Travel

What a penetrating look at an earlier Israel by the recently-departed neoconservative scion Midge Decter. A paragraph chosen truly at random:

How was I to be prepared for the discovery that a kibbutz, salvation or damnation, transcendent new society or dustbin of failed transformations, was . . . a farm? I was, to be sure, quite aware that the kibbutzim engaged primarily in farming ⁠— that, too, was crucial to their ideology and mine ⁠— but from such awareness I had not even come near the image of those flat monotonous fields, unbroken by any visual mark of the drama that had created them, stretching to their termination at a dusty road or property line ⁠— the same as must be required anywhere in the world for the growing of cotton or corn or wheat. Degania Aleph, weeping Rachel of the whole movement, sits somnolently by the side of the road (for some reason, I can never envision History as taking place alongside an ordinary thoroughfare, accessible to any passing mortal; History must be climbed up to or stumbled down upon) near the Sea of Galilee, giving no physical hint of anything but a usually drab farm life ⁠— with neither marker nor monument to set her apart.

Cool ⁠— Bloomberg’s Pret Index shows that coffee sales at UK airports are now higher than pre-pandemic.

The architect would surely be pleased that there is once again a Frank Lloyd Wright hotel in Japan ⁠— though he’d probably say: Just the one? (Actually it’s not by Wright but Arata Endo, who seems a tasteful and disciplined disciple.)

What a perfect, impassioned argument by Scottish, sorry, British broadcaster Neil Oliver in praise of keeping Britain. For him it is, correctly, not a confused affair of the dismal science but a clear celebration of the happy heart.

Great long piece in The Guardian on the aviation meltdown.

This fellow Guy Stagg did what I failed to do in reverse: walked from Canterbury to Jerusalem.

WorldOMeter has a handy COVID-19 Coronavirus Outbreak page that’s updated regularly, sortable and filterable.

From Paul Graham’s essay “Having Kids”, December 2019:

I remember perfectly well what life was like before. Well enough to miss some things a lot, like the ability to take off for some other country at a moment’s notice. That was so great. Why did I never do that?

AutoCar drives the electric Jaguar I-Pace from London to Frankfurt. As recently as two years ago such a journey simply wasn’t feasible. Now, once you have the more expensive car, it’s much cheaper than driving diesel let alone petrol. That said, charging stops are an hour rather than five minutes, and every 200 miles rather than say every 500. But I think there is some good here. Travellers must get out and stretch their legs for a longer while. All in all our automotive future looks improved.

11 Brilliant Ways To Redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles by Spencer Howard at GodSaveThePoints. Most are not actually flying Virgin Atlantic but their partner airlines

September 25th, 2019, a Virgin Atlantic plane landed in Tel Aviv for the first time. Airplane travel writer Gilbert Ott was aboard.

The end of formal dining on Amtrak. The change is “driven by a desire to save money,” Amtrak said to The Washington Post, “and lure a younger generation of new riders ⁠— chiefly, millennials known to be always on the run, glued to their phones and not particularly keen on breaking bread with strangers at a communal table.” Sad!

“Please just leave me alone when I cross streets.” Richard Stallman’s terms of service for speaking engagements come to light [via The Register] surrounding his forced terminations. A couple of observations: for 66 his skin looks amazingly moist and smooth, like a healthy 25-year-old’s, which perhaps says something about his lifestyle and choices. And his exactingness regarding these terms is both ridiculous and admirable; few things are more important than knowing who we are and what we want and expressing these clearly.

Andrew Pielage is on a blessed mission to photograph all 431 Frank Lloyd Wright sites.

Frank Lloyd Wright trails in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Of course they should do it, what are they waiting for? Venice mulls charging for day-trippers ⁠— again.

It’s Tim Ferriss’s most soulful interview yet: Jack Kornfield, a guru who talks the talk, walks the walk, sat the sit. With a great selection in the shownotes of links and people mentioned.

As these two leaders discuss morning practices, I’m struck by how many of the perspectives and attitudes they hope for are nicely handled by the Jewish morning prayers.

Tyler Cowen’s work habits while traveling. “Go somewhere ⁠— perhaps somewhere dangerous or disgusting ⁠— and simply plan to spend your full, normal work/writing day there.” Because: “By the end of the trip it will feel like a full vacation anyway, that’s how silly your memory is.”

TechCrunch takes iPhone X to Disneyland. A great review of considered real-world use.

“A wordy kind of Kardashian Instagram feed, without the self-awareness.” In this perfectly pitched skewering of Michael Chabon, Ayelet Waldman & Dave Eggers et al’s confrontation of the Occupation in the West Bank, Matti Friedman wonders what it’s all actually about. All this, plus: I don’t think I’ve ever seen such skilful use of the exclamation mark!

As an antidote to the borderline smarminess of Jason Horowitz’s New York Times article about returning to Rome, here is a more substantial, dignified, rewarding and useful guide to visiting the city by a blogger named Nan Quick: My Recipe for a Stress-Free Week in Rome. Warning: she takes a couple of paragraphs to warm up.

He had me with his first-paragraph mention of Trattoria Da Enzo, my favorite. I’ve forwarded to visitors this panegyric to Rome by the incoming New York Times’ bureau chief. A lot of attractive restaurants mentioned and described. [via Juan Carlos Bronstein, who was unimpressed by the tone, as are many others in the comments]

A modest photoblog of a 5-day trip across Israel by Daniel Tchetchik, Haaretz Photography Blog editor.

I’m wrestling with taking too many pictures these days, and why don’t I just stop, but not as well as does the author in “What We See When We Look at Travel Photography”.

In this report on Ryanair’s service between Budapest and Eilat, anna.aero lists the low-cost airlines flying to Israel. All the others fly to Ben-Gurion. So that’s Eilat to Budapest in February roundtrip for 85€!!!

Cary Grant’s 1963 op-ed in This Week magazine on dressing well.

Older parents like us are perhaps a severe problem.

Shai Agassi’s Better Place electric cars roll out in Israel.

“Nation on the Move” is the magnificent second episode of the America Revealed PBS series. Interestingly, the show is British-made.

KLM presents Meet & Seat.
Use Facebook or LinkedIn to “find out about interesting
people who will be on board your KLM flight”.

John Malkovich on Charlie Rose.

John Malkovich: The world is in fact, well, if you’re anywhere near as lucky as I have been, but even if you’re just moderately lucky, the world is in fact an exquisitely beautiful, endlessly fascinating place filled often with spectacular people.

Charlie Rose: That’s exactly the way I feel.

JM: You know…

CR: Exactly!

Pico Iyer on travel writing.

A chocolate pilgrimage to Brussels.

On hotels and the delectable feeling of dépaysé.

Where exactly is Hogwarts?

Arstechnica, the iOS 5 review. Featuring game-changers Siri and the iCloud.

At the Gaza-Egypt crossing.

Michael Totten reposts his masterly visit to Tripoli in light of Libya’s pending liberation.

Istanbul, very open city (for now).

At last, some vintage Holidays in Hell P. J. O’Rourke with 72 hours in Afghanistan.

Brighton to Victoria on the train for £3. I’ve done it, though had to enjoy a veggie English Breakfast at Victoria’s Wetherspoone’s while waiting for London to open.

Brief recent photo essay of North Korea by the brave Tomas van Houtryve.

A modest proposal: Twitter @taxishare.