Largest outdoor arts festival in North America

A Look Inside the Burning Man Festival

Burning Man, held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, is the largest outdoor arts festival in North America. It began August 25th and runs through Monday. Festival-goers attend from around the world to “dedicate themselves to the spirit of community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance,” say organizers. Last year, 68,000 people attended the sold-out festival, which is now in its 28th year.

‘‘In all my travels, Burning Man is utterly unique,’’ Destin Gerek, an 11-year veteran who teaches Burning Man workshops on the ‘‘intersection of sexuality and spirituality,’’ told the Associated Press. ‘‘Absolutely nothing compares.’’

I'd rather look at it on the internet, than actually be there. A gigantic Artsy Fartsy, Hippy Arts and Crafts festival. With sex, drugs and rock and roll too I'm sure. And plenty of spectacles.

If you go to the page, and follow the "Next" link at the end of the text on the first page (or arrows on the edge of the photo), it will start you on a slide show of about 25 photos, with text underneath describing what you are looking at.

There were some interesting things. The Temple of Grace was nice, both in the daytime, and lit up at night. A very detailed, classic design, looked kinda like something from India. At night, electric lights were used in lots of creative ways on many of the exhibits.

There are more links about the festival at the bottom of the first page.
     

Cruise Ship Talking Points

And why you shouldn't believe them:

Six Lies The Cruise Lines Will Tell You After The Costa Concordia Crash

Shortly after the Costa Concordia capsized, the cruise lines' PR committee assembled to try and figure out a strategy to minimize the disaster's effect on the cruise industry.

A decision was made for the cruise lines to issue a series of "talking points" to the media. The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) and the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) distributed "cruise safety talking points" to travel agents, travel magazines and the media. CLIA embedded the talking points into "updates" on the Concordia crash on its website. CLIA's president Christine Duffy released "open letters" which travel publications and blogs often published in their entirely, without questioning the accuracy of the information.

Costa Concordia Cruise ShipTravel agents began pitching the talking points to the public in articles like this one from Travel Market Report entitled "What to Say to Clients Post-Concordia." You can read "6 Talking Points" and other tips from travel agents on how to overcome reluctant clients' fears and talk them into buying a cruise.

Here are some of the cruise industry's talking points: [...]

They're telling some real whoppers, which get debunked point by point. Read the whole thing for embedded links, photos and more.

   

RVing: a 100 year old tradition

Celebrating 100 years on the open road
Trailers, motor homes change drastically since 1910

Planning on traveling this summer in an RV? Historically-speaking, you’ll be in very good company.

In 1931, Mae West’s Paramount Studios contract included a chauffeur-driven “house car” for the star to relax in while filming movies. In the early 1940s, aviation pioneers Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, needed someplace quiet where they could write, so Henry Ford let them use a 1935 house trailer he owned that was equipped with electricity, a stove, an icebox, a bathroom and other “modern” amenities. And in the ’60s and ’70s, TV reporter Charles Kuralt famously criss-crossed the country in a motor home while filming his popular “On the Road” features for CBS News.

Today, West’s 1931 Chevrolet is just one of the unusual, iconic or prototypical vehicles on display at the Recreational Vehicle/Manufactured Home Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart, Ind. The 1935 Stage Coach Trailer Henry Ford loaned to the Lindberghs is parked at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Mich., as is Kuralt’s 1975 Motorcoach.

And if you think it might be a good idea to take a drive to see one or both of these collections, now would be an especially appropriate time. Starting today (June 7), the RV industry is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

A century of RV progress
Drivers began making camping adaptations to cars not long after automobiles were invented. But according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), 1910 was when mass-produced vehicles designed specifically for camping first hit the market. [...]

Read the whole thing for some good pics, history and embedded links.
(H.T. Born Again Redneck)


Michelle Malkin recently posted about her RV Road Trip:



The Great American Road Trip: Reflections, RV tips & Rushmore-to-Yellowstone pics

[...] Over the past seven days, we’ve hit Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse memorial, Cody WY, and Yellowstone. The scenery is cinematic; the frontier history is larger-than-life. And the RV community is full of friendly, independent, and amazingly resourceful people.

If you ever need your faith in our country’s resilience and beauty renewed, a Great American Road Trip does a body and soul good.

RV’ing is also a budget-friendly way to travel. Yes, fuel costs are hefty. But you can save a lot on meals by planning ahead and cooking on the road. We rented a 31-foot RV with a stove top, oven, microwave, and ample freezer/fridge with a small crisper for veggies and enough room for a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, and several days’ worth of drinks and other perishables. Added bonus: No airline headaches, no TSA intrusions, no cramped seating, no crappy plane food!

[...]

RV’ing is not everyone’s cup of tea, of course. If you’re high maintenance and need a hot bath every day, forget about it. If you can’t bear to be unplugged from the world, don’t bother. And if you are unwilling to jump feet first into the great unknown, go ahead and make boring, conventional flight and hotel reservations instead. Yes, the prospect of barreling across the highway in gusty winds and on wet treacherous mountain roads in a 10,000-pound home on wheels left me a little queasy. But if you make sure to pack some RV must-haves — sense of humor, spirit of adventure, industrial-strength rubber gloves, duct tape, extension cords, wrench, multi-tool, Petzl headlamps, tarp, S’mores ingredients, marshmallow roasting sticks, walkie-talkies, and Dramamine — you can live the RV dream. Experienced friends recommended we watch the movie “RV” before we started our trip. Aside from a few p.c. tirades against big corporations, it’s definitely good prep viewing.

RV rule of thumb: Things will go wrong. We tried to use the RV generator while off-site and somehow ended up setting off the propane gas detector, causing significant newbie panic. Also: One of the holding tank hoses got stuck during our first attempt to de-camp (which taught us the hard way to have a wrench at the ready). But as I said, RVers are immensely friendly and willing to lend a hand, tool, or tip. Attention to detail is key. Getting into a checklist routine before departing and upon arrival at your RV site will save a lot of grief. [...]

Follow the link for pics, embedded links and more.
     

Sarkosy Commits an August Vacation Sacrilege

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, with his son, on vacation in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. (photo by Reuters)

Nicer than Nice

[...] For the French establishment, steeped in reflexive anti-Americanism, Sarko’s summer vacation in America is the ugliest in a series of sad events. First the handshake with Bush, then the friendly election-eve speech, then jogging, and now this. If you’re a French élitist, about now is when you think you might as well teach the poodle to hunt.

This is about a vacation, so nobody — except of course Le Monde, which saw in the woods of New Hampshire hidden symbols linking Sarkozy to Bush — wants to over-think this. But if the secular calendar of the French state has one sacred spot, it’s the month of August, four 35-hour weeks all rolled into one giant entitlement, a holiday taken far more seriously in France than Easter or Christmas.

[...]

Why did he do it? As he explained to Libération, he had never had a chance to visit the USA when he was a kid because, in his family, “that wasn’t done.”

[...]

Sarkozy also offered another bizarre reason for visiting America: “I like it here,” he told astonished reporters. Outrageous. Most of official France is phoning in their contribution to the construction of this artificial press controversy, but Leftists are doing what they can to keep the flame of French indignation alive. Les Echos quotes an angry Socialist politician: Sarkozy, he said, seems to like “expensive and remote destinations.” [... ]

The exchange rate with France is very favorable to the French for vacations right now. Almost a million French tourists visit the US every year. Sarkosy is also visiting as the guest of friends.

But by spending part of his vacation in the US instead of France, Sarkosy is upsetting French Socialists? Awwww, poor babies. Maybe they get upset too easily?

New Hampshire is a lovely place to take a Vacation. How could anyone begrudge someone that? All the fuss sounds like Socialist Sour Grapes to me.

Related Link:

New Hampshire town welcomes Sarkozy’s vacation