Travel Blog: News and Briefs
High-Speed Rail Watch: From Russia to America?
by Eva Holland | 09.28.09 | 2:43 PM ET
A new breed of locomotive-less high-speed train will launch in Russia in December, running between St. Petersburg and Moscow—and Siemens, the German company behind the new model, is hoping to bring it to America next. The New York Times has the details.
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Yahoo! BuzzThe ‘Entity Formerly Known as the British Empire’ Has Some Advice for an America in Decline
by Michael Yessis | 09.28.09 | 12:31 PM ET
More McSweeney’s hilarity from World Hum contributor Kate Hahn. Here’s one bit of advice for the U.S. from the former British Empire, delivered from a bar on the Costa del Sol:
Look, I’ve been there. Coffers empty. Troops everywhere. Economy sour. Your empire’s finished. But just because I’m retired doesn’t mean I can’t be useful. Here’s how you get through it.
First off: lean on your family. And by that I don’t mean the hearth-and-home sort, I mean royals. Make the office of the president of the United States more regal. Pomp and circumstance distracts you from the fact that you don’t matter anymore. Have guards stand outside the White House gates in some kind of regalia. Celebrate the president’s birthday—not just the dead ones, the one you have now. What’s his ... Bomama ... Obama, yes, yes, the Kenyan.
Ah, Kenya. Mine once. Moment for Kenya.
Nigeria’s Rebranding Campaign Hits a Hollywood Road Block
by Eva Holland | 09.28.09 | 11:43 AM ET
Poor Nigeria. The government there launched a major rebranding campaign back in March, attempting to improve its reputation for corruption and annoying email scams, but so far cooperation from outside the country has been hard to come by. Two of the latest obstacles? A Sony PlayStation commercial that made a crack about those aforementioned email scams, and the sci-fi movie “District 9,” which apparently portrays its Nigerian characters as “gangsters, cannibals, pimps and prostitutes.” Ouch.
Gangs and the New Yorker in Rio’s Favelas
by Michael Yessis | 09.28.09 | 10:50 AM ET
Jon Lee Anderson’s story Gangland from the latest issue of the New Yorker isn’t online, but the magazine did post a stunning audio slideshow with photos by Joao Pina.
We posted Rob Verger’s slideshow about tourism in Rio’s favelas last June.
What We Loved This Week: Kira Salak, ‘The Perfect Baja Road Trip’ and a Postcard from Argentina
by World Hum | 09.25.09 | 5:37 PM ET
Eva Holland
Finding some Banks beer in an Ontario liquor store. The Barbados brewery has started exporting to select areas in Canada, and while it’s certainly not the greatest beer I’ve ever tasted, coming across the familiar label—and then bringing a few home and cracking one open—did bring me back to my last trip to the island.
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Airplane’ by Indigo Girls
by Michael Yessis | 09.25.09 | 1:46 PM ET
McDonald’s in America, Mapped
by Eva Holland | 09.25.09 | 12:59 PM ET
Check out this cool (if slightly disturbing) map of every McD’s location in the lower 48—where, apparently, you’re never more than 107 miles away from the nearest Big Mac.
Does a Resort Vacation Benefit the Locals?
by Eva Holland | 09.25.09 | 12:07 PM ET
Slate tackles the perennial question in its latest do-gooder column..
London Bridge vs. Tower Bridge: The Twitter Smackdown!
by Michael Yessis | 09.25.09 | 11:20 AM ET
It’s @ImLondonBridge vs. @towerbridge in the Tussle on the Thames! And @ImLondonBridge is kicking ass, spurred on by what the Telegraph calls the “tedium and pomposity” of its more photogenic rival’s tweets—@towerbridge only seems to tweet whenever it raises to let ships pass.
The Telegraph tells the whole amusing story, and shares some of its favorite taunts from @ImLondonBridge:
If you took a film of @towerbridge and speeded it up, it would look like the world’s least exciting pinball machine. Without any balls.
Hey @towerbridge. When are you going to do something again? You’re even more boring when you’re just sitting there. Yawn.
Coo-ee @towerbridge. When are you going to do your impersonation of the fourth guy from the Village People again? I simply can’t wait.
But @ImLondonBridge isn’t all taunt. It showed its softer side with its tribute to Patrick Swayze.
Ryanair Brings Back In-Flight Smoking
by Eva Holland | 09.25.09 | 10:38 AM ET
For a price, of course. The Irish budget airline has announced that nicotine-cravers will soon be able to get their fix at 37,000 feet—provided they’re willing to shell out $9 per pack for Ryanair’s own brand of “smokeless” cigarettes. What’s next, in-flight slot machines?
Portraits from the New York Subway
by Eva Holland | 09.25.09 | 9:47 AM ET
Improv Everywhere is back. (You remember the group that “froze” Grand Central last year?) This time around, they posed as MTA-contracted photographers, taking photos of passengers on the New York subway for an eventual subway yearbook. The result is not just a funny gag, but a pretty cool set of portraits, too. Check it out:
(Via Boing Boing)
What if the Burj Dubai was in Manhattan?
by Eva Holland | 09.24.09 | 4:26 PM ET
Kottke posts an altered version of the Midtown skyline. Puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?
Kimchi Taco, Meet the JapaDog
by Eva Holland | 09.24.09 | 3:18 PM ET
Anyone who was intrigued by L.A.’s kimchi tacos will want to read the latest Frugal Traveler dispatch from Vancouver, wherein Matt Gross explores daikon- and soy-sauce-topped hot dogs and other low-budget fusion delights.
Is Lying ‘Intrinsic to Travel Books’?
by Eva Holland | 09.24.09 | 1:55 PM ET
The Guardian’s John Hooper considers the impact of Google and the armchair fact-checker on the time-honored tradition of a little, er, exaggeration in travel writing.
Michelin’s Guides Explained
by Eva Holland | 09.24.09 | 10:58 AM ET
The Daily Beast demystifies the powerhouse foodie-travel guides from the tire manufacturing giant. Did you know that the books actually started out as road trip pamphlets marking the locations of gas stations and mechanics?
