Film Forum: Manufactured Landscapes

by Kelly Amabile on

Today in New York, the Film Forum premieres Manufactured Landscapes, which follows photographer Edward Burtynsky as he travels through places like China and Bangladesh, capturing images of globalized industry. Directed by Jennifer Baichwal, the film features large-scale images of vast industrial landscapes, and delivers a message about the human and environmental costs of the destructive changes that our planet is experiencing.

The acclaimed Canadian artist takes large-format photographs of factory worker armies, skeletons of rotting oil tankers and dismantled cities along the shores of the Yangtze River as the Three Gorges Dam nears completion. It’s a film that “allows us to contemplate industry’s impact on land, people, and culture” and seems like a valuable tool that offers perspective for all travelers as we all move through this world, whether for work or pleasure.

McSweeney’s Auction

by Erik Olsen on

If you’ve been around gadling for a while, you know that we often pull from the online humor magazine McSweeney’s for our Friday Funny. Actually, we’ve posted about them for a lot of things because they often have travel or international-related pieces available. Well, it looks like the popular and beloved publisher has fallen on hard times…briefly, we hope. According to Kottke, their distributor filed for bankruptcy late last year and they lost some $130,000, a vast amount of cash for such a small enterprise. But you can help and perhaps collect a bit of McSweeney’s memorabilia that could even be considered an investment. They are having sale and auctioning “rare items” including a (sort of) heart-breakingly lovely painting by Dave Eggers of George W. Bush. You can also get stuff by former Talking Heads front man (and personal hero of mine) David Byrne and Director Spike Jonze. So why not go over and do a good deed for a very good cause.

Dr. Warmlove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Climate Change

by Erik Olsen on

The panic and mayhem that seems to surround global warming sometimes gets so shrill you’d think the world was going to end. And maybe it will. For some people.

But for others, global warming could be a boon. Once icy climes could turn positively cozy, and just imagine what that will do for real estate values. So you see, there is a bright side.

And perhaps no one sees that bright side more than the folks living in Greenland. Yes, you know, Greenland. It’s the place that’s all white. Though perhaps not for long. And the people there are not very green either, in fact, according to this piece in the Washington Post, they seem to be cheering on the arrival of climate change. “It’s good for me,” said Ernst Lund, one of 51 farmers raising sheep on the world’s largest island. “I can keep the sheep out two weeks longer to feed in hills in the autumn. And I can grow more hay. The sheep get fatter,” he said. Now that’s optimism. And its not just the sheep that are enjoying the rising temps. The cod are too. Cod have been in serious decline all over the globe, but particularly in once thriving fisheries like the Northeast US. And, says the story, seals are now easier to reach to kill for grub. The list goes on in this fascinating, sometimes uplifting (in an irony-laden Don DeLillo way) piece.

The Country Brand

by Erik Olsen on

You can think of pretty much anything as a brand these days. Employment counselors tell you to think of yourself as a brand when you’re looking for a job. Learn how to SELL your identity, your skills and abilities, they say.

Companies like Apple manage their brands like they were precious jewels. Well, it turns out that nations have brands as well. Along these lines, let me ask a simple question. What comes to mind when you think of America? Cowboys and the Declaration of Independence or hamburgers and obesity? Probably a mix. And not long ago, when people were asked what they thought of Australians, they said that the Aussies were the friendliest people on earth. Not any more.

Nope, according to a new survey called the Nations Brand Index, the Aussies, who once held the top spot have been replaced by the Canadians. Now, I guess that most people who took the survey have never met my friend Canuck McIre, who is known to possess a feverish hatred of anyone and everything not Canadian. But I digress. More on a travel-related note, the survey found that Italy was the top spot on the globe for tourism followed by Spain and France. The top brand overall…and now this is the really important one…was the United States. Woo hoo!!!! Who needs to be nice when the world buys your stuff?

Water in Africa Project

by Jamie Rhein on

In my post on bucket baths I mentioned the Water in Africa Project by World Wise Schools. For any of you who’ve done adventure travel or have been to remote places, you know what it’s like to have water be an issue. A faucet with clean running water is nirvana.

The Water in Africa Project is the result of a collaborative effort between 90 Peace Corps volunteers, K-12 classroom teachers and Coverdell World Wise School staff members and covers pretty much everything having to do with water in African countries. From what I understand after reading the homepage, the idea of the project came from one person who had enough excitement and vision to generate interest in the folks who could make the project happen. I’m impressed. Collaborative projects thrill me.

The project has lesson plans and resources to keep you reading for hours. If you want to find out about water born illness, water projects, water use, water anything, this is a terrific place to start. The site is one that also keeps being added to as teachers come up with new lessons they’ve created by using the website.