Via Pleated Jeans

Happily, my last few big flights have been business class (which I’ve already enthused about), but who hasn’t been in this seat at least once? See also: the Travel Annoyance-Off.

I’m off to Texas to ring in the new year. Yee ha! Which got me thinking about this year that almost was no more.

I don’t like everything in the video below, but that’s okay. I absolutely love that image of his wife standing in front of the train at one minute in. And I think this Lonely Planet video seems like a nice coda for the last day of the year.

Here’s hoping for a beautiful, magical 2011, and to staying open to wherever it takes us.

I know this fantastic blog comparing Paris to New York has been flying around for a while now, but I will post again because it’s beyond accurate and the illustrations are completely awesome.

This seemed apropos for #TravelTuesday. Read the full blog post over at Todd’s Wanderings.

Copyright http://theoatmeal.com

The Oatmeal can be a little too South Park for me most of the time, but this comic from yesterday, “The crap we put up with getting on and off an airplane,” made me laugh out loud. It’s a visual representation of one of our most prevalent travel fails: Other passengers.

Report: 10 Million Killed Annually By Stepping Out Of Comfort Zones

WASHINGTON—A new report published this week by the Department of Health and Human Services revealed that more than 10 million Americans are violently killed each year while attempting to break away from their regular everyday routines and try something new. “We found that getting out of your comfort zone and facing your fears resulted in premature death nearly 78 percent of the time,” HHS researcher Madeline Hersh said. “People always ask themselves, ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ Well, according to our research, anything from being bitten by a poisonous snake to dying in a hot-air balloon crash can happen.” The report found that the safest individuals were those who surrendered to the soul-crushing monotony of habit and then convinced themselves that they had things pretty good.

This report is also dedicated to the two student-age dudes I saw on my last flight to Europe with their iPhones tucked into their neck pouches, causing their shirt to both bulge out awkwardly and poke them. For 10 hours. Europe is a scary place!  Good all those travel professionals gave them such sage advice.

It’s been a TGIF kind of week, which makes this cute, funny comic series about an international red eye that much better. (Via Abstract City Blog)

As Greece sifts through the wreckage wrought by its enormous public debt, which sent tremors through world finance in recent months, the Athens Games are once again unifying this nation—this time as a target of criticism. They cost an estimated $7.4 billion to $14 billion, minor in light of the more than $370 billion of public debt, but that hasn’t mitigated the resentment.

I’ve always been interested in the economics behind the Olympic games. Cities spend top dollar to pitch their destinations to the Olympic selection committee, but how does it pay back down the road? In the short term it boosts economies, but what about the long term?

China is experiencing an economic boom right now, but eventually its economy will dip. And as the article indicates, “Beijing still hasn’t figured out what to do with its massive stadium built for the Olympics, called the Bird’s Nest.”

I’ve been wondering about Vancouver. Lia and I love that city, but we’ve not been back since the winter Olympics. There was some coverage surrounding the homeless issue there, but what about the buildings built for the games that may now not be in use? Perhaps it’s not an issue, since so many of the events were in venues surrounding the city. Still, I’m looking forward to seeing how its changed, and the games’ overall impact.

I saw this piece on Dezeen today about a temporary structure made of materials from a London 2012 summer games construction site. I love the concept, and the design. Why don’t Olympic host cities do this all the time?

Now that would be innovative. And sustainable.

This one is a favorite, of two people catching a quick smooch, probably at a stop light:

I’m also fond of this photo, which shows a dad clearly gleeful about taking his kiddo for a ride in his bakfiets:

Just booked my final hotel for my upcoming trip to the Netherlands, and the hotel website lets visitors pre-book bikes. How great is that?

Check out the whole series.

Yep. What you are witnessing are people swimming in Phuket, Thailand with an elephant. They invited me to join them later. It was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. Here’s another one because, happy elephants frolicking in clean oceans = AWESOME.

And here are some photos of what appeared to be a thriving fishing community in Pengang, Malaysia. I feel so terrible for all those families along the Gulf Coast who have lost their livelihood because of BP’s incredible ineptitude.

I was struck by some of the most elementary of fishing techniques that were being used.

I donated to Oceana this week. They are just one of many important organizations doing vital work to help preserve and protect our world’s oceans. Heureux anniversaire, Jacques, and kudos to everyone else helping make our seas happy and healthy.