Janelle Nanos: December 2008 Archives

It's a quiet afternoon here in the office, so I offer up a happy-distraction: The latest, and by far greatest, of the Matt Harding "Dancing" travel videos. If you're not up to speed on Matt's Travels, here's a quick recap. Harding grows up in Connecticut playing video games. He catches the travel bug while living in Australia, and begins shooting a little video of him dancing a silly jig wherever he goes. He eventually strings the clips together and sets them to music, and the first video becomes an internet phenomenon. Stride gum catches on, and sends him around the world - again - to shoot another. By now he's become an international dancing sensation. But he realizes that throughout his travels, he's been dancing alone. So he convinces Stride to foot the bill for another trip, only this time he reaches out to his many fans and invites them to dance alongside. The result is, quite simply, beautiful.

It's this video that the New York Times called "an almost perfect piece of Internet art: it's short, pleasingly weird and so minimal in its content that it's open to a multitude of interpretations. It could be a little commercial for one-world feel-goodism." And last week World Hum named Harding their Traveler of the Year, calling the video "simple yet deeply touching...If there exists on YouTube a more powerful invocation to travel, and to reach out to others and make friends along the way, we haven't seen it."

Like I said, a happy distraction. Try not to get inspired, or misty-eyed even while watching.

Via World Hum | Video

A few weeks ago, I took my own advice and headed north to make the most of Baltimore's dollar museum days. My boyfriend is a sucker for sea turtles, and we figured we were long overdue for a trip to the amazing aquarium. But as it turned out, everyone else in town had the same idea, and all of the tickets were sold out by noon. So, with our original itinerary thwarted, we set out to explore the city without a predefined plan (though admittedly, this time, having the iPhone helped). As we tried to convince ourselves that deserving children were probably enjoying the turtles in our place, we circled the harbor and decided to instead explore the American Visionary Art Museum. What a treat. I've seen fish, but this, this was incredible.

The museum is an amalgam of works done by untrained artists, described simply by the museum literature as "entirely spontaneous and individualized... like love, you know it when you see it." And indeed, I was in love the moment I walked through the doors. Perhaps it's because when you go to a museum, you can typically predict what you'll see inside just by reading the name on the building. But here, you have no idea. In the current exhibit, "The Marriage of Art, Science and Philosophy," there was a collection of Bic pen drawings of sci-fi fantasy scenes, a gallery of tiny sculptures carved from the lead of pencils, and a series of gloriously funny quilted pieces by artist Chris Roberts-Antieau, whose works include "The Nine Wonders of the World, The 21st Century Edition," (highlights: rolling luggage, hair plugs, and Ziploc bags). There's also an outdoor warehouse which holds a series of entries in the museum's annual Kinetic Sculpture Race, and a sampling of screen paintings, which are a Baltimore tradition. If you're anywhere near Charm City, you should go. Go.

And what to eat while you're there? Find out after the jump.

Just out in Traveler's January/February issue: the results of the Traveler "World in Focus" photo contest. The Grand Prize winner, "Behold," was taken by Geoff Pingree of Oberlin, Ohio. Pingree, a professor of Cinema Studies and English at Oberlin College, took this photograph at Madrid's Prado Museum, which was staging theatrical performances inspired by masterworks by Spanish artists. "The photo shows performers playing Spanish King Philip IV and his second wife, Mariana of Austria," he said.

Pingree won a 15-day trip for two to Antarctica aboard the National Geographic Endeavor; our other prize winners snagged a 5-day trip for two to The Cliffs Preserve in Patagonia, Chile, a 7-day photo workshop in Oaxaca, and great photo equipment from Nikon. Again this year, Traveler partnered with Photo District News on the ultimate travel-photo contest. More than 4,000 amateur shutterbugs entered 14,647 images in our World in Focus competition.

If you want to improve your photo skills in time for next year's contest, check out the upcoming Traveler Photo Seminars with some of National Geographic's top photographers. For example, Ralph Lee Hopkins and Bob Krist will be divulging their secrets to making great portraits, landscapes and festival photos, as well as incorporating audio in your slide shows, in a seminar called "The Versatile Travel Photographer" in January and February taking place in DC, LA, Chicago and Kansas City. (Hint: getting the shutterbug in your life tickets to a session is a great holiday gift).

Even professional photographers who attend these seminars say they learn something new each time. Here's a short video excerpt from one of last year's seminars with NG photographers Jim Richardson and Catherine Karnow, who teach a seminar called "A Passion for Travel: Photos That Tell the Story."

Photo by Geoff Pingree, National Geographic Traveler World in Focus Photo Contest Winner

Sometimes, I think I've become almost too reliant on Google Maps to help me find my way. Last weekend, I was out with a friend trying to get to Mount Vernon to see the holiday decorations at George Washington's home. We plugged the place name into my friend's iPhone and started driving, and it wasn't until we pulled up to the Pirates Cove Waterpark (closed for the season) that we realized we'd been Googleduped (a phrase I'm coining here, for lack of better options).

So I was tickled when I came across the Street with a View project, a collection of folks in Pittsburgh who teamed up with the Google Maps Street Team to present a more interesting glimpse into the lives of some city residents who live, work, and play along one alleyway. Spearheaded by two art school grads of Carnegie Mellon University, Ben Kinsley and Robin Hewlett, and taking a page from the Improv Everywhere gang, the group staged a marathon, a parade, a mad-scientists laboratory, and a sword fight all along the route. The Google Maps crew captured their antics as they drove down the street, and the results can now be found on the actual Street View of Sampsonia Way.

I think it's brilliant, and a fun way to inject some personality into the Google Maps experience. If there had been an actual pirate waiting for me at Pirates Cove, I would not have been nearly as upset at being Googleduped.

Have you been Googleduped? Tell us about it in the comments below.

We love food. And we know that you love food too - as frankly, it's a huge part of the travel experience. So we here at Intelligent Travel decided to pair up with National Geographic Foods of the World to introduce the first ever Foodie Challenge. And we're pretty darn excited about it.

Here's the deal: Add your favorite food photo from your travels to our Flickr pool, and be sure to include the story that went with it in the details. Then tag your photos NGTFC. We'll be accepting photos added today through Friday, December, 12. Then we'll have our expert panel of judges (namely, us) go through the photos and decide on the winners. But we're going to ask our readers for assistance (more on that soon), so if you want to help your cause, be sure to tell your friends about the challenge. And since no challenge is any fun without prizes, we've got that too. Find out what we're giving away after the jump (hint: it involves chocolate).

A quick list of what's cropping up on our radar this week.

Is it an art project or new national park? You be the judge. Brand Avenue has a interesting piece on the "Islands of LA National Park" project.

Dying for inauguration news? The Washington Post has launched the Inauguration Watch blog, tracking all the planning updates and included very cute profiles of people coming into town. We want to hang out with this adorable family.

IHT's Globespotter's blog has the details on how to avoid getting stuck in dreadful lines while checking out the trio of "Picasso and the Masters" exhibits at the Grand Palais, Musée d'Orsay, and The Louvre.

Our friend (and former intern) Emily Haile has the details on The Floating Dutchman, a new boat tour that Amsterdam's Shipol Airport will begin offering passengers with a five hour layover (or longer) in early next year.

Gadling has an inspiring video about a woman born without arms, who can fly a plane with her feet.

What's on your radar? Let us know in the comments below.

Just a reminder folks, we're currently collecting reader photographs for our first user-generated photo gallery, and we're looking for great shots of Washington D.C. So if you haven't done so already, make sure to join our Flickr pool and add your classic D.C. shots to the mix. Be sure to label them clearly, and add the tag NGTDC. We've already got a great collection cropping up in our pool, thanks to the good people at DCist, who helped promote the gallery. Those selected for the gallery will get a free subscription to Traveler mag. 

Got plans for this weekend? Got a dollar? Well now you've got some.

Baltimore is hosting Downtown Dollar or Less Days on December 6 and 7, meaning that all you need is a buck to get into some of the city's most popular attractions, like the National Aquarium, the Port Discovery Children's Museum, and the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards.

With 20 attractions participating in all, it's also a great chance to explore some of the lesser-know gems, like the National Museum of Dentistry at the University of Maryland Baltimore, which has George Washington's famous teeth on display. (Which, we might add, were not actually made of wood, but ivory from hippos and elephants.)

Visit the Downtown Partnership site for more information about the weekend's cheap tickets and a list of all the participating museums.

Image: Downtown Partnership

Those of you who subscribe to our RSS feed or get your daily dose of Intelligent Travel delivered in your inbox already know plenty about what's happening here at National Geographic Traveler. (What? you haven't subscribed to our RSS feed? Or to the email option? Well we recommend you do so by clicking either the link to the left, or putting in your address in the box below, and quickly.) But are you aware of the other blogtastic offerings around the Society? No? Well we're here to help.

David Braun at the Nat Geo News Watch blog has a great review of the "kaleidoscope of fantastic shapes and colors that photographer Jon Ortner has captured in his newest book, "Canyon Wilderness of the Southwest.""

National Geographic Adventure's Costas Christ decodes the eco-lexicon jungle, distinguishing between ecotourism, geotourism, and responsible travel.

Our friends over at the National Geographic Maps Contours blog have a video tour of the extremely cool new National Geographic Store, which just opened in London.

And National Geographic Magazine's Pop Omnivore blog looks at the new film Austraila, and has this to say: "Every possible cliché about the Land Down Under loads it with dead weight. It's Crocodile Dundee and Rabbit Proof Fence with a dash of Gone with the Wind." Ouch.

Photo: Jon Ortner's Southwest photography, via Nat Geo News Watch.

The article in our current issue about Washington County, New York, aka "The Place Nobody Knows," was apparently the "talk of the Cambridge market last Sunday," according to more than a few local residents who emailed us this week. Here's a sample of what, exactly, they've been talking about.

"There is much more to Washington County than toothless farmers and gossiping in the general store and post office," wrote Bob Nopper, a potter, artist and garlic farmer who lives in the region. "Here in our towns we rally together to take care of people diagnosed with cancer, look for missing children, create art, have a Fourth of July parade, farm vegetables, herbs, and livestock, make hay, spin yarn, bake bread, hunt, fish, work, teach and play.  Our hills and valleys are home to famous writers, actors, award winning filmmakers, journalists, artists, sculptors, educators, gourmet food producers, architects, in addition to the farmers, plumbers, electricians, small business owners, and others who work in our community. We are snug between the tourist areas of Vermont and Saratoga Springs. There is some drive-through traffic which helps our economy, in the antique shops, galleries, farm stands and local food establishments."
 
Nopper acknowledged that perhaps our writer, Barbara Lazear Ascher, couldn't include all the cultural touchpoints in the region, so he offered a few standouts: "In Salem we offer the Historic Salem Courthouse, which is a community center, The Artisan's Guild (which Nopper oversees), Steininger's Restaurant and Homemade Chocolates, Salem Artworks, McCartee's Barn, Gardenworks, Proudfit Hall, the Revolutionary War Cemetery, the recently renovated Fort Salem Theatre and Cabaret."

We're gearing up here for the holidays at IT (more on that coming very soon), so we jumped at the chance to participate in a great online effort to help support Heifer International. A network of travel blogs has banded together to raise money for the cause in the Passports With Purpose Fundraising Raffle. Bloggers Pam Mandel of Nerd's Eye View, Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby, Beth Whitman of Wanderlust and Lipstick, and Michelle Duffy of WanderMom have been extremely busy putting it all together, and the entire travel blog community has come forward to offer prizes that you can win with the purchase of an online raffle ticket. And these are seriously some AMAZING PRIZES! So here's how you can enter:

1. Check out the prizes and find the one you want. The list is here. Take note - there's a code for each prize - scribble down the code for the prize you want to win.
2. Go to the Passports with Purpose First Giving page. For each 10 dollar donation you make, you'll be entered into the raffle for the prize of your choice. Be sure to enter the prize code in the comments field on the form. And please, don't hide your email. We won't share it, but we do need to see it to tell you if you've won.
3. Tell all your friends. Lather, rinse, repeat.
4. Cross your fingers and wait. We'll pull winners on the 30th of December.

Oh, and yes, you'll get a receipt for you donation from First Giving and hey, if you work somewhere that does matching, please provide that information when you make your donation. It helps.

There's more incredible stuff, from a three-night stay in Hawaii, luggage, gadgets that are good for travel, a fabulous selection of jackets and other clothes, lots of quality kid stuff, piles of great CDs, and we should note, a copy of the brand-new National Geographic Sacred Places of a Lifetime, edited, and signed, by our own editor in chief Keith Bellows.

For a ten dollar donation, some of it could be yours. Go get some. And give some. Here.

In response to our recent post about holiday hotel deals in the Big Apple, reader Amy wrote asking what to do when she gets there:

I will be going to NYC on 12/13. My daughters and I plan to do very touristy things, but I would also love to catch a holiday concert. I'm thinking of small choral groups or instrumental ensembles in smaller venues (not Carnegie Hall-style). Are there any recommendations on where I can find this information?

So we asked associate editor Susan O'Keefe to go to her sources, and she found two great spots... find them after the jump.