Travel Blog: Shrinking Planet
Travel Song of the Day: ‘King of the Road’ by Roger Miller
by Michael Yessis | 07.24.09 | 2:02 PM ET
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Yahoo! BuzzTravel Song of the Day: ‘Southern Cross’ by Crosby, Stills & Nash
by Jim Benning | 07.23.09 | 5:29 PM ET
The Big Picture: ‘Our Muddy World’ in Photos
by Eva Holland | 07.23.09 | 4:47 PM ET
From “swamp soccer” to religious festivals and the annual Redneck Games, The Big Picture blog showcases mud-covered people around the world.
These Cities are so Old!
by Michael Yessis | 07.23.09 | 11:25 AM ET
WebUrbanist lists the world’s 10 oldest still-inhabited cities. Do you know which of the 10 is in North America? (Via Kottke)
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Chicago’ by Sufjan Stevens
by Alicia Imbody | 07.22.09 | 12:42 PM ET
Scent and Travel, Continued
by Michael Yessis | 07.22.09 | 10:41 AM ET
Here’s another fine addition to the ongoing conversation about the power of scent in travel: Jenna Schnuer’s The Great Scent Escape. “So, perhaps, scent is a secret key back to places we love,” she writes.
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Night Train’ by James Brown
by Eva Holland | 07.21.09 | 4:38 PM ET
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Space Oddity’ by David Bowie
by Michael Yessis | 07.20.09 | 1:06 PM ET
Thanks, Eli.
The Top 10 Comic Book Cities
by Michael Yessis | 07.17.09 | 10:59 AM ET
I’m not a comic book reader, but I found this list at the Architects’ Journal compelling—and the artwork amazing. Among the cityscapes included: Tintin’s Inca city and Chris Ware’s Chicago.
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Passage to Bangkok’ by Rush
by Jim Benning | 07.16.09 | 1:53 PM ET
William Least Heat-Moon on Travel, Twitter and the Call of the Open Road
by Michael Yessis | 07.16.09 | 12:19 PM ET
The author of Blue Highways theorizes why the United States is “the most mobile nation the planet has yet seen” in an intriguing essay in WSJ magazine. Here’s the part where he addresses Twitter and our era of self-absorption:
For the past three decades, travel—especially when it gets written down—often has at its center a defining solipsism: the Self in search of itself in strange places promising to cast a different and edifying light on the Quest. In an era of self-absorption and self-gratification—Facebook and Twitter may be the ultimate in narcissism—such is to be expected. On a stretch of open road, a driver can roll along with his window reflection laid over the landscape ahead so that he must see through himself to see the territory—call it windshield therapy (it’s probably as effective as any couch counseling and certainly cheaper and more accessible, no appointment necessary). On the road, where no one knows your name or your past, the miles can efface one’s identity and make a traveler ready for reception.
I love the kicker to the piece: “In America, our prayer wheels come with vulcanized nonskid treads.”
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Michael and Heather at the Baggage Claim’ by Fountains of Wayne
by Michael Yessis | 07.15.09 | 2:42 PM ET
How About a ‘Harry Potter’ Holiday?
by Eva Holland | 07.15.09 | 12:06 PM ET
Photo of Alnwick Castle by Eva Holland It’s that time of year again: The sixth installment in the world-dominating series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, hits theaters this week. The Telegraph has compiled a list of the best Harry Potter landmarks for fan pilgrimages, with mixed results. The specifics are fine—Alnwick Castle as Hogwarts, Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross and so on—but the list also includes whole countries merely mentioned, not visited, in the books. Are there really any Potter fans crazy enough to visit Norway just because it’s the natural habitat of the Norwegian Ridgeback dragon?
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Africa’ by Toto
by Alicia Imbody | 07.14.09 | 2:05 PM ET
Travel Song of the Day: ‘Top of the World’ by Rascalz
by Eva Holland | 07.13.09 | 2:05 PM ET
