There’s a lot more to Southwest Louisiana, about which I wrote last time, than Cajun honky-tonks, alligator-infested wetlands, and pepper-sauce factories. Tucked down in the corner, away from the spooky swamps, is Louisiana’s . . . pick your analogy . . . odd duck, loose cannon, eccentricity in an already-eccentric state, or wild and woolly […]
All posts by Ted Landphair
Bayou Country
Posted November 5th, 2010 at 1:11 pm (UTC-4)
You may have had a chance to visit one of those restaurants or clubs in which the owner proudly displays photos or cartoons on the wall, depicting the famous people who’ve preceded you there. Usually they’re autographed by the celeb, or sometimes just the signatures and a little message are scrawled there. Well, I’ll have […]
Hitmen
Posted October 29th, 2010 at 10:36 am (UTC-4)
The “SportsCenter Effect” on American life is seductive and, in the view of many observers, insidious. “SportsCenter,” which showcases highlights of the day’s action in professional and amateur sports, is the signature program of the cable television sports network ESPN. Many of the plays that are spotlighted are stunningly violent. Helmet-to-helmet collisions, savage bodychecks into […]
Bad Fruit on the Email Tree
Posted October 21st, 2010 at 2:05 pm (UTC-4)
Once you start forwarding lighthearted email — jokes, puzzles, wacky cat videos — to friends and colleagues, you’re sure to get a blizzard more in return. Many of the messages will contain amazing purported “facts” that seem perfectly plausible. A lot of them turn out to be blatantly inaccurate “urban legends” or worthless bunkum. I […]
Smart Towns, Clueless Kids
Posted October 15th, 2010 at 4:13 pm (UTC-4)
Americans love lists and rankings — the Top 10 this, the Hottest that, the Best and Worst something else — and many magazines and Web sites get their highest readership when they publish a list. CNNMoney.com, for instance, recently dug through U.S. Census data and compiled a list of the 10 metro areas with the […]
Tags: Apps (mobile phone applications), Boston, Cellphones and "smart" phones, Census, Cleveland, Connecticut, Detroit, Emails, Hispanic and Latino culture, Inland Empire (California's), Lists, New York City, Riverside, Calif., San Jose, California, Texting, U.S. Decennial Posted in American Cities and Towns, American Culture, Character and Values, American States and Territories, Business, Industry and Economics, Communications, Media and Journalism, Geography, Travel and Tourism, Government and Politics
Flickertailing
Posted October 1st, 2010 at 5:05 pm (UTC-4)
Even Americans who travel a lot often manage to miss one or two U.S. states. Perhaps distant but unforgettable Alaska or Hawaii, but not usually both. Quite often one of the last states on our wish list is North Dakota, our uppermost Plains state, hard by two equally obscure Canadian prairie provinces. It could […]
Tags: American Indians, Enchanted Highway (N.D.), Fargo, North Dakota, Highways, Immigration, Native Americans, North Dakota, Rural population loss, State Book Series (1930s), Steinbeck, John, Sven and Ole jokes, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Winter Posted in American Cities and Towns, American Culture, Character and Values, American History, American States and Territories, Geography, Travel and Tourism, Miscellany and Whimsy, People (historical figures), Social Issues
On the Road Again
Posted September 24th, 2010 at 6:39 pm (UTC-4)
Perhaps you’ve read Jack Kerouac’s coming-of-age novel On the Road or seen one of the classic movies about road trips across America: “Easy Rider,” “Thelma and Louise,” “Sideways,” or the comedies “National Lampoon’s Family Vacation” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” These stories offer a glimpse of the variety, vastness, and grandeur of the American landscape. […]
Tags: Beer and microbrews, Gasoline prices, Hawaiian Islands, Helpful Americans, Highways, Hotels and motels, Kerouac, Jack, Music in stores, Pillows, Road trips, Sunsets, Traffic congestion Posted in American Culture, Character and Values, Business, Industry and Economics, Geography, Travel and Tourism, Miscellany and Whimsy, People (historical figures)
T.L., Phone Home!
Posted September 17th, 2010 at 1:54 pm (UTC-4)
Nevada is so desolate that there isn’t even much of a highway between Reno in the north near Lake Tahoe, and Las Vegas, far to the south near the mammoth Hoover Dam. You drive mostly two-lane U.S. 95, amid low brown hills, scrub bushes, Joshua trees, and rattlesnakes along the 715 kilometers (445 miles) between […]
Here, There, Everywhere
Posted September 10th, 2010 at 2:36 pm (UTC-4)
I’ve been buzzing about the country for the past three weeks, getting as far from our Washington, D.C.-based home as the northwestern tip of the other Washington in the Pacific Northwest. Over the next few posts, I’ll tell you about some places and things I encountered in this 11,000-km journey, and about the joys of […]
Roadies
Posted August 12th, 2010 at 1:08 pm (UTC-4)
Carol and I will soon head out on one of our trademark coast-to-coast adventures, if you count our home in suburban Washington, D.C., 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean, as one of the “coasts.” The other end of the journey, in Port Angeles, Washington, just a short dash up the Strait of Juan […]
