Sidesplitting travel podcast hits the air

by Andrew Evans on

It’s absolutely amazing what you find on the net: just the other day I was trawling around some safe-for-work soft core sites when I happened upon the Mike & Alex Show. Thinking I’d already seen that one, I just clicked onward. Later, however (while carefully deleting my browser’s history), I realized that no, no, this was the MIke & Alex TRAVEL Show. “OH!” I laughed out loud, then sat down for the most thrilling half-hour of my life.

The podcast genre was long overdue for a kick in the pants and these two boys promise to do just that. For starters, both of their last names start with the letter “B”, as in brilliant. Mike Barish and Alex(ander) Basek use their show to discuss everyday travel issues but without any of the soft-serve mollycoddling for which “podcast” has become synonymous. Also, these are funny guys who say funny things about travel stuff. In their very first audio issue, Mike & Alex take on Amsterdam’s coffee shops and airplane movies and you’ll agree with them 100%.

Honestly, I was hoping the show would sound less professional and more like emotionally-disturbed children taking razor blades to the Washington Post’s travel section (there’s still hope). I really have no idea who these two clowns are but ouch, my funny bone is hurting. Imagine your most hilarious guy friends sitting at the bar talking travel. In fact–Come to think of it, Mike Barish is the name of this guy I know who writes for Gadling.

Yeah, so a few things that might make the podcast funnier: some heavy-handed laugh tracks, more rubber chickens and perhaps a little tasteful post-racial repartee. Also, maybe they could play 30Rock really loud in the background?

To join the fastest-growing cult in the world, check out the site, the Twitter, and the Facebook. Otherwise, subscribe on iTunes and get ready for next week’s trip to awesome.

Britain’s most embarassing place names

by Jeremy Kressmann on

You tend to think of the British as a smart, buttoned-up lot. We’re talking about a country with a history of lots of curtsies, foxhunts and tea at high noon. It’s surprising then to learn that the British apparently are not quite so polite when it comes to naming their towns and cities.

Yesterday’s New York Times takes a look at some of the more unintentionally hilarious place names in the United Kingdom, including Crapstone, England; Ugley, Essex; Titty Ho, Northamptonshire and Penistone (it’s pronounced PENNIS-tun, how immature of you) in South Yorkshire. You can’t blame the town founders for their poor naming decisions either – many of the towns were founded (and named) hundreds of years ago. Clearly it was simpler time – a time before the Internet, when adolescents minded their manners and didn’t spend their schooldays passing around links on Digg.

Go check it out. What’s that? You’re too mature for this sort of thing, aren’t you? Skip it if you must, but don’t tell me you don’t read a street name like Tumbledown Dick Road without snickering a little.

[Via Buzzfeed]