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11/29/2020
11/28/2020
Tourism in 2021
Travel in 2021 will be easier than in 2020. More flights will take off and land. A greater number of countries will welcome visitors. There will be fewer restrictions. But those gains will come, as statisticians like to say, from a very low base. After a year in which flights came to a near-complete standstill, many countries closed their borders and those that still allowed visitors imposed restrictions, even the slightest loosening will be a welcome improvement.
The signs are encouraging. By September 2020, 115 of
the 217 destinations tracked by the UN World Tourism Organisation had loosened
their travel restrictions. Global hotel-occupancy rates more than doubled from
a low of 22% in April to 47% in August. And travellers are willing to get
going. According to Skyscanner, a price-comparison website, there is plenty of
pent-up demand
Three
big changes will define travel in 2021. The first is frequency and length.
Short breaks across borders will remain difficult. As they open, most countries
will impose two-week quarantines on incoming and returning travellers, turning
a three-day holiday into a 31-day ordeal. As a result, trips will be fewer and
longer. Thailand, which
depended on tourism for more than 20% of its GDP in 2019, is will admit
tourists. But the condition is that they stay for at least 90 days. More
countries will follow suit.
A second change is distance. Domestic tourism will
boom in 2021. Big destination countries are trying to make up for the shortfall
in international visitors by encouraging citizens to holiday at home. In America,
airlines are betting on Hawaii. Singapore is giving its citizens $75 US dollars
to spend on local attractions. Even Airbnb’s home page encourages its
customers to “go near”. Holidaymakers will not be difficult to persuade. Going
abroad, although possible, will remain a hassle: countless forms, the need for
covid-19 tests and the risk of being stranded will all discourage foreign
travel.
The third change will be in the nature of the holiday.
As trips get fewer and longer, those who can work from home will find an
attractive alternative in working from somewhere-a-lot-nicer-than-home, and
with fewer restrictions on movements.
Many
of these changes will persist long after a vaccine has been widely deployed.
Travellers will get used to longer trips, more flexibility and combining work
with leisure. International tourism will eventually recover to its 2019 levels. But, starting in 2021, it will look rather different.
From The Economist (edited)
11/26/2020
Filmmaker remembers Diego Maradona (audio)
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11/25/2020
Amazon under fire in France
PARIS - Amazon is under fire in France, where a number of elected officials, union leaders and NGOs want to boycott the U.S. company for Christmas. Critics accuse the technology giant of taking advantage of COVID lockdowns and of engaging in unfair competition with small shop owners. The company says it is generating many jobs in France.
“Dear Santa Claus, this year, we want to celebrate Christmas without Amazon” - that is the beginning of a petition
that signed by almost 25,000 people in France as of Thursday.
The mayor of Paris, Greenpeace, and some
famous French writers have all added their names to the petition.
Critics accuse the U.S. company of tax
evasion, social dumping and not being environmentally friendly. Among their
biggest complaints is that Amazon continues to operate and make huge profits
amid the pandemic while local shop owners remain closed due to the health
restrictions in France.
Matthieu Orphelin is the French lawmaker
who initiated the call to boycott Amazon for Christmas.
“We invite people to purchase their
Christmas gifts from local merchants," Orphelin said. "All around the
world, Amazon is killing the local economy thanks to their aggressive business
model. We do not fight against innovation, but we want to protect our welfare
state, our planet, our local economy from predators like Amazon.”
Labeled as non-essential, gift shops and
many others are in distress. Small businesses fear they might not recover from
the second lockdown and blame what they say is unfair competition from Amazon.
Francis Palombi is the head of the
French federation of small retailers. He says Amazon has been
accumulating sales over the past months in France while small shops remain
closed for a second time due to the pandemic.
The online retail giant has seen a sales
boost in the range of 40 to 50 percent according to Fredric Duval, director of
Amazon in France. Duval went on French public radio and said he is sorry that
opponents describe Amazon as the villain while the American company has
developed business in France and has invested roughly $11 billion dollars in the country since 2010. Duval also says
that Amazon creates direct and indirect jobs and 130,000 people in France work
thanks to Amazon.
Under COVID guidelines, small shops will soon reopen according to tentative, unconfirmed plans by the French
government. President Emmanuel Macron will speak in the coming days to
confirm whether the government plans to lift the lockdown.
From VOA (edited)
How do you charge this car? (audio)
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11/15/2020
New book on Joe Biden
Born: November 20, 1942 in Pennsylvania, USA
Education: College of Law - Syracuse University (1968), University of Delaware (1965), Archmere Academy (1961)
Spouses: Neilia Hunter (1966–1972) Jill Biden (m. 1977),
Children: He had his three eldest kids—*Hunter, Beau, and **Naomi
Biden—with his late wife, Neilia Hunter.
He had his
youngest daughter, Ashley Biden,
with his second wife
* Hunter passed away in 2015 after battling brain
cancer.
**Naomi was 1 year old when she died in a car
crash in 1972. Her mother, Neilia, also passed in the same accident.
New Yorker writer Evan Osnos, who writes about the Democratic presidential candidate in his new book, Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now, notes that the 2020 election represents Biden's third bid for the presidency.
In 1987, during Biden's first run, "he was
regarded as a bit of an arrogant guy," Osnos says.
That campaign ended abruptly after Biden was
accused of plagiarizing a speech by British politician Neil Kinnock. The joke became that Joe Biden was not an authentic
person. It took him a while to acknowledge that it was his own arrogance that
cost him that race.
Within a few months of dropping out of the race,
Biden nearly died from two brain aneurysms. He was rushed to the hospital,
where the doctors called in a priest to deliver last rites. Biden survived
brain surgery but spent months in recovery.
More than 30 years later, Osnos sees a candidate
who has come to terms with the tragedies and mistakes that have shaped his
life.
"If you talk to the 77-year-old Joe Biden now, he's a man who is at peace," Osnos says. "He's at peace from a series of hard-won scars. And it's a very different mindset than he had back then."
Highlights of interview with writer Evan Osnos
- On how Biden was defined by the tragic death of his wife, Neilia, and baby daughter, Naomi, in a car accident in 1972
When it happened, the reality is that Joe Biden did
not expect to take his seat in the Senate. He thought that period of his life
was over. He didn't see practically or spiritually how he could go on. The
reality was he considered suicide. Some older members of the Senate said to
him, "You need to do this not only because it's the right thing to do for
your voters, but it's also the right thing to do for you personally, because if
you don't do something, you will cave in." His sister Valerie told me that
one of the ways that they were able to get him off the floor, in effect, was by
telling him, "You have two boys at home now who have no mother. And if you
collapse, then they have nobody."
Biden struggled in that period with what it meant
to become this kind of public symbol of grieving. widower and father. He didn’t
like that. His image of himself was that he was the college football player
who'd been elected to the Senate and in his 20s, and that's what he had the
idea that he could become a great foreign policy statesman. That's what he
wanted to be. He didn't want to become a symbol of human vulnerability. But it
was thrust upon him and he had to decide whether to embrace it or rebel against
it or something else. ...
It was only later in his life, after the death of
his son Beau in 2015 when Biden came to accept more fully that that's something
that people wanted from him as a political person. They wanted actually
somebody in politics to talk to them about something like suffering and like
vulnerability. And he embraced it, but he didn't come to it quickly. It took a
long time for him to acknowledge that.
- On what Biden stood for in his early years in the Senate
In his very early years as a senator, he was a
moving target politically. I mean, to be blunt about it, he was more concerned
about being reelected than he was about specific policy items.
- On Biden's work on domestic issues
On the domestic front, one of the things that he
defined himself by was being active on issues of law enforcement and crime and
punishment. He was one of the authors of the Violence against Women Act, and he
was active very much in the crime bill of 1994. So these became some of the
issues that he was best known for. He was chairman of the Judiciary Committee,
which is a very powerful position. And all of those began to give him more
stature as a kind of technician in the ways of Congress. He was somebody who
knew how to get things accomplished.
From NPR (edited)
11/14/2020
Beethoven’s letter auction record
Dallas (AP) – A letter from composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was auctioned in the United States for $ 275,000.
Auction house Heritage Auctions announced Friday that it ia one of the
highest prices achieved in recent years for a piece of writing by the Bonn-born
composer. In the pre-auction phase, a price of $ 60,000 was expected.
“It was a complete surprise because it goes beyond
what his letters normally carry,” said Sandra Palomino, head of Rare Manuscripts
at Heritage Auctions. “Beethoven rarely hits the market, but this has excited
people because he talks to us about his music.”
In the handwritten letter on one page, Beethoven asks
a Mr. von Baumann to return the scores for a piano trio and promises to return
them along with a violin sonata within a few days. According to the auction
house, the document was a little crumpled and yellowed, but overall in good
condition.
According to Heritage Auctions, the new
owner of the letter is a pianist who initially wanted to remain anonymous and
who two years ago bought a lock of Beethoven’s hair.
The letter means a lot to her. “Beethoven
was my refuge in my childhood,” the auction house said, citing the successful
bidder. She is planning to donate the document to the New York music college
where she studied.
From Associated Press
11/08/2020
When your last name is Frankenstein
People who have the last name Frankenstein face a life of perpetual bad jokes and surprised expressions. Sharing a name with the iconic monster of fiction means constantly explaining yourself.
In real
life, many Frankensteins are good humored about it.
Forrest Frankenstein, 49, of Harrison, Ohiowho used to work in the construction industry. He says his name has been a reliable source of amusement — like the time when he was pulled over and the police officer looked at his driver’s license and asked: “Forrest Frankenstein? How the hell did you get a name like that?”
He replied:
“Look at the ID; I’m junior. I got it from my father.”
Frankenstein’s
two daughters — Desarae, 21; and Tristen, 23 — hated their name when they were younger.
Kids can be
brutal when picking on other kids, but they don’t dare make fun of their
teacher, at least to their face, said Jeff Frankenstein of Beaver, Pa. He is a
music teacher and band director at New Brighton Middle School, where he said
kids are surprised at first, but then they get used to having Mr. Frankenstein
as their teacher.
As an
introduction to the class, he simply says with a straight face, “Hi, I’m Mr.
Frankenstein.” No explanation or elaboration.
“I try to
be as normal with it as possible because I want to set a good tone for the
year,” said Jeff Frankenstein, 37.
When he was
a kid, Jeff Frankenstein got teased a lot by kids who called him a monster. But
he soon grew to adore his name.
“I’m very
thick-skinned; it really takes a lot to bother me,” he says.
He and his
wife — Hillary, also a music teacher — have always embraced the humor of their
name. At their 2008 wedding reception, the new Mr. and Mrs. Frankenstein made their grand entrance
to the song “Frankenstein” by the Edgar Winter Group.
After the
wedding, they got T-shirts that said “Frankenstein” and “Bride of
Frankenstein.”
The couple
met in college at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, where most of Jeff
Frankenstein’s friends called him Frankie; his girlfriend, though, just called
him Jeff. She happily dropped her maiden name of Williams and changed her last
name when they got married.
Hillary and
Jeff Frankenstein — who have two kids, Hannah, 7, and Isaac, 4 — have
Frankenstein paraphernalia around the house, including a sign in the kitchen
with a picture of the monster and even a personalized Frankenstein doormat.
Daniel
Frankenstein of New York City enjoys joking around with people about his name.
The co-founder and partner of the venture fund Janvest Capital Partners
introduces himself as “Daniel Frankenstein, like the monster.” He ran for
student government in college at the University of California at Berkeley with
the slogan “Vote Frankenstein. He’s not a monster.” It turned out to be a
winning slogan.
When he was
a kid, his family got a lot of “Is this the house of Frankenstein?” calls
around Halloween.
Before his
first day of kindergarten, his father sat him down and said, “Listen, tomorrow
starts the rest of your life when people are going to give you crap for your
name. Never let anybody laugh at you; laugh with them.” George Frankenstein
gave young Daniel some lines he could use as comebacks. If someone said he had
a funny name, he could reply with, “What’s wrong with Daniel?”
Now his
name is a business asset because nobody ever forgets Daniel Frankenstein, even months
after meeting him — though it can be awkward because he doesn’t always remember
everyone who remembers him.
But not all
Frankensteins have a lifelong appreciation for their name. Childhood was rough
for Guy Frankenstein, 54, who got bullied for both his first and last name.
Kids would imitate the stiff Frankenstein walk and asked if the bolts in his
head needed tightening.
“You’re
looking rather green today,” kids used to say.
“When I was
younger, it was a pain,” said Guy Frankenstein, who met Forrest Frankenstein
two years ago through their daughters on Facebook and thinks they might be
distant cousins.
But these
days Guy Frankenstein’s kids — Jacob, 26; Johanna, 25; Makenna, 21; Tristen,
19; and Alivia, 13 — don’t get teased about their name, he thinks probably
because Frankenstein as a character isn’t as popular as it once was.
Shelley’s book introduced him in 1818, and the movie “Frankenstein” starring Boris Karloff came out in 1931. The TV show “The Munsters,” featuring Herman Munster as a Frankenstein-like character, ran in the 1960s, and the comedy “Young Frankenstein” — a favorite of the real Frankensteins — came out in 1974.
From The Washington Post (edited)
11/01/2020
San Francisco Chinese food legend dies at 100 (audio and video)
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London's air quality improvement (captions)
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Funny signs
“Toilet out of order. Please use floor below.”
In a Laundromat: “Automatic Washing Machines: Please remove all your clothes when the light goes out.”
In an office: “Would the person who took the stepladder yesterday please bring it back or further steps will be taken?”
In an office: “After tea break, staff should empty the teapot and stand upside down on the draining board.”
Outside a second-hand shop: “We exchange anything – bicycles, washing machines, etc. Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain?”
Notice in health food shop window: “Closed due to illness”
Spotted in a safari park: “Elephants, please stay in your car.”
Seen during a conference: “For anyone who has children and doesn’t know it, there is a day care on the 1st floor.”
Notice in a farmer’s field: “The farmer allows walkers to cross the field for free, but the bull charges.”
Message on a leaflet: “If you cannot read, this leaflet will tell you how to get lessons.”
On a repair shop
door: “We can repair anything. (Please knock hard on the door – the bell
doesn’t work.)”
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