Five-star gay hotel opens in Buenos Aires

by Catherine Bodry on

The capital of Argentina is getting its first 5-star gay hotel. General manager Nacho Rodriguez said the hotel is designed to be open and airy, with a top-floor glass-bottomed pool that can be seen from the lobby below. “Many gay hotels and places are closed off and can’t be seen from the street,” Rodriguez said. “We wanted our hotel to be open and visible. Why should we try and hide ourselves?”

About 25% of a sister-hotel’s guests (in Barcelona, Spain) are heterosexual, and Rodriguez claims the hotel is hetero-friendly.

Buenos Aires is in the running for the gay capital of Latin America, competing against Rio de Janeiro.

[via Msnbc]

The Museum of Broken Relationships

by Neil Woodburn on

Wow, this sorta sucks.

The Museum of Broken Relationships is a traveling museum show which displays personal mementos from failed relationships donated by local, heartbroken lovers.

The exhibition, which began in Croatia, has collected more than 300 items so far, including at least one ax used to destroy furniture owned by a cheating partner. Each donation must be accompanied by a note describing why the item was of importance to the relationship and the role that it may have played. In the case of the photo above, one spurned lover writes, “A gift from S.K. She loved antiquities. It mattered that the object is old and not functioning. That is exactly the reason why we are not together any more.”

The concept of the exhibit is the ability to take an object loaded down with memories and basically set it free of these shackles by donating it to the museum. According to the website, “The individual gets rid of ‘controversial objects,’ triggers of momentarily ‘undesirable’ emotions, by turning them into museum exhibits, i.e., artifacts, and thereby participating in the creation of a preserved collective emotional history.”

Personally, I can’t think of a more depressing museum to visit. Nonetheless, The Museum of Broken Relationships is drawing huge crowds in Berlin where it’s currently being displayed. Next up is Belgrade, Skopje and Stockholm.

Zombie Walk: Organizing events and activities for your inner zombie

by Neil Woodburn on


If you’re a serious zombie-wannabe, Halloween is strictly for amateurs.

The other 364 days of the year provide far better opportunity to surprise people and perhaps even get the jump on them–an important factor for slow moving zombies in search of fresh brains to eat.

But, as we all know, a lone zombie dragging his anemic limbs across the pavement is not the smartest thing to do; they are far easier to beat, burn, or shoot when meandering solo. It has now been documented that the real power of zombies increases exponentially when fellow zombies are at hand–and that’s why they travel and feed in small groups (i.e. a gaggle of zombies).

With this thought in mind, a group of like minded evil dead have formed the rapidly growing Zombie Walk group. This fine organization provides support–both logistically and mentally–for zombies in search of fresh brains. Rather than venturing out on your own, Zombie Walks organizes, well…, zombie walks. Like minded individuals gather together, slather on their pasty white make-up and bloodstained clothes, and then go for a leisurely stroll through some unsuspecting, white-picket-fence neighborhood. Check out the photo gallery here of a recent Zombie Walk in Richmond; it’s hilarious (the photo above is from this collection).

But don’t worry if you are nowhere near Richmond and are interested in taking a stroll with your fellow undead. Zombism is international in scope and Zombie Walk chapters can now be found throughout the States, Canada, and even in parts of Europe. Just check out their website for upcoming walks and join the parade.

The Toilet Hotel

by Jamie Rhein on

If eating out of a toilet doesn’t sound edgy enough–grand enough, how about a night in a house that looks like one? Might sound odd, but don’t be hasty. The Toilet House may not be so weird. The guy who had it built, Seoul, Korea’s, Sim Jae-Duck, is the founder of The World Toilet Association and wants to make sure that people have clean toilets to use. By this, I don’t mean toilet hygiene, per se, but toilets that are clean to use–meaning people have a place to go do their business without creating a health hazard. If you’ve ever lived in an African village, you understand the need for a good latrine that’s far enough away from the village well.

If you pay the $50,000 a night to stay in this house, you’ll be adding money towards Jae-Duck’s work to make sure that people in the world can get rid of their bodily waste without the danger of making people sick. Not a bad idea. Plus, the house does look funky. Again, thanks to Tom Barlow from BloggingStocks for sending this treasure my way.

Ten Thousand Villages: Don’t forget the festival sales!

by Kelly Amabile on

It’s never too early for holiday shopping tips, right? I was in Media, PA last weekend, which is officially known as America’s First Fair Trade Town. Its’ quaint main street is home to a variety of earthy shops, organic markets (including a Trader Joe’s) and its very own Ten Thousand Villages, a spectacular fair trade gift shop with artisan treasures from around the world. Since 1946 the company has supported the work of craftspeople in over 30 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

I love shopping at this store — I’ve bought several gifts at their Media, Bethesda and Baltimore locations, but was disappointed last holiday season when I was unable to find any of their shops in the NYC area. I was stumped, but went back to their website for a closer look. I searched the festival listings and discovered that they had a booth at The Bryant Park Holiday Shops in Manhattan. Bingo! Although the selection was much slimmer then their retail locations, I was still able to find some suitable (and fun!) fair trade gifts.

Keep this in mind as the season of giving gets underway — or go shopping right now in support of Fair Trade Month! Although their stores may not always be located in the “big” or most obvious cities, Ten Thousand Villages merchandise is available at a plethora of these holiday sales and festivals across the U.S. and Canada.