The Motel in America. In a different America, where the novelty of driving cross-country and the charm of the highway strip drew droves of tourists--and their automobiles--from coast to coast in the name of exploration and recreation, motels provided a home away from home for weary travelers. While many of the great motels of the mid-twentieth century have disappeared from the national landscape, the linen postcards left behind in the
Motel Morgue can give us a glimpse into what this era of American tourism and leisure looked like.
posted by sarabeth
on Feb 7, 2009 -
24 comments
My New York : artists, writers, professionals, and New Yorkers of all stripes talk about what they look forward to seeing in the city this fall.
posted by shivohum
on Oct 11, 2008 -
17 comments
Nothing To See Here A guide to "some of the world's lesser-signposted places to go - attractions that may not be all that attractive; coastal towns they forgot to close down; high streets that haven't been homogenised; oddities and one-offs."
posted by chrismear
on Mar 11, 2007 -
31 comments
That most peculiar of spectacles the
Fiesta de san Fermín (Running of the Bulls) seems to still exist and will be going ahead tomorrow. The event is held in parallel with
Feria del Toro (the Bullfighting Fair); the run itself seems to be in the interests of transporting the bulls to the fair while getting them good and
angry, confused, scared and weakened in the process. Being that the event is in honor of
Saint Fermín, when the
San Fermín church strikes 8am, the bulls are released and the runners get underway, trying to avoid them on their
just under 1km trip. On arrival at the Plaza del Toro (Bullring) they are herded into corrals and later released so the crowd can watch the matadors kill them in traditional bullfighting fashion
[wmv: 380k | 150k | 56k]. Of course, many people are
not really so keen on this event; and it seems
PETA will be holding one of their typically
daft protests.
Can't people just
throw tomatoes at each other or something?
posted by ed\26h
on Jul 6, 2004 -
6 comments
I have to travel the highways and byways of America by car and train a great deal, and its much more fun if you actually
see America on the way. Two of my favorite sites for finding offbeat attractions and tasty eats are
By The Way Magazine and
Roadside America.
posted by anastasiav
on Sep 22, 2003 -
5 comments
Sneaky! Grr . . . A few months ago, while surfing for wreck diving info, I stumbled upon
this page as a main link entitled
Nightlife in the Philippines. Because it promotes outright trafficking of women, I made a ruckus and sent an email complaining about it to the site admin and our government's
Department of Tourism. (Prostitution, BTW, is illegal in the Philippines.) Shortly afterwards, the site admin removed the main link. So how come it's still on the site via
this page? I know Southeast Asia (the Philippines second only to Thailand, I think) has a rep for cheap beer
and women, but I HATE the fact that many foreigners (like the owners of
this shop,) feel that they can buy anything they want while on vacation in third world countries, and that it's alright to perpetuate the trafficking of Filipino women under the guise of
tourism. Bah.
posted by lillitot
on Apr 13, 2002 -
31 comments
It's not germ warfare... and it's not terrorism, but it is the strongest argument to put off that Hawaiian vacation this winter to date. Nothing like a little tropical disease to take the shine off of paradise. I wonder what else is passing underneath the radar with this whole war on terror thing.
posted by shagoth
on Oct 15, 2001 -
8 comments
It turns out there are
three bike tours in New York City. You can also
run or
blade through the the city. The Super Roll is a lot less tiring than the bike tours or the marathon.
posted by tamim
on Sep 1, 2000 -
0 comments
