Destination: Texas
The Big Picture: Hurricane Ike, Before and After
by Eva Holland | 09.15.09 | 4:15 PM ET
On the one-year anniversary of the devastating hurricane’s passage through Galveston, the Big Picture bloggers have put together a fantastic before/after photo essay—click on the photos of last year’s destruction to see the same cleaned-up locations today.
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Yahoo! BuzzTravel Song of the Day: ‘Crystal Frontier’ by Calexico
by Jim Benning | 08.21.09 | 11:45 AM ET
Samurais and Maharajas: It’s an Asian Art Summer
by Julia Ross | 06.08.09 | 3:34 PM ET
I’m fortunate to live in a city that’s home to one of the best Asian art museums in the world—the Smithsonian’s Freer-Sackler Gallery—but I’m not averse to traveling to see a really great museum or exhibit elsewhere. In fact, on a trip to Dublin last fall, I spent an entire afternoon immersed in the wonderful Chester Beatty Library, gazing at Persian paintings and Islamic manuscripts. I know, I know—I was supposed to be out drinking Guinness, but I couldn’t help myself.
Keeping Austin Weird: The iPhone Slideshow
by Valerie Conners | 03.31.09 | 9:00 AM ET
Armed with her iPhone during the South by Southwest festival, Valerie Conners roamed Austin's streets and captured the town's indie spirit
See the full photo slideshow »
What Some Locals Have To Say About SXSW
by Sophia Dembling | 03.20.09 | 3:56 PM ET
Twitterers are all a-twitter about the fun they’re having at SXSW in Austin, and the party is only just getting started. But are long-time locals having as much fun being descended upon by the hipster masses? I polled a few of my Austin buddies about the fun they’re having ... or not.
Headed to Austin for SXSW?
by Eva Holland | 03.12.09 | 11:26 AM ET
Well, consider me envious. The sprawling festival somehow stays right on top of the music, film and new media/tech scenes, and it’s hosted by one of the country’s favorite smaller cities to boot. Just in case you haven’t already got your every minute mapped out, I’ve rounded up some last-minute recommendations and ideas.
The SXSW Insider’s Guide has a hot thread debating the year’s must-see bands (and hey, some of the posters even give helpful rationales/context for their picks), while the Screengrab bloggers offer their picks for must-see documentaries (parts one and two) and narrative feature films.
Who Says Texas Has No Seasons?
by Sophia Dembling | 03.10.09 | 9:00 AM ET
Photo by Sophia Dembling In my previous, non-flyover life in New York City, the first signs of spring were when the forsythia bloomed in Central Park and a ripe and not-unpleasant scent started wafting through my neighborhood from off the Hudson River.
One complaint I’ve heard many times about my current home state, Texas, is that it has no change of seasons. Balderdash. Texas has all four seasons, but they are more subtle than in Northern states.
Confessions of an Introverted Traveler
by Sophia Dembling | 03.09.09 | 9:43 AM ET
Photo by Sophia Dembling Sophia Dembling has a different style of traveling, and she's tired of hiding it
Feeling Seasonable?
by Alexander Basek | 03.04.09 | 11:17 AM ET
So, let’s talk Four Seasons. Not the actual seasons—we’re getting plenty of winter fun here in New York—but the hotel chain. Worldwide, the Four Seasons is luring guests with third-night-free packages at about 40 properties. The offer’s ubiquity is what makes it such a value, though you should hurry as it expires come the end of March.
Down in Texas, you needn’t even spend the night to get a taste of Four Season goodness. The Houston and Austin properties have special offers for visitors who want to check out the facilities. Austin’s package features a massage, lunch and day-long use of the steam room for about $160 bucks; in Houston, you can drop $20 for access to the pool on weekends. Depends on how much you’re spending on a day at the spa in the first place, but should your plan to survive the economic downturn involve finding a sugar mommy or daddy, the outlay may prove worth your while.
Going to SXSW? Put the Harry Ransom Center On Your Schedule.
by Sophia Dembling | 02.17.09 | 6:00 PM ET
Photo by Eric Beggs The South by Southwest (or SXSW) film, music and interactive festival is less than a month away. Got your plans and reservations yet? (And did you know that many Austinites flee the city as you arrive? Too much traffic and other mishigos.)
I realize that SXSW is all about the future of this, that and the other, but while you’re in town, I urge you to carve out some time to pay your respects to what many consider a dying art form, the written word, with a stop at the free galleries at the Harry Ransom Center.
Would You Rather Live in a Big City or a Small Town?
by Sophia Dembling | 02.13.09 | 2:06 PM ET
Photo by Sophia Dembling I keep a file titled “Good Reads,” into which I tuck stories and articles that I enjoyed reading and like to revisit from time to time. The other day, I pulled the file out and found a photocopied page from the book O Pioneers! by Willa Cather.
I copied the page for a particular speech, spoken by Carl, who has just left Chicago, to Alexandra, who is trying to keep things together on her family farm on the Nebraska prairie. Read the quote after the jump.
The Music Lives on in Lubbock (Sort Of)
by Sophia Dembling | 02.03.09 | 1:51 PM ET
Photo by Sophia Dembling Eva has gotten the conversation rolling about today’s big anniversary—it was 50 years ago today that a plane carrying Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens crashed. This is particularly poignant here in Texas, where we feel possessive of our homegrown icon.
Holly’s death was, arguably, the most tragic in rock history. His sound is unique, he was a pioneer in recording technique—that’s a cardboard box providing percussion in “Not Fade Away” and he plays his knees in “Every Day.” Holly influenced our greatest rock legends and his legacy continues. (Marginally related, Mac Davis, who also grew up in Lubbock, Texas, once told me that he would see Holly driving through town with a car full of girls and decided he wanted some of that. And then he went on to write, “Happiness Was Lubbock Texas in My Rear View Mirror.”)
We are much poorer for never hearing what Holly might have produced as he matured.
Rock fans should be required to make a pilgrimage to the excellent Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas, which takes his music and legacy as seriously as he did. (Those are the glasses he wore the night he died—they’re on display at the center. They sat forgotten in the desk drawer of a sheriff until the 1980s.)
I’d post a video for you, but Holly also was a pioneer in protecting his intellectual rights and his estate continues to maintain tight control. I respect that. We’ll settle for this right now:
What We Loved This Week: Washington, D.C.‘s Inaugural Spirit, Dinosaurs and More
by World Hum | 01.16.09 | 6:42 PM ET
Photo by Michael Yessis. Our contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.
Michael Yessis
I spent a frigid morning in Washington, D.C., walking up and down Pennsylvania Avenue. I brought my camera and stayed warm enough to snap some shots before the masses fill the bleachers lining the street. More images to come tomorrow in a slideshow.
Jenna Schnuer
While procrastinating this week, I became obsessed with this photo gallery of close-up images of sand from the book, A Grain of Sand. From now on, shell-collecting is out. I’m toting sand home. Then I’ll just need to pick up a high-powered microscope. I guess I’ll buy the book and stick with the shells.
I Resent That
by Sophia Dembling | 01.15.09 | 11:37 AM ET
“Business Week” recently ran a list of America’s Most and Least Favorite Cities, and my home town of Dallas ranked ninth least favorite. Adding insult to injury, the article says, “The top negative attributes, according to the survey, were the people—their backgrounds, talents, and perspectives (49%); environment—climate, park space, natural resources (39%); and image (38%).”
Well. Harumph.
Morning Links: Idlewild Books, Disaster Tourism and More
by Michael Yessis | 12.18.08 | 9:44 AM ET
- The latest clerk in New York Magazine’s “Ask a Shop Clerk” series: David Del Vecchio, owner of New York City’s Idlewild Books. He says mystery novels are underrated as travel books.
- Mexico City looks to go green.
- Here’s The Year in Google Maps.
- The New York Public Library adds some great old New York photos to its Flickr stream.
- Ian Stevenson creates a video showing the waves of immigration to the United States from 1820 until last year.
- Tim Leffel stresses the importance of being spontaneous while traveling.
- In the wake of Hurricane Ike, Galveston, Texas is the latest place to confront disaster tourism.
- Awesome Tapes from Africa show off awesome cassette tapes from Africa. This recommended track from “The Best of Sagbohan Danialou” is brightening my morning.
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