"All news out of Africa is bad," says Paul Theroux in the opening of his 2003 book Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town, and while it's just the first sentence in a sweeping narrative that encounters misery and hope in equal measure, he has a point.

It is still difficult for Africa to elbow its way into the world's headlines without dragging some kind of disaster story along with it: Famine, AIDS, political violence, civil war.

It is always nice to encounter writing -- book length or journalism -- that finds other things to say about the Greenest Continent, writing that at the very least attempts to go beyond a fatalistic approach to Africa so often driven by major media outfits and pack journalism. Writing, in other words, that searches for, and ultimately finds, some context.

Theroux's book is one example, and the travel books of Jeffrey Tayler are another. The subtle novels of Alexander McCall Smith come to mind.

African narratives in daily journalism are harder to find, put they are out there (one that immediately springs to mind is Boston Globe travel writer Tom Haines' brilliant dispatch from Sudan a few years back).

The work of author and adventurer Jon Bowermaster, a frequent contributor to National Geographic and National Geographic Adventure, is a part of this second group.

Bowermaster is currently writing a series of dispatches as he makes his way along the coast of Northwest Africa.

I like them because they read like vignettes, each one a picture with a few characters at their center: Shopkeepers in Casablanca, fisherman in Dakar. And he's touching on issues that do not usually make it to newspaper front pages: Overfishing in Senegal, the region's desertification, the questionable legacy of Thor Heyerdahl in the Canary Islands.

In many of these dispatches you will hear the voices of Africans, a nice reminder that this troubled continent still has a lot to say.

Give them a read.

Every time John Ur covers a state via its cinematic hot spots in his series "Cinematic Road Trip" for Intelligent Travel, I look to see which movies I've seen and what spots I know. It's always a pleasure.

This week Ur hit Ohio. Ohio, as he found, is diverse. He did skip over Columbus. I'll have to think about a movie that may have been filmed there. Columbus is not dull, but can slide under ones radar. Cleveland, however is not easy to miss. Christmas Story, one of Cleveland's most well known films is one of my favorites and one that Ur covers.

Ur also hits Cincinnati. I am partial to Cincinnati since I grew up going here as a child and I know it well. However, I wasn't aware that parts of Traffic was filmed here. Or perhaps I noticed this and forgot.

I do know of a couple Ohio locations on the silver screen that Ur missed. One can't include everything, so this is no slight on Ur. He always does a fine job.

One movie is The Shawshank Redemption. The prison outside of Mansfield, the abandoned Ohio State Reformatory was one of the main locations. A friend of mine's father was one of the extras.

Another film with Ohio scenes is Rain Man. One of Cincinnati's most spectacular buildings, at least it's my favorite, is Union Terminal. Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise spent some time here while looking for alternative transportation to California. The murals you see in the background as they walked through were done as a WPA project. The building is now mostly a museum center.

Another shot in this film is when the pair are in a car going from Cincinnati across the Ohio River on the Roebling Bridge. The bridge, also known as "The Singing Bridge" because of the sound it makes when cars go across, leads to Covington, Kentucky.

If you've read the The Alchemist and want to be a subject of a virtual art exhibition hosted by the man himself -- Paolo Coelho -- the process couldn't be easier. Send a picture of you reading the book, and voila, you will forever be part of virtual art history!

The exhibition is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Alchemist, that has till date sold a 100 million copies. Holy gonzoly. So far, 38 people have sent in some cool photos of them reading the book; the photos will be uploaded for the rest of the year.

Coelho is quite the tech-savvy writer dude. He keeps a regular blog, and has the occasional vlog. Obviously, he understands the importance of connecting with his readers, and enjoys the process too.

So take that picture and send it in to: paulocoelhocovers[at]gmail.com, perhaps you will be displayed in a gallery somewhere someday! If you don't have the Alchemist on hand, any of his books will do. Coelho wants to see your face, so be careful not to cover it with his book, and don't stress about quality.

(In the image, I'm holding his book Eleven Minutes, one I enjoyed way more than The Alchemist. I haven't read any others. Urrr...yup, I'm going to send it in.Cheap thrills.)

Two summers ago we spent a few days in Minneapolis visiting friends, a visit several years after my first trip here. Both times it struck me how lovely the city is. Minneapolis is one of those gorgeous urban spots in the world that pays attention to how public and private space work together to create an environment everyone can enjoy.

The architecture in Minneapolis is a large part of its visual scene. Its buildings often end up winning awards for their design. Here are a sampling of what you'll find of particular note. These are new buildings that were commissioned as a tribute to Minneapolis's dedication to the arts: Children's Theatre Company; Guthrie Theater, Central Library, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Center and Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum.

All featured on the Meet Minneapolis Web site and are places you might consider putting on your itinerary. Here's a link that leads to the descriptions. The Weisman Art Museum was designed by Frank Gehry thus is my particular favorite.

However, my favorite aspect of visual pleasure was when we spent an evening walking among the sculptures at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden outside the Walker Arts Center. This is an eclectic mix of styles set in among flower beds, a conservatory, an arbor and wide open spaces.

This year marks 20th year since the garden has been open. Jaunted tipped me off to the two artist designed mini-golf courses that have been added to the space as part of the celebration. It costs to play the courses but you can see them for free. The rest of the garden is free as well.

Here's another opportunity for a public art feast, you can also tour the University of Minnesota's campus where there is an extensive public art program. Tours are available from May and October. Here's the link for that info.

Do you remember the commercials for a fold-out couch that showed a six year-old opening and closing it? Engadget posted today about power-assisted luggage by Live Luggage that I think is the sleeper sofa of suitcases.

It's easy enough to use, even a six year old can handle it.

The luggage has been under construction for several years as the company has worked out the design. The premiere, which I suppose is when you can get out that wallet to buy it, is June 26.

Here are the features:

• The handle can adjust to three heights.
• It weighs 23 pounds (10.6kg ) which leaves you 37 pounds for clothing unless you want to pay for an overweight charge.
• The battery is rechargeable and it is recommended that you charge it each night. I suppose it would be the pits to have the thing die on you before you reach check-in. Fully recharged, the luggage will go 1.5 miles (That's six times around a track.) If it does poop out, you can wheel it on your own with out assistance from the suitcase.
• It's as tough and strong as a car bumper
• The user propels the suitcase by lifting the handle and tilting the suitcase.

The manufacture points out in its press release that this is power-assisted luggage. It won't go on its own.

According to the company, the weight distribution is what makes the luggage manageable for a six year-old. For an older person, I can see where this luggage would be an advantage. You do need to be a rich older person. According to Engadget, the price might be as high as $1,365. That's what's listed. That is some suitcase.

Matt Harding, as in "Where the Hell is Matt," --the guy who dances around the world, has found the answer to world peace. Don't believe me? Just watch his video, Dancing 2008 and you'll be smiling in a few seconds. Halfway through, you'll feel like dancing yourself. The song "Praan" is perfect.

As Matt dances his way around the world through 42 different countries, people join him. Along the way there are laugh-out-loud surprises and joy. (To see the high quality version, click on the video. It will take you to the YouTube site. Click on "watch in high quality" under the video--or go here for the video via Matt's Web site.)

What a great way to travel. Matt, you're brilliant.

The post about the eight abandoned hotels reminded me of the glory days gone by hotel where I worked one summer during college. Wildmere was a wondrous expansive wooden hotel that first opened in 1887.

Perched on the top of the limestone cliffs of Lake Minnewaska in upstate New York near New Paltz, it was a regal testament to monied folk.

When it was in its prime, the hotel gleamed white from fresh paint. When I worked there, it was at the tail end of fading. As with the hotels in the abandoned hotel post at ProTraveller, as the economy shifts, keeping up with beauty is not easy.

Paint flaked. Dripping pipes in the basement created puddles one had to gingerly step through on the way to the laundry room.

Over at ProTraveler, there is a read worth noting about eight abandoned hotels in various parts of the world. They once had glory days, but didn't hold onto it for financial woes or pestilence.

These are the places that chronicle shifts of time. Hot destinations that don't stay hot or where the owners made bad decisions. You've probably come across examples of these types of places in your own travels.

"What was this place?" you might say to your traveling companions. You wonder if anyone important stayed here or what the building looked like when it was brand spanking new.

One example is this picture of the Palace Hotel in Jerusalem. I love this shot. The hotel reminds me of John Everett Millais's painting of Ophelia still clutching flowers, dead, floating face-up in a pond.

The photos are haunting, I think. Chairs with no one sitting in them, debris scattered across the floor, and an old sign that once flashed its neon. These are reminders that nothing gold can stay, but if lucky, can be resurrected into a new life.

For example, the Palace Hotel is to be reopened as a Waldorf-Astoria luxury hotel in a few years. The Diplomat Hotel in the Philippines may be turned into a museum. The folks who are going to do the project better hurry while there is still a building worth saving. It's thought to be haunted, so hopefully, the ghosts will be happy with the change.

One of our favorite airline columnists over at MSNBC.com and from Elliott.org published an interesting article today on the separation between coach and first class called "Frequent Criers: Elite Fliers are Ruining Air Travel". In it, he points to the increasingly childlike behavior among top tier passengers that has recently been giving first class passengers a bad name -- and asks whether this is a function of the passengers themselves or the airlines catering to an unbalanced class of service.

As an elite member myself, I have thought about this topic several times and part of it is true -- Elliott points out a variety of instances in which first class passengers have acted unruly and entitled. But I don't think that it's limited exclusively to first class passengers -- in fact, there are idiots in all classes of service and modes of transportation.

It doesn't take much effort to be an obnoxious jerk when you're in cramped quarters and have been traveling all day. In the same way that the taxi cuts you off when you're merging into traffic or the guy on the stairs walks down the left side instead of the right side, some people just don't make common courtesy a high priority. Yeah, it sucks. But it's okay. They're in the minority that think differently, but we'll get over it and we'll continue to do the nice, right thing.

There are good frequent fliers out there. I'm sure Chris Elliott flies all over the world and like myself and many frequent travelers on Gadling is professional and courteous. Don't lose faith, fellow passenger -- first and coach passengers are all stuck in this aluminum tube together. We can't let articles like this tear us apart.

I admit, I took the SkyMall catalog with me when I left the Southwest Airlines plane after my last flight. I had grand plans to find something useful or something unusual to write about by pouring through its pages. I got busy.

Then, today, Grant tossed out this link to "The 5 Most Ridiculous SkyMall Products Money Can Buy" at Cracked.com, and after I finished laughing, I unpacked the catalog from my daypack. I looked through it before, but I became curious once again. Cracked.com found some winners. I could use the Hula Chair myself--maybe.

What has caught my attention with this page turning session is the Motion Sickness Relief Wrist Band found in the left-hand column on page 41. On Tuesday I went to Kings Island with my daughter, eight of her friends, my husband, son and another family. I took one too many roller coaster rides and felt woozy all day yesterday. Could this wrist band have helped?