New Mexico In Lonely Planet's "Best In Travel"

Above, Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The state's government leaves much to be desired, but New Mexico has plenty of scenic and cultural beauty to enjoy.

That is why Lonely Planet has named New Mexico one of 30 places to inspire.

According to Yahoo:

Nov. 28—New Mexico is one of three U.S. entries on Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2023 list of 30 Places to Inspire You.

New Mexico joins Alaska and Boise, Idaho, on a list "designed to help you dream, plan and go to the places that will be buzzing in the year ahead."

As top attractions, Lonely Planet listed Meow Wolf, the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Taos Pueblo, the Very Large Array, Chaco Culture Natural Historic Park, Acoma Pueblo, Spaceport America and White Sands National Park.

To read more, go here.

10 Most Underrated National Parks

Above, Lassen Volcanic National Park's Devastated Area. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When people think of national parks, they usually think of Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Great Smoky Mountains. There are plenty more out there that don't get as much attention or visitors.

Yahoo posted an article list of the ten most underrated U.S. national parks. Of the ten, I have visited two of them: Lassen Volcanic National Park and Petrified Forest National Park.

They begin with:

Whether you're exploring your home state solo, taking a cross-country road trip with friends, or embarking on a family vacation halfway across the country, visiting one of America's national parks is a great way to get some fresh air in the wide open while marveling at the natural beauty and wildlife all around you.

So, it makes sense that as travel picks up again this year, many Americans are itching to get out and explore more of these protected lands. According to a 2020 survey commissioned by the National Park Service, most survey respondents said the last national parks they visited were Yellowstone National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Yosemite National Park.

But the truth is, there are so many other hidden gems across the U.S. that are ripe for adventure—and some of them you can traverse in just a day. So, if you're looking to beat the tourist crowds while exploring nature, be sure to add the following underrated U.S. national parks to your travel itinerary. 

To read more, go here. 

"Godzilla vs. Kong" Sequel To Begin Filming Later This Year

Above, the two titans will meet again starting later this year.

We waited nearly 60 years for the rematch of Kong and Godzilla. But we won't have to wait nearly as long for the third bout between the two.

According to Yahoo, filming will begin in Australia and Hawaii later this year for the sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong.

They wrote:

Call it The Rumble Down Under 2: The sequel to “Godzilla vs. Kong” will begin shooting later this year in eastern Australia, according to local film authority Screen Queensland.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ 2021 global blockbuster “Godzilla vs. Kong” shot both in Hawaii and in and around the Queensland city of Brisbane. The sequel will return to Australia’s eastern coastal region, bringing with it more than 500 local crew jobs and roles for some 750 extras, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

The mega-monsters’ return to locations across the Gold Coast is expected to deliver nearly $80 million in economic boost. That estimate is more than twice what 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” brought to the local economy.

To read more, go here. 

Google Shadow-Banning Far & Wide

Continuing with shadow-banning by Google...

The Federalist has picked up my blog post of yesterday on shadow-banning. It is interesting that even my innocuous article on Cuba tourism got the shadow-ban treatment from Google, but Bing and Yahoo! picked it up it was at the top of their search results.

So, without further ado, here's The Federalist posting of today.

We're Shadow-Banned By Google

Shadow banning (also called stealth banning, ghost banning or comment ghosting) is the act of blocking or partially blocking a user or their content from an online community such that it will not be readily apparent to the user that they have been banned. - Wikipedia.

This morning, I was reading The Federalist blog on Google's ongoing censorship of this and other conservative websites.

Gary Julian, a longtime friend and owner of The Federalist blog, did some checking and found that Google is shadow-banning his blog.

He wrote:

With shadow banning it was all down hill from there. This last month we were down to 25,784 page views. 

What the Fascists at Google do is bury Conservative websites so deep that no one will ever find them. 

So I ran a Google search on one of my articles: "Blame the GOP for Immigration - not Trump." 

I gave up looking after going five pages in. Using the exact title the article could not be found on Google.

(To read more, go here.)

After reading his post, I decided (this is the first time I checked, I might add) to do my own checking on my blog's status on whether it is being shadow-banned. Keep in mind, while I do post some political posts (and I am a conservative), my blog mainly focuses on travel, history and entertainment.

My searches on search engines Google and Bing found a similar scenario.

Yesterday, I posted an article, "Cuba Tourism Tanks 24%". I first checked Bing, and my article was listed in the second spot. And, what's more, I didn't type the post's title verbatim!

Next, I tried Google. And, I typed in the post's title verbatim. It was nowhere to be found, even four pages in!

So, like The Federalist blog, Google is shadow-banning Armand's Rancho Del Cielo.

UPDATE:

I just checked the Yahoo! search engine and we're in the sixth spot on the same search with them.

So, if one wants to do a search and have accurate results, use either Yahoo! or Bing, not Google.

U.S. Debt Now 100% of GDP

U.S. debt just got bigger after President Obama signed the bill raising the debt limit.

According to Yahoo! News:

US debt shot up $238 billion to reach 100 percent of gross domestic project after the government's debt ceiling was lifted, Treasury figures showed Wednesday.

Treasury borrowing jumped Tuesday, the data showed, immediately after President Barack Obama signed into law an increase in the debt ceiling as the country's spending commitments reached a breaking point and it threatened to default on its debt.

The new borrowing took total public debt to $14.58 trillion, over end-2010 GDP of $14.53 trillion, and putting it in a league with highly indebted countries like Italy and Belgium.

Public debt subject to the official debt limit -- a slightly tighter definition -- was $14.53 trillion as of the end of Tuesday, rising from the previous official cap of $14.29 trillion a day earlier.

Treasury had used extraordinary measures to hold under the $14.29 trillion cap since reaching it on May 16, while politicians battled over it and over addressing the country's bloating deficit.

This is the result of the great "compromise" between congress and the White House to raise the debt ceiling. The compromise didn't solve anything on the national debt or the country's AAA rating.

To read the full article, go here.

Kaiju Japan Travel Yahoo Group

The "G-TOUR Members" Yahoo Group was originally set up for the 2004 G-TOUR participants. As time went on, the group was opened up for others interested in kaiju locations and Japan travel in general.

I, as moderator, have taken the next step and re-named the group "Kaiju Japan Travel," reflecting the current orientation.

If you are interested in Japan travel and monster movie locations, feel free to join up!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KaijuJapanTravel/