Image: Jamison Antoine

Whether you are traveling to Dallas or Denmark, the one aspect of travel we are all certain to face is the dreaded security line.  I always marvel at the people who show up to the airport wearing every piece of jewelry they’ve ever purchased. While you can’t prevent other people from dressing like Ironman, it is possible to get through security much faster if you try these few tips.  

If you’re traveling for pleasure, consider wearing a track suit bottom with an elastic waistband or pants that fit to avoid having to remove a belt. Of course for women a dress or skirt is always an option.

In your carry on luggage, pack a Ziplock bag to place all of your loose items such as your cell phone, coins, watch, or keys before you get in the security line. You can keep your I.D. and boarding pass in your pocket.

When you get to the security table just take the Ziplock bag with all of its contents and place it in the bins with your shoes.  This saves the hassle of collecting everything individually after you’ve gone through the scanner. You can reassemble at your own convenience at the gate or on the plane, without being rushed by the other passengers collecting their items at the security table. Just remember to leave your guns, whips, chains, shampoo, gel and conditioner in the checked luggage.

Visit The C.O.M.B to read more about Jamison’s adventures, and to see footage of his recent trip to the Spice Isle of Grenada. 

Image: Jamison Antoine

When researching places to go I normally consider:

• the length of time it takes to get to the location
• the stability of the government
• the exchange rate to the US Dollar
• the neighboring countries and,
• any visa entry requirements. Most of which can be found at the US State Department website at www.state.gov.

Of course there’s living accommodations and food to account for, which can cost a good amount per night if you’re a prince or a diva and require five star hotel stays, but if you are willing to rough it a bit you can save a great deal on hotels.

Since the US has a favorable exchange rate with Egypt (1USD = 5.6 EGP), I lived in hostels paying between $4 and $8 USD per night. In actuality it was cheaper for me to be in Egypt on the other side of the world then it would have been to live in New York City.

To find low cost hostels in any location you can go to hostelworld.com or hostels.com. If you’re sqiumish about hostels, check out the Hostel International franchise, because in most cases they have internet access, laundry service, and well planned activities so it feels somewhat like a hotel, with the emphasis on somewhat.

Image: Jamison Antoine

I am flexible with the dates of travel by one or two days. For instance I found a flight that would take me from NY to Australia, New Zealand, and back to NY for $1111. When I shifted the dates to two days later the cost of that same flight rose by nearly $300 dollars. Still, this is less than the TV and cable subscription.

I use Kayak.com to search for deals and Orbitz.com to purchase the tickets. Once I’m in a country I find local low cost airlines or bus services that allow me to travel for next to nothing. So you don’t need to rob a bank or make a six-figure salary (although that wouldn’t hurt) in order to travel. You just need to do research, save and have a few cups of courage to make it happen.

Here are a few sites to get you started on the adventure:

Airline Deals
Airasia.com
Orbitz.com
RyanAir.com
Lastminute.com

Tips & Info
LonelyPlanet.com
Bootsnall.com 
Matadortravel.com
TripAdvisor.com

Let me know if you’ve found good deals on other sites. I would be happy to get some new resources. Cheers!

Jamison Antoine is a “Hip Hopper Turned Globe Trotter” currently on an exciting mission to see the world. VisitThe C.O.M.B to read more about Jamison’s adventures. 

What do you need to see the world? 

If you are an American Citizen the first thing you need to do is get yourself a passport from the U.S. State Department. You will need to find a local passport office and fill out a DS-11 form, provide a valid government issued I.D., birth certificate, and two passport photos.

To find a passport office near you or to download the DS-11 form, check out the US State Department website at state.gov.

Image: Jamison Antoine

For an adult passport (individuals 16 and older), the cost is $120. The passport photos can be obtained at any drug store with a photo developing lab. The pictures take about five minutes to develop and shouldn’t cost more than $14. Once you submit your application with all the required documents and photos, allow four to six weeks for the state department to process it. There are expedited services that allow you get it in emergency situations in a matter of days, but usually it takes 2-3 weeks.

Depending on what part of the world you’re headed, you will need what is called a visa to enter a particular country. You can apply for a visa through the foreign embassies, which are normally located in Washington D.C. or New York. The applications require information such as the amount of time you plan to stay in the country, where you plan to stay while you are there, and whether your travel is for business or for pleasure.

Image: Jamison Antoine

Some countries require that you obtain a visa prior to arriving while others allow you to get it at the airport. The United Kingdom and most of the countries in the European Union do not require visas for U.S. citizens, but if you plan to travel in Africa, Asia, or the South Pacific you should check ahead.  The fees for visas can range anywhere from $15 to $100 per application. It is best to contact the embassy or the country’s board of tourism to get bullet points of what they require and how long it takes to process an application. Once while picking up a visa, I overheard the dispair in a woman’s voice who had just been informed that her visa would take a week to process. The problem was she was traveling the next day!

Keep in mind that your passport will need to have at least 6 months of validity on if you already have one. This is a staple requirement on most visa applications, so make sure its up to date and has many years on it before it is set to expire.

Once you have your passport and your visas in order you are good to go. Now just try not to bore your friends to death with all your stories when you get back.  See you in the world!

Jamison Antoine is a “Hip Hopper Turned Globe Trotter” currently on an exciting mission to see the world. Visit The C.O.M.B to read more about Jamison’s adventures. 

I can’t help it. I love Alicia Keys. Her videos are thoughtfully created, and always tell a story. Cheers to the musicians who still contribute art and vision to the increasingly lame music video platform.

Yesterday, Huff Post compiled a baffling list of the “The World’s Most Bizarre Man-Made Disasters,” that’ll make you wanna slap your forehead. From a hot pool of sulfuric mud that’s expected to gush for another 30 years, to entire towns condemned thanks to toxic water, strip mining, and radioactive explosions. Each of these locations represent the extreme consequences of drilling, mining, and wasting, but like those Russian dolls, this complex issue has so many layers. There are other places just like these across the globe that go undocumented and unseen–they may not be considered the Most Bizarre, but they’re harmful nonetheless. Who knows that effect the current oil spill in the Gulf will have on the region, but maybe this time we’ll wise up?

In the desert in Turkmenistan is a hole 328 ft. wide that has been on fire, continuously, for 38 years. In 1971, a Soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a massive underground natural gas cavern, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in. Poisonous fumes began leaking from the hole. To head off a potential deadly catastrophe, the Soviets set the hole aflame.

See the rest of the list here. 

OoooWeeeeee!

This music feels so good. “Onwu Ama Dike” by St. Augustine & His Rovers Dance Band is the work-while-grinding-in-your-seat song of the day. This track was pulled from the compilation album, Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds, and Nigerian Blues 1970-6, and is just one of many joyous songs featured on this two-disk dance fest. 

Here’s some background info, and a writer’s take. If you don’t already have this album, hurry up and join the party.

Sometimes space is limited when illustrating stories on the site. You just have to pick the best images, do a little Photoshop action, and move on.

The solution? Set up a Flickr page! 

Now you can experience everything in greater detail here. Think of it as a reservoir of images, perfect for those stories that spill out beyond the simple slideshow. 

Check out the images uploaded today, and listen out for more updates. Summertime is approaching, which means there will so many more exciting people, places, and events to capture. Stay tuned…

Lena Horne in London, 1964

The Brooklyn-born beauty passed on Sunday at 92 years-old, commemorating a life marked by activism, triumph, and elegance during a time in America when the opportunities for black performers were virtually nonexistent.

“You wouldn’t be allowed to get on a particular bus, but you’d be asked to sign your autograph,” Horne said in a 1998 interview with the Chicago Tribune.

Here’s to Lena Horne, and to all of the black actresses and entertainers who did the best they could despite the hostile circumstances. Your work, persistence, and energy will never be forgotten.

Read this glowing biography from the Chicago Tribune, and for the ’80’s babies who remember watching Lena Horne on The Cosby Show:

This post is about two months late (write me up a late pass please), but will continue to be a relevant conversation as ringtone rap still gets top billing across the nation and the world.

“To be lyrical, or not to be lyrical?”

That’s the question that blogger Jay Smooth kicked out to the web world in this recent video, made in response to Georgia rapper Waka Flocka Flame’s comment that he doesn’t care about lyrics, because lyrics won’t bring in the money. 

“I don’t got no lyrics. The n—as who they say is lyrical, they ain’t got no shows … that ain’t finnin’ to get you no money.”

Sigh.

Is it true that lyricism will leave you broke? Watch Jay Smooth’s commentary. It might surprise you…

Sadly, Waka Flocka Flame’s music is generally the only kind that gets the most love on local radio stations. It’s easy for fans to say, “Well, if you don’t like this music, just change the station!” That’s valid point, but what’s important is that with nearly 14,000 registered AM and FM stations in the U.S., that’s a lot of free programming, and a lot of targeted messages being sent across the airwaves to billions of people. Each of us memorizes through repetition, and if the same song gets played three times in an hour, imagine what we’re learning–or not learning–as a culture? The radio is a powerful medium, and according to this video, it certainly doesn’t play what listeners actually spend their money on.

Aside from the high school adventures of Archie and Jughead, I’ve never been much of a comic book reader or enthusiast. Last summer, while on a flight to Fort Defiance, AZ, I read an article in the New York Times about a new series set in Uganda that explores the country’s gruesome and violent 16-year civil war. Written by Joshua Dysart and published by an imprint of DC Comics, Unknown Solider explores the conflict and its influence through the eyes of protagonist Dr. Lwanga Moses, a Ugandan-born, United States-educated physician who returns to his home country in 2002, in the middle of the rampage led by the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Moses, who somehow gets caught up in the war, is depicted with bandages wrapped around his face—the result of hacking at himself to stop voices in his head. The author, who traveled to Uganda to conduct research for the series, notes that although the comic details violent encounters, many of the stories heard during his trip were just too gruesome to be included.

Unfortunately, since history is told from the perspective of the winners, my education of the Ugandan civil war is lacking. Our world history books and lessons only featured brief sections on ethnic groups residing beyond the borders of the US, and Uganda simply didn’t make the list. I’m interested in opening up a dialogue to learn more, and plan to visit Atomic Books in Baltimore this weekend to stock up on a few copies.

The latest installment, #19, was just published on April 28^th. A review to come…