Head to Head with the Whalers

by Erik Olsen on

For those of an environmental bent, there are several things that make your heart sad:  1). clubbing baby seals, 2) littering, 3) SUVs filled with toxic waste, and 4) whalers.

And so we have this story in National Geographic not about SUV drivers with toxic waste in the back, but about whalers. Japanese whalers. Did you know whaling was even still practiced? I mean, sure, maybe some Native American groups up North still do it to keep the traditions alive and the skills sharp (skills that might come in handy again some day if global warming happens), but whaling among advanced nations? You’re pulling my porpoise, right?

Well, yes, Veronica, there are whalers. But there are also those who wish to stop them, and that, dear reader, is really what this story is all about. It is a story of adventure, water, greed, culture, and passion. Give it a read and the next time someone asks you to go out on a whale harpooning trip, just say no.

Friday Funny: Berlitz Commercial

by Erik Olsen on

OK, I’ve never actually seen this one on TV, but damn I wish I had. This wonderful admonition to learn English is devilishly clever. Now, I’m not part of the whole you’ve gotta learn English to live here group, or the American Anthem can only be sung in English group, but I still found this video from Berlitz great to watch.

GADLING'S TAKE FIVE: Week of May 1

by Neil Woodburn on

Time for a quick look back at some of our favorite posts for the week, just in case you missed
them!

5. To Travel or Not to
Travel: That Is The Question
This post by Karen tackles the tough question on whether high school graduates
should take a year off before college and travel the world.  There are, of course, pros and cons to this question,
but at the end of the day, aren’t we all better off having traveled?

4. GapYear.com
Karen follows up with some responses from
readers who mostly agreed about taking time off to travel before college.  With this in mind, she directs us to a
wonderful website that specializes in the so-called Gap Year. 

3. Jack Bauer Gets Tracked
Jack Bauer
fans can now follow Jack’s progress through Los Angeles thanks to a Google Earth map that tracks his whereabouts
and provides waypoints for key locations featured in the series.

2. Are Most American Kids Stupid?
Erik addresses the quintessential question I hear so often while traveling; why are Americans so bad at
geography?  He refers to a study that reveals that three out of four American high school students couldn’t
find Iraq on a map.  Statistics like these have been circulating around this world for ages.  I can’t
tell you the number of times I’ve been told by foreigners that American college students can’t even find
America on a map. 

1. Albee does Easter Island
It’s not so often that a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright delves into travel writing, but when one does, in
this case Edward Albee, it is something that should definitely be read no matter what the location being written
about.  In this case, however, the location is fascinating Easter Island—a place I’d read about even
if written by the village idiot. 

University of Alaska Museum of the North

by Erik Olsen on

Did a small post yesterday about odd museums like the great toilet museum in India. Myself, I’ve never visited the toilet museum, but I confess that during a recent trip to India, I noticed a conspicuous scarcity of toilets. So perhaps it is to the museum they went. No matter. Now I am posting about a more serious museum. And a cold one.

If you happen to be in Yukon country anytime soon, you might visit the University of Alaska, where the Museum of the North will open its new wing on May 1. The architecture here is said to be dramatic and conveys a deep sense of Alaska and the Alaska experience. The new gallery will offer visitors a 2,000-year spectrum of Alaska’s art…from ivory carvings, rock sculptures, right up to the frozen whale penis coat rack for your home (OK, kidding about the last one).

But seriously, the new art gallery and museum might make a very nice cultural stopover in an otherwise exclusive outdoorsy place.

Lonely Planet's Passport Passion

by Erik Olsen on

Get out!

Is this the
terrifying scream of evil spirits inside your house. Nope, this is the call to action from the folks at Lonely Planet, who want nothing more
than for you to leave the country. You see, they are suggesting a really wonderful idea. By getting away, they suggest,
you do your own country some good. Not because we didn’t really want you here in the first place, but because when you
go abroad, you act as an ambassador of goodwill…assuming you’re not some loud, drunk, arrogant, hat-turned-backwards
frat-boy…in that case, we suggest you not only stay home, but go somewhere with all your friends and bang drums by
yourselves in the wilderness. Anyway, the LP points out (rightly) that American travelers can serve as "agents of
understanding, tolerance and mutual respect " as they travel out into the world and interact with people in other
nations. But they also say that just 23% of Americans have passports. Could that be true? My, that’s a low number.

Well I for one couldn’t agree more that travel helps you and helps others know you. Nothing will make this
world a more lovely place than greater mutual understanding. It’s much harder to hate someone you know than it is to
make up a blanket statement about them and channel all your personal fears and hang-ups into a self-created image…if
you don’t mind me getting psychological on your a$$es for a moment.

Anyway, take the LP advice. If you don’t
have a passport now, go get one. You’ll be doing all of us a favor.