Florida Beachgoers Share the Sand with the Grim Reaper
Posted on 04/24/2020, 2:00 AM
Florida-based attorney Daniel Uhlfelder recently tweeted that he planned to start traveling around his state's beaches dressed as Death to send a message. And no, that message is not "don't wear thongs." (Although that is excellent advice.) Uhlfelder, who gained national fame by fighting against the planned privatization of Florida beaches, tweeted, "Many of you have asked if I am willing to tra...
WATCH: Stunning Aerial Footage of Over 400 Airliners Mothballed in the Mojave
Posted on 04/23/2020, 8:00 PM
When an airline pulls an aircraft from service, pilots can't just leave it at the airport gate and pocket the keys. They have to move the plane somewhere. Various carriers use various solutions—some planes are parked at smaller airfields in places like Tulsa, Pittsburgh, or Roswell, New Mexico. But one of the largest repositories of disused jets is in the Mojave Desert near Victorville, California...
Frank Lloyd Wright Sites Are Sharing Weekly Virtual Visits
Posted on 04/23/2020, 1:00 PM
We wouldn't mind being quarantined in a Frank Lloyd Wright house. For one thing, the famed architect was all about bringing the outdoors in, which sounds like a promising treatment for claustrophobia. For another, we figure his designs would look cool on Zoom—no virtual background needed. Of course, Wright's buildings are currently not open even to visitors, much less pandemic squatters. But y...
Venice's Gondoliers Deliver Food to Isolated Locals Now
Posted on 04/23/2020, 11:00 AM
It can be difficult, as a visitor, to step off the tourist treadmill in Venice. Until recently, it was a city besieged by tourism, with 60,000 outsiders a day filling streets and waterways that are home to just 50,000 permanent residents. In normal times, Row Venice, which is run by a group of passionate vogatrice (oarswomen), gives upright rowing lessons to tourists. Since 2008, the teachers, man...
Vegas Mayor Wants Casinos to Reopen—No Matter What
Posted on 04/23/2020, 6:00 AM
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has kicked up her crusade to reopen the city's casinos, restaurants, shops, and other nonessential businesses in spite of the global pandemic. The mayor has given several media interviews this week, including a 25-minute CNN appearance that can only be described as cuckoo bananas. Speaking with anchor Anderson Cooper, Goodman called for an immediate end to Nevada...
Unbelievably, American Airlines Takes This Moment to Hike Bag Fees
Posted on 04/22/2020, 8:00 PM
You run an airline. Your business is facing the most dramatic economic crisis in your lifetime. Just to stay alive, you've had to suspend international capacity by a devastating 60% this summer. In desperation, you parked dozens of your disused airplanes in Alabama, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, and your staff has been furloughed. You have no idea how long you can hold on. What do you do next? If ...
Air Canada Suspends USA Flights Until May 22
Posted on 04/22/2020, 10:00 AM
Today Air Canada announced it will suspend all flights to and from the United States until May 22. The change came on the heels of the Canadian government's 30-day extension of its ban on nonessential border crossings, which effectively eliminated the airline's passenger base for the short term. The temporary Air Canada embargo goes into effect on Sunday, April 26. Until then, the carrier will ...
WATCH: The Year's First Baby Bison Appear in South Dakota
Posted on 04/22/2020, 9:00 AM
A bison would make a good mascot for social distancing. Though the woolly animals may look invitingly pettable, getting too close can have disastrous consequences for humans—as the National Park Service made clear last summer with its "Wildlife Petting Chart" illustrating the best parts of a buffalo to touch (there aren't any). Q8 #ParkChat We also use social media to promote wildlife safety. ...
A Facebook Page for Sharing Window Views from Around the World
Posted on 04/22/2020, 6:00 AM
"If you want the people to understand you, invite them to your life and let them see the world from your window!" So wrote Turkish novelist and playwright Mehmet Murat ildan. And while I have no idea how many members of the Facebook group View From My Window know his work, they seem to have taken the sentiment to heart. The group—open to all for viewing, though posting is by invitation only—asks p...
A Reason to Cry in Your Beer: Germany’s Oktoberfest Canceled for 2020
Posted on 04/21/2020, 4:00 AM
This year's edition of Munich's Oktoberfest—the huge beer and folk festival that's synonymous with the Bavarian region and, in some minds, Germany as a whole—has been canceled. The event was scheduled to take place, as usual, on Munich's Theresienwiese fairground from September 19 to October 4, but organizers and government leaders have decided not to roll out the barrel due to the global health ...
