Here's a news article that caught my eye and I thought I'd share it with you because I hope you like to travel as much as I do.
The Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber came up with the idea back in 1999. He decided it was about time people voted on the "new" seven wonders of the world. He and a partner decided it would be done on a world-wide bases and that the votes could be cast via and that a nonprofit group would conduct the counting of the ballots. Well, the results of this global poll, where about 1 million votes were casted, was announced Saturday, July 7, 2007.
The Great Wall of China, Rome's Colosseum, India's Taj Mahal and three architectural marvels from Latin America were among the new seven wonders of the world chosen. Jordan's Petra was the seventh winner. Peru's Machu Picchu, Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer and Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid rounded-off the list.
The seven beat out 14 other nominated landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island in the Pacific, the Statue of Liberty, the Acropolis, Russia's Kremlin and Australia's Sydney Opera House.
The pyramids of Giza, the only surviving structures from the original seven wonders of the ancient world, were assured of retaining their status in addition to the new seven after indignant Egyptian officials said it was a disgrace they had to compete. Almost 200 nominations came in, and the list was narrowed to the 21 most-voted by the start of 2006. Organizers admit there was no foolproof way to prevent people from voting more than once for their favorite.
The announcements was made in a media presentation before an audience of 50,000 people at a soccer stadium in Portugal's capital, Lisbon. Many jeered when the Statue of Liberty was announced as one of the candidates. The statue and Australia's Sydney Opera House were near the bottom of the list from the start.
The traditional seven wonders were concentrated in the area around the Mediterranean and Middle East. That list was derived from lists of marvels compiled by ancient Greek observers, the best known being Antipater of Sidon, a writer in the 2nd century B.C.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria have all vanished.
I'm proud to say I've seen two (Rome's Colosseum and Mexico's Chichen Itza) of the new Wonders and one of the ancient (the pyramids of Giza). Each place has its own mystical charm. All are breathtaking, even the Colosseum with Rome's maddening traffic whirling around it. There's a park that overlooks the Colosseum and on my last visit I ate a box-lunch there. When I finished I happen to stumble upon a young Italian with an easel, drawing paper, and charcoal, sketching a likeness of the stone structure right before my eyes. I think he was so into what he was doing he never noticed me standing behind him looking over his shoulder. For a moment that afternoon, it seemed as if nothing else existed except for his hand skillfully moving over a white sheet of paper. Now that was a treat!
Research info provided by: www.npr.org
Now here's a poem that's sweeter than candy:
The Facts About "Modern Sex"
The Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber came up with the idea back in 1999. He decided it was about time people voted on the "new" seven wonders of the world. He and a partner decided it would be done on a world-wide bases and that the votes could be cast via and that a nonprofit group would conduct the counting of the ballots. Well, the results of this global poll, where about 1 million votes were casted, was announced Saturday, July 7, 2007.
The Great Wall of China, Rome's Colosseum, India's Taj Mahal and three architectural marvels from Latin America were among the new seven wonders of the world chosen. Jordan's Petra was the seventh winner. Peru's Machu Picchu, Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer and Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid rounded-off the list.
The seven beat out 14 other nominated landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island in the Pacific, the Statue of Liberty, the Acropolis, Russia's Kremlin and Australia's Sydney Opera House.
The pyramids of Giza, the only surviving structures from the original seven wonders of the ancient world, were assured of retaining their status in addition to the new seven after indignant Egyptian officials said it was a disgrace they had to compete. Almost 200 nominations came in, and the list was narrowed to the 21 most-voted by the start of 2006. Organizers admit there was no foolproof way to prevent people from voting more than once for their favorite.
The announcements was made in a media presentation before an audience of 50,000 people at a soccer stadium in Portugal's capital, Lisbon. Many jeered when the Statue of Liberty was announced as one of the candidates. The statue and Australia's Sydney Opera House were near the bottom of the list from the start.
The traditional seven wonders were concentrated in the area around the Mediterranean and Middle East. That list was derived from lists of marvels compiled by ancient Greek observers, the best known being Antipater of Sidon, a writer in the 2nd century B.C.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria have all vanished.
I'm proud to say I've seen two (Rome's Colosseum and Mexico's Chichen Itza) of the new Wonders and one of the ancient (the pyramids of Giza). Each place has its own mystical charm. All are breathtaking, even the Colosseum with Rome's maddening traffic whirling around it. There's a park that overlooks the Colosseum and on my last visit I ate a box-lunch there. When I finished I happen to stumble upon a young Italian with an easel, drawing paper, and charcoal, sketching a likeness of the stone structure right before my eyes. I think he was so into what he was doing he never noticed me standing behind him looking over his shoulder. For a moment that afternoon, it seemed as if nothing else existed except for his hand skillfully moving over a white sheet of paper. Now that was a treat!
Research info provided by: www.npr.org
Now here's a poem that's sweeter than candy:
The Facts About "Modern Sex"
What is modern sex?
Well, for the record,
it's bull dung heroically
sprayed over a mock-up
image of fork in the pork or
one finger pie licking good. It's
a whole night of lap soup at $300
a plate dinner organized in defiance
of the Labor Standards Act down lover's
lane. It's a varied assortment of girls attracted
to other pearls to lace your riddle. It's a pair of firm
mitts easily converted into foreign currency. It is not a
union between the body & mind stolen by cattle rustlers.
Nor is it less than 70 hours of mandatory community service
originally designed to be ornamental.
And for heaven sakes, stop spreading the rumor that
it's some kind of cross-gendered blood-sucking bat.
it's some kind of cross-gendered blood-sucking bat.
Poem first published at: http://litchaos.com/
Visit my e-zine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and music blog: http://www.medleymakersant.blogspot.com/
Visit my e-zine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and music blog: http://www.medleymakersant.blogspot.com/
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