Boston--a land of contradictions

a better tomorrow has a nice post about the use of the phrase "land of contradictions" in much (too much) travel writing. His parody of a travel article is worth quoting (check out the whole thing here):

Boston is indeed a land of contrasts and contradictions. Meander along any of its cobblestone streets and you can feel the deep Puritan spirituality of the people. But walk through the bustling business district, and you can feel the vibrant pulse of one of America's oldest cities trying to adapt to its status as a newfound economic powerhouse. ...

Unfortunately, this is unlikely to happen in any English-language travel guide. But I haven't checked out any Chinese travel guides lately. Maybe they have their own version of this.