Destination: United States
Columnist to U.S.: ‘Welcome to the Third World’
by Jim Benning | 09.18.08 | 10:25 AM ET
Writes Rosa Brooks in today’s Los Angeles Times: “It’s not every day that a superpower makes a bid to transform itself into a Third World nation, and we here at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund want to be among the first to welcome you to the community of states in desperate need of international economic assistance.” Uh, thanks?
Related on World Hum:
* A Journey Into ‘The Second World’
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Yahoo! BuzzNotes From an Unofficial Tourist Greeter
by Julia Ross | 09.17.08 | 4:51 PM ET
Summer is over, and so is Julia Ross' season as an ambassador to travelers in Washington, D.C.'s Woodley Park neighborhood. She's happy to be off duty.
See the full audio slideshow: »
‘Can You Really See Russia From Alaska?’
by Eva Holland | 09.17.08 | 9:41 AM ET
Following Sarah Palin’s recent comments about her “next-door neighbors,” inquiring minds want to know. And the answer? Yep, says Slate. Details on the where and how are in the latest Explainer.
Related on World Hum:
* How Does Sarah Palin Rank in Foreign Travel Experience?*
Photo by jomilo75 via Flickr (Creative Commons)
R.I.P. Elmer Dills
by Jim Benning | 09.16.08 | 5:25 PM ET
The travel and restaurant critic was an institution in Los Angeles media. He was 82.
Mapped: Missed Connections on Craigslist
by Michael Yessis | 09.16.08 | 1:53 PM ET
This map highlights the most common places in each U.S. state where people had missed connections, as posted on Craigslist. Turns out there’s been a lot of missed connections at Wal-Mart. If you’ve been flying through Nebraska or Mississippi, and you’re wondering if someone is pining for you, have a look. Most missed connections in those states occurred on airplanes. In Illinois? On the bus. (via Coudal Partners)
The ‘Common Bonds of Strangers’: 30 Years Riding the La Cubana Bus
by Valerie Conners | 09.16.08 | 11:49 AM ET
For three decades the La Cubana bus has been shuttling its passengers between New York City and Miami, carrying them down I-95 toward relatives, jobs and dreams. “We carry all sorts of people: good people, bad people, all types,” said one of the bus’s drivers. “It’s life.” The New York Times offers a touching glimpse—through words and photos—inside what has become a microcosm of Latino culture.
Photo of I-95 by CoredesatChikai via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Man to Plead Guilty of Snooping at Passport Records of Politicians, Celebrities
by Michael Yessis | 09.16.08 | 9:03 AM ET
And he didn’t stop there. According to the Justice Department, former State Department contractor Lawrence C. Yontz also looked at the files of “athletes, actors ... musicians, game show contestants, members of the media corps, prominent business professionals, colleagues, associates, neighbors, and individuals identified in the press.”
Harrison Ford: When Good Celebrity Travel Stories Go Bad
by Jim Benning | 09.12.08 | 12:40 PM ET
You can almost hear the swearing emanating from Outside magazine’s New Mexico offices when, after scoring an interview with action hero Harrison Ford about his travels, editors finally read the transcript. Ford makes almost no sense.
Photos: ‘80s Tourists in Their Native Habitat
by Michael Yessis | 09.12.08 | 11:17 AM ET
Back in the Reagan Era, Lucian Perkins went to the most touristy place in Washington, D.C.—The National Mall—and photographed tourists. The former Washington Post photojournalist’s images are currently on display at D.C.‘s Carroll Square Gallery, and also in a fleshy and compelling online slideshow, Visitors From Another Planet.
Night at Hearst Castle to be Auctioned on eBay
by Michael Yessis | 09.11.08 | 4:03 PM ET
Photo by mbtrama, via Flickr (Creative Commons)
I’m sure the bids will be astronomical, as they should be. Hearst Castle‘s beds haven’t seen overnight visitors in 50 years, and the winner of the auction—and his or her companion—will have the run of Julia Morgan‘s hilltop masterpiece in San Simeon, California. Among the things the top bidder will be able to do: Screen a movie in William Randolph Hearst’s private theater. Of course, only one movie should top everyone’s must-watch list: Citizen Kane.
Vacationing in Bryant Park
by Eva Holland | 09.11.08 | 10:15 AM ET
As I’ve mentioned before, I can’t get enough of Bryant Park. Every time I visit New York I lose at least a day (and sometimes more) there, eating, reading, or just sitting in the sun watching people pass by. Every now and then I feel guilty for sitting in the park instead of doing all the things a visitor to New York “should” be doing—this is the part where I admit I’ve never been to the Met—but mostly I just relax and soak it in. I’m thrilled to see that my particular brand of NYC tourism has been endorsed by no less an authority than the New York Times, in this guide to kicking back in the park and its surrounding area.
Photo by factoryseashell via Flickr (Creative Commons).
‘State by State’: Five Excerpts
by Michael Yessis | 09.09.08 | 8:21 AM ET
This week Slate’s Well-Traveled rolls out five stories from the upcoming book State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America, which features 50 writers writing about the 50 states. The editors sent some stellar writers into the field. Those featured at Slate: Heidi Julavits, Mohammed Naseehu Ali, Dagoberto Gilb, David Rakoff and Charles Bock.
Related on World Hum:
* Revisiting the American Guide Series (Again): Around the U.S. With Saul Bellow and John Steinbeck
Fake Sarah Palin: I Was an Extra in ‘Into the Wild’
by Michael Yessis | 09.09.08 | 6:57 AM ET
She says she played a grizzly bear in Sean Penn’s movie. Her riff about it begins a minute into the video below.
Café du Monde in New Orleans: ‘Nostalgia Can Make Even a Local Into a Tourist’
by Joanna Kakissis | 09.08.08 | 2:00 PM ET
The Travel Habits of U.S. Presidents Past
by Jim Benning | 09.05.08 | 11:50 AM ET
We’ve written a bit about the presidential contenders’ international travel experience—or lack thereof. On Concierge, Ted Widmer looks back at the travel habits of U.S. presidents past, from Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton. “It would be an exaggeration to say that a great president is by definition a well-traveled one—Abraham Lincoln never left the United States—yet for most, leaving Washington now and then was both edifying and expedient,” Widmer writes.