Weird Niagara
AOL Travel is RIP so you can now find the full story HERE.
Everybody knows Niagara Falls for its majestic natural beauty. Sarah, however, knows all about Niagara Falls for its weirdness.
Y’know, the wax museums, the Sky Wheels, the giant hamburger eating Frankensteins… that kind of stuff.
Hoping to channel her expertise in the bizarre, AOL Travel asked her to compose a list of the kitschiest things in Niagara. You can read about them all by clicking here.
Filed under Shameless Promotion, Travel
Sterling Inn
In direct contrast to everything else Sarah loves about Niagara Falls — namely all the gaudy, ridiculous tourist attractions — her go-to hotel of choice is the super-nice boutique-y Sterling Inn & Spa.
She like the place so much, in fact, that she wrote about it for AOL Travel. You can read about the hotel here.
Filed under Shameless Promotion, Travel
PJ Harvey
I just made an awesome mixed CD which I’ll be leaning on during my Christmas Tour Around Ontario 2011™ over the next few days.
The theme for this disc was “Women Of 2011,” as in a compilation of songs from female-fronted artists I dug this year. Looking over the list, it dawned on me that although many of them are emerging as the voices of this generation, none of them played last year’s dismal Lilith Fair.
Now either these artists were too cool to do Lilith, or they weren’t asked. Either way, what I’m taking from it all is that by dodging that lameness bullet they’re all even more amazing.
Here’s my mix:
PJ Harvey “In The Dark Places”
Lana Del Rey “Blue Jeans”
Florence And The Machine “What The Water Gave Me”
Feist “Undiscovered First”
Cat’s Eyes “Face In The Crowd”
Tasseomancy “Diana”
Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi “Season’s Trees”
Austra “The Beast”
Lykke Li “Jerome”
Tennis “Seafarer”
My Brightest Diamond “Feeling Good”
Lindi Ortega “Little Red Boots”
Neko Case “The Pharoahs”
Nicole Atkins & The Black Sea “The Tower”
Anna Calvi “The Devil”
Chelsea Wolfe “PALE ON PALE”
Niagara Falls
Sarah’s life as a jetset travel writer continues with the first of a trilogy of upcoming stories about Niagara Falls.
In installment number one our fair writer informs the people of what’s going down at the Falls this New Year’s Eve.
So if the idea of spending NYE in a giant indoor waterpark with a superstar DJ sounds wicked-cool, you should click here for the article at AOL Travel and find out more.
Filed under Shameless Promotion, Travel
Jon Jones kicks Lyoto Machida
UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones beat the snot out of challenger Lyoto Machida last night at UFC 140 in Toronto.
Part of the reason for his victory? Hanging around in the Ball’s Falls Conservation Area in the Niagara region.
That’s right “Ball’s Falls.”
Huh. Huh. Balls.
The toughest man in the world* went to the conservation park in Lincoln, Ontario, about an hour southeast of Toronto, for a session of pre-match meditation.
Said Jones at a press conference after UFC 140, “It was really beautiful, but it was so cold out there I could only mediate for about maybe 15 minutes because I didn’t want to get sick. I’m standing next to this waterfall to the side of this like stream. It was just so cold, it was way colder by the water.
Ball's Falls lower falls (Ball drop falls?)
“I got a good 12 minutes in but the job was done. We felt really refreshed and our spirits were lifted on the ride back to the hotel. So mission complete.”
What we want to know is, was this at the scenic lower falls section? And was Jones inspired by the exposed Silurian and Ordovician rock strata he could see there? In fact, if he was so inspired, is he really a normal human? Or is he some earth elemental druid warrior who has manifested to show us the true path?
And what about the poor Conservation Authority staff? They mostly just have to deal with the bridezillas who rent out The Big Barn. What’s going to happen this summer when a bunch of pilgrims in Tapout shirts start Mecca-ing their way to Ball’s Falls to “Ommmm” under trees.
It’s all your fault Jon Jones.
* GSP’s hurt, Anderson Silva’s getting old, and Jose Aldo’s a relative runt, so yeah, Jones’ is totally the toughest, well, not counting Junior Dos Santos.
Also, Jones’ last three wins were all against ex-champs — Machida, Rampage Jackson and Shogun Rua — he’s facing top guys, not whoever’s left in the division, so that counts for something, too.
Filed under Jock Stuff, Travel
I Overcame My Autism And All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder: A Memoir
Risky Fuel 