MOVIE BUZZ – A video of a quick trip to New York, as captured by an iPhone in the style of a French picture romain.A short and strangely charming travel story.

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TV BUZZ – A documentary-style show on the National Geographic channel that chronicles young twenty-somethings who have been incarcerated while traveling in countries including Venezuela, Mexico, Nepal and Thailand.In case you ever wished there was an episode of “True Life: I’m a Drug Mule,” National Geographic is finally expanding its typical programming of nature documentaries to include a show about young travelers learning frightening lessons in foreign countries.

The Best Links:

1. Watch Seth Rogen and James Franco’s Publicity Stint
2. This Episode Carries a Life Lesson: Don’t Be a Drug Mule
3. My new favorite show: Locked Up Abroad
4. Franco: MTV Gave Us the Bag of ‘fake Weed’
5. The Government Should Consider Supporting a Program for Travelers that Get Stuck Overseas
6. “Okay this is a totally obscure show but I seriously encourage everyone on this forum to watch it”
7. Locked Up Abroad on the National Geographic Channel
8. YouTube - Watch a Clip - Cocaine Bust Abroad
9. Based on a British Documentary Series

CULTURE BUZZ – As gas prices soar, summer vacations are being replaced by the act of making a holiday in your own backyard (or at least within city limits).So break out that suntan lotion and pull up a chaise. You’re in Jamaica! (…Queens, but still.)

The Best Links:

1. Staycations: 5 Ways To Go Nowhere — For Fun!
2. Go Local, Keep It Cheap!
3. Who Needs To Jetset When You’ve Got a Garden to Tend To?
4. “Staycation:” A Buzzword Defined
5. JWT, the Largest Ad Agency in the US, is All About Staycations

CULTURE BUZZ – Hotels installed within boats offer seaside lodging without the seasickness.It’s basically a cruise that doesn’t move. Nothing too novel, but I like new, made-up words.

The Best Links:

1. A Unique Way to Lodge in Stockholm, Budapest or Prague
2. Get All the Amenities of a Hotel Shoreside
3. LogInn Hotel in Stockholm
4. Botel Review: The Dutch Cockney
5. Reefworld is the world’s first “fully eco-friendly floating hotel”

MOVIE BUZZ – Expedia has created tours inspired by the Indiana Jones movies.Destinations include India, Egypt, Italy, China, Jordan, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, and the Southwestern United States. There is no mention in the PR materials of whether travelers need supply their own young Asian boy to act as Short Round.

The Best Links:

1. How (And Where) to Live Out Your Indiana Jones Fantasies
2. Don’t Forget Your Fedora
3. Indiana Jones Experiences Official Site
4. Win My Indy PR Swag
5. Indiana Jones Travel Experiences with Expedia
6. “Back From Yet Another Globetrotting Adventure, Indiana Jones Checks His Mail and Discovers That His Bid for Tenure Has Been Denied.”
7. YTMND - Short Round FTW!

CULTURE BUZZ – The New York Times reports on the growing luxury market for nudist vacations.It’s no longer just remote lake shores and isolated R.V. parks for nudists. As the Times writes, “the real boom in nude vacations is coming at the high end of the business, as upscale hotels and resorts, and even some luxury cruise lines, have begun to see the economic potential in the no-clothes crowd.”

The Best Links:

1. Nude Vacations Sound So Much Easier to Pack For, So That’s A Plus
2. American Association for Nude Recreation - Nakation in a Box
3. Nudist Says: Nice to Get Good Press
4. Looks Like This Story Was Really Shopped Around
5. The Joys of the Micro-Nakation

BUSINESS BUZZ – The rapper has, for some reason, started a travel web site.Though the design could use some work, it appears to be legit: KanyeTravel wants to book you in your next stylish adventure vacation (fancy sunglasses not included).

The Best Links:

1. Kanye Travel Ventures
2. Will Kanye Succeed Where Other Celebs Have Failed?
3. Surely it’s part of Ashton Kutcher’s Pop Fiction?
4. Kanye West Will Book You A Rental Car!
5. Travel Kanye Style
6. Kanye’s Official Site

CULTURE BUZZ – Just swish this thermometer-like device inside a glass of water and you’ll get instant drinkable water with no after-taste.Having all been recent victims of the Norovirus, we know that sitting on the toilet for two days straight in a foreign country is no one’s idea of fun. This solar-powered gadget should ensure safe travels abroad.

The Best Links:

1. NY Times Article: “Cleaner Water With a Wand (No Magic Required)”
2. The Smiley Face and Frowny Face on the LCD Display Is So Cute!
3. The Ultimate Ultralight Backpacking Water Purifier
4. Steripen Official Website
5. It’s Even Powered by the Sun
6. Perfect for all that Backcountry Camping You’ll Be Doing This Summer
7. Review: “It’s the Best Water Purifier You Can Carry Without a Tractor-trailer”
8. …But It Won’t Replace Filtration

BUSINESS BUZZ – A resort located 40 feet below water off an island in Fiji is set to open in 2009.The Poseidon has tons of amenities, including seven bars, a golf course and a control console where you get to feed the fish. Unfortunately with reservations starting at $30,000, partying like a Snorks is way out of our price range.

The Best Links:

1. Check Out the Poseidon Resort
2. Underwater Vacation
3. Poseidon Resort Official Website
4. The Poseidon Resort - the first underwater HOTEL in the world
5. “1200 Square Feet Under the Sea

CULTURE BUZZ – Travel guru Arthur Frommer issues a call to slumming.Sort of like dark tourism, but instead of visiting places of tragic world-historical importance, you stop by the overlooked neighborhoods of the poor.

The Best Links:

1. Rich White People Need To Get Out More
2. Note: Harlem’s Not Actually A Slum Since The Yuppies Started Moving In
3. “We should at least spare them the ignominy of being reduced to objects of pity.”
4. Meet Street Urchins in India!
5. Check Out Vibrant Soweto Township!
6. All Manner of African Slums!
7. Tour Brazil’s Favelas!