GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of September 17

by Adrienne Wilson on

Hear ye, Hear ye it is time again for another weekly glance at some spectacular plugs you may have missed. Just make sure you don’t miss them this time. Or else!

5. Cool Subways:
Long ago I mentioned the cool underground transportation scene seen in Tehran, Iran, but in this piece Erik points us to some so-called “Cool” subways in destinations like Moscow, Munich and Stockholm. If you’re not in rush to get to your final stop; check them out. That goes for the real thing and his blurb here on the web.

4. Puerto Rico Island Hopping:
Ah, Puerto Rico! With a light hurricane season and considering hurricane season is almost officially out of here who wouldn’t want to go island hopping in Puerto Rico? Thanks to Iva we’re one step closer in making the dream come alive or deciding which method or hopper plane works best for you.

3. Red Corner: The Horrors of Flying in Russia:
I’ve never been to Russia or flown on one its friendly planes, but I’m hearing more and more stories like the one Neil points us to in this scary piece. If you’re making St. Petersburg or Moscow a must-see destination sometime soon check this article out to shake yourself up a little.

2. Medieval Trials in Modern Day India:
Culture pieces are my favorite and this one is pretty interesting. Learn how to find a thief in India by reading this hot topic. After knowing how trials in modern day India work you’d think no one would steal, but it sadly looks as if that’s not the case.

1. Gadling Podcast: Joshua Berman:
Podcast time and with this one Erik delves into the world of guidebook writing with Joshua Berman who writes for Moon Guides, but recently published Living Abroad in Nicaragua released by Avalon Publishing. If you’re curious to know what it takes or Joshua’s take on the world of mattress flipping, sniffing and reporting (a.k.a. travel writing), tune in, plug in, and give it a listen.

JPG Mag Contest

by Erik Olsen on

The growth and spread of digital photography has been rather mind-blowing when you think about it. But the efficiencies to be had from shooting digital are so great that it makes a lot of sense so many people would be switching, let alone starting out anew as photographers in the digital realm.

One place that digital photography has made an immense impact is travel photography. No longer when you’re out in this country or on that adventure do you need to worry about buying film, carrying it around, the expense of getting it developed. I know, all are glaring statements of the obvious.

But I bring it all up because one of my favorite little digital photography magazines – JPG Mag – is on the lookout for people to contribute. Every issue contains photos from folks like you and I who send them photos. In fact, I had one of my pics selected for their second issue.

Well, they are now on their seventh issue and still eager to get your photos. The issues have themes, and the theme of number seven is BIG. Interpret that as you like.

Anyway, you don’t get much from them if your picture is selected, but it’s cool to have your photo in print.

http://jpgmag.com/

Building or Chinese Menu Item?

by Iva Skoch on

Seeing pictures of the proposed new biomedical research center in Chengdu, China (Szechuan province) reminded me of some menu items I tried in that city last year. One reporter called the proposed building “the blob.”

The Szechuan province, of course, is home to that terrific spicy food that is ubiquitous in Chinese restaurants everywhere, usually on the menu right next to an asterisk or a nearby ‘chili pepper’ icon, signifying “this food is hot as hell.”

The traditional and most popular way of eating food in Chengdu is the hotpot. Basically, you’re given a large bowl of boiling, flavored oil that sits atop your table, while you cook skewers of various foods in the oil–kind of like fondue without the cheese. Most of the time, you have some rough idea of what it is you’re cooking, since you picked it off the shelf yourself. The best oil, we were told, was as old as possible: as oil burned off and was eaten, the bowl was topped up; if you cleaned the bowl and used fresh oil, you killed the taste. The older the oil, the better. The table has a hole in it and sits above an industrial-sized propane tank and burner, one to each table. With the cooking-oil-slick floors and open flames everywhere, it’s an American trial-lawyer’s dream.

Back to the building: the building, it seems, was meant to look like a cell, peppered with meeting room pods which were meant to look like embedded proteins around the outside. And the shape? You can see for yourself. Care for a dip in the interior’s “mitochondrial” pools?

Yep, looks and sounds like something I’d be dunking in a bath of ancient, bubbling oil, filled with chili oil and fish heads.

Brick Lane: Best Indian Food Outside of Bangladesh

by Iva Skoch on

Contrary to popular belief, not all food in London is bad. Indian food is, in fact, excellent. The best way to sample it is to head over to Brick Lane, a street in the East Side of London, just steps away from Liverpool Street or Aldgate East tube stops.

Brick Lane (also known as Banglatown) is actually the center of the Bangladeshi community, nonetheless, this is where people go to satisfy their Indian food craving. It is one of the few things in London which won’t make you go broke in two hours. You can get a meal here for 5 GBP.

I come here every time I am in London and I try a different place every time. I went again this past Saturday night and was not disappointed. Remember that some of the restaurants have no liquor license, so you have to bring your own booze. Make sure to try the sweet, coconut nan. It complements the super-spicy vindaloo (or “vindy”) dishes very nicely.

Fall Issue of Planet Magazine Out Now

by Adrienne Wilson on

Every time Planet mag hits the shelves I feel as if I have this reader loyalty type thing to spread the word and paint the town with the news. If you’re not a subscriber I suggest you sign-up today. With just four issues a year it’s easy to let one slip by and well, you don’t want that do you? So how about I stop sounding preachy and things on the glossy and just tell you what’s inside this issue?

There’s the usual Satellite, Diary, Divinity, and Greenspace pages, but also inside, especially for fall and the 5th anniversary issue are pieces on Élodie Bouchez, Roberto Rossellini, Baptiste Ibar, Kirby Dick, and Katharine Hamnett among many others. As far as I’m concerned Planet magazine nails it when it comes to global culture!

And that’s my two cents for now.