Tag: Audio Video
Listening to Writers’ Voices, from Jack Kerouac to Graham Greene
by Jim Benning | 08.20.08 | 11:46 AM ET
Years ago I picked up a CD of Jack Kerouac reading passages from On the Road. Sometimes, during late-night drives on I-5 between Los Angeles and San Francisco, I’d pop it in for an hour or so. As the miles breezed by, my eyes focused on the highway, I’d find myself enjoying not only Kerouac’s musical prose, which I expected, but also the timbre of his voice and the way he emphasized certain words or phrases (“drinking wine-spodiodi and spitting at the stars ...”), pausing for unexpected beats. It was a very different experience from reading Kerouac, and I liked it. I wish I could find more recordings from other writers, but they’re hard to come by.
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Yahoo! BuzzSite to Watch: Constant Setting
by Michael Yessis | 08.18.08 | 6:47 PM ET
Right now, somewhere in the world, the sun is setting. And right now, on display at Constant Setting, is an image of a sunset in a place where, at this minute, the sun is setting. The makers of the site do it by pulling Creative Commons photos from Flickr, like the one included in this post. Simple idea, beautiful execution.
Inside the ‘Cuisines of the Axis of Evil’
by Michael Yessis | 08.08.08 | 10:13 AM ET
Kim Jong Il gulps the blood of virgins! Benito Mussolini loved strawberry frappes! Fidel Castro says, “I drink your chocolate milkshake!” These tidbits come from Chris Fair, author of the new book Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States: A Dinner Party Approach to International Relations. Newsweek and USA Today have interviews with her.
Video: Europe’s Unlikely Hit, Heiligenkreuz Abbey’s Monks
by Joanna Kakissis | 07.14.08 | 1:54 PM ET
It’s not the first time Gregorian chants have rocked the modern music charts, but thanks to YouTube, the Cistercian monks from the Austrian woods are getting lots of attention on the European music charts and have landed a record deal with Universal Music. Oh, and dairy farmers play the monks’ chants to serenade their prize-winning cheese (the good vibes, it is believed, aid the maturation process). I plan to serenade my mizithra with “Music for Paradise.” Here’s a video:
NYT on Matt Harding’s Dance Across the World: ‘Almost Perfect’
by Julia Ross | 07.08.08 | 11:20 AM ET
We've written before about the internet phenomenon that is Matt Harding's dancing video.
Stephen Colbert on ‘U.S. Airweighs’
by Michael Yessis | 06.12.08 | 12:13 PM ET
In “The Word” last night, he weighed in about airlines potentially charging passengers by the pound—“just like ground round.” It’s funnier than Derrie-Air. Video below.
Video: Paco Underhill Deconstructs the Airport
by Michael Yessis | 05.30.08 | 2:51 PM ET
Underhill, the author of The Call of the Mall, spoke with Malcolm Gladwell at the 2008 New Yorker Conference about, among other things, uncomfortable seating at gates, the quality of airport food and how rolling luggage influences the entire concept of airport design.
Eighth-Grade Science Projects and the ‘Calypso King of Barbados’
by Eva Holland | 05.07.08 | 9:24 AM ET
Remember that papier-mache volcano that some kid (or, more accurately, his parents) built every year for the junior high science fair? It never did manage to teach me how volcanoes work—later, I’d only recall the bubble and hiss of the Sprite mixture foaming out the top. But recently, while trying to get a handle on the local music scene in Barbados, I came across something similar: this educational volcano video, set to a hit soca track by Barbadian calypso legend Red Plastic Bag. Maybe something like this would have helped me pay closer attention in science class. Then again, maybe I would have only remembered the song. It’s plenty catchy.
Aboriginal Musician Rocks iTunes
by Joanna Kakissis | 04.30.08 | 12:36 PM ET
Australians are snapping up new music from Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, an Aborginal musician who sings some of his songs in his native language, Yolngu. According to the International Herald Tribune, his first solo album, “Gurrumul,” released earlier this year, “jumped to No. 1 on the iTunes Australia roots music chart (it is currently No. 3)” and “is running strong in the mainstream iTunes music chart, above such international heavy hitters as Mariah Carey.” His MySpace page touts it as “One of the most important and beautiful Indigenous albums yet recorded.” Here’s a video clip from a recent show:
Louis Vuitton Channels ‘Babel’ in ‘Journey’ Spot
by Jim Benning | 02.21.08 | 12:45 PM ET
At least that's my take on the 90-second commercial popping up on TV these days celebrating travel -- and, yes, at the very end, designer handbags (the company got its start making travel trunks more than a century ago). The haunting music is by composer Gustavo Santaolalla, who's behind the soundtracks for "Amores Perros," "Babel," "Brokeback Mountain" and "The Motorcycle Diaries." (I confess to having a "Gustavo" playlist on my iPod; I love his stuff.) According to The New York Times, the spot was shot in Japan, France, Spain and India. It's not exactly "Babel," which I loved, but it's pretty mesmerizing. Here it is:
The Cult of United’s ‘Channel 9’
by Michael Yessis | 02.13.08 | 5:07 PM ET
That’s the channel on United’s entertainment system that plays real-time audio between air-traffic controllers and the pilots in the cockpit. It “tends to be the most listened to channel on its entertainment system during takeoffs and landings,” according to a terrific story in the Wall Street Journal. It’s also controversial.
Introducing Tenzing Hillary Airport
by Jim Benning | 02.11.08 | 11:54 AM ET
The airport closest to Mount Everest, previously known as Lukla airstrip, will now be called Tenzing Hillary Airport in honor of the first climbers to summit Everest, the Nepalese government announced. Sir Edmund Hillary died last month; Tenzing Norgay died in 1986. Most visitors to Everest land at the airstrip. “It is a dramatic introduction,” the BBC notes, “as the plane has to drop steeply between the mountains and then lands on a runway which slopes steeply upwards.” YouTube has some great video.
U.S. Customs to Amy Winehouse: No, No, No*
by Eva Holland | 02.08.08 | 12:39 PM ET
Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse has been denied an American visa for this weekend’s Grammy Awards, reports the CBC. Winehouse, who is two weeks into her latest rehab stint, will be up for six awards at Sunday’s ceremony, including Album of the Year—but for this year at least, she won’t go, go, go.
*Update, Monday, Feb. 11: Winehouse got last-minute approval to travel to the U.S. but performed live via satellite from London—at 3:41 a.m. local time. Here’s video:
Thai Airways Flight Attendants Cry, Stop ‘The Air Hostess War’!*
by Michael Yessis | 01.22.08 | 9:21 AM ET
Viewers of “The Air Hostess War,” a sexy new soap opera that debuted on Thailand’s Channel 5 last week, have a different refrain: We like it!
Engines at Fault in Heathrow Crash
by Michael Yessis | 01.18.08 | 1:37 PM ET
A preliminary report about the British Airways flight that crashed at London’s Heathrow Airport this week said the craft’s engines “failed to respond to demands for thrust,” according to BBC news. All 136 passengers and 16 crew members survived the landing, putting a spotlight back on how passengers can enhance their chances of living through a crash. Tonight on 20/20, John Stossel will take a look at whether it’s safer to sit in the front or back of the plane. ABC News also has a Web report.
Related on World Hum:
2007: Safest Year for Air Travel Since 1963
Jackson on my Mind
by Eva Holland | 01.15.08 | 11:06 AM ET
Photo by dbking via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Speaking of how confusing geography can be, I’ve been planning a big road trip in the South in March, and I’m hoping to hit some major music history landmarks along the way. Memphis is a no-brainer, but I’d like to see some lesser-known sites too, and even places where there may not be anything concrete to see, but where the name still means something to me. I thought Jackson could be one of those places—you know, the Jackson town that Johnny Cash and June Carter sing about?
‘This American Life’ on Mapping Your World
by Joanna Kakissis | 10.25.07 | 9:50 AM ET
Mapping doesn’t mean just plotting places on a piece of paper. In a particularly brilliant This American Life episode, host Ira Glass says you can explore your world by mapping each of your five senses. “Every map is the world seen through a different lens,” he said.
Paul Theroux, Bill Bryson, Jon Krakauer on Charlie Rose/YouTube
by Jim Benning | 09.13.07 | 2:55 PM ET
Photo of Paul Theroux via YouTube video. A slew of interviews from the "Charlie Rose" show archives were recently added to YouTube, including, I learned from a bit of poking around, a number of travel writers' appearances. Among the highlights, posted below: Paul Theroux -- wearing a lovely salmon turtleneck -- discusses The Pillars of Hercules: A Grand Tour of the Mediterranean in 1995; Jon Krakauer talks up "Into the Wild" in 1996; Bill Bryson promotes "A Walk in the Woods" in 1998; and Peter Mayle holds forth on "Encore Provence."
Rolf Potts at Authors@Google on Video
by Jim Benning | 08.23.07 | 3:47 PM ET
World Hum columnist Rolf Potts recently spoke for an hour at Google's New York office about travel and his book Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel. He fielded audience questions about anti-Americanism abroad, dangers facing women travelers and the places he's yet to visit. Rolf's never been to Madagascar. Who knew? The talk was captured on video and posted on YouTube.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Less Money, More Adventure
by Michael Yessis | 08.10.07 | 2:54 PM ET
Lisbon, Portugal (pictured) and the rest of Europe are top of mind this week—particularly Europe on the cheap. The Big Apple, the debut of Virgin America and the Island of Tiki round out the Zeitgiest. Have a look.
“Hot This Week” Destination
Yahoo! (this week)
Lisbon, Portugal
Most Popular Page Tagged Travel
Del.icio.us (recent)
10 Ways to Keep Europe Within Reach
* We’ve unearthed some fine tips, too.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
10 Ways to Keep Europe Within Reach
Most Popular Travel Podcast
iTunes (current)
Beautiful Places with Tony Farley
* This week: North Dome
Most Read Feature
World Hum (posted this week)
James Teitelbaum: Escape to the Isle of Tiki
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph UK (current)
New York Shopping: The Best of the Big Apple
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (posted this week)
How I Scored a New U.S. Passport in One Day
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Virgin America Returns the Frills to Flying