Geography
Copenhagen and the climate conference
A United Nations conference on the climate and global warming will begin tomorrow in Copenhagen, Denmark. While that may not seem like a riot-inducing topic, apparently it’s a huge sticking point for many groups planning both peaceful and not-so-peaceful demonstrations. It’s assumed to be so bad that Copenhagen has amped up its police force to [...]
Shooting at Fort Hood
Hasan The big news to know about today is the shooting rampage which occurred at a military base in Texas yesterday. According to various reports, it is suspected (but not yet confirmed as of this posting) that Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on the military base and, as a result, 12 soldiers and one [...]
Tahiti – Middle of Nowhere, but a beautiful Nowhere
Tahiti – exotic vacation spot, enchanted honeymoon location, but where the heck is it? As the main island of French Polynesia, Tahiti is located in the South Pacific, about 2,500 miles southeast of Hawaii. Tahiti and the other 34 islands of French Polynesia are geographically diverse, with mountains and volcanoes forming picturesque landscapes. It’s no [...]
Philippines – Geography and Storm News
If you haven’t already heard, terrible storms and flooding have ravaged the northern portion (circled on the map below) of the Philippines. More than 200 people are already confirmed dead, and almost 2 million people have endured flooded houses and shelters, many of them forced to evacuate. Unfortunately, additional storms are headed in the same direction. While [...]
Martha’s Vineyard: More Yard than Vine
You’ve heard about it a million times in the news lately since President Obama and his family are currently vacationing there, but do you actually know where or what Martha’s Vineyard is? Martha’s Vineyard is an island in New England, officially a part of Massachusetts. No, it’s not the same thing as Nantucket – that’s [...]
Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones, Oh My!
You may not have known it, but we are a full ten weeks into the 2009 hurricane season. It was setting up to be a quiet season until the past week produced three tropical storms, including Bill, the first Atlantic 2009 hurricane. We at Dinner Topics want you to be prepared to weather the storm [...]
Lockerbie Controversy
No doubt you have heard or read about the “Lockerbie Bomber” in recent days. A few quick notes before the full explanation: Lockerbie is a place and al-Megrahi is the guy. Now, on to a quick summary of things you should know about this very interesting topic! On December 21, 1988, Lockerbie, Scotland made world [...]
Key West – Souther than South!
NBC’s Today Show is hanging out in Key West today. Aside from the standard stories of Hemingway and Truman, here’s a quick summary of the city everyone has heard about but few have visited: residents are known as Conchs (“conks”) the city sits on less than 6 square land miles population is estimated at less [...]
