Meeting Dead Heroes

by Neil Woodburn on

If you could travel back in time to meet just one historical person, who would it be?  A recent survey in England asked just this and received back some
interesting answers. 

Number one on the list was Winston Churchill (did I mention this was a British survey?).  I bet he’d be
happy to discover such admiration after the British failed to elect him for a second term towards the end of World War
II. 

Second place went to Elvis Presley, followed by Albert Einstein, Marylyn Monroe, and Martin Luther King. 
Nelson Mandela snagged an impressive 8th place in the survey despite actually still being alive.  Kudos!

Respondents were also asked which period of time they would most like to visit.  The hippy days of the 1960s
was the overall winner, followed by the year 2006, the Victorian era, and then, in fourth place, 1966—the year
England won the World Cup.  They sure do love their soccer in England. 

 

One for the Road: RoadTrip USA

by Erik Olsen on

Forget baseball, apple pie (who even eats the stuff
anymore?), and your mom…OK, be nice to mom…go buy her a card, in fact, just saying hi. Or better yet, give her a
call. Then come back.

OK, back? Great. How’s mom?

OK, now onward. Here’s the deal. All that is at
the heart of America might include those things above, but I have another suggestion: The Road Trip. Yes, from Lewis and Clark and what might be called the
first great road trip in American history to Jack Kerouac’s fictional gallivants across the continent, the Road Trip
has been an integral part of the American ethos from the get go. Who among us in college didn’t, on some random Friday
night, sit with a group of friends contemplating the coming weekend and then scream: "Road Trip!" at the to
of your lungs before pounding another beer and then hopping into the car…with a designated driver, of course.

But there are so many road tri possibilities out there. How can you possibly decide which one to take? How can
you possibly know all the alternatives? Folks, I have a suggestion.

Get your hands on the book Road
Trip USA by Jamie Jensen. Put out by the folks at Avalon Books, this weighty tome is so full of ideas that it would literally
take a lifetime to do them all.  Broken down by state and illustrated with a gazillion photos, the book offers
insight and advice, as well as much needed specifics, for how  and where to take your next road tri. From the
Delaware Shore and Rehoboth Beach to the road along the Appalachian trail to the ribbon of road beneath the gaping
skies of Montana, this book will be your travelers bible as you head out in the car. Just don’t get any of that
apple pie on your jeans as you drive and eat.

Like the Blues? Check Out the Music of Mali

by Karen Walrond on

The New York Times is currently 
featuring a fascinating article about
the music of Mali, a small country in Africa.  Author Joshua Hammer toured various towns in Mali, from tiny
nightspots to wedding receptions, learning about the history of the music of Mali.  Interestingly, some say Mali
is the birthplace of American blues:

Lobi Traoré [a local Mali musician] is not the
first musician to cite parallels between the music of the Mississippi Delta and that of the Niger River. The late Ali
Farka Touré, a Sorhai who grew up on the banks of the Niger south of Timbuktu, once said that the American blues
were born along his bend in the river. Robert Plant found similarities between the assouf music of the Tuaregs and
American blues when he played at the Festival of the Desert near Timbuktu in 2003, one of several multiple-day outdoor
concerts that draw thousands to Mali each year.

It’s a great article.  And if, perchance, you find
yourself called by the siren song of the music of Mali, the article also features tips on where to stay, and how to find
this beautiful music.  A trip to Mali not in your financial plans?  Never fear: you can always pick up a CD by
Toumani Diabete (shown in the picture above), who won a Grammy this year for Best Traditional World Music Album, or, in
the alternative, check out these ten albums of contemporary Malian
music, courtesy of the Times.

Rolling Stone Banned in China

by Erik Olsen on

Poor
Jann Wenner. Here the magazine magnate went to all the trouble to print and develop a Chinese version of his
uber-corporo-hip magazine Rolling Stone for the gazillions of Chinese youth, and the government goes
and shuts it down. Curses! You mean Chinese kids will be deprived of yet another Green Day cover (gasp!…and, of
course, we used the Britney cover here be cause we knew it would be harder for you to click away…clever devils we
are). Anyway, The LA
Times has the story. Tragic or who cares? You decide.

Vintage Cruise Voyages

by Adrienne Wilson on

Considering some of the negative press cruise ships have been given over what seems like the last year or so, you’d imagine people would be shaking in their boots to hit the high seas, but such is not the case. Travelers are still taking to the ocean’s sometimes choppy waters and opting to make more out of their experiences on board rather than when they dock in say, St. Thomas. Least that’s what a new cruise liner called Vintage Voyages hopes to encourage on their extreme-theme vintage reenactment voyages. While themes like quilting, jazz, wine and murder mystery tours on deck are nothing new and have been popular for ages, Vintage Voyages has stepped it up a notch, providing a variety of packages catering to more adventure minded travelers with a thirst for history.

Take the Columbus Rediscovery Vintage Voyage for example. Noted as one of the most exclusive cruises, 90 participants set sail much the same way Christopher Columbus did back in 1492 on his way to discover the New World. Interestingly enough the cruise has three ships named after the original Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. Travelers on each ship are required to dress the way Columbus and his crew did and function under the same basic conditions. Meals include bread, beer, hard biscuits, fish and salted meat served nightly. Sleeping will only be allowed on the deck of the ship in cramped, damp conditions much like how the seamen used to rest. The cruise lasts 71 days at sea embarking from Spain and arriving in the Bahamas – where it is said Columbus first saw landfall. Vintage Voyages also prides itself in the cost of the rediscovery voyage asking interested parties to pay only what would be equivalent to what King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella gave Columbus in the 1400’s. ($450 USD.)

The company advertises the tour as a perfect event for extended family reunions.

Other packages include:

  • Titanic Shipwreck Vintage Voyage – Reenact the entire three hours the Titanic spent at sea. (Must be a certified diver for the ship sinking part.)
  • Moby Dick Literary Vintage Voyage – Hunt for white whales on the Pequod.
  • Gilligan’s Island TV Vintage Voyage – Play your favorite character from the show for the entire first season.