My 2023 Mattress Run: How I Retained Hilton Honors Gold Elite Status With 2 Stays

by Jonathan Spira

While in pre-pandemic days I did my share of mileage runs to maintain top-level status with either American Airlines or Delta (depending on the time period), I never engaged in a mattress run, that is until now.
For the uninitiated, a mileage or mattress run is what frequent travelers can do if they are short on status miles, points, nights, or stays, for the purpose of maintaining or increasing their elite …

Here’s What’s Open and What’s Closed on King Charles’ Coronation Day

by Anna Breuer

The coming weekend will be a bank holiday weekend like no other in the United Kingdom, with opportunities for communities across the nation to celebrate the new reign.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to be crowned in what will surely be an historic coronation at Westminster Abbey on Saturday at 11 a.m. local time following a procession during which they will ride in Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Coach.  …

Great Moments in Travel History – May 2023

by Jesse Sokolow

“Tra la, it’s May, the lusty Month of May,” as the song from the hit Broadway musical “Camelot” goes.
May, the fifth month in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars is typically the epitome of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and of autumn in the Southern. May Day, typically celebrated on May 1, is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival that celebrates the season. It is also a public holiday in …

Why You Should Probably Lease Your New EV and Not Buy It

by Kurt Stolz

While many car buyers in the United States are excited about the $7,500 tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, their smiles frequently turn into frowns after visiting their local dealership.
The bad news causing the frown is that only 12 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles currently qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit under the new and far stricter battery-sourcing rules that recently went into effect.  Many EVs …

Happy 20th Birthday iTunes Music Store: ‘Just 99 Cents Per Song’

by Kurt Stolz

The iTunes Music Store turned 20 on Friday.
When it was introduced on April 28, 2003 for the Macintosh computer, the online music store was – as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs put it in the company’s announcement at the time – “revolutionary.”
“The iTunes Music Store offers the revolutionary rights to burn an unlimited number of CDs for personal use and to put music on an unlimited number of iPods for on-the-go …

‘New York, New York,’ ‘Merrily We Roll Along,’ ‘Leopoldstadt’ Lead 2023 Outer Critics Circle Nominations

by Anna Breuer

The 2023 Outer Critics Circle award nominations were announced Tuesday, although, due to continued pandemic disruptions, there was once again no formal ceremony at the storied Oak Room in New York City’s Algonquin Hotel this year to mark the pronouncements.
Leading the nominations was “New York, New York,” a new musical that is loosely based on the 1977 Martin Scorsese movie of the same name with music and lyrics by John …

At Some Schools, Covid Testing is Going to the Dogs

by Anna Breuer

The pandemic is literally going to the dogs but, in this case, that’s not a bad thing.
“Scent-trained dogs are a strategy for rapid, noninvasive, low-cost, and environmentally responsible COVID-19 screening” according to a new study published this week in JAMA Pediatrics by Dr. Carol Glaser, the assistant deputy director in Central Laboratory Services and medical officer for infectious disease laboratories at the California Department of Public Health.  Dr. Glaser, who …