Bing’s Traveler’s Bill of Rights

by Erik Olsen on

It was a bit less than a year ago that I was heading back from Newfoundland after a glorious week’s vacation and was turned away in St. John’s because our flight had been canceled. I was furious. How ca an airline do that, I fumed? How can they just turn you away, and provide no help to find a hotel, let alone partially or fully subsidize one. We spent the rest of that day just trying to find a reasonable place to stay for the night before getting up and heading back to the airport to try again.

Well, it seems Stanley Bing over at Fortune has had a similar experience and he has penned a Traveler’s Bil of Rights in his column this month. Some of the items on the list are a bit more tongue in cheek…that, for example, executive fliers should never have to eat the lasagna. But his second right, after demanding every traveler have the right to a town car (OK, that’s a bit elitist…but it IS Fortune), his second right is that no traveler shall suffer the cancellation of a flight.

Is this realistic? No it is not. Weather, mechanical failure and lots of other reasons can lead to a flight being canceled. But what the airlines should have is a better system of accommodating fliers who’s flights have been canceled. Airports should have sleeping lounges or at least make it so seats perhaps fold out. Coffee or drinks should be given. Yes, I know the airlines industry is still suffering economically, but me and Stanley don’ think it’s to much to ask for a little more help when a flight is canceled. This is the 21st century after all and ‘m mad enough don’t have my darn jet-pack yet.

Tiger Tourism

by Erik Olsen on

It’s a crying shame that articles like this one even exist. But I suppose that is the globally warmed, extinction-driven reality we live in. How many species are disappearing every year? Every time I hear the answer (the estimate goes as high as 50,000), my stomach hurts.

What can you do? Well, you can, of course, give money to your favorite environmental organization. And/or you can set out to see some of these amazing organisms before you die. Call it a variation of the 1000 Things to Do Before You Die concept ( one that I wish I’d invented by the way…). Call this one 1000 Animals to See Before THEY Die.

At the top of the list (my list, anyway) is the tiger.

And here in a nicely-written piece over at the Philadelphia Inquirer, writer Lini S. Kadaba takes us to Ranthambore National Park in Jaipur to try and spot the elusive garganta-feline. Of course, the tiger’s numbers are very limited…so did she actually see one in the world? You’ll have to read to find out.

John Lennon’s Piano On Peace Tour

by Jamie Rhein on

“Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace”

John Lennon’s piano is making the rounds on a peace march of sorts. Starting in Dallas, Texas where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the Steinway Model Z upright was on display on the “grassy knoll” before its current stop in Memphis, Tennessee. Here it will be displayed on the balcony of the motel where Civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. (I don’t know how long the piano will be on here.)

The World Trade Center, the site of the Oklahoma federal building bombing and the Branch Davidian Compound are also on the list of piano stops.

Entertainer George Michael who owns the piano that John Lennon used to compose the song, “Imagine” has sent it on this global tour as a way to promote peace. At each site, the piano is being photographed and video-taped with a book or a documentary in mind.

World Heritage Sights Rated

by Erik Olsen on

My wife and I are planning our upcoming trip to Norway and we’re trying to decide whether it’s worth the effort to take a boat called the Coastal Steamer up to the Western Fjords…places with pretty much unpronounceable (and unspellable) names like Geirangerfjord and Naroyfjord (names, several letters of which, do not seem displayable here because they are, well, weird-looking letters). Well, there I was contemplating whether these places would be worth seeing, and I discover that they are both top scorers in the World Heritage Site rating piece over at National Geographic.

The whole World Heritage Site system is wonderful. Think of it as the original 1000 Things to Do Before You Die…even though there are only 833 of them currently. The process of giving places around the planet World Heritage status began back in 1973 when UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) was entrusted with administering the program in an effort to identify and protect places of “outstanding universal value.”

The list of sites ranges across a wide spectrum of both natural and man-made places from astonishing ruins like Angkor Wat to, well, as I pointed out here, the Norwegian fjords.

Anyway, these places are always worth pointing out and the nicely done ranking system here at Nat Geo is a helpful guide for anyone putting together their personal “life-lists”.

World Naked Bike Ride Day, 2007

by Willy Volk on

Giving new meaning to “underground” railroad bicycle route, on March 10th, organizers staged a World Naked Bike Ride to protest against oil dependency and car culture. Missed it? Me, too. Don’t fret, though. There are more to come.

On June 9th and 30th, the organizers are staging additional WNBRs all over the world to continue their protests against indecent exposure to automobile emissions and to celebrate the power and individuality of our bodies. Painting your body, painting your bike, painting the town, and other creative expression is strongly encouraged. From the looks of it, lots of people were certainly expressive during the March protest ride.

If this sounds like something that oils your chain, check the list of locations, stock up on sunscreen, and plan a road trip. Oh, wait… does a road trip defeat the purpose?

(WARNING: The WNBR site is NSFW.)