Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Et Tu, New York Times?
by Michael Yessis | 12.06.04 | 5:45 PM ET
The Gray Lady debuted the redesign of its travel section Sunday—without the personal essay column. We hope this is an anomaly and it will be back next week. If it’s gone for good, how sad. The Times has been the only major U.S. newspaper we know of that consistently gives travel writers a forum to look inward. It recognizes that travel sometimes involves a personal journey as well as a physical one. If the Times has done away with the essay, the philosophical dialogue among travelers will continue here and in other places, of course, but millions of newspaper readers in the U.S. will no longer be able to participate, and that’s a shame. The timing of the essay elimination is a bit ironic, considering that Sunday’s New York Times Book Review heralds the latest crop of narrative travel books. The headline? Choice of Literary Travel Guides Is Expanding.
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Yahoo! BuzzWhat Would Edward Abbey Think?
by Michael Yessis | 11.24.04 | 6:00 PM ET
Last September a group of international travelers descended on southern Utah to traverse canyons and ride horses and smoke their brains out. They went to Moab on a junket sponsored by Philip Morris, a company that has used the rugged land of the American southwest as a backdrop for its Marlboro cigarette ads since the early 1960s. The “winners” of the promotion were flown in from around the world - no Americans allowed - for 12 days of adventure, which was recorded for potential use in upcoming ads. The event drew the attention of L.A. Times reporter Charles Duhigg for many reasons, including the fact that this orgy of exploitation and commercialism takes place on public land. His story offers a fascinating look at the power of landscapes and multi-national corporations. It’s also absurdly funny. For instance, this quote from Philip Morris executive François Moreillon: “We want the winners to experience the freedom of America. And we find this is easiest when Americans are not part of the event.”
Over There
by Michael Yessis | 11.23.04 | 6:08 PM ET
For all the Americans threatening to move to another country in the wake of President George W. Bush’s reelection, Derek Denton has a simple message: “Living abroad is certainly worth doing; I wish more of our people would try it at least once,” he writes in Sunday’s Seattle Times. “But it ought to be motivated by curiosity, guts and a love of challenges. If you’re looking for an escape from your own current reality, stay home and take drugs.”
She’s so Heavy, Continued
by Michael Yessis | 11.23.04 | 6:04 PM ET
Patrick Smith, Salon’s Ask the Pilot columnist, has more about the Centers for Disease Control study that concluded America’s growing waistlines are hurting the bottom lines of airline companies.
Memo to American Airlines MD-80 Passengers: BYOP
by Jim Benning | 11.18.04 | 9:08 PM ET
That’s Bring Your Own Pillow. The airline announced yesterday it was yanking small pillows from its MD-80 jets to save money. That’s so wrong.
An Apology To the World
by Jim Benning | 11.15.04 | 9:13 PM ET
University of Southern California neuroscience student James Zetlen wasn’t happy with the outcome of the U.S. election. So the 20-year-old snapped a photo of himself holding up a handwritten sign on a piece of notebook paper. It featured a crude drawing of the globe and a simple message: “Sorry world. We tried.” He signed it, “Half of America.” Then he posted the photo on a basic Web site he created: sorryeverybody.com. What happened since has been amazing, the BBC reports. The site has received more than 27 million hits—so many that the university asked him to move it to another server because it was using more than 80 percent of its server’s bandwidth. Zetlen’s site is now loaded with photos from other citizens offering their own snapshot apologies. And it has inspired a number of other sites, including several insisting the U.S. has nothing to apologize for. Whatever your politics, you have to appreciate the power of the Internet here: One student posted his thoughts and millions around the world took notice. As Zetlen says in the BBC story: “The internet was supposed to make communication between cultures, countries and peoples painless and easy. It was supposed to build bridges. But it doesn’t do this automatically; somebody has to reach out. Also, come on, it’s kind of amusing.”
Got a Layover? Pack Your Putter.
by Jim Benning | 11.15.04 | 9:11 PM ET
Frequent travelers are finding that layovers have grown longer in recent years, according to USA Today. But the newspaper offers help: a list of the top 10 U.S. airports to find yourself stuck for a few hours. Among them is Charlotte/Douglas International, which offers the use of a grand piano to anyone wishing to bang out a tune, and Palm Beach International, which features a putting green right in the terminal. If you don’t have your own putter, you can borrow one. The fee to work on your short game? Just $4.
Conde Nasty Traveler?
by Michael Yessis | 11.11.04 | 9:17 PM ET
William Georgiades’ Adventures in Journalism: World Traveler, a story on MediaBistro.com about his struggles to write for Conde Nast Traveler magazine, has been the talk of journalism circles in the past day or so. What’s noteworthy about the piece isn’t that Georgiades’ editor had him jump through hoops. Every writer has horror stories about editors, just as every editor has horror stories about writers. It’s the fact that he went public with his travails that makes it juicy.
On the Air: Shapiro
by Michael Yessis | 11.11.04 | 8:15 PM ET
“A Sense of Place” writer Michael Shapiro, who World Hum interviewed in September, will talk about his book Thursday morning at 8:35 a.m. Pacific Time on KPFA radio. The station streams its broadcast online. Shapiro also recently sat for an interview with Kent E St. John at GoNomad.
She’s So Heavy
by Michael Yessis | 11.09.04 | 9:29 PM ET
A recent U.S. government report concludes that America’s obesity epidemic has consequences for the travel industry. “[G]rowing waistlines are hurting the bottom lines of airline companies as the extra pounds on passengers are causing a drag on planes,” according to an Associated Press story released late last week. “Heavier fliers have created heftier fuel costs.” There have been environmental costs, too: the extra fuel burned also released an estimated 3.8 million extra tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Airlines have responded by cutting their planes’ weight in a number of ways. They have eliminated magazines, replaced silverware with plastic and begun using lighter materials in their seats. Could this also be a reason why airlines no longer serve meals to passengers? Just a thought.
Distraught Americans: We Want Out!
by Jim Benning | 11.04.04 | 9:31 PM ET
Could the election results be a boon for the travel industry? Americans frustrated with the outcome of the election—and I mean really frustrated—aren’t just sitting around and grumbling. They’re dialing up embassies and consulates—New Zealand, Canadian, Australian—to find out how they can emigrate. According to a story in today’s San Francisco Chronicle, a number of embassies are fielding calls. As far as Canadian officials are concerned, “disgust with the U.S. president would neither help nor hurt an applicant’s chances of being accepted by Canada.” Also, Slate today offers an explainer on how to move to Canada: “Applications take an average of 25 months to process.” Don’t they realize that’s half-way through Bush’s next term? (Thanks to InsideOut and About for the Chronicle story tip.)
Bush Won the General Vote, But Who Won the Traveler Vote?
by Jim Benning | 11.03.04 | 9:33 PM ET
You won’t hear any inside-the-beltway pundits talking about the “traveler vote” the way they talk about the “youth vote.” But it’s too bad exit poll workers don’t ask voters whether they had spent time abroad. Travel can change one’s perspective on a range of issues, and particularly America’s role in the world. I suspect the American-who-has-traveled-internationally vote went easily to Kerry. The majority of passport holders live on the coasts, and coastal states like New York and California were solid Kerry states. But the majority of American voters—as many as 80 percent—don’t hold passports. They’ve never had the visceral experience of seeing the U.S. through another’s eyes. So, regrettably, the traveler vote isn’t big enough to make a difference.
Frommer’s Budget Shopping?
by Jim Benning | 10.27.04 | 9:38 PM ET
Budget travel guru Arthur Frommer is planning to launch a new shopping magazine. The New York Daily News has the details.
Pico Iyer on “The Best American Travel Writing” Anthology
by Jim Benning | 10.22.04 | 6:38 PM ET
Pico Iyer discussed the new edition of Houghton Mifflin’s “Best American Travel Writing” at length on Wisconsin Public Radio earlier this week. He was as eloquent as ever, and the entire interview, which covered a range of topics, can be heard here, under the show dated 10/19. Among the highlights (for us, at least), the show’s host read a portion of Heather Eliot’s Sandbags in the Archipelago, which first appeared on World Hum and was selected by Iyer for the anthology. “You brilliantly singled out my favorite piece in the book,” Iyer responded.
If Thoreau Were Alive Today, Would He Tivo?
by Jim Benning | 10.22.04 | 6:35 PM ET
Probably not, but fans of his classic memoir, “Walden,” might consider taping a discussion of the book. It airs on C-SPAN2 at 2:15 a.m. Eastern time Monday and features Jeffrey Cramer, the curator of collections at the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods and the editor of an annotated edition of “Walden.” The memoir celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
