Marty’s photo of the day #4421: Last night, Deb and I discussed whether we would take a ride in the Titan submersible to see the Titanic shipwreck if given the chance. We both agreed we’d do it, but not for the $250,000 per-person fee. Perhaps if OceanGate removed one of the zeros from the price […]
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Tag: Hippos
The beginning of a great adventure
Marty’s photo of the day #4363: I shot this photo at the beginning of one of Deb’s and my biggest adventures. We were with the Iban tribe (a tribe once famous for headhunting), on the island of Borneo. On the far side of this lake is the AI River (AI means “water” in the Iban […]
Zambezi River
Marty’s photo of the day #4330: This is the Zambezi River. Zimbabwe is on the near side and Zambia is on the far side. In between—lots of hippos!
Torrejón el Rubio, Spain
Marty’s photo of the day #4296: This is the Spanish town of Torrejón el Rubio. Some photos speak for themselves; others need a storyteller. So I’m going to be the storyteller for this one. The following comes from my sixth book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer: By the time […]
The brunch show
Marty’s photos of the day #4279-4781: Today, I’m featuring three pictures from my weekend in Chattanooga, Tennessee: 1. This morning I performed Around the World in 50 Minutes for the Parent’s Weekend Brunch at Southern Adventist University. Meal shows are usually death. For those of you who have watched the Amazon Prime series, The Marvelous […]
Campsite on the Zambezi
Marty’s photo of the day #4158: This was Deb’s and my first campsite, along the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe. At night, the hippos came on shore and roared—just a stone’s throw away from our tents. And joining them were lions roaring, elephants trumpeting, and hyenas whooping!
My forgotten first major adventure
Marty’s photo of the day #4075: I write both fiction and nonfiction. If you’ve read any of my nonfiction books, you know I’ve experienced some great adventures, from searching for venomous snakes in the Amazon Rainforest to hiking on all seven continents to surviving a hippo attack with my wife, Deb, in Zimbabwe to overcoming […]
Just how big is a hippo’s mouth?
Marty’s photo of the day #4068: Can an entire canoe fit sideways into a hippo’s mouth? I took this photo in Zimbabwe shortly after my wife, Deb, and I proved—yes, it most definitely can! For those who don’t already know the story, here’s an excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the […]
Marty Essen signed book special!
Signed books make great holiday gifts! Beginning today, I am offering a signed book special. Here are the prices: Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents: $19.95 Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico: $19.95 Time Is Irreverent: $14.95 Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not […]
I’m not going to let small-minded people dictate what I writ
I published Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents in 2007, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico in 2016, Time Is Irreverent in 2018, Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not Again! in 2019, Time Is Irreverent 3: Gone for 16 Seconds in 2020, and […]
Canoeing with hippos
Fitger’s Inn, now and in 2056
Marty’s photo of the day #3616: If you’ve read either Time Is Irreverent or Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, you know a little about Fitger’s. The historic Duluth landmark used to be the Fitger Brewing Company, but now it is a boutique hotel, a bookstore, and a collection of […]
Halestorm and Evanescence!
Marty’s photo of the day #3603: In the marriage advice chapter of my latest book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, I talk about how Deb and I have kept our 36-year marriage fresh by doing spontaneous things. Examples include suddenly deciding to travel to all seven-continents, moving to Montana […]
Nanga Sumpa
Marty’s photo of the day #3551: For anyone who has read my latest book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, this is Nanga Sumpa, the Iban longhouse that Deb and I raced the flooding deep-canyon river to get to. In Borneo, entire tribes live in a single longhouse, and when […]
Our feet tell the story
Marty’s photo of the day #3539: For those who have read my just released sixth book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, this photo says a lot. I took it the day after Deb’s and my backpacking trip on the mountainous island of Borneo with the Iban tribe. When torrential […]
Lizards think I’m ugly
Marty’s photo of the day #3528: The following excerpt from my newly published sixth book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, takes place in Australia: I had decided to hike up every river within a ten-mile stretch of Queensland coast. Since all the rivers dropped down from the mountains, I […]
Drunk shopping
Marty’s photo of the day #3527: The following excerpt from my newly published sixth book, “Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer,” takes place in Cangas de Onís, Spain: Once we finished our excellent meal, the man from behind the bar walked over and introduced himself as Angel, one of the […]
New York City stories
Marty’s photo of the day #3511: I took this photo of New York City several years ago, when I was on a college speaking tour. My soon-to-be-released humorous memoir, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, features several stories that revolve around New York City, including my trips there when I […]
Playing with octopuses
Marty’s photo of the day #3489: This is one of the two octopuses Deb and I played with while visiting the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. The story of our octopus adventure will appear in my sixth book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer. That book is ready to go, […]
Hits, Heathens, and Hippos cover reveal
Just arrived! The cover for my sixth book: Hits, Heathens, and Hippos. I don’t have a publication date yet, as I’m still evaluating publishing options. It could be as early as February or as late as November. I also have some great back cover blurbs from celebrities. Here’s one of them: “Hits, Heathens, and Hippos […]