Travel Blog
Memoir of a Passing Geisha
by Jim Benning | 12.09.05 | 1:14 PM ET
In honor of the release of Memoirs of a Geisha in theaters, I thought I’d post a photo I took of a geisha-in-training one chilly December afternoon in Kyoto several years ago. I was strolling down the street a couple of blocks from the teahouses of Gion when I spotted her walking toward me, taking practiced, demure steps.
Geisha sightings were rare during my monthlong stay in the city, so I reflexively reached for my camera and snapped a photo, pretending to capture the busy street beyond. Only later, when I developed the film, did I see that she flashed a subtle grin the moment I took the shot. Perhaps she was on to my trick, or simply amused by the excited gaijin with the camera.
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Yahoo! BuzzMore Bad Sex Writing from Travel Writers
by Frank Bures | 12.09.05 | 12:37 PM ET
We recently noted that Paul Theroux was on this year’s list of nominees in the “Bad Sex in Fiction Awards.” But it turns out he wasn’t the only travel writer implicated. Both Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Salman Rushdie, who have dabbled in the genre for Granta, made this year’s short list. The Guardian has provided a number of choice passages, so you can judge for yourself whose bad sex writing was the worst.
Meet Laura Moser, Medical Tourist
by Michael Yessis | 12.08.05 | 11:26 PM ET
The Rise and Fall of a 10th Grade Social Climber author Laura Moser has an interesting two-part story in Slate this week about her experience as a medical tourist in Beijing. Her decision to seek treatment abroad isn’t unusual.
Greg Lindsay on In-Flight Magazines and ‘Airworld’
by Michael Yessis | 12.08.05 | 10:28 AM ET
Advertising Age editor-at-large Greg Lindsay analyzed the current state of in-flight magazine publishing earlier this week on Mediabistro. His main conclusion isn’t too surprising: The magazines are “sans edge in an era that prizes knowingness and snarkiness above all.” The path he took to arrive at that conclusion, however, kept me rapt for a good part of yesterday afternoon.
Shameless Plug: Intro to Travel Writing in San Diego
by Jim Benning | 12.07.05 | 10:42 PM ET
I’ll be teaching an introductory course on travel writing at UC San Diego Extension beginning Jan. 11. It’s a nine-week hybrid course that includes five classroom meetings. Students will post their work online.
I’ve taught a number of travel writing courses at UCSD and they’re always a lot of fun. Travel writing is a tough way to make money, much less a living, so I make no promises of fame and fortune. But I do promise a solid introduction to the business and craft of travel writing, some great discussions and critical feedback on writing.
For those interested in the business of travel writing, as well as the pleasure of the work, I think Lonely Planet global travel editor Don George got it about right when he spoke with me earlier this year. His book is recommended reading in the course.
Air Marshal Fatally Shoots Man on Miami Jetway
by Michael Yessis | 12.07.05 | 5:04 PM ET
A federal air marshal today shot and killed a man who said he had a bomb in his carry-on luggage at Miami International Airport. According to a CNN report, the man, identified as Rigoberto Alpizar, 44, and a U.S. citizen, was reboarding an American Airlines flight after a stopover between Medellin, Colombia and Orlando. “The killing marks the first time a federal air marshal has fired a weapon at an individual since the program was bolstered after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,” CNN reports.
R.I.P. Orlando Sentinel Travel?
by Terry Ward | 12.07.05 | 4:18 PM ET
It looks as though the Orlando Sentinel Travel section is history. The Orlando Weekly reports today that the Sentinel cut 54 jobs last week, including that of travel editor Jay Boyar, a 22-year veteran of the paper. Boyar told the Weekly that the Sentinel plans to include travel coverage in a feature section. He’s still in shock. “I feel a sense of panic,” he told the paper. “I have an 11-year-old son and I would like him to have medical insurance.”
Bookstore Tourism Podcast
by Michael Yessis | 12.07.05 | 3:54 PM ET
Larry Portzline recently appeared on WHP-AM’s Let’s Talk Travel program in Pennsylvania, and he’s included several segments of his conversation with host Sandy Fenton on his most recent podcast. Portzline is the founder of bookstore tourism. He spoke with World Hum about it in October.
British Tabloid Travel Headline of the Day: ‘Santa Claus in Travel Ban’
by Michael Yessis | 12.07.05 | 12:32 PM ET
The Sun reports that Santa Claus lookalike David Powney had his passport application rejected because of his bushy white beard.
World Hum Contributor Bill Belleville at the Global Peace Film Festival
by Jim Benning | 12.07.05 | 12:12 PM ET
If you’re in Orlando, Florida on Thursday, consider checking out the 2005 Global Peace Film Festival. That’s where Bill Belleville, who wrote Journey Through the Earth and A Million Years of Memory for World Hum, will appear with Philippe Cousteau on a panel to discuss the media’s role in protecting the environment. Belleville knows his stuff: He writes magazine stories and books, and also makes films, all with a focus on the outdoors and the environment.
“Merci Pour Cette Belle Matinee Du Foot”
by Michael Yessis | 12.07.05 | 1:42 AM ET
As people around the globe come together this month in Japan and Korea for the World Cup, the Boston Globe’s Tom Haines has taken the opportunity to look back at his own soccer-related travels. The beautiful game, he believes, has connected him in a special way with the people and places he’s visited. “Through a traveler’s serendipity, like walking into a London pub to find a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd watching the first England-Scotland match in nine years, or determined planning, like the detailed reading of French league statistics, an outsider can begin to know and even feel the power of the world’s game,” he writes. “Travel, across borders and into the action, provides the ticket.”
Space Travel Store Opens in Seattle
by Michael Yessis | 12.06.05 | 8:43 PM ET
The Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co. features the latest in “atomic technology, protective and stylish spacewear, and rare imports from other planets.” All proceeds go to 826 Seattle, part of the Dave Eggers-led effort to support students with their writing endeavors.
Titanic Sank Faster Than Previously Thought
by Michael Yessis | 12.06.05 | 6:53 PM ET
Historians have long believed that the Titanic split into two major pieces and stayed afloat for a while before succumbing to its icy fate. But researchers announced Monday that they found evidence to the contrary.
“Far & Wide: The Golden Age of Travel Posters”
by Michael Yessis | 12.06.05 | 4:16 PM ET
That’s the name of the current exhibit at the Los Angeles Public Library’s Getty Gallery. I spent some time there yesterday afternoon, checking out the more than 60 promotional posters from the 1920s to the 1940s. They’re gorgeous artifacts of the Art Deco era, though the curators point out that the posters weren’t intended to be artistic. They were made for short-term commercial purposes, printed on cheap paper with a life expectancy of only eight weeks.
R.I.P. Los Angeles Times Outdoors
by Jim Benning | 12.06.05 | 12:08 PM ET
The Los Angeles Times published its ambitious Outdoors section for the last time today. The paper launched the weekly section in September 2003 as a sort of Outside magazine for Southern California. It was a grand idea, and I was happy to contribute occasionally to its pages. Unfortunately, Tribune Co. has been making lots of cuts lately, and Outdoors was one of them. Editor Thomas Curwen offers a fond fairwell.
