Destination: United States
The International Banana Club: One Appealing Museum
by Joanna Kakissis | 05.16.08 | 3:40 AM ET
James Frey may have redeemed his fake-memoir self with his latest book, at least according to a rave review by Janet Maslin of The New York Times. But I’m more interested in Frey’s (random?) nod to an L.A.-area museum devoted entirely to bananas.
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Yahoo! BuzzWhy Disneyland is Hot and Vegas Is Not
by Jim Benning | 05.15.08 | 11:05 AM ET
Interesting bit of economic analysis from the AP: “The gaming business often brags that it’s recession-proof because gamblers will always like to gamble, but amusement destinations historically have seen their business get hard hit when consumers’ wallets are pinched. The upscaling of Las Vegas with its five-star hotels, restaurants and shops, and the down-pricing of Disney to more value-oriented park packages and hotels over the last decade has turned that concept on its head.” Now, if Disney would just open a Vegas casino everything would balance out nicely.
Related on World Hum:
* A Clash of Civilizations Over Disney’s ‘It’s a Small World’
Photo by gruntzooki via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
So Long, Guggenheim Las Vegas
by Jim Benning | 05.13.08 | 6:22 PM ET
Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne bids farewell to the Rem Koolhaas-designed Guggenheim Museum, which closed Sunday. “Like a lot of Las Vegas marriages,” he writes, “the one between the Venetian Hotel and the Guggenheim Museum was born of some seriously misplaced optimism.”
Tony Horwitz: Rediscovering the New World
by Ben Keene | 05.13.08 | 11:00 AM ET
Ben Keene talks to the author of the new book "A Voyage Long and Strange" about travel, American myths and the importance of visiting places where "history happened"
Finding NYC in Grand Theft Auto’s ‘Liberty City’
by Eva Holland | 05.09.08 | 9:15 AM ET
I’m no gamer, but I loved reading Dave Itzkoff’s New York Times piece about his search for his hometown in the Grand Theft Auto IV’s fictional “Liberty City.” Liberty City, Itzkoff notes, “is New York City, and it is not.” In his tour of the game, he finds familiar sights and sounds—pedestrians shouting into cell phones, saxophone players in Times Square—but also, inevitably, discovers the digital world’s limitations.
Stop the Presses: Dollar Gains on Euro
by Jim Benning | 05.08.08 | 8:46 AM ET
A trip to Western Europe will still cost a bundle, of course, but the euro just dropped to $1.53, marking an eight-week low against the dollar. We’ve been decrying the weakening dollar around the globe for months—in March, we noted that even officials at Taj Mahal had stopped accepting U.S. currency because of its declining value—so we happily note this small bit of good news for American travelers.
Related on World Hum:
* Three Travel Tips: Ways to Save Money in Europe
* Ask Rolf: Given the Weak Dollar Overseas, Any Tips on Long-Term Travel?
Photo by jopemoro via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Happy Cinco de Mayo
by Jim Benning | 05.05.08 | 1:07 PM ET
It’s White-People’s-Excuse-to-Let-Loose Day! (Or, if you’re NPR, it’s your excuse to go completely loco and play some Nortec Collective.)
‘It’s My Life’s Ambition Not to be the Subject of a Krakauer Book’
by Jim Benning | 05.05.08 | 1:00 PM ET
You and the rest of us, Dan. Los Angeles Times Pulitzer winner Dan Neil embarked on a solo backpacking trip across Joshua Tree National Park recently armed with a satellite phone, a GPS unit and a personal locator beacon. “It’s my life’s ambition not to be the subject of a Krakauer book,” he writes, referring, of course, to Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild” and “Into Thin Air.” He continues: “I have kids, a wife, a cat who’d miss me terribly. But sometimes, I want to be alone too. Why? Because I have kids, a wife, a cat etc.”
More Americans Traveling Overseas (But Not Those Staycationing)
by Jim Benning | 05.05.08 | 12:26 PM ET
Amazing. Despite a lagging economy at home, a tanking U.S. dollar across the planet and increasing use of the ridiculous verb “staycation,” more American are expected to travel abroad this summer than last.
In Los Angeles, ‘Carne Asada is Not a Crime’
by Jim Benning | 05.05.08 | 11:13 AM ET
Have more profound words ever been uttered? That’s one of the rallying cries of Save Our Taco Trucks, a movement opposing a new law that restricts taco trucks in Los Angeles County. The law requires the trucks to change locations every hour, with violators “facing fines, misdemeanor charges and, possibly, jail time,” the New York Times reports.
Is the United States ‘The Most Underrated Country in the World’?
by Michael Yessis | 05.01.08 | 3:37 PM ET
Interesting conversation going on at the Sydney Morning Herald travel blog about the good and bad about traveling within the United States. Ben Groundwater started it with a mostly-positive defense of the U.S. as a travel destination. The CliffsNotes version of the conversation so far: Rocky Mountains, New York, New Orleans, clam chowder, pizza and people who are “generous to the point of being overbearing” are good. “[L]oud-mouthed, rude, arrogant, and ridiculously insular” people and getting fingerprinted upon entry are bad.
The BoltBus: Cheap Rides, Free Wi-Fi, a Little Lonely
by Jim Benning | 04.30.08 | 10:03 AM ET
We’ve written occasionally about the cult appeal of Chinatown buses, which offer dirt-cheap rides between Chinatowns in a number of Eastern U.S. cities. To compete, Greyhound has launched its own budget option, BoltBus, which features online booking, power outlets and, perhaps coolest of all, free Wi-Fi. So how’s the ride? Daniel Sorid bought a round-trip ticket from New York to Philadelphia for all of $2.50 and found himself the lone passenger on the journey.
Why I CouchSurf
by Kristin Luna | 04.29.08 | 4:00 PM ET
The first time she crashed at a stranger's home, Kristin Luna feared she'd wind up an Agence France-Presse headline. Now she looks forward to sleeping on others' furniture -- and not just to save money.
The $4 Gallon Survival Guide
by Eva Holland | 04.29.08 | 10:17 AM ET
Up until recently, we figured one of the most serious threats facing the American road trip was the demise of the indie motels and family-run diners lining the likes of Route 66. But now that we’re entering the age of the $4 gallon, will even more people bypass the classic routes in favor of the interstate? Or will road-trippers just stay home entirely?
Talking Surf Writing in Los Angeles
by Jim Benning | 04.24.08 | 12:42 PM ET
Nice to see surf writing getting some well-deserved attention. The annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books takes place this weekend on the campus of UCLA, and among the many scheduled panels is one entitled “Surf Culture: Shooting the Tube.” Panelists include author and former Surfer magazine editor Steve Hawk and novelist Kem Nunn. Today’s Los Angeles Times has a story that (oddly) speculates on what they might discuss. Also of interest at the festival: “Nonfiction: Blurring Boundaries,” a panel featuring, among others, travel writers and festival regulars Pico Iyer and Tony Cohan. A complete schedule can be found here.
Related on World Hum:
* The Enduring Appeal of ‘The Endless Summer’
Photo by colmsurf via Flickr, (Creative Commons)