GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of October 29

by Adrienne Wilson on

The moment you have all been waiting for has arrived at last. An unforgettable week… The most amazing things in blogging history, right here, now… It’s Gadling’s Take Five!!! A little too dramatic? I agree. Let’s just get to what you missed.

5. Star Locator:
Here’s a gear piece for all camp-loving individuals who like to stare off into starry nights, but have trouble finding popular constellations like Orion’s Belt. Maybe you just want to take a glimpse at Mars… Now you can do so with this handy dandy gadget, but you’ll have to visit this one yourself. It’s really rather cool!

4. On Stebastopol:
I’ve never heard of Stebastopol and if someone had asked me prior to reading this piece I would have told them it was in Estonia somewhere. Who says travel bloggers know it all? Stebastopol is mentioned here by Erik who passed through not too long ago and also mentioned by Outside Magazine. They say it’s one of the great towns to live in… Hmm…

3. Get Paid to Travel to Iran:
Someone please sign me up for this promotion! How bad I want to travel to the country of Iran I cannot say, but it looks as though they are making more efforts to bring tourists from the West on in to show them they aren’t as dangerous as the media makes them seem. Travel agents – encourage people to travel to Iran and you could be making some extra cash.

2. Bad English:
This is a book all of us might want to pick up, because in my mind bad English is everywhere, including in English speaking countries. Get your quick laughs about goof-ups found across the globe, but I urge you to spell check yourself and make sure your grammar is on point. You’ll probably find that some foreigners are better at grammar usage than you. I have from time to time.

1. Most Dangerous U.S. Cities:
Pack a glock if you find yourself headed to St. Louie, Flint, or Detroit anytime soon. These three just ranked tops in most dangerous U.S. cities. Okay, don’t pack a glock or any kind of weapon, but do look at the list to see why all the violence. You may be surprised where your own city ranks.

Glow Shrooms

by Erik Olsen on

Here’s the first of several Halloweeny posts on this All Hallows’ Eve.

I know there are some of you out there for whom this will be an inspiration to scamper out into the woods in search of the next great hallucinogen. But hold on, we don’t know yet if these mushrooms can kill you. And foodies, yes, I’m sure many of you are also dreaming of glow in the dark pizza, the hottest new thin to hit Chuck E Cheese since, well, that little machine that grabs toys with a metal grappling hook. Well, I just found this little blurb from Nat Geo to fascinating not to post about. What we’ve got here are bona fide glow in the dark mushrooms from Brazil. These bioluminescent fungi were collected from Ribeira Valley Tourist State Park near São Paulo, and are – amazingly – capable of producing light through a chemical reaction.

U.S. National Parks from Coast to Coast

by Adrienne Wilson on

Perhaps this site has made the Gadling pages before, but at the same time I’m willing to bet we’ve somehow managed to look over this fine jewel packed with National Park info. A buddy of mine who happens to be good pals with one of the creators of the USA-C2C venture pointed it out to me a few days back and after accessing the very thorough and detailed information, I must recommend that anyone with an interest in National Parks bookmark this page – NOW. Having toured almost all of the 358 National Parks, National Historic Site, National Battlefield Park, National Battlefield and National Monument officially recognized by the National Park Foundation within the United States, Michael and Gabrielle have created a highly dynamic ranking system for each, all on one site. (Very easy to navigate through as well.) The park museums, ease of access, ranger to tourist ratio, and park facilities are all critiqued for each and every park including anything else imaginable. I look at the amount of work placed into this project and I am baffled. With around 29 more parks left, once this project is fully finished I’m sure it is going to spread like wildfire. Maybe we’ll get lucky enough to see it in a paper / book version perfect for the backpack on long summer or fall road trips.

No Child Left Inside

by Neil Woodburn on

In an effort to introduce more kids to nature and the Great Outdoors, the superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, has proposed a No Child Left Inside public awareness campaign. What a perfect name and a perfect goal!

Nature Deficit Syndrome has most certainly increased in today’s youth as a result of too much time spent indoors with video games and the internet. National Park attendance continues to drop and officials are concerned that whole generations of children are increasingly missing out on the outdoors. If this continues, people will experience places like Yellowstone only virtually and, as a result, will be far less enriched in their lives.

So, if you are a parent out there reading this, do your kid a favor and take him or her to your closest National Park. And leave that Gameboy at home.

Banff Mountain Festival Starts Today

by Neil Woodburn on

Today kicks off the 2006 Banff Mountain Festival.

For lovers of the outdoors, there is perhaps no better gathering of authors, film makers, and adventurers specializing in the natural world. The festival provides a venue for those passionate about the outdoors and then delivers this passion to festival goers in all its glory.

Seminars and guest speakers make up a big part of the entertainment. This year will include, among others, Italian mountaineer Simone Moro, and Nando Parrado, one of the survivors of the infamous Andes plane crash in which cannibalism took place.

There is also a book festival honoring those who have written about the Great Outdoors.

The real draw for most people, however, is the legendary film festival. This year, 300 films of various lengths have been submitted; 50 will be shown throughout the festival. The winning reels then go on tour around the world. I catch the tour every year when it comes to Los Angles and keep telling myself that I need to get to the real event itself. Looks like I’ve come up short this year, once again.