Travel to the Cherokee Nation: A new website helps you plan

by Jamie Rhein on

In the 7,000 square miles of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, there are attractions scattered across it. From National Historic Landmark Fort Gibson that was built in 1824 as a staging area for military expeditions in the west, to Will Rogers birthplace, to the Tahequah Cultural District–the Cherokee Nation’s capitol after the Cherokee were forced to relocate to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears, the variety is impressive.

As a way to help tourists find their way across the Cherokee Nation’s vastness, and plan a trip according to their interests, the website Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism was recently launched.

Along with the navigation tools that allow people to find out specifics about each cultural attraction, there is also a Calendar of Events page and another page to help folks hook up with specific tours: Cherokee Old Settler Tour; Will Rogers History Tour; Cherokee History Tour; and Cherokee Civil War Tour.

The list of things to do on each day of February is impressive. One event that caught my attention on this month’s calendar is the Fiddler’s Festival, February 26-28 at the Western Hills Guest Ranch & Sequoyah State Park.

One place to start a trip to the region might be the Cherokee Heritage Center in Park Hill, Oklahoma. Here you can learn more about Cherokee history and life. The complex also has an ancient village designed to look like it did before the Europeans showed up.

Even if you don’t plan to set foot in Oklahoma, head to the website as a history and cultural arts lesson. You’ll come away learning aspects of American history you may not have known before. [Pittsburgh Post Gazette]

Saudi Arabia Opens Up to Visitors

by Kraig Becker on

As the global economy continues to spiral downward, and the price of oil hovers around the $40/barrel, down more than $100 from last summer, Middle Eastern countries are looking for new opportunities to bolster their coffers. To that end, Saudi Arabia has begun opening its borders to visitors from the West, although there are a few caveats for anyone planning to make the journey.

According to this story from the Times Online the majority of the six million travelers who visit Saudi Arabia are Muslims making their pilgrimage to Mecca, but this past November that changed, when the first group cultural tour to the country in more than seven years took place, and come March, British Airways will resume service to Riyadh and Jeddah for the first time in nearly four years. The Office of the Supreme Commission on Tourism says that the country will begin issuing tourist visas in the near future, ushering in a new era of openness for Saudi Arabia.

And what does the country have to offer western travelers? For starters, the region is rich in history that dates back thousands of years, and there are remnants of past civilizations to visit and explore. The rich and diverse landscapes of the desert are also a draw to tourists, as is the unique culture that is unlike any that most westerners have experienced before.Unfortunately, traveling in Saudi Arabia still has a few hurdles to over come before it can become mainstream. Terrorist activity in the country remains a real threat, requiring all outsiders to travel with a police escort at all times, and foreign women are required to wear traditional Saudi clothing, and are also not allowed to drive, visit Internet cafes, and are excluded from some restaurants.

Fixing those issues will take some time, and probably more exposure from the West. But it’s a big step for Saudi Arabia to open up to the outside, and a wonderful opportunity for travelers to experience a place that they haven’t had the opportunity to visit before.

“Hero on the Hudson”: Play it on Gadling!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Maybe it’s too soon for this, but there’s already a popular online game inspired by the recent emergency landing on the Hudson River. “Hero on the Hudson” isn’t terribly sophisticated, but it gets the point across. You are in the left seat, acting as US Airways Flight 1549 pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger. Your plane is headed toward the Hudson River, and you need to take action.

This free game was put together by Orb Games Ltd. The company, which is based in Kiev, Ukraine, has been around since 2006 and is responsible for such popular (and viral) titles as “Duke Nukem Endangered Species,” “Star Wars Galaxies” and “Vivisector: Beast Inside.” Orb also developed games for Nintendo DS and Sony’s Playstation and PSP consoles.

According to company CEO Andriy Sharanevych, the “Hero on the Hudson” was created around a week and a half ago, only days after Sully brought his bird down west of Manhattan. Sharanevych claims that the miracle of the event is what prompted the game’s development: “We just wanted people to understand and not to forget that this is not for granted, so we tried to make a game that would remind everyone about this miraculous event.”

I know I’m a cynic, and I do wonder if this is just convenient admiration to mask just a bit of opportunism (which I really don’t fault anyway). Apparently, I’m not alone.

Find out what users think after the jump, and take your own shot at the landing!Sharanevych has received mixed feedback from users, many of whom have considered the game “heartless.” But, the CEO defends himself with the scripted monologue, “[W]e deliberately made it very simple to make a successful landing in the game, as this is the game about the miracle and not a tragedy. You can play a role of a pilot, who will save hundreds of lives behind him and bring joy, happiness and hope to millions of people.”

Stunt or salute, it’s definitely brought home results. “Hero on the Hudson was played more than 1.5 million times in the first week it was available. And, more traffic is expected.

Read the entire interview with Sharanevych here.

View our ongoing coverage of Flight 1549.

Ready to play? Click and hold with your mouse, then move it around to try to swing the plane into a safer landing position.

Play Games at AddictingGames

Flight attendants are a part of the history for work equality

by Jamie Rhein on

When the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed this week, there were echoes of women in the past who have worked for equitable pay and fair work practices. Flight attendants have a long history of pushing for such fairness.

One of the first flight attendants, one might say, was Katharine Wright a suffragette, and the Wright brother’s sister. She was the second woman to ever fly when she accompanied Wilbur on a flight in Pau, France to show that flying was safe for everyone. If it wasn’t for her, their success may not have been as great as it was. As women cast their eye upwards, they became part of the fabric of social and economic justice.

Here’s a timeline of flight attendants breaking the glass ceiling of the sky:

1945– First labor union of flight attendants in the U.S. was formed. The Air Line Stewardess Association (ALSA) worked for pay raises, duty limits and the right to see personal records among other things.

1957– Mohawk Airlines hired the first African American stewardess. Ruth Carol Taylor was the first African American stewardess, paving the way for others. TWA was the first major airlines to hire a black stewardess after Mohawk Airlines’ action.

1960s– Fought against airlines’ policies that flight attendants retire at age 30 to 35, but without success. Made some headway with the passing of Title VII, The Civil Rights Act. One part of the act forbade discrimination in the work place based n sex. By the late 60s, airlines dropped the age discrimination policy and the policy that said flight attendants couldn’t be married.

1972– A group of flight attendants formed Stewardesses for Women’s Rights and began to protest sexist treatment of stewardesses. Airline campaigns like “Fly Me,” (National’s) were seen as deeming and the sexy images of stewardesses being pushed to sell flying were seen as a way to keep women from being treated as equal to men and affected their ability to do their job effectively. What was their main job? Assure passenger safety.

1974 – Association of Flight Attendants formed in a separate union from Transport Workers Union which was male dominated. Union began to challenge airlines policies on maternity and weight restrictions.

Also in the 1970s, continued their long battle to be seen as recognition as safety professionals. There was a continued push for flight attendants to have some sort of certification program to prove their qualifications as having specialized skills.

2003– After September 11, 2001, proof that flight attendants were indeed safety professionals was evident. Congress mandated a licensing program for flight attendants.

So, now we know why Gadling’s own Heather Poole can save our lives, and have a child, and be married, and not have to worry about losing her job as she gets older–just because she’s getting older or gains a few pounds. Not too shabby.

[Facts found in Femininity in Flight: A History of Flight Attendants, page on “Flight Attendants & Labor History.”]

Add a propeller to your car if gas prices start to rise

by Jamie Rhein on

Okay. First of all, I really don’t know if a propeller on your car will help with fuel economy–actually, it might make fuel economy worse, but you have to admit it’s a funky idea. My buddy, Greg Phelps, one of the art car gurus in Columbus, sent along this link to Dark Roasted Blend, a website devoted to “weird and wonderful things.” In December there was a post on cars with propellers.

As it turns out, the idea goes way back. In the 1900s, the military designed cars with propellers on them. One of them, the Sizaire-Berwick Wind Wagon was an armored vehicle. It looks like it would do some real damage to a chicken that happened to get in its way.

According to the post, propeller driven cars start out slow, but can get up to 170 mph. One of the drawbacks, besides the fact that the propellers look like an accident waiting to happen, a shredder on wheels, is that cars with propellers are a bit loud. Just what neighbors would like to hear early in the morning, I’m sure.

If you’re looking for a way to finance a trip, I wonder if some company would be interested in a bit of advertising. You could get one of those magnetic car signs, slap it on the side of the car and hit the road. Might be fun.

The Dark Roasted Blend post is filled with photographs and descriptions. I loved the vintage ones the best. With the snow still falling across much of the U.S., here’s a post I wrote last March about Greg’s art car. It fits the occassion. You’ll see what I mean.