Newsletter

e-Marginalia :: Contest Winners; New Travel Resources & Editors!
Issue #12, December 1, 2004
http://www.e-marginalia.com

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In this issue:

~ WELCOME e-MARGONAUTS :: Contest Winners; New Travel Resources & Editors!
~ MEANDERING MARGAUX :: Food & Folks at The Mohegan Sun
~ FEATURE STORIES :: Top Travel Tales
          Style & Charm in Granada, Nicaragua, by Degan Beley
          The Meanest Man in Laos, by Mark Bowden
          Isla Guadalupe: Mexico’s Great White Sharks, by Patric Douglas
          Twelve Dawns in Trinyi, Jeff Fuchs
          Carpinchos & Caimans: Exploring Argentina’s Los Esteros del Iberá, by Mike Norman
~ VACATION RENTALS :: Check out these New Listings!
          Mt. Baker Lodging (Washington)
          Casa Brava (Puerto Vallarta)
          Carolinian Myrtle Beach (South Carolina)
~ MARGAUX RECOMMENDS :: Time Sensitive Offers
~ e-MARGAUX LITE :: Quotations, Anecdotes and Humour

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~ WELCOME e-MARGONAUTS :: Contest Winners; New Travel Resources & Editors!

It's hard to believe that over a year has passed since we launched the first e-Marginalia Travel Story Contest, and even harder to believe how popular they're becoming. We're thrilled! Thank you, thank you, thank you for encouraging this process along with your submissions, your recommendations, your readership, and your comments. We're striving to grow e-Margaux and e-Marginalia to meet your needs and desires, and your support and advice have been absolutely instrumental in shaping both.

Once more we find ourselves at an exciting threshold, concluding one contest and beginning another, but this time it coincides with the holidays and the transition from 2004 (e-Marginalia's first great year) to 2005 which promises to be an even more invigorating year for us. And so much exciting news to share.

First off, we have three new e-Marginalia winners to announce. As you know, we track the popularity of the e-Marginalia contestants and reward the top three, and leading the pack for her spellbinding piece, "Phi Ta Khon, Festival of Life", veteran e-Marginalia travel writer Laura Siciliano has raised the bar in prose and popularity to a whole new level. Not only does Laura convey her travel experiences with nimble word craft, she also succeeds in capturing her diverse subjects in immensely popular photographs. We were thrilled to publish her work for a second time and are eager to see what she'll come up with next.

Hot in pursuit in the popularity rankings, another veteran e-Marginalia contestant, Jamie Welling, remained neck-and-neck with Laura from day one. Her reflective travelogue, "Crossing the Panama Canal", employs the same intimately personal tone as her first travel story, "The Outback", and is once more complemented with her quirky, narrative photos. In addition to great storytelling, Jamie Welling seems a sort of Pied Piper judging by the great many flattering comments her stories receive.

Third place goes to a brand new e-Margonaut, Jennifer LiMarzi, whose zany comparison, "San Francisco vs. New York City", breezed into the top three early in the contest and remained there until the final numbers were tallied. This unflinching New Yorker turned her storytelling lens (a catchy marriage of wit and savvy observation) on "Everyone's Favorite City" and earned herself a place in the winners' circle. We hope she'll tackle a quirky New York City story soon with the same gusto.

Congratulations to Laura, Jamie and Jennifer! All three are receiving cash rewards for their performances, the largest yet due to the growing popularity of the e-Marginalia contests. In fact, due to this exciting upward trend we've decided to dilate the numbers and types of contests for next year, and hopefully will be including the new contest calendar in the next newsletter including competitions for travel poems, short stories and photographs. Something for everyone. So keep your eyes peeled and start composing your submissions now.

Which brings us to another big news item: e-Marginalia Travel Story Contest #5 is now underway. Check out the following stories which are competing for most popular between December 1, 2004 and February 1, 2005:

• Style & Charm in Granada, Nicaragua, by Degan Beley
• The Meanest Man in Laos, by Mark Bowden
• Isla Guadalupe: Mexico’s Great White Sharks, by Patric Douglas
• Twelve Dawns in Trinyi, by Jeff Fuchs
• Carpinchos & Caimans: Exploring Argentina’s Los Esteros del Iberá, by Mike Norman
• Welcome to Malaysia, by Art Segal
• Volunteering in Ile D’Hoedic, by Netanya Stutz
• Daring Dives in the Riviera, by Patrick Wensink
• Back at Shakespeare’s Globe, by Wayne E. Yang

Enjoy the entertaining new storytelling, and be certain to check out the photography some of which is perfectly outstanding. Travel Editor, Nana Chen, did another impressive job of selecting and editing this round of stories, despite the fact that she did so a couple of months early before departing on her global journey which she'll be wrapping up over the holidays in time to tackle the February contest. Nana's periodic updates from far flung destinations have kept us excited about her wanderings, but I admit that nothing will please me more than having her back at the helm in January.

Sticking with the editorial bent for a moment I’d like to extend a warm and enthusiastic welcome to three staff editors who've recently joined the e-Margaux team.

Alice Kang, a Los Angelino who edits for a law corporation and finished her studies in June 2003 at the Universita per Stranieri in Siena, Italy and the University of California, Riverside, is not only an editing superstar. She's also bilingual in English and Korean, and knowledgeable in Spanish and Italian. What better tools for becoming a global nomad?

Melody Lee, a 1999 journalism graduate of San Francisco State University living in Canoga Park, California, brings the e-Margaux team diverse editing experience from travel and medical publications to her current position as copy editor for FLEX magazine. Although she's getting married this spring and shifting her focus to mostly to freelance work, we're hoping she'll continue to write and edit for us.

Cole Redlawsk, a 2003 graduate of the University of Michigan living in Chesterfield, Michigan, may well be the overachiever of the year. In addition to a hefty non-writing/editing curriculum vitae, Cole is currently an editor for NFG Magazine, was an editorial intern for the Michigan Quarterly Review, and was a contributing editor for Fortnight. His editorial discipline and efficiency are quickly earning him MVP status on the e-Margaux team.

We feel lucky to have Alice, Melody and Cole onboard and are optimistic that all three will contribute significantly to the future success of e-Marginalia.

And last but not least, you may have noticed some great new options available to you on e-Margaux.com. We've partnered with TravelNow.com and Hotels.com to bring you special savings on hotels, flights discounts, and rental car deals. Check out the Travel Resources box at the top left of most web pages. In addition to a growing portfolio of unique vacation rentals, you can now book hotel reservations, compare and book airline tickets, and reserve rental cars all through e-Margaux.com! We've given you what you asked for. Please spread the word.

Sure enough, my marathon editor's note has wandered far and wide. Time to wrap up, but not before offering up a final congratulations to our contest winners and new editorial staff, bidding all new contestants good luck, and encouraging you to check out the Wandering Margaux feature story below about a stay at the Mohegan Sun resort casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Cheers,
George Davis, e-Marginalia Editor
e-marginalia@e-margaux.com

MEANDERING MARGAUX

Food & Folks at The Mohegan Sun "I expect to make about $1,500 each time I come. Sometimes a little less, sometimes more." I was listening to a self proclaimed professional gambler while waiting for The Mohegan Sun hotel shuttle to gather us up from the bus drop-off. We'd been inhaling diesel fumes from the idling buses for nearly half an hour as busload after busload disgorged excited gamblers. Three times we'd summoned the shuttle from the courtesy telephone; three times we were assured that the shuttle was on its way. But we were still waiting..."

FEATURE STORIES :: Top Travel Tales

Style & Charm in Granada, Nicaragua Think of Granada and the Spanish city might come to mind: rolling hills, sangria, tapas and other Andalusian details. But to focus on that place would be to neglect another gem with its own culture and landscape, Granada, Nicaragua… Meanest Man in Laos The meanest man in Laos probably didn't start out that way. In fact, mean might not be exactly the right word for this man. Mean is a neat little word, so broad and all encompassing of ill nature. Coupled with man, mean writes itself into a catchy title, and what better for an author than that… Isla Guadalupe: Mexico’s Great White Sharks This season Absolute Adventures-Shark Diver introduced 144 excited divers to the wild world of white sharks during our eight-week shark season. What we encountered there on our first expedition was nothing short of spectacular and began with an extraordinary introduction to one very wild great white that we quickly named “Shredder.” Twelve Dawns in Trinyi There was a soft tinkling and a slight shuffling. Everything was a blue black, the color of cold dawn, and I denied that it was time to move out of my warmth. The huge wooden doors to the prayer room opened and let in more dark air and cold mountain wind that plunged into the room. Ma muttered softly in Tibetan as she did every morning when all was dark... Carpinchos & Caimans: Exploring Argentina’s Los Esteros del Iberá Take Fletchabus #63 from Buenos Aires to Mercedes. A driver will meet you in Mercedes.” That was the extent of the correspondence I had received, and yet, like well-behaved sheep, Katie and I found ourselves at Buenos Aires’ Retiro bus station at 9pm, tickets in hand, ready to embark on what was supposed to be a ten-hour, 500-mile trip to the north…

NEW VACATION RENTALS :: Check out these New Listings!

Mt. Baker Lodging (Washington) Private, self-catered, fully equipped cabin, cottage, condo, chalet, and executive vacation home rental accommodations, in Glacier and Maple Falls, at the magnificent gateway to the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, and the adjacent Mount Baker Ski Area. Casa Brava (Puerto Vallarta) Located along the Rio Cuale in downtown Puerto Vallarta, this vacation rental offers tranquil, secure repose yet is only a short walk from shopping, the plaza, galleries and the beach... Carolinian Myrtle Beach (South Carolina) This new, luxurious two bedroom suite offers breathtaking, oceanfront pool and convenient access to all of the area amusements and attractions.

Margaux Recommends (Time sensitive offers)

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