You’ve probably seen this clip or at least heard about what happened. For entertainment’s sake, here it is again: President Bush dodging a pair of shoes flung by a disgruntled Iraqi journalist.
Hitting someone with a shoe or even pointing the soles of your shoes at someone is considered an insult in the Middle East (and in many other parts of Asia as well); feet are the lowest part of the body and considered unclean. It is unclear if President Bush understood the meaning of the shoe throwing incident. I guess if you launch anything at another person’s head, you don’t think too highly of them.
Throwing shoes seems a bit impractical to me – after all, what are you going to wear when it is time to run away? Here is another Middle Eastern cultural no-no that could have been employed: shake hands or wave with your left hand. Next to the feet, this appendage is considered the dirtiest. For desert nomads past and present, the left hand is used for cleaning oneself after nature calls. Therefore, waving or shaking a left hand is traditionally considered unclean.
On the practical side, Bush’s latest misadventure in the Middle East has highlighted some cultural dos and donts that travelers headed to the Middle East might find useful. Remember: don’t throw shoes, don’t wave your left hand, and don’t be named Bush….There, you’re good to go.
Humor is a great travel tool, particularly if you’ve had a bit of bad luck like I did when I was pickpocketed this week in Copenhagen–or if the tide is high and the streets have flooded, such as what has happened in Venice. In Venice’s situation, as Jeffery points out, there’s hope in boots.
Or, perhaps that travel companion you thought you were in love with has turned out to be a bust. Brenda has a few tips to prevent that from happening. But just in case you are stuck with Ms. or Mr. Dreadful, a laugh can help.
Whether you’ve had some bad luck, or you just want a reason to smile, here are some of the stories this week that have a humorous edge.
Scott’s post on learning British accents in 7 minutes may help you speak like a Brit, or not. The guy in the video does present various sayings you may not have considered before.
Although air rage is not a funny matter, particularly when it’s happening to you, the behaviors Abha describes in her post on what happens when people do get surly on board have a certain chuckle factor. Plus, reading about how badly other people have behaved makes me feel better about my own tense moments. At least I’m not that bad.
The picture alone in Mike’s post on the Babykeeper Basic made me smile. When I read his description of how the contraption also keeps a child from absconding with belongings while you pee, I laughed.
Then there’s Annie’s post with the video of a slowed down version of an in-flight safety video. Smoooooookinggggg is noooooooottt allooooowed. Clever.
Here’s hoping there’s fun in your life this weekend.
So, here’s the Delta Airlines In-Flight Safety Video. Pretty standard, right? Nothing to write home about. A good-looking, vaguely-Southern flight attendant, some poor, dorky guy whose big break was wearing a life vest — all good fun.
Well, someone took that fun a step further … Did you think that that “smoking is not allowed” moment was a little over-the-top? Somebody did! Enjoy this hilarious slowdown, and re-slowdown.
I can’t believe someone took the time to do this, but dang, it’s funny.
Here at Gadling we’ll be highlighting some of our favorite sounds from the road and giving you a sample of each — maybe you’ll find the same inspiration that we did, but at the very least, hopefully you’ll think that they’re good songs. Got a favorite of your own? Leave it in the comments and we’ll post it at the end of the series.
Folk musicians are very different from pop stars. They earn their living one gig at a time, and are always on tour somewhere, because if they weren’t, they wouldn’t make any money. They write their own music, and they often draw from their vast experiences on the road, which is why folk music makes great travel tunes.
Eddie From Ohio‘s 2001 release, Quick, is among the best of the best. Just so we’re clear, Eddie isn’t a solo artist — but it is the name of the drummer in this band, not from Ohio but from the commonwealth of Virginia. Got it? EFO has been touring America since 1991, and Quick includes a great collection of travel-inspired tracks.
The tone of this album makes it perfect for the first CD of your road trip. The high energy title track will get you grooving behind the wheel before you’re out of your driveway, and put you in the right frame of mind for an adventure.
A fan favorite from this album is “Candido & America,” the story of a Mexican couple coming to the US to make a new life. It’s a hopeful song about starting over in a new place, and finding beauty where you are. This is one of those songs that entire audiences sing along to at Eddie From Ohio’s live shows.
Another highlight from Quick is “Number Six Driver.” Guitarist Robbie Schaefer wrote this song about the band’s trip back home to Virginia from a west coast tour. They’d been gone for a long time and wanted to power their way home, and Robbie got stuck with the night shift behind the wheel of the band’s RV. Somewhere in Wyoming before the light of dawn, he passed a gas station that offered “Free coffee for the #6 driver.” That is, the sixth driver to stop in during the night. I believe the story goes that travel weary Robbie was lucky driver number six, and from one of his most boring nights, a beautiful song was born, with a little help from a free cup of coffee. Listen to EFO perform the song at the 2003 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (I was in that audience!) in the video above.
There are lots of great travel tunes on EFO’s other CD’s as well. I love “30 Second Love Affair,” about the fantasy one driver creates about another driver while stopped next to her at a traffic light, “Fifth of July,” another track about new adventures and starting fresh, and “From Dacca,” a sweet song about culture shock and adjusting. Then there’s every Edhead’s favorite, “Old Dominion,” bassist Michael Clem’s tribute to the band’s home state. It’ll make you wish you lived here, too.
Abha mentioned this about a month ago, but I thought it would be worth reiterating. “Playing for Change” is an inspiring and transformational movement that began in 2001 and continues to generate buzz from its documentary and its memorable music. Here is another fantastic global video that features musicians from around the world — all contributing to the song by Bob Marley, “One Love.”
“Playing for Change,” the documentary, is available at all major video rental stores. The foundation, which aims to bring communities and the world together through music, is currently raising money to fund the opening of the Ntonga Music School in South Africa come spring of 2009.You can check out an earthy and heartfelt version of Tracy Chapman’s “Talking about a Revolution” here. Donations are accepted through PayPal via this site, or purchase hip PFC apparel here.
Watching this “One Love” video and listening to the other great music collaborations that continue to come together through the ongoing efforts of this foundation is inspiring. The music revolution that is Playing for Change is one of those uplifting things we can take part in to make this a world a better place.