Destination: United States
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 »
Email to friend
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! Buzz‘Survivor’: Coming to a Theme Park Near You
by Eva Holland | 03.30.09 | 12:20 PM ET
Move over, American Idol: “Survivor” is the latest reality TV phenomenon to get the theme-park treatment—and no, sadly, I don’t mean that the next season will force young parents to survive 40 days in the Magic Kingdom. (Now that, I would watch.)
Instead, CBS has created “Survivor: Live,” a free stage show that will visit three U.S. theme parks this summer, with plans for an expanded touring schedule next summer. Variety reports: “The half-hour ‘Survivor: Live’ will use clips from the TV series—as well as actors portraying previous contestants—and divide the audience into four ‘tribes.’ Volunteers from the crowd will go through a series of four challenges, leading eventually to a sole winner.” Weight loss from The Survivor Diet not included. (Via The Remote Island)
The Thrill of Gel and Other Disappearing Edible Delights!
by David Farley | 03.27.09 | 1:30 PM ET
Grant Achatz, the avant-garde Chicago chef, went to Madrid to attend Madrid Fusion, a congress of 50 of the world’s best chef, and all he got was a crappy food-stained T-shirt. Moreover, in this article he penned for the Atlantic, Achatz bemoans on a grander scale by wondering if molecular gastronomy is dead. Most of the world’s population didn’t even know that it had been born. But Achatz sat there during the meeting as chef after chef took the mic and felt pangs of emptiness:
“Where were the culinary fireworks? The introduction to the next ingredient that was going to enable us to turn oil into powder, serve a gelled liquid hot, or thicken an infusion by simply blending in a magical white substance? Where were the explanations of new techniques? Like the ones used to create raviolis with skins made from themselves, making pasta from stock, and aerating food to produce sponge-like textures?”
Raviolis with skins made from themselves? Aerating food to produce sponge-like textures? Sheesh. And he wonders why people may be losing interest in it.
A Global Rite of Spring
by Julia Ross | 03.27.09 | 12:31 PM ET
Ah, springtime in the nation’s capital. I saw my first cherry blossom of the season near the Washington National Cathedral a couple weeks ago, and it immediately lifted my will-winter-never-end mood. The blossoms are right on schedule here—peak period is expected to be April 1-4—but over in Tokyo, the much admired sakura are early for the fourth year in a row, prompting hand-wringing about the effects of global warming. According to the Telegraph, Japan’s national “blossoming line”—the latitude at which the trees start to flower—has shifted 125 miles north over the last 40 years. Kind of alarming.
If you missed the window in Tokyo, I’d recommend a visit to Washington’s National Arboretum instead of the Tidal Basin (way too crowded) or a virtual viewing via this web cam. Of course, there are plenty of pink wonderlands unfolding beyond the Beltway. Check out the cherry blossom festivals in San Francisco, Philadelphia or Brooklyn. And don’t forget the sake.
Where I’ve Been: Tracking It
by Jenna Schnuer | 03.27.09 | 11:31 AM ET
Photo courtesy of Amy Ruppel. Since I (semi-permanently) dismissed the idea of getting a tattooed map of the U.S. on my person in order to mark off, one tattoo pin at a time, where I’ve traveled, I’ve been on the hunt for a new way to detail where I’ve been. (Please don’t recommend a scrapbook. I’m not that girl.) I think Facebook “where I’ve been” maps are annoying and show-offy. And a traditional pinned map still appeals but ... I just haven’t found a U.S. map I want to stare down at all the time. But, today, I found my new I’ve-been-there collection idea: prints of artist Amy Ruppel’s state birds pieces. As my bank account allows it, I’m going to build the collection, bird by bird. I guess I’d better clear some wall space.
How do you mark your territory?
Mixing Birding and Business Where Others Don’t Care to Go
by Sophia Dembling | 03.26.09 | 3:01 PM ET
Photo by Sophia Dembling I love the idea of bird-watching.
I love birds, I love being out in nature, I love having something to do while I’m out in nature. Too bad I’m really bad at bird-watching. I can spot only the most obvious birds, I can identify only the most easily identifiable. Subtleties escape me. (What color are their feet? Are you kidding me?) If I’m with real bird-watchers and they do the spotting and identifying, I am capable of watching. That’s about it.
I love it anyway.
Island Eats: Mango Smoothies
by Pam Mandel | 03.26.09 | 1:52 PM ET
I’m an extremely addicted coffee drinker, but I have a guilty confession to make: I didn’t find the coffee in Hawaii all that great. That’s why, given the choice between a less-than-satisfying cup of joe and a big orange slurp of calorie-laden deep orange-yellow lusciousness, I went with the mango smoothie every time. I’m sure mangoes are full of things that are way better for me than caffeine salvation, but that’s not why I made the switch during my island time. Nope, it’s because mango smoothies are seductively, amazingly delicious. And at least as revitalizing as a poor-to-middling cup of coffee.
My favorite was, hands down, the one from that guy in the Maunakea Marketplace Food Court in Honolulu’s Chinatown. That fruit stand on the way back from Hana, its weren’t bad either, though I was sure one of those stoner kids was going to lose a finger at best, an entire limb at worst, swinging that machete around while high as a kite on one of Maui’s other abundant crops. I skipped the bicycle-powered blender, also on the Hana Highway because I was having an uncharacteristically un-Hawaiian moment of impatience. But I swerved to a halt at the first fruit stand on the way towards Volcano on the road from Kaleakakua Bay. “Large, please. Mango. Mahalo.”
Free-Range Squirrel and Other Appalachian Delights
by David Farley | 03.26.09 | 11:33 AM ET
Ever wonder what Appalachian cuisine is? I haven’t either, but Eat Me Daily is running a four-part series on it. Part two, in which the intrepid journalist (in this case, Kathleen Wilcox) goes on the hunt for fried squirrel, is a great read. And before you wrinkle your nose, think about this: that squirrel is not only natural, it’s free range.
A ‘Twitcom’ from Southwest Airlines
by Rob Verger | 03.25.09 | 12:01 PM ET
This is priceless. Southwest Airlines’ blog, Nuts About Southwest, has posted what they call a “twitcom.” Here’s what they did: They created four characters, imagined a situation for them, and then, during an hour-long time window, Twitter followers submitted the lines the characters would speak. The incentive to participate came from the fact that Southwest picked one Twitterer in a raffle afterwards, and will send that person to the Nashville Film Festival.
The result is a 6-minute skit, acted out by Southwest employees on the airline’s emerging media team. Video below. As it says in the posting, “Please don’t laugh at our acting skills.” But isn’t that all part of the fun?
The Great New York Nacho Fail
by David Farley | 03.25.09 | 10:58 AM ET
These aren’t nachos, I thought to myself as I stared at a plate rimmed with neatly placed tortilla chips, each one gently topped with chicken, blanketed in cheese, and, for good measure, crowned by one single jalapeño slice. I might expect something like this if Jean-George Vongerichten put nachos on the menu at this eponymous eatery on Columbus Circle. But I was at a hole-in-the-wall eatery in Brooklyn bedecked with all the trappings of a salt-of-the-earth Mexican restaurant. Dressing up each chip as it were a microcosm of the usual mountain of nachos seemed unnecessary. And just plain wrong.
New Orleans Rocks
by Barry Yeoman | 03.25.09 | 10:17 AM ET
Photo by Barry Yeoman With the famed Jazz & Heritage Festival approaching, Barry Yeoman explores the city's wide-ranging music scene
In the Budget Travel Game, Persistence Pays Off
by Eva Holland | 03.25.09 | 9:57 AM ET
I know, I know—awhile back I said that the real key to successful budget travel was to be informed. Well, here’s another absolutely critical element in the cheapskate traveler’s makeup: tenacity.
Last week I was contemplating a quick trip to Atlantic City, and while browsing hotel websites I came across a great web-only deal: $39 per night, for a premium room. But when I tried to book two nights—at $39 each, plus about $10 in taxes, coming to a tidy total of $88, right?—the total showed up as $114, with no explanation of where the extra $26 was coming from. Puzzled, I tried rebooking as “2 adults,” in case it was a hidden single supplement, but no dice. I tried opting for a standard room, also listed at $39, in case I was facing a hidden upgrade fee. Again, nothing changed.
Arthur Frommer Promises to Keep Digging up the Deals
by Eva Holland | 03.24.09 | 2:31 PM ET
The guidebook author/publisher-turned-blogger takes a hard look at the latest travel numbers and trends, and concludes that while overall travel is down, “nearly 90% of all Americans are continuing to travel. And when they do, they are seeking bargains and values beyond all else.” He goes on: “Though some have criticized this blog for its alleged over-emphasis on special deals and discounts, we’re going to continue to make those discoveries a hallmark of our content.”
Well, consider me a fan of that alleged over-emphasis—Frommer’s blog is a great source for must-act-fast cruise, flight and hotel deals, and sure enough, here’s his latest bargain find: a set of $750 round-trip flights from the U.S. to Australia and New Zealand.
Are We Ready to Honor Confederate History?
by Sophia Dembling | 03.24.09 | 11:32 AM ET
As a Yankee in the South, I’m used to the sensitivities still surrounding the Civil War, aka the War Between the States, aka (‘round these parts) the War of Northern Aggression.
But while visiting Civil War battlefields is standard historical tourism, I wonder if enough time has passed even now for the nation to join Southern states in other observances honoring Confederate history, as this Chicago Tribune article discusses. (And I didn’t realize April was Confederate History Month in Texas. It took an article in a Yankee paper to clue me in to that.)
But the Confederacy is part of our nation’s rich history. We don’t have to embrace it in its entirety to respect its place in our past. Maybe it is time to let it out into the light.
A Day at Cruise World
by Tom Swick | 03.24.09 | 9:55 AM ET
Photo by Tom Swick Contemplating and celebrating the world of travel