The Daily Valet. - 7/17/23, Monday
✔️ How Many Are Too Many, Really?
Monday, July 17th Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
Remember to apply that SPF and stay hydrated this week.
Today’s Big Story
Overtourism Is Back
As Complaints about crowds and manners get louder, some destinations have decided to act
How many tourists are too many? Is the number of travelers at a particular destination ... or does it have more to do with how they act? Like many other European destinations such as Croatia's Dubrovnik, the Greek capital of Athens has recently become the latest victim of overtourism.Lonely Planet reports the Acropolis is currently welcoming more than 17,000 daily visitors, which is a 70% increase since last summer. Compared to 2019 tourism levels, visits in June and early July are up by 80%. The impressive surge in visitors is surely to be attributed to the end of pandemic restrictions, but that isn't the only factor. Large cruise ships are to blame as well. The huge ships drop off thousands of people who rush in for their selfies and maybe a little shopping before getting back on the boat—not even staying to utilize the local restaurant scene.This is why Venice banned cruise ships from its lagoon in 2021 and why other cities are imposing similar restrictions. Of course, overtourism was becoming an issue in the last years before the pandemic, but now it's hitting a fever pitch, thanks to remote work and Tiktokers luring people to far-flung locales (that apparently make you walk a little too much).Crowds are one thing. Tourists gone wild, is another. Like the influencer who was deported from Bali after staging a nude photo shoot under a 700-year-old sacred tree or the guy who thoughtlessly carved his and his girlfriend's name into the wall of Rome's Colosseum.The Financial Times points out that a painful paradox of urban tourism is that the cities attracting the most visitors are cramped, ancient places lacking space even for residents. Everyone complains about tourists, but now—possibly for the first time ever—a few European cities have begun doing something about them. Amsterdam is leading the way by reworking its city center, cleaning up its notorious red light district and even limiting flights into the city. Tourists will always travel, but maybe if it's not as easy as it once was, people will value the experience a bit more than simply stopping by to get the requisite selfie.
Dig Deeper:
Travel site Skift came up with the term “overtourism,” to appeal to people's baser instincts with an element of alarm and fear in it.
The World Is on Fire
Dangerous heat wave spreads across the U.S. and across the globe
A dangerous and historic heat wave that was expected to peak Sunday across the Southwest is moving into the southern U.S. states, with no major cool down in sight for many areas.As of this morning, nearly 111 million people were under heat alerts for Monday stretching across a dozen states from South Florida to Oregon, according to heat.gov. And the National Weather Service forecast “widespread record-breaking high temperatures” and record warm overnight minimum temperatures for many locations across the south as the “relentless heat impacts” the country into Tuesday.Extreme heat is the top annual weather-related killer in the U.S. and sadly, forcing people to work in deadly heat is still mostly legal in the U.S. But it's not just America either. Italy told citizens to prepare for the most “intense heatwave of all time” and record temperatures were documented around Asia as well.
Meanwhile:
As uninviting as it sounds, Death Valley National Park is apparently beckoning tourists, eager to visit the literal hot spot.
In an era where both the president and Indiana Jones are in their golden years, one of the longest-running reality TV franchises is also aging up.”
- Vanity Fair on The Bachelor's new spin-off
Student Loan Forgiveness Is on the Way
The White House says it will forgive $39 billion in student loan debt for 800,000 Borrowers
Despite the Supreme Court ruling the scuttled President Biden's efforts at widespread debt forgiveness, the Education Department announced Friday it would automatically forgive loans for more than 804,000 borrowers. According to Intelligencer, the action is a result of what the department calls a “fix” to income-driven repayment plans.The plan is expected to erase $39 billion in student debt. The forgiveness is the result of a promise made last year by the Biden administration in response to years of complaints, lawsuits and an NPR investigation that found that many long-time borrowers who should have qualified for loan forgiveness under the rules of the government's income-driven repayment plans (IDR) hadn't received it because of mismanagement by the department and loan servicers.A Biden administration official told NBC News that they are “confident” in the Education Department's “legal authority” to implement Friday's announcement. But what about everyone else? Well, the announcement also included new rules for a repayment plan, called the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, which can lower monthly payments by as much as $1,000 and applies to people who make as much as $60,000 a year.
FYI:
43.6 million borrowers have federal student loan debt.
Let’s Talk About TV’s Bottle Episode
Because it seems like everyone on the internet is wrong. Or Maybe they're not ...
Sometimes there are terms that get thrown around casually— especially online—and while everyone pretends to fully understand them, they're only mildly familiar with what the word or phrase actually means. Case in point: The bottle episode. Sounds familiar, right?It's an industry term shrouded in mystery and occasional controversy that prestige TV nerds (myself included) like to pepper into a conversation. But what does it really mean? Vulture offers up a deep dive to finally set the record straight. Put simply, a bottle episode refers to a plot that takes place primarily in a single location, with a limited cast of characters, and often on a reduced budget. Some say it's an opportunity for the show's creators, writers and actors to showcase their talent and resourcefulness by crafting an engaging story within these constraints.Such bottle episodes are becoming a rarer phenomenon in the streaming era, thanks to a number of shifts in how TV gets made. For instance, Netflix has been moving toward a model of TV where no individual episode looks that different from any other episode; everything flows into everything else. As a result, it feels more notable and unusual when an episode does stand out or its story feels more self-contained. So there's an urge to call those episodes something, and with the increasing ubiquity of online TV discourse, the term bottle episode has been floating around, ready for the taking.
The Best:
MovieWeb takes us on a journey through television's greatest bottle episodes.
In Other News
A strike caused major damage to the only bridge to the occupied Crimean Peninsula.
Have you heard about ...
Summer Survival: Fix Your Shades
At-home remedies for common problems
Summer can be tough on sunglasses. You throw them in your bag, hang them from a shirt collar or rest them on top of your head. They get dirty, they get scratches and the arms stretch. Maybe you even get a loose hinge.But that doesn't mean your glasses are ruined. Fix them, don't ditch them. From stretched-out frames and scratched lenses to a broken hinge, here's how to fix your shades at home.
Get Started:
Shopping
What We’re Buying
A mule
You may ask how something so oddly shaped is the most in-demand shoe option on the market. The easiest answer? Comfort. While the mule has been gaining steam for a while, it's clearly the shoe for the summer season. Call it a testament to the current state of style and the direction it's going in—no rules are the new rules. Although Birkenstock laid the foundation ($142), other brands have embraced the heel-free push. It's excellent that you can find any pair for any budget, and they'll look great.
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Morning Motto
A reminder to live it up.
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