File this news story under “out of touch”.

Remember when Napster first came on the scene, and everyone in the music industry was in a great big hurry to shut it down?

Of course, they did shut it down successfully.

But then LimeWire came along, and Kazaa, and SoulSeek. And so on.

The music industry carried on trying to take each one down, guns-a-blazin, until finally someone at Apple had the bright idea that electronic music sharing wasn’t going anywhere, so the industry might as well try to get a piece of the pie.

Enter iTunes, and you know the rest of the story.

Sorry for the digression into recent music-sharing history, but I promise, it does relate.

See, my point is, the music industry couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that things were changing, that people were listening to music in a different way. They couldn’t adapt, and to the extent that they could see the change coming, they could only see it as a threat. They couldn’t imagine that they might be able to co-exist with the change - or even profit from it.

I was reminded of the music industry’s war on MP3s when I read this story, about Ontario’s private coach companies attempting to shut down a popular rideshare website.

From the Globe and Mail story:

Bus line operators such as Trentway-Wagar Inc. - which launched the formal complaint against PickupPal - argue that Mr. Dewhirst’s company is facilitating the operation of an illegal transportation service. Last week the Ontario Highway Transport Board agreed and fined the company more than $11,000 for infractions of the Public Vehicles Act…

[A company representative] said Trentway-Wagar is not opposed to carpooling but simply wants all commercial operations offering public transportation to be treated equally.

Um… huh?

A website that links up drivers with passengers willing to chip in a few bucks for gas is suddenly an illegal transportation service?

Better lock up all the soccer moms who’ve ever shared rides too, while you’re at it.

The bus companies aren’t just desperate to save their (allegedly threatened) business, either. They, and the government board that’s just sided with them, appear to be completely unaware of the way technology has evolved around them:

At one point in the proceedings, Mr. Dewhirst had to explain to the board that an online forum is an Internet site where people can go to discuss a particular topic. In another instance, members of the board were flabbergasted when they suggested a change be made to PickupPal and Mr. Dewhirst offered to make the update on his computer right there in the room.

Ouch.

I don’t think I could name another more useless waste of government time, than sitting around trying to shut down ride-sharing forums - particularly with concerns about climate change pre-occupying much of the world. Shouldn’t the government actually be encouraging this sort of thing?

They may manage to take down PickupPal here in Ontario, but that won’t mean anything in the long run.

As PickupPal’s founder said in the story: “The government has been blindsided by the technology, and the world has changed around them.”

Photo by Drown (Creative Commons)

Here’s a piece of news that reads like a dark satire:

A Wal-Mart employee on Long Island was killed this morning by crazed, stampeding shoppers, who actually broke down the doors of the store at its 5:00am opening time.

According to Reuters, four shoppers — one of them a pregnant woman — were also injured in the rush, and taken to hospital.

I don’t even know what more to say about this, beyond the fact that it’s a pretty sickening, real-life allegory for our consumerist addiction.

One American family suddenly has a whole lot less to be thankful for.

Photo by Brave New Films (Creative Commons)

Sports events can be a great way to connect with local culture when you travel.

And now, they can be a great way to learn about recession politics, too.

In New York City, two council members are proposing that the Mets’ new stadium, CitiField, be re-named Citi/Taxpayer Field - in reference to CitiGroup’s latest federal bailout.

Said one of the councilmen:

Perhaps a name change is in order, since it will be the taxpayers of the country who will foot the bill for not only part of stadium, but for the company itself,” Mr. Ignizio said. “The taxpayers are spending billions for this company to maintain its operations and deserve the recognition for their largess.

Seems fair to me. While we’re at it, why not change a few other names, too?

CitiGroup itself could become Citi-TaxpayerGroup. Bear Stearns could become Bear “Taxpayer” Stearns. Heck, Wall Street could become Taxpayer-Milking Street.

But then again, if every major financial corporation to get a piece of the bailout changed their named to Taxpayer, that’d get really confusing, wouldn’t it?

Photo by Bob Jagendorf (Creative Commons)

I’m still trying to piece together what’s been going on in Mumbai in the last 24 hours.

Reports are confusing, but it does seem clear that militants (or gunmen, or terrorists, or insurgents - take your pick) have attacked a dozen or so targets in the city.

So far, more than 100 people, including civilians, police and militants, have died in the resulting clashes.

Most of the media coverage is focused on the Taj and the Oberoi hotels, two five-star joints that have been seized with hostages inside.

This video is dated already (the story is moving fast) but gives some sense of the chaos on the ground:

India’s largest English-language daily, The Times, has non-stop, comprehensive coverage on their website, including video and pictures.

The Globe and Mail is streaming regular audio/video updates from their all-star reporter, Stephanie Nolen, who is on the ground.

Slate’s “Today’s Papers” column has a good round-up of the Mumbai coverage in the major US newspapers.

The BBC’s news homepage is pretty well entirely devoted to covering the attacks today - it includes photos, live updates, video and more.

Do you have any useful links to keep tabs on events in Mumbai? Drop them in the comments!

There are lots of online tools I use to get ready for trips and to stay connected with new friends once I’m back home.

I like the currency converter site, www.xe.com, the online world time clock, the AZ World Airports Guide, and this International Country Calling Codes site.

But while procrastinating today, I decided to look up the name of a newspaper I’d come across in Chile and wanted to read again. That’s when I stumbled upon the site Online Newspapers.

Online Newspapers is, as its name not so subtly suggests, is a listing of the world’s newspapers. Browse by continent, country, or region for local newspapers, and click on their names for a direct link to online versions. The listings are surprisingly comprehensive, though I did encounter a few broken links.

I’d be curious to see what other travelers and expats think of this site: is the listing for your favorite local paper included? Share your answer–and any other favorite online resources–in the comments below!

Photo: .leila (Flickr creative commons)

Happy birthday, White Album.

It’s been 40 years since the iconic Beatles album was released — and hey, in honor of the milestone the Vatican has even sent a present, of sorts.

Vatican City’s daily newspaper appears to have forgiven John Lennon for his notorious quip about being more famous than Jesus.

Reuters quotes the daily:

The remark by John Lennon, which triggered deep indignation mainly in the United States, after many years sounds only like a ‘boast’ by a young working-class Englishman faced with unexpected success, after growing up in the legend of Elvis and rock and roll…

The fact remains that 38 years after breaking up, the songs of the Lennon-McCartney brand have shown an extraordinary resistance to the passage of time, becoming a source of inspiration for more than one generation of pop musicians.

Nice to hear they’re willing to, y’know, forgive.

Still, I doubt if “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” will be getting much air time on Vatican radio any time soon.

Here’s my favorite track off the legendary four-sided album: Revolution 1

Depending on your point of view, this news will either revolutionize your flight experience or make it even more revolting:

WiFi is now available in the friendly skies.

Late last month, airlines began rolling out on-board wireless internet service for passengers who just can’t bear to be disconnected while in flight.

The service, provided by GoGo Inflight Internet, is currently offered on select Virgin America, American Airlines, and Delta flights originating in New York City and terminating in San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Miami.

Service is also scheduled to become available on certain Air Canada flights in the near future.

As with most amenities on planes these days, in-air WiFi isn’t free, and it comes with some strings attached.

The service is currently provided for $12.95 per flight, and is supported on most handhelds and laptops that meet specific minimum web browser and software requirements (that information can be found here).

For the sake of your fellow passengers, though, certain uses are restricted. Voice over Internet phone (VOIP) service, for example, is blocked. Other audio and video components may be blocked as trial runs of the service provoke customer complaints.

Initial reviews of the service have largely been positive. Blogger Ryan Block tried out the service on Virgin’s inaugural wired flight this weekend, and reported that speed is pretty good.

Yet some tech analysts wonder what kinks will need to be ironed out of the system before it can be implemented on a wider scale, asking, for instance, how service concerns will be addressed.

For now, passengers on the handful of flights offering WiFi are GoGo’s test market. How about you? Are you looking forward to wired flights, or will the skies become less friendly if your fellow passengers are always connected?

Photo: Magitisa (Flickr creative commons)

So unless you’ve been living in a yurt somewhere, you’ve probably heard about the Saudi super-tanker that was hijacked by modern-day pirates off the East African coast last week.

In honor of the event (which is, by the way, a pretty big deal - and not just because of the potential for hilarious pirate puns*) the CBC has posted this thoughtful, comprehensive look at pirates and piracy through the ages - from the ancient Phoenicians through to the Barbary Coast, Captain Jack Sparrow and beyond.

Check it out.

*Hilarious puns aside, what this really means (besides big oil taking the opportunity to knock prices up a notch or two) is further proof that Somalia is a total basket case, a failed state, and that basket case nations aren’t good news for anyone. Least of all their own citizens.

Photo by Jan Tik (Creative Commons)

There have been a couple of pretty exciting archaeological discoveries worth noting in recent days:

First up, a new pyramid has been discovered in Egypt. (Well, not new. Hella old, actually. But new to us. You know what I mean…) The structure is estimated to be 4,300 years old.

It’s been worn down to its foundation, so tourists won’t be posing for dramatic photos with it anytime soon. Still, it’s a significant find, coming in an area near Memphis that has yet to be fully explored.

From the CNN story:

[Egyptian antiquities chief] Hawass’ team has been excavating at the location for two years, but he said it was only two months ago when they determined the structure, with sides about 72 feet (22 meters) long, was the base of a pyramid. They also found parts of the pyramid’s white limestone casing — believed to have once covered the entire structure — which enabled them to calculate that the complete pyramid was once 45 feet (14 meters) high.

The pyramid is the 118th discovered so far in Egypt. “To find a new pyramid is always exciting,” said Hawass. “And this one is magical. It belonged to a queen.”

Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, a 1,300 year-old bronze-covered chariot has been discovered, in what’s believed to be a Thracian aristocrat’s burial mound.

It’s just the second complete chariot to be unearthed in the area - and that’s where this story turns a little grim.

An archaeologist interviewed for the story noted that his and other teams can’t keep up with better-equipped, better-funded teams of looters in Bulgaria, who make the finds first and sell their findings on the black market.

According to the AP:

Some 10,000 Thracian mounds — part of them covering monumental stone tombs — are scattered across the country.

…[But] up to 90 percent of the tombs in the region have been completely or partially destroyed by treasure hunters who smuggle the most precious objects abroad.

It’s a sobering reminder that no matter how many discoveries are made, there are thousands more pieces of that historical jigsaw puzzle that we may never be able to retrieve.

Photo by Bruno Girin (Creative Commons)

Word on the street is that hotels in Washington, D.C. are already sold out for Inauguration Week.

President-Elect Barack Obama is scheduled to be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

The excitement surrounding the event has spurred a flurry of New Year travel plans with D.C. as the main destination.

So you’re not among the lucky few who have already secured D.C. accommodations?

If you’re still looking for a place to celebrate the inauguration, consider one of the following places to ring in the new year and the new president:

* Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA:

The local NBC affiliate in Chicago reported that more than half a million people showed up for the election night party at Grant Park in Obama’s adopted hometown of Chicago.

Although no official inauguration night plans have been announced by the city, stay tuned: Chicagoans who can’t make it to the inauguration aren’t likely to sit quietly at home on January 20. Expect big parties all around town.

*Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, USA:

On election night, Ebenezer was “filled to bursting” with 2,000 people celebrating the Obama-Biden victory.

Ebenezer, the home church of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., has long been a magnet for travelers.

But on January 20, 2009, Ebenezer is likely to be filled to fire code capacity again, as locals and visitors celebrate the inauguration of the first Black President of the United States in the historic Sweet Auburn neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia.

*Honolulu, Hawaii, USA:

President-elect Obama was born in Honolulu in 1961 and has maintained close ties to the oft-overlooked U.S. state, visiting as recently as late October, 2008.

While Hawaii’s inaugural ball (which is actually being held in Washington, D.C.) is already sold out, don’t expect outside the Beltway Hawaiians to be restrained in their festivities.

Though it’s far from Washington, Hawaii might just be THE place to be to celebrate the inauguration. Besides… what other location on this list is likely to offer bone-warming temps instead of bone-chilling temps on January 20?

*Kogelo, Kenya:

Obama’s father was from Kenya and Obama himself maintains contact with distant relatives who still live there in the western village of Kogelo.

Celebrating the inauguration in Kogelo will require a long-haul journey on your part, but you can be pretty sure that the celebration will be worth the trip: on election night, the Obama relatives camped out overnight in the pouring rain to watch election returns broadcast on a big screen.

Once the election was called in Obama’s favor, villagers broke out in song and dance. And the next day, government officials got rolling on some local infrastructure projects… just in time for you to show up.

*Obama, Japan:

I wrote about Obama, Japan a few weeks before the election, when the future of the town’s tourism was still somewhat uncertain.

Now that Obama has won, there’s no better time than January 20 to catch an international flight and celebrate the inauguration of Obama in the town of Obama while eating an Obama burger and buying your Obama in Obama souvenirs.

Where will YOU be spending inauguration night? Share your inauguration night plans below!

Photo credits (in order of appearance):
realjameso16
gingerbydesign
Old Shoe Woman
bobster1985
oceandeetoiles
showbizsuperstar