Jan 4, 2017

2017 Dakar Rally traverses some of South America’s most treacherous terrain

Steve Earley 0 Comment Americas, The Baltimore Sun, World racing, South America, sports

12 Photos

Professionals and amateurs on four and two wheels are about a quarter of the way through the 2017 running of the Dakar Rally, a grueling — and, over the course of its 39-year history, sometimes deadly — off-road endurance race. Originally run from France to Senegal, the race, inspired by a rider in a traditional rally who got lost in the desert, was moved to South America eight years ago due to security concerns. This year’s rally started Monday in Asuncion, Paraguay, and is scheduled to finish Jan. 14 in Buenos Aires.

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Dec 21, 2016

Welcoming winter around the Northern Hemisphere

Steve Earley 0 Comment Americas, Eurasia First day of winter, rituals, solstice, winter, winter solstice

10 Photos

Today, areas north of the equator marked the winter solstice, when their hemisphere is titled farthest away from the sun.

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Dec 7, 2016

Pearl Harbor attack 75th anniversary marked across U.S.

Steve Earley 0 Comment The Baltimore Sun Hawaii, history, military, Pearl Harbor, war, World War II, WWII

14 Photos

Across the county Wednesday, public ceremonies, private remembrances, and impromptu selfies marked the 75th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that pushed the United States into World War II.
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Nov 16, 2016

Myanmar’s Tazaungdaing Lighting Festival

Steve Earley 0 Comment Eurasia, World balloons, festival, Fireworks, hot air balloons, light festival, lights, Myanmar

10 Photos

Day and night for a week in northeastern Myanmar, homemade fireworks woven into hot air balloons’ bamboo frames are released over adoring crowds, showering them in sparks. The Tazaungdaing Lighting Festival is regarded as one of the most beautiful and dangerous celebrations in Asia.

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Nov 2, 2016

Fall in Germany

Steve Earley 0 Comment Eurasia, World autumn, Europe, fall, foliage, Germany, leaves, nature, trees, weather, Western Europe

10 Photos

Oktoberfest isn’t the only highlight of autumn in Germany. Just take a swig of this scenery.

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Oct 5, 2016

National Trust’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places 2016

Steve Earley 0 Comment Nation, The Baltimore Sun architecture, Arizona, history, Louisiana, National Trust for Historic Preservation, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, preservation, San Francisco, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia

8 Photos

The National Trust for Historic Preservation annually complies a list to identify “important examples of the nation’s architectural and cultural heritage that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage.” The designation can help galvanize grassroots and political support for protecting sites, but isn’t always welcomed by locals. Here are looks at eight from this year’s cohort, many of which are in urban areas.

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Sep 12, 2016

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games swimming, fencing, track and field, soccer, table tennis

Steve Earley 0 Comment Americas, Sports Brazil, paralympics, Rio, Rio de Janeiro, soccer, sports, swimming, track and field

16 Photos

Ticket sales for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games have surged following a slow start, to second-best in the games’ 56-year history, after London, according to the Associated Press. Competitions run through Sunday.

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Aug 31, 2016

‘Tomatina’ tomato fight festival

Steve Earley 0 Comment Eurasia, World festivals, Spain, Tomatina, Tomatina festival, tomatoes

9 Photos

Had enough salad and gazpacho? Here’s another way to use up tomatoes. The annual “Tomatina” tomato fight was this morning in Bunol, a village outside Valencia, Spain. Drawing from a 160-ton cache, for an hour or so, thousands of people, many of them tourists, lobbed the ripe fruit like snowballs, bathing each other and the surrounding streetscape in pulp and juice.

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Aug 24, 2016

Earthquake hits central Italy

Steve Earley 0 Comment Eurasia, World disasters, earthquake, Italy, natural disasters

10 Photos

More than 100 were killed and hundreds more injured in a magnitude 6 earthquake before dawn in central Italy. In the mountainside villages around the epicenter, scores of buildings were reduced to rubble. “The town isn’t here anymore,” said Sergio Pirozzi, the mayor of Amatrice. Swaying could be felt some 60 miles away in Rome.

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Aug 5, 2016

Plein air paintings capture pre-flood Ellicott City

Steve Earley 0 Comment Maryland, The Baltimore Sun art, ellicott city, flooding, floods, Maryland, natural disasters, painting, paintings, plein air

19 Photos

Three weeks before flood waters raged through the streets of historic Ellicott City, artists perched on its sidewalks and hillsides to paint what they saw, sights, it turned out, that in many cases may never look quite the same again.

Forming a unique composite of how the area appeared right before the disaster, the dozens of works created during the Howard County Arts Council‘s annual plein air paint out are also providing a means to help artists recover from it.

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