Travel Blog: News and Briefs
‘Graffiti Tourist’ Indicted in New York City
by Michael Yessis | 09.18.08 | 5:17 PM ET
Newsday reports that Robbert Boxem of the Netherlands, aka KRAE, was in town for the “international graffiti event known as Meeting of Styles,” and he was charged with “spray painting a subway car and leading police on a dangerous chase.” The biggest surprise to me? The existence of such a thing as “graffiti tourism.”
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Yahoo! Buzz‘The Case for Mass Tourism’
by Michael Yessis | 09.18.08 | 4:24 PM ET
Rahul Jacob makes it in the Financial Times.
The ‘Art’ of the Cruise Bath Towel Creature
by Jim Benning | 09.18.08 | 1:01 PM ET
Speaking of the excesses and absurdities in cruising, USA Today has published a series of reader photos of cruise towel creatures—probably best appreciated after a few Slippery Nipples or Fuzzy Navels with Cocopuff or Mojo Mike.
What Did Documentary Filmmaker Ken Burns Do on His Summer Vacation?
by Jim Benning | 09.18.08 | 11:43 AM ET
“A six-part, 12-hour series, of course,” writes Christopher Reynolds in the Los Angeles Times. Actually, I don’t think Burns finished the project. But when Reynolds caught up with him at Glacier National Park, he was at work on one of his trademark PBS series—this one, scheduled to air in fall 2009, about America’s national parks. “For the first time in human history,” Burns remarked, “land was set aside not for the pleasure of kings and noblemen and the very, very rich, but for everybody, for all time.”
For Sale: Gatwick Airport
by Eva Holland | 09.18.08 | 10:16 AM ET
The British Airport Authority put the London airport up for sale yesterday. The Guardian offers some thoughts on the decision, and on Gatwick’s potential buyers.
‘Airports are Embracing the Green Zeitgeist’
by Michael Yessis | 09.17.08 | 5:21 PM ET
USA Today’s Roger Yu has a thorough look at eco-friendly practices and projects at airports around the country, complete with chart. He writes: “From low-flush toilets and hybrid taxis to solar panels and recycled coffee grounds, some of the largest airports are aggressively implementing green measures to save on energy costs and to generate favorable impressions among travelers.”
Related on World Hum:
* A Plea to Take Global Tourism Seriously: ‘It’s Nothing Short of a Planet-Threatening Plague’
* A German ‘Eco-Wander’
Photo of wind turbine by phault, via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Are Airports the Ideal Places for Media Companies to Promote Their Brands?
by Michael Yessis | 09.17.08 | 3:53 PM ET
Many of them seem to think so. The AP reports that USA Today and Sports Illustrated opened their first retail stores today at the new North Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport, and they’re not the first media entities to try to take advantage of the “unique customer set”—read: high income—of air travelers. The New York Times, CNBC and Fox News all have existing stores at various U.S. airports, and they’re talking about opening more.
Related on World Hum:
* Airport Gift Shops Feel the Sudoku Effect
* Long Descent Be Damned: Airports Still Romantic
Travel Headline of the Day: ‘Iron Maiden Star Flies in to Help Stranded XL Passengers’
by Michael Yessis | 09.17.08 | 3:09 PM ET
Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson is also a pilot, and he was among those called upon to pick up travelers stranded after the collapse of British travel outfitter XL. Said Dickinson: “I was just doing my job.”
A Grim Anniversary: 100 Years Since First Airplane Fatality
by Valerie Conners | 09.17.08 | 10:49 AM ET
A century ago today, Orville Wright piloted a flight that was to incur history’s first airplane fatality: Five minutes after taking off, Wright’s plane crashed into the ground, killing his passenger, Thomas E. Selfridge. That tragic flight and its legacy has drawn recent press, and now the AP commemorates the anniversary.
Cuban Government: Gustav and Ike Damage ‘Worst Ever’
by Jim Benning | 09.16.08 | 5:29 PM ET
Somehow, amid the din of media reports about Galveston, lipstick on pigs and the U.S. financial mess, I missed this. The Cuban government has declared that the damage caused by hurricanes Gustav and Ike was “the worst ever” in the country’s history. Given that Cuba has been blasted by countless hurricanes over the years, the toll has to be massive. According to the BBC’s report, some 200,000 people lost their homes as a result of the storms.
R.I.P. Elmer Dills
by Jim Benning | 09.16.08 | 5:25 PM ET
The travel and restaurant critic was an institution in Los Angeles media. He was 82.
Mapped: Missed Connections on Craigslist
by Michael Yessis | 09.16.08 | 1:53 PM ET
This map highlights the most common places in each U.S. state where people had missed connections, as posted on Craigslist. Turns out there’s been a lot of missed connections at Wal-Mart. If you’ve been flying through Nebraska or Mississippi, and you’re wondering if someone is pining for you, have a look. Most missed connections in those states occurred on airplanes. In Illinois? On the bus. (via Coudal Partners)
Status Update: ‘On the Road,’ the Movie
by Michael Yessis | 09.16.08 | 12:19 PM ET
It’s been a little over a year since we noted that the movie version of Jack Kerouac’s classic book was slated to be filmed in 2008 by Walter Salles, director of “The Motorcycle Diaries.” The new timetable? The Independent’s James Mottram quotes Salles saying he’ll “be shooting either at the end of this year or the beginning of the next.”
Matt Gross: More Reflections on the Grand Tour
by Michael Yessis | 09.16.08 | 11:13 AM ET
The New York Times Frugal Traveler and World Hum contributor will appear in New York City twice during the next week to discuss his summer on the road in Europe, where he updated the Grand Tour for the information age. He’ll be speaking at Idlewild Books Thursday at 7 p.m., and at the New-York Historical Society next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Related on World Hum:
* Matt Gross: Looking Back on the Grand Tour
* Confessions of a Frugal Traveler
Keeping Vintage Planes in the Sky: ‘It’s Part of Your Soul’
by Eva Holland | 09.16.08 | 10:03 AM ET
For all the nostalgists out there (I know I’m not the only one), the Globe and Mail has a heartwarming item about the volunteers who keep Canada’s shrinking fleet of vintage planes in the air. A handful of aging pilots, mechanics and engineers put in hundreds of thousands of hours each year keeping the remaining planes—including a World War II-era Lancaster bomber, one of just two in the world that remain airworthy—in flying condition.
