Destination: Nevada
Interview with Bonnie Tsui: ‘American Chinatown’
by Jenna Schnuer | 10.07.09 | 10:07 AM ET
Photo by Matthew Elliott Jenna Schnuer talks to the author of a new book about American Chinatowns and why "broken Chinese is the mark of being Chinese American"
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Yahoo! BuzzThis Week in Tourism Slogan Mishaps
by Eva Holland | 10.02.09 | 12:45 PM ET
It’s been a rough week for a couple of local U.S. tourism boards. First up, the Wisconsin Tourism Federation changed its name—to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin—after catching on that the federation’s acronym, WTF, means something different when the kids say it. And then Reno’s mayor vetoed a proposed slogan that, as far as I can tell, doesn’t mean anything at all. The short-lived idea? “A Little West of Center”—which, said Mayor Bob Cashell, “doesn’t do a thing for me.”
Indeed. As the kids might say: WTF?
Video You Must See: Burning Man in Time Lapse
by Eva Holland | 09.29.09 | 4:42 PM ET
(Via The Daily Dish)
‘CSI: The Experience’ Comes to Vegas
by Eva Holland | 09.10.09 | 12:04 PM ET
Well, finally. I’ve been waiting for Las Vegas to really tap into the “CSI” theme—no, the mugs and t-shirts in the cheapo gift shops on Fremont aren’t enough for me—and now the MGM Grand has obliged with a new exhibit, CSI: The Experience. Writes Jen Leo over at the Daily Deal blog: “You will act as an investigator and go through one of three crime scenes. Take notes, analyze clues and watch videos with characters from the TV show while you learn about DNA identification, firearm and toolmark identification, blood-spatter analysis, forensic entomology and more.”
Next time I make it to Vegas, I am so there. Who says learning can’t be fun?
Joel Stein in Las Vegas: ‘I Have Come for Revenge’
by Michael Yessis | 08.18.09 | 2:19 PM ET
He went to Las Vegas to take advantage of the city when it’s down. “For the first time ever,” he writes in Time, “it is possible to complete a monetary exchange in Las Vegas and feel bad for the other person.” But you know what? He doesn’t feel bad about it. Good story, but, as someone who loves Vegas, I found it a bit painful to read.
‘The Hangover’ Gets Bollywoodized
by Eva Holland | 07.29.09 | 4:18 PM ET
Publicity still via IGN Here’s an unexpected bit of cross-cultural synergy. This summer’s funniest travel movie involving a Vegas bachelor party, Mike Tyson, and a tiger—OK, OK, this summer’s only travel movie involving all of the above—is getting its very own Bollywood remake.
After he had time to think it over, Get the Big Picture’s Colin Boyd decided he approves. “You’ve seen ‘The Hangover,’ right? It’s full of non sequiturs from Mike Tyson to the chicken to the tiger in the bathroom to the baby to the missing tooth,” he writes. “And where better to find humorous non sequiturs than Bollywood?”
Another Morning After: ‘Hangover’ Sequel en Route
by Eva Holland | 06.17.09 | 12:49 PM ET
Lovers of film and travel, fear not: If “The Hangover”—you know, the one about the messy/hilarious aftermath of a Vegas boys’ getaway?—left you wanting more, you don’t have long to wait. A sequel, with star Bradley Cooper signed on, is already in the works. It’s a likely bet for box office success—Cooper’s only concern, apparently, is how they’ll top the first installment. “We’ve gotta go to space or something,” a skeptical Popwrap blogger quotes him as saying.
Sure, Bradley. Logistical issues aside, space certainly tops Vegas. Or you could just go to Macau.
When the President Goes to Vegas: Hail Obama?
by Alexander Basek | 06.02.09 | 10:20 AM ET
Photo by Alexander Basek It’s easy to ignore the language surrounding hotel stays. Spas have therapists and there’s a concierge or a butler for your pillow and your bath. In fact, it gets to be difficult when you need something but don’t know whom you’re supposed to talk to about it. Does an order for ice fall under the purview of the cooling concierge or the cocktail consultant? We may never know the answer.
NPR Broadcasts From ‘The Troubled Skies’
by Rob Verger | 04.24.09 | 10:18 AM ET
There are a few truisms about the airline industry today.
First: It’s no fun to be in the airline business at the moment.
Second: It’s more fun if you’re a passenger, because fares are cheap—although no one is sure how long they’ll stay that way.
For example, JetBlue advertised (via @JetBlue) some $29 one-way fares yesterday, although restrictions included the fact that the low fares were only good for travel on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. (As for the latest development in a la carte fees: Delta just announced it will start charging $50 for a second checked bag on international flights.)
Third: as demand slows and the national system becomes less stressed, things seem to be operating more smoothly.
America the Accessible
by Jenna Schnuer | 04.23.09 | 3:48 PM ET
Fifteen years ago, when nobody else was really servicing the community, writer Candy Harrington ditched traditional travel writing and launched Emerging Horizons, a travel magazine for people with disabilities.
“Back then most of my friends and colleagues thought I was a few fries short of a happy meal for making such a drastic change,” says Harrington. Silly colleagues. Other travel magazines come and go but Emerging Horizons is still running strong, and Harrington also writes books, articles for magazines and websites, and a blog on the subject.
We checked in with her to find out about the state of accessible travel in America—and some of her favorite accessible travel adventures around the 50.
Las Vegas Strip Tips
by Alexander Basek | 04.03.09 | 2:09 PM ET
Do check out HotelChatter and Jaunted‘s glitzy new spawn, VegasChatter. Where else would you find out about an all-male revue at Hooters?
The Pre-Flight Flight Attendant Rap
by Rob Verger | 03.18.09 | 4:06 PM ET
Have you heard the fantastic pre-flight rap that one Southwest Airlines flight attendant has been doing?
The flight attendant, David Holmes, was recently the subject of a short interview at the Middle Seat Terminal. It’s worth a read.
Here’s my favorite part of the rap, which is performed to the beat of the passengers stomping and clapping:
Before we leave
Our advice is
Put away your electronic devices
Fasten your seat belt
Then put your trays up
Press the button
to make the seat back raise up
The expressions on the passengers’ faces are just as entertaining as the rap is itself. Video below.
From ‘CSI’ to ‘Castle’: Traveling the World, One Crime Show at a Time
by Eva Holland | 03.11.09 | 3:46 PM ET
We’ve written before about crime novels being a prime source for vivid place-based writing. But how about traveling vicariously through the now-ubiquitous crime show? I’d argue that television travel can be just as effective and enjoyable.
Of course, a forty-four minute episode doesn’t allow for the same richness and depth of detail as you’d find in a book, but you can pack a lot of local color—both sights and sounds—into even the briefest street scene. Think of the all-powerful CSI franchise: from the juicy opening shots of the Las Vegas strip or the Manhattan skyline—sorry Miami, I just can’t handle Horatio—to the plot lines often derived from existing local traditions, quirks or trends (think the original CSI’s frequent tributes to Vegas’ wild mob-ruled past), each of the shows is deeply rooted in its host city. And while the main story lines are certainly glitzed up and sensationalized (not to mention acted out by improbably attractive law enforcement officers), you can still pick up a lot of legit local detail from them: I first heard of narcocorridos in a CSI episode about the Mexican community in Las Vegas, and saw handball played for the first time in an episode of CSI: NY—now, walking around Queens during my stay here, I see the game being played daily.
Las Vegas Hotels for Every Tax Bracket
by Eva Holland | 03.11.09 | 12:52 PM ET
Over at the Los Angeles Times daily deal blog, Jen Leo has a breakdown of Vegas hotel bargains by price—and the low end starts at just $6.25 per night. The list ranges from less than $10 to a little over $100 per night, and there are some surprising deals. The Excalibur for $24 per night? That’s about how much an off-strip hostel bunk will cost you, too. (I know which one I’d choose.)
Morning Links: War Hotels, the Solas Awards and More
by Michael Yessis | 03.02.09 | 9:06 AM ET
- A major snowstorm in the eastern U.S. has disrupted travel throughout the country.
- GlobalPost began a five-part series about the favorite hotels of war correspondents.
- NPR says the “stimulus puts high-speed rail on the fast track.”
- Rome’s mayor announced an unorthodox way to fight “violence and thuggery” in the city. (via @theroadto)
- What can modern cities learn from slums?
- World Hum contributor Eric Lucas is dumbfounded that nobody tells the truth about Las Vegas.
- Some travelers are feeling guilty about traveling at all in this economic climate.
- Thailand thinks you’ll want to visit the country more if it has a signature cocktail. So it created the “Siam Sunrays.”
- Congrats to the winners of this year’s Solas Awards. David Torrey Peters took the grand prize for best travel story of the year.
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