Need New Year’s Eve ideas? Crash some plates!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I assure you that when the ball drops on the last day of 2008, I will not be in Times Square. I will be nowhere near Times Square. So, unless you like the thought of being shoulder-to-shoulder with people you’ve never met while freezing and lamenting the lack of public bathrooms in that part of town, take a look at some of the choices you have this year.

Chomp twelve grapes in Spain
Think of it as a drinking game without the fermentation. Every time the bells toll-12 times in total-eat a grape. This should ensure a sweet year. But, if you cram into Madrid‘s Puerta del Sol (see my thoughts on Times Square), listen carefully for your cue to chew.

Slam china in Denmark
Wait for the queen to finish her annual 6 PM New Year’s Eve address to the Danes. Then, join the locals in a big meal. On a full stomach, throw plates at people’s houses (typically, this is done to friends). The thrown plates are expressions of friendship. I have to assume that a direct hit on a window or expensive glass door is not. Again, just guessing.

Wait for Pinocchio in Ecuador
Ecuadorians burn effigies to prevent their real-life counterparts from stopping by, and people run around the block 12 times while wearing yellow, which they say is lucky. I do hope that they aren’t wearing only yellow … that would look funny.

Mexico: Another place to run around the block
Wear yellow if you choose (and only if you choose) while carrying your luggage around the block in Mexico. But, only do this if you want the year to bring you many travels. Investment bankers, management consultants and attorneys: don’t bother trying to resist it. You’ll be on the road anyway.

[Thanks, IgoUgo]

Somalia most corrupt nation — Denmark the least

by Grant Martin on

Transparency international released their annual numbers on corruption around the world, and would you believe it, Denmark edged Zimbabwe out by 165 places to clinch the number one spot.

Each year the organization dedicated to fighting corruption compiles data from a variety of sources to publish this list as a means to raise public awareness and point to the rampant corruption around the globe. Despite the ongoing failures on Wall Street and among the upper ranks in the financial sector, this year the United states is ranked at number 18, surprisingly just above Japan. The five least countries in ascending order were:

  • Denmark
  • Sweden
  • New Zealand
  • Singapore
  • Finland

while the lowest in descending order were:

  • Afghanistan
  • Haiti
  • Iraq
  • Myanmar
  • Somalia

Incidentally, the most corrupt countries are also those with the least stable governments, poorest infrastructures and poorest economies. Funny how those things go hand in hand, isn’t it?

You can check out the wealth of statistics and better explanations of the system over at transparency.org, including a dandy corruption map and complete list of nations and their ranks.

“Catastrophe tourism” on the rise in Greenland

by Iva Skoch on

Greenland says it doesn’t like to be seen as the global warming poster child, according to an article in Sunday’s NY Times entitled “As Ice Recedes, Interest Surges.” They have witnessed a spike in “catastrophe tourism,” or “Come see if before it’s too late” kind of tourism, lately. Apparently it is human nature to enjoy watching things–Greenland, in this case–die.

If morbid curiosity is what does it for you, you can now take a direct flight from Baltimore to Greenland on Air Greenland for about $1300. You can sit on the Ilulissat ice fjord, watching the glacier melt in 3D. Or you can visit the 25-foot ice wall Kangerlussuag, which–if it melts–is supposed to be responsible for raising the world’s ocean level by 24 feet.

Of course, by increasing the air traffic in Greenland, you might actually be helping global warming…

National Geographic Film Festival

by Neil Woodburn on

The All Roads Film Project is one of those very special, very wonderful National Geographic events which any traveler worth their salt will truly love.

The project was launched four years ago “to provide an international platform for indigenous and underrepresented minority-culture artists to share their cultures, stories, and perspectives through the power of film and photography.”

Man, you can’t go wrong with that mission statement.

And, National Geographic hasn’t.

The spectacular results of the project can be seen this upcoming weekend (October 4-7) at the All Roads Film Festival being held at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington D.C.

The festival will feature films from Finland, Bolivia, Kurdistan, Denmark, Australia, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Tonga and many more places on this planet you might only be able to visit through film. But, if you miss it in D.C., don’t worry; you can catch the festival next month in Sante Fe, New Mexico starting November 28.

Ingmar Bergman’s Sweden: Fårö Island

by Jamie Rhein on

There was a political cartoon I came across of two people leaving the Simpson’s movie saying to each other “Who’s Ingmar Bergman.” The cartoon was prompted by the recent death of Ingmar Bergman, the prolific Swedish film director and the box-office success of The Simpson’s movie.

Bergman’s movies introduced me to Scandinavia–and deep thoughts, and later prompted my attraction to the college program I did at the University of Copenhagan in Denmark. (Okay, Denmark isn’t Sweden, but it’s close–just a ferry ride away.) Sometimes all it takes is a high school film class’s showing of the Seventh Seal to open up the world as a place worth exploring. I think this was the first movie I ever saw with subtitles. Being an avid film-goer, friends have called me Tom, one of the main characters in the Glass Menagerie, films have connected me to many places in the world. Some places I’ve been to–others I have not.

Hearing that he had died got me looking for places to see in Scandinavia with an Ingmar Bergman connection. One place you can go to is Fårö Island, the place where Bergman lived. Here’s a recent read “Sweden: The Director’s Cut” by Oliver Bennet who headed there on a pilgrammage to bask in the influences of Bergman’s world. There are wonderful descriptions and impressions that make me want to go here myself someday.

For a wonderful essay on Bergman’s influences, check out “Woody Allen Remembers.” Woody Allen and Ingmar Bergman were long time friends. This photo is from Lifecruiser’s Fårö 2006 Summer set on Flickr. They’re all gorgeous. I had the hardest time picking one.