Photo Of The Day: Umbrella In Paris

Paris is a visually arresting city no matter where you look, whether it’s the city’s ornate architecture, fashionable residents or jaw-dropping art museums. Take this photo by Flickr user Cosmic Smudge, who captured this intriguing Paris scene after a rainstorm, as evidence. I love the mysterious umbrella holder, whose face remains unseen, complemented by splashes of bright red and flashes of gold from the buildings behind.

Taken any great travel photos of your own in Paris? Why not add them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.

[Photo Credit: Flickr user Cosmic Smudge]

SkyMall Monday: Top 5 products for hurricane season

Here on the East Coast, Hurricane Irene made for quite the weekend. First, we braved the hordes of crazy people in the supermarket (no one needs that much peanut butter), then the torrential rains and, more than anything, the constant barrage of media hype. Thankfully, we’re all safe and accounted for here at SkyMall Monday headquarters. However, we’re now well aware that hurricane season is underway and still has weeks to go. That’s why it’s time to make sure that you’re prepared. By now, you should have flashlights and batteries (and to the people who needed to buy them this weekend, why didn’t you own them already?), but there are plenty of other items that you should own to ensure that you’re prepared for the next month or so of tropical weather. Here are the top five SkyMall products you need for hurricane season.5. Monet Rain Boots (pictured above)

When the weather is bad, it doesn’t matter how ugly you look so long as you stay dry. Since it doesn’t matter, you might as well be the ugliest.

4. Make Your Own Truffle Kit

There’s a good chance that your local chocolatier will be closed during storms so they can hoard their confections for their own family. Fear not, however, as you can easily whip up some emergency truffles. Disaster has never been so decadent.

3. The Spectator Umbrella

Let’s go right to the product description:

When not providing rain protection, it can be converted into a seat cane with a comfortable 13″ wide leather strap seat by simply spreading the handles.

You want to stay dry as you brave the storm, but you also want to relax once you get to the shelter and using the cots that they provide just sounds unsanitary.

2. Women’s Waterproof Rain Cape

Over the river (which is flooding over its banks) and through the woods (which is full of fallen trees), to grandmother’s house you go (because she’s outside of the evacuation zone and still has electricity). Ponchos are so last year and jackets are cliche. This hurricane season, it’s all about capes. Just look out for the big, bad wolf (or, you know, downed power lines).

1. Testosterole Sexual Enhancer

You’re going to be spending a lot of time inside the house with no TV, internet or electronic entertainment options. Eventually, you’ll want to have some fun with what’s underneath that cape. [Note: I would have posted the product description but it’s painfully long and includes the word “secretion,” which makes me very uncomfortable.]

Stay safe out there, kids.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

Photo of the Day (12.6.2009)

Today’s shot comes to us courtesy of Photo of the Day regular t3mujin, who captured this vibrant image during a trek near Sa Pa in Vietnam. Trying to take a picture of falling rain is no easy feat, but this photo manages to look “wet” simply through a great use of color. The verdant green hills, shrouded in mist, are complemented nicely by that extremely colorful rainbow umbrella.

Want your pics considered for Gadling’s Photo of the Day? Submit your best ones here.

SkyMall Monday: Anniversary Gift Card Giveaway

Get the champagne on ice, don your finest party hat and put out a cheese plate, because today we are celebrating the ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SKYMALL MONDAY! On October 13, 2008, Gadling charged me with delivering to you, our dear readers, one SkyMall product review per week. Did I want that responsibility? Yes. Do I enjoy doing it? Of course. Should I be celebrated for it? Absolutely. But you know who else should reap the benefits of our weekly SkyMall dalliances? You! So, to celebrate the first anniversary of SkyMall Monday, we’re giving away a $100 gift card to…SKYMALL!

First things first. Let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at some of the best products featured in SkyMall Monday over the past 12 months. From massive travel pillows to motorized coolers to umbrellas built for two, I’ve reviewed plenty of amazing gear that you most certainly now own. And to make things interesting, we have a poll to decide which SkyMall Monday was your favorite.

After the jump, a look back at some of our favorites and your chance to win that $100 SkyMall gift card.

  • SkyRest Travel Pillow Do you like sleeping on planes and being an asshole? Then why not block everyone sitting next to you from using the restroom while you sleep on a giant wedge of cheese balanced on your lap.
  • Baseball Bat Pepper GrinderYou love baseball. You love seasoning. You feel insecure about the size of your penis. You own this.
  • Wine Glass Holder NecklaceAs the old saying goes, “Keep your friends close and your functional alcoholism closer.”
  • The Double UmbrellaOne of the first SkyMall Mondays remains one of my favorites. What better way to avoid the rain and show everyone from your old high school that you’re not Most Likely to Die Alone? (Note: It appears that SkyMall no longer sells the Double Umbrella. This is a travesty!)
  • Cruzin CoolerIf your cooler had sex with a go-kart and gave birth after the typical ice chest gestation period of four months, the doctor would slap this bad boy on the ass, fill it with Schlitz and ride it down to Daytona Beach.

Now for the fun stuff. Vote for your favorite SkyMall Monday in our poll below and leave us a comment letting us know how you voted. Read the legal muckety muck for more details, but one very lucky commenter will be picked at random to receive a $100 SkyMall gift card!

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To enter the contest for the chance to win the $100 SkyMall gift card:

  • Simply leave a comment below telling us which SkyMall Monday you voted for.
  • The comment must be left before Friday, October 16, 2009 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
  • You may enter only once.
  • One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
  • This random winner will receive a SkyMall gift card worth $100.
  • Click here for complete Official Rules.
  • Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, including the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.

Special thanks to Joey O’Donnell and all the folks at SkyMall for the gift card and for having a sense of humor.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

SkyMall Monday: Double Umbrella

It’s time once again for SkyMall Monday. What better way to get the week started than to take a look at another incredibly ingenious and useful product from our favorite high altitude catalog? This week it is my pleasure and privilege to introduce you to the Double Umbrella.

So often I am out on a date with one of my fancy model girlfriends and it will begin to rain. Imagine my embarrassment when I unfurl my umbrella and she sees that it is only built for one person. Sure, it opens to a 60″ canopy, but it’s just one dome. Time and time again I have been left alone holding my umbrella and shattered dreams because a girl has perceived me as selfish. I mean, if my umbrella is built for one, how can I ever be trusted to have a heart built for two?

Well, problem solved! The double umbrella has not one but two canopies! And for added intimacy, it has just one handle. I could clutch it along with my fancy model girlfriend and we’d be holding hands. And dry! Who doesn’t love dry hand holding?

As always, I look to the product description to feed my enthusiasm:

Closed, it looks like a typical umbrella, but opened you’ll find room for two underneath the extra-large double canopy. Any hotel doorman would be proud!

Finally, I’ll attain the approval of hotel doormen that I have been seeking my whole life. My therapist would call this a breakthrough.

I’ll even enjoy using this product alone. When people see me with it, they will know that I clearly have someone special in my life. Someone who loves me and hates water. Someone who is willing to walk confidently with me down the boulevard while we proclaim our love for each other through the only language that can properly convey our emotions: precipitation avoidance. And when I inevitably bump into one of my many acquaintances and they ask me with whom I share this tandem umbrella, I will confidently proclaim, “My fancy model girlfriend. She lives in Canada. You wouldn’t know her.”

Thanks again, SkyMall. You understand my needs better than anyone else. Even my fancy model girlfriend.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.