Destination: United States
Princeton Makes ‘Gap Year’ Official
by Julia Ross | 02.21.08 | 8:35 AM ET
I’ve always been a little jealous of the Brits on account of the gap year. To take an officially sanctioned pre-college year to travel, volunteer, or study language seems to me a wonderful start to adulthood. Administrators at Princeton University apparently think so, too: They’ve just announced they plan to launch a “gap year” program (they call it “bridge year”) for up to 10 percent of incoming freshman students, who will spend a year abroad performing social service work. The program is the first of its kind in the U.S., and Princeton says it will not charge tuition for the year.
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Yahoo! BuzzProper Use of Semicolon in New York Subways Hailed by Riders, Writers
by Michael Yessis | 02.20.08 | 11:55 AM ET
One sentence on a public service ad in the New York Subway has turned Neil Neches, a writer in the New York City Transit agency’s marketing and service information department, into an unlikely hero. In an effort to get riders to not leave newspapers strewn about subway cars, Neches wrote: “Please put it in a trash can; that’s good news for everyone.” The tale of his properly-placed semicolon is currently the No. 1 most e-mailed story at the New York Times.
Two More Bookstores Beloved by Travelers to Close
by Michael Yessis | 02.18.08 | 12:27 PM ET
Candida’s World of Books, Washington D.C.‘s only travel bookstore, opened to the public for the last time this past weekend, and the Reading Room, the only literary bookstore on the Las Vegas Strip, announced it will be closing as soon as March.
‘Feng Shui-Inspired’ McDonald’s Opens in California
by Michael Yessis | 02.15.08 | 1:57 PM ET
A press release touts the “water elements, earth tones, red accents and exotic fauna” in a design by “Feng Shui Grand Master” Dr. Chi-Jean Liu. Eater LA and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune have photos, if you want to see the Grand Master’s work for yourself. Me? I just want to see if this influences the next Big Mac Index.
For a Beach Vacation, Should I Go All the Way to Bali or the Maldives When Hawaii Would Do?
by Rolf Potts | 02.15.08 | 11:13 AM ET
Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel
Susan Jacoby on Americans’ ‘Hostility to Knowledge’
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.15.08 | 10:03 AM ET
Kellie Pickler may be the obvious mascot, but Susan Jacoby says American “hostility to knowledge” is not just confined to adorable blondes who think Europe is a country and “Hung[a]ry” is not. In her new book, The Age of American Unreason, she argues that a poor educational system and religious fundamentalism’s hatred of reason have helped turn many of us into isolationist dummies.
Eating Cuban on Miami’s Calle Ocho
by Jim Benning | 02.14.08 | 1:37 PM ET
The cultural heart of Cuban life in Miami is, naturally, Little Havana. And in Little Havana, the main drag is Calle Ocho—8th Street. It’s on Calle Ocho where old men in elegant guayaberas gather to play dominoes, and it’s on Calle Ocho where a number of fine Cuban restaurants have been serving up strong espresso and garlic-infused fried pork for years. For Americans who want to experience authentic Cuban culture without violating U.S. laws with a clandestino trip to Havana, Miami’s Calle Ocho is the place to start.
JetBlue to Launch LAX-JFK Service
by Jim Benning | 02.12.08 | 1:25 PM ET
It’s about time JetBlue began operating out of Los Angeles International. Starting in May, the budget carrier with excellent entertainment options will offer three daily flights from LAX to John F. Kennedy International and one daily flight to Logan International in Boston. Even if you’re not as big of a fan of JetBlue as I am, it’s good news: It could lead to a fare war among other airlines at LAX. JetBlue is expanding service at other Southern California airports, too.
Monte Carlo in Las Vegas to Reopen Friday
by Michael Yessis | 02.11.08 | 2:13 PM ET
Three weeks after a three-alarm fire broke out on the top floors of the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas, the hotel and casino will reopen on a limited basis Feb. 15. Most of the rest of the hotel will reopen the following week, according to Reuters.
No Peace Center for Alcatraz
by Jim Benning | 02.07.08 | 11:45 AM ET
San Francisco voters rejected a proposal this week to turn Alcatraz Island—the former prison site and ridiculously popular tourist attraction—into a “global peace center.” Whew. Given the rough U.S. economy, I’m afraid any move that could threaten the bustling Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary souvenir T-shirt industry could be this nation’s ruin. Sure, peace center T-shirts would sell, especially in San Francisco, but they wouldn’t do Federal Penitentiary numbers. For a vicarious visit and a few grim statistics, here’s video of the approach to the island from a tour boat:
Kibbe and Myth in the Mississippi Delta
by Joanna Kakissis | 02.07.08 | 11:06 AM ET
If you go to any family-run diner in the Mississippi Delta, chances are you’ll find tabouleh, dolmas and the Lebanese meat dish called kibbe tucked between the barbecue and fried chicken on the menu. That’s because waves of Lebanese settled in Mississippi between the 1870s and 1960s, setting up grocery stores and restaurants to make a living, according to NPR’s Kitchen Sisters and “the Faulkner of Southern food,” John T. Edge.
NYC Shops to Visitors: Give us Your Huddled Euros Yearning to be Free
by Jim Benning | 02.06.08 | 1:24 PM ET
In what Reuters reports is a sign that the U.S. dollar “just ain’t what it used to be,” some New York City businesses are now accepting euros and other foreign currency—and they’re finding plenty of takers: “The increasingly weak U.S. dollar, once considered the king among currencies, has brought waves of European tourists to New York with money to burn.”
What’s Joshua Tree National Park Without Joshua Trees?
by Jim Benning | 02.06.08 | 7:09 AM ET
That’s what park rangers and visitors are wondering, given a new prediction that in just 50 to 100 years global warming will make the southern California park too warm to support its namesake trees. I’ve spent a lot of time at Joshua Tree park, hiking, playing on boulders and even shivering through the 2000 New Year’s Eve there.
Traveling While Texan
by Sophia Dembling | 02.05.08 | 12:53 PM ET
Photo: iStockphoto. Sophia Dembling hears a lot about her home state while she's on the road, particularly from other travelers intent on steering clear of the land of George W. Bush, Jasper and big hair. Her response: Get over it.
Super Tuesday Abroad: Obama Takes Jakarta
by Jim Benning | 02.05.08 | 11:13 AM ET
World Hum contributor Joanna Kakissis recently blogged from Greece about the local enthusiasm for Barack Obama—and how the Greeks’ attitude toward her and the United States seemed to be warming as a result. Now, Americans overseas—Democrats, at least—are getting a chance to chime in. From Indonesia to the UK to a Starbucks outlet in Bangkok, they’re voting in the Democratic primary. The first results have come from Jakarta, where roughly 100 Democrats cast ballots: Obama got 75 percent of the vote to Hillary Clinton’s 25 percent.