Want to travel with Anthony Bourdain? Here’s your chance.

by Aaron Hotfelder on

If I were to make a list of my dream travel companions, Anthony Bourdain would be just about at the top. Finally, here’s my (and your) chance to travel with Tony.

His show No Reservations, now in its fourth season, has put out a casting call for an upcoming show, the No Reservations FAN-atic Special, which will be taped during a ten-day stretch in May. Applicants are asked to submit 3-minute videos detailing why they would be the best ones to accompany Bourdain, and full contest guidelines are available here. Videos can be submitted until March 15.

You can check out your already-submitted competition here (it looks weak, you can beat it), read Bourdain’s blog here, or go to the show’s website here. Good luck! Also: read Gadling’s interview with Anthony here.

Langston Hughes: Poetry inspired by travel

by Jamie Rhein on

When Langston Hughes’s dad moved to Mexico when Langston was a child, he created the path to the poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” In 1920, while crossing the Mississipi River on a train on his way to Mexico to visit his dad, Langston was inspired to write the poem on the back of a letter. He had just finished high school.

In honor of Black History month, the inspiration gathered from world travel and Langston Hughes, whose poetry still inspires, here’s a short video of him talking about this trip and writing the poem. Plus, he reads it at the end. See what images of your own trips are conjured up. This is a lesson in always having a scrap of paper and a pen or a pencil with you when you travel.

Living in IKEA: It can be done

by Jamie Rhein on

Anna’s post about IKEA brought back fond memories. Going to IKEA in Singapore and Taiwan were wonderful outings that helped us add affordable, aesthetically pleasing items to our apartments. IKEA saved me from despair in Taiwan. Not that I didn’t absolutely love our Taiwan apartment’s glass coffee and end tables with their chrome legs and the aquamarine colored vinyl-sided couch with its matching chairs.The chairs and couch had chrome legs to match the tables. When the apartment came furnished, I wasn’t quite counting on the colors and chrome. Let’s just say tastes differ. IKEA area rugs and throw pillows helped me tone down the noise a bit.

Each time I visited IKEA, a part of me wanted to live there. Mark Malkoff, a comedian/filmmaker did live in IKEA in Paramus, New Jersey for 6 days in January when his Manhattan apartment was being fumigated for cockroaches. Here’s the YouTube video of Mark’s first day. You’ll see some of the items Anna mentions. All the videos from the six days are on Mark’s Web site, Mark lives in IKEA . Here’s a link to the ABC News clip that gives a rundown of the story.

Chinese New Year: Sing like you’re there

by Jamie Rhein on

There is a Chinese New Year song my daughter learned when we lived in Taiwan that we used to wheedle her into singing for guests when she was younger. Eventually, we had to promise to never make her sing it again.

While I was looking for a YouTube video of the song, I came across several professionally made music videos of other Chinese New Year songs. This one has Chinese New Year decorations that capture the flavor of the holiday and a celebratory mood. I sure feel Chinese New Year-like after watching several of them. This is a catchy tune, so perhaps you can sing along.

Balloon twisting art: One way to connect with the world

by Jamie Rhein on

I thought I was finished with posts on balloon twisting until I watched Ori Livney’s commercials. Livney who fashions the balloon dresses I wrote about among other things, as covered on his Web site, has taken a passion and turned it into a venue where he travels the world by sharing his craft. The commercials were for Orange Cellular, an Israeli company. If you’ve ever seen award-winning commercials, I can’t imagine why these wouldn’t be contenders.

You can read about the commercials, sure. But, I think it’s much better to see the real ones. Here’s the first. For the second, continue onto the next page. Turn up the sound. You don’t need it, but it adds to the fun.

Here is the second one. On his Web site Livney mentioned that the balloons couldn’t be blown up far in advance because they don’t work as well. This is some fast action.