Destination: North America
Must I Get ‘Off the Beaten Path’ When I Travel?
by Rolf Potts | 02.01.10 | 11:15 AM ET
Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel and the world
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Yahoo! BuzzPresident Obama Says Yes to High-Speed Rail Plans
by Eva Holland | 01.29.10 | 3:46 PM ET
It’s not often that a major Presidential speech makes ears perk up in the travel media—but President Obama happily got our attention this week when he talked high-speed rail during his State of the Union address Wednesday. Here’s part of what Obama said:
[F]rom the first railroads to the Interstate Highway System, our nation has always been built to compete. There’s no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains or the new factories that manufacture clean-energy products.
Then yesterday in Tampa he outlined where $8 billion in grants will go: A Tampa-Orlando-Miami route in Florida is first up, with projects in California, Illinois and elsewhere to follow. The Christian Science Monitor and NPR have more on the details.
And the response? Bruce Watson of Daily Finance is optimistic, pointing out that an improved rail network’s benefits go well beyond the employment created by the trains themselves. He writes:
For years, critics have argued that rail ticket sales don’t cover the cost of passenger service. However, the same could be said of America’s highway and airline infrastructure, both of which receive far more state and federal funding than Amtrak. The key point is that passenger rail’s profitability doesn’t accrue to the rail line—which will almost always operate at a deficit—but rather to the areas that it serves, where the influx of people will bring business opportunities, tourist dollars and other investment.
Time’s Bryan Walsh is more skeptical. He predicts that much of the money will likely be spent shoring up existing service rather than creating shiny new TGV-style lines, and adds, “America’s antiquated rail system will have to advance a long way just to make it to the present, let alone the future.”
Finally, Politico’s Josh Gerstein picks up on Obama’s recent quip about passengers keeping their shoes on when boarding passenger trains—and ponders why security is so different on trains and planes.
World Travel Watch: Violence in Cartagena, Evacuations in Peru and More
by Larry Habegger | 01.27.10 | 11:36 AM ET
Larry Habegger rounds up global travel news
Haggis Ban Lifted After 21 Years*
by Eva Holland | 01.26.10 | 1:32 PM ET
The sheep offal delight had been banned in the United States since the ‘80s due to BSE fears, but now Scotland’s most famous dish is back on the American dinner table. (Via Andrew Sullivan)
Update 3:01 p.m. PT: Sorry, haggis fans. A representative from the Department of Agriculture writes, “At this time, haggis is still banned in the U.S. The APHIS rule covers all ruminant imports, which includes haggis. It is currently being reviewed to incorporate the current risk and latest science related to these regulations. There is no specific time frame for the completion of this review.”
A Pilgrimage to SkyMall
by Bill Donahue | 01.26.10 | 9:12 AM ET
Graphic by Doug Mack Can a trip to its headquarters make for documentary art, or just a closer look at solar-powered mole repellers? Bill Donahue journeys into the soul of SkyMall.
Video: ‘Please Arrive Three Days Prior to Your Flight’
by Eva Holland | 01.25.10 | 11:48 AM ET
A message from Transport Canada:
(Via @Gadling)
‘Fly Girls’: Reality TV at 37,000 Feet
by Eva Holland | 01.20.10 | 5:56 PM ET
Yup, a slice of Airworld is coming to prime time. The CW has picked up eight episodes of the new reality show, which follows five Virgin America flight attendants from the air to their Los Angeles “crash pad” and beyond. The Los Angeles Times describes “Fly Girls” as having “a ‘Gossip Girl’-meets- ‘The Hills’-vibe”—which, I’ll admit, doesn’t have me rushing to write the air dates in my calendar. The same story offers some interesting points about the intersection of infomercial and entertainment on the show.
Reviewed: The Matteo Ricci World Map
by Michael Yessis | 01.20.10 | 3:39 PM ET
Commissioned in 1602, the Matteo Ricci World Map is the first written in Chinese to show the Americas. It’s currently on display at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Edward Rothstein reviews the exhibition:
Ricci created two earlier versions, beginning in 1584, drawing on atlases and materials he took with him on his journey from Italy. But this third version is the earliest to survive and the first to have combined information from both eastern and western cartography. It is also the oldest surviving map to have given the Chinese a larger vision of the earth.
Even the sturdiest of wall maps tend to have limited life spans, but this large, segmented map is so rare that for centuries it was uncertain if this copy even existed, which is why it has been nicknamed the “impossible black tulip” of maps. It is one of six known copies.
Slate Goes to Vancouver
by Eva Holland | 01.19.10 | 12:40 PM ET
With the Vancouver Olympics just three weeks away, the latest “Well-Traveled” series sees World Hum contributor Elisabeth Eaves returning to the city of her youth. It’s a good read.
Six Cities to Explore Martin Luther King’s History
by Larry Bleiberg | 01.18.10 | 1:19 PM ET
From Atlanta to Washington, D.C., Larry Bleiberg highlights the must-see places where the civil rights leader lived and made history
Video You Must See: Summer Solstice on the Arctic Ocean
by Eva Holland | 01.15.10 | 10:29 AM ET
The Burj Khalifa’s American Connection
by Eva Holland | 01.13.10 | 1:52 PM ET
Slate takes a look at the American architects who worked on the newly-opened skyscraper of skyscrapers, and the creative debt they owe to one of their American predecessors—Frank Lloyd Wright.
Wi-Fi Coming to Amtrak’s Acela Trains
by Eva Holland | 01.12.10 | 2:52 PM ET
Jaunted notes that the service should be in place on Acela, the northeastern corridor express trains, by March. It’s a step—but I’d rather have on-board internet access over a two-day long-haul ride, myself. Here’s hoping the long-distance routes are up next.
Kogi Truck Chef Turns Restaurateur
by Eva Holland | 01.12.10 | 1:44 PM ET
Now that his Korean taco trucks have made their mark on the Los Angeles food scene, chef Roy Choi is ready for his next challenge: the restaurant biz. Choi’s new restaurant will open in West Los Angeles in February, but the famous Kogi taco won’t be on the menu. Instead, he tells the Wall Street Journal that he plans to “update the rice bowl.” (Via @JohnnyJet)
Mapped: America’s Netflix Rentals
by Eva Holland | 01.11.10 | 1:20 PM ET
The New York Times has mapped the top 10 rentals, zip code by zip code, in 12 major U.S. cities. Jason Kottke ponders: “I wonder if you could predict voting patterns according to where people rent ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop’ or ‘Frost/Nixon’.”