Mountainfilm of Telluride comes to New York City

by McLean Robbins on

Mountainfilm in Telluride-part film festival, part think tank-comes to Lincoln Center this weekend with an eclectic mix of films focusing on adventure, exploration and the environment.

The festival hosts screenings, receptions, and conversations throughout the weekend with filmmakers and subjects, including top experts and activists from the front lines of the climate movement.

Films being shown during the festival include one directed by Tom Shadyac of blockbuster comedies like Ace Ventura, The Nutty Professor and Bruce Almighty. Also on the linueup is SoLA, of the first documentaries about the BP Oil spill in Louisiana. Another film, Bag It!, is a compelling documentary about how plastic is omnipresent in our society today.

Tickets are between $7 and $12 per film, or $30 to $45 and can be purchased online or via phone at 212-875-5601.

Relief: Four airport perks coming soon

by Tom Johansmeyer on

There’s nothing fun about going to the airport, and the regulatory climate isn’t likely to change that anytime soon. Security will still be a nightmare, and you won’t be able to bring your own water with you (at least not for a while). Fortunately, there are companies out there looking for ways to make your airport experience better.

So, what can you expect to see in your local airport in the near future? Here are four amenities to whet your appetite for something to counteract the airport security gauntlet:

1. Catch some comfy shut-eye: sleeping on a plane sucks. There’s just no way to get comfortable. And, if you slip your leg alongside the seat in front of you, you do run the risk that it will get slammed by the beverage cart. Well, you’ll be able to use your layovers to rest, soon. Napping nooks, already available at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, are expected to come to San Francisco in the near future. Seven airports are in the early stages.2. Light up a cigar: okay, this one is particularly meaningful to me. A few airports still have smoking areas (I just lit up in Denver last month), but they tend to be unfortunate spaces, not designed to appeal. This is where a company like Graycliff can make a difference. The Bahamas-based cigar and hospitality company has an idea for well-ventilated lounges, featuring cigar rollers (and nothing beats a stick fresh off the bench, at least, not for me). With Graycliff involved, you can expect a stylish, upscale experience. The first is already open at the airports in Nashville and Nassau.

3. Better shopping and eating: the challenge of finding a bite or buying a tie during weird hours could become a thing of the past. From the chance to dine at a Food Network Kitchen to broader shopping options, airports are scoping out ways to enhance the experience of being trapped within their walls. If all the doomsday predictions by the airline industry about the implications of the three-hour delay rule are true, you might need to buy several changes of clothes and meals … because they believe this rule means you will never get home again.

4. Get picked up more easily: no, this has nothing to do with wearing something hot or having that extra cocktail. Rather, airports are opening their minds to parking where your ride can wait for you. You call; they drive around to get you. But, it’s not always that easy. Nature calls, and there’s always a shortage of space. So, look for larger parking lots with bathrooms flight information boards and maybe even dining options? Newark’s already headed down this road, with plans in the works for JFK airport, Cincinnati, Fort Myers and St. George (in Utah).

For more on this topic, head on over to USA Today where airport expert Harriet Baskas explores more upcoming airport amenities.

[photo by msspider66 via Flickr]

Photo of the Day (10.17.10)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Whoa, what is that thing? Some kind of mutant flower? An architecture project gone wrong? It’s actually New York City’s Coney Island Parachute Jump, taken courtesy of Flickr user ☆ Ambré ☆. There’s a couple neat photographic tricks going on here, most of which are created using a special photographic style called Lomography, a technique that allows photographers to create some wonderfully quirky, candid photos. The darkened edges, double/upside down image and distinctly “analog” look you’re seeing here are the result of this style. Want to try some lomography yourself? Learn more about it at sites like www.lomography.com or grab mobile phone apps like Hipstamatic or Instagram which replicate the “lomo style” without making you purchase a whole new camera.

Have any great travel photos you’d like to share with the world? Why not add them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.

Could a hurricane still disrupt your vacation?

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you have a vacation planned to the Gulf of Mexico coast between now and the end of November, the odds that it will get screwed up by a hurricane are declining rapidly. Hurricane season ends on November 30, and it looks like it’s going to be remembered as a pretty mild one, with only 16 named storms, nine hurricanes and five hitting Category 3 or higher. There haven’t been any major storms to make landfall.

So, it looks like 2010 will resemble 1951, according to an Insurance Information Institute blog post – the only year to have at least five major hurricanes but none actually making landfall in the United States.

There’s still a chance that a big one could disrupt your travel plans: think Hurricane Wilma in 2005, for example, which followed Hurricane Katrina and was the fourth costliest hurricane in terms of insured losses ($11.3 billion, adjusted for inflation).

[photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video via Flickr]

US Airways: no solo flights for the disabled

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If US Airways is looking for a motivational speaker to help it inspire employees and improve customer service, I have one in mind. In fact, he knows US Airways well, including the service areas most in need of help.

Johnnie Tuitel tried to fly the carrier recently but was told he was too disabled to go it alone.

According to the Associated Press:

“I was raised to believe I could grow up doing what I wanted to do and it didn’t lead me to any entitlement,” Johnnie Tuitel, 47, told The Grand Rapids Press for a story Saturday. “By them denying me the ability to fly, I couldn’t do my job.”

It’s not like this motivational speaker, who has cerebral palsy, isn’t accustomed to flying. He has logged 500,000 miles to give his speeches.


Tuitel actually made it onto the plane, which was going from West Palm Beach to Kansas City, when a gate agent took him and wheeled him back to the terminal.

The reason he was given was straightforward:

“He told me I could fly on U.S. Airways if I could find a companion to go with me because I was a danger to myself and others if something went wrong,” Tuitel told WZZM-TV. “Trust me, they made a mistake.”

Two days later, he flew alone, as usual.

US Airways is leaning on policy (shocking, right?):

“The airline requires that the passenger has to be physically able to assist himself or herself in the event of an emergency. If the passenger cannot, the airline requires that someone else travels with the passenger who can provide assistance in the event of an emergency,” she told the television station.