Photo of the Day (06.21.10)

by Mike Barish on
Youth truly is wasted on the young. When I was a kid, I was thoroughly entertained – for hours! – by simply spinning in circles or making a funny sound. I could kill an evening catching fireflies or jumping from couch to couch while avoiding the “lava” that was the carpet. As an adult, I find myself searching for interesting restaurants, purchasing unnecessary gadgets and generally making my life more complicated than it needs to be. I miss the simplicity of childhood. I also kind of wish I was a bison. I think those two things are related.

This image of a young bison in Yellowstone National Park by Flickr user fiznatty helped be shake off my adult onset ennui and remember just how awesome childhood (and bison life) is. Do you think that if I killed and ate that little guy that I could absorb his life force? Probably not. I think that’s frowned upon anyway. Oh well. I guess I’ll just go look for fireflies.

Have you encountered a boundless spirit during your travels? Did you eat its life force? Upload your photos to our Flickr pool and we might choose one to feature as a Photo of the Day.

Photo of the Day (4.20.10)

by Stephen Greenwood on

Welcome to Asakusa in Tokyo, Japan – home of the Crying Sumo Baby Festival. Yes, you read that right. Crying sumo babies. The rules are simple: two sumo wrestlers face off in a ring and each is handed a baby. The babies are raised and whichever baby cries the loudest, wins. Brilliant!

This photo was taken by Flickr user Vyxle at the 2008 Crying Sumo Baby Festival. If you’re headed to Tokyo, this Asakusa guide lists the festival to be in ‘late April’, so keep an eye (and ear) out for the shrill sound of infant waterworks.

Click through below for a video from a Crying Sumo Baby Festival – a picture may be worth a thousand words, but there’s nothing like watching this cuteness in action.

If you have photos from an equally obscure festival, we want to see them! Join Flickr, submit them to the Gadling Pool, and it could be our next Photo of the Day!

TSA disproves blogger’s claim that agent took her baby

by Katie Hammel on

On Friday, a blogger reported a harrowing tale that would make any parent furious with the TSA. She claims that, while going through security, she was detained because her son’s pacifier clip set off the metal detector. When she was pulled aside for a search, her son was taken away from her by a male TSA agent and was out of her sight for several minutes.

On her blog, she recounts the story of how she was so upset that she screamed obscenities, almost blacked out, and frantically phoned her husband and mother over the course of the nearly ten minutes that her child was out of her sight. She says when the agent finally returned with her son, she ran to him. Once she was allowed to leave, she headed to the bathroom, again nearly blacked out, and took the “emergency Xanax” that she keeps with her at all times because she suffers from severe anxiety.

Well, she might want to take a few more Xanax, because it sounds like this whole episode may have been the result of anxiety-induced hallucinations. The TSA has released proof that the incident, as the blogger claims, never happened.

The video of the blogger and her son going through security has been posted on the TSA website. The nearly 10-minute long video clearly shows that not once was her son out of her sight, that she never picked up her cellphone and that a TSA agent never held her child (though one did pat him down for about 10 seconds). While she is being patted down, her son is visible no more than three feet away, siting in his stroller. Even her claim that her belongings were left on the conveyor belt is false. A TSA agent brings them to the search area shortly after she walks over.

It’s easy to get mad at the TSA, with their frequent fumbles and ever-changing rules about liquids, powders, and shoes. Who likes being forced to walk barefoot (or in my case, often in mismatched socks) around an airport or to have to wait (as she did) ten minutes to be cleared through security? But if you’re thinking of getting even with a falsified account like this, just remember: when dealing with the TSA, you’re always on camera.

Aruba’s Westin Resort offers $300 for your baby

by Katie Hammel on

I can understand the idea of a babymoon, a vacation taken right before a new baby is born. Enjoying one last (for a while anyway) trip before your life becomes a crazy blur of diapers and late-night feedings almost seems medically necessary. But taking a vacation with the sole purpose of getting knocked up – a procreation vacation – well, that sounds a little too “desperate marketing ploy” to me. Can’t people just have sex at home? Or just go on a trip and say “We’re gonna go on vacation, have a lot of sex, and see what happens” without making pregnancy the objective? Apparently, the Westin hopes not.

The Westin Resort on Aruba wants couples looking to take their own procreation vacation to book a stay this fall. The Resort is offering a $300 credit, to be used on on a future visit, to any couple that conceives while staying at the resort between September 1 and December 19. During that time, the Resort’s “Classic Package” is $399 per night for two and includes all meals and drinks, including alcohol. Guests who book by September 30 will also receive a $100 Resort Credit.

It’s an attention-getting promotion, but I doubt many couples will be able to collect. Getting pregnant seems like a crap shoot that requires the perfect storm of several factors. No matter how much sex a couple has over the course of their stay, the odds that the woman will happen to be ovulating and get pregnant within that time frame are slim. But if it does happen, the couple just needs to provide a doctor’s note confirming that conception was on or around the dates of their stay, and they’ll receive the $300 credit. For those who do receive a visit from the stork, I suppose it’s a nice incentive to return to the Westin for the first post-baby vacation.

[via USA Today]

10 passengers we love to hate: Day 6 – Crybabies and restless kids

by Brenda Yun on

We don’t mean to hate ’em but we do. The moment of truth is when you find your seat and hope pray that a child will not be sitting next to, in front or back of, or even close to you. Children just don’t make good neighbors on an airplane. On a playground, maybe, but not when you’ve purchased a seat and five hours of flying time for $200.

Take my nephew, for instance. When his mouth is closed, he really is the most adorable little human: soft baby skin, big innocent eyes. But once his breath quickens and he makes even the slightest peep, he’s handed off to my sister like a football on 4th down.

There’s something about adjusting to the cabin air pressure that, well, turns these little cuties very ugly. Their skin turns pink, their eyes close and wrinkle, and then the mouth gapes open and the shrillest human sound escapes.

The child is inconsolable. And the parent? Well, there’s really nothing s/he can do about it except bounce the child on her lap and pray the crying will stop — and soon. Nothing — not even an emergency stop-it-from-crying kit — can calm this child. What makes the situation even worse is that the cry sounds like it’s amplified by a loudspeaker when it’s contained in the tight quarters of an airplane cabin. We’re not at a Cry Baby Matinee. We’re on a plane, and we prefer the experience to be as peaceful and pleasant as possible.

Let’s face it: an airplane is not a suitable place for a crybaby, nor is it suitable for a messy toddler who likes to kick the back of your seat for the whole flight. It’s a reality, yet one we can’t do much about.

Earplugs may help — or maybe a child section to every plane.

Read about ALL the passengers we love to hate.