New Expedia App Lets You Create and Share Vacation Video

by McLean Robbins on




A new Facebook App developed by Expedia is letting travelers share more than just images of their vacation. Thanks to HTML5 technology, fans can now share moving video with dubbed narrative in the “Find Your Story” application.

Much like a mini movie, travelers can integrate their vacation photos with voice over and Google Maps technology to share a much more personalized experience. The app is just a portion of a larger brand campaign called “Find Yours,” which the brand claims will showcase the “personal nature of travel.” Cool, but what we’re really into is the video.

To use the technology, users can go directly to FindYours.com and the app will prompt travelers with a few questions about their trip: where the journey began, where it ended, and up to five locations visited along the way. Google’s technology will insert destination specific graphics into the video. The app will then ask users to name their story, upload up to 10 images from your Facebook and Instagram albums and then choose a filter and music. Once the story is complete, users can share via Facebook, Twitter and provide a unique URL to friends and family.

Sound cool? We think it is. Then again, we’re not sure that our Facebook “friends” actually care that much about our vacations. It might go over about as well as those people who send really long holiday letters to friends and family. What do you think?

Video: New World Record Likely Set For Surfing Biggest Wave

by Laurel Miller on

Hawaiian pro big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara may have just broken his own world record for surfing the world’s largest wave. Via Skype with Anderson Cooper on CNN, McNamara described the “endless drop” of the estimated 100-foot wave he surfed on January 28 off the fishing village of Nazaré, Portugal.

Nazaré is also where McNamara set the world’s record in 2011, for conquering an estimated 78-foot wave. When asked by Cooper if he got an adrenaline rush from his latest feat, McNamara responded, “No rush, so it’s probably not at 100 feet! I’m not kidding you, Anderson. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. There’s definitely something wrong.”

Whatever the problem is, shredding monster waves isn’t it.


Video Of The Day: Italy’s Biggest Food Fight

by Libby Zay on

Each year, thousands of people in the town of Ivrea in northern Italy have one of the largest food fights on the planet during the Battle of the Oranges. Part of the city’s annual Carnival celebrations, origins of the tradition are somewhat unclear, but it’s believed to have originated by the townspeople’s revolt against their tyrant during the 12th or 13th century. As the story goes, the tyrant was looking to exercise his power and attempted to rape a girl on the eve of her wedding, but the young woman instead decapitated the tyrant, and the townspeople stormed and burned the palace. Today, the story is loosely reenacted: an actress is chosen each year to play the part of the young woman, and organized teams on foot (representing the rebels) and in carts (representing authority figures) duke it out in the streets. The weapon of choice has morphed over the years from stones to beans to apples to oranges, a good choice considering the former options.

The video above by Andry Verga sheds light on just how epic the battle becomes. This year, the Battle of the Oranges will take place on the weekend of February 9 and 10. It’s just one of the more than 60 events on our list of events worth planning a trip around in 2013.

Video: A Day in India

by Jonathan Kramer on

The flavors, animals, trains, landscapes and people of India are all captured phenomenally in this latest episode of The Perennial Plate. Chef Daniel Klein and camera-girl Mirra Fine are currently on a world food tour that would make anyone supremely jealous. This video is only their first from India and it has me watering for more; the wealth of experiences conveyed are absolutely amazing.

Definitely be sure to check out their other videos we have previously featured, including their travels to Vietnam, Japan and China. Soon they will be traveling too Argetina, Sri Lanka and Italy. I simply can’t wait for more!

VIDEO: Children In Paraguay Create Music Out Of Trash

by Sean McLachlan on


Life in Cateura, Paraguay, is tough. The neighborhood is built on a landfill and the people there make their living rummaging through the garbage for things to sell or reuse.

Now they’re using their skills to turn trash into beauty. They’ve started the Recycled Orchestra, in which local children play instruments made from trash. As this video shows, it’s not just a cute pastime. The instruments sounds like proper ones and the kids show real musical talent.

Now their efforts have caught the eye of some independent filmmakers who are working on a documentary about them called Landfill Harmonic. Check out their Facebook page and Twitter feed, for more information.

These kids are growing up in the depths of poverty and yet have made something out of their bleak surroundings. One of the girls in this video says she’d have nothing without her music. As their teacher says, “People realize that we shouldn’t throw away trash carelessly. Well, we shouldn’t throw away people either.”