America’s Underground Sin City

There’s the Wild West, and then there’s it’s even wilder underbelly. For locals of Hill County, Montana, that underbelly hides in the subterranean village of Havre, whose passages once bustled with saloons and opium dens, bordellos and mercantile shops galore. For decades, it was on the brink of crumbling away in silence. Now, it’s finally…

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

1. An essential resource A few favourites from the glossary… AAin’t that a bite: that’s too badAngel: One who pays the billAnkle biter: childApple butter: smooth talk or flatteryAre you writing a book?: you’re asking too many questionsBBack seat bingo: making out with a girl in a carBad news: a person who rejects a beatnikBake…

Parisian Fast Food: Web Series Mini Bites

Okay, so we took a bit of a hiatus on the web series there. We’ve got tons of footage and not enough time to edit it. The good news is, we’re back– but with mini-bites … snackable little episodes of Don’t be a Tourist. In today’s mini bite, I’m sharing my version of Parisian Fast Food,…

The Hair That Launched a Thousand Tweets

Stop what you’re doing, and take a seat, because senator Valentina Petrenko’s hair is about to sweep you off your feet with its gravity-defying fabulousness. This Russian politician has been captivating the internet recently with her truly one-of-a-kind look, becoming quite the Twitter starlet, and leaving folks bewildered as to how she manages to keep it all…

Vintage Muse du Jour: Princess Elizabeth of Toro

Today, we’re formally inviting you to shift your gaze to a lesser-known royal, deserving of her own spotlight: Elizabeth of Toro, the Ugandan Princess, lawyer, actor, top model, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the US, Germany and the Vatican in the 1960s. Her life reads like a trophy wall, and that’s only half…

You’re Invited to the Executioner Island Slumber Party

Look carefully at the heart of the Long Island Sound in the night, and you’ll see it: a flashing white light, piercing the fog every ten seconds or so to steer boats away from the deadly shores of Execution Rocks. These are the icy waters where the British drowned their prisoners during the revolutionary war,…

Pictures of a Peaceful Paradise Lost: Palestinians & Jews Co-Existing in 1919

I prefer this place to be your safe haven from political opinion and the horrors of the news. While we hold onto hope for humanity and healing, I share with you an archive collection of photographs transporting us to a more a peaceful time for this ancient and diverse culture… The photographs were taken in…

Fantastic French Publicity Caravans of Yesteryear

My wormhole began with this photo of the world’s first (possibly only) vehicle-shaped pen, the BIC mobile, photographed at the Tour de France in 1953. I’ve never been an avid follower of the annual cycling race that was created in 1903 by a French newspaper as a gimmick to sell more papers– but this? Give…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol CCLXXXIX)

1. Morro Bay Antiques Located in California, it was an abandoned old diner for a while, thankfully, it’s now an antiques emporium. 2. Rotary telephone compacts, originally designed by Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali, 1935 Mass-produced in the 1950s. Found here. 3. Wedding between female lovers, circa 1900s Found on reddit. 4. Native…

The Many Odd Jobs of Andy Warhol

Ask any full-time creative exactly where they find inspiration, or what their line of work even is, and they’ll tell you of all the jobs they’ve juggled not only to pay the rent, but stay relevant. And with history as our witness, Warhol was pretty damn good at that (as well as keeping a few…