Cities With Great Abstract Art Transformed Into Great Abstract Art

by Elizabeth Seward on


Jazzberry Blue is an artist who creates consistently pleasing abstract art. Jazzberry Blue’s recently released abstract art pieces based on cities around the world have impressed the art community. Something I find especially cool about the cities chosen so far for this project is that they are all great destinations for viewing abstract art. Coincidence? Maybe. Either way, these beautiful renderings of cities as abstract art warrant a list of the best place to view abstract art in each respective city. Meta? Definitely.

New York City
The Museum of Modern Art

London
Tate Modern

Paris
National Museum of Modern Art Milan
Modern Art Gallery of Milan

Jerusalem
The Israel Museum

New Delhi
National Gallery of Modern Art

Los Angeles
Museum of Contemporary Art

Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Toronto
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art

Austin
The Contemporary Austin

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[Photo Credit: Jazzberry Blue]

TSA Giving Veterans Clothing Left At Checkpoints

by Elizabeth Seward on

Thanks to the Clothe a Homeless Hero Act, veterans are now receiving clothing that has been left as airport security checkpoints. The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Kathy Hochul (D–N.Y.) was signed by President Obama in January. Reagan National Airport is the latest airport to join in on the charity with a donation comprised of two months’ worth of abandoned clothing. Before the passing of this bill, clothing that was left behind at security checkpoints in airports was either donated to police-dog scent training or discarded. It’s nice to know that forgotten clothing items will now end up serving a purpose within our respective communities instead of sitting in a landfill.

In other TSA/veteran news, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D–Hawaii) has been working to pass legislation that would ease screening procedures at airports for wounded or disabled veterans or soldiers. The TSA has also made an effort to hire veterans. This is all welcome news in light of some of the outrageous news involving TSA employees and veterans that has surfaced.

What’s Making Chinese Travelers So Angry?

by Elizabeth Seward on

Air travel delays in China are becoming epidemic. According to an article published today in Time, only 18 percent of flights departing from Beijing in June took off on time.

Chinese travelers are understandably frustrated with this problem, but their collective anger has taken a turn for the worse. Physical altercations, as seen in the video above, and arguments between travelers and airline workers have been documented. The latest protest tactic enacted by the travelers affected by the prevalent delays are sit-ins: passengers have been refusing to leave grounded planes that were subject to delay until compensated for the inconvenience. On July 28 in Dalian, passengers on two separate planes allegedly refused to exit and stayed put in their seats instead.

But staging a sit-in or becoming aggressive toward airline employees isn’t going to affect the problem because the core of the problem is centered in the very infrastructure of Chinese air travel: poor management by airline operators. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has attributed a whopping 42 percent of delays to mismanaged operations of airline carriers –- a problem that trickles down to individual flights from the top of the corporate airline pyramid, not the other way around.

The problem has gotten so bad some airlines are training their crews to defend themselves.

Sinkhole Tourism: ‘It’s Just Human Nature To Want To See The Hole’

by Gadling Staff on

If watching the earth open up wide and swallow itself is your thing — and it apparently is for more than a few people — western Kansas is currently the place to be. That’s where, in a pasture in Wallace County, a 200-foot-wide sinkhole has become a tourist attraction.

The Examiner’s Roz Zurko reports:

The town’s sheriff is warning people to stay away, but you know how that goes. People have to get a look at this opening supplied by Mother Nature.

The landowner is doing his best to keep people away from the sinkhole before someone gets hurt. The town officials have called in experts on sinkholes to get some advice on where to go from here as the hole grows.

Sightseer Gavin Mote told local news station KWCH 12, “I’d seen pictures and I knew it was deep, but I didn’t think it was this deep. You get out here and you get a whole different perspective on how deep it is.” Some geologists believe a mix of water and salt about 1,000 feet below the surface caused the event. Nobody is sure, though, if or when the sinkhole might expand. So those curious onlookers are all potential victims if it grows.

Potential danger, apparently, doesn’t scare sinkhole tourists. The Kansas sinkhole is just the latest to draw in tourists. Other places to check them out, according to Gadling’s Jamie Rhein, include:

Morristown, Tennessee, Sink Holes Trail in Panther Creek State Park, Morristown, Tennessee. The trail leads past seven limestone sinkholes.

Rockspring, Texas. Devil’s Sinkhole– The 360-foot deep sinkhole is Texas’s 3rd largest cave and summer home to a slew of bats. At dusk you can watch them come out in droves. Join a tour at the Rockspring Visitor’s Center.

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, 17 miles from Heber, Arizona. Sinkhole Trail-The trail leads to a sinkhole and then down into it where the landscape makes a dramatic change.

Follow the trail here to more sinkhole hotspots.

Also see: Corvette Museum Sinkhole Swallows Eight ‘Vettes: Watch Them Sink

Food Trucks Head To … The Airport?

by Jake Thiewes on

If you’ve picked anyone up from the airport in recent years, you may have waited for them in a “cell phone parking lot” located near the terminal. The lots help reduce congestion around terminal exits, as drivers only pull up to meet their passenger once they are outside. But now, the waiting lots might take on a congestion of their own.

USA Today reports that airports nationwide are inviting local food trucks to set up in these lots to appease the appetites of hungry folks waiting for passengers to touch down.

The trucks are said to “help reflect the flavor of the community,” according to Deborah McElroy, interim president of Airports Council International-North America. They have been met with enthusiasm from airport employees and waiting locals alike. San Francisco International Airport witnessed a Hawaiian food truck sell out in just 2 and a half hours, after going through 60 pounds of Kalua pork and 40 pounds of chicken.

As a local-food supporter (is enthusiast too strong of a word?), the idea of food trucks at the airport makes me anticipate my next trip even more. Unfortunately, for now, most of these trucks are not easily accessible by airline passengers due to their location.