Destination: United States
Cycle Killer
by David Byrne | 09.21.09 | 10:27 AM ET
iStockPhoto In his new book, "Bicycle Diaries," David Byrne reflects on his travels on two wheels. Herewith, an excerpt.
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Yahoo! BuzzTravel Song of the Day: ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ by Gladys Knight and the Pips
by Eva Holland | 09.18.09 | 12:32 PM ET
NYC: 30 Mosques in 30 Days
by Eva Holland | 09.18.09 | 11:03 AM ET
First came the Ramadan world tour, and now the Ramadan tour of New York. Two Muslim New Yorkers are just wrapping up a very cool project—visiting 30 mosques in the five boroughs over the 30 days of the holy month. They’ve been blogging as they go, and the result is a fascinatingly complex picture of the city’s modern Muslim community.
Here’s a quick sample from day twenty-seven in Astoria: “I looked around and saw people from all over the world coming in cracking jokes among one another. A litmus test I use to see if a mosque is serving the needs of a community, is checking to see if people are smiling.” (Via Ta-Nehisi Coates)
The Voyeurs of New York’s High Line
by Michael Yessis | 09.17.09 | 12:37 PM ET
New York City’s new High Line park looks out at, among other things, the Standard Hotel, which, writes Geraldine Baum, “became New York’s hot attraction this summer after guests were photographed in the buff prancing about, even having sex, in front of floor-to-ceiling windows.” Baum looks at the phenomenon, and puts it into context:
This 21st century urban voyeurism is the next logical step in a society that has been peeping and poking into private lives, with all of us participating, on reality TV, through social networking, and in confessional interviews and memoirs.
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
by Jim Benning | 09.16.09 | 3:38 PM ET
What Would ‘Walden’ be Called if it Were Published Today?
by Eva Holland | 09.16.09 | 1:20 PM ET
According to this fun list of revised book titles: “Camping with Myself: Two Years in American Tuscany.” (Via The Daily Dish)
Photo We Love: Fall Leaves in Minnesota
by World Hum | 09.15.09 | 5:02 PM ET
Maple, oak and birch leaves change color in Minnesota.
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.
At Least One Country Really Cared About the 400th Anniversary of Henry Hudson’s Arrival in New York
by Michael Yessis | 09.15.09 | 9:50 AM ET
And it wasn’t the U.S. OK, that might not be fair. Hillary Clinton and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg did show up at the festivities, and New York City tourism promoted a days-long 400th anniversary celebration.
But, according to the New York Times, the Netherlands went nuts, covering the just-ended festivities by sending “about 50 reporters to New York, with a major television station running nightly half-hour updates on the proceedings during prime time. And thousands of Dutch citizens crossed the Atlantic to take part, including Crown Prince Willem-Alexander.”
All that to celebrate the achievements of a Brit. So why the hubbub? “[H]is financial backer was the Dutch East India Company. (‘Who paid for the voyage,’ the crown prince said, ‘really counts.’)”
Judging India
by JD Roberto | 09.14.09 | 10:37 AM ET
In New Delhi, JD Roberto deemed much of what he encountered backward and barbaric. But his moral compass was about to be reset.
Finding ‘Mad Men’ in Manhattan
by Eva Holland | 09.11.09 | 12:14 PM ET
With “Mad Men” mania gaining steam in the early days of season three, Travel and Leisure offers a guide to the inevitable Don Draper tourist trail. T&L’s Charlotte Savino notes the importance of the show’s setting: “[F]or many, it’s the moneyed haunts and good ol’ boy bars in Gotham that make the late-1950s and early-1960s drama so much fun to watch ... Manhattan—its energy, glamour, wealth, and, well, alcohol—plays like another character flitting around the Sterling Cooper ad agency. Manhattan is the comic foil to Don’s emptiness.”
Fair warning: The story includes some spoilers.
Passengers Bill of Rights Loses a Fan
by Eva Holland | 09.11.09 | 10:25 AM ET
Christopher Elliott explains why he’s no longer in favor of a proposed bill.
Post-9/11 Airport Security: Do You Know Where Your Dignity Is?
by Eric Weiner | 09.11.09 | 10:20 AM ET
On the intersection of place, politics and culture
Celebrating 50 Years of Leaf-Peeping
by Eva Holland | 09.10.09 | 5:16 PM ET
New Hampshire’s Kancamagus Highway, one of the more famous fall foliage routes in the country, is a half-century old this year. USA Today has all the details—including the correct pronunciation of Kancamagus.
‘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?