A Second City Where Arts and Dining Come In First
Logan and Brown are the two last names of a pair of famous chefs known far and wide in Wellington, a city of about 180,000 where arts, culture and especially food are at the top of their game. The pair opened in a converted former bank building on Cuba Street, […]
You Can Come Home Again…To Villa Margarita
One common refrain heard time and time again is, ‘well see you again, we’ve gotta get together again, let’s make plans to do this again’ but how many times do you really do that? The complication of geography, meeting great people in faraway countries makes you know full well you’ll […]
Auckland’s Domestic Terminal –Kiosks Aplenty!
We’re en route to Wellington and are waiting at Auckland’s new and improved domestic terminal. After the 13 hour flight, it was nice to get out into the air, and we followed the blue trail from the international terminal over here to domestic departures. Outside we passed some lovely spring […]
Off to My Favorite Land, Far, Far Away
We are off, tomorrow at 6 am, flying to Los Angeles and then tomorrow night, to Auckland and then Wellington New Zealand. It has been a day of packing and trying to remember everything, and accepting that things won’t get done but will upon our return on Dec 3. One […]
If You Think Our Bloomin’ Onion is Bad, Try This
I ordered a burger at the Outback Steakhouse in Orlando. A meal voucher had spat out of the Delta self check-in when my flight was delayed, and I took it to this temple of gastronomy to see what I could get. In tiny print down at the bottom, my server […]
Advice for Hotel Owners About Social Media
I got a lot of good advice for hotel owners today, in a meeting of travel bloggers and tweeters. The question was posed, ‘who are some great examples of companies who ‘get’ social media in 2009? Elliot Ng, a founder of the large content site UpTake.com, brought up a few […]
Among the Copycats, Some Real Innovators
Up on stage at Phocuswright yesterday, dozens of travel start-ups vied for our attention, and like the Greek chorus offstage, we bloggers tapped away making comments and asking questions on Twitter. I found myself focusing on the main question of ‘what’s actually new here?’ when so many of the present […]
After a Slew of Geektalk, Luggage Was a Relief
After a long line of technical booking solutions and web analytics providers at the Phocuswright conference,I was glad to hear about a less technical travel topic…luggage. Luggagetag.com allows the customer to design a luggage tag using nice looking photos, graphics, unique fonts and even family photos. Like the programs that […]
ChampionsGate Welcomes Me to Sterile Orlando
I’m excited to again be at Phocuswright, where I’ll meet up with dozens of friends I’ve made in the on-line travel business and catch up with bloggers and other people who make this business so exciting. I walked up to the security desk at Bradley and got a surprise as […]
Art Tatum Never Sweated, and So, Wasn’t Loved
Art Tatum is a childhood memory, his piano playing was always a part of my dad’s very important music collection. Music experts consider Tatum to be the most admired jazz pianist who ever lived. In yesterday’s WSJ, Terry Teachout discussed just what it is that makes someone memorable, famous and […]
I Blew an .07, By the Grace of God, and Went Free
My late night ambitions have been proven weak lately. I’ve contemplated going out on weekend nights, but have found reasons to stay in. Last night we dined in Northampton with another couple who at 9:45 were eager to get over to the Iron Horse for a 10 pm show. No […]
Why Google Rules the World
Why does Google have such power over us? Well, how about getting an email like this, where they multiply what they are giving you by eight, and automatically adjust your account with their bonus….wow! Google storage update: More space for your photos and email Hi, We wanted to let you […]
What Makes a Great Professor? Here are Three
The Cherry Award provides a $200,000 prize to whomever is judged to be America’s best college professor. The WSJ last night ran a story about three candidates for this award, sponsored by Baylor College. It focuses on the really important part of teaching in college which has been overshadowed by […]
That’s Mrs Frisbie to You!
John Bemelmans Marciano tracked down the people whose names stand behind words in the English language. His new book is called Anonyponymous, meaning that nobody ever heard of them despite the fact that things and places are named after them. NPR had a story about the book this morning. Take […]
Parking Wars: Now That’s Drama!
I write a blog for some people I know who run an airport parking website. Although most of my posts aren’t about parking itself, last night I stayed up late and watched A&E and found a show about parking which was quite interesting. It’s called Parking Wars, and chronicles the […]
The New Health Insurance Bill Explained…Simply
My favorite newspaper the WSJ, which of course tilts to the right, presented a quick summary of what is actually in the recently passed health care bill. Below are some of the points the article makes, for those of us whose eyes glaze over these kinds of details I think […]
Breaking It to the Kids Always Sucks
Last night I watched the much awaited season-ender of Mad Men, and I relished every one of the 48 or so minutes of this show set in 1963. While all of the cigarette-smoking cast who sip brown liquid all day long kept in 1960s character, one scene was especially poignant […]
If They Choose Not to Vaccinate, It Makes it Worse
Jenny McCarthy is a well-known celebrity who once posed for Playboy and is married to mega-rich actor Jim Carrey. While most of the public knows her for her looks, she has a cause that some believe is very dangerous to the rest of the public. She’s among a growing movement […]
