The week in travel: August 27, 2010

I am having a serious case of those wistful, end-of-summer blues. Fortunately, there are a few sunny days left on the calendar to keep them at bay, a few trips to sunny locales that will help me forget that soon Seattle will be back to its old gray tricks. And there are things to smile about. Silly things. Wonderful things.

And a few things to think about, too, because I read somewhere that we ought to try and do that every now and then, even when we’re screwing around on the internet.

Oh, and some inane stuff, too, of course. Enjoy.

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A Pop-Tarts restaurant is opening in Times Square. Just looking at the footage makes my blood sugar spike. We’re clearly taking steps to make sure Britain doesn’t inch anywhere closer to our title of World’s Most Obese Country. (via Vagabondish)

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Continuing on the junkfood theme, this comparison of fast food items as they appear in ads versus real life is pretty darn interesting. Unsurprising, but interesting. (Thanks to my bro, Edward, for the link)

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Two words: MINI FROGS!!! (Or is that one word, hyphenated? Whatever. I’ll take a thousand of them, please.)

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The Hungover Owls blog is absolutely killing me. A good while ago, the brilliant Ben Huff and I had a discussion about why owls always look pissed off. We briefly joked about an “Owls are Assholes” blog. This is better.

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Warning: this next site will play music the second you visit it. But then again, that’s the whole idea. Got a song stuck in your head? UnhearIt.com will help you eliminate the catchy tune that keeps playing over and over again in your brain. How? By playing another equally-catchy song to replace it. After a few listens, I heard Bobby McFerrin‘s Don’t Worry, Be Happy, the theme to Super Mario Bros. 2 (my husband was able to peg it as being from the sequel), and then was subsequently Rickrolled.

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Regardless of what you think of the president, this is highly adorable. (Personally, I happen to like the guy, even though he turned out to be waaay more moderate that I had hoped).

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The Avid Trips blog launched this week, and I’m super excited to have an article I wrote be one of the first featured on the site (Sigh – a title I have to share with Peter West Carey. WHY’S HE ALWAYS STEALING MY SPOTLIGHT?). Anywho, check out my piece on why you should go to Iceland.

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This collection of photos, featuring life on the New York subway during the 80s, is amazing. It reveals the underground system’s dark and gritty past, with painful honesty and, surprising, a good measure of beauty as well.

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Damn, kitty. You’re looking good.

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Deanna of Traveling Monkeys sent me the following video, which absolutely slayed me. If you’re a freelancer, it will ring very close to home.

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Sigh. It’s funny ’cause it’s true.

And with that, I’m off to go squeeze the last few drops of life out of summer. Have a great weekend, everyone!