Travel Blog: News and Briefs
*Well, Duh
by Jim Benning | 08.01.05 | 1:09 PM ET
That was the response from a number of gay and lesbian newlyweds in Canada to a government travel warning that they might not be welcomed with open arms in other countries. Canada’s foreign affairs office issued the warning, noting that other nations may not recognize the same-sex marriages now legal in Canada, and may not even tolerate same-sex couples.
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Yahoo! Buzz“Travel Removes Us From Our Everyday Lives But Not Real Life”
by Jim Benning | 08.01.05 | 11:52 AM ET
In Sunday’s paper, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Thomas Swick offers a thoughtful reflection on this year’s summer vacation season, with its terrorist attacks and hurricanes.
The Politics of Travel Warnings
by Jim Benning | 08.01.05 | 11:38 AM ET
The Seattle Times’ Carol Pucci asks a great question: Why did the recent London bombings result in only a “brief and restrained” travel advisory from the U.S. State Department, while the terrorist attack in Egypt prompted a much more strongly worded advisory? Could it be—gasp—that politics are involved? It’s not a new question, but it’s as relevant as ever. Any traveler who has spent more than a few minutes studying State Department pronouncements for various countries could come up with numerous perplexing inconsistencies.
World Hum Newsletter
by Jim Benning | 07.28.05 | 5:11 PM ET
We’d like to interrupt this travel weblog to point out the new-and-improved but vasty under-promoted World Hum newsletter. It gets only a tiny link at the top of the page. Frankly, it deserves better. So here goes: If you’d like to receive an e-newsletter once or twice a month with updates on the latest World Hum offerings, you can subscribe by simply entering your e-mail address. It’s too easy.
For Sale: Private Island. Electricity Not Included. $350,000.
by Jim Benning | 07.28.05 | 1:28 PM ET
Who among us hasn’t dreamed of living on a paradisiacal private island—the kind of place where you can relax under a shady palm with a frosty margarita and forget about deadlines and bills and the “global struggle against violent extremism”? For those with the cash and the nerve, Islands magazine has just identified the go-to guy. His name is Farhad Vladi, and he is an impeccably dressed, German-raised private island broker who has sold more than 1,500 islands around the globe over the last 30 years.
“The Day My Plane Troubles Became Entertainment”
by Michael Yessis | 07.23.05 | 12:37 PM ET
Picture this: It’s the middle of your Southwest flight out of Chicago, and the captain’s voice comes over the intercom. He says he’s returning to the airport. The problem lies with the control stick. It’s shaking violently, a sign universally acknowledged by pilots that the plane may stall. You grip the armrests. Your heart races.
Planet Theme Park Takes Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
by Michael Yessis | 07.20.05 | 9:52 PM ET
Lots of news in our ongoing effort to chronicle the world’s transformation into a giant theme park. Boing Boing reports that a Michigan man named Wally Wallington is reconstructing Stonehenge in his backyard. Discovery Channel Canada has the video. Across the Atlantic in Kent, England, the BBC has word that work has begun on Dickens World, a theme park based on the “life, times and books” of novelist Charles Dickens. The park is scheduled to open in April 2007. No word on whether the laborers are exploited children.
Deconstructing the Airport Novel
by Michael Yessis | 07.19.05 | 12:53 AM ET
“Airport novels represent a literary genre that is not so much defined by its plot or cast of stock characters, as much as it is by the social function it serves.” So begins a great deconstruction of the airport novel on an odd site called News Axis. I can’t figure out who to exactly to credit for Wikipedia. The highly amusing three-page overview, includes a brief history of the genre and a great eye for detail.
Forget the Anti-Inflammatories. Take Two Vacations (or Even One) and Call Me in the Morning.
by Jim Benning | 07.18.05 | 2:01 PM ET
Check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site before your trip abroad and, after inspecting the long list of horrifying maladies you could contract while away, you just might decide to stay home. But an article in Outpost Magazine points out what many know intuitively: More often than not, travel is good for your health. Sure, you need to beware of potential dangers and get your shots. But beyond that, getting away from work to travel can cure all sorts of maladies and prevent new conditions from arising.
Next Up on the Travel Channel: Still More Poker in Vegas
by Jim Benning | 07.18.05 | 11:53 AM ET
We’ve long complained about the Travel Channel’s dearth of programming about, uh, travel. On Sunday, Thomas Swick of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel took a good shot at the cable channel, penning a hilarious column that purports to be the network’s new fall schedule. An excerpt: “8:30-9 p.m. Vegas Idol. Talented young people vie to become the next headliner at Caesars Palace. 9-9:30 p.m. Steve Wynn’s Vegas. The inspiring story of a casino owner who dared to dream. 9:30-10 p.m. Rick Steves’ Vegas. The popular travel expert discovers the simple pleasures of riding a gondola at The Venetian, shopping in a little hill town boutique at the Bellagio, sharing a baguette with a lifeguard at Paris.”
Roadside Religion
by Michael Yessis | 07.18.05 | 12:54 AM ET
Travel and spirituality have long been intertwined, but rarely with the “spectacular absurdity” witnessed by Timothy K. Beal. In 2002, he set out with his wife and two children to explore America’s religious roadside attractions, public spectacles like the Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, Florida, and a rebuilt Noah’s Ark in Frostburg, Maryland.
Jetting Off to JET
by Jim Benning | 07.16.05 | 11:42 AM ET
Just posted: Rolf Potts offers advice to a traveler headed to Japan to teach English.
An Unhappy Anniversary at the Running of the Bulls
by Jim Benning | 07.14.05 | 12:32 PM ET
The annual Running of the Bulls wrapped up today in Pamplona, Spain. For most participants, it’s a quick, adrenaline-filled sprint that ends safely. But not for everyone. This year’s event marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Matthew Tassio, a 22-year-old Illinois native who was the last person killed in the running. Writer Andrew Walker was watching from the sides that day. In an unusual story in the BBC, Walker recalls the chaotic scene and remembers the fallen traveler. “From time to time, my mind strays back to that cool, sunny morning in 1995, and I think of Matthew, his parents and friends,” Walker writes. “I haven’t been back to Pamplona.”
Across the U.S. in 200 Days
by Michael Yessis | 07.13.05 | 9:57 AM ET
It’s taking Steve Vaught that long because he’s walking from San Diego to New York City. And because he’s carrying an 85-pound backpack. And because he weighs 400 pounds. It’s part of a plan to lose the weight he gained after a tragic accident. His story is both inspirational and heartbreaking.
Letter From London
by Jim Benning | 07.08.05 | 11:20 AM ET
Just posted on World Hum: one traveler’s e-mail home from London after the bombings.
