Happy Fourth of July

World Hum’s Most Read: June 28-July 3

What We Loved This Week: Def Leppard in Greece, Austrian Competence and Freedom in Colombia

The LAX Theme Building, Then and Now

As a Woman, Can I Really Travel Without Much Fear for my Safety?

Vagabonding traveler Rolf Potts answers your questions about travel

Inside Slum Tourism

With mixed feelings, Rob Verger recently signed on for a tour of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. He looks back on the experience—and the photos he was allowed to take.

Break Bread and Brie in France

Great cheese abounds in the land of Gaul, but dig in and you risk committing any number of faux pas. Terry Ward explains how to partake of the nation’s famed fromage with savoir faire.

10 Wanderlust-Inducing Summer Concerts

Call it world music or global pop or the sound of the world hum. Ben Keene reveals 10 acts on tour that are sure to transport you. Plus videos.

Bryan Mealer: ‘War and Deliverance in Congo’

The former AP correspondent traveled up the Congo River. Frank Bures asks the author of “All Things Must Fight to Live” about following in the wake of Joseph Conrad. 

A Journey Into ‘The Second World’

Some bureaucrats joke that they would never claim expertise about countries they had not at least flown over. In an excerpt from his new book, Parag Khanna argues that real global understanding can only come from serious travel.

‘The Worst Guidebook Writer Ever’?

Lonely Planet author Robert Reid reviews Thomas Kohnstamm’s “Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?” and weighs in on the controversy surrounding it

Jimmy Buffett: Celebrating Changes in Latitudes

The only bummer is that when he used to sing “A Pirate Looks At Forty,” I thought now THAT is OLD.

Whoops, now I’m 45.  How the heck did that happen?  Time to play the song really loudly and have a drink with an umbrella poked into it, I guess. :)

Sheila

Ha! A strong drink with a colorful little umbrella is definitely in order, Sheila. In fact, have one for me, too!

-Jim

I grew up in Ohio listening to Buffett ballads. Without them I’m not sure if I would have made it through the long winters.

Once I graduated college I moved to Key West and worked as a SCUBA instructor.  Talk about your over-saturation of Buffett tunes; everywhere I went Jimmy Buffett was playing on the radio.

My Buffett CD’s never saw the light of day in the Keys.  That being said, I never stopped being a fan.  One day Jimmy came into the dive shop and it was definitely one of those moments where I had to remind myself, “Be cool, don’t squeal like a 10 year-old girl at an ‘nSync concert.”

This past winter was my first back in Ohio for some time.  When the cold and the drear became unbearable, I dusted off my old Buffett discs and cranked up the volume. 

Jimmy offers us an escape to remembered sunny days and hope of more to come.

Yeah, his music is a little fruity, but without it there’d be an increased homicide rate each winter in Ohio.

What a great recollection, Kelsey. I know what you mean about the Keys. I had dinner at Buffett’s restaurant in Key West one night, listening to a cover band play his songs. It was a lot of fun, but I could quickly imagine reaching a Margaritaville saturation point.

But back in Ohio, in the middle of winter, that’s another matter, entirely. I’m sure his music has saved more than a view lives.

I get most of my radio from Internet streaming audio these days and one of my first discoveries on Apple’s I-Tunes was Radio Margaritaville.  It’s about 10 percent Buffet in content, with the rest coming from artists of various genres but with a compatible sound and attitude.  I listened to it during virtually all my waking hours for a while, predictably OD’d on it, but now have assigned the channel a prominent position in my weekend listening, when it seems particularly appropriate.  I groan when I hear Cheeseburger in Paradise for the thousandth time, but I end up listening to it anyway. The channel is also on Sirius satellite radio, and this is the online link: http://www.radiomargaritaville.com/listen_now.htm (WMP or RealAudio)

Enjoy, parrotheads.

Thanks for the link, Jerry. Groaning aside, it’s music that was practically made for weekends, so that makes good sense. I’ll check it out!

As a Ohioan myself, Jimmy has been a great influence on my life.  I bought a boat just a few years ago at age 20, and his music is the only music to ever flow through those speakers.  By the end of a summer of boating, I’m truly burnt out on buffet.  But, right around the time of the first snow fall he is sure to be in my car, garage, and headphones, telling me stories of blue water, summer wind, and of course women.  This is a trule genious man...no need for genious music, just great thoughts that everyone outside of alaska can appreciate and yearn for.

Oooops, lets change that to TRUELY