Slate Magazine - Well-Traveled

The gloomy wonders of Prague.

Emily Yoffe — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:15:55 EST

The city of Prague is itself a work of art. This is a good thing, because after spending an afternoon in the National Gallery at the Prague Castle complex looking at their 19th-century painting and sculpture—the artistic flowering behind a brief period of political independence—you would conclude that art this bad could only be done deliberately. Our guide, Natasa Sutta, regularly stopped in front of drab, dull landscapes to remark, "These are very Czech colors." I developed a theory that since invaders liked to sweep into Prague and sweep out with anything valuable, maybe the artists made paintings that defied anyone to steal them.

[more ...]

The young couple and the sea: sailing the Caribbean.

Seth Stevenson — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:36:23 EST

Now I know why rich people buy boats.

[more ...]

An American Indian's journey in the land of Indian casinos.

David Treuer — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:01:04 EST

Our last day. We decided to eat brunch at the clubhouse before driving back to the airport. And just to prove that life is a circle and everything is connected, when we walked into the clubhouse, I saw a guy who looked awfully familiar. He was wearing a T-shirt that read "Ojibwe Veteran's Powwow, Red Lake, 2005." I looked hard, and I said, "Rocky, is that you?" It was. Rocky Cook. From Red Lake Reservation, just up the road from me. He was with his wife, Lorena, also from Red Lake. They have both known my parents since the 1960s, both knew my siblings. I had gone to high school and graduated with their daughter Holly. I wasn't totally surprised: I knew that Holly had married Mark Macarro, the Pechanga chairman. I knew also that Holly was expecting a baby, so it must have come.

[more ...]

Back to the Futurists: Italy's first avant-garde turns 100.

Kate Bolick — Fri, 3 Jul 2009 07:12:17 EST

"It is not by chance this work is published during a world economic crisis, which has clearly inspired a dangerous depressing panic, though its future direction remains unclear. We propose as an antidote to this panic a Futurist way of cooking, that is: optimism at the table."

[more ...]

Not far from the spot where the first words were spoken, we exchange vows.

Joshuah Bearman — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:04:22 EST

SHOMPOLE, Kenya—James is still fitting the Land Rovers with garlands when we hear the distant buzzing of the plane carrying the registrar from Nairobi. It is our equivalent of the string section launching into the Pachelbel "Canon." When the plane's shadow crosses our hill, Peter announces, "That's the start time!"

[more ...]