Video Archives - Page 263 of 325

Jackson Pollock’s studio in East Hampton, Long Island, methods and personality are featured quite nicely in this less than 4 minute YouTube video where he talks about his life and work. He mentions Cody, Wyoming and where he learned his techniques. It’s clear that a sense of place was important to him. Years ago my brother rented a house for the summer with another friend at East Quogue which is almost next door to East Hampton, but at the time was its less glitzy cousin. The first time I went out on this part of Long Island I was surprised by its beauty. The beaches here are quite lovely and there was a sense of remoteness, quite the opposite of Jones Beach near Manhattan. Pollock’s talk about painting sounds a bit like a world traveler’s process. He says “Because painting has a life of its own, I try to let it live.” Isn’t travel that way?

Outside of the house where Jackson Pollock lived and worked looks just like the place where I stayed. It’s a place that brings out one’s creativity and musings. In my search for Jackson Pollock stuff, I also came across this Web site where you can create like Jackson Pollock. Just move your mouse. I’ll let you figure out how it works since that’s part of the fun. Watch this short video for some inspiration.

Two ski experiences: Borovets in Bulgaria and Snow Trails, Mansfield, Ohio

by Jamie Rhein on Jan 26, 2008

Last night I did some Ohio skiing. It was nothing like this high speed ski experience of Balkan ski champion Cristo Angelov when he took on one of the ski trails at Borvovets in Bulgaria–not even close. Borovets is Bulgaria’s oldest winter resort. First , there are moutains. Snow Trails, where I went near Mansfield, about an hour north of Columbus, has what I would call mountain-like hills. The higher mountains in Ohio are to the south when you hit the Appalachians.

Taking a high speed ride with Cristo is a thrill. The angle is from his perspective so it seems like you are doing the skiing. All you see of him is his shadow. Sections of this YouTube video posted by skivid look a bit like an arcade game. I kept expecting people to get knocked over with some sort of graphic noises to show their demise. No accidents, but once Cristo does give a “Don’t move warning.”

For the Snow Trails version of skiing . . .

This YouTube ski video from Snow Trails posted by welljei two weeks ago shows the contrast between the two skiing experiences. There was more snow last night, though. Plus, it was dark. Still it was fun, and for those who are interested in a low key, easy to get to ski experience in the Midwest, I do think it’s worth heading there.

Surfing in Munich, Germany

by Justin Glow on Jan 25, 2008

When I was in Munich, Germany this past October, I heard about a place on the Isar River where you could surf outdoors any time of the year. “Long ago an urban designer placed three rows of rocks in the streambed to create some aesthetic roil,” wrote Scott Ostler for the San Francisco Chronicle, “and, voila, Surf City.”

The bridge overlooking the wave is on Prinzregentenstrasse at the south end of Englischer Garten. Here’s a map.

Be sure and check out the video above, and the gallery below. Fun!

%Gallery-14585%

Amazing Race withdrawl: A way to while away some time while you cope

by Jamie Rhein on Jan 22, 2008

As a friend of mine and I were making plans for next Sunday night, she said, “And, you’ll get home in time for Amazing Race.”

“Oh, no. That’s over. The laid back team won. I wrote the last recap,” I said. This conversation reminded me a bit of the end of the movie The Truman Show when Truman (Jim Carey) decided he didn’t want to remain on TV nationwide and flew the coop. The channel went to fuzz and once the TV land audience got over cheering him out of their TV screen, they changed the channel. Next Sunday night a friend of mine is giving a poetry reading and I’m glad I’m not wrestling with a conflict. (Yes, yes, I know there’s such a thing as TiVo, but basic, basic cable has already created havoc and mayhem in my family’s life. We are TiVoing NOTHING)

Still, when people are in our living rooms for weeks on end, it’s odd to not have them there anymore. Here’s a way to bring them back just a little. Besides, if you felt that the teams whizzed through certain parts of the countries they visited and you wanted more–particularly a landmark they visited, it’s attainable. I discovered the Amazing Race 12 videos on the Amazing Race Web site the night Survivor China took its place and found myself clicking on one after another. Maybe I needed to clean house or something and this was a dodge, but they are informative and entertaining.

One thing I found out is that when the teams are eliminated they don’t go home to pine away. In this season, those who pooped out early spent two weeks or so in Portugal at a villa having a fine time bonding with each other and taking in the scenery. There’s one video, “Racers Going Out on the Town” where everyone took in a winery and a bicycle ride. For losers, that sure isn’t shabby. Kynt and Vyxsin didn’t get eliminated quickly enough to make it to Portugal. Either did Nate and Jennifer. So, if you’re going to get eliminated early in this game, don’t despair. You may spend some time in paradise.

Also, there are videos that show some down time when the team members still in the race could enjoy the country they were in, such as the dip in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia before the leg to Italy. Those videos are under Web Clips. Each episode has several videos. These are the behind the scenes stories–the stuff that was edited out.

The videos from Phil’s Diary give more insight into each country’s culture and particular sites, such as the pit stops. Phil’s an engaging guy so it’s clear why he has a traveler’s dream job of a lifetime. Also, these are great for anyone interested in how shows are put together. So if you’re feeling as if you need a bit more of Amazing Race 12, turn up your speaker volume and enjoy. None of the videos aren’t long, all around five minutes.

If you wondered if Nate and Jen just couldn’t stand each other, think again. In the Elimination Station video, “The Great White North” she’s sitting on his lap. For a look at what happened at the finish from the other racers perspective, check out Reunited. You’ll see Don cry, hear about Ron crying and then feel like smacking a couple of the racers upside the head. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “I could have been a contender!” you’ll know what I mean.

From my perspective, these guys all made it onto a reality television show, they are celebrities in their town, they were lifted out of the day to day lives that most of us lead figuring out how to find a travel bargain so we may get a neat vacation once in awhile, and they had the chance to bond with people they would have never met otherwise. Big deal that they didn’t win a million dollars. It’s poor form to whine. But, then again, it’s probably natural to do the shoulda, coulda, woulda kvetching for a little while, particularly when someone has a camera in your face and prompting, I can imagine, “So, how do you feel that you didn’t win a million dollars?”

Ode to Neil: What is 1% of 2,000 posts?

by Jamie Rhein on Jan 20, 2008

I’ve been blogging with Neil for about a year now wondering how the heck is he managing to crank out such bounty with his sly wit and traveler’s know-how. Since the number of posts Gading manages to put out in a day are sometimes hard to keep up with, I thought I’d give you a sampling of my favorites of Neil’s.

Of course, like he wrote when he signed off today from Gadling on his last post–his 2,000th, I’m sure we haven’t read the last of Neil. However, I thought that someone who has 2,000 posts in two years certainly could have a post dedicated to him. It’s not exactly the same as the trophy-like statue of the Greek god Hermes pictured here, but hopefully it will suffice. Hermes is linked to travel among other things.

(Neil, to turn this into a real statue, you can print out a copy of the picture, carefully cut around the outline of the statue like a paper doll, glue it onto a piece of tag board, cut around that, affix it to a toothpick with tape, stick one end of the toothpick in a bit of playdough or something and perhaps you can get it to stand up.)

Statues aside, this is what 1% of 2,000 looks like–20 posts. But, first, here’s my all time favorite written for our April Fool’s Day bonanza in 2007. Bush Lifts Mark Cuban Travel Ban

These are culled since April of 2007. I picked these because they either made me laugh, inspired me to write my own post, I learned something I didn’t know, brought back some of my own travel memories or gave me useful information that I used. You can decide which is which.

1. Iceland’s putrid fish delicacy.

2. Infiltrating North Korea Part 15: More song and dance, and a conundrum about chocolate

3. Help Gadling buy this woman a cow

4. How to buy goods confiscated by TSA

5. The museum of broken relationships

6. Dumpster diving: The cheapest way to eat when traveling.

7. Hollywood’s Craziest Foriegn Country Stereotypes

8. Turd Coffee: An Indonesian Specialty

9. Affordable Float Plane Fishing in Alaska Part 1: A How to Guide

10. 9,000 Naked Men in Search of Wood

11. The Thankless Life of a Sherpa

12. Removing Leeches