Destination: United States
‘The Power of Travel Must Be a Critical Element in our Public Diplomacy Efforts’
by Michael Yessis | 09.14.06 | 8:17 AM ET
I pulled that quote from the home page of the Discover America Partnership, a new organization of United States travel industry representatives that seeks to boost the levels of visitors to the country and to enlist Americans as “citizen diplomats.” As we wrote earlier this year, the dwindling number of visitors to the U.S.—the industry says the war in Iraq and security restrictions are the main contributors to the decline—has the domestic tourism industry in a panic.
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Yahoo! BuzzThe Art of Pool Crashing in Las Vegas
by Michael Yessis | 09.07.06 | 8:02 AM ET
Las Vegas pools reflect the city in general: they’re loud, over-the-top (flat screen TVs in the cabana!) and a showcase for sun-drenched people in itsy-bitsy clothing—or, sometimes, no clothing at all. So, of course, they’re in high demand. So much so that they attract a lot of pool crashers. Locals climb fences, pose as employees and hoard used room keys from hotels up-and-down The Strip to get into the best pools. One person, according to a great AP story by Kathleen Hennessey, spent seven hours in a ballroom before trying to sneak into a pool unnoticed.
The Universal Language of Karaoke
by Michael Yessis | 08.31.06 | 8:23 AM ET
For immigrants in the United States, karaoke sounds like home. Today’s Washington Post has a fantastic story today about the immigrant karaoke scene around Washington D.C. “In the Washington suburbs, where this Salvadoran-Mexican restaurant sits next to a Vietnamese deli, karaoke transcends borders,” Karin Brulliard writes. “At hole-in-the-wall cafes and crowded bars, song lists come in Filipino and Korean and Spanish and Chinese, allowing laymen of all tongues to unleash their inner singers.” Drinks and laughter and bonding are the core elements of the experience, and Brulliard finds a theme in the songs a lot of immigrants choose. “Songs are steeped in memory and distance,” Brulliard writes. “And many are about heartbreak.”
‘We Will Not Be Silent’ T-Shirt Causes Stir at JFK*
by Michael Yessis | 08.30.06 | 8:11 AM ET
Raed Jarrar says he was forced to remove a T-shirt with the words “We will not be silent” in both Arabic and English before boarding a Jet Blue flight from New York to California earlier this month. According to a BBC report, Jarrar was told “a number of passengers had complained about his T-shirt—apparently concerned at what the Arabic phrase meant—and asked him to remove it.” Jarrar first refused, then, according to his blog post about the incident, he wore a grey T-shirt with the words “New York” bought for him by a Jet Blue representative.
One Day, Two Men and 468 New York City Subway Stations
by Michael Yessis | 08.23.06 | 8:11 PM ET
Matt Green and Donald Badaczewski are currently in the middle of an attempt to ride the New York City subway system through all of its 468 stations as fast as possible. Fark.com classifies the endeavor as stupid; the New York Times finds it worth 743 words. Green and Badaczewski began at 6 a.m. this morning and have a MySpace page about their journey, which includes a brief history of endurance subway riding. “There is actually a Guinness record for subway riding, but it allows the rider to exit the system, using a bus or other means of transport to go from the end of one spur line to another, before re-entering the subway,” they write. “We have a strong philosophical opposition to this set of rules. If you’re going to spend that much time in pursuit of such a ridiculous and pointless goal, why cut corners? Plus, what kind of babes are going to dig guys who take the easy way out of such a manly challenge?”
A Cross-Country Road Trip Captured in Time Lapse
by Michael Yessis | 08.22.06 | 7:29 AM ET
YouTube user vw86gti drove his convertible across the country and captured the journey on time-lapse video -- the trip from Los Angeles to New York City takes just four minutes.
Orlando Tops List of Angriest U.S. Cities
by Michael Yessis | 08.21.06 | 6:55 AM ET
Say it ain’t so, Mickey Mouse! Orlando, Florida, home of Disney World, ranked at the top of Men’s Health’s list of angriest cities in the U.S. How can one of the self-proclaimed happiest places on earth be located in the angriest city in the U.S.? The story on the magazine’s Web site gives no explanation of how it arrived at its list of the 100 angriest cities, so if you live in one of them, don’t get too angry about your arbitrary designation. Use it as an excuse to get yourself to Vanuatu fast. The country was recently selected as the happiest country on the planet. Or, perhaps even better, head to the Florida Keys to that other happiest place in the world: Margaritaville. Thanks for the tip, Eli.
Generation X: Dragging RVs into the 21st Century
by Michael Yessis | 08.15.06 | 9:49 AM ET
Who said my generation was full of slackers who weren’t going to accomplish anything? According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, we are in the process of reinvigorating the recreational vehicle industry. We are outfitting RVs with disco ball lights, Tiki fabrics and flat-screen TVs! We are sleeping off hangovers in bar parking lots! And we are even protecting ourselves from terrorism! Hooray for us! “Generation Xers, who grew up on Star Wars, Ataris and Cabbage Patch Kids, have become the fastest-growing group of RV buyers, a trend that is forcing the $14-billion industry to rethink how it designs and markets the ultimate toys for grown-ups,” writes the Times’ Kimi Yoshino.
“A Land Gone Lonesome”: More Tales of the Yukon River
by Michael Yessis | 08.14.06 | 11:30 AM ET
Napa Valley, California
by Ben Keene | 08.04.06 | 3:35 PM ET
Coordinates: 38 30 N 122 20 W
Area: 754 square miles (1,953 sq. km)
Bavarian beer baths are fine for some, but the more sophisticated may prefer a Chardonnay massage—a truly intoxicating way to de-stress. Popular among the Parisian upper class in the 18th century, the
long relaxing soak in a barrel of wine once thought to reduce the effects of aging has now become an exfoliating rub-down in the 21st. And California’s Napa Valley, famous for its Mediterranean climate and abundance of wineries (roughly 300), happens to be one of the few places where such a spirited spa treatment can be found. A narrow valley that stretches almost from Mount Saint Helena to San Pablo Bay, Napa Valley actually produces only about 5 percent of California’s total wine.
—.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) is the editor of the Oxford Atlas of the World.
Baseball Stadium Wanderlust: Tapping Into the ‘Route 66 Mentality’
by Michael Yessis | 07.31.06 | 4:11 PM ET
Cass Sapir is in the midst of a road trip to watch baseball games in all 189 of North America’s major league and affiliated minor league stadiums. Alan Schwarz recently caught up with the 27-year-old documentary filmmaker and his 2002 Honda Accord at a game in Frederick, Maryland (stop No. 126), and his story in Sunday’s New York Times offers an interesting look not just at Sapir’s quest but the American tradition of the summer baseball road trip.
‘What Happens Here, Stays Here’: The Dark Side of Las Vegas’s Tourism Slogan
by Michael Yessis | 07.28.06 | 10:41 AM ET
Here’s what happens when some people start taking Las Vegas’s ad slogan—“What Happens Here, Stays Here”—a little too seriously: First, they arrive in Las Vegas and do things they never do at home, often involving too much alcohol, too little judgment and an alibi provided by the official Las Vegas Alibi Generator 2.0. Sometimes what they do in Vegas also happens to be dangerous and possibly illegal, and that captures the attention of the Las Vegas Police Department. And that prompts the local Las Vegas NBC affiliate to run a sensational local news story asking, Is the Vegas slogan causing problems for police? The answer? Well, maybe, but we don’t want to kill the golden goose.
Reminder to Voodoo Practitioners: Please Keep the Human Skulls Out of Your Carry-On Bags
by Ben Keene | 07.27.06 | 11:20 AM ET
Airline travel sure isn’t what it used to be. As we’ve posted in the past, many carriers have reduced the niceties on long distance flights in an effort to cut costs in an increasingly competitive business. These changes may not bother all travelers, but after a U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale ruled against well-intentioned individuals packing human skulls with their other luggage last week, you have to wonder what comfort will be the next to go. Back in February, Myrlene Severe, a Haitian woman and practitioner of Voodoo, brought a head with her from Cap Haitien to the United States to ensure a safe arrival. Judge James I. Cohn saw things differently. “All of us has something unusual in our religions,” her lawyer said during her trial. In our religions, perhaps, but in our suitcases no longer.
Taco Travel is Big News
by Michael Yessis | 07.22.06 | 3:17 PM ET
There’s chaos in the Middle East, heat still grips much of the U.S. and Europe, and Tiger Woods leads the British Open. And at 4:30 p.m ET today the most e-mailed story at the New York Times is ... Chasing the Perfect Taco Up the California Coast. Never underestimate the power of the taco.
The Crown Princess, The Norovirus and Titanic
by Michael Yessis | 07.20.06 | 11:12 AM ET
It’s been a tough week for cruisers. Almost two days after the crowded Crown Princess rolled 15-degrees to its left while sailing off the coast of Florida, the injury total has reached more than 200. All who were thrown out of swimming pools and onto railings were expected to recover, according to the Miami Herald. We’re also seeing the day-after rush of on-board video and reaction from passengers. Miami’s CBS affiliate has some good home video of the post-tilt aftermath. Kudos to the local anchor who kept a straight face when he ended the segment with the revelation that the scheduled movie aboard the Crown Princess the night of the accident was Titanic.