Just up at Nights: http://matadornights.com/16-us-music-festivals-not-to-miss-in-2010/
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7 years ago
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
My Picks for 20 Craziest Party Hostels In The World
I spent the weekend doing an update to one of our biggest articles on Nights. Here are 20 MORE of the craziest party hostels in the world, including many that I've stayed at.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Hunting The (Other) Loch Monster In Morar, Scotland
<img src="http://i432.photobucket.com/albums/qq42/shinealightnyc/morag3.jpg" /><p>Author's hoax photo. Not convincing. Yes, that's basil. </p> <h5> Morag </h5> Morag is a loch monster with a terrible publicist. Although slightly famous in Scotland, tales of Morag have not spilled into coloring books or Hollywood films. A bit of a sensation in the late sixties, the beast’s home of Loch Morar has shied away from publicisizing sightings and remains quite disinterested in a tourist trade that involves humped aquatic creatures. The case for a monster in Morar, though, is compelling and arguably stronger than discussion of what might be living in neighboring Loch Ness. For starters, Loch Morar is the deepest freshwater body of water in Europe, reaching depths of over 1,000 feet. It is largely uninhabited, flanked by a road that only covers one quarter of its perimeter – this allows for hardly any traffic around the lake, which would explain the lack of tourist sightings. More importantly, it is the setting for sightings as sensational as any that have come out of Nessietown. Tales of a monster have permeated the Morar area for centuries, first spun as tales during “silly season”, the terrible winters when Scottish highlanders hole up, tell tales and get a little juiced up. According to early tales, “Mhorag” was the spirit of the loch, only appearing in the form of a mermaid when a member of the Gilles clan was about to kick. Later, tales spun of a waterhorse (or “kelpie”) that would lure riders onto its back, then drown them and snack on their remains. If you’re laughing, you probably weren’t born in the 1700’s, when it was completely reasonable to treat most of these tales as fact, rather than fiction. <img src="http://i432.photobucket.com/albums/qq42/shinealightnyc/morar2.jpg" /><p></p> <h5> The Golden Age</h5> Monster hunting in the Harry Potter Age has got to be difficult. Nearly eighty years after the first reported sighting in Loch Ness, the creature has started to lose its sex appeal, out-imagined by Pixar and the like. The romance of a loch monster just might be dead and buried, even if the animal is still alive and swimming. Still, I wanted to find out if what I’d been hearing was true; if another loch was a more likely candidate for some kind of beastie than the infamous one near Inverness. I went straight to Scotland’s loch monster expert, Adrienne Shine, in hopes of learning a bit more before I set off to Morar myself. Nobody would know better than Shine, who began his own Morar investigation in 1974. He was sparked by the loch’s most famous account, which made papers around the world. Says Shine, “It was the encounter in 1969 that aroused my interest. I thought if Loch Ness wasn’t the only place where there were these traditions, perhaps there’s more chance of it being real.” He hired a rowboat and drifted at night with a powerful light fixed to a camera, in hopes of repeating the encounter. After this turned up nothing but a false sighting in the form of a rock (“It taught me not to believe the evidence of my own eyes.”), Shine decided to head below water. By 1975 he was manning missions into the depths of a loch in a homemade submersible, during what he calls “the underwater phase of my work.” Shine is difficult to pin when asked the ultimate question about what’s out there, mostly because he has no definitive evidence either way. He says,”I have no one theory because many animals and physical effects have contributed to sightings.” When asked about his favorite explanation, he offers “I am accused of the Shine Theory. The occasional migration of sturgeon into fresh water might have started the water horses tradition.” While many argue that such a fish couldn’t live in these lochs, it is quite arguable that no fish has ever looked like a horse more than a sturgeon. Shine is honest about why he first started hunting the now-famous beast, seeing it first as “a soft option for fame and glory.” Thirty-five years later, it has become much more than this to him. He’s manned countless expeditions in Loch Ness, most famously with 1987’s Operation Deepscan, during which dozens of sonar-armed boats scanned and mapped the whole of Loch Ness. It proved inconclusive. If a man like Shine couldn’t find a monster, how would I? There was one thing that Shine said that kept me going. “Wherever these traditions seem to come to the surface now, there’s always a perception that they’re copying Loch Ness.” It was his way of saying that Morar had been written off as a copycat. Could Morar just be a place that had been overlooked? Digging a little deeper into the history the area, it seemed entirely possible. <img src="http://i432.photobucket.com/albums/qq42/shinealightnyc/morar4.jpg" /><p>Rocks make a deceptive wake. </p> <h5> Morar and The Monster</h5> I’d been reading The Search For Morag, a history of all known accounts of the monster. Hardly a best seller, I’d had to order this discontinued title from a collector’s shop and paid dearly for it. Written by Elizabeth Montgomery Campbell in 1972, the hardback documents everything known about Morar, recalling over 100 years of sightings and probing that ultimate question. The book doesn’t disappoint, recounting sightings that were, in the words of one subject, “beyond explanation or definition”. Reports generally describe a humped, “eel-like or snake-like” creature, with “black and shiny” skin. It is generally seen on sunny and calm days, when the waters are less choppy and Scotland’s rain isn’t pissing down. The most famous sighting – the one that grabbed Shine’s attention in 1969 – involved two men, Duncan McDonell and William Simpson. In the account, they describe a creature that accidentally ran into their boat while breaching the surface. Their initial fear was that it might capsize the boat. After attempting to fend it off with an oar, Simpson fired his rifle in the animal’s direction. He claims, “I then watched it slowly sink away and that was the last I’ve seen of it.” The whole thing would have been easy to write off were there not scores of other sightings before and after. Morar is exactly the same as Campbell described it in 1972. The town is comprised of a hotel, a train platform and about ten houses. The Morar Hotel is one of those terrifying old white houses, the kind with squeaky floors, a mysterious staff and wall-to-wall carpet. I was given an umbrella at check-in and warned that rain came when it pleased, and often. I made my way down to the water under careful directions from the hotel (“Turn left at the house with the satellite that’s pointed towards God.”) and took a look. It was ominous, moody and unfathomably quiet. The skies had gone dark and threatened to spill buckets. Nothing living moved on or around the lake. The opposing shore was at least a mile away and not one boat could be seen on the water. The loch was desolate. 
The water had a wake that day, mostly because of the coming and going weather. I could see quite easily why there were so many false sightings in these parts – every rock or wave looked like something. One of the most common monster mistakes has been the misinterpretation of a boat wake. I could see how easy it would be to misinterpret a wave on these waters - a number of them caught my eye, tricking me too. The rain finally started to fall as I tried my best to walk the path around the loch. It would have been impossible to circle in one day, so my plan was to make it halfway around, about another hour out from where the road ended. In the course of six hours I saw three people, seven cars and about ten houses. There just wasn’t much life on the loch, other than the occasional lamb or sheep. My eyes remained on the water. It wasn’t so much that I was hoping to spot a giant serpent but more that the loch had some kind of draw, a quiet power that demanded attention. There was no doubt in my mind that if there is ever to be something discovered, it could be found here, rather than in a populated place like Loch Ness. Half a day later, I was back at the hotel, sans monster story and waterlogged. 
<h5> But Is There Something? </h5> Nobody would talk to me. I’d been warned about this from a few people but it was surprisingly true – the town has zero interest in kicking up a story and attracting tourists. It would seem that the fame of the 1969 sighting was enough of a taste for everyone. I did speak with one woman who wished to remain anonymous. She said that the area was largely run by one of the older families and that they wanted nothing more than for the world to leave them (and their sheep) alone. The mandate was that if you spoke, there’d be hell to pay. She herself has seen something in the water but brushed it off as quick as it was out of her mouth. “It was probably nothing.” The sightings in The Search For Morag are all that really remains of the hunt in this loch and may serve as the end of any formal investigation. But they’re still compelling to this day. There is the story of John MacVarish: “What I saw was a long neck five or six feet out of the water with a small head on it, coming quite slowly down the loch.” And Charles Fishburne: “It passed within thirty-fifty yards to port…three large, black hump-shaped objects moving quickly through the water.” Or Kate MacKinnon: “It was rather like a huge eel…the neck was about one foot in diameter and was black in color.” All of these tales have to make you wonder if there is something out there and, if so, what it might be. There’s plenty of exploring left to be done in these waters and plenty of stories to be fished out. If you’re interested in trying your hand then you couldn’t find a better place than Loch Morar. Just turn left at the satellite aimed towards God and keep walking. <div class="captionright"><img src="http://i432.photobucket.com/albums/qq42/shinealightnyc/morar1.jpg" /></div>
Friday, December 11, 2009
Future Of Film Summit Was Cool. Maybe Next Time Backdrop Shouldn't Look Like A G-String, Though.
I went to #fofilm in LA earlier this week. Maybe I had had too much coffee but this backdrop struck me as....panty-like.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
United Airlines Back To Basics Marketing @LAX
I was walking through LAX today and saw this Wheel Of Fortune knockoff. I'm always impressed when a company remembers that viral marketing isn't the be-all, end-all. In fact, I wonder if things like this don't work better because there isn't much competition for space these days. UAL had a wheel that offered prizes. I handed over my boarding pass, had it checked off and then spun the wheel. Prizes included a 20% off booking coupon, Economy Plus upgrade, a free Premier Lane pass (whatever), playing cards....and what I won.
A bottle of water.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
You'll Never Get The Story About Making Out With The Surfer...
...but you will get six solid hostel reviews from Portugal. Click here for my hostel roundup from Porto, Lisbon & beyond.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
One Year After The Election...I Look Back At How Buenos AIres' Expats Saw It All
I really enjoyed writing this one. Checkit:
"Barbara left home after her husband cheated on her, leaving her a stockpile of cash awarded by an “asskicking judge”. In Argentina she found that her money went further, that healthcare was cheaper (often free) and that she could make money by fact-checking for a US based company."
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Singapore and The Gum Thing
Anyone who knows me will tell you one thing about me: I hate when people chew gum. Specifically, I despise when mouths chaw, gnarl and mangle objects. A combination of this with bubblesnapping is enough to push me to the boundaries of sanity. It's a problem.
I decided to pitstop in Singapore because it is still the only place that gum is unlawful. This was my Holy Land. This was my Jesus Christ.
Gum 101: The horrors of gumchewing began with the Greeks and Aztecs, who chewed on tree resin as a way to pass the time between playing Stratego with civilization. But things really didn't get cooking until a formula was patented in 1869, finding its way into the first gumball machines two years later. William Wrigley souped up the recipe with mint extracts in 1914, if only to drive me insane ninety years later. Frank Fleer was the real gum guru, creating Blibber-Blabber in 1906 (the first bubble gum).
Fortunately for me, there is Singapore. Gum was banned in 1992, after vandals began sticking it on the sensors of the prized Mass Rapid Transit. Here's the best part: Nobody missed it. No black market ever developed, even though offenders were only "named and shamed" if caught - which is not even a slap on the wrist by Singapore standards. Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yen commented at the time, "If you can't think because you can't chew, try a banana." Dude psyches me up when he talks all tough about gum law (but not much else).
The resurfacing of legal gum in Singapore is an excellent example of just how bizarre and corrupt America can be. In 1999, desperate to open bilateral trade with Bush's USA, the government agreed to two things. The first was public support for the war in Iraq. The second was repealing the gum ban. That's quite a dicksucking for trade negotiation.
How did they end up swallowing? Only Americans will fully understand, for we are a special people. The year before, Wrigley's had hired a lobbyist and leaned on an Illinois congressman to put gum on the Bush Agenda. Only the devil knows what was traded in making this a sticky issue for Singapore, who picked up a 150 million dollar tax break per year on their end of the deal.
The government in Singapore found a crafty way to save face. Some gum has medicinal purpose, even if is to help build enamel or fight cavities. Therefore, they made gum an item that must be handed out by pharmacists, only after taking down the names of customers for a national record. Any importing of gum is still illegal. There is something perversely exciting to me about this. I could buy a parrot at 4:30am in Manhattan but a person in Singapore must ask a pharmacist for a stick of Hubba Bubba.
For five days I have not seen a single person chew gum. No whorish women snapping their cud. No athletes mouthing the sticky substance like it was their junior prom date. I have had beautiful, thoughtful moments without the presence of my nemesis. And nobody - not even the spoiled tourists - seems to miss it.
I propose a gumfree world. If I had a billion dollars I would buy lobbyists and make it a priority. Until then, I will have Singapore.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
5 Fast Foods That Should Never Have Been
This is my favorite thing Kate's ever written, probably because I am fascinated by fast food. Her description of the McRib is quite tasty.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Twenty 80's Rockers Twenty Years Later
I was hunting around Flickr the other night for some of my favorites from the 80's, then realized it would make a pretty neat piece.
Behold.Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Some Wierd Sin: The Remains Of Where Iggy Pop and David Bowie Made "Lust For Life"
Hansa Studios, Berlin, Germany. Studio 3. Oct 21, 2009. The studio is being demolished and rebuilt with all new equipment and a more modern feel. The copper in the walls was actually used to block out radio transmissions from the military folks just over yonder at The Berlin Wall.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Have A Coke and A Frown
Did anyone else see Coke's new travel-the-world contest? Here's my take. The main point:"We’ve got a planet currently held together by duct tape – is now the time to spend a year running around it like Smurfette, giving kisses to whoever will have them? Or is it the year to expose world poverty, build houses for the homeless, and get together with the world’s thinkers? How exactly are you going to make a person with no water smile? Oh right, you’ll hand them a Coke."
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Strangest Picture From A Museum I've Ever Seen, Let Alone Taken
Next week on Tripwolf I'll reveal where it's from. And that's the tip of the iceberg, picture wise.
Monday, October 19, 2009
I'm Digging This Mix That Dahveed Posted
Atlas Sound micromix...10 Tracks. Really varied.
http://matadornights.com/musicmonday-micromix-by-atlas-sound/
http://matadornights.com/musicmonday-micromix-by-atlas-sound/
My Tale Of Woe From London's Heathrow (It Rhymed)
I just posted a piece today about my trip through immigration at Heathrow, which ended up with me in their jail and a flight back to the USA.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Incredible Photos From Royal De Luxe's Giant Walk In Berlin
I just posted a photo essay on Matador about the Giant's who walked around Berlin all weekend. If you haven't seen what Royal De Luxe is all about, you should definitely check it out: http://matadornights.com/royal-de-luxe-giants/
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
"One day I come home to find you covered with ants 'cause you're so sweet"
Life's A Dream by Built To Spill
Download now or listen on posterous
05 Life's A Dream.mp3 (8819 KB) Download now or listen on posterous
Built To Spill: I couldn't be in love with There Is No Enemy any more than I am. The Bill Hicks reference in "Planting Seeds" got me right away. Lyrics are back in tip-top shape. "Life's a Dream" is a great example of what a great job he's capable of in summing up the world. We all have the same problems.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Drooling Over Chilean Hot Dogs
Sad, but true. I ate my share of Completos in Chile and this article reminded me of all the tasty stuff they have in that country. I'm not fat I'm a foodie (TM?).
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Photos of Royal De Luxe's Giantess (and Onlookers), Berlin 10/3/09
Some pictures from today's meeting of the two Giants in berlin. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check this out. This is the Little Giantess, who is still sleeping. Soon she'll wake, put on a raincoat and walk down the street to meet her friend. Downtown was an absolute madhouse today because it's German Unity Day. Hopefully tomorrow will be more chill!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Great Photo Essay From Buenos Aires
My Matador Nights Co-Editor did a great job in Buenos Aires. This dog picture cracks me up. For more: http://matadortrips.com/photo-essay-buenos-aires-by-night/
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Rob Halford Of Judas Priest Immortalized In Statue Form
You'll pass this as your walk through Friederichshain in Berlin. It's a gigantic, screaming tribute to Rob Halford. How metal!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Hal Amen vs Bikes
Hal knows his bikes. I always dig seeing one of his new routes or overviews. Here's a good one for anyone who'd like to bike in the USA:
http://matadortrips.com/10-long-distance-bicycle-routes-in-the-u-s/
http://matadortrips.com/10-long-distance-bicycle-routes-in-the-u-s/
Monday, September 28, 2009
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