The Sunday supplement: #92

Essential travel items, some gnarly dancehall, the novelist who came out of hiding to write at length about aliens, and more

A reader asked me last week to spell out some essential gear/tips to make trips smoother. Here are a couple of the greatest hits.

• Probably obvious, but packing Imodium for emergencies is smart (especially because it’s often unavailable outside the States)—and I was very dumb last month when I forgot to double-check my supply prior to a trip to Cote d’Ivoire, then acquired legit food poisoning on the first flight of a three-plane, 21-hour return voyage. (It was comically disgusting!)

• To that end, I’ve heard good things about Lifestraw’s new Nalgene-esque bottle with a built-in filter.