America's Purdiest, Per Forbes Traveler

ForbesTraveler.com recently compiled a list of what they deemed to be the prettiest darn towns in these here United States. Luckily for me, I've already seen quite a few of them -- and I've knocked off several this summer alone.

There was a wealth of options in the Southwest and Northeast, but I was surprised how few were in the Northwest, and not so surprised about the lack in the Southeast and Midwest. But where's Bellingham or Friday Harbor? And does New Hampshire really warrant two picks?

The biggest surprise was Bodie, a California ghost town in the Sierras, current population: 0. I have to admit, the photos from my visit there a few years back are some of my favorites, as it's quite the picturesque town. It helped that no cars ever drove in front of my shots. Here's my tally of the been-there, done-thats from the Forbes list:

• Rockport, ME
  
• Springdale, UT
  
• Burlington, VT -- Visited this summer on a day-trip from the Berkshires. Pretty town, but the realistic statues of people frozen in everyday poses was a tad on the eerie side.
  
• Bisbee, AZ
  
• Cape May, NJ -- How is it that I worked on a film about the Jersey Shore all summer and still never made it here?
  
• Annapolis, MD -- When I drove through the colonial-styled town a few years back, my friend remarked, "I want to write a book here." I still have dreams of holing myself up in an 18th-century home with my laptop in front of the fire.
  
• Lake Placid, NY -- Does driving through on the way to Montreal count? Darn, thought not.
  
• Portsmouth, NH
  
• New Hope, PA -- Finally knocked this one off the list just a few weeks ago.
  
• Flagstaff, AZ
  
• Newport, RI -- Skip the Breakers. Visit Belcourt Castle instead.
  
• Galena, IL
  
• Marfa, TX
  
• Park City, UT
  
• Mendocino, CA
  
• Savannah, GA
  
• Bodie, CA -- I swear, I'll post pictures soon. I'm pretty proud of these. So proud that there are bathrooms across LA with pictures of my black-and-white outhouses hanging in them.
  
• Hanover, NH
  
• Aspen, CO -- I'm counting this one because I drove through twice this summer.
  
• Santa Fe, NM

Africans Kick French Butt in Scrabble

In some African countries, Scrabble isn't just a board game, it's a government-endorsed sport, a source of national pride that sees cash-poor countries jetting their top Scrabble athletes around the world to international competitions. And that persistence is paying off.

Former French colonies are starting to make the French sweat. For the third year in a row, an African player has stuck it to the French in the one-on-one competition at the Francophone World Scrabble Championship.

My favorite part of this story is just how dedicated the Africans are to their sport, even going so far as to make their own Scrabble boards out of discarded materials so they can practice. Such persistence is what gave Senegalese player Amar Diokh, who didn't even learn French until his teens, the edge to beat his French opponent.

More on this story:
For Some Africans, Scrabble More Than Just a Game
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gJ3osTr09nDxYRdA807v6hSiu96wD925CU3O0

Fucking, Austria

(An oldie but a goodie.)

For once, it's not the Americans who are getting a bad international rap. This time it's the Brits who are making asses of themselves on the continent, namely in Fucking, Austria, a town that has been vandalized many times over by limeys intent on stealing signs.
My favorite part: the sign under the town's name, which begs Fucking visitors "Please, not so fast!"

The newspaper article that appears to have broken the Fucking story a few years back could have used a fact-checker. At least one blogger was smart enough to point out that the headline, "Germans Not Amused," was geographically incorrect. Fucking journalists.

Other great (and not necessarily lewd) town and place names:

• Anus, France (Not to mention same-named towns in Indonesia and The Philippines)
  
• Assawoman, Virginia
  
• Bald Knob, Arkansas
  
• Batman, Turkey
  
• Beaverville, Illinois
  
• Bevis Lake, Washington -- Also known to the US Census Bureau as Butthead Lake
  
• Big Beaver Road (Exit 69 on I-75 in Troy, Michigan. I used to pass this when driving from Ann Arbor to Detroit)
  
• Bloody Dick Peak, Montana -- Elevation 9,817 feet!
  
• Blue Ball, Pennsylvania -- Conveniently located in the same county as Intercourse and Virginville
  
• Condom, France
  
• Gay, Michigan -- Home to the -- you guessed it -- Gay Bar
  
• Gayville, South Dakota
  
• Glasscock County, Texas -- Someone please tell me the etymology of this one.
  
• Hell, Michigan
  
• Long Dong, China
  
• Mount Blowhard, Queensland (Australia)
  
• Petting, Germany
  
• Seman, Alabama
  
• Shades of Death Road
  
• Thong, Kent (UK)
  
• Three Cocks, Wales
  
• Weener, Germany
  
• Willacoochee, Georgia
  

I was going to try to make this list as comprehensive as I could, but it looks as if I could go on forever. Feel free to comment with your own favorites.

BTW, I'm only including names I can verify. I've seen websites citing such choice destinations as Cockland, Ohio; Hot Coffee, Missouri; Cockintake, Staffordshire (UK); and Maggie's Nipples, Wyoming, but either Google maps and Wikipedia have decided to collectively deny their existence, or the town visitors bureaus have thoughtfully voted to change their names. If you add a name, please try to include a verifiable link. Thanks!

Photo Chosen for Schmap's California Guide

Someone at Schmap must love me. I'd never even heard of the site before they contacted me in March to tell me my photo of Kealakekua Bay had been short-listed for the Hawaii guide. (It eventually made it in.)

Now one of my photos for the Tallac Historic Site, located on South Lake Tahoe, has been chosen to be included in Schmap's California guide. You'll have to wait as the little widget below scrolls through the varied Golden State landmarks before you see my shot, but there's some pretty cool ones from other Flickr (which is where Schmap found my photos) users as well:



Chosen photo:

Countries With Multiple Capitals; Or, Why Geography Tests Are Unfair

While playing, yet again, my favorite online geography game, I was stumped by a question asking for Bolivia's capital that included a footnote hint that I should go for the sweet one. (Turns out the answer is Sucre, as opposed to the more commonly known La Paz). How can a country have more than one capital? Surely that must drive its resident students mad, let alone visiting foreigners. But, sure enough, several countries maintain multiple capital cities -- most for practical reasons, others simply because the stars told them so. South Africa finds it necessary to maintain not two but three capital cities: Cape Town (legislative capital), Bloemfontein (judicial), and Pretoria (administrative).

Note to bureaucrats: Follow the wisdom of designers and KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). If only for the sake of your students.

World Flags, Deconstructed and Critiqued

I am now officially addicted to the Travelpod geography quiz that I blogged about a few weeks back. (Today I'm trying to conquer Africa. Interestingly enough, I've already conquered the world.) By far the hardest version of the game is Flags, wherein you're shown a flag from one of the 192-194 (depending how you count them) countries, numerous independent states and territories/dependencies, and you not only have to name the country and find it on a map, but know where it's capital is located. Tough stuff in seven seconds!

To brush up on my flags -- many of which have changed design or become non-existant since my pre-college days -- I went in search of a complete list. And what did I come across? A hysterical design critique that breaks down the good, bad, and the ugly of each nation's flag, finally assigning it a letter grade. Flags are lauded for such characteristics as simplicity and color choice, or lambasted for the inclusion of weapons, graven images, or even "colonial nonsense." Gambia must have a great PR firm, because it came out on top with a 90 (somehow, the critics see 90 as an A+), while the Northern Marianas failed with a measly 2 for a design that appears to be "constructed from clip art."

(Side note: The author behind the site also created a fantastically entertaining Engrish generator.)

For a more professional -- and even more hilarious -- take on flag design, check out the website of Frederik Samuel, who skewers not just the designs but the "clients" behind them. I'll be sure to hire him to design my flag when I become empress of my own island nation.

Online Quiz for Geography Geeks

I've wasted several hours on this site playing its various geography-themed quizzes. Now I'm letting everyone in on my addiction so you can procrastinate just like me. My highest score on the World version of the game is 551,113, level 12. Beat that! Oh, if you want a triple threat of a quiz, play the Flags of the World version. Not only do you have to recognize what country the flag is from, but you then have to pinpoint the capital of the country on a map -- in less than 10 seconds. Talk about a brain scrambler.

http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq/game

Where I've Been: The World

Not too shabby a round-up, although I'd hoped to have lived abroad a bit more by this point. Anyone know how I can wrangle up a U.K. or New Zealand visa?



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