Travel Blog
Australia’s Prime Minister: ‘Hotter Than Obama’
by Eva Holland | 06.29.09 | 7:05 PM ET
Publicity still via IGN That was the verdict from Bruno, comedian Sasha Baron Cohen’s gay Austrian alter ego, during a visit to Sydney for his movie‘s Australian premiere. Said the ostensible fashion TV reporter after meeting Prime Minister Kevin Rudd: “That guy is like, uber-cute. I thought Obama was like the hottest guy in the world until I met Kevin.”
Ooh. Them’s fighting words, Bruno. President Obama, care to respond?
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Yahoo! BuzzThe Last Bite and the Other Part of the Fish
by David Farley | 06.29.09 | 4:25 PM ET
Photo by David Farley Few people are lured to the Czech Republic for its cuisine, but I’m one of them. Actually, hearty Czech food is a taste acquired over time (accompanied by lots of pints of hoppy pilsner). Until recently the pub grub—rich goulash and pork made just about every way you can imagine—functioned more as stomach filler than actual taste bud pleasers. But things are slowly changing.
Checking Out
by Alexander Basek | 06.29.09 | 3:33 PM ET
Well guys, it’s been fun. Thanks for listening to me pontificate on all the hotel-ish things that caught my eye these last few months: Wi-Fi woes, soaps, showers, seaweed and sheets. I’m big on the letter “S,” apparently. I’ll still contribute to World Hum from time to time, but in the interim, look me up on Twitter: @alexanderbasek. See you on the road.
Aloha Oe
by Pam Mandel | 06.29.09 | 2:49 PM ET
Photo by Nerd's Eye View I tried to write a closing post for Hawaii: Holoholo Wale five or six times but got stuck in a weepy, pathetic sort of sentimentalism, the kind of thing no one should have to read. With that epic fail on my hands, I turned to Hawaiian culture for inspiration.
Photo We Love: Serious Stretching in Beijing
by World Hum | 06.29.09 | 1:45 PM ET
REUTERS/Grace Liang A man stretches during a morning exercise session at a Beijing park.
Quesadillas in the Sub-Arctic
by Eva Holland | 06.29.09 | 1:01 PM ET
Photo by Eva Holland I’m no Mexican food addict, but I am perpetually fascinated by incongruous culinary offerings in unlikely locales—so when I spotted Sanchez Cantina, “Yukon’s Only TRUE Mexican Restaurant,” not long after my arrival in Whitehorse, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist. Once several locals had assured me that it was “really good,” I grew even more curious—after all, I was in the Canadian sub-arctic, more than 3,000 miles north of the Mexican border, in a town of 20,000 where many people keep freezers full of moose meat. How “true” or “good” could it be?
More Changes to the Blog
by Michael Yessis | 06.29.09 | 11:44 AM ET
The changes to the World Hum blog continue this week. As a result of the challenging publishing climate, we’ve had to make the difficult decision to phase out our individual topic blogs and rededicate ourselves to publishing more shorter posts on a wider variety of subjects throughout the day.
The authors of our topic blogs are not going away entirely, however. We’ll continue to publish great features on the site, and we’ll be turning to Julia, Joanna, Alex, David, Sophia, Jenna, Rob and Pam for more longer contributions in the future. As you know, they bring a wealth of passion and insight and experience to their travel writing, and we’ve been fortunate to feature their voices on the site.
In the meantime, they’ll be blogging, tweeting and writing elsewhere. Look for their final posts on the blog this week, and they’ll let you know where else to find them.
As for the World Hum blog, you’ll still find coverage on everything from air travel to pop culture. Jim, Eva and I will be the primary writers.
If you’ve got tips or suggestions, as usual, please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Recession Hiking on the Appalachian Trail
by Michael Yessis | 06.29.09 | 10:57 AM ET
NPR’s Thomas Pierce set out to find out whether the recession has influenced who’s hiking the Appalachian Trail this season, and fell in with “Pusher” and “The Duder.” Maybe Pierce will return soon and find out if there’s also a Sanford effect out there.
More Postcard Stories from Geist Magazine
by Eva Holland | 06.29.09 | 9:20 AM ET
Once again, Geist has announced the winners of the annual Literal Literary Postcard Contest—in which writers submit very short stories inspired by vintage postcards. First prize went to Mark Paterson’s Spring Training, a compact piece about a boy not traveling to Florida for pre-season baseball every year.
What We Loved This Week: Michael Jackson, Soccer in South Africa and a Taco Smackdown
by World Hum | 06.26.09 | 4:34 PM ET
Photo by Eva Holland Our contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.
Pam Mandel
I loved (re-) watching Michael Jackson’s Cecil B. DeMille meets Bollywood meets John Hughes video for Black or White. The exotic dancers, the magic morphing from one ethnic group to another, the ridiculous introduction (is that Macaulay Culkin?!) and the ’round-the-world tour with an unmistakable beat ... Oh, Michael, you were a really weird character, but I loved your music. Rest in peace, Michael, rest in peace.
Michael Jackson’s Global Impact
by Alicia Imbody | 06.26.09 | 4:02 PM ET
Love him or leave him, Michael Jackson’s international impact—from pioneering popular music and breaking down the race barrier in the entertainment world, to influencing foreign policy and perplexing people across the globe—cannot be denied.
As the world reacts to his death, we take a look at a sampling of global responses and remember some of his lasting impressions.
Rhode Island Contemplates a Name Change
by Eva Holland | 06.26.09 | 3:29 PM ET
Little-known fact: Rhode Island’s full, official name is “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.” And, thanks to the slavery connotations of that latter section, the state is taking steps towards a potential name change—to, you guessed it, plain old “Rhode Island.”
All things considered, if the change goes through I’m guessing the world will find it easier to adapt to than, say, the Bombay-Mumbai shift.
MIT and Harvard Academics Agree: ‘Travel Broadens the Mind’
by Michael Yessis | 06.26.09 | 12:34 PM ET
The 67-page paper written by Mark Mortensen of the MIT Sloan School of Management and Tsedal Beyene of Harvard Business School actually focuses on business travel, but its message seems relevant—and, admittedly, is kind of obvious—to any traveler, really. The Economist’s Gulliver blogger distills the paper’s conclusion: “[B]y heading abroad, you gain valuable insights not only into those cultures you’re visiting, but also into your own domestic operations.”
Here’s a pdf of the paper, which is titled “Firsthand Experience and The Subsequent Role of Reflected Knowledge in Cultivating Trust in Global Collaboration.”
Irresistible, no?
In Celebration of the Daiquiri
by Eva Holland | 06.26.09 | 11:36 AM ET
It’s been 100 years since the daiquiri—now practically the official drink of the warm-weather getaway—first made its way from Cuba to the United States. The Daily Beast takes a look back at its origins and many more modern variations, including the El Floridita daiquiri, reportedly Hemingway’s favorite.
Mapped: How Hollywood Sees the United States
by Michael Yessis | 06.26.09 | 10:33 AM ET
What, you’ve never been to Alabanjorape?
