Archive for December, 2010

Welcome to all Canada.com Readers!

Dec 21, 2010 writing

I was just informed that some of my tips on traveling to Paris on a budget were published in an article by Sharon Harvey Rosenberg and Myscha Theriault titled “How to see Paris for Pennies,” published on Canada.com.

So if you’re visiting here from that link, welcome!

If you’d like to read more of my travel tips, news and reviews, you can find me writing regularly at the following links:

  • CitySurfing Orlando – A blog about the city of Orlando, Florida
  • Suite101 – I am the featured Budget Travel writer there, but I also contribute articles site-wide
  • Uptake’s Lodging Blog – I write about lodging news, reviews and travel deals here
  • Uptake’s Nightlife Blog – I write about bars, clubs, festivals, family-friendly events and more at this blog. Basically if it involves going out after dark, and having fun, I’ll write about it.

You can also check out the archive of articles that I list here every month. It includes everything, including one-off articles and guest posts I do. You can also follow me on Twitter @zengrrl.

I hope you enjoyed my tips on traveling on a budget to Paris! Thanks again for visiting here.

Edit: It seems several newspapers have featured this wire piece, so welcome also readers of The Frugal Traveler, The Olympian, and The Republic.

[Photo by Pete Shelley]

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First Trailer for Thor

Dec 11, 2010 movies and tv

I had to admit, I have mixed feelings about the upcoming movie Thor. I’m a fan of the Marvel comics character, partially because I’m a fanatic about Norse mythology.

But then I heard that Kenneth Branagh was directing, and though he has directed some good movies, they’ve mostly been Shakespeare works. How would that translate to an action superhero movie?

I also saw some early stills from the movie and I wasn’t that impressed with the costumes – they looked plastic in the stills.

But today Marvel released a teaser trailer for Thor. After watching it, I may be swaying back towards a bit excited. The visuals – both for Asgard and Earth – look well done, and I like that Natalie Portman is playing the love interest.

The trailer shows Thor being banished from Asgard by Odin, him being discovered by Portman and a bit of the battles between Thor and his brother Loki, and Thor and the Frost Giants.

Here’s the trailer. Check it out and tell me what you think.

Thor stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo and Tom Hiddleston. It opens everywhere in 2D and 3D on May 6, 2011.

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A Meeting of Like Minds – The Central Florida TBEX First Meet-up

Dec 8, 2010 travel, writing

Sunday afternoon – a beautiful day in Orlando, I might add – I hopped in the car and headed over to the Orlando Science Center. It’s a really cool place, but I wasn’t there to see the exhibits. I was there to attend the very first meet-up of the Central Florida TBEX chapter.

TBEX stands for Travel Bloggers Exchange, and it is a web community where travel writers/bloggers can get together, share links, ask questions and basically serve as a support group for each other.

Well, Ben Reed of Adventures with Ben, decided to bring the online offline and form a local chapter of TBEX, to allow travel bloggers in Central Florida (actually any travel blogger passing through is welcome) to discuss the whole art (business?) of travel blogging.

Other than my fellow Uptake blogger Miss Britt, I’d never met any of the other bloggers in person – though I had been following Bess at Central FL Top 5.

I think towards the end, we got into a good discussion of how to get your blog more noticed, and how individually-produced travel blogs can compete with the huge corporate conglomerate blogs for readers.

After the meet-up, we gathered for a group photo (some members were MIA due to travels of their own) and then I checked out some exhibits on the way to pick up Rhonda from work.

This first meeting was a good one and I look forward to the next one in January. I’m hoping over time that we can grow into a cohesive enough of a unit that not only can we help each other out, but maybe even do some regional traveling together. Wouldn’t that be fun?

If you’re a travel blogger, you should join TBEX – it’s free and it’s nice to have a supportive group of people to bounce things off of. Make sure you sign up for the CFL TBEX group at that site, too.

I should note that Adventures with Ben and Central Florida Top 5 did posts on their views of the event. I also did a short post over at CitySurfing Orlando about this.

The other bloggers attending can be found online at the links below:

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My Articles/Posts for November 2010

Dec 1, 2010 travel, work, writing

I don’t just write here. I also contribute articles and posts elsewhere on the web. So in case you’ve missed any of them, I compile a monthly listing of all of the links.

Here are my November 2010 contributions to the written web universe:

Uptake.com:

Suite101.com:

I also did some Playlists (suggested itineraries) for the Uptake.com database. Check them out:

If you like any of these articles, please pass the links along via Twitter, Facebook, Stumble, etc.

I’d appreciate the help! =)

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