Find pop culture in your own backyard with Where It’s At

by Scott Carmichael on

Ever wondered where they filmed Back To The Future? Or which firehouse the Ghostbusters used as their HQ?

Recently launched Where It’s At is a fantastic collection of pop culture landmarks from the world of TV, music and movies. The map is extremely easy to search, and landmarks are filed into some great categories.

If you know of a pop culture landmark in your own back yard, you can submit it and get credited in the map. Submitting a location takes just a couple of minutes. Of course, the more submissions to the map, the more comprehensive the site will become.

The map is also a great way to plan your very own celebrity tour, and next time you take a trip, you can check to see whether any of the local buildings have a famous history.

Champagne and rub-down in Jackson Hole

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Before you skip this as “just another travel deal” – as I almost did – consider the combination of mountain air, spa treatments and the taste of champagne. The “Ultimate Chill” package from Hotel Terra Jackson Hole includes all this within a LEED-certified eco-boutique, so you don’t need to feel guilty while enjoying this touch of pleasure.

Get your weary arms, legs and back rubbed back to normal (or better) at the Chill spa, and treat your skin to an organic sugarcane and green tea scrub and a cucumber mint body masque. If you can find a better way to spend an hour and a half, I envy your creativity. Wash down the experience with a split of Veuve Cliquot, and step outside to enjoy the clear Wyoming air.

The catch? You have to go between May 22, 2009 and the last day of September. Pull the trigger, and you’re looking at two nights for $688, sleeping in an all natural Terra Bed.

You can enjoy Jackson Hole if you’re not a hiker or a climber. If you’re traveling with an “outdoor type,” you’ll have a way to spend some time on what you enjoy. Sip that Veuve while your better half is trudging along the trails.

[Photo by Cameron R Neilson]

Global warming has a reverse effect on Alaska’s state capital

by Catherine Bodry on

You’re likely used to hearing about the possibility of cities flooding as sea levels rise, a result of climate change. But in Alaska, that quirky, individualistic state, the reverse is happening – at least in one area.

In an article today from the New York Times, Cornelia Dean reports that Juneau, the only US capital not accessible by road, is actually gaining land as a result of glacial melt. Though it seems counterintuitive, the logistics work a bit like this: glaciers weigh a lot, and as they recede, their pressure eases. The land sort of bounces back, or rises – faster than the rising seas can keep up with it.

Furthermore, glacier runoff deposits sediments into the water, and the Gastineau Channel in front of downtown Juneau is so silty that at low tide it’s more of a mudflat than a channel. Where boats regularly sailed, runners now cross in the annual Mendenhall Mud Run. It’s a fun spin on the rising land, no doubt, but it belies the seriousness of the changes.

Read more about Juneau’s rising land problems here.

Free bike rentals in NYC – 2.5 hours of awesome

by Annie Scott on

Free bike rentals! If you’re gonna be in New York City sometime between now and September 30, 2009, you can sign up at DowntownNY.com for a free bike rental.

The deal is open to visitors and residents, and is part of the Downtown Alliance’s second annual Bike Around Downtown program.

Seven days per week during these times: 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., 12:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. – 6:00p.m., there will be 30 free bikes available at Bike and Roll’s kiosk at the South Street Seaport (South Street and Fulton Street). The bikes can be returned at a number of different destinations, making the free rentals a great way to see the city!

Click here for more Bike Around Downtown free rental information and/or to sign up. They’ll need your credit card for security reasons, but it’s free. Be sure and visit one of Talking Heads’ David Byrne’s jazzy bicycle racks!

Passengers pay twice to avoid Colgan

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Small planes just don’t resonate with some passengers. MaryBeth and Cy Christiansan of Queens paid the equivalent of an extra ticket each to skip a Colgan plane and fly on a jet. They indicated that the Colgan crash in Buffalo back in February wasn’t far from their minds. So, for a bit of comfort, it was $150 well spent.

A Colgan flight crashed in February, killing all 49 people on the plane and one person on the ground. A recent investigation suggests that the pilot did not meet Colgan’s standards and that the copilot may have suffered from fatigue.

Sentiments expressed by the passengers suggest that the size of the plane was the principal concern. The Christiansans changed flights for an aircraft that “didn’t have a propeller.” Richard Younglbood, who was about to board a Continental flight to Tennessee summed it up: “I don’t like any of these jets. I don’t trust any of them.”