Travel Blog
The Kerouac Project: A Documentary
by Michael Yessis | 10.17.08 | 9:47 AM ET
The AP moved a story this week about the writers program at Jack Kerouac’s former Orlando home. In following some links, I came across a new video about the project with some great old footage:
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Yahoo! BuzzDiane Keaton on the Lessons of the Ambassador Hotel
by Michael Yessis | 10.17.08 | 9:40 AM ET
A thoughtful op-ed this week from the actress, who is also a trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Dubai ‘Sex on Beach’ Travelers Sentenced to Three Months in Jail
by Michael Yessis | 10.16.08 | 5:30 PM ET
The British couple was fined $272 each for the now-infamous transgression. The attorney representing the duo said he will appeal the case, citing a medical report that the “sex on beach” couple didn’t actually have sex.
Related on World Hum:
* Duo in Dubai ‘Sex on Beach’ Case Asks Judge to Let Them Return to Britain
* British Couple Arrested for Having Sex on Beach in Dubai
Peter Matthiessen Nominated for National Book Award
by Jim Benning | 10.16.08 | 11:46 AM ET
The 81-year-old author was nominated in the fiction category for his 890-page book “Shadow Country.” But many of us know him best for his travel and outdoors writing. His classic book about Nepal, The Snow Leopard, ranked No. 11 on our list of the top 30 travel books of all time. Here’s Matthiessen talking about “Shadow Country” and his non-fiction on “Charlie Rose” earlier this year:
Reading World Hum in New York City
by Jim Benning | 10.16.08 | 11:11 AM ET
Thanks to everyone who came out last night and packed the room at Lolita bar for our World Hum / Restless Legs reading. It was a lot of fun. We read. We talked travel. We gave away some great travel books. And afterward, many of us enjoyed “pork chop with orange flavor” and lychee martinis at a fine Chinese joint nearby. It will be, we vow, the first of many World Hum gatherings.
Traveler With Solar Panels on Pack: The ‘Love Child of Wonder Woman and the Six Million Dollar Man’
by Michael Yessis | 10.16.08 | 9:43 AM ET
Ainslie MacGibbon reveals how empowering it can be to travel with your own green power source, albeit a limited one. “[T]hese days I don’t go anywhere the sun don’t shine,” writes MacGibbon. “I end up in some interesting places.”
Related on World Hum:
* Solar-Powered Rickshaws Unveiled in India
* ‘Airports are Embracing the Green Zeitgeist’
Solar-Powered Rickshaws Unveiled in India
by Valerie Conners | 10.16.08 | 9:39 AM ET
Currently being road-tested in one of Old Delhi’s busiest markets, “soleckshaws”—as the new solar-powered rickshaws have been dubbed—are considered a boon for rickshaw drivers as much as for the environment. “Earlier, when people hailed us it was like, ‘Hey you rickshaw puller!’ Police used to harass us,” said one rickshaw driver. “Now people look at me with respect.”
Reminder: World Hum’s Restless Legs Reading in NYC Tonight
by Valerie Conners | 10.15.08 | 3:55 PM ET
Join World Hum editors Jim Benning and Michael Yessis, and contributors Terry Ward and Eva Holland tonight 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. We will be twittering the event in real time—be sure to follow @worldhum for updates and use hashtag #wh to post.
Louvre, Pompidou Expanding in France and Overseas
by Eva Holland | 10.15.08 | 3:47 PM ET
The two prominent Paris museums have both announced plans for provincial annexes, in Lens and Metz respectively. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s “Louvre of the Sands” (which we’ve mentioned before) remains in the works, and a Pompidou outpost will also be popping up in Shanghai.
Photo by ruiwen via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Would-Be ‘Hijacker’ Subdued on Turkish Flight
by Valerie Conners | 10.15.08 | 11:57 AM ET
A drunk passenger aboard a Turkish Airlines plane bound for Russia was subdued by passengers after passing a note to the pilot claiming he had a bomb. No weapons or bomb were found on the man, Reuters reports, and the plane landed safely in St. Petersburg where the passenger was taken into custody.
Rabbit, Run ... Away
by Valerie Conners | 10.15.08 | 11:34 AM ET
The one-time jail of Nelson Mandela—now one of South Africa’s most popular tourist attractions—is closed for two weeks so authorities can deal with a rampant rabbit population that has overrun the site. According to officials, the rabbits plaguing Robben Island are threatening buildings and vegetation and will be “culled” and subsequently sterilized in coordination with animal rights groups.
Photo by Brent and MariLynn via Flickr (Creative Commons).
Air New Zealand Introduces Cutting-Edge Messaging Plan
by Eva Holland | 10.15.08 | 10:38 AM ET
Air New Zealand has unveiled an unusual plan to let airport visitors know about its new, faster check-in system: “Cranial billboards.” They’ll be hiring 50 people to shave their heads, have messages about the new check-in procedures temporarily tattooed on their bare scalps and then loiter around the airport in view of passersby.
U.S. Government Twitters for Travelers
by Julia Ross | 10.15.08 | 10:05 AM ET
We were pretty impressed after learning that the State Department had embraced using Twitter and its pithy 140-character messages to issue travel warnings. Now it appears the trend is spreading among U.S. government agencies. The Silicon Alley Insider gives seven U.S. government agencies props for employing Twitter as a way to disseminate information quickly.
The Ins and Outs of House Swapping
by Jim Benning | 10.14.08 | 5:36 PM ET
Budget Travel has some good tips, along with some reflection on the benefits and pitfalls of house swaps. “A born-and-bred control freak, I’ve always chosen my hotels after scouring magazine articles and grilling my friends for recommendations,” Joanna Goddard writes. “When you book a room that way, you know what you’ll get—and you pay for that reliability. House swaps, however, force you to take a leap of faith.”
Travel Headline of the Day: ‘Tourist Reaches Space Station’
by Jim Benning | 10.14.08 | 5:04 PM ET
Don’t worry, Richard Garriott, in our book, you’re no space tourist. You’re a space traveler.
