Posts tagged travel
Good Airs, Good Reads
Karina Argentina
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Stats about travel writers (LINK)
Because: The veracity is dubious to me (100% of female travel writers use Tumblr? I know I am, but…) though I find that breakdown of people in my field, I suppose you could call it, intriguing.
What is a travel writer even, anyway? I self-identify as one and I’m not so sure. Is it anyone who writes about travel? Is it people who have to travel often? Do you have to be close to a bona fide vagabond (I say that lovingly) with a fondness for writing? Be whatever and whoever you want, totally. I am just curious to know how people made the cut for this “expert” sampling, as the infographic says. Because after all this, I am left wondering what makes someone a travel writer.
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The Standby Life
Airport Suites Offer Travelers A Place To Nap On The Fly
Because: I am very fortunate to have some pretty lucky flight benefits for the coming year, but the catch is that I always have to fly standby. It’s an interesting change that has somehow made me more calm about travel than before, when I was a fully ticketed passenger. I am not sure how that works, but it was flexibility I needed to adopt anyway.
I spent Wednesday night in Houston airport, unfortunately able to grab a seat on the flight I wanted to take back to Buenos Aires. Not even all paying passengers could get on, so I wasn’t going to wallow about my situation. That said, I had about six overnight hours until I could get out of there. Too short to leave and go too far, too long to just… sit there alone trying to keep my head from bobbing in a desolate airport. These suites are genius and exactly what I needed.
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To Make America Great Again, We Need to Leave the Country
Because: A million times yes. This is the stuff of which our country is made.
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Argentina is making it harder for people to buy U.S. dollars to pay for travel abroad.
Because: I’m not trying to be dramatic, but I immediately thought of Cuba and the government-imposed travel restrictions on residents. Many Argentines I know love to travel and use their generous holidays to do so.
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Video: Filmmakers ‘Make It Count’ By Circling The Globe In 10 Days
Because:Two of the current pillars of my professional life — digital media and travel — in one. I saw a bunch of Facebook friends, Twitter cronies and such post about this and professing how it made them want to travel more, do more and “make it count.” Hey, I’m glad. I will stop short of saying this is the most inspiring travel video I’ve seen, but it’s effective for its intended goals for both the filmmaker and financier (Nike) and achieves the surprise element.
The filmmaker had me going full-speed with him at the beginning, but then lost me a bit when he quoted Marilyn Monroe. It’s a pet peeve of mine, the over-quoting of Marilyn (and Sex and the City). Hers is such a tragic story and it seems incongruous in all ways, to her memory included, to have her posted up in Facebook quotes section. And with #makeitcount? Almost macabre.
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If you really want it to happen, you make it happen. You don’t need a new flatscreen every two years. You don’t need new car every ten years. People lock themselves into routines, and what they end up seeing of the world is so small and limited. I think its about priorities.
Behind the Success of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die
Because: The second edition of this book has been pretty well publicized, and I wrote it off as another general travel book. I also thought the number 1,000 was excessive, but on second thought, a number like 100 definitely would be too limiting. I really enjoyed reading about the background of the book, the rationale behind the title as well as the selection of featured locales. I think it should not be overlooked that the only places featured were spots the author had visited. Is it really that macabre to include the word “death” in the title? I find mortality inspiring.
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Exploring Cuba's simple, yet tasty, fare
Because: Linked is my latest feature article on BBC Travel. I also would like to mention that my meal at Cocina de Lilliam was one of the best I’ve had.
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The wanderers
Because: I imagine number one is no surprise to anyone. The U.S. really could—and should—be higher up on this list. If we didn’t make it so darn hard for people to merely visit the U.S. on vacation/holiday, I am sure we would be. It is ridiculous what we require! Months of applications, interviews, references, more than, I think, is worth it.
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Le Vrai Moleskine (How an iconic notebook was rescued from obscurity and became a global phenomenon.)
Because: I do love my Moleskine.
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Groupon shuns being thought of as a marketer or, worse, an ad agency, promoting cheap pizza or sushi for anyone who wants to hire it. The hope instead is that its users will eventually perceive it as an impartial guide to a city or a neighborhood, somewhat in the manner of the local paper’s weekend section. With more than 400 writers and editors, Groupon’s domestic editorial staff is on the verge of eclipsing the big name across the Chicago River, The Chicago Tribune.
Groupon Counts on Writers and Editors to Build Its Audience
Because: This article, and this quote in particular, jumped out at me for a number of reasons. As someone who has spent the better part of college and my professional life working to create a life reliant on the written word, I am pleased this mammoth, thriving (as of right now, read the piece for some interesting information on that front) company is so conscious about its writing and focused on employing so many writers. Still, the journalist in me dies a little at the last portion of the quote—more writers than journalists at The Chicago Tribune?!
The aspect of the discount neighborhood/travel guide also intrigues me. These days I consider myself a travel writer if any type of writer, and the Groupon approach is one no other coupon provider (or travel guide, perhaps) has taken before. But why not? The article goes on to describe a Chicago-based smartphone application called “Groupon Now.” Press one button if you’re hungry, another if you’re bored and go ahead and star exploring Chicago at a discount. That’s pretty genius. It also reminds me of how I sometimes to use Foursquare to see what’s around me that I might want to explore.
