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Articles by Natalia

Lonely Planet releases free Christchurch download

by Natalia
Travel / January 26, 2012

One of the things I like about working in the publishing industry is the long lead times: in an age of 24-hour newscasts and instantaneous gratification, publishers are unique in producing reflective, sustained, intelligent coverage of hot button issues.

But the glacial pace of traditional publishing has its drawbacks—I remember working on a book once that took a decade to move from conception to printing—and of course this is particularly problematic in travel publishing.

Case in point: Lonely Planet's 16th edition of the New Zealand travel guide is due to be published in September, but because it was written before last February's earthquake, the current edition is of limited use on the ground.

So this week Lonely Planet is releasing a free download of the Christchurch chapter on its website.  The chapter, researched by Brett Atkinson in December, is the first Christchurch guide to be released since the earthquake, and Lonely Planet is taking the unusual step of making it available eight months ahead of the guide's official release. 

Kudos to Lonely Planet for being nimble enough to get the most up-to-date post-quake travel information out to travellers as quickly as possible!

Any Canadian travellers planning a trip to New Zealand can find out more about the book here.

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Gung Hay Fat Choy

by Natalia
Events + Fiction + Science Fiction and Fantasy / January 23, 2012

Happy Chinese New Year!  Festivities began for the new year yesterday: we are leaving the year of the rabbit and entering the year of the dragon, one of the mightiest and most auspicious symbols in the zodiac.  I'm looking forward to Vancouver's Chinese New Year parade this Sunday — always a great event for families.

In honour of the new year, here are a few books featuring the finest, scaliest, most terrifying firebreathers around!

Dragonships of Vindras series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dragon Age series by David Gaider:

Of course, the Wheel of Time series.  Tor is giving away 50 copies of The Eye of the World in celebration of the new year!

And let's take a moment to acknowledge the very first (Western) dragon of them all — a thousand years later still unmatchable for its bloodcurling ferocity:

Then the baleful fiend its fire belched out,
and bright homes burned. The blaze stood high
all landsfolk frighting. No living thing
would that loathly one leave as aloft it flew.
Wide was the dragon’s warring seen,
its fiendish fury far and near,
as the grim destroyer those Geatish people
hated and hounded. To hidden lair,
to its hoard it hastened at hint of dawn.
Folk of the land it had lapped in flame,
with bale and brand.                                                         —Beowulf XXXI

Remember to clean your house from top to bottom for good luck in the coming year.

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Pity the Billionaire

by Natalia
Current Affairs + Politics / January 12, 2012

Thomas Frank burst onto the political scene back in 2004 with the publication of What's the Matter with Kansas? which, it's fair to say, became one of the iconic political books of the last few years, much discussed and widely reviewed.  With the US Republican primaries in full swing and a new book just out on the shelves, Tom is back in the spotlight.

The presidential primaries matter in Canada: with the Liberals floating a proposal for US-style primaries at this week's upcoming convention, following the American primaries is both entertaining and a topical refresher on the politicals of our southern neighbour. 

"Thomas Frank is the thinking person’s Michael Moore." -New York Times

"You ought to read this book" -The Huffington Post

"[T]he fact that the right could be furious with anyone but itself is an astonishing story and one that Thomas Frank was born to cover." -The Guardian

Check out Tom's recent appearance on Democracy Now!

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My Favourite Book of 2011: Natalia (Publicity)

by Natalia
Food & Drink / December 20, 2011

I got my hands on a copy of Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty earlier this year and I've been cooking my way through it ever since.  Usually when I buy a cookbook, if even one recipe makes it into my personal collection I call it a success—but with Ottolenghi it's recipe after recipe after recipe that I make over and over again.  We'll even be doing his pear crostinis as appetizers for Christmas dinner this year—and a recipe has to be pretty fabulous for my family to break with tradition on such a special occasion!

My favourite, though, has to be the saffron taggliatelle with spiced butter.  This is to die for, my friends.  I felt compelled to buy a pasta maker just to do justice to the pine nuts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green bean salad with mustard seeds and tarragon.  The fun part is when he directs you to pop the mustard seeds like popcorn!

 

 

 

Sadly, I don't have a picture handy, but I can tell you that there is nothing more exquisite than caramelized fennel with goat's cheese.  I had my doubts about fennel—it's a weird looking vegetable don't you think?—but this recipe is delicious.

What are you all cooking this week?  Have you ever changed anything about Christmas dinner or is always the same?

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Shakespearian conspiracy theories

by Natalia
Current Affairs + Film + History / October 31, 2011

I was pretty excited over the weekend to hear that Roland Emmerich's new movie Anonymous is out.  I love me a good Elizabethan costume drama—the clothes, the language, the political intrigue!  If you haven't heard of it, the film dramatizes the Oxfordian theory of authorship—the idea that Shakespeare's plays were written by Edward de Vere, the 17th earl of Oxford (who, as various people have pointed out, died several years before the publication of The Tempest).

The film has triggered a positively apoplectic response from the scholarly community; the New Yorker's David Denby calls it a story "so rotten that, as Shakespeare, or, rather, Oxford, might put it, the kites wheel and shriek rather than batten on so foul a carcass."

Personally, I find the authorship question rather silly—I prefer to read the plays for themselves rather than scan them Da Vinci Code-style for hidden clues to their composition.  And why fabricate conspiracy theories when so much historically accurate skulduggery exists?  If you like your Shakespeare spiced with criminal intrigue yet still backed up by rigorous scholarship, may I suggest:

The Shakespeare Thefts

 

Stealing the World's Most Famous Book

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Lonely Planet partners with UN to give relief workers vital information

by Natalia
News + Travel / October 03, 2011

There was lots of excitement in the office last Friday over some big news from Lonely Planet: in celebration of World Tourism Day, Lonely Planet is announcing a new partnership with the United Nations to provide information for first responders in humanitarian emergencies.  Staff from UN agencies deployed in the event of a disaster will be able to use Lonely Planet’s information to help them familiarize themselves with the country before traveling.

"Lonely Planet's expert content makes it easier for humanitarian workers to hit the ground running in unfamiliar environments," said Gwi-Yeop Son, Director of Corporate Programmes at OCHA. "We value Lonely Planet's commitment to provide accurate and up-to-the-minute information for our teams on the ground."
 

“Lonely Planet’s mission is to provide trustworthy and informative content about a destination,” said John Boris, Executive Vice President of Lonely Planet Americas.  “Our unique, in-depth information will empower the teams of humanitarian workers to learn quickly about the areas they are working in and the people they will be assisting.”

This is wonderful news, and a huge vote of confidence in the quality of Lonely Planet's information.  Congrats to Lonely Planet!

You can read more about the partnership here.

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New Lonely Planet Translation apps!

by Natalia
News + Travel / September 28, 2011

This past week I’ve been on vacation in San Francisco, my first trip outside Canada in some time.   Heading back to work this morning through familiar streets, armed with my cell phone, bus pass, and a steaming mug of home-brewed coffee, I was struck by the conveniences of being a local.  The everyday practicalities of travel can be frustrating—tracking down wifi, finding a pay phone, dealing with public transit—all these small details of life which you wouldn’t give a second thought at home can become a big hassle in an unfamiliar city.

So I was excited when I heard about Lonely Planet’s latest offering to beleaguered travellers: The Lonely Planet Offline Translator, available on Android and iOs.  From the Lonely Planet folks:

The perfect travel companion, Lonely Planet Offline Translator acts as your own personal translator, providing bespoke translations based on what the user has typed or spoken into the phone. Unlike other language translation apps, Lonely Planet Offline Translator is completely offline, which means it can be used anywhere with no data/roaming fees or connection delays.

Initially launching in eight languages, the app translates words, phrases or whole sentences into immediate audio or text translations. Designed specifically for travelers, the app utilizes over 40,000 words for its translations. It also features a completely searchable dictionary.

I love travel apps, and this one sounds pretty nifty—to my mind, this make much more sense than lugging around a heavy dictionary everywhere you go.  What do you all think? Ever used the Lonely Planet apps abroad?

Happy travels everyone!

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