First ever Shopping on the Rails event will take place aboard the Orient-Express’ British Pullman train this holiday

by Jessica Festa on

Instead of fighting your way through crowded department stores and chaotic shopping centers this holiday, why not do your shopping aboard a luxurious, festively decorated train? On December 1, 2011, the first ever Shopping on the Rails event will take place on board the Orient-Express’ British Pullman train.

A few of the fine British retailers that have been invited to participate in the event include:

  • Harrods– iconic British landmark store with 330 departments of top quality merchandise
  • Brora– fine Scottish cashmere and beautiful clothing
  • Ettinger– handcrafted luxury leather goods and accessories
  • Holland and Holland– known for their artistic and well-crafted guns, they offer clothing, accessories, and technical products
  • Elemis– the leading luxury British spa and skincare brand since 1989

The price for the Shopping on the Rails holiday event is $470 and includes round trip transfer to and from Victoria Station in London, a 4-course lunch with Champagne and half a bottle of wine per person, and the chance to peruse and purchase luxury goods from top retailers. The dress code is “smart daywear” and passengers are asked not to wear jeans and sneakers.

For more information or to make a reservation, click here.

Chicago’s loop in HD

by Jessica Festa on

Want to spend a lazy day riding around on an architecturally-scenic elevated railroad in Illinois? Now, you can. Watching this high definition video by Michael Salisbury, listening to the dreamy, relaxed sounds of Boards of Canada, you will be transported to The Loop in Chicago. Glance out your window at the commercial style architecture, the impressively complex rail tracks, and some of the city’s tallest buildings (the 110-story Willis Tower, which is 1,454 feet high, is not only the tallest building in Chicago, but in the United States, as well).

If you don’t have time to head over to the Windy City to see The Loop for yourself, you can check out this video:

NASA is looking for new astronauts!

by Kraig Becker on

Anyone who has ever dreamed of going into space received a glimmer of hope this past week when NASA announced that they were looking for their next class of astronauts. This high profile “help wanted” ad had the dual effect of sending many of us scrambling to update our resumes, while simultaneously regressing to a point in our lives when we actually believed we could still grow-up to be an astronaut.

The actual job posting can be found online by clicking here. It provides plenty of great information for those wanting to know the details about the requirements and perks of the position. For example, the salary ranges from $64,724 to $141,715 per year, which is a bit surprising, because many of us would probably actually pay that much for an opportunity to go into orbit. The position is listed as Full Time and Permanent, but would require a move to Houston, which is probably the biggest downside of the job.

As you might expect, the position requires at least a Bachelor’s degree and three years of experience in your field, which can include technology, nursing, aviation, amongst others. Candidates will be required to pass a physical as well, and must have vision that is correctable to 20/20 in each eye. They also need to be between the heights of 62 and 75 inches, which will rule out most NBA players who are looking to pick up supplemental work during the lock-out.

The job listing also notes that prior to being hired candidates must undergo a background check and pass a drug-test as well. After all, NASA isn’t going to turn over multi-million dollar equipment to just anyone. They also note that frequent travel is required, but considering that travel involves going into space, I doubt anyone will really complain all that much. How many frequent filer miles is a trip to the International Space Station worth anyway?

When I was a kid, being an astronaut ranked right up there with ice cream taster and James Bond as the best jobs on the planet. For some reason I thought the career path to getting that job would be different than simply filling out an application and going in for an interview. Turns out, NASA hires people just in the same manner as Walmart.

For more information on the position and the application process, click here. Good luck to everyone who applies. You’re going to need it, because I’ve seen every episode of Star Trek ever and have visited the local planetarium twice.

Want to walk up a giant, looping roller coaster?

by Jessica Festa on

On November 13, 2011, the “Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain” sculpture in Duisburg, Germany, opened to the public. This isn’t your average piece of public art, however, as it is designed like a giant roller coaster with stairs and slopes that people can actually walk on.

Traversing over the sculpture, visitors will be put 148 feet above the surrounding countryside, gaining access to great views of the famous Rhine. While trekkers will reach great heights, they unfortunately will not get to go upside down, as the intimidating-looking loop actually contains stairs that keep you standing straight up.

The piece, which took one year to build, was created by German artists Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth, who describe the sculpture like this:

“The curved flight of stairs inscribes like a signature on the landscape and recruits the nimbus of the classical roller coaster. Having a closer look, the public is disappointed in a disarming way. The visitor climbs on foot via differently steep steps the roller-coaster-sculpture. So the sculpture subtly and ironically plays with the dialectic of promise and disappointment, mobility and standstill. Visitors happen to briefly meet with oncoming visitors on the steep and about 1m | 1yd wide corridors. Led-lights are integrated in the handrails and highlight the flight of stairs so the sculpture is accessible at night, too.”

Make sure to visit during the day, as well as at night, when the LED lights are on.

Photo of the day – Seoul Lantern Festival

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Through November 20th, the Seoul Lantern Festival will continue to light up spirits in the South Korean capital. Of the many images of the festival posted by Flickr user LadyExpat (Back in Daejeon) at the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr, it was this one that really stood out: a simple game of swan lanterns, luminous against an inky pool.

Got a photo you’d like to share with the world? Upload it to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr. If we fall in love with it we might just select it to be a future Photo of the Day.