GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of April 15

by Adrienne Wilson on

The end of the week has arrived and I can’t express how happy that makes me. But I’m not going to make this intro long winded or provide some silly intro on the close of the day and what you may have missed so let’s just get into it!

5. Where Have You Been? At Bluestockings:
Although I am sure there are other events around the globe similar to this Bluestockings event this is one in particular makes me wish I lived in the Big Apple. For those who haven’t the desire to be on the go or can’t but still love drooling and thinking on the travel tales of others this live storytelling events might make for a fabulous evening for you and a nice cup of tea.

4. Cruise Ship Work: It’s Possible:
In need of a new job NOW? Well I can’t promise you’ll land one on a cruise ship immediately, but you can start NOW to get out of your cube farm and onto the high seas for a few months. The air is much fresher out there.

3. Tickets on Sale for Beijing Olympics:
While Ember is busy bringing the daily Beijing 411, Jonathon stops to remind us that one of the world’s biggest events is coming up fast and tickets are now on sale. Will you be at the Olympics?

2. Talking Travel with Matthew Polly:
Ready to be inspired? Gadling contributor, Justin Glow brings us all an awesome Q&A from his chat with Matthew Polly. If the name doesn’t ring a bell fear not, but don’t and I repeat don’t try bullying this guy to fork over his egg roll or burger for that matter. Read the interview and find out what pushed him to leave everything behind to travel to the Shaolin Temple.

1. Weekend in Miami: An Overview:
Summer is on the way and thanks to Willy, those who are planning a getaway to Miami, Florida can check out this overview for a few links and ideas on how to spend 2-3 days time or more if you happen to have it! Though the beach is almost a given he also provides a glimpse at museums and dining and most importantly, where you may want to rest your head.

Earth Day Celebrations Around the World

by Jamie Rhein on

From Karachi, Pakistan to Koh Samui, Thailand to Chelewah, Washington people are celebrating the earth this weekend. Yep, Earth Day is April 22. You can plant trees, clean up a beach, go to a lecture, canoe, pet animals, hike, dance, sing, participate in a 5-K run and eat Earth Day fare at an Earth Day fair somewhere on the planet. The calendar page of the website Envirolink: The Online Environment Community lists scads of possibilities.

Each link goes to a link that links to each event’s website for more information. This is a place you can spend a lot of time just to see what people who are environmentally conscience are up to. Here’s one event that caught my attention. John Muir’s Birthday Hike is taking place near Madison, Wisconsin. Muir was the founder of the Sierra Club and his boyhood home is part of the John Muir Memorial County Park. This event includes talks about Muir and his writing. Plus, there is a hike and a tour of the house he grew up in.

To find an Earth Day event near you, check out the Earth Day website. It looks like you can type in where you live and events near you will pop up. If you’re wondering what started Earth Day, here is an overview.

Also, stay tuned for Gadling’s April 22 posts when Gadling writers’ pay homage to Earth Day with their special brand of posts and whatnot.

Enrich your Travel With Do-It-Yourself Volunteering

by Jamie Rhein on

This past Thursday I talked with Columbus-based artist and traveler Eric Marlow at an event for the “Optic Nerve: Perceptual Art of the 1960s” exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Ohio. Earlier that evening I saw him at the opening of “Outside the Box, ” a retrospective of “garbage art” at the Kings Art Complex. Marlow’s work was one of the pieces in the show. Both exhibits I recommend, but this post is about the traveling/volunteering experience Marlow told me about.

Recently, he went to Nicaragua on a beach vacation and while there decided to do something useful, not that one needs to do something useful on a beach vacation. But, he felt the urge and contacted a local school in San Juan del Sur to find out if the school would like a guest artist to do an art workshop with students. The school was delighted with Marlow’s offer so he spent three 3 hours leading a group of adolescents in a found-art collaborative sculpture. This endeavor did involve a trip to the beach. One of his comments was how the school didn’t have any resources. None. Zip. Zippo. Nada.

This is an example of a do-it-yourself kind of volunteer project. If you’re traveling in place with limited resources and schools are in session, perhaps approaching a school with your ready-made project idea would be something they’d be interested in. If you’re looking to hook up with projects before you leave for vacation, try International Volunteer Programs Association. If nothing else, its website lists ideas for what sort of volunteer projects are available. To learn more about volunteering in Nicaragua here is an article that goes into more detail. While you’re packing for a trip, tuck in a few boxes of crayons and a pad of paper. You might find yourself having a fine time with a group of kids somewhere.

Running the Sahara

by Erik Olsen on

How’s this for ballsy (I filed this one under “hiking”, tho that seems to be an understatement). A couple of guys decide to do their part to help the world, in this case to bring better water conditions to Africa and Africans, and look for what would seem an impossible goal. One that would capture the attention of the world, or at least of the good folks at National Geographic, who can then help them get noticed.

Well, Kevin Lin, Ray Zahab, and Charlie Engle set out late last year to run…that’s right to RUN across the entire expanse, west to east, of the Sahara Desert. Never mind that they had a big film crew with them and gobs of support, that is still a massive and jaw-dropping undertaking.

Charlie, Ray and Kevin touched the Red Sea, back in February, bringing the epic trip to an end. It lasted 111 days and took them through 6 countries: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, and Egypt. By their own GPS log, they covered over 4,300 miles. Yow.

Of course, all these guys are hard core mega-endurance types. Engle himself, the team leader is said to be one of the best ultra distance marathon runners in the world today, And as you might expect (and as I mentioned above) there will be a film on the effort (Narrated by Matt Damon), and the Web site had got gobs of lovely info including pictures, bios and an overview of the effort. What would Lawrence of Arabia have said?

Elevator Rules

by Grant Martin on

Sometimes the shortest journey is the one we take up and down every day. Yep, I’m talking about the elevator.

Most people embark on this journey with little or no thought. Push the button, get in, get off. Simple. And yet, we’ve all had those uncomfortable elevator moments which can make even the briefest of trips an annoying nightmare.

It is usually your fellow passengers who ruin an otherwise perfect elevator trip; the cell phone yapper, the button pusher, the non-button pusher, the groper and the flatulent. Personally, I hate those who shove their way into the elevator before others can disembark.

Elevator etiquette is not something one learns in Finishing School. Nor is it taught in the home. Elevator etiquette is one of those things you learn on your own.

But now, there is someone to help out.

ElevatorRules.com clearly spells out the appropriate way to act when riding an elevator with other passengers.

The site is broken into four sections: Waiting, Boarding, Once the Doors Close, and Exiting. Most of the information is simple common sense–or so you’d think. I’ve seen most of the suggestions broken nearly every time I ride an elevator. For example; If you find yourself close to the button panel in an elevator, you have the additional responsibility of button management. It is your job to make sure the other riders have had the button for their floor pressed.

This above rule is broken constantly. On the other hand, the writers of the site felt it necessary to include one suggestion I’ve thankfully never seen occur in an elevator:

Never, under any circumstances urinate or defecate in an elevator. It is not, and never will be considered funny by anyone. It presents a serious health risk to elevator riders as well as maintenance personnel.

Duh!