Many people may not have even heard of Doha until recently, but this tiny Gulf capital is quickly establishing itself on the global cultural scene.

I’ve been meaning for some time to post about the fabulous Doha Tribeca Film Festival that takes place in Doha each autumn, but in the meanwhile the Doha Film Institute (DFI) has announced some exciting news today that globally-minded creative types out there might find very worthwhile.

Starting next April 16, 2012, DFI will be hosting a three-day event called TEDxWWW - WWW standing for “worldwide workshop.” It’s an exclusive event where members of the international TEDx community and members of the TED team will get together to connect, share ideas, and brainstorm bigger and better ways of bringing the creative spirit and energy of TEDx gatherings to an even wider audience.

If you’re familiar with TED but not TEDx, check out their homepage here and learn how you can host your own independently organized TED event in your community.

For more details on TEDxWWW, visit the DFI website for the latest news.

I had the great fortune to spend last Christmas in Sri Lanka with my husband. We had an amazing time criss-crossing the country from Columbo to Kandy, down through tea country to the beaches of the southern coast and back up again.

Hands down, our favorite place to visit was the historic city of Galle. We spent several nights at the Amangalla, a beautifully restored historic hotel tucked away inside the walls of Galle Fort, a 17th century Dutch stronghold turned UNESCO World Heritage site.

If I had to call any hotel in the world home, it would be the Amangalla. Here’s a little collage of photographs I took of our stay there:

I love gadgets. Especially small, nifty gadgets that are fun *and* useful.

A New York-based company called Kogeto has been developing Dot, a cool new lens attachment that turns your iPhone 4 into a 360-degree panoramic video camera. To date, they’ve raised over $95,000 on Kickstarter (another one of my favorite things) to support product development.

Dot is expected to launch this summer, and I’m this close to giving in and pre-ordering one. It looks like it would be so much fun to play with for shooting travel videos, no?

I love this….

good:

If it’s not the best nostalgic photo blog out there, the brand-new Dear Photograph is at least the most inventive we’ve seen in a while. Combining people’s old pictures with their present-day surroundings, the site allows you to see what’s changed and what’s stayed the same in cities and homes around the world.

Some photo trends are dedicated to newness, while others celebrate the days of yore. But few, save for maybe “young me/now me,” find the nice middle ground where sentimentality meets interesting, modern creativity.

Intermission: Arguably the Greatest Nostalgic Photo Blog Yet - Culture - GOOD

Camels for sale at the Bur Dubai Souq - Dubai, UAE

Just finished: The Sorcerer’s Apprentices by Lisa Abend.  

Lessons learned: I will never, ever become (1) a professional chef that (2) specializes in monotonous techniques that will give you carpel tunnel and (3) occasionally extracts bunny tongues with tweezers and serves them as appetizers. But man would I have loved the chance to dine at elBulli.

Starting: Devil in the White City by Erik Larson.

What are you reading this summer?

One last frolic on the beach before dinner - Bali, Indonesia

American travelers headed to Europe this summer should read this NYT article as part of their pre-trip planning. Higgins offers useful advice on how to avoid common credit card problems that you may run into across the Atlantic due to system compatibility issues (us: old-school magnetic strips, them: sophisticated chip-and-PIN technology). Great tips to tide continental travelers over until we’re all paying for everything with our iPhones.

Punakha Dzong - Punakha, Bhutan