Travel Blog
Would You Like an Upgrade to First Class, Viscountess?
by Michael Yessis | 04.10.06 | 6:05 AM ET
David Owen has a funny Talk of the Town item in the latest New Yorker highlighting all the honorifics Emirates Airlines offers to members of its frequent-flier program, Skywards. The list starts with Mr., Ms. and Mrs. and seems to include just about every title known to man. Al-Haj. Archdeacon. Dame. Swami. Vice Admiral. Viscountess. It goes on. Owen writes: “Anyone who chooses King obviously goes in first class, Private in economy, Wing Cmdr in an exit row. But what about Cardinal? Does he belong in first class (by virtue of his position in the ecclesiastical hierarchy), economy (for doctrinal seemliness), or business (a possible compromise)? Are Prince and Princess the business-class versions of The Prince and The Princess, or do all royals automatically belong in first? If you accumulate enough miles for a cabin upgrade, do you get a title upgrade, too? And if you’re just a Representative (or a Member of Parliament), rather than a Senator (or a Lord), what are you supposed to do? Fly Delta?”
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Yahoo! BuzzBeware of Foreign Accent Syndrome!
by Michael Yessis | 04.07.06 | 1:56 PM ET
At first I thought it might be another of Gadling’s April Fool’s Day posts, but, oh, it’s real. Too real. Last night I saw on ABC’s Primetime how Foreign Accent Syndrome almost ripped apart at least one Michigan family, making a child cry for a good few seconds, when his mother woke up speaking not with her usual Midwestern accent but with one that made her sound vaguely like a Russian transplant. According to a BBC article from a few years back, it is a real condition.
Russia Plans to Implement Lie Detector Tests For Airline Passengers
by Michael Yessis | 04.07.06 | 1:52 PM ET
A lie detector system could be in use at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport by July, according to Adrian Blomfield’s story in the Telegraph. Travelers’ voices will be analyzed for stresses as they respond to four questions. Blomfield writes: “The first is for full identity; the second, unnerving in its Soviet-style abruptness, demands: ‘Have you ever lied to the authorities?’ It then asks whether either weapons or narcotics are being carried.”
Train Traveler Contemplates Using Bathroom
by Michael Yessis | 04.07.06 | 1:51 PM ET
The Onion has the details of Michael Broberg’s bladder-bursting adventure on the Metro-North Railroad’s 8:37 p.m. train.
Driftless Area, North America
by Ben Keene | 04.07.06 | 12:26 PM ET
Area: 12-15,000 sq. mi. (31,080-38,850 sq. km)
States included: 4
Warm as it may seem to concerned citizens around the globe, talk to a geographer or a geologist and they’ll tell you we’re actually in the middle of an ice age (albeit a milder period known as an interglacial). The last interglacial, which ended about 120,000 years ago, was followed by the advance of ice sheets in North America as far south as New York City and St. Louis, Missouri. The deep valley now occupied by Lake Michigan as well as the erosion-resistant rock in northern Wisconsin protected a swath of land called the Driftless Area from sheets of ice that altered much of the terrain in the Upper Midwest. The Driftless Area’s uniquely rugged topography also contains an abundance of caves and sinkholes.
—.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) is the editor of the Oxford Atlas of the World.
Rick Steves Has Teeth!
by Jim Benning | 04.06.06 | 5:33 PM ET
To some, this comes as a shock.
Oh Flight Attendant, There’s a Rat Crawling Up My Leg
by Jim Benning | 04.06.06 | 5:19 PM ET
Gridskipper has the gory details on the rodent, the LA-NYC American Airlines flight, and the yelping.
The Coming of Bushland?
by Jim Benning | 04.06.06 | 5:05 PM ET
We missed this, probably because it appeared on Saturday, when we often try to stay far, far away from our computers. Gadling posted some funny April Fool’s Day blog items, including Bushland to Open. “Fans of America’s 43rd president will finally have something to rejoice about later this month when the new Bushland presidential theme park opens,” writes Neil Woodburn. “Built atop the breeding grounds of the endangered Texas blind salamander, Bushland embraces the life and accomplishments of George W. This wonderful family getaway has something for all ages; the Michael Moore Harpoon Toss, the Cheney Shooting Range, the Deficit Roller Coaster (which only goes up), and the Karl Rove Spinner (the opening of the Karl Rove Steamboat Cruise has been postponed until problematic leaks are fixed).”
Anti-Terrorism Officers Escort Clash, Led Zeppelin Fan Off Plane
by Jim Benning | 04.05.06 | 5:06 PM ET
Crazy story: According to Reuters, anti-terrorism detectives escorted a 24-year-old man off of a London-bound airplane in Britain after he was singing along to “London Calling” by The Clash as it played from his MP3 player during the taxi ride to the airport. The taxi driver heard what he thought were suspicious lyrics—among them, “Now war is declared—and the battle come down”—and contacted authorities. The man was hauled off the plane before take-off, questioned and later freed, missing his flight. The rocker-traveler, Harraj Mann, reportedly told the Daily Mirror, “He (the taxi driver) didn’t like Led Zeppelin or The Clash but I don’t think there was any need to tell the police.” Mann makes a good point. Now, if Mann had been listening to Yanni before his flight, well, that would have been another matter.
Interview with Travel Writer Amanda Jones
by Jim Benning | 04.05.06 | 12:11 PM ET
Peter Mayle: In Provence, I’m Regarded as “a Fairly Benevolent Oddity”
by Jim Benning | 04.05.06 | 9:20 AM ET
One Thousand Places to See Because They’re Disappearing?
by Jim Benning | 04.05.06 | 9:18 AM ET
Newsweek International and MSNBC.com have published a terrific story surveying the many threats posed to some of the world’s most iconic destinations, from the Great Wall of China (believe it or not, tourists are riding go-carts along it) to Mount Kilimanjaro (thanks to deforestation and global warming, the famous “Snows of Kilimanjaro” could be gone in 15 years) to New Orleans (water!).
Theater Pulls Trailer for 9/11 Film ‘United 93’
by Jim Benning | 04.04.06 | 10:39 PM ET
At least one New York movie theater has pulled the trailer for the new 9/11 movie, “United 93,” after one movie-goer who saw it apparently broke down in tears. The film chronicles events aboard the ill-fated United Airlines flight that crashed in a Pennsylvania field despite a heroic passenger revolt. It’s expected to open at the Tribeca Film Festival later this month. In January, we pointed out a New York Times story about the making of the film, then called “Flight 93.” Director Paul Greengrass told the paper, “One of the reasons why Flight 93 exerts such a powerful hold on our imaginations is precisely because we don’t know exactly what happened.” Be that as it may, I won’t be lining up to see the movie. Count me among the many who say it’s way too soon.
Restoring Hemingway’s “Old Man and the Sea” Boat
by Jim Benning | 04.04.06 | 10:15 PM ET
Good news for literary-minded preservationists: Ernest Hemingway’s 40-foot fishing boat, Pilar, which has been suffering damage from termites and humidity on his old farm outside Havana, is about to be restored. American conservationists made the announcement last week, although Cuba will pay for the work so that no U.S. organizations run afoul of (ridiculous) U.S. trade sanctions. Hemingway used the boat for outings that inspired his classic novella, “The Old Man and the Sea.” CNN International has details.
Nicholas Kristof Goes to mtvU
by Michael Yessis | 04.04.06 | 1:20 PM ET
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof continues his quest to have travel play a central role in college education by sitting for an interview with mtvU. In the four-plus minute video, Kristof touches on his own student travels and his Win a Trip with Nick Kristof contest, and is shown in some far-flung locale eating cocktail de fruit directly from a tin, using the bent lid as a taco shell-shaped spoon. The video can be reached by scrolling down mtvU’s home page.
