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.

Second China allows for virtual culture training

by Mike Barish on

A team of University of Florida computer engineers have used the online world Second Life to create a virtual Chinese city that users can “visit” to simulate Chinese cultural experiences. The goal of Second China, as it is called, is to allow diplomats to gain experience interacting with Chinese nationals in typical settings such as business meetings.

Second China seeks to enhance the Chinese culture training that Americans receive before embarking to China so that they can hit the ground running once they arrive. Unlike other areas of Second Life in which all of the avatars are controlled by an actual human being, Second China has computer controlled avatars with whom you can interact. This ensures that all visitors to Second China will have similar experiences which allows for a more reliable training environment.

The project was supported by a $1.25 million dollar federal grant, so your tax dollars are truly at work here. My company offers culture training for employees who will be working overseas and I have both attended and facilitated some of those sessions. I think they more than adequately prepare people for local customs and social mores. I can’t imagine myself sitting at my computer, logging into Second China and attending a virtual meeting. That just seems foreign to me. Get it? Yeah, well, this idea seems about as good as that joke.

Rather than interact with some creepy avatar in a virtual meeting (aren’t real business meetings torturous enough?), I’d rather speak with peers who have been to China and seek their advice before traveling over there. Or I could read a book about conducting business there. Those just seem like more appealing uses of my time.

Can a virtual world help simulate cultural experiences? Maybe. But I’ll just grab some dim sum in Chinatown and call it a day. Thanks anyways.

Source: Science Daily

Expedia’s Profits Don’t Live up to Expectations

by Josh Lew on

Expedia, a giant among giants in the online travel booking game, is struggling. Sort of. The Washington-based company was riding high at this time last year. Their profits for the third quarter of ’07 were just shy of $100 million ($99.6 million to be exact). This year’s third quarter brought $94.8 million. Still respectable considering the hits the travel industry has taken during the summer and fall. And more than enough “walking around” cash for the company’s execs and shareholders. But the announcement that profits did not meet expectations was enough to drive Expedia’s stock down more than 15%. Though the number of overall bookings on the site increased by nearly 7%, the revenue from airline tickets, Expedia’s bread-and-butter, was down nearly 7%.

So it appears that even the muscular travel agencies of the internet are not immune from these poor economic times. If the “big boys” are suffering, imaging what it is like for the brick-and-mortar travel agents who have to compete with fewer people traveling and those who are turning to the internet for better deals.

[Via Seattle Times]

Shaping the world: The making of globes (video)

by Abha Malpani on

This is one of those videos you are unlikely to look for yourself, but once you find it, it spurs curiosity and you watch with interest.

In around 4 minutes, this video shows how globes are made in a globe factory. With country borders and place names changing constantly, putting together an updated globe with precision is quite a challenge. The video is the making of a standard desk globe. A bit of Googling and I found that there are hundreds of types of globes these days.

I remember being gifted a beach-ball size desk globe on my 10th birthday. It had a bulb in it and every night before going to bed I would switch-off all the lights, turn on the bulb in my globe, and stare at it with amuse as I turned it slowly. I would then start plotting routes and making up my own adventure travel stories as I discovered new lands. I still have that globe and will never part with it.

I know it’s just a globe. But being able to see the world, topography and all, on a scale (rough) of 1:40 million, is pretty incredible. That’s exactly why it’s worth watching how it’s done. The video lacks details on how they do the technical drawings pre-globe-making, but I imagine you would need a lot more than 4 minutes to explain that.

[Via kottke.org]

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

October 31 onwards: £1 rooms at the Hoxton Hotel

by Abha Malpani on

The last time we posted about cheap rooms ($20 rooms at the Leading Hotels of the World), we were thanked for the information, but for nothing as the promotion failed.

Here’s an excerpt from an email sent by LHW to fellow Gadling blogger Jerry Guo, apologizing for the situation: “…We are extremely sorry for the inconveniences we have caused and regret to advise you that the US$19.28 email promotion scheduled for tomorrow October 2nd shall be postponed. Although our original back-up plan provided a viable solution for the 150,000 people who were registered, it was met with some confusion over submission procedures and timing. In addition, we have become increasingly concerned that a large number of non-registered respondents plan to submit forms which would inundate the system and greatly diminish your chances of securing a US$19.28 rate.”

However, one failed promotion of X company doesn’t mean that a similar promotion by Y company will fail too. So for what it’s worth, here’s how you can *try* (again) to get £1 rooms at the Hoxton Hotel in London.

Starting October 31, at 12 noon (7am New York Time), 500 £1 and 500 £29 rooms at the Hoxton will be up for grabs on their website. The rooms are available between 1st November 2008 – 31st January 2009.

Last July when the hotel ran this promotion, the 1000 rooms were sold within 11 minutes, so other than being able to book quickly, you’re going to need a large stroke of luck to get one. However, so that it’s fair, you are only allowed to book 1 room for 1 night at £1.

Here’s the link with all the information and a step-by-step guide as to how to avail of this promotion.

(Oh and don’t forget that when local daylight time is about to reach Sunday, 2 November 2008, 02:00:00 clocks in NY are turned backward 1 hour).

Good luck!