Creepy and beautiful cemeteries around the world

by Sean McLachlan on


Cemeteries aren’t the first places most people go to while on vacation, but they can tell a lot about a culture and its history. We all have to die sometime and the way we deal with the dead says a lot about ourselves.

Some cemeteries are overgrown and covered in moss. Others are orderly and well-kept. Some are beautiful, and can inspire wonderful photographs like the one taken here by user Perrimoon over at Flickr. Sometimes graveyards can be downright dangerous, like the cemetery in Haworth, England, famous as the hometown of the Brontë sisters. The dead were literally stacked ten deep in this graveyard and the stream that provided the town’s water flowed right through them!

Some of the best free sights in Paris are cemeteries. The same goes for New York. My pick for the best place to see cemeteries is Rome, the city of the dead, which has splendid Renaissance tombs, ancient Roman gravestones, and mummified monks.

Do you have some good cemetery shots? Join us over at Gadling’s flickr pool and show us your art. You might just get picked for Photo of the Day!

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Airlines challenge new consumer protection rules

by Chris Owen on

In April , the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced wide-ranging Airline Passenger Rules that included, among other things, that airlines disclose all potential fees up front in advertising. Airlines want more time and are challenging the new advertising rules.

Airlines say they need another 6 months or so to “overcome substantial technological problems and properly train their employees,” according to a document submitted June 7 by the Air Transport Association of America, the Regional Airline Association and the Air Carrier Association of America reports TravelWeekly.

“We note that the Department has changed its position on full-fare advertising after 25 years of permitting posting of air transportation prices separate from government taxes and fees,” the airlines said. “Carriers have relied on this government policy and built their advertising practices around it. Dismantling the current advertising system and reassembling it to meet the new standards will take multiple steps and will be difficult and time-consuming.”The DOT Airline Passenger Rules that went into effect in April require airlines to refund any bag fee if the bag is lost, increased compensation for flyers who get bumped and put strict limits on tarmac delays too. But it’s the full disclosure of fees that has Spirit Airlines challenging the proposed new rules.

Among the rules Spirit is challenging: the full fare rule, which requires airlines to show the full cost of a fare including taxes and airport fees reports Travel Pulse. Spirit says that hides “enormous government tax burden on travel.”

Spirit is also protesting the new rule that lets consumers cancel a flight without penalty within 24 hours of booking. While some carriers do this already, Spirit says that consumers will abuse the rule as well as the proposed “price freeze” for non-ticket services after purchase. The result, Spirit says, will be higher ticket prices.

In a related story that may come into play also, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has become more involved with Internet advertising, soliciting public comment on how it should revise more than decade-old guidelines that translate federal advertising laws to the Internet. A significant difference between the bite of the DOT and the FTC is that the FTC has the ability to sue companies not in compliance while the DOT levies fines.

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Flickr photo by ellenm1

New discoveries reveal life and times of the Roman Emperor Hadrian

by Sean McLachlan on

The Emperor Hadrian is one of Rome’s most famous emperors, ruling at the height of the Empire from 117-138 AD. His villa just north of Rome is a popular tourist attraction, yet some Italian researchers have discovered what countless visitors never noticed: the buildings are aligned with astronomical events.

On the summer solstice (June 21 this year) light passes through an opening above a doorway and shines on a niche in the opposite wall. The niche probably contained the statue of some deity. This sort of light effect has been found in other ancient sites. Another building is aligned both to the summer and winter (December 21 this year) solstices, during which the light shines through a row of doors.

The effects may have been part of the worship of Isis. Originally an Egyptian goddess, a popular mystery religion grew up around her in the Roman Empire.

Hadrian’s other famous monument, Hadrian’s Wall, is also the site of a recent discovery. At the fort of Vindolanda, dozens of circular huts have been discovered that don’t look like anything the Romans built. In fact, they look like the huts of the tribes living north of the wall in Scotland, outside the direct influence of the Roman Empire. These may have been homes for refugees from friendly tribes fleeing common enemies, perhaps during the invasion of Scotland by Emperor Septimius Severus (ruled 193-211 AD) or the homes of temporary workers who lived along the wall and served the Romans.

For more on Hadrian’s Wall and a hike you can take along the entire length, check out my series on hiking Hadrian’s Wall.

[Photo courtesy Jastrow]

Win a trip to anywhere!

by Kraig Becker on

Creative, socially responsible travelers have the opportunity to win a trip to anywhere they choose, thanks to a new contest that is being run by the non-profit organization travel2change. The contest, which is accepting submissions through July 10th, seeks to identify and fund the best proposals for the sustainable use of water in any destination on the planet, with the aim of funding those projects to generate a positive impact on local communities in the places we travel to.

Entries to the contest can be for any travel destination, in any country in the world. Submissions are being accepted in four categories, including: Health, Environment, Education, and Sport. The submissions will be posted on the travel2change website, where the community can comment and discuss the projects as well. The most valuable participant in those discussions will also be allowed to join the trip to one of the four selected destinations too.

The idea is to show that travel can have a positive, lasting impact on the local communities that we visit in our journeys and to encourage more interaction with the people that live there. In this case, they are encouraging us to consider the sustainable use of water in the projects that we propose. Those proposals will be evaluated on the basis of creativity, effectiveness, impact, feasibility and sustainability.

Do you have a great idea that fits the description above? Submit your proposal, and you may be off on a journey to the destination of your choice later this year.

Travel services for this project are being handled by Kuoni Travel.

Photo Gallery- Abandoned Schools

by Chris Owen on

Over the years, with declining student enrollment and big budget cuts, many school districts are closing schools. Sometimes districts lease old buildings out to charter schools, businesses, or nonprofit organizations, but often the buildings simply sit empty and fall into disrepair. One organization has a plan to change that.

GOOD, the integrated media platform for people who want to live well and do good, had an idea. In an effort to “Repurpose” abandoned schools, GOOD readers were asked to imagine a way to repurpose an abandoned school building so that the space once again serves the needs of its community.

Caroline Hadilaksono came up with the idea of a Farm to Table Urban Food Center that creates “an all-in-one ecosystem for food, where members of a community would be able to grow, prepare, distribute, and consume food, all in one place” says Hadilaksono on the GOOD website.
The plan would include an outdoor urban farm; forward-thinking indoor hydroponic farms and vertical gardens; a for-profit cafe, farmer’s market, and produce store; and a nonprofit kitchen for feeding the homeless community. Classroom space would be used to educate the public on cooking, nutrition and agriculture classes.

Our photo gallery of Abandoned Schools around the United States offers a bunch of candidates for what looks to be a great repurposing idea.

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