Travel Blog: News and Briefs
‘My Life is ‘The Terminal 2’
by Valerie Conners | 11.24.08 | 2:34 PM ET
So says Hiroshi Nohara, a Japanese citizen who “for reasons he cannot explain,” has been calling Mexico City’s international airport home for the past three months.
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Yahoo! BuzzLos Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art Endangered
by Jim Benning | 11.24.08 | 1:06 PM ET
The museum has fallen on hard times, but L.A. philanthropist Eli Broad just offered up $30 million to help.
Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Chinese Democracy’
by Jim Benning | 11.24.08 | 12:20 PM ET
Joining the ranks of Western rock albums whose titles evoke Asia—Holiday in Cambodia and Cheap Trick at Budokan come to mind —is the long-awaited Chinese Democracy, from reclusive rock star and esteemed China-watcher Axl Rose. It’s not clear to me, from a cursory look at the title song’s lyrics, whether Rose has anything particularly deep to say about Chinese democracy, or lack thereof, except that change is coming to China. Nevertheless, rumor has it the album has been banned in the Middle Kingdom.
Update: Great trivia. Guns N’ Roses is known as Qiang Hua in China.
‘Street Food Doesn’t Have to Mean Rat on a Stick’
by Eva Holland | 11.24.08 | 11:56 AM ET
So says the Times of London. We’re inclined to agree.
Ry Cooder’s El Mirage and Los Angeles
by Jim Benning | 11.24.08 | 11:46 AM ET
This is one of the coolest travel stories I’ve read in a while. The New York Times joined Ry Cooder in exploring El Mirage Dry Lake in California’s Mojave Desert, as well as parts of Los Angeles, both areas Cooder has evoked in concept albums. Writes Lawrence Downes:
When Ry Cooder and I got to El Mirage Dry Lake, it was 110 degrees and heading to 117, hot enough to cook your head inside your hat. The Mojave Desert in daylight will cut the gizzard right out of you, Tom Joad once said, which is why the Okies crossed it at night.
The accompanying slideshow, featuring one of Cooder’s songs, shows just how powerful a good audio slideshow can be.
Honoring the Tamale Calls of Mexico City
by Jim Benning | 11.24.08 | 10:28 AM ET
It’s not quite a call to prayer. It’s more like a call to chow down. The Los Angeles Times pays homage to the sounds of the city’s neighborhood food vendors with this fine little video. Writes Ken Ellingwood: “You hear it from a block away: an amplified, singsong call with an uncanny power to slice through the urban din. The tone is cheap and tinny—as kitschy as a sound can be. And it’s my favorite in Mexico City.”
World Hum’s Most Read: Nov. 15-21
by World Hum | 11.21.08 | 4:19 PM ET
Our five most popular travel interviews for the week:
1) Matt Weiland: Through 50 States With 50 Writers
2) Rolf Potts: Revelations From a Postmodern Travel Writer
3) Matt Gross: Reflections From a ‘Round-the-World Journey
4) Rick Steves: Reflections on Three Decades of World Travel
5) Pico Iyer: On Travel and Travel Writing (pictured)
What We Loved This Week: CupcakeCampEast, ‘How She Move’ and ‘In Transit’
by World Hum | 11.21.08 | 4:13 PM ET
World Hum contributors share a favorite travel-related experience from the past seven days.
Michael Yessis
The one-two punch of Albert Hammond and Albert Hammond, Jr. My iPod played the father’s It Never Rains in Southern California and the son’s “In Transit” almost in succession on a chilly night this week. Two songs with a restlessness that left me itching to go somewhere warm. Plus, I love the uke here:
Amsterdam Cracks Down on ‘Cannabis Cafés’
by Valerie Conners | 11.21.08 | 11:46 AM ET
Photo by shelleylyn via Flickr (Creative Commons).
While we’ve covered the growing conservative tide in this notoriously liberal town, it now seems that mood has yielded the decision to close nearly one-fifth of Amsterdam’s marijuana-selling coffee shops—specifically those deemed too close to city schools. The decision has—not surprisingly—stirred controversy. “We don’t think it’s very useful,” said one school principal. “Children will get their drugs if they want to anyway.”
‘Tea and Wallaby’: What Photojournalists Eat Around the World
by Michael Yessis | 11.21.08 | 11:08 AM ET
It’s long, but it’s good: Twelve photojournalists display and talk about memorable meals they’ve eaten on the job in an audio slideshow at the New Yorker.
The Perils of Traveling by Private Jet
by Jim Benning | 11.20.08 | 2:37 PM ET
This is exactly why we at World Hum always fly commercial when asking Congress for a bailout.
Alain Ducasse: ‘I Am Not a Fan of Airline Food’
by Eva Holland | 11.20.08 | 10:33 AM ET
The legendary chef recently shared some tidbits about his travel habits with the Telegraph’s Lisa Grainger. His favorite thing about traveling? No surprise there: the local food. “For me, going to markets is the best way to understand the soul of a place,” Ducasse said. “I taste everything, wherever I am. There is nothing quite like the simple pleasure of a marvellous piece of local fruit; it tells you so much about where you are.”
‘Australia’: The Next Big Travel Movie?
by Eva Holland | 11.19.08 | 10:49 AM ET
I caught the trailer for Baz Luhrman’s upcoming, travel-flavored epic in theaters this weekend, and it looks set to follow the likes of Into the Wild and Lord of the Rings as the next big-screen tourist-bait. (It also looks suspiciously like an Australian remake of Out of Africa, but that’s beside the point.)
National Geographic’s ‘Herod’s Lost Tomb,’ FTW
by Valerie Conners | 11.19.08 | 10:39 AM ET
That’s “For The Win,” to all you non-gamers out there, and yes, the revered publication is launching a games division, with downloadable titles that can be played on Macs, PCs, and some mobile devices. ‘Herod’ could be cool, but frankly, I’m holding out for “Sudoku Traveler: China.”
Additional Measures Taken to Ease Holiday Travel Woes
by Valerie Conners | 11.19.08 | 10:22 AM ET
As if family lanes at the airport weren’t enough of a gift to weary travelers, President Bush has announced plans to open additional military airspace across the country to commercial airlines, helping ease holiday travel delays for passengers.
