There we were, talking about one of my favorites dudes
gong to Mexico to check out the Maya and another one of my…well, another dude we all know well is also there. President Bush paid a visit
to the ruins of Chichen Itza before heading off with other NAFTA chiefs of state to begin two days of talks in
Cancun. Is this a Presidential Spring Break? maybe. Bush seemed to be in the Spring Break spirit, anyway, donning a
cream-colored Hawaiian shirt (untucked). No world on whether he will be out doing tequila poppers this eve. We can
only hope.
David Byrne's "Travel Blog"
Let just say right off the bat that, where this
post is concerned, I am horribly biased. I have been a Talking Heads fan since I can remember first listening to their
music. I think I’ve seen Stop making Sense about 25 times, probably more, since I’m sure several viewings
in my college years disappeared along with the sizzled synapses that gave their last full measure of devotion to the
Jonathan Demme film. For a while there, my love and adoration for all things Talking Heads approached
cultishness.
So as I direct you to David Byrne’s blog, keep in mind that I am not unbiased.
But
what is cool here is not just Byrne’s rather thoughtful and interesting
posts on everything from music to evolution, the man is actually out on tour traveling right now and is filling what
might be called travel dispatches. In fact, there is no doubt these are travel dispatches, written in the kind of
inquisitive prose you might read from an amateur historian, which clearly Byrne wants to be. Sort of. He appears
to be in Coba, Mexico, where he ruminates on the decline of the Maya, and
blabs a bit about his band’s performanes. Further down, we find him surfing. Yes, I know you can imagine a lot of
things that will bring a smile to your face…and the image of David Byrne surfing must certainly be one of them.
New West Magazine
I’ve been a fan of the Western-minded magazine New West since it launched was back when. The articles there range from serious
ruminations on land and water policy to arts, film and
events, to travel. It really is a serious effort
to cover Western news with a depth and thoughtfulness that most of the major daily newspapers miss. And I was quite
happy to learn this morning that they managed to secure some new cash to keep going. The magazine has some heft on its
masthead. it is run by Jonathan Weber, who started the Industry Standard and whose editorial judgment and Western
sensibilities are top notch. So give it a look if you can. And check out their Flickr Stream which features some superb and
mind-blowing photos from the Western states.
City Lights: San Francisco’s Beat Bookstore
A trip to San Francisco is never complete without visiting its most famous bookstore: City Lights. There are only a few “famous” bookstores on this planet-Powell’s in Portland, Shakespeare & Co. in Paris-but City Lights is my favorite.
Located in North Beach, this literary landmark served as the headquarters of the beat generation during the 1950s and 60s. Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg, and countless other poets and beatniks whiled away the hours here, penning literature and poetry which would remain long after passing away themselves. City Lights is perhaps most famous for publishing Ginsberg’s classic, Howl-for which the bookstore later faced obscenity charges.
Because of the important role City Lights played in nurturing Beat Literature and protecting the First Amendment rights lost by such authors, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors bestowed upon it Landmark status in 2001-the only bookstore in America to receive such an accolade.
Today, City Lights remains much as it did fifty years ago. Its dark wood and homey interior creates the perfect atmosphere for browsing an outstanding collection of books. My favorite section, “European Literature” contains just that. I can’t tell you how many new authors I’ve discovered just by browsing this section and picking out authors with strangely spelled Czech, Russian, or French names.
Graceland Gets National Nod
My
first real job out of college…the first job that paid and didn’t include skiing…was working for the Department
of the Interior. The DOI is the agency that manages most public lands including the National Parks and the Bureau of Land Management, as well as the agency that runs the
Fish and Wildlife Service. I hated working for the government. But I love the National Park Service, and I do my best
to keep an eye on what they are up to.
So what are they up to…today, for example? Well, it seems
they have added a new designation to the NPS system. Is the new park, reserve, monument the product of pork in some
Congressman’s district? Well, no. At least I don’t think so. Although pork MAY be involved, in that I
understand Elvis was a big fan of pork rinds. But let me cut to the chase. Today, out-going Secretary of the Interior
Gale Norton officially established the Graceland National Historic Landmark.
Yes, the famous
home of Elvis Presley, which lures over 600,000 tourists a year to see the toilet upon which he died, will be
designated a place of national import. Let us rejoice and put on our blue suede shoes, ladies and gentlemen, Elvis is a
National Landmark.