Hear about travel to Kyrgyzstan as the Amateur Traveler talks to Eric Anderson about the central asian country where he has been serving as a Peace Corp volunteer.

Eric admits that he might not have been able to find Kyrgyzstan on a map before being sent to this beautiful mountainous country just west of China...

Hear about travel to Guizhou China as the Amateur Traveler talks to travel writer Gina Czupka from thistimetomorrow.net about her trip to this off the beaten path destination. 

Hear about travel to Mozambique as the Amateur Traveler talks to Simon Lewis from TarvelConceptSolution.com about this long thin country in Southeastern Africa.

Hear about travel to Basel, Switzerland as the Amateur Traveler talks to Claudia McCoy about her hometown.

Hear about travel to Geneva, Switzerland as the Amateur Traveler talks to Leyla Giray Alianak about the region where she lives. 

Hear about travel to Zambia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Graham Wales from outboundclan.com about their epic honeymoon in Africa and how they fell in love with Zambia.

Hear about travel to Baja Sur in Mexico as the Amateur Traveler talks to   author and travel writer Stuart Gustafson about his love affair with the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. 

Hear about travel to Northern Arizona as the Amateur Traveler talks to journalist Mark Smith about his recent road trip to beautiful Northern Arizona including half a dozen different parks in the National Park system.

Rio de Janeiro, Iguazu Falls and Manaus on the Amazon

Hear about travel to Uzbekistan as the Amateur Traveler talks to Latish Sharma about his travels on the Silk Road to ancient cities including Samarkand.

Hear about travel to Belize as the Amateur Traveler talks to Allison Greene from eternalarrival.com about her time in this small tropical country filled with shades of blue and green.

Hear about travel to Tucson, Arizona  as the Amateur Traveler talks to Misty Foster from Green Suitcase Travel about her adopted desert home.

Hear about travel to Switzerland as the Amateur Traveler talks to Gary Arndt from everything-everywhere.com about his recent trip to visit all the UNESCO sites in Switzerland.

Hear about travel to Minas Gerais, Brazil as the Amateur Traveler talks to Juergen Keller from southamerica.travel about the colonial heart of Brazil.

Hear about a two week New Zealand road trip  as the Amateur Traveler talks to Hanson Cheng.

Hear about what to do in Guangzhou as the Amateur Traveler talks to Bill Abbott about a somewhat less well known area for tourists in China.

Hear about travel to Phoenix, Arizona as the Amateur Traveler talks to Cindy Carlsson about Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun.

Hear about travel to Switzerland as the Amateur Traveler talks to Zack Best about this beautiful country where he has studied and worked.

Hear about travel to Arizona's National Parks as the Amateur Traveler talks to Gary Arndt from Everything-Everywhere.com about the many and varied parks in the Grand Canyon State.

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.

Sen. Ted Cruz was apparently about to get into mullet territory. He hadn’t had a haircut in three months. Things were looking grim for the Texas senator. Thankfully, Shelley Luther is able to do something about that. Luther is both famous and free after a viral clip of her standing up to a judge who…

The post Ted Cruz Stops by Shelly Luther’s Salon for a Trim, ‘True Authenticity’ Leaves Her Sobbing 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"

A new year brings another run at my annual predictions: For 17 years now, I’ve taken a few hours to imagine what might happen over the course of the coming twelve months. And my goodness did I swing for the fences last year — and I pretty much whiffed. Batting .300 is great in the majors, but it … Continue reading "Predictions 2020: Facebook Caves, Google Zags, Netflix Sells Out, and Data Policy Gets Sexy"

As the coronavirus crisis built to pandemic levels in early March, a relatively unknown tech company confronted a defining opportunity. Zoom Video Communications, a fast-growing enterprise videoconferencing platform with roots in both Silicon Valley and China, had already seen its market cap grow from under $10 billion to nearly double that. As the coronavirus began … Continue reading "New Research Shows Why and How Zoom Could Become an Advertising Driven Business"

If you’ve read Shoshana Zuboff’s Surveillance Capitalism, you likely agree that the most important asset for a data-driven advertising platform is consumer engagement. That engagement throws off data, that data drives prediction models, those models inform algorithms, those algorithms drive advertising engines, and those engines drive revenue, which drives profit. And profit, of course, drives … Continue reading "Zoom Is YouTube, Instagram, and WhatsApp – All in Two Months."

Between the infamous Peloton commercial, the wild Boyhood wannabe that ended up being a Subway ad, and the endless #girlboss marketing reminding you that even women can be part of the capitalist machine, 2019 was a year for advertising. 

But nothing quite tops this one, which was released in September but resurfaced in a viral tweet on Friday.  

The ad starts off with a bleak statistic: women hold just 10 percent of all patented inventions. Then, it pans over to a delightful montage of ambitious young women. Each one is filmed preparing for their career goals, from mixing delicate chemicals in a laboratory to carefully testing the consistency of soil.  Read more...

Zoom has become a way of life for some people as of late (despite, uh, some safety concerns), especially when it comes to work meetings. Whether it's a company-wide all hands or a team check-in, it's likely that if you're working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic, you've had to see your coworkers' shining faces in a video call. 

Actor, writer, and Groundlings comedian Caitlin Reilly perfectly encapsulated that one co-worker you just can't stand during these video meetings:

It's so relevant it hurts. Who hasn't heard the phrase "to piggyback off of" during one of these calls?

The inspiration behind the 'tok was experiences Reilly had sitting in Zoom meetings on behalf of her boss. "I had actually never been in a zoom meeting before, so it was funny for me to see all the different 'personality' types in a situation like that," Reilly told Mashable. "And so it popped in my head one day and I just made the video." 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 Jen Bruno, SVP of culture and human capital at LPL Financial, about mobilizing a change-ready workforce, leadership […]

This Sunday, Weezer will cameo on The Simpsons and as a teaser, the band released their cover of "The Simpsons Theme" by Danny Elfman. From Rolling Stone:

In the new episode of The Simpsons, Weezer will play a cover band called Sailor’s Delight, which serves as the house act on a romantic cruise Homer and Marge are taking. Sailor’s Delight will “perform” a handful of tracks from Weezer’s 2019 self-titled record (also known as The Black Album) and their 2017 effort Pacific Daydream, while the episode will also boast the premiere of the band’s new song, “Blue Dream,” from their upcoming LP, Van Weezer.

The "transient bazaar" known as Lost Horizon Night Market is a covert operation. Worlds are imagined and then built inside the blank canvasses of empty box trucks. For the event, all the "proprietors," and their appointed box trucks, convene in an unsanctioned, though discreet, location. This location is disclosed to would-be "shoppers" via text just a few hours before it starts. Word of the market generally spreads rapidly but not publicly, definitely not by social media. If you're lucky enough to hear about it, you should go.

So, Happy Mutants, this is your heads up. Lost Horizon Night Market: Quarantine Edition is happening Saturday, May 9, from 6:59p EST until 11:59p EST, "rain or shine." This one is a little different, as the spaces are virtual, not in actual, physical trucks. I got a sneak peek yesterday of what's been created and can't wait to dive in deeper. Admission is free, though tips are appreciated. RSVP here.

Previously: Secret box truck 'night market' pops up again in NYC Read the rest

Cochrane RCMP say charges have been laid against two individuals in connection with an investigation that began with a firearms complaint.

Rafael Nadal insists all players, including Novak Djokovic, will need to take a coronavirus vaccine should one become available.

Andy Robertson admits he would "love" the chance to play for Scottish giants Celtic one day.

The Vuelta a Espana organisers have confirmed that a race already rescheduled and shortened would also now cut its foray into neighbouring Portugal from the 2020 itinerary.

Former England opener Alex Hales is confident he has matured as a player and believes he is ready to make a return to international cricket.

It isn’t surprising that former Springbok tighthead Richard Bands is remembered mainly for one bullocking run for the Springboks in Dunedin in 2003.

India top-order batsman Rohit Sharma is hopeful their tour to Australia at the end of 2020 is allowed to proceed.

France defender Samuel Umtiti has picked up a calf injury in just the second session since Barcelona returned to training from the cornonavirus quarantine.

Salomon Rondon says he was on his way to joining Manchester United in January only for Dalian Professional to block the move.

Danny Jordaan says it would be massively complicated to ensure the safety of supporters should the PSL return while Covid-19 is still prevalent in South Africa.

Police in Haiti are investigating allegations that the president of the national football federation raped teenage girls.

Australia's Super Rugby competition is planning for an early July return, a spokesman has said.

Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has said he feels "fresher than ever" following an unexpected break from Formula One.

The South African Football Association has confirmed the appointment of advocate Tebogo Motlanthe as new acting CEO.

Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper believes Major League Baseball should relax its "dumb" rule preventing top players from competing in the Olympics.

AC Milan have revealed that none of their first-team footballers or staff were positive for coronavirus.

The genial young administrator with a burgeoning reputation chuckles when it's pointed out to him that he can't seem to shake off 'working' for some of South Africa's biggest businessmen.

Including a shoulder-brush with a livid Steve Waugh, Rob Houwing remembers witnessing SA's heroic finish to an otherwise stormy 2001/02 Australian tour.

Former Proteas head coach Ray Jennings is adamant Aiden Markram should be chosen as Faf du Plessis' replacement as captain of the Test team.