Practicalmadness

NetNewsWire, Gleaner and Hourihan are all pointing me to this story on The Morning News about the Chinatown bus trade-- "inexpensive, Chinese-operated shuttles that run between the numerous big-city Chinatowns dotting the Eastern Seaboard" -- and recent, generally enthusiastic New York Times articles about same.

Morning News contributor Clay Risen is less enthusiastic:

The Times seems to think that the offer of an ‘in-ride movie’ is a great deal. ‘The lines offer all the amenities travelers have come to expect from any bus ride,’ Steve Kurtz writes in the 12 January piece, ‘including views of the passing highway and a small rear bathroom. Add to that an on-board Jackie Chan movie and the potential to learn Chinese through osmosis, and it’s clear why these lines are becoming an alternative to Amtrak and Greyhound.’

Such comments are typical New York Times: bemused, about as far from reality as Risen and his fellow passengers were from home when their Chinatown Bus was forced off the road in Maryland and their Chinese driver couldn't tell them what the problem was, how long they would be stuck, whether they were going to die, et al.

Read the story for the harrowing details.

Side notes: For some reason, reading this story crashed Safari on such a profound level that I'm being forced to change my default browser to Camino for the remainder of the afternoon.

Additionally, does Meg Hourihan's sudden transformation from Silicon Valley cognoscenta into a living, weblogging extension of the New York City Tourism Board amuse anyone besides me?