What’s Your Favourite Souvenir? (The Office Cleanout Continues…)

by Brett Atkinson on

Thanks to everyone for the feedback on what to do with the old guidebooks at my office. Part of the shift also involves bringing home a few favourite souvenirs from past travels. Here are some special keepsakes I’ve now got to find room for at home.

  1. A framed front page of La Epoca, the Buenos Aires newspaper, from the day after Eva Peron’s funeral.
  2. An 18th century map of Asia Minor I bought in Istanbul
  3. A screen print by an artist called “O” who hangs out at Venice Beach in Los Angeles. Basically it’s an American flag with the word “Democracy” spelt out with the logos of various American corporations. D for Disney, E for Enron, M for McDonalds…you get the picture.
  4. A faux gold plated microphone from when I played guitar (a shocking version of Wild Thing) at an advertising conference in Cannes, France.
  5. A copy of Kerouac’s Big Sur that I bought at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, California

What are the poignant, heart rending or downright tacky travel mementos you hold dearest?

Thanks to kristenhillier on Flickr for the stunning pic of Venice Beach.

Rock Music Makes You a Bad Driver

by Jonathon Morgan on

One thing I love to do when I’m heading down open highway on some cross-country trip, is crank up the classic rock. You know, the really good stuff — like Bruce Springsteen or Guns N Roses.

Apparently I’m not alone. As promotion for for the release of racing videogame called “Burnout Dominator,” Electronic Arts and AOL have asked voters to choose their favorite driving music, and out of 1,700 votes, classic rock is by far the most popular choice.

But, while it’s great to get revved up by kick-ass tunes when you’re pretending to drive, on real highways, aggressive driving isn’t exactly rewarded.

For the life of me, I can’t find the poll results online, but according to this Reuters article, artists you should be especially wary of while racing down the Interstate are: Meat Loaf, Bruce Springsteen, Guns N roses, and Motorhead, along with more contemporary groups like The Killers, Feeder, and the Prodigy.

Next time you get a ticket for driving like a rockstar, don’t say I didn’t warn you.