Travel Blog: News and Briefs
Reminder: Come See World Hum in New York City
by World Hum | 10.13.08 | 1:19 PM ET
Join World Hum editors Jim Benning and Michael Yessis, and contributors Terry Ward and Eva Holland this Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. at the Lolita bar on the Lower East Side. We’re teaming with host and World Hum contributor David Farley for a night of readings for the wanderlust stricken.
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Yahoo! BuzzThe World in Spanglish
by Michael Yessis | 10.13.08 | 11:13 AM ET
The latest World in Words podcast features interviews with Ilan Stavans, who is translating the first 2,000 manuscript pages of Don Quixote into Spanglish, and Bill Santiago, who does stand-up comedy in Spanglish. Intriguing discussions about the rise of “the fastest growing language in America.”
The Linkery: ‘The Nation’s Only Anti-Tipping Laboratory’
by Michael Yessis | 10.13.08 | 10:17 AM ET
A San Diego restaurant embraces a no-tipping policy, provoking an examination of why we tip, what tipping means to workers and diners, and why European and American restaurants don’t see eye-to-eye on the issue.
Related on World Hum:
* Experts to Americans: Easy On the Tipping!
New Addition to the Travel Lexicon: ‘Vagabond Neurosis’
by Eva Holland | 10.13.08 | 9:11 AM ET
The term pops up in this National Post story about chronic traveler Charles Veley.
World Hum’s Most Read: Oct. 4-10
by World Hum | 10.10.08 | 5:53 PM ET
Our five most popular features and blog posts for the week:
1) Can ‘The Moses Project’ Stop the Tides in Venice? (pictured)
2) Q&A With Rolf Potts: Revelations from a Postmodern Travel Writer
3) Introducing Tenzing Hillary Airport
4) Man Drives From New York City to Los Angeles in 31 Hours
5) South Africa: Three Great Books
Photo by iessi via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Travel Headline of the Day: ‘Fear Grips Global Stock Markets’
by Jim Benning | 10.10.08 | 1:59 PM ET
No, it isn’t about travel. But in time, of course, it will be.
Threatened Galapagos Considers Limiting Visitors
by Jim Benning | 10.10.08 | 12:26 PM ET
We noted last year that UNESCO added the Galapagos to a list of endangered places, citing a sharp rise in tourists, as well as migrants seeking work in tourism. Now, the Los Angeles Times reports that the Ecuadorian government has begun sending migrants back to the mainland, and it’s considering a management plan that could limit the number of visitors to the islands “with strategies such as raising the entrance fee for foreigners to $300 or more from $100.”
The Artisanal Food Movement Finds Ireland
by Joanna Kakissis | 10.10.08 | 10:59 AM ET
Irish cuisine has a long, long way to go before the country’s chefs start petitioning UNESCO to declare the meat, potato and butter-based dishes a national treasure. But when Gourmet’s Colman Andrews visited the southeastern county of Waterford, he discovered an astonishing array of homemade delicacies at the local farmer’s market.
The Hummus War: Lebanon Takes on Israel
by Joanna Kakissis | 10.10.08 | 10:47 AM ET
Fadi Abboud of the Lebanese Industrialists Association says the popular chickpea dip as well as dishes such as falafel, baba ghannouj and tabbouleh belong to Lebanon, not Israel. So his organization is planning to sue the Israelis for food copyright infringement, modeling their case after Greece’s successful branding of feta cheese. Will it work?
World Hum Travel Movie Club: ‘The Art of Travel’
by Eli Ellison, Eva Holland | 10.09.08 | 5:53 PM ET
Memories and the Metro
by Eva Holland | 10.09.08 | 4:43 PM ET
Several well-known writers and reporters describe the most memorable subway systems they’ve encountered on their travels—and how each one represents the city it serves.
Video: Baz Luhrmann’s New Australia Tourism Commercial
by Jim Benning | 10.09.08 | 1:31 PM ET
Tourism Australia’s new advertising campaign includes a TV commercial directed by Baz Luhrmann. It features career-obsessed city-dwellers who find renewal during a visit to Australia, and it apparently echoes themes in Luhrmann’s forthcoming movie, “Australia,” starring Nicole Kidman. Here’s the ad, which is bound to go down easier than the country’s controversial “Where the bloody hell are you?” campaign:
Canada: ‘Liberal, Secular, Not as Cold as You Think!’
by Eva Holland | 10.09.08 | 12:50 PM ET
Ever wondered what a late-night Canadian government infomercial aimed at recruiting disaffected American liberals might look like? Slate V takes a good shot at it:
Travel Headline of the Day: ‘NASA Set to Approve Japanese Fleet of Origami Space Shuttles’
by Michael Yessis | 10.08.08 | 5:47 PM ET
The shuttles are apparently made from chemically-treated sugar cane fiber paper, and are designed to fly from space to the earth. Really. The experiment, which may take place next year, could offer insight into the next generation of spacecraft design. Video below.
‘Uppitiness is Not Well Tolerated Among Egyptians’
by Michael Yessis | 10.08.08 | 5:39 PM ET
“Call me paranoid,” writes Gigi Douban in The Morning News, “but I think the grocery store clerk was sending a message loud and clear, horse-head-in-the-bed-style.” The alleged uppity crime? Sprinkling a little English with Arabic when ordering groceries in Cairo.
