Friday, December 06, 2013

As part of Sears’ exciting new plan of ditching any businesses that consumers actually like, the company announced today that it will be spinning off Lands’ End. The catalog company, which sells decent-quality clothing for middle-aged people, has been part of Sears since 2001. Instead of selling off the business, Sears plans to spin it off as its own entity, as it did with Sears Outlet and Hometown stores last year. The twelve years that Lands’ End and Sears have been together have been huge years of change in retail and for Sears.

Nowadays, before buying any long-distance train or bus ticket, I look into flying, and routinely, it's cheaper to fly than to make the trip on the ground — especially when you consider all the advantages of flying. Because you can make hops just about anywhere on the Continent for roughly $100 a flight, people think about itineraries differently. Rather than think "where can I drive to" or "where will the train take me conveniently," you can now think "where will my travel dreams take me" and lace together a far-flung trip that ranges from Norway to Portugal to Sicily, if you please. There was a time when my typical trip plan was what used to be called an "open jaw" itinerary — now dubbed a "multiple-city" trip (flying into one European city and out of another at the other end of the Continent) —  with all the travel between done by rail pass. Ryanair and easyJet are two of the most established budget airlines; both serve many destinations across the continent. Budget airlines typically offer flights for about $50 to $250, but you can find some remarkable, it-must-be-a-typo deals if your timing is right. To look for flights, start with a search on Skyscanner, which provides a fast way to determine which airlines serve the route you're eyeing. Prepare to get dinged for paying with a credit card (even though there's no cash option), reserving a seat, checking in and printing your boarding pass at the airport (instead of online), priority boarding, and carrying an infant on board. Other ways for budget airlines to pad their profits include bombarding you with ads both when you book and via email after you buy your ticket, and selling overpriced food and drinks on board.

LeBron James is taking his game to the silver screen.

“Emily Dickinson: The Gorgeous Nothings” puts between covers, for the first time, facsimile reproductions of her 52 “envelope poems.”

South Africans are reacting to the death of Nelson Mandela with deep sadness at the loss of a man considered by many to be the father of the nation.

The White House said Thursday that President Barack Obama briefly lived with an uncle who faced deportation from the United States, correcting its previous statements that the president had never met Onyango Obama.

The death of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president who fought apartheid both as a prisoner of that system of white rule and later as a political leader, drew an outpouring of messages from around the globe. Here is some of the reaction:

Heroic in his deeds, graceful in his manner, sainted in his image, Nelson Mandela long served as both cause and muse in the entertainment community.

A movie depicting the life of Nelson Mandela has become South Africa's highest grossing picture after its opening last week, its producers said Thursday.

Fast-food workers and labor organizers are set to turn out in support of higher wages in cities across the country Thursday.