Cliff Claven fans unite. If
you are a fan of the Cheers actor John Ratzenberger, then perhaps you’ve tuned in to his Travel Channel Show Made in America. Part of me wants to shudder in
revulsion from this show, as it sometimes feels like a gaudy display of patriotism the likes of which post-9/11 I
sometimes feel cloys the culture. But the reality is that I enjoy the show. I love to see factories at work, to see how
stuff is made, to hear the stories behind, say, Smarties Candy or Sam Adams beer. And Cliff, well, he’s not half bad. He
can be a bit over-folksy at times, but he’s generally pretty funny and seems passionate about the gig he’s got, which,
let’s face it, is a pretty good one. I mean, traveling the country checking out how stuff is made? Pretty cool. And all
of this is to say that if you’re a fan of the show, or even if you’re not but are curious about it, you can watch bit of it online.
The bits are too short IMHO, but I guess we’re not supposed to expect a lot for free. Maybe they’ll make them available
on iTunes or something.
Death Valley Towns (Ghost or Otherwise)
As deserts go, Death Valley, California is unique unto itself.
It is not the traditional desert with miles of desolate sand dunes where life has never existed, nor will
it ever. No, Death Valley, despite the name, is full of life that once was, but has since faded away, leaving behind
telltale signs of a difficult existence in a difficult terrain.
Finn-Olaf Jones of The New York Times captures the essence of Death Valley National Park in a recent article detailing his journey through the
area’s ghost towns and just-barely ghost towns. Most of these places supported decent-sized populations when
they were active mining towns, but now tend to be privately owned snippets of an historical period fading away.
Jones’s journey takes him to Cerro Gordo, a formerly wealthy mining
town that is slowly being rebuilt and where one can spend the night in a restored Victorian mansion. Death Valley
Junction, another shadow of a town, is home to the Amargosa Opera
House where an 81-year-old female pantomimist performs a bizarre, one-woman show that has been going on since
1967. And lastly, Jones visits Shoshone, a private town of 24
houses, a motel, R.V. park, restaurant, and internet café.
It’s nice to read that Death Valley, just a few hours from Los Angeles, remains as eclectic, bizarre and
beautiful as it always has been.
Gummi Bear Porn
Sorry, not entirely
travel-related, but the Karma Sutra is the epic love-making guide interpreted by Sir Richard Francis Burton,
and so, in a sense is foreign.
Gummi Bears, well, they were invented in Germany and might be considered foreign food,
so there are two fine international connections. But now onto the site. This Flickr photo gallery shows various gummi bear
characters, one might even call them porn stars in various stages of, shall we say, repose.
No matter how
silly and/or offensive you may find the photos here, they are definitely entertaining. And the idea is damn creative.
(note: we never said we were a family-oriented site ;-)).
(via Gothamist)
More on Ugly Americans
Lots of folks are
atwitter over the release of the "World Citizens
Guide" – which we posted about – that
seeks to help reduce the amount of ugliness Americans export within themselves when they head abroad. Only you can know
xactly what your "AUE" (American Ugliness Export) quotient is, but my guess, esp. if you like fast food and
Hawaiian shirts, is that it’s pretty high.
The guide was underwritten/assembled by the Business for
Diplomatic Action (BDA), a non-profit group funded by big American companies, who are saying the anti-Americanism is
bad for business. It features some 16 etiquette tips on how Americans can help the country by not fulfilling
stereotypes of themselves as brash, loud, annoying, fat, stupid, bossy philistines. Ed Gomez over at SF Gate
examines the subject and finds many of these stereotypes sadly accurate. While, over at the UK Telegraph, Philip Sherwell
probably has the best take on the subject, as he makes the point that it’s not really American tourists who are the
problem, it’s more often the perceptions of American policy…although loud fat Americans don’t help themselves much
either.
So let me put the question out there? Are we fat, loud, bossy, annoying, etc.? Or is it just that
people like to pick on the big guy? Or more, are people in general becoming more like us? I mean, have you ever seen
German travelers? Let’s get the debate started.
Brad Pitt's Green New Orleans
Apparently taking a break
from his rambles across Africa, Brad Pitt is now throwing his substantial celebrity, liberal message muscle behind efforts to improve New Orleans. He has
recently invited the public to submit "green design" ideas as part of a competition aimed at helping rebuild
the hurricane-devastated Big Easy. Yes, Pitt is teaming up with the oxymoronic group Global Green USA on the project,
which says should help turn the catastrophe from calamity into opportunity. Says the steely-jawed Pitt: "Can we
create for these neighborhoods something even better than they had before?"
Pitt will lead a jury of
lesser-peers, including local folk, to select six finalists by July all in the hope of building 10,000 energy efficient
structures in the city. So nice. What would Earth Day be without some celebrity activism?