Geek Alert! Comic Shop Locator

by Neil Woodburn on

When I travel, I like to seek out book stores. I guess I’m a bit of a geek in that way.

I’m pleased to discover, however, that even bigger geeks walk among us. There are actually those who visit other cities–probably for some geek fest or something–and seek out comic book shops.

Since geeks tend to be socially inept and cower at the thought of asking some stranger for directions to the nearest comic book store, some geek engineer designed a Comic Shop Locator. Simply type in a zip code and the Comic Shop Locator will pull up the nearest comic book safe haven. The cool thing is that it even works in Ireland and the UK.

And what happens if you don’t have a computer, PDA, or WiFi enabled cell phone handy? Well, first off, you’re probably not a geek. Perhaps, you’re just looking for some geeks to beat up. If that’s the case, you can access the Comic Shop Locator by simply calling a toll-free number: 1-888-266-4226.

Surf Nation

by Erik Olsen on

As frequent Gadling commenter and Brit (and superb photographer) localsurfer frequently points out, there IS fine board riding to be done in Great Britain. You just gotta know the right spots. Well, along these lines, I also just discovered an excellent surf blog from the good folks at the Times of London.

The blog is run by writer/surfer/all-around-dude Alex Wade, whose comment a while back directed me to the site. Wade’s blog says it will bring you up-to-date news of the British surf scene.

He tells us “what’s on and where to surf, as well as the best of contemporary surfing writing from around Britain”. Wade is also working on a book called Surf Nation that promises to improve the image of the coasts of Britain and Ireland as surf spots extraordinaire which might, as we suggest, come as news to some people.

Actually, in his blog, Wade ranges far beyond the British surf scene to cover such epic spots as Hawaii and Australia, but we’re not going to nit-pick. It’s a great little blog for surfers from all nations.

Do you speak EU?

by Iva Skoch on

Once again the EU has found a way to create more jobs. Hallelujah!

This time, it will need people to translate documents to Irish Gaelic because the old Celtic language has become one of the 23 official EU languages (though only about 5% of the 4-million inhabitants of Ireland use it actively.) Irish Gaelic (or simply Irish) is often confused with Gaelic (aka Scottish Gaelic) which is not yet an official EU language, but it is probably just a matter of time. Catalan and Basque are considered “semi-official”.

As of the New Year, three new languages joined the family of the EU official languages: Romanian, Bulgarian and Irish Gaelic. With all of EU’s efforts to be culturally and linguistically diverse, it has managed to achieve the opposite effect. According to The Economist, in the beginning of EU integration, about one half of official documents were in English, now it is two thirds.

World Wide Resource for Smoke-Free Locations

by Neil Woodburn on

If you are as much of an anti-smoker as I am, you begin to seek out places where smoking is prohibited. Sometimes, it’s entire countries.

Living in California I often forget that smoking is allowed in so many indoor locations throughout the world. It always initially shocks me when I sit down in a café in a place like Moscow and the person at the next table lights up. I haven’t gotten to the stage yet where I will refuse to go to a country that allows smoking indoors, but I will pick and choose the bars and restaurants I frequent while there.

Things are getting better, however. Much of Europe, for example, is slowly outlawing indoor smoking. I was in Ireland when this first happened and the Irish were fuming at the time. It was so very nice, however, to sit in a smoke-free pub. And suddenly, with one act of legislation, Ireland became all that much better in my opinion. England will soon follow, kicking off their smoking ban July 1, 2007.

For those of you interested in seeking out smoke-free environments while traveling abroad, Smoke Free World has a great little website detailing anti-smoking legislation in countries throughout the world. The site also provides recommendations for smoke-free hotels and restaurants in those countries which lack indoor smoking laws. It is not as thorough and detailed as it should be, but at least it is a start.

How to down a pint in a real Irish pub

by Justin Glow on

Guinness is an acquired taste, they say. My first sip of the black stuff wasn’t the finest; the thickness of a full Guinness left me wondering whether I had just downed a draught, or a dirty, soured milkshake. But, in time, I found that unlike American piss-waters like Budweiser (my favorite) or Natural Light, Guinness was meant to be sipped as an experience in itself. Sure, you still get drunk, but maybe that wasn’t the point — maybe there was more to drinking a beer than the inevitable loose tongue, and subsequent hangover.

Now, I’ve never been to Ireland (and rumor has it the further away from St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin you get, the worse the Guinness tastes) but when I do get a chance to visit old Eire, I’ll be using Cheryl Donahue’s World Hum guide to becoming a “first class punter” — an expert Guinness drinker — in an attempt to blend in while searching out a pint of Ireland’s finest.

First step is to find the right pub by staying away from the tourist-friendly highway bars, and instead focus on a small villages with at least three pubs. “A one-pub village won’t cut it, as everyone and their brother will be there, from the permanently drunk old-timer spewing forth about the Black & Tans to the fresh-faced passers-bye.” Once you’ve nailed down the proper bar, it’s time to order a pint like the locals: “Do not order a piña colada, gin and tonic or a margarita. Above all, do not order a Budweiser.”

Damn.

For Cheryl’s complete play-by-play on enjoying the full Guinness experience, head over to World Hum.

Cheers!