Tag Archives: USA

Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time

Long before people walked into each other while looking at their phones, there were collisions on Hollywood Boulevard. On arguably the most famous street in America, pedestrians have an unfortunate habit of strolling along, then hitting the brakes without warning when they spot a name they idolise on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Thankfully,..
The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men

Vail in the off season is a strange place to be. Through winter, it is one of the busiest, most expensive places in America, the resort dozens of US Winter Olympics athletes choose to call home. The glamour and buzz are much harder to imagine in early summer, when Vail..
Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire

I have been good at many computer games, but I have been great at only one: Tekken. The ‘King of Iron Fist Tournament’ was first developed by Japanese gaming stalwarts Namco in 1994 and a few months later became one of the early flagship titles for the new Sony Playstation...
State of Play

State of Play

Thanks to its ubiquitous sign, ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada’ may be the most famous branding of any city in the world, even if it’s not always telling the truth. Nevada’s largest city is many things to many people – fabulous for some, but it can just as easily..
Once Upon a Time in the West

Once Upon a Time in the West

When the gun goes off, its belligerent noise slams into a vermillion cliff-face, then echoes back over our heads and out into the infinite expanse of central Wyoming. There’s a gentle tinkle as the bullet casing hits the ground. A serpentine smoke trail rises skywards from the barrel of the..
The Cowboy Capital

The Cowboy Capital

I don’t like horses. Never have. This ill feeling started about 25 years ago, when the local racetrack commandeered our school’s football pitch to store horseboxes. We were banished to the playground to make way. I grew up in Ayr, home of Scotland’s largest horse-racing track, and throughout my years at..
On The Road

On The Road

Never let anyone tell you otherwise: when it comes to road trips, the US is the best country in the world. People often talk of the size of the country, leaning back on the cliché “everything’s bigger in America”, but you only get a sense of how true that is..
The Mother Road

The Mother Road

For many people, Route 66 is the drive of a lifetime and initially, when I set out from California, it seems right that I complete it in the car of a lifetime.  At over US$400,000, the Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe is one of the most expensive, ostentatious cars on..
Finding Leviathan

Finding Leviathan

It’s hard to quantify the enormity of a whale. A North Atlantic right whale can weigh as much as 10 African elephants. So what? Unless life has taken you down an unlikely path that requires you regularly interact with elephants, that’s a fairly meaningless comparison. Telling you that blue whale..
Reel Rivals

Reel Rivals

Si Si is unwell, but I’ve got little sympathy for her. We’re on board the Catch 22, bouncing across an unusually tumultuous Gulf of Mexico, south of the Florida Keys, and somehow she fell asleep. As I watch her head loll around, I know she’s made a amateurish mistake. I..