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Disney Parks testing new, talking Mickey Mouse for character greetings

by Leigh Caldwell on May 6, 2010

Meeting Mickey Mouse has been a pivotal part of a visit to Disneyland for generations. Park visitors wait in line for up to 90 minutes to meet Mickey, get his autograph and pose for a snapshot with the Disney icon. But all of this interaction took place in silence, until now.

Some Disneyland guests are reporting that they have participated in tests with a new Mickey Mouse character – a walking, talking Mickey. The Disney Blog has posted videos of one of the interactive character greeting sessions.

When I first heard about this, I expected to see Mickey saying some generic phrases to each guest, but that’s not at all what the video shows. Mickey Mouse greets a group of guests and invites them to take scrapbook photos with him. But then, he interacts privately with each group of guests, speaking their names and reacting to what they do.

Now, this was a test. It is likely not going to happen to you at Disneyland tomorrow, and it may never happen on a large scale. But it seems to work very well in the short videos below:

Europe breathes sigh of relief as ash cloud moves west

by Sean McLachlan on May 6, 2010

Shifting weather patterns brought good news to northwest Europe this morning as a new ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull blew west out into the Northern Atlantic.

The new eruption had produced a cloud of ash that caused temporary airport closures in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and some parts of the Scotland and England since Monday. Most airports reopened in the early hours of this morning and at the time of writing all airports were operating normally.

The volcano continues to erupt and aviation officials are monitoring the weather for any changes. Travelers flying to Ireland or the United Kingdom are advised to check ahead before going to the airport.

Round the World in 80 Sounds: Blues, Bamako & beats in Mali

by Jeremy Kressmann on May 6, 2010

Welcome back to Gadling’s new series on music around the world, Round the World in 80 Sounds. Blues. Rock ‘n Roll. Two distinctly American styles of music, right? That’s only half true, actually. In fact, some might say you also need to head to the West African nation of Mali to find the answer. For many years, travelers had little reason to investigate this barren desert country, home to the ancient complex of Timbuktu. But these day’s Mali’s stock as one of the world’s most influential musical destinations is on the rise, thanks to the growing fame of its talented musicians and increasingly popular musical festivals.

Mali’s recent ascent to musical stardom isn’t by accident. The country’s borders have long been traversed by various African, European, Islamic and even Cuban (?!) cultural influences. It has created a country that moves to the rhythm of any number of different drummers. From traditional Malian Mande Music to the proto-blues of legendary Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure, to the bouncy joyous pop of international stars Amadou & Mariam, Mali music has been earning new fans and gaining attention worldwide. Enough attention, in fact, that Mali hosts its own internationally renowned music festival each year in the tiny town of Essakane.

Wondering which Mali musicians are worth your time? Want to visit one of the world’s most remarkable African music festivals? Stick around as Round the World in 80 Sounds takes a closer look at the influential music of Mali. Keep reading below for our favorite Mali artists and festivals.The Festival of the Desert

The most obvious symbol of Mali’s thriving music culture is the country’s annual Festival au Desert, an international gathering of musicians from across Europe, Africa and beyond celebrating Mali’s unique sonic heritage. The event first got its start back in 1996 as a celebration of a new peace treaty between warring local tribes. Quite naturally, the local Tuareg community moved to commemorate the event with a traditional celebration of song, dance and games.

What began as a local event quickly blossomed into an internationally-recognized festival, with performers as diverse as Robert Plant, Gang Gang Dance, and Malian musicians like Oumou Sangare and the late Ali Farka Toure. Today, visitors are likely to hear the diverse sounds that have come to represent Mail’s unique musical heritage – everything from Tuareg-style music to Western Pop to homegrown Malian artists. Though the 2010 event was this past January, you can check out travel logistics on the Festival au Desert website. Music lovers who have visited confirm the journey is well worth it.

Ali Farka Toure

Often called the “John Lee Hooker of Africa,” the late Ali Farka Toure is among Mali’s most famous musicians. Born in 1939 in a small town in Northwest Mali, Toure took an early interest in the musical instruments of his native land, blossoming into one of the country’s foremost musical acts. His style, on display in the track Amandrai above is at once instantly familiar to blues fans, resonating with the familiar melancholy of a good blues riff, and yet strangely exotic, touched by the ghostly fingerprint of African folk and nomadic Tuareg musical traditions.

It’s clear that West African musicians like Toure have strongly influenced many American Bluesmen and vice versa. Influential director Martin Scorcese explored the relationship between West African musicians like Toure and America’s Blues culture in his series Feel Like Going Home. Though Toure passed away in 2006, his son Vieux Farka Toure carries on the family tradition. Check out Toure’s 2005 album Savane if you’re interested in hearing more.

Amadou & Mariam

This blind husband and wife duo from Mali have been making musical waves worldwide. Though the couple have been playing together since back in 1980, they have become one of the most familiar faces of Malian Music on the international music circuit. In 2003 they were approached by music star Manu Chao, who produced their breakout album Dimanche a Bamako. As is evident from the video clip above, Amadou & Mariam’s music is filled with jaunty melodies and diverse instruments from around the world. The pair are increasingly invited to play at concerts around the world, from Lollapalooza in Chicago to opening for Coldplay’s Viva la Vida Tour.

Like much of Mali’s musical culture, Amadou & Mariam are highly influential and continually evolving. Steeped in a rich tradition of local musical culture yet open to the sounds of the world. It’s time we recognized Mali for the miraculous contribution the country has made to our favorite music.

Curious about the sounds of the world? Read previous Round the World in 80 Sounds posts HERE.

Daily gear deals – $30 3G USB adapter, $60 sports video camera and more

by Scott Carmichael on May 6, 2010

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Thursday, May 6th 2010. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today’s first deal is for an unlocked 3G GSM modem. You’ll obviously need a SIM card from a mobile operator with data enabled, and no – Verizon or Sprint won’t work with this (and on T-Mobile, you’ll only get slower EDGE speeds). That said – at just $29.99 this is on heck of a bargain. So, head on over to 1saleaday to order one of these.

Today’s second deal is perfect for adventure fans who want to record their antics – the Oregon Scientific ATC2 waterproof camera mounts to your helmet, bike or other sports equipment. It only does non-HD, but only costs $59,99. Click here for this deal.

Next up is a neat little travel accessories kit from Targus. For $14.99, you get a wireless mouse, travel USB hub, numeric keypad and a set of surge protectors. On sale at Yugster.com.

And finally in today’s lineup is the Swiss Army Tinker knife – with a free classic knife. Of course, these will only benefit you if you check your bags or travel by car, as the TSA loves collecting knives and selling them. On sale for $17.45 (with free shipping). Click here for this deal.

Don’t Park in Austin: a long-winded travel tale with a moral at the end

by Andrew Evans on May 6, 2010

I try so hard to love Austin, really, but Austin doesn’t make it easy.

Yeah, I had so much fun there, what a cool city, it’s not like the rest of Texas, blah, blah, blah. Doesn’t matter. In life, bad memories so quickly suffocate the good ones, like a python squeezing the life out of some innocent Bambi lookalike. Bambi’s not what we remember–we remember the python . . .

When Gadling decided to hold our annual get-together deep in the heart of Texas, I was elated. For one, I’m Texan, born and bred. I planned on flying to Houston, spending some time with family, then heading up to Austin for a weekend of blogger decadence. I drove my parents’ car up and made it all the way to tiny Bastrop, Texas when my vehicle overheated (it’s darn hot in Texas). A mechanic in town said he would fix the car but that it would take the whole weekend. Luckily, this tiny Texas town had an Enterprise Rental with one last remaining rental car which allowed me to be back on the road to Austin within the hour.

Our first day in Austin was super fun as I met all the legendary magicians behind this fabulous website that you know and love. On Saturday night, the fun-loving Gadling crew went out for dinner and settled on Ironworks BBQ, which claims to be “Real Texas Barbecue.” I parked in their parking lot which had a sign that read “For Ironworks customers ONLY”, which we all were. We spent about two hours at the restaurant and probably around $300 on food collectively. Afterwords, we hit one of the nearby clubs. When I came back to the get the car (around midnight), the parking lot was empty. Apparently, once the restaurant closes, they tow. (Really? That’s how you treat your out-of-town guests?)
Now, what in the world could possibly be worse than getting your car towed? Getting towed by J&J Towing–that’s what. Apparently even weird cool hipster Austin has its share of sheisters and they all work for J&J Towing. Thanks to the internet, I discovered that J&J Towing actually has a long and strong reputation for illegal tows for which they’ve been successfully sued in several courts of law in Texas. They’ve even earned a single brave star on Yelp with the best review being “These People Need Jesus”.

I concur. These people do need Jesus, but a simple conscious would also suffice. At 1 AM, I called them up to retrieve my car. Not only were they rather rude and unhelpful, all they told me that there was, “No way you’re getting your car back this weekend.” Since I was driving a rental car, the towing company requires a notarized affidavit from my rental car company stating that the car was in fact in my name at the time of getting towed. This is a new state-wide law in Texas, according to Justin, the man I was speaking with (Justin refused to give me his last name for fear that I would send some Texas-style justice in his direction and perhaps he was right).

Realizing I was now legally liable but legally powerless, I turned to Enterprise Rental for help. I called their Roadside Assistance number, waited through 10 minutes of hold advertising and then was told by a bored employee that there was nothing she could do. And then (I kid you not) . . she hung up on me (Gasp!). Now a little angry, I then called the Customer Service line, held for another ten minutes and was told again that there was nothing they could do for me. When I asked, “That’s the best you can offer me?”, she hung up on me, too. No she didn’t!

I fell asleep angry and powerless at 3 AM, then woke up at 6:30 AM and contacted the Enterprise Rental at the Austin airport (the closest office that was open on a Sunday). I then took a cab out to the airport, handed over my first rental keys and convinced them to give me a new car for the duration of my rental. They agreed that getting a notarized affidavit on a Sunday in Texas was impossible but that it was now their problem and that this kind of thing happens “all the time.” Yes,you heard it from Enterprise: rental cars in Austin get towed all the time and are never successfully recovered by their renters.

By 11 AM on Sunday, I was situated with my third car in two days and left the final throes of Gadling’s fun-filled weekend for another day of work just north of the city. The next day, Monday, I returned my second rental car to the office in Bastrop where I discovered that my first rental car had still not been recovered. I was charged $280.00 for the towing and impound but promised that there would be no further related expenses. Enterprise confessed that they too were having a very difficult time retrieving the car from J&J Towing and that it might take days more, if not the rest of the week.

In retrospect, seeing as I had purchased full insurance on the rental car, I should have just reported the car stolen, which is actually kind of what happened. If you park in the parking lot of the establishment at which you are eating and when you come back you find the car is gone, then your car was stolen.

Now there’s a Texas way to deal with this situation and there’s the nicer way. Since, I’m a nice guy, I’m sticking to words. Frankly though, y’all disappointed me! City of Austin–you fail. Ironworks BBQ? You fail, too. And Enterprise Rental? You get a D minus (have fun getting your car back). As for J&J towing, I leave you to your own heavy stack of karma. I imagine when you eventually do get served, it’ll look something like No Country for Old Men and the final scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The travel moral of the story is don’t park your rental car in downtown Austin, ever. Better yet, just skip Austin and head straight to the Hill Country. They can’t tow you out there and if they try, you’re legally allowed to shoot them. The other moral of the story is that the state of Texas has a bunch of cockamamie laws regarding rental cars, so watch out!

The final moral of the story is: Don’t Mess With Gadling! Just like you don’t mess with Texas, you don’t mess with a bunch of travel writers. We may be limp-wristed computer nerds with passports, but these days, the keyboard is mightier than the tow truck.

*The real casualty in all of this was Mike Barish’s Hello Kitty piñata, who at this very moment is still sitting locked up in the scuzzy backlot of J&J towing and enduring who knows what kind of hellish torments.