Don’t Be a Tourist in New York: The Soundtrack

Of course Don’t be a Tourist in New York comes with its own soundtrack! It’s less about the Franck Sinatra clichés, and more about the sounds of gritty New York in seventies and the folk singers that flocked to the East Village in the 1960s. You’ll also find plenty of talent born and bred in…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLX)

1. Starcourt Mall from ‘Stranger Things’ is actually a real dead mall The Verge: There’s a reason why the Starcourt Mall, the principal location for the third season of “Stranger Things” looks so real: it’s built inside of a real shopping mall. Specifically, it was built inside of Georgia’s Gwinnett Place Mall, which was built just a…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLIX)

1. The Red Regatta “Red Regatta is a non-profit independent public art project, presented in collaboration with Associazione Vela al Terzo, that unites Venetians and visitors to celebrate the cultural and maritime history of this iconic city to call attention to the forces of climate change and mass tourism that threaten its future.” The latest breathtaking…

The Most Famous Band You’ve Never Heard Of

Whether you know it or not, you have definitely heard them play. Popular music of the 1960s was dominated by young bands like The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas and The Monkees – bands that didn’t play their own records. Sometimes, the only members of famous bands to appear on their own records…

Don’t be a Tourist in Normandy

Since the Belle Époque, Normandie has long been the weekend destination of choice for Parisians looking for a last-minute escape. The region inspired literary and artistic greats and it’s the birthplace of some of the best French delicacies of all time, like camembert and calvados. Dramatic and untouched coastlines, fresh fruits de mer, artisanal ciders,…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLVIII)

1. Monday Mood Dancing ladies on overhanging rock in Yosemite Park, 1890s by George Fiske. Found on Calisphere. 2. Viktoria Modesta after her burlesque show Bionic Woman at Crazy Horse, Paris Modesta was born in Latvia in 1988 where she learned singing aged six at a local music school. Due to a doctor’s negligence at her birth, Moskalova spent most…

A Surprising Compendium of Car Phones Dating back to the 1940s

Am I one of the few who didn’t realise where the name Motorola originated from? The American telecommunication company’s first commercial product was a radio made for motor vehicles in the 1930s, and in 1946, it was Motorola equipment that carried the first calls on the Bell System’s new radiotelephone service for motor vehicles. This too,…

The Mysterious Magic of Waterfalls

Waterfalls – nothing more, nothing less. This is a brief compendium of gelatin silver and antique postcards found in various archives, dedicated to one of nature’s most beautiful gifts. Maybe one of them can inspire your next adventure, or at the very least, just give your mind a cool break in the heat of summer.…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLVII)

1. A Village in Provence, Abandoned over a century ago The Bories Village is nestled on a low mountain in the Vaucluse region near Avignon, now classed as a historic monument, giving a priceless account of the way of life in Provence. The group of 30 stone huts, called ‘Les Cabanes’ in local parlance, include…

Inside the Beat Hotel of Paris

“I lay there on the floor, he makes love to Nanette all night, as she whimpers,” wrote Jack Kerouac, recalling the night he slept in Room 41 of a Parisian “fleabag” in the Latin Quarter that his friend and fellow poet had christened “The Beat Hotel”. Gregory Corso, the youngest of the inner circle of Beat Generation writers,…