shakespeare. Sign up for your daily dose of happiness and inspiration. First name Your e-mail address: Click on the smile to subscribe! Personal Growth Articles Index Aging Gracefully An author reflects Angel Gift Story Anger Management Tips Body image issues Child Birth Story Customer service Define Happiness Definition of self-actualization Definitions of happiness Doing good deeds Dr. Phil's Books Dr. Phil McGraw's Life Laws Expectations Extreme fatigue Family vacation adventure Fear of grass Flea market lessons Gratitude journal Happiness Poem Happiness takes patience Happiness tips Hippo rage Holding on to grudges Hotel Stella Home of the year How to Stop Bad Breath I am a Grinch Making changes in life Memory loss Money and happiness Olympic medal happiness Overcoming fear (book review) Penguin leadership Red balloon story Reduce stress for health Self-actualization v.s. personal growth Self-confidence Short friendship poem Stress-relief tips Thanksgiving Day The happy jar Tiger and the three pigs Wildflower poem More articles... Travel & leisure articles Family & parenting articles Humor & satire articles Check out also Articles on nutrition Network monitoring and web site monitoring Coming soon: World Vacations travel directory FREE: Meditation techniques and tips HOT: Free positive thinking book RECOMMENDED: Stress relief tips and techniques List of articles | Article reprint permission details | More related information Squish, climb, splash: a family adventure vacation Learning from our toddler on vacation by David Leonhardt There is never a dull moment when you vacation with a two-year-old . And there are always such wonderfully fun lessons to be learned, too. For instance, we allocated the first day of our family vacation to the zoo. God allocated that same day to watering his plants. OK, so it was not quite rain. I mean, it was hardly worth the embarrassment of losing another fruitless struggle with that rusty old umbrella. But it was more than just a mist. Bit by bit, it overtook me. My sneakers cried out "Squish! Squish! Squish!" as I walked. My wife started calling me "soggybottoms". I was getting downright moldy. Little Lady, on the other hand, was in Seventh Heaven. This was finally her chance to take out her brand new umbrella. Her umbrella was her newest, most favorite toy that her way-too-picky father would not let her play with in the house. But today, she could play with it all day in the rainy mist or misty rain or whatever the big people want to call it. Vacation Adventure Lesson #1: Find the silver lining. And if you can't, get yourself an umbrella. A true adventure vacation: mountain climbing A few days later, we headed to a lookout in a mountain park. Along the paths, we found ourselves trying to dodge speeding cyclists who thought "maximum 15 miles per hour" means "Yee-haw, we've reached warp speed!" Seemingly lost, we stopped to ask directions. The young lad we approached pointed straight up. "It's a half an hour back the way you came, or you can take these stairs," he advised. I doubted whether either my pregnant wife or Little Lady could handle the stairs, but they both wanted to try. (Seventh Heaven might be an umbrella, but a toddler's first six heavens apparently involve climbing anything in sight and a mountain was just as good as anything else, I suppose.) At the top of the first flight, we saw that the next set of stairs was even higher. A lady behind us said, "Try counting them to pass the time. There are 205 steps." Was that meant to be encouraging? Amazingly, Little Lady climbed 180 steps, and my pregnant wife was able to keep up at Little Lady's conveniently slow pace. I had to carry one of them up the remaining 25 steps (no, not my wife!), where I dumped the stroller and picnic basket so we all could catch our breath. Vacation Adventure Lesson #2: It's amazing what you can do when you try, and it's more than amazing what some people will try. Family fun in a toddler's ocean Our vacation was also the first chance for Little Lady to swim. We placed the water wings on her arms and stayed really close. This suited her just fine for almost three minutes. Then she wanted to swim "all alone" (her favorite words). You might have heard that the biggest danger for a new swimmer is sinking. Or hitting your head on the edge of the pool. Or developing cramps from too many French fries just before swimming and drowning in your own cholesterol (or something like that). In fact, the big danger is a big mouth. Little Lady closed her mouth whenever I reminded her. But just 3.2 seconds later, her mouth would be open again, shouting "Lookit me!" and "I did it!" and other eloquent cries muffled by the gurgle of water pouring into a gaping mouth. Vacation Adventure Lesson #3: Sometimes it is worth getting excited about life and shouting it out to the world ... even if people do keep telling you to shut your mouth. Next time you go on vacation, bring a toddler along. I promise you three things: 1. You will get less rest than Santa Claus on December 24. 2. You will always have a fun adventure. 3. You will learn more than you ever wanted to. Get a personal growth humor column like this in your inbox every week. For more personal growth articles check the menu to the left . Permission is granted to republish this article on your website on condition that you include the following byline with all hyperlinks intact: David Leonhardt is author of Climb Your Stairway to Heaven and The Get Happy Workbook . He also runs a Liquid Vitamins Store and a website marketing strategies web site Related information Join Club Mom

Hotel Travel

lastminute.com - flights, holidays, hotels, travel, entertainment, gifts, experiences, sport, restaurants Homepage Winter sun Weekend ideas Exotic holidays Travel Car hire Ferry tickets Flights Charter flights Flight + Hotel Holidays Sun holidays More sun Ski holidays Far & away Short breaks Hotels Holiday cottages Insurance City guides Lifestyle Experiences Gifts Restaurants Sport Theatre Music DVD rental Casino Poker Help/FAQs My details About us Be a supplier Look busy Your Details Sign In Help Our other sites SEARCH TRAVEL SEARCH LIFESTYLE Flight+Hotel-SAVE 's Holidays Flights Hotels Car hire Gifts   Restaurants Entertainment Stressed? Discover Spain with www.spain.info   Gifts Erotic rabbit - as seen in Company magazine from £20.00EUR 30.10 Click Here Gifts Save 20% on this Christmas mixed case from EUR 118.99 Click Here Gifts Send someone into orbit - name a star, 50% discount from £20.00EUR 30.10 Click Here Gifts Chocolicious hamper from EUR 44.95 Click Here Sign up to our Irish email newsletter and be the first to hear about our very best deals. For a sneak preview, click here . Top short breaks 1. 3 night two centre city break to Helsinki and Tallinn (EUR 575.00) Dublin hotel deals 1. Jurys Ballsbridge Hotel - 4* in Dublin (EUR 126.00) 2. The Parliament Hotel - 3* in Dublin (EUR 80.00) 3. Fantastic Rates at 5* Deluxe hotel in Dublin (EUR 130.00) 4. Clarion Hotel Dublin IFSC - 4* (EUR 120.00) 5. The Fitzwilliam - 5* Dublin (EUR 180.00) Part of the lastminute.com group plc. lastminute.com , holidayautos.co.uk , Holidays Hotels Flight + hotel Gifts Experiences Lifestyle Flights Terms & Conditions Investor relations How your contract is formed with lastminute.com Help us to improve your lastminute.com - email bugs and technical problems . (Please note: we will not reply to emails sent to this address) Travel UK | Voyage FR | Reise DE | Viaggio IT | Viaje ES | Reis NL | Resa SE | Travel ZA | Travel AU | Travel NZ | Travel JAP | Voyage BE --

Austria Travel

Austria Travel Pictures | Austria Travel Photos Austria Travel resources, links and information for Austria. Click on the thumbnails to read stories and see travel pictures. Book your hotel Book a hotel in Austria Book a hostel Book Youth hostels in Austria Fly your way! Book your flight to Austria online - saving 40% or more! Other countries: Andorra Bulgaria Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Italy Liechtenstein Lithuania Malta Monaco Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Spain Sweden Switzerland The Netherlands Turkey United Kingdom Vatican City This is where I lived one of my most scary moments. Stories and pictures: Innsbruck Stephansdom Globe Museum Secession Schönbrunn Palace Hundertwasser Haus Sigmund Freud Museum Useful travel links: Book your hotel in Austria Weather Lonely Planet Austrian Tourist Office Travelogues for Austria Currency exchange Many more links on Austria ! Suggest a site Go directly to: Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America Join our mailinglist: If you want to be updated about developments at Around the World in 80 Clicks, subscribe! Your E-mail address: Travel Forum Join others in discussions on Europe Also on this site: read and sign the guestbook send us your suggestions ! send this site to a friend read about the background of this site publications on this site meet new friends for travel, dating or just fun! Around the World in 80 Clicks All rights reserved - www.traveladventures.org - 1999-2005 Share your comments