Mobissimo

Virgin Airlines seems to like dwelling on the sexy theme.  From the youngish models in their ads, to the omnipresent 'fun and irreverent' attitude the airline wants to convey, Virgin espouses the swashbuckling persona of its leader Sir Richard Branson.  As part of its message to hook up and fly, Virgin is offering inflight texting capability.  More here via Budget Travel.

If its ad campaigns are any indication, Virgin America has big plans for its in-flight instant messaging service. The airline is apparently convinced that passengers will while away the hours gossiping, discussing breaking news, sharing musical recommendations—and, of course, finding true love only a few (previously inaccessible) aisles away.

Well, travel can be time consuming and often you can spend a good afternoon researching fares.  Mobissimo helps you cut through this, but we don't mind you spending time on the site, in fact, we encourage it.  Travel sites are now being blocked by employers because they do take up time and decrease productivity.  I mean, you should be focusing on growing your business, doing some competitor research, and figuring out your own market instead of planning your vacation travel, true?  More here via VNUnet.com.

Companies that limit employee use of the internet are more likely to block travel and social networking sites than porn sites, according to a report released today at Infosec Europe 2008.

A survey of 300 UK companies found that travel and social networking topped the league of blocked sites, with personal webmail not far behind.

The things to do for Earth Day are varied, 22 April, I think that the primary day for PA, so obviously an important day politically.  There are a myriad of things to do on the 22nd of April, find something in your neighbourhood and make a difference.  More here via Planet Love.

Earth Day 2008 is just around the corner. Join the global celebration for a healthy planet!

On April 22, 1970, 20 million people celebrated the first Earth Day, the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson, one of the most environmentally aware men to ever grace the United States Senate floor.

Senator Nelson observed “teach-ins” on college campuses against the Vietnam War, and believed the same approach could work to bring environmental concerns to the forefront of American politics. He announced his idea during a speech in Seattle, Washington in 1969.

I've been to San Sebastian probably around 10-12 times now.  A usual stop for me in the summer, San Sebastian is always a welcome respite from the heat of Spain, the crowds of Italy, and the food of the UK.  A convenient stop from Paris to Madrid, San Sebastian is a worthwhile stop, one visit and you'll 1) never leave 2) plan your next trip back 3) find every excuse to visit again.  I'm not the only one who believes such, here's more via New York Magazine.

Unlike other beautiful, dramatic coastal regions in Spain and France, Basque country has always maintained a certain mystery. There’s the incomprehensible language, full of p’s, x’s and k’s, of course, and the four-decade menace of the violent separatist group ETA. But against that there’s a strong, sophisticated culture that’s retained its own identity, even in the face of increased EU-ization. Now ETA has declared a cease-fire, Basque chefs are setting world standards for adventurous food, days are balmy but breezy, and the European hordes haven’t yet overtaken the beaches—so it’s the perfect time to spend four or five days in the region’s cultural epicenter, San Sebastián.

It would have to be Germans, but this one is kinda strange, I'll let you just read on.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German nudists will be able to start their holidays early by stripping off on the plane if they take up a new offer from an eastern German travel firm.

Travel agency OssiUrlaub.de said it would start taking bookings from Friday for a trial nudist day trip from the eastern German town of Erfurt to the popular Baltic Sea resort of Usedom, planned for July 5 and costing 499 euros ($735).

Any traveler knows the litany of things about traveling that kill the buzz after a while.  Strange food, strange sanitation, the pack of Ozzies that seems to be following you to every destination.  Well, you may hate it now, but when you get back home, go back to the 9 to 5, you'll realize sitting on that crowded bus in Vientiane with all those chickens was actually pretty darn cool.  More here via Brave New Traveler.

When you travel for more than a few months at a stretch, it becomes a job. A job you don’t really like all the time. A job you start to complain about.

I should know - while skipping around the world for a year, I did a lot less skipping than I did budgeting, reading transportation timetables, and gesturing wildly to unsympathetic street vendors.

But eventually the journey ends, you return to your normal life, and something magical happens: you find yourself wanting that old job back, warts and all.

Here are ten things I couldn’t stand then, but am pining for now.

Thoreau, Emerson, Muir.  The heavyweights of writing and traveling.  For them, the backyard was miles deep, the streams ever long, and the skies clear and  sunny.  Nowadays we just jump on a non-descript metal tube, which takes us underground to another non-descript metal tube.  Eat a reheated meal and eat a handful of peanuts.  Sigh*  My kingdom for a horse and carriage.  Here's more on Thoreau.

“I have traveled a great deal in Concord,” said Henry Thoreau, a native of…wait for it…Concord, Massachusetts.

In fact, Thoreau traveled far and wide for his day and age, vagabonding to Cape Cod and the vast wilderness of the Maine Woods. However, the great prophet of enlightened self-reliance claimed to have done most of his traveling in his own hometown.

You've heard of the horse whisperer, the dog whisperer, even the bat whisperer, but here's a new one, the lion whisperer.  Being one with nature is indeed an appealing venture for some, but sometimes people go a little too far.

Kevin Richardson, a zoologist and animal behaviouralist, has raised and trained some of the most dangerous animals known to man. To do this he does not use the common methods of breaking the animal's spirit with sticks and chains, instead he uses love, understanding and trust.

Big deal.  It's just a big cat.  I'd like to see a cobra whisperer, perhaps a rhino whisperer, until then, I guess this will suffice.

I don't really know anything about podcasting, but I guess you can do a monologue about something and put on the web and then other people can listen to you ramble.  Great*  You always see those tourists in the museums with them on, why not do it for the larger city in general.  Here's a guide on how to do it.

Let’s face it – when it comes to highlighting diverse and wonderful locations around the world, words sometimes don’t cut it. Travelers want images. They want sounds. They want local flavor. They want authenticity. They want the next-best-thing to actually being there.

Well, I mean besides all the landmark casinos in Las Vegas, which seem to get destroyed on a whim, these are the top 10 you need to see before they succumb to destruction, decay, or malaise.  Here's Number 1.

1. Nauru

This tiny island in the South Pacific may soon be completely uninhabitable, and it's all because the locals forgot to follow the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared.

Asia has many, many, many beaches which are unbelievable.  However, lying on a beach probably has less cache in the east than for most westerners.  The beach is meant for family time, sports, etc ... just lying on a beach is pretty much for westerners only, plus the fact that asians seem to like to swim with all their clothes on, perhaps a modesty issue.  Here's something from Concierge.com.

Forgive me if I feel compelled to debunk the myth of the Asian beach. This vast geographic expanse, with its exotic islands, fabled archipelagoes, and crenelated coastlines, offers few exquisite and accessible strands compared with, say, the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. "Nonsense," barked everyone with whom I discussed this assignment. When asked for nominations, however, the so-called experts divulged a mere handful and the neophytes conjured a largely mythical Bali Ha'i.

If you've traveled around, even just somewhere a couple hours away, most likely you'll experience something that is fairly noteworthy, if not to you, maybe to someone else. Not all of us have compelling stories like being help captive in Tangiers by a Berber rug trader or dining with an ancestor of Genghis Khan in Ulan Bator, but here's betting you got something, maybe even little thing you could share with others in a travel documentary.

So you want to make a travel documentary. Anyone these days can grab a camera and shoot. To make a good documentary you should first think of a few things:

-What is the story?

-Why is it important?

-Who are the characters?

-What is the character’s main goal?

-Who is the target audience?

While MobiBlog doesn't pay for blog post or articles, here's a list of some sites that do.  Do you have a budding Theroux in your family, are you the next Pearl S. Buck or Hemingway?  Great literary careers were launched by writing about travel, here's your chance.

Are you an editor of another publication looking for talented writers? Click here to post an assignment you're looking for (FREE) and start tapping into the wealth of professional and aspiring writers on Matador today!

Cezanne, one our favourite artists here at Mobissimo, will be on exhibit in the prestigious National Gallery in London.

A century after Cezanne's death, major galleries around the globe are celebrating art that was not appreciated for most of his life. It was not until 1925 that an exhibit of his art was shown here. The National Gallery once turned down an offer to purchase his work with the derisive rebuff that the museum had no room.

Ach, well, what do Britons know about art anyway?  Tickets to London are from $400-$700 from the US here on Mobissimo, also, you can search for Museums in our Activity Search and lots of other neato things too like volcanoes!

People travel for many reasons. Cultural experience. Family vacation. Business. Kidneys. Spleens. That's right, after years of rumor and denial, China has officially admitted that its organ business is booming. And in an attempt to answer critics that claim prisoners were being executed just to fill the huge demand for organs, new rules will regulate the organ industry in China:

BEIJING -- China has acknowledged the practice of "transplant tourism," in which the organs of executed prisoners are sold to foreigners, and says it wants to regulate the sale of kidneys, livers and other body parts.
"Most of the organs from cadavers are from executed prisoners," Vice Health Minister Huang Jiefu said at a summit for transplant doctors in Guangzhou this week, state newspapers reported.
The practice had been repeatedly denied by the government.
A ministry spokesman also said that "wealthier people, including foreign patients" could jump waiting lists because they were willing to pay more.

Going rates for kidneys is $40,000 and livers $60,000. Via The Washington Times.

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