“I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated.”

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Translate fail.

In Wales, all road signs must be written in English and Welsh, but as we’ve seen before, it’s easy for things to get lost in translation. When English officials e-mailed a Welsh translator with their latest project, the response (in Welsh) came back, “I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated.” You can guess what happened next.

According to this BBC article, there have been all kinds of similar mistakes recently in Wales– mistakes that happen when native speakers don’t proofread signs before they’re made. Two more examples they cite:

  • In Cardiff, a sign for pedestrians said “Look right” in English and “Look left” in Welsh.
  • A bilingual sign for cyclists warned them, in Welsh, that they may have problems with an “inflamed bladder.”

Huh?

A get rid of the winter blahs getaway-vacation for people and dogs

by Jamie Rhein on

For anyone who loves to travel with a dog companion, here’s a weekend getaway with pooch and you in mind. Camp Dogwood is offering everything to get your dog in top form after the holidays during Winter Camp, January 16-18, 2009.

To get rid of stiffness and stress, there’s the dog massage. If you dog is having “issues,” perhaps trying to tell you something and you don’t know what, there’s a session in animal communication. What about a tune-up in the trick department? Or maybe your dog is game for learning a new trick, or to do a bit more of what you want instead of doing whatever on the walks in your neighborhood. A brush up on obedience training may make both of your lives more swell.

Recognizing that a happy person can help make for a happy dog, there are people geared activities a well, such as wine-tasting, photography and arts and crafts.

The camp, located in Illinois not far from Chicago, offers cabins, shared lodging and private rooms. The Comfort Inn also has rooms available. In case you can’t swing the winter session, there is a spring session May 22-25.

Stand By Me while traveling the world

by Abha Malpani on

Award winning producer and film director Mark Johnson, recorded a guy on his street singing “Stand By Me”; then he traveled around the world and recorded about 100 other local artists doing the same. He edited some of the snippets of their footage into a video, and this (video below) is the result. It’s just too awesome. There is also a documentary film co-directed by Johnson, expanding on the same idea — you can see the trailer here.

This initiative of course is part of a larger program called “Playing For Change” which aims to connect the world through music. The foundation provides musicians around the world facilities to play music and enhance their skills, therefore not only making their lives better but also demonstrating how music brings people together regardless of cultural and socio-economic differences. Current projects include building a music school in Gugulethu (South Africa) to provide the youth there an alternative to the daily violence and deprivation they face; rebuilding and enhancing Tibetan refugee centers in Dharamsala and Kathmandu; and building an arts center in Johannesburg.

Here’s a recently recorded interview with Johnson by PBS’s Bill Moyers, and a Q&A with him on ComingSoon.net.

Gadling Take FIVE Week of Oct. 25–Oct. 31

by Jamie Rhein on

Wow! Here it is Halloween and October is almost over. Whew! What a month.

The pace at Gadling has continued to pick up. Perhaps you’ve noticed that Gadling blogger Karen Walerond has returned. She’s our resident camera and photographer expert, so stay tuned for tips on how you can make your camera work sing.

Also, there’s yet another series to add to our other mini-series. Aaron is gracing us with a Travel Trivia quiz each Tuesday. That Aaron is one smart guy.

Hopefully, you’ve been following Gadling’s series “Catching the Travel Bug” about our experiences when we’ve caught some illness when on the road. Also, this week there were two more “Sounds of Travel” offerings. This is the series where we’re sharing the songs that have moved us when we’ve ventured from home.

This week, who hasn’t noticed the flurry of U.S. election related news? By the next time I write next week’s Gadling TAKE FIVE roundup, we should know who our next president will be. We’ve had our own musings about the candidates and some oddball details.

Yes, that’s only four, so here’s one more from one of my favorite topics, New York City. Jeremy has once again given us a blueprint for discovering the gems we may not have heard of before. I’m so heading to Roosevelt Avenue in Queens for dip into Latin American culture the next time I am in New York.

By, the way, have a wonderful Trick or Treat or party, or whatever you’re up to. Hopefully, your fall day is as gorgeous as mine is.

It’s Halloween…let’s talk cemeteries

by Jeffrey White on

Seems like there is no better time to consider cemeteries than today, Halloween, seeing how they are the embodiment of all that is creepy, especially at night.

Not that they have to be just creepy. The world is full of many beautiful cemeteries. Sarajevo, sad to say, as several, which cling to the hills that form a bowl around the city. Nice’s necropolis also comes to mind.

It’s hard to articulate why cemeteries can be interesting, otherworldly places to stroll through. Luckily, travel writer David Farley does just this in a nice essay in Forbes Traveler.

Accompanying Farley’s text are a slide show of the world’s most famous cemeteries. Included in the gallery, in no particular order, are:

  • Trinity Churchyard in New York
  • Pere Lachaise in Paris
  • Mt. Auburn just outside Boston
  • San Michele in Venice
  • Hollywood Forever in LA
  • The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague
  • La Recoleta in Buenos Aires
  • Boothill Cemetery in Tombstone
  • St. Louis #1 in New Orleans

You can read what makes these places worth a visit here.