Comments on: Did you remember to turn off the gas?
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas/
Comments on MetaFilter post Did you remember to turn off the gas?Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:50:09 -0800Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:50:09 -0800en-ushttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss60Did you remember to turn off the gas?
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/dec/08/travel-guide-books?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+theguardian/books/rss+(Books)">If there's one genre you have to read before you die it's the travel book</a> <em><br><strong>Standard guidebook</strong>: "Should you be caught up in a frenzied riot during your time in Jakarta, make your way immediately to your country's embassy. Once inside, relax with one of the native beverages, and think about what a great story you'll have to tell Andy and Rhona on your return."<br>
<strong>Hip guidebook</strong>:"Should you be caught up in a frenzied riot during your time in Jakarta, consider yourself fortunate to witness the valid cultural expression of a wonderfully passionate race. Feel free to hurl a Molotov cocktail at the riot squad." </em><small>(via <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/shared/14569541748422553908">Jorn</a>></small>post:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:21:19 -0800caddistravelbooksguidesguide_bookshumorgenreBy: Roman Graves
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858851
I don't understand what all the hate is about. Travel is one of the most transformative experiences a person can have. Who wouldn't want to read about it? Maybe these folks have never picked up anything by Mark Twain or William Least-Heat Moon.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858851Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:50:09 -0800Roman GravesBy: Ghidorah
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858855
Riding the Iron Rooster is one of my favorite books, and yes, it's about someone elses travels (and yeah, Theroux blah blah). It's dated, and some of his opinons are a touch unpleasant when read now, but you know what? I read that book after having lived in China, and I was able, occasionally, to say hey, I was on that train, I know exactly what he's talking about. The parts where I couldn't say that made me want to return, so I could see what he was talking about for myself.
Of course, folks should feel free to snark on travel. Their absence at the check-in gate makes everything go faster for the rest of us.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858855Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:08:33 -0800GhidorahBy: slimepuppy
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858862
I thought it was quite droll. Genuine hate towards travel was not what I got out of it.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858862Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:34:16 -0800slimepuppyBy: Lleyam
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858864
I agree with the comments on the Guardian. It thought it was funny, you wanted it to be funny, it was *so* not funny.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858864Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:35:32 -0800LleyamBy: kanewai
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858872
I agree. As someone who had a love/loathing (good old-fashioned love/hate isn't good enough) for Lonely Planet, I was primed for a good satire. This misses the mark on all counts.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858872Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:59:16 -0800kanewaiBy: dearsina
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858879
Travel books are to travelling as paint-by-numbers books are to art. Thank you caddis, I found the article spot on.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858879Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:10:44 -0800dearsinaBy: Telf
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858880
Hey they Hunter S. Thompson bit was pretty good:
<em>
"Far-gone cats crazy for kicks tumbling down that golden highway toward the ocean and God knows what whiskey and revolver dreams of the open road and God's dark holy country most righteous groove into the black heart of that black-topped highway leading to the ends of the bounteous earth and her dark belly to hold dusty broken travellers tumbling that cold locomotive to death and infamy."</em>
<small><small>Please do not <strong>Metafilter: </strong>Far-gone cats crazy for kicks tumbling down that golden highway toward the ocean and God knows what whiskey and revolver dreams of the open road and God's dark holy country most righteous groove into the black heart of that black-topped highway leading to the ends of the bounteous earth and her dark belly to hold dusty broken travellers tumbling that cold locomotive to death and infamy." that.</small></small>comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858880Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:15:14 -0800TelfBy: Ndwright
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858884
Metafilter: Please do not Metafilter.
(couldn't resist)
I laughed. It was quite funny. Great job of capturing the inanity of bad travelogue:
<em>
"June 14: Bought ticket for Bruges at Gare du Nord. Ticket-seller unfriendly: railway staff are the same all over the world. Looking forward to seeing Belgium. I've heard it's quite like Holland, only more Belgian."</em>comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858884Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:33:05 -0800NdwrightBy: Joakim Ziegler
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858886
Telf: That's pretty much a straight Kerouac parody, by the way, Thompson's prose doesn't really resemble that.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858886Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:34:41 -0800Joakim ZieglerBy: maxwelton
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858899
<em>Along the Ankh with Bow, Rod and Staff with a Knob on the End</em> was definitely a magical read.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858899Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:09:20 -0800maxweltonBy: onalark
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858900
It's frustrating, because the blog post would have been useful if it had actually pointed out examples of the books in question. Instead, it was just a meta-critic blah blah look at how silly all these books are.
Well screw you, Mr. Blogger, those genre's appeal to me, and I want to know what's a good book to read to prepare myself for hiking the famous pilgrimage trails in Japan with a backpack and candy bars.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858900Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:10:32 -0800onalarkBy: jonesor
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858907
<em>It's meant to be funny – and out of compassion, you really want it to be funny – but it never actually is funny.</em>
This.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858907Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:33:28 -0800jonesorBy: Jody Tresidder
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858935
One of the most nifty parodies of the genre was actually published back in 1930, and had extremely clever fun with BOTH the "safari memoir and the layperson's medical compendium'".
Titled "<em>Through the Alimentary Canal with Gun and Camera</em>" it was by Walter E. Traprock, who was really writer and architect, George S. Chappell.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858935Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:30:16 -0800Jody TresidderBy: localhuman
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858941
I don't care for travelouges, and I haven't even clicked the linked sources in this post. But reading the Hunter S Thompson parody of Mr. Kerouac makes me really want to go back and re-read Kerouac-- so that I may have a better understanding of that body of work that I read so closely as a younger version of me.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858941Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:03:45 -0800localhumanBy: i_cola
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858942
From the comments:
<blockquote> ...your entry is comedy gold (it made it to MetaFilter)
Good luck convincing middle England!</blockquote>
Someone around here (and there) is confused about a number of things.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858942Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:04:09 -0800i_colaBy: stargell
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858950
I've only read the first of <a href="http://www.jetlagtravel.com/">these</a>, but it was wonderful.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858950Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:17:19 -0800stargellBy: craichead
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858957
Huh. I thought it was funny. And it seems a little bizarre to equate snarking about travel writing with snarking about travel.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858957Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:29:28 -0800craicheadBy: Civil_Disobedient
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2858958
No mention of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_and_Out_in_Paris_and_London"><i>Down and Out in Paris and London</i></a> by Orwell, I see. That book single-handedly changed the way I looked at homelessness, and is a fantastically engaging bit of travel writing to boot.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2858958Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:30:07 -0800Civil_DisobedientBy: Target Practice
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2859011
<i>Full of useless information such as... and which sexual acts can have you imprisoned in Montevideo.</i>
I don't know, that strikes me as pretty useful.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2859011Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:49:42 -0800Target PracticeBy: gimonca
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2859028
<i>which sexual acts can have you imprisoned in Montevideo</i>
Uruguay or Minnesota?comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2859028Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:06:10 -0800gimoncaBy: kozad
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2859055
Paul Theroux. Read everything he wrote and you can forget about the fucking Bucket List.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2859055Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:22:06 -0800kozadBy: Legomancer
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2859073
<i>Full of useless information such as... and which sexual acts can have you imprisoned in Montevideo.</i>
I can tell you which ones will do it in Blockbuster Video.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2859073Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:36:18 -0800LegomancerBy: Spatch
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2859092
Those Bucket List books are horrid things. Perfect for the friend who's got everything except a healthy sense of futility.
"You <i>think</i> you accomplished much in your life, but did you ever eat yak in Nepal?"
"...no. Shit. My entire life's a waste. Thanks, Bucket List!"comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2859092Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:52:37 -0800SpatchBy: Electrius
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2859113
"Cosmopoli"? If you're not already aware of this, take note: any English word that ends in <i>polis</i> is probably derived from the Greek word, and the plural is <i>poleis.</i> Therefore, the plural of "cosmopolis" is "cosmopoleis." If you're not a pedant, feel free to use the incorrect but understandable "cosmopolises," but, for the love of God, stay away from abominations like "cosmopoli," which imply a Latin root that isn't there.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2859113Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:01:20 -0800ElectriusBy: Jilder
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2859133
<a href="http://www.molvania.com/">We can get some better travel satire.</a>comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2859133Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:09:46 -0800JilderBy: Telf
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2859190
<em>Telf: That's pretty much a straight Kerouac parody, by the way, Thompson's prose doesn't really resemble that.</em>
I disagree slightly, but fair enough.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2859190Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:35:34 -0800TelfBy: stbalbach
http://www.metafilter.com/87366/Did-you-remember-to-turn-off-the-gas#2860043
Good quicky satire of the travel genre (if such a thing can be defined). There are other forms of course, this is just a small number.
The greatest satire of travel literature is <i>Gulliver's Travels</i>, it's been a joke ever since.comment:www.metafilter.com,2009:site.87366-2860043Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:30:53 -0800stbalbach
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