Mixing Business with Adventure

by Kraig Becker on

The New York Times had an excellent article a couple of days back offering up some great tips on how to mix business and adventure for travelers who are frequently heading over seas for their jobs. Often times those travelers are short on free time, and may only be visiting a country for a few days, but that doesn’t mean they can’t take advantage of that time to still take in the local sights and soak up some culture.

The article is written by Sue Brush, who is the Senior Vice President for Westin Hotels and Resorts, and for the past 20 years her job has taken her all over the planet. In that time, she’s seen a lot of changes in the way that we travel, and had the opportunity to explore dozens of foreign lands.

For business travelers, the key is to be efficient and take advantage of what ever amount of time is at your disposal. Sue says that when she was in Egypt back in 2007, she immediately switched into casual clothes upon her arrival and went to see the pyramids and to ride a camel in the Sahara. In total, she estimates that she spent no more than an hour taking in the sights, but it was still worth the effort.
The frequent flyer also recommends getting as much work done on the long flights as you possibly can. Many people relax, read, watch the inflight movie, or sleep while in transit. But if you take advantage of that time, and get some work done before your arrival, it may afford you the opportunity to enjoy the destination to a much larger degree.

With a little foresight and planning, the opportunity to mix in a little adventure can make those long business trips more rewarding and pleasureable.

Photo of the day (2.24.09)

by Grant Martin on

Most people don’t think “art” when they see a train yard, but as dydcheung shows in this picture, the right perspective and frame can really bring out the beauty in an otherwise mundane setting. This photo was taken at the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, one of largest train stations in Germany and reminds me how much I enjoy watching trains and people move, commute and flow through a maze of public transportation.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day. Make sure you save them under Creative Commons though, otherwise we can’t use them!

Against the law to be annoying in public

by Jamie Rhein on

In Brighton, Michigan an ordinace was recently adopted to make it illegal to be annoying in public either by “word of mouth, sign or motions.” That’s the only piece of information I read about the ordinance in a snipet of News of the Weird in the Dispatch. Such a slim missive has me wondering about what’s annoying exactly?

I would guess you couldn’t flip a person off or stick out your tongue at someone. Probably you can’t put your thumbs at the side of your head at temple height and wag your fingers while saying, “Na, naa, na, na, nuh.” That’s what came to mind first. Or, what about someone standing in the middle of a grocery aisle talking loudly on a cell phone? That’s kind of annoying. There are all sorts of items one might put on a laundry list of annoying behaviors. My personal favorite is when someone comes to an event that’s quiet and starts rustling a plastic bag–and rustling, and rustling and rustling it. Give the person a citation, I say.

Then I went snooping on the City of Brighton Web site to see what’s what. I discovered that Brighton is the fastest growing town in Livingston County which is the fastest growing county in Michigan. I thought perhaps that all the extra people were making Brighton citizens unnerved and easily annoyed. Nope, that wasn’t it.

As it turns out, the old ordinace wasn’t clear about teenage bullying, neighbors repeatedly vexing neighbors, repeated unwanted text messages, these sorts of things.

As a statement by the mayor clarifies, the following do not fit under the new ordinace:

  • “The screaming child in the grocery line
  • The spouse that leaves dirty socks on the floor
  • The person that fails to use the left turn signal
  • You get the picture. . .”

This photo was taken at a park in GwinnettCounty, Georgia by Barely Fitz. You can’t be annoying there either.

Searching out spring: Head to a home and garden show at these 11 locations

by Jamie Rhein on

Paul Busse, the creator of the most fantastic garden train displays that grace major botanical gardens in the U.S., received a career boost when he made an award-winning display for AmeriFlora, an international garden show. With the temperatures taking a nose dive this week, and the gray of winter lingering, I’m thinking that a trip to a garden show may be a perfect way to pep up. They’re where top landscapers and gardeners strut their stuff.

Spring does begin in March, but at a garden show, it comes sooner than later. Gorgeous flowers and plants arranged in landscapes offer a respite from outdoors. Also, they’re perfect for picking up ideas for creating a sanctuary back home.

Here are eleven different events beginning this coming weekend and through March:

  • Columbus, Ohio. Central Ohio Home & Garden Show: Feb. 28-March 8. With the Oscars still fresh, here’s some movie magic. There are themed gardens inspired by movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark; Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon; Mama Mia, Lord of the Rings, Cast Away, Mary Poppins and more. I’m thinking China, Greece, a tropical island, Egypt, Great Britain and so on.
  • Fort Wayne Home & Garden Show: Feb. 26-March 1. If you have any junk and want to see if it’s an antique worth something, bring it along. A canned good will give you $1 off admission.
  • Philadelphia Flower Show: March 1-8. This year’s show is themed Bella Italia. Italian wine, food, and Italian gardens.
  • San Antonio Home & Garden Show: Has a 15-ton sand scuplture and birds of prey demonstration besides garden details.
  • Buffalo Home & Garden Show: Feb. 28-March 8. Has a staycation element to show you how to create a garden that makes you not mind staying closer to home.
  • Charlotte, N.C. Southern Spring Home & Garden Show: March 4-8. For a touch of Japan, check out the bonsai display and Ikebana flower arrangements.
  • Minneapolis Home & Garden Show: March 4-8. This show includes nine gardens. Get tickets off the Web site and save $3 a piece.
  • The same organization puts on the Home and Garden Shows in these cities in Texas. Dallas Home and Garden Show, March 6-8; Ft. Worth Home Show: March 13-15; Houston Home and Garden Show, March 20-22. Access all through texashomeandgarden.com. Look for vacation and leisure related displays at the show in Dallas.
  • St. Louis: Builders Home & Garden Show: March 5-8. Like the other shows, this one has a kid’s area to keep children busy. Also has an entertainment stage.

Celebrate the Francis Bacon centennial, starting in Madrid

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Reclusive, crazy and not as prolific as most other artists, Francis Bacon produced only around 1,000 paintings before his death. Around the world, his pieces appear one or two at a time, but few have the resources or reason to assemble a large retrospective. This year, that changes.

One hundred years ago, Francis Bacon was born. For his centennial, exhibitions are rumored to be planned at London’s Tate and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. But, I was surprised to see a large sign as I walked along the Paseo del Prado last week: Francis Bacon. Until April 19, 2009, you’ll be able to witness the progression of this genius’s work over four decades, with a collection of unusual breadth and depth (take a closer look here).

This is an interesting time for Francis Bacon. Last year, his work was among the hottest in the world, with Russian energy figure Roman Abramovich dropping $86.3 million on a triptych painted in 1976. Not even a full year later, the art market is in turmoil, and the auction houses are unable to move Bacon’s work, it seems, at any price. It feels like a sad undercurrent to what should be a year of celebration, but New York artist Nelson Diaz disagrees.
Diaz appears to be downright prophetic, having protested the art market’s ascent with a political statement via eBay last summer. At the time, he explained that Bacon would have been disgusted with the high prices that his work fetched. Nelson’s protest is over, but it does make rich background for what should be a year of Francis Bacon retrospectives around the world.

In the video below, Nelson explains last summer’s project and its connection to Francis Bacon. If you’re looking to the future, his latest project is “The Isolated Christ.”

Whether you stop by the Tate, Met or Museo del Prado to enjoy the Francis Bacon centennial, keep this back-story in mind. It changes everything you’ll see.

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