World Hum

76-Second Travel Show: For the Love of Luge

2010-02-09T17:03:26+00:00

Just in time for the Vancouver Olympics, Robert Reid on places to try the "fastest sport on ice"

Photo You Must See: Flocking to Geumgang Lake, South Korea

2010-02-09T15:32:51+00:00

A flock of teals fly over Geumgang Lake in Gunsan, about 168 miles south of Seoul.

‘Distance and Difference are the Secret Tonic of Creativity’

2010-02-09T14:54:21+00:00

Another welcome addition to the Why We Travel canon, this one from Jonah Lehrer. He recently wrote about the cognitive benefits of travel in the San Francisco Panorama:

Travel, in other words, is a basic human desire. We’re a migratory species, even if our migrations are powered by jet fuel and Chicken McNuggets. But here’s my question: is this collective urge to travel—to put some distance between ourselves and everything we know—still a worthwhile compulsion? Or is it like the taste for saturated fat, one of those instincts we should have left behind in the Pleistocene epoch? Because if travel is just about fun then I think the TSA killed it.

The good news, at least for those of you reading this while stuck on a tarmac eating stale pretzels, is that pleasure is not the only consolation of travel. In fact, several new science papers suggest that getting away—and it doesn’t even matter where you’re going—is an essential habit of effective thinking. It’s not about vacation, or relaxation, or sipping daiquiris on an unspoiled tropical beach: it’s about the tedious act itself, putting some miles between home and wherever you happen to spend the night.

Thanks for the tip, Todd.

Haiti: Give Aid or Deal With the Roots of the Problem?

2010-02-08T20:57:20+00:00

On the question few people are asking about Haiti after the earthquake

Video: Saints Super Bowl Victory Party in New Orleans

2010-02-08T20:06:35+00:00

I’m not much of a football fan, but as a traveler who got hooked on the Crescent City awhile back I can’t get enough of this video. From the music to the Magazine St. bars to the Mardi Gras-bead-wearing beat cops, it’s all NOLA.

(Via Ta-Nehisi Coates)

Photo You Must See: Operatic Eyes in Guangzhou, China

2010-02-08T16:41:15+00:00

A passenger walks in front of a giant poster featuring Chinese opera near a railway station in Guangzhou, China.

Video You Must See: Clouds on Table Mountain

2010-02-08T16:06:23+00:00

A time-lapse visit to the ethereal Cape Town landmark

The Elusiveness of the Northern Lights

2010-02-08T15:20:49+00:00

After returning from the war in Iraq, Dario DiBattista road-tripped from Alaska to Maryland in search of peace -- and a way back into the civilian world

What We Loved This Week: ‘Point Omega,’ Vicarious Ramen and the Canadian Rockies

2010-02-05T22:21:21+00:00

Michael Yessis
Matt Gross’ story about eating his way through Tokyo’s “sprawling ramen ecosystem.” Made me long for a bowl of noodles—and another trip to Japan.

Men at Work Loses ‘Down Under’ Plagiarism Case

2010-02-05T19:29:31+00:00

An Australian court has ruled that the flute section in the catchy travel song was lifted from “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree,” another Aussie classic that dates to the 1930s. Frontman Colin Hay has issued an emotional dissenting statement in response. Here’s the song in question:

Photo You Must See: London Light Trails

2010-02-05T18:22:00+00:00

Light trails made by a passing bus illuminate the night sky in front of the Houses of Parliament in London

New Travel Book: ‘China: Museums’

2010-02-05T17:21:24+00:00

This illustrated guide to China’s many lesser-known museums is due out in April. The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos has a thoughtful Q&A with co-author Miriam Clifford, on her favorite spots and the way China presents itself, to visitors and to its own citizens.