Random Acts of Canine Kindness

Cedric the Dog takes a well-deserved break after an ill-fated attempt to shut down a white supremacist rally in Idaho.

You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog. – Harry S. Truman

On the Beach at Fontana

by James Joyce

Wind whines and whines the shingle,
The crazy pierstakes groan;
A senile sea numbers each single
Slimesilvered stone.

From whining wind and colder
Grey sea I wrap him warm
And touch his trembling fineboned shoulder
And boyish arm.

Around us fear, descending
Darkness of fear above
And in my heart how deep unending
Ache of love.

Send Deb your favorite travel poems

JetBlue Passengers Will Be Able to Take an At-Home COVID-19 Test

No nasal swab required

Written by Stefanie Waldek, Courtesy of JetBlue

With COVID-19 testing restrictions impeding both domestic and international travel, JetBlue is providing its passengers an option that might help them travel more freely. The airline has announced a partnership with Vault Health to provide its passengers with easy access to an at-home COVID-19 test that could be used to enter specific destinations with coronavirus testing policies in place.

10 Domestic Tours for 2021!

Courtesy Austin Adventures

Here is a countdown of our top 10 domestic tours for 2021!

10. North Carolina – The High Country
No need to fly to Europe to experience European history and culture. North Carolina is abundant in early American history interwoven with French, British, and Spanish notes. While you may feel the remnants of the past in its beauty, you’re sure to be reminded of its American present as you watch a bald eagle soar above the Catawba River winding through the Blue Ridge Mountains. Adventure travel through the landscape on foot, kayak, or zipline and then refuel yourself with the American tradition of Carolina BBQ!

National Anthems With Surprising Origins

More than any other song, a national anthem needs to hit all the right notes. While the melodies may range from triumphant marches to traditional hymns, the lyrics should be uplifting, with words that convey patriotism and pride. Most citizens can sing along to their country’s national anthem at parades and sporting events, but the story behind each song is often lesser-known. From nationwide contests to government petitions, the origins of these five national anthems probably aren’t what you’d expect.

“Negaraku” (Malaysia)

4 Ways to Protect Yourself from Disinformation

Courtesy Elizabeth Stoycheff

Even the most well-intentioned news consumers can find today’s avalanche of political information difficult to navigate. With so much news available, many people consume media in an automatic, unconscious state – similar to knowing you drove home but not being able to recall the trip.

Coronavirus and COVID-19

How can we be more direct in battling this national crisis? America is facing an unprecedented medical crisis. Throughout this challenging time, your health and safety remain our top priority. Protect yourself and your loved ones with the help of this important information on COVID-19. Together, we can keep our communities healthy and strong.

Tom Hanks Has ‘No Respect’ for People that Don’t Wear Masks

Tom Hanks has “no respect” for people that don’t wear masks during the coronavirus pandemic, he told the Associated Press. Though the CDC recommends all Americans wear masks in public, many people refuse to use face coverings. I don’t get it. I simply do not get it. It is literally the least you can do, Hanks said. If you can’t wear a mask and wash your hands and social distance, I got no respect for you, man. Hanks recently on CNN compared C-19 with WWII: Do your part, we’re all in this together!

Racism by Scott Woods

“The problem is that white people see racism as conscious hate, when racism is bigger than that. Racism is a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of whites at other people’s expense, whether whites know/like it or not. Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you…”

Corona Virus Travel Updates – Live Blog

Courtesy Big 7 Travel Team

As the coronavirus situation is ongoing, we will be updating this live blog with current travel advice, quarantines, flight cancellations and travel industry news. Check back daily for new updates and send any coronavirus travel news tips to 

sa***@bi***********.com

How to Take Your Own Passport Photo

Courtesy, Caroline Morse Teel, SmarterTravel

After paying $15 to have an awkward photoshoot in the aisle of a CVS, only to have my passport photos rejected twice (once for being too dark and once for being too bright), I decided there had to be a better way to take your own passport photo. Turns out, snapping your own passport photo is easier, cheaper, and much more convenient than going to a “professional” (a.k.a., the cashier at your local drugstore). Here’s a few tips:

New TSA Rules

As travelers return to airports, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced new rules and precautions to reduce the spread of coronavirus or any kind of germs amongst travelers and employees.

Dream-Worthy Destinations to Start Planning For

The Royal Mansour Marrakech in Morocco is on travel writer Angelina Villa-Clarke’s list of places to stay soon after travel restrictions are lifted. She also has her sights on AlmaLusa Baixa/Chiado, a 28-room townhouse hotel in Lisbon, Portugal, as well as a few other destinations.

Exploring These Lost Cities Is The Closest You’ll Get to Time Travel

Lost cities offer glimpses into ancient civilizations that, either suddenly or over time, collapsed, often leaving artifacts intact and architecture fully preserved. Machu Pichuu might be the most famous, and we have yet to discover Atlantis, but the cities below are rife for discovery. You’ll find accessible ruins to easily place on your bucket list and kingdoms so lost and isolated you never knew they existed. Some were decimated by disaster, others simply faded away. But all are worthy of exploring once our civilization’s gears turn back on.

Working Remotely? This Webinar is for You

Whether you work remotely 100% of the time or find yourself navigating this situation for the very first time, working at a physical distance can pose a unique set of challenges. Slack is here to help. This 30-minute webinar will provide tips and tactics within Slack that you can put into action right away.

How to Redesign Government Work for the Future

In this article, Deloitte explores the opportunity for government orgs to intentionally redesign work to both accommodate the role of technology and machines, and to design for new needs and activities, including those resulting from broader economic, workforce, and societal shifts.

JetBlue CEO Anticipates Improvements to Make Travel Safer

In an interview with CNBC, JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said widespread testing will be essential to make passengers feel secure and allow air travel to recover from the coronavirus crisis. “We’ve got to make sure that they’re safe from a health standpoint,” he said, predicting that the epidemic will result in permanent changes in cleaning and screening procedures that will make aircraft and airports safer.

Together in Spirit – The Best Friends Animal Society

At the core of Best Friends Animal Society’s work is the dream that one day animals will no longer be killed in America’s shelters.

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Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) set to open October 31.

German capital will finally have a large, unified and modern airport.

Germany’s third largest airport, Berlin Brandenburg “Willy Brandt” airport BER, is scheduled to open on 31 October 2020. IATA code for the entire airport location will change to BER with the start of the 2020/2021 winter schedule. Schӧnefeld SXF becomes BER.

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New Booking.com Data Shows How Americans Traveled This Summer

Spoiler: We stayed a lot closer to home

Written by Patrice J. Williams, Booking.com

Summer tends to be a heavy travel season for most, but not surprisingly, 2020 was a big exception. New data from Booking.com reveals exactly how the global pandemic affected Americans’ travel plans.

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Meet the 18-Year-Old Championing Indigenous Rights in Alaska

By Maia Wikler, YES! Magazine

Quannah Chasinghorse is continuing the legacy of Gwich’in women working to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

“Did someone lose their dog?” Quannah Chasinghorse jokes, pointing at a large moose in her neighbor’s snow-covered yard. At -40 degrees Fahrenheit, it is a typical winter’s day in Fairbanks, Alaska. Chasinghorse, an 18-year-old Han Gwich’in and Oglala Lakota youth, is curled up on the couch, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the slogan “Protect the Arctic, Defend the Sacred.”

It is a rare moment of rest for Chasinghorse. In the past year, she has traveled coast to coast, advocating to protect her homelands from the desecration of oil drilling, with her mother, Jody Potts, who is Han Gwich’in and a tribal member of the Native Village of Eagle. Her mother also serves as the regional director for Native Movement and is a board member with the Alaska Wilderness League. This mother-daughter duo represents the decadeslong fight to protect their state’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

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Postal Service Workforce, Flattened by the Pandemic, Quietly Resists DeJoy’s Changes

By Antonia Noori Farzan, Jennifer Hassan, Brittany Shammas, Miriam Berger, Lateshia Beachum and Kim Bellware, The Washington Post

This autumn, as controversial new procedures at the U.S. Postal Service snarled the nation’s mail delivery and stirred fears of how the agency would handle the election, rank-and-file workers quietly began to resist.

Mechanics in New York drew out the dismantling and removal of mail-sorting machines until their supervisor gave up on the order. In Michigan, a group of letter carriers did an end run around a supervisor’s directive to leave election mail behind, starting their routes late to sift through it. In Ohio, postal clerks culled prescriptions and benefit checks from bins of stalled mail to make sure they were delivered, while some carriers ran late items out on their own time. In Pennsylvania, some postal workers looked for any excuse — a missed turn, heavy traffic, a rowdy dog — to buy enough time to finish their daily rounds.

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Covid-19 Direct Relief

And remember Covid-19 Direct Relief, who addresses the courage of health workers on the front lines, honoring them with meaningful support, and the people most at risk in this pandemic are cared for — regardless of politics, religion, or ability to pay.

DONATE to DIRECT RELIEF

Bruce Springsteen  to Donald Trump: Put on a F***ing Mask

Bruce Springsteen has criticized Donald Trump‘s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, telling the US president: Put on a f***ing mask.  With Americans dying over the last few months and the empty, shamed response from our leaders, I’ve been simply pissed off, he said. Those lives deserve better than being simply inconvenient statistics for our president’s re-election efforts. It’s a national disgrace.

He continued: Instead of celebrating the joys of summer today, we will be contemplating our current circumstances with the coronavirus and the cost it has drawn from our nation. We will be calculating what we’ve lost, sending prayers for the deceased and the families they have left behind.

Although the coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 140,000 people in the US, Trump has often refused to wear a protective face mask during public appearances, which sends a polarizing message to a nation, desperately in need of some cohesive form of leadership. Today our Executive Office boasts of saving millions of lives, but if the White House had not been so dismissive at the first outbreak of C-19, our statistics of those infected would have flattened like the E.U.

Springsteen dedicated a song to Trump on his radio broadcast, saying: If you are ready for a rock & roll requiem, stay tuned. I’m going to start out by sending one to the man sitting behind the resolute desk. With all respect, sir, show some consideration and care for your countrymen and your country, he added. Put on a f***ing mask.

United States Not on EU’s ‘Safe’ Travel list, Diplomats Say

Courtesy Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS, June 30 (Reuters) – The United States is not on a “safe list” of destinations for non-essential travel due to be unveiled by European Union governments later on Tuesday, three diplomats said.

The 27-member bloc is expected to give outline approval to leisure or business travel from Wednesday to 14 countries beyond its borders when they vote on the list by midday Brussels time (1000 GMT), the diplomats said.

The countries are Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay, they said.

Russia and Brazil, along with the United States, are among countries that do not make the initial “safe list.”

Take These Steps If You’re Renting a Vacation Home During the Pandemic

Courtesy of Consumer Reports

Traveling this summer has risks. Here’s how to vacation responsibly and minimize your exposure to the coronavirus. Summer is almost upon us. But while the heat and humidity will be familiar, “this is going to be a very different type of summer,” says Amira Roess, Ph.D., M.P.H., a professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. The country may be reopening, but the risk of COVID-19 remains. Until a vaccine is developed, this is a reality Americans will “have to contend with every time they step outside,” says Amesh Adalja, M.D., an infectious disease physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Maintaining Tourist Sites During COVID-19

Courtesy of Smithsonian

READ HERE

How to Stay Safe While Traveling

With travel set to resume as coronavirus restrictions ease, travelers should inform themselves about the cleaning procedures at hotels and Airbnb properties before choosing the best option for them. Ask about cleaning protocols, be on the lookout for red flags such as accumulations of dirt and grime, and inspect surfaces in the bathroom and kitchen, recommends Brian Sansoni of the American Cleaning Institute.

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Exploring Japan’s Wellbeing Traditions to Inspire Post-Lockdown Restorative Travel

Recreate Japan’s onsens, find mindfulness through zen meditation and shakyo, and practice the technique of kintsugi from home

For would-be travelers dreaming of an escape to Japan post-lockdown, there are a variety of fun, interactive ways to recreate some of the country’s ancient wellbeing and mindfulness practices from afar. The below methods and products highlight how some of Japan’s oldest traditions, from onsens to the art of kintsugi, will help to inspire travelers to start planning their next restorative journey to Japan.

One of Japan’s most iconic wellness attractions, the onsen (or hot spring), is naturally enriched with vitamins and minerals from subterranean volcanic activity beneath the archipelago. There are a variety of products travelers can buy to enhance their own Japanese-style bath at home; the Japanese brand Kracie has created a variety of bath salts, allowing people to bring the magic of the onsen into their homes.

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Businesses Prepare to Reopen with New Methods of Liability Waiver Collection

Handshakes, hugs and sharing pens and pencils may become things of the past. Physical contact with anyone or anything can now set off alarm bells.

COVID-19 is changing the world of customer relations, from contactless point-of-sale purchases to online ordering. WaiverSign, a digital liability waiver application, is helping companies get liability waivers signed electronically, eliminating the need to pass pens, paper, clipboards and keypads back and forth.

As officials like to say, “statistics don’t lie.” New sales figures are up 121% in April 2020 compared to April 2019, say officials from WaiverSign.

“Utilizing WaiverSign is yet another tool for companies preparing to welcome patrons as virus-driven lockdowns begin to lift,” said Brandon Lake, CEO of Resmark Systems and WaiverSign. “In addition to getting waivers signed without the use of paper and pens, many companies are now seeing the myriad of other benefits that come with collecting and storing liability waivers online.”

WaiverSign, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, also anticipates signing on new clients who choose to augment and fine-tune their risk management plans by implementing waivers and related documents to ensure that participants understand and accept the inherent risks of COVID-19 and other illnesses.

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5 Ways to Support Small Businesses from Home During the Pandemic

Courtesy Caroline Morse Teel, SmarterTravel

Small businesses are really hurting during this time of isolation. Here are five simple and safe ways you can help support them so that they’ll still be there for you when the pandemic is over. (And remember — the best way you can help small business is by staying home, so that we can end this isolation period faster.)

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Being on the ground in over 180 countries means you get the full story.

The post Alaska Indigenous Rights, At-Home COVID-19 Test appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The members huddled around their laptops in the 17 rounds of voting. Points were given to songs on a sliding scale of ten, with extra points for songs appearing on multiple lists. Was it scientific? Not one bit. –  T-Boy Society of Film & Music

1. The Long and Winding Road – The Beatles

From the Album: Let It Be
B Side: For You Blue
Released: May 1970
Recorded: January 1969 and April 1970
Studio: Apple and EMI, London
Label: Apple
Songwriters: John Lennon – Paul McCartney
Producer: Phil Spector

The Long and Winding Road was initially recorded (and filmed) for the Beatles’ 1969 Let It Be sessions. The album was finished, but record producer Phil Spector, known for his Wall Of Sound, was called in by Lennon to tidy up some of the tracks. And tidy he did:  overdubbing the song with eight violins, four violas, four cellos, three trumpets, three trombones, two guitars, and a choir of 14 women. McCartney was appalled by the version  and protested in vain. Never-the-less, The Long and Winding Road became the Beatles 20th and last US #1 song on June 13, 1970.

After much legal jousting, a new version of the song with simpler instrumentation was subsequently released by McCartney and the remaining Beatles in 2003 on the LP, Let It Be… Naked.

2. Take it Easy – The Eagles

From the Album: Eagles
B Side: Get You in the Mood
Released: May 1, 1972
Studio: Olympic Sound Studios, London
Label: Asylum
Songwriters: Jackson Browne, Glenn Frey
Producer: Glyn Johns

The Eagles’ co-founder Glenn Frey, and fellow country-folk rocker Jackson Browne, had once lived in the same apartment building in Santa Monica, CA. Frey recalled having heard an incomplete version of a song which Browne was having difficulties finishing. Frey asked if he could work with him on the song, resulting in the 1971 song, Take It Easy. The song became the first track on the Eagles’ self-titled debut album and was released as their first single, which propelled them to stardom. Browne also recorded his version of Take It Easy on his second LP, 1973’s For Everyman.

3. Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen

From the Album: Born to Run
Released: August 25, 1975
Recorded: July 16, 1975 (completed) at the Record Plant, New York City
Label: Columbia
Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen
Producers: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Mike Appel

Bruce Springsteen said he envisioned the LP Born to Run as a series of vignettes, following its character throughout the day, with Thunder Road serving as an “invitation” to the album and opening with a harmonica that suggests the beginning of a “new day.” In 1975, music critic Jon Landau joined the album’s production team, marking the start of a life-long professional relationship with  Springsteen. Current manager Mike Appel fiercely resented Landau’s influence. Springsteen had grown tired of Appel’s dictatorial control, and sought to replace him with Landau. Appel filed a lawsuit that kept Springsteen from recording for three years. The lawsuit was eventually settled, but it was a frustrating period for Springsteen and his fans with the lack of new recordings.

4. America – Simon & Garfunkel

From the Album: Bookends
Released: April 3, 1968
Recorded: February 1, 1968 at Columbia Studio A, New York City
Studio: Columbia Studio A, New York City
Label: Columbia
Songwriter: Paul Simon
Producer: Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee

America is a track from Simon & Garfunkel’s fourth studio album, 1968’s Bookends, which is influenced by the Beatles’ stunning innovations in the studio. The song was composed by Paul Simon, and concerns young lovers hitchhiking their way across the United States, in search of “America,” in both a literal and figurative sense. It was inspired by a 1964 road trip that Simon took with his then girlfriend Kathy Chitty. The song is regarded as one of Simon’s strongest songwriting efforts and one of the duo’s best songs.

5. King of the Road – Roger Miller

From the Album: The Return of Roger Miller
B Side: Atta Boy Girl
Released: January 1965
Recorded: November 1964
Label: Smash
Songwriter: Roger Miller
Producer: Jerry Kennedy

Roger Miller was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country and pop hits from the mid-1960s Nashville sound era. King of the Road is a song written and originally recorded in November 1964. The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a vagabond who, despite being poor, revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously or cynically as the king of the road.

6. Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen

From the Album: Born to Run
B Side: Meeting Across the River
Released: August 25, 1975
Recorded: January 8, 1974 (first take); May 21, 1974 (first demo); August 6, 1974
Studio: 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, New York
Label: Columbia
Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen
Producer: Bruce Springsteen, Mike Appel, Jon Landau

Born to Run was Bruce Springsteen’s first worldwide album release, and the title song of his album, Born to Run. In late 1973, on the road in Tennessee, Springsteen awoke with the title Born to Run in his head. Written in the first person, the song is a love letter to a girl named Wendy, for whom the hot rod-riding protagonist seems to love. However, Springsteen has noted that the song has a much simpler core: getting out of Freehold, New Jersey. U.S. Route 9 is a highway passing through Freehold.

7. Hit the Road, Jack – Ray Charles

B Side: The Danger Zone
Released: June 1961
Label: ABC-Paramount
Songwriter: Percy Mayfield

Ray Charles Robinson pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into his songs. His innovations continued during the 1960s with  the integration of country music, rhythm and blues and pop music, leading to crossover success. Hit the Road, Jack is a song written by Percy Mayfield and first recorded in 1960 as an a cappella demo sent to Art Rupe. It became famous after it was recorded by Ray Charles with The Raelettes’ vocalist Margie Hendrix, and eventually became one of his signature songs. Hit the road is an idiom: A person could say, Everyone into the car; let’s hit the road!

8. Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver

Released: April 12, 1971
Recorded: January 1971, New York City
Label: RCA
Songwriters: Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, John Denver
Producer: Milton Okun, Susan Ruskin

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., known professionally as John Denver, was a singer-songwriter, actor, activist and humanitarian. In 1970, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert co-wrote a song called I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado, which they recommended to Colorado transplant, John Denver. Denver chimed in as the third writer, and the result was Take Me Home, Country Roads. Danoff had never been to West Virginia before co-writing the song, with its inspiration stemming from a drive to Montgomery County, Maryland. He considered using Massachusetts rather than West Virginia as both four-syllable names would have fit the song’s meter. Take Me Home, Country Roads is now the official state song of West Virginia.

9. Refuge of the Roads – Joni Mitchell

From the Album: Hejira
Released: November 1976
Recorded: 1976
Studio: A&M Studios, Hollywood
Label: Asylum
Songwriter: Joni Mitchell
Producer: Joni Mitchell

Refuge of the Roads was written about a three-day visit that Joni Mitchell had made to the controversial Buddhist meditation master Chögyam Trungpa in Colorado on her way to Los Angeles. According to Mitchell, it was during this visit in early 1976 that Trungpa cured her of her own cocaine addiction. She would later say that this track was one of her own favorite songs, partially due to her collaboration with jazz virtuoso bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius. Refuge of the Roads closes the album Hejira, whose experimental sound is still considered ahead of its time today.

10. Sweet Baby James – James Taylor

Released: February 1970
Recorded: December 1969
Studio: Sunset Sound, Los Angeles
Label: Warner Bros.
Songwriter: James Taylor
Producer: Peter Asher

Sweet Baby James is a song written and recorded by James Taylor that serves as the opening and title track from his 1970 breakthrough album, Sweet Baby James. It is one of his best-known and most popular tunes, considered a classic and his own favorite of his songs. It was written by Taylor for the son of his older musician brother, Alex, who was named James after him  The song is composed as a waltz, in 3/4 time, a cross between a cowboy song and a lullaby, conceived by Taylor as he was driving through North Carolina to meet his  infant nephew for the first time.

The post The T-Boy Society of Film & Music’s Top 20 Songs of the Road appeared first on Traveling Archive.