national geographic

Palecek established the National Geographic Home Collection to celebrate authentic designs of artisan traditions and their countries of origin. What's even better is that net proceeds from the National Geographic Home Collection go to the World Cultures Fund, created to support the work of archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, and artists. Again, awesome.

Even though I definitely think that this collection is a cool idea, the styling for this photo is a little over the top. Although I realize that the intent was to highlight as many of the collection's products as possible, the overall effect is a jumbled, world-traveler-with-no-editing-ability mess. Am I just being harsh, or do you, too, find the overall effect a little unsettling?

Can you believe they're at 100 already?! Yesterday, the National Geographic Channel taped a special celebration in Burbank to mark the 100^th episode of the Dog Whisperer With Cesar Millan. It actually included a reunion of over 75 dogs and hundreds of owners who appeared on the show during its past four seasons . . . oh, and cake. The event also included two special sweet snacks, the one you see here is for the owners and another bone-shaped one for the pooches. Although you'll have to wait to see this episode, which won't air 'til fall, check out some behind-the-scenes piccys of the party when you read more

If you haven't guessed it already, I'm a huge National Geographic fan. I've already discussed how you can download the free National Geographic POD that will update your background with a new National Geographic image each day. Well National Geographic has just added more stunning high resolution photography wallpapers to their collection. From adventure and exploration to science and space wallpapers, you can check them all out here. Just click on the one you like, select wallpaper, choose the most appropriate size for your desktop screen, add it as your background and voilà—your desktop will instantly look fabulous!

At times we can all feel unmotivated to workout. It happens. Then, I come across something that makes me say, "I am so not sitting on the couch and watching tv tonight -- I am going for a run!"

Three men ran across the Sahara (yeah, the desert) for a great cause (a clean water initiative with the mission to create widespread public awareness of the water crisis in Africa) and a great film, The Running the Sahara. James Moll directed the film with a small film crew that tracked the runners across the desert, capturing their journey on camera, recording their athleticism combined with humanitarianism. With celebrity Matt Damon narrating, the film and the cause will hopefully get some attention.

These men ran for 111 days straight and covered 4,000 miles [gasp]. Not just any old 4,000 miles though. With the wind, extreme heat and cold and sand, these were possibly the most brutal 4,000 miles you could imagine. I would say that running across the Sahara (that is 6 countries by the way) definitely shows a great amount of physical and emotional determination and strength. Telling us once again, that we (as humans) are capable of so much more physically than we give ourselves credit. I can't wait for the film to come out! For more information, visit the Running the Sahara on National Geographic.

A 5k? That's nothing! So get started today!