Traveling Sketchbook, Stationary People, Interesting Project

by Willy Volk on

Better traveled than many people, Blank is a traveling, collaborative sketchbook journal. For most of the 2005 calendar year, the first book of Blank roamed the country, slowly getting its pages filled with all kinds of glorious doodles, oddball doohickeys, and loving color. Upon conclusion of its journey, the creators scanned the innards of the book and uploaded them for all the world to see.

Book II free-wheeled it through most of 2006. Again, its contents are online.

Books III and IV have hit the road. With dreams of crossing international borders, the end result(s) will no doubt be even more amazing.

If you’re interested in participating in a collaborative art project in which you stay put while the art comes to you, send Blank an email — or read about the similar-yet-slightly-different project Chookooloonks is cooking up.

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of April 15

by Adrienne Wilson on

The end of the week has arrived and I can’t express how happy that makes me. But I’m not going to make this intro long winded or provide some silly intro on the close of the day and what you may have missed so let’s just get into it!

5. Where Have You Been? At Bluestockings:
Although I am sure there are other events around the globe similar to this Bluestockings event this is one in particular makes me wish I lived in the Big Apple. For those who haven’t the desire to be on the go or can’t but still love drooling and thinking on the travel tales of others this live storytelling events might make for a fabulous evening for you and a nice cup of tea.

4. Cruise Ship Work: It’s Possible:
In need of a new job NOW? Well I can’t promise you’ll land one on a cruise ship immediately, but you can start NOW to get out of your cube farm and onto the high seas for a few months. The air is much fresher out there.

3. Tickets on Sale for Beijing Olympics:
While Ember is busy bringing the daily Beijing 411, Jonathon stops to remind us that one of the world’s biggest events is coming up fast and tickets are now on sale. Will you be at the Olympics?

2. Talking Travel with Matthew Polly:
Ready to be inspired? Gadling contributor, Justin Glow brings us all an awesome Q&A from his chat with Matthew Polly. If the name doesn’t ring a bell fear not, but don’t and I repeat don’t try bullying this guy to fork over his egg roll or burger for that matter. Read the interview and find out what pushed him to leave everything behind to travel to the Shaolin Temple.

1. Weekend in Miami: An Overview:
Summer is on the way and thanks to Willy, those who are planning a getaway to Miami, Florida can check out this overview for a few links and ideas on how to spend 2-3 days time or more if you happen to have it! Though the beach is almost a given he also provides a glimpse at museums and dining and most importantly, where you may want to rest your head.

Planning a Trip Using Google Books

by Willy Volk on

Google Book Search has begun to animate the information found in books by organizing the locations mentioned in them on Google Maps. Complemented by snippets of text from the book, Book Search links to the actual pages where the locations are mentioned. For example, in David Foster Wallace’s excellent Girl With Curious Hair you can see that he seems to have fondness for the South and the East coast. Obviously, if you wanted to arrange a road trip to coincide with a favorite book, this would be an excellent way to do it. Travel tip: consider Around the World in 80 Days.

Matthew Gray is a software engineer for Google, and he recently developed a nifty little mash-up, showing the Earth viewed from books, where individual mentions of locations in books combine to yield an interpretation of the globe. The intensity of each pixel is proportional to the number of times the location at a given set of coordinates is mentioned across all the books in Book Search. If you wanted to plan a trip off the beaten path — or, in this case, off the typed word — just check out the map below. The lighter the map, the fewer words have been written about the place.

[Via GoogleMapsMania and The Map Room]

Paulo Coelho’s Blog

by Adrienne Wilson on

Those who found chunks of wisdom in Paulo Coelho’s book, The Alchemist will be happy to know that the author of the acclaimed novel which has led many in search of their personal legends and dreams has a blog. I just stumbled upon the site via Korea.net. And there is more to the site than the blog which is translated in seven languages. See the Brazilian author’s photoblog, search for additional literature or serious fans can download desktop wallpapers of the author himself. I’ve read The Alchemist once and I’ve been longing to go back and read it over and over again to pick up on anything I may have previously missed. Perhaps I will follow the dream of reading it again sooner than later, but for now I’m thankful there is an online medium to check out. Go see it for yourself.

Peace Through People

by Adrienne Wilson on

This Sister Cities International site is one I’ve been meaning to get around to for a while as I saw this cool book Peace Through People and thought it might make for a nice gift. The book is a limited edition from what I can tell. Created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Sister Cities International the inside holds stories and photos from sister city members on the movement and how it has helped create 50 years of global citizenship. Anything that says global citizenship always seems honkey-dory to me, but check it out for yourself. The book is priced at $39.95.