Readers’ Ideas for Finding Community and Cheer at Home

Courtesy The New York Times

As much of the world adjusts to a new normal of restricted living, our readers share tips for finding everyday joys.

Many of us are now entering the second, third or fourth week of restrictions on our movements, and it is becoming ever clearer that overcoming this crisis will be a marathon, not a sprint. As we all collectively adjust to our unique situations, we asked New York Times readers to share their ideas for pursuing the traveler’s spirit of discovery, curiosity and delight within their new limitations at home. Following are their responses, which have been edited for clarity and length.

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US State Department Suspending Expedited Passport Services

Here is what the US State Department just sent out regarding the expedited passport program (this is for both the Passport Agencies – find out about them here –  and expedited passport processing from regular application points) bolding mine:

Due to public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, some passport application acceptance facilities, which include libraries, clerks of court, and post offices may not be accepting U.S. passport applications at this time. If you need to apply in person for your U.S. passport, please contact the facility directly to confirm if they are accepting applications.

Ten Trends That Will Shape Science in the 2020s

Medicine gets trippy, solar takes over, and humanity — finally, maybe — goes back to the moon

Courtesy  Katherine J. Wu , Rachael Lallensack

When the 2010s began, private spaceflight had barely gotten off the ground, Google was rolling out early personalized search results and CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology was still in its infancy. By decade’s end, artificial intelligence had trounced people at a bevy of board games, SpaceX had become a household name and genetically modified human embryos became a controversial reality.

Clearly, a lot can happen in a decade — but innovation has to start somewhere. Based on what’s breaking through now, here are some trends that have the potential to shape the 2020s.

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How New York Made Frank Lloyd Wright a Starchitect

The Wisconsin-born architect’s buildings helped turn the city he once called an ‘inglorious mantrap’ into the center of the world

Courtesy Anthony Alofsin, Zócalo Public Square

The Guggenheim Museum in New York City is architecture as sculpture — a smooth, creamy-colored, curved form that deliberately defies its square, gray urban context, and succeeds by harnessing the pure abstraction of modernism to the archaic form of the spiral. It proclaims the authority of the architect. It says to the public: It’s my art. Learn to live with it. It stands alone as the built confirmation of the architect’s supremacy as artist.

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Johnny Cash’s 11 Coolest Cover Songs

From Soundgarden howlers to U2 ballads, Rolling Stone Country counts down 11 of the Man in Black’s most badass covers

Courtesy Joseph Hudak, Senior Editor, Rolling Stone Country

Johnny Cash is arguably country music’s most cited influence by younger artists, but Cash wasn’t above being influenced himself. He was forever a student of music, always listening for songs that moved him, be they country or otherwise. Cash would even record his own versions of the songs, from the country-rock of the Stones‘ “No Expectations” to the poignant coda of Nine Inch Nails‘ “Hurt.”

Here are the Man in Black’s 11 coolest covers.

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Koreatown Company Clones Dogs, Cats, Horses For Pet Owners Who Don’t Want To Let Go

A Koreatown-based company in Los Angeles is giving pet lovers a second chance with Fido.For pet owners who just aren’t ready to let go, ViaGen can provide an invaluable service by cloning a beloved dog, cat, or even horse. The cloned pet will share the same genetic identity and attributes as its donor. “They have the same personality, they play the same, they favor the same toys,” said Alicia Tschirhart, who decided to clone her cherished pup. Her husband David described ViaGen’s service as the same technology that cloned Dolly the Sheep in 2003. ViaGen’s website lists the cost at $50,000, but the Tschirharts say it was worth every penny.

Russia Isn’t Dividing Us — Our Leaders Are

Courtesy Matt Taibbi

A last-ditch effort to derail the Sanders campaign fails as voters finally reject the Russia con.

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What Are the Best (and Worst) Live Albums of All Time?

Courtesy Brian Hiatt

A new Rolling Stone Now podcast episode discusses the history of live albums, and the making of the Who’s ‘Live at Leeds’

LISTEN HERE

Europe Passport Requirements: What You Need to Know Before Travel

Courtesy Kate H. Knapp, SmarterTravel:

ka********@gm***.com

Europe is a prime travel destination with 50 incredible countries to visit. It’s important to know what travel documents may be required before you go, however. Each country in Europe has different passport requirements to enter, but all require a valid U.S. passport when arriving from an international destination. Europe passport requirements allow that once you arrive, you can travel between certain countries without a passport, according to the Schengen Agreement, but you will need a passport to cross borders into those that are not part of the Schengen area and when you return home.

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The Humongous Costs of Inaction

By Robert Reich, Former U.S Secretary of Labor

In last night’s Democratic debate, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg charged that Senator Bernie Sanders’ policy proposals would cost $50 trillion. Holy Indiana. Larry Summers, formerly chief White House economic advisor for Barack Obama, puts the price tag at $60 trillion. “We are in a kind of new era of radical proposal,” he told CNN. Putting aside the accuracy of these cost estimates, they omit the other side of the equation: what, by comparison, is the cost of doing nothing?

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Predicting the Future of Travel in 2040

Allianz Partners’ Futurology Report Predicts Airline Passenger Numbers will Double, ‘Faces’ via Facial Pattern Recognition Systems Will Replace Passports and Boarding Passes

Courtesy Allianz Global Assistance

By the year 2040, international travel will be a faster, easier and more ecologically sustainable activity than ever before, according to a report commissioned by Allianz Partners to help prepare for the travel-related needs of their customers in the future. Allianz Partners is a world leader in B2B2C assistance and insurance solutions, delivering global protection and care, and offers dedicated travel insurance services through the Allianz Travel brand.

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Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking

Walt Whitman — 1819-1892

Out of the cradle endlessly rocking,
Out of the mocking-bird’s throat, the musical shuttle,
Out of the Ninth-month midnight,
Over the sterile sands and the fields beyond, where the child leaving his bed wander’d alone, bareheaded, barefoot,
Down from the shower’d halo,
Up from the mystic play of shadows twining and twisting as if they were alive,
Out from the patches of briers and blackberries,
From the memories of the bird that chanted to me,
From your memories sad brother, from the fitful risings and fallings I heard,
From under that yellow half-moon late-risen and swollen as if with tears,
From those beginning notes of yearning and love there in the mist,
From the thousand responses of my heart never to cease,
From the myriad thence-arous’d words,
From the word stronger and more delicious than any…

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Send Deb your favorite travel poems

Protect Yourself Against Airport Checkpoint Theft

Airport theft is becoming a major problem for travelers, so make sure to get to your destination with all your items intact.

MORE

Max von Sydow Remembered

By T-Boy Society of Film and Music

Versatile ‘Seventh Seal’ actor and frequent Ingmar Bergman collaborator has died at 90.

Max von Sydow (pronounced: “see-doh”) the Oscar-nominated actor best known for playing chess with Death in Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal has passed away. He was 90 years old.

His wife, Catherine Brelet, announced the news without citing a cause of death in Paris Match. “It is with a broken heart and with infinite sadness that we have the extreme pain of announcing the departure of Max von Sydow on 8 March 2020,” she said, according to The Guardian.

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How New York Made Frank Lloyd Wright a Starchitect

The Wisconsin-born architect’s buildings helped turn the city he once called an ‘inglorious mantrap’ into the center of the world

Courtesy Anthony Alofsin, Zócalo Public Square

The Guggenheim Museum in New York City is architecture as sculpture — a smooth, creamy-colored, curved form that deliberately defies its square, gray urban context, and succeeds by harnessing the pure abstraction of modernism to the archaic form of the spiral. It proclaims the authority of the architect. It says to the public: It’s my art. Learn to live with it. It stands alone as the built confirmation of the architect’s supremacy as artist.

MORE

Johnny Cash’s 11 Coolest Cover Songs

From Soundgarden howlers to U2 ballads, Rolling Stone Country counts down 11 of the Man in Black’s most badass covers

Courtesy Joseph Hudak, Senior Editor, Rolling Stone Country

Johnny Cash is arguably country music’s most cited influence by younger artists, but Cash wasn’t above being influenced himself. He was forever a student of music, always listening for songs that moved him, be they country or otherwise. Cash would even record his own versions of the songs, from the country-rock of the Stones‘ “No Expectations” to the poignant coda of Nine Inch Nails‘ “Hurt.”

Here are the Man in Black’s 11 coolest covers.

MORE

Koreatown Company Clones Dogs, Cats, Horses For Pet Owners Who Don’t Want To Let Go

A Koreatown-based company in Los Angeles is giving pet lovers a second chance with Fido.For pet owners who just aren’t ready to let go, ViaGen can provide an invaluable service by cloning a beloved dog, cat, or even horse. The cloned pet will share the same genetic identity and attributes as its donor. “They have the same personality, they play the same, they favor the same toys,” said Alicia Tschirhart, who decided to clone her cherished pup. Her husband David described ViaGen’s service as the same technology that cloned Dolly the Sheep in 2003. ViaGen’s website lists the cost at $50,000, but the Tschirharts say it was worth every penny.

Russia Isn’t Dividing Us — Our Leaders Are

Courtesy Matt Taibbi

A last-ditch effort to derail the Sanders campaign fails as voters finally reject the Russia con.

MORE

What Are the Best (and Worst) Live Albums of All Time?

Courtesy Brian Hiatt

A new Rolling Stone Now podcast episode discusses the history of live albums, and the making of the Who’s ‘Live at Leeds’

LISTEN HERE

Does the Hotel Maid Look Through Your Stuff?

Courtesy Caroline Costello, SmarterTravel:

ca***************@sm***********.com

Sometimes people do inappropriate things when no one is looking. Sometimes those people are hotel housekeepers, as was indicated in a hidden-camera video that went viral a few years ago. A clip filmed at a “well-known American hotel brand” revealed a hotel maid messing with a guest’s belongings. The housekeeper picked up the man’s tablet and attempted to use his computer a few times. Nothing was stolen.

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The Humongous Costs of Inaction

By Robert Reich, Former U.S Secretary of Labor

In last night’s Democratic debate, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg charged that Senator Bernie Sanders’ policy proposals would cost $50 trillion. Holy Indiana. Larry Summers, formerly chief White House economic advisor for Barack Obama, puts the price tag at $60 trillion. “We are in a kind of new era of radical proposal,” he told CNN. Putting aside the accuracy of these cost estimates, they omit the other side of the equation: what, by comparison, is the cost of doing nothing?

MORE

Predicting the Future of Travel in 2040

Allianz Partners’ Futurology Report Predicts Airline Passenger Numbers will Double, ‘Faces’ via Facial Pattern Recognition Systems Will Replace Passports and Boarding Passes

Courtesy Allianz Global Assistance

By the year 2040, international travel will be a faster, easier and more ecologically sustainable activity than ever before, according to a report commissioned by Allianz Partners to help prepare for the travel-related needs of their customers in the future. Allianz Partners is a world leader in B2B2C assistance and insurance solutions, delivering global protection and care, and offers dedicated travel insurance services through the Allianz Travel brand.

MORE

Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking

Walt Whitman — 1819-1892

Out of the cradle endlessly rocking,
Out of the mocking-bird’s throat, the musical shuttle,
Out of the Ninth-month midnight,
Over the sterile sands and the fields beyond, where the child leaving his bed wander’d alone, bareheaded, barefoot,
Down from the shower’d halo,
Up from the mystic play of shadows twining and twisting as if they were alive,
Out from the patches of briers and blackberries,
From the memories of the bird that chanted to me,
From your memories sad brother, from the fitful risings and fallings I heard,
From under that yellow half-moon late-risen and swollen as if with tears,
From those beginning notes of yearning and love there in the mist,
From the thousand responses of my heart never to cease…

MORE

Send Deb your favorite travel poems

10 Crowd-Free Alternatives to America’s Most Iconic National Parks

For every national park swarmed by visitors, dozens of state and federal preserves, parks, and monuments go relatively untraveled.

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Protect Yourself Against Airport Checkpoint Theft

Airport theft is becoming a major problem for travelers, so make sure to get to your destination with all your items intact.

MORE

Kirk Douglas (1916 – 2020)

T-Boy Society Film & Music selects Kirk Douglas’ best film appearances followed with comments by Mr. Douglas.

Top 5 — In order of preference

1. Lust for Life (1956)
   “Acting is make-believe. I never believe I’m the character; I want you to believe. But with Lust for Life, I got so involved with van Gogh… it really was frightening, because I felt like the character was overtaking me… It was a very, very interesting experience. I have never felt that way on any other picture.”
2. Paths of Glory (1957)
   “I saw a little picture that Stanley Kubrick had done [the 1956 film The Killing], and I said, ‘Gee, he’s very talented.’ I called him and said, ‘Do you have any other projects?’ He said, ‘Yes, I have a project, but nobody wants to do it.’ And he sent me Paths of Glory. I said, ‘Stanley, this picture won’t make a nickel, but we have to do it.’”
3. Ace in the Hole (1951)
   “I thought that Billy Wilder was such a brilliant director… [That character was a lot to handle, so I asked him if I should tone him down a bit, but he told me to do just the opposite.] ‘Both knees! Give it both knees!’”
4. The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
   “You know, it’s tough to make a movie about movies… We’re all too close to it. But The Bad and the Beautiful was very good. And Lana Turner, I think, did her best job; she was very good. I was good, too!”
5. Spartacus (1960)
   “I was intrigued with the character of Spartacus, and I just had to make it. And, at the same time, we were going through a terrible period, the McCarthy era… I’m very proud that Spartacus broke the blacklist [by giving blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo screen credit], because that was very important… It happened at the right time for me. I was young enough to be foolish… It’s nice to make a movie that people enjoy and that does something.”

Honorable Mention

Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

“I love that character and his relationship with his horse. And I always consider that my best movie. It was not a big success. It’s gotten to be more of a cult film right now… Again, Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay. It was the one time we never changed a word; it was perfect, like a hole in one.”

Kirk Douglas Bio

Anna Karina: The French New Wave Icon, Has Died at Age 79

Anna Karina, the Danish-born actress who became a symbol of  La Nouvelle Vague in Jean-Luc Godard’s seven 1960s films, died last month in Paris. Her death was confirmed by France’s culture minister, who said the cause was cancer.

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Film Comment ’s 10 Best Films of the Decade

In the last decade, filmmakers pushed cinema to new and strange heights, shaping time and images and telling stories in novel ways.

Without further ado, here is Film Comment’s top ten films of the last decade.

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Australia’s Fires May Have Implications for Cruise Tourism

Courtesy Maritime Executive

The devastating fires affecting southeastern Australia are having an effect on cruise itineraries as well. The damage has already led to alterations for several voyages and may affect more.

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Skeletons Unearthed in Connecticut May Belong to Revolutionary War Soldiers

By Theresa Machemer, smithsonianmag.com

Construction workers renovating a home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, last month were surprised to discover human bones under the property’s foundation.

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The Trial of Joan of Arc

By Kat Eschner, smithsonianmag.com

In January of 1431, the preliminary trial of Joan of Arc began. After leading the French army in battle against England, Joan underwent trial and was accused of witchcraft and heresy and burned at the stake by the English and their allies. It’s been almost 600 years since the trial and execution of Joan of Arc, and her memory hasn’t faded. From novels, plays and movies to scholarly books and endless theories about how she heard the voices that led her to lead an army, her story has been regularly re-explored by generations in France and elsewhere. Here are a few reasons we can’t forget Saint Joan.

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Should You Be Skipping Breakfast to Lose Weight?

By Malia Frey

You’ve probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But many smart dieters are skipping breakfast to lose weight. It’s true. For some people, not eating breakfast is actually a better way to slim down. But this trick doesn’t work for everyone.

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Paris’s Museum of Art and History of Judaism Appoints Geoffrey Weill Associates for Public Relations

Located in the magnificent 17th-century Hôtel de Saint-Aignan in the Marais neighborhood of Paris, the Museum of Art and History of Judaism (Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme – known as “mahJ”) has appointed Geoffrey Weill Associates to widen its awareness in North America.

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How to Block Spyware From Snooping on You

Courtesy Brenna Miles, Lifewire

It’s rather easy to define spyware, which is a type of malware that tracks your internet activity in order to gather sensitive information such as credit card numbers or demographics. Most of the time, spyware works in the background of a device, invisible to the unsuspecting.

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Purging Your Stuff Is the New Conspicuous Consumption

Inside the world of minimalism and tidying are the makings of a seismic shift in American consumerism.

Courtesy Leslie Patton

On a recent Saturday afternoon in downtown Chicago, Tara Latta’s 36th-floor apartment with stunning river views is a complete mess. I’m watching the 39-year-old trying to jam the contents of a storage unit into her new one bedroom, and it doesn’t appear to be going well. Her kitchen table is teeming with CVS receipts, unused thank-you notes, catalogs, utility bills and to-do lists. U-Haul boxes are stacked halfway to the ceiling. The counters are overflowing with tea cups, mixing bowls and water bottles.  But all is not as it seems. Latta is in the midst of her second of three, five-hour sessions with tidying consultant Kristyn Ivey.

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10 Mediterranean — Gifts for the Food Lover in Your Life

More than a mix of rich history, gorgeous beaches, and warm blue waters, the countries along the Mediterranean Sea and their people have a history of living longer and healthier lives and you can too! By simply following a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruits and vegetables, even drinking wine with meals, you can prevent diseases and prolong your life.

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How to Renew a Passport in 24 Hours

Courtesy Shannon McMahon

By partnering with an existing service called RushMyPassport, FedEx is facilitating a nationwide solution for those who need very fast passport renewal.

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