Free Stuff

Writers = Underfed. Slightly tattered. Looking for the next big idea.

So until you find it, check out some free stuff. I found it on a feed and thought it might be fun for fledgling writers everywhere. Sometimes when you can't go out and buy stuff, you need the psychological lift of a tangible item in some way, shape, or form.

I added the feed over to the bottom right, check it out. And let me know if anyone tries it!

Breaking into Travel Writing

A lot of people ask me how to break into travel writing, and quite honestly I'm never quite sure what to say. It felt like I stumbled into it, as if it were a streak of luck. But in fact luck is a combination of persistence and timing that you have to hit upon over and over again until it works. I always recommend new writers tackle subjects and destinations they know well and work on a kick-ass pitch.

Start with smaller markets in your area and work your way into national publications. But don't be afraid to pitch a few national magazines as well. You don't want to cut yourself out of a large magazine or newspaper due to a lack of persistence or the belief you can't break in. It's also a good idea to develop a niche for yourself whether a family market, elite travel, adventure, or whatever tickles your fancy. I don't have children but somehow fell into a family market. It's something I enjoy and can offer an adult-perspective to parents who want more than just a kid-friendly destination involving Disney World or Six Flags Over (fill in the state here).

However, I discovered an online publication I hadn't heard of called TravelLady.com. Though they don't pay, they do sometimes offer a letter of assignment to writers who have published with them at least 5-times. A letter assignment is crucial and means you can potentially land on a free press trip domestically and abroad. They also accept work from new writers. It's actually a publication I'd like to consider, they have interesting content and a solid page rank.


Check it out!

Who Else Thinks this Brooklyn Bridge Waterfall Fiasco is Dumb?

So tonight I'm going to peruse the Brooklyn Bridge via watertaxi for work to get a close-up view of this hideous waterfall. Do they really think it's going to rake in the dough from tourism? Right now it looks like a metal erecta-set circa 1982 and any minute Jimmy Hoffa's body is going to get sucked up into it and go over the edge. My hubster's comment this morning on the subway ride while we gawked at it over the Manhattan bridge with all the other commuters? "At least it'll help circulate the East River a little bit."

Frank Sinatra didn't sing about this in his Brooklyn Bridge song... "All the folks in Manhattan are sad... 'cause they all wish they had, a waterfall monstrosity under the Brooklyn Bridge!"

Apparently it's the handiwork of "brainchild of Danish artist Olafur Eliasson." He's the same brainchild of The Weather Project at the Tate Modern, London from 2003.

I do think it's interesting, but horrifically out of place and oddly offensive against such a beauty as The Brooklyn Bridge. It seems tainted somehow. I'll have a better close-up view tonight. Don't call me a hack, it's a free event, can you really pass up the opportunity?

Random Melarchy

The Olsen twins were on our flight from New York to Nashville this afternoon. We texted 10 of our friends before the cabin door closed to tell them and when we landed my cell phone was busting up with comments. The responses ranged from:

"Give Mary Kate a cheeseburger for me!"

"Amazing."

"Who are the Olsen twins?"

"Tell them Bob Boyett says hi."

"Have them sign your boobs for me."

"Do they look like bugged aliens in real life?"

...and my personal guilty favorite...

"Tell them Heath was one of their faults."


BURN! That was a bit harsh. But we have mean friends...

How Many "Pain at the Pump" Stories Can We Possibly Bear?

Here's some new headlines about 'Pain at the Pump' I'd like to see thrown in the mix. How many hourly horror stories about $5 gas can we read before driving all our cars straight into the Hudson?

Fuel Surcharges Grounds Mile High Club

Passengers Request Emergency Landing in Cleveland Instead of Columbus to Save on Surcharges

Pump Like a Prude

Gas Hikes Usher in the Apocalypse

Eat Your Young to Save on Gas

Gas Crisis? Live in Your Office Instead of Commuting

BP Boasts Excessive Fuel Spill to Alleviate Consumer's Fear of a Shortage



The most innovative, non-complaining, non-apocalyptic tool I've seen for gas calculations is AAA's Fuel Cost Calculator. Plot in your make and model of your car, miles per gallon, starting point and destination to find out how much gas is going to set you back. You can also compare cities to figure out which makes the most sense and where you can save. For a real treat, see what gas costs in your area, then torture yourself by seeing where gas is considered 'cheap'. Of course cheap is a matter of pennies, but hey, we're all feeling pain at the pump.

A Horror Film for Today's Economy

Do you ever wonder what would happen if Stephen King re-released Maximum Overdrive? No one would be frightened, of course, not even young children. I mean come on, it's a Stephen King film after all. But what would really throw us for a violent, blood-curdling loop is how much gas those alien semi trucks were sucking down without even giving thought to Emilio Estevez's pain at the pump. Now that's a modern horror story.

Why is Andrew Zimmern Always Eating Balls?

Seriously. Does anyone else watch Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern? I use to think food shows were terribly boring, a waste of airtime, and something you only watch at your grandma's who doesn't have real cable. It's not like you can actually eat the food or really get into the excitement of watching Rachael Ray throw EVOO (extra virgin olive oil for you Rachael haters) on the skillet.

But then I discovered Top Chef and realized that watching people eat and cook could be not only interesting, but utterly suspenseful. Nail biting, in fact. Who could believe it when Sam and the bald chick got booted from the show in favor of the guy who only made Spanish food and the mouse dude with the bouffant? Top Chef makes me nervous.

So after becoming a TV foodie, the hubster and I were bored or sick or procrastinating and started watching Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel. Here's the breakdown of a day in the life of Andrew Z: Andrew Zimmern traverses the world, searching high and low for the most bizarre foods on earth. And he delivers. If you're looking for a good edge of your seat drama, just watch Zimmern shove down intestines, fertilized duck embryo, cricket stir-fry, purple yam ice cream and cheese ice cream, worms, penis, and lots and lots of balls.

Lots of balls.

I haven't gotten to see the show that often, and it seems he's always downing some variation of testicles wherever he goes. And with great relish and satisfaction, I might add.

Snip, snip...

Before Ball Biting Zimmern, I wondered why the Travel Channel was chock full of food shows. But then I realized consumption and imbibing really is completely ingrained in what travel is all about. And it's not just about eating in the finest or weirdest restaurants complete with snapshots of you putting your head inside a stuffed boar's head. No.

I feel transported and alive when I'm traveling. And unfortunately I find that when I'm on vacation I want to eat with abandon and feel free to do so because I'm on vacation. It's an excuse to indulge and make up for all the crap you left behind. I'm away from my real life and my real problems and convince myself my real waistline was also left behind at home. Then I go to the gym and see how much weight I gained.

Andrew Zimmern also eats a lot of brains.


Watch the Zimmern in action...

Jump on the Frugal Bandwagon

This morning I logged onto CNN for my morning news and was startled to realize headlines about families, single parents, and the country at large are all competing with headlines about war, celebutrash, and breaking news. Usually about the latest in sport scandals.

Although frugality and gas spikes and mortgage crisis all go hand in hand, it really just hit me this morning that the entire country is nervously waiting for their own private economy to implode on itself. While I understand frugality and worries are all very real, it's interesting how the news depicts it all. Ladies are skipping their monthly salon appointments, families are clipping coupons, and people are switching to cloth napkins!!! The news somehow wants to make it into a stunning and compelling news piece. Instead, I'm finding delight in learning new ways to be frugal.

I've always been frugal at heart, though some people confuse that with being cheap. I'm frugal and will find a way to save even $5 from my bills, but I'll also find a way to fund a European vacation. I make travel a priority (not above paying bills and eating), and I find ways to scrimp on both my travel bills and daily life to make that a reality. Frugality is also an outlet for creativity, in my opinion. I love figuring out what's free and cheap and take pride in knowing what a great value I've gotten in my chosen activity or purchase.

So with all this in mind, I was dreading lugging myself up to my favorite Brooklyn bodega and buying a $15 bottle of economy sized Tide just to lug back to the apartment along with our groceries. Perhaps it was out of sheer laziness, but I decided to find out how to make my own detergent. Surely it would be cheaper, and less heavy, than name brands like Tide.

Seems like everyone else on the Internet has the same idea, especially those with children and loads upon loads of weekly laundry. Here's the homemade laundry detergent recipe I selected:

Homemade Laundry Detergent:

1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax

I wasn't sure what the hell Fels Naptha Soap was, but I got the idea I needed laundry bar soap. I settled instead on a body soap called Pure and Natural, hypoallergenic, dermatologist tested, and $1.00 for three bars. Score. Worried I'd end up with a crazy suds-out batch of laundry, I again asked google if regular bath soap was okay. Google said it depended on who was writing about the laundry recipe. Some insisted on laundry bar soap, but I found plenty of novice laundry detergent makers out there that suggest the likes of Lever 2000. I figured I was safe.

Borax was surprisingly easy to find, as well as Arm and Hammer Washing Soda. Not much is easy to find in Brooklyn including the Kraft pasta kit my Mom always used, normal salad dressing, or brand names other than Utz. So I was wildly impressed I wouldn't have to hit up 3 or 4 stores to find what I needed. In any case, make sure you select the washing soda from the detergent aisle at your store and not regular baking soda. Otherwise you'll have a mess on your hands.

Next, I cleaned out an old bottle of Tide (with memories of lugging it down the street just a few months prior), ready to make my detergent with the suggested 2 to 5 gallons of hot water. But then I saw how goopy the online recipes looked, half-gel, half-powder, and completely like being slimed circa Ghostbusters. (But not Ghostbusters III, I really didn't care much for that one).

I then realized I could just opt for homemade powdered detergent instead, which seemed much less of a hassle and mess to me. So I got out my blender and threw in the bar of soap, which grated with ease. I then mixed in the Washing Soap and Borax, but by then the blender was so gooped up with shredded soap, it did nothing but buzzed angrily at me. Most recipes call for use of a real food processor, but I live in Brooklyn with limited counter space and I'm not up for spending money on a food processor to make my own laundry detergent.

I poured the mixture into a large zip lock bag and sort of jiggled it around so everything would mix together after my blender went dumb. I then had the foresight to write Laundry Detergent on it and 1 TBSP per Load. I know by the time I do laundry again, I'll have no idea what I'm doing. Either that or my hubster will dump in the whole bag and go to town on just one load, saving us nothing.

The verdict? Came out great. I really didn't notice much of a difference from the Tide I was using before. It didn't smell like anything at all, so next time I might drop in a touch of lavendar or lemon to the load to give it that Tide fresh scent we know and love. Next, I want to make my own fabric softener. That furry bear Snuggles is really getting on my nerves and a drain on my wallet.

The Breakdown:

Prep Time - 3 minutes, a marginal difference from just pouring a cup of Tide.

Use - 1 tablespoon per load (2 for heavily soiled loads) for approximately 35 loads total.

Cost - Approximately $7 upfront, but I can easily make about 9 more batches with the Borax and Washing Powder and spend about $2 for more soap. Overall, a projected cost of $.03 a load compared to Tide's $.35 a load.

Will doing $.03 loads of laundry enable me to pay for my Scotland trip this fall? No, but it'll save me lugging economy sized Tide around for a 1/3 of the cost, all while saving the environment. I say that's a day well spent.

You too can make your own detergent... and go to Scotland!