NBC Looking For Contestants For New Show Hosted By Bear Grylls

by Kraig Becker on

NBC has put out a casting call for a new reality show that promises to be quite an adventure. The unnamed show will be hosted by Bear Grylls of “Man vs. Wild” fame and features a large cash prize, although just how large remains to be seen.

The show’s format sounds vaguely familiar with the premise being that teams of two will be dropped in a remote location and will have to learn to exist in the wild while racing against others towards a finish line. The description indicates that the competitors will need to work together as a team, while maintaining their courage and determination, in order to avoid being eliminated. That seems to indicate that there will be distinct stages and challenges for the competition, not unlike CBS’s popular show “The Amazing Race.”

To audition for the show simply email the names of the two people on your team as well as the nature of your relationship, to bearshowcasting@gmail.com. The email should also include brief bios, occupations, contact info, photos and a note as to why you should be picked to be on the show. Contestants must be legal residents of the United States and 21-years of age or older on February 2013. A valid U.S. passport is also a requirement, which seems to indicate that this adventure will take place in a foreign country.

In the press release info that I received, the show is being billed as the “Ultimate Outdoor Adventure Competition.” If that sounds like it’s your cup of tea, than blast out that email ASAP. Now if only we can get a “Team Gadling” into the competition.

[Photo credit: Bear Grylls]

Polar Explorer Plans To Ride Bike To The South Pole

by Kraig Becker on

A journey to the South Pole is one of the more demanding and difficult endeavors on our planet and yet each year a number of adventurous souls undertake the challenge of crossing the Antarctic on foot. Most spend upwards of six weeks skiing across 700+ miles of snow and ice just so that they can get the opportunity to stand at the bottom of the world. But this year polar explorer Eric Larsen will make that journey in an entirely new fashion and as he intends to ride his bike to the Pole.

In December, Larsen will travel to the Antarctic where he’ll begin his ride at Hercules Inlet, the most popular launching point for travelers heading to 90°S. His route will cover approximately 750 miles across the coldest, highest and driest continent on Earth. Along the way, Larsen will face high winds, whiteout conditions and temperatures that routinely plummet well below zero, making this a bike ride unlike any other. When he arrives at the Pole, Eric will then turn around and ride back to where he started, crossing another 750 miles if weather and time permits.

As you can imagine, Larsen will be taking a specially designed bike on his adventure. In order to deal with the snow and ice conditions, not to mention the potential hazards of crevasse fields, his bike will need to be tough and durable. That’s why he’ll be riding a Moonlander from Surly Bikes which will be outfitted with 5-inch-wide tires that will help handle the unique surface conditions that he’ll encounter in the Antarctic. It may not be the fastest bike around, but it is built like a tank and can hold up to the challenging environment for the 1500 miles he could potentially ride.

This won’t be Eric’s first trip to frozen continent. In 2010 he became the first person to visit both the North and South Pole, as well as summit Everest, all within a 365-day period. Those individual expeditions have no doubt prepared him well for this next excursion and it seems clear that the man certainly enjoys cold weather.

Follow Eric’s progress on his website, Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Watch video of Larsen testing his bike in winter conditions after the jump.

[Photo credit: Eric Larsen]


Photo Of The Day: I Voted

by Jessica Marati on


It’s Election Day in America. If you haven’t yet voted, we suggest you shut down your computer and head to the nearest polling site. Not only will you be exercising your civic duty, you’ll even get a free “I Voted” sticker! This one, from Memphis, Tennessee, can score you sweet deals across the city, like free iced tea and Urban Outfitters discounts, not to mention legitimate street cred. Check out more “I Voted” stickers from across the country on DCist.Do you have any great photos from Election Day? Upload your shots to the Gadling Flickr Pool and your image could be selected as our Photo of the Day.

[Photo Credit: Flickr user ilovememphis]

Star Power: Hotels Owned By Celebrities

by McLean Robbins on

As we’ve learned in the “Birth of a Hotel” series, a crucial part of a hotel’s pre-opening phase involves effectively marketing and creating “buzz” around a new or refurbished property. And when you have a celebrity in your ownership group, that job becomes just that much easier.

That’s the case with the soon-to-open Nobu Hotel (now accepting February reservations), where Robert De Niro is a critical partner in the renovation and re-branding of a tower within the Caesar’s Palace complex. An article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal this past weekend discusses De Niro’s hands-on (but not obsessive) involvement with the project, as well as the brand’s planned expansion to Saudi Arabia, London and Bahrain in the coming months and years. This isn’t his first project, either. He also owns The Greenwich Hotel in New York City.

Designers have long been involved in special partnerships with hotel brands – Diane Von Furstenberg has designed several hotel suites, including a new penthouse on Australian private island Hayman, Trina Turk designed beach cabanas for the St. Regis Princeville, and Lenny Kravitz (yes, the singer) was a key collaborator on the hot new South Beach hotel SLS South Beach. That of course doesn’t exclude big fashion houses like Ferragamo, Versace and Moschino, which have collaborated in design or ownership of luxury properties throughout Europe and the Middle East.

But is De Niro the only celebrity involved in the hotel ownership craze? Not at all. The properties below are owned (in whole or in part) by big name individuals.

Trump Hotels, Worldwide
Perhaps the most famous is The Donald himself, founder and partial or full owner of many of the eponymously named Trump Hotels. While the name is technically that of a management firm, Trump does own portions of several of his properties.

The Clarence, Ireland
Rock star Bono and band mate The Edge invested in this luxurious city property in 1992 during its refurbishment. Today, the 49-room boutique hotel draws a number of well-heeled guests each year.

Sundance Resort, Utah
Purchased by Robert Redford in 1969, what was once a sleepy local ski resort called Timphaven has become a worldwide mecca for film and fun every winter.

Bedford Post Inn, New York
This recently renovated eight-room inn is a favorite of celebrities like Martha Stewart, but it also boasts a similarly A-list owner, Richard Gere. Known as much for the food as for the rooms, the Relais & Chateaux hotel also boasts an in-house yoga studio.Coppola Resorts – Belize, Argentina, Guatemala, Italy
Famed filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola has more than just a vision for film. His resort company has launched a number of luxury projects, including hotels in Belize, Guatemala, Argentina and Italy.

Ariel Sands, Bermuda
Imagine liking a hotel so much, you decided to buy it. That’s exactly what Michael Douglas and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones did with this 14-acre resort in Bermuda. The couple technically owns shares of the property, not the entire thing, but they are also frequent guests.

Kasbah Tamadot, Morocco
We all know about Richard Branson’s famed Necker Island, but what about his luxury retreat in Morocco? It should come as no shock that the Virgin founder has more than one resort at his disposal.

Hotel Tetiaroa, French Polynesia
While filming a movie here in the late 1960s, Marlon Brando purchased the property now known as Hotel Tetiaroa. An eco resort called The Brando is also being built on the site currently.

Mission Ranch & Cypress Inn, Carmel-By-The-Sea
Carmel is a happening celebrity hotel town it seems. Clint Eastwood owns Mission Ranch, while Doris Day is the proprietor of the Cypress Inn.

Have a favorite we missed? Leave it in the comments, below.

[Image Credit: The Clarence Hotel]

Leopard Responsible For 15 Deaths In Nepal

by Kraig Becker on

A remote district of Nepal is being terrorized by a man-eating leopard that officials believe is responsible for more than 15 deaths in 15 months. Worse yet, the creature is expected to continue preying on small villages that border its habitat unless steps are taken to exterminate the animal.

The big cat’s latest victim was a 4-year-old boy whose remains were discovered in the jungle, not far from his village, this past weekend. According to CNN, two-thirds of the leopard’s victims thus far have been children under the age of 10. Most of the rest were older children, although the cat has killed a 29-year-old woman who had wandered into the forest alone.

Officials from Baitadi, the district in which the kills have taken place, believe that they are dealing with a solitary cat or possibly two leopards at most. They also fear the number of human deaths may be greater than 15 as the animal’s habitat falls along the border with India, where similar leopard attacks have been reported in recent months as well.

The hunting of wild animals is strictly prohibited in Nepal, which means villagers in Baitadi can’t normally go hunting the leopard. But specialists from the Department of Parks and Wildlife Conservation in Kathmandu have admitted that this particular animal will have to be put down. Its continued preying on humans over a prolonged period of time indicates that it is a dangerous animal that isn’t likely to discontinue its unusual hunting practices. To that end, CNN reports that a bounty worth about $300 has been put out on the animal, whether it is captured dead or alive.

Typically thoughts of Nepal conjure images of snow-capped peaks and high mountain passes, which makes it easy to forget that the country also has some very wild lowland areas too. Those areas are home to a wide variety of wildlife species, including elephants, rhinos, monkeys and even tigers. That abundant wildlife has made those regions popular with tourists, who can get an unexpected safari while visiting the Himalayan country.

[Photo credit: Rute Martins of Leoa’s Photography via WikiMedia]