The New York Post on the travel issue:

The New Yorker's first-ever travel issue is out—let's hope it is the last one. We don't like reading about where the sons and daughters of the fabulously wealthy spend their vacations. Nick Paumgarten skiing on avalanche-prone mountains, for instance. Well, that's really smart. Then we hear his family has pursued this sport for generations, even though two family members have been killed. Get down off the mountain, Paumgarten, and please take the rest of the crackpots who contributed to this lame concept with you! What a flagrant way to try to con the travel industry out of some ads while insouciant journalists do little reporting.

Well, the word "hazardous" is in the subhed. Can every contributor to the issue be a son or daughter of the fabulously wealthy? Nicole Krauss, Jonathan Franzen, Jane Smiley, Mary Gordon? As for luxury sports, go up to Sugarbush sometime to watch the stoned snowmakers fly blind down the mountain at night. You don't have to be a Kennedy or a Bono to do dumb things on skis!

And here's Slate with a less angry critique:

For this "Journeys" issue, Tad Friend travels to Oman alongside Lonely Planet mogul Tony Wheeler and his wife Maureen; along the way, Friend evaluates the guidebooks' cultural impact (U.S. forces used LP to figure out which sites they shouldn't bomb in Iraq) and notes, "like Apple and Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's, all of which began as plucky alternatives, Lonely Planet has become a mainstream brand." ... The author of a "Letter from New Guinea" describes going on a guided tour into the rainforest and meeting members of a tribe that hadn't encountered white tourists before. (Predictably, a naked tribesman asks the tourists, "Shall we wrap your penises?") ... A profile of Brazilian economist-turned-photographer Sebastiao Salgado examines his quest to photograph Antarctica. ... And Jonathan Franzen, Jane Smiley, and others recall memorable family vacations. —B.B. [Bidisha Banerjee]

Remember in the '90s when all those booksellers and beer companies and clothing stores hid behind made-up "plucky alternatives" to lure in mall-fearing independent types? Now they don't have to—everyone loves their chains so so much. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me Starbucks coffee tastes good. I mean not with soy milk, not with foam, not with sugar, not with caramel, not with mint, not with bourbon, not with ice cream. Just the coffee. No, it doesn't taste good, does it? So if you live in New York, go to Oren's already!

Update: From my friend Lisa of the luscious links, the Delocator, which lets you type in your zip code and find all the non-Starbucks caffeine joints near you. Via Stayfree, and just what the coffee doctor ordered.

Bad 'Reader'-Keeping [NY Post]
What Do Condi, Jon Stewart, and Jay-Z Have in Common? [Slate]
Ski Resort Tycoon [PC Games]
Push Back Starbucks! [Church of Stop Shopping]