Hollinwood? Not so famous, but they do have a similar sign

by Sean McLachlan on

Nobody is likely to confuse Hollywood, California, the capital of the movie industry, with Hollinwood, UK, an industrial town near Manchester, but apparently someone is trying to cause some confusion.

The BBC has reported that a three-foot-high reproduction of the famous Hollywood sign, but spelled “Hollinwood”, has appeared next to the M60 motorway. Hollinwood (pictured here) is less than five miles away from Manchester, which recently signed a “friendship agreement” with Los Angeles to increase business between the two cities.

Local officials are panicky that LA will be upset and they quickly denied putting up the sign. They say they have no idea where it came from. Relax folks! I doubt the multibillion dollar American movie industry really cares.

So what’s there to see in Hollinwood? Well, no famous directors, no Walk of Fame, no movie studios. In fact, Hollinwood’s last movie theater was demolished two years ago. And there are no movie stars from Hollinwood.

But Hollinwood does have one famous resident. Local bigwig Hannah Beswick had a morbid fear of being buried alive, so she left strict instructions to be kept above ground in case of apparent death. When she did shuffle off this mortal coil in 1758 she was embalmed and kept in the family mansion, where doctors checked her on a regular basis to see if she had come back to life. Of course, having been embalmed meant that even if she had been alive, she certainly wouldn’t be afterward, but the terms of the will were quite clear and the doctors carried them out to the letter. After several years of public viewing at her home, her remains were moved to a museum in Manchester and put on display. Soon the Manchester Mummy gained national fame.

Poor old Hannah never did show any signs of recovering, and 110 years after she died she was finally laid to rest in 1868.

The museum is still open, and this Museum Junkie recommends it highly. Not only do you get the usual dinosaurs, stuffed animals, and butterflies, but you also get a cool collection of armor. There are even some mummies, but of the ancient Egyptian kind. Sadly, that room is temporarily closed, but it will reopen in time for next summer.

Help save the sea lions when you stay at Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club

by Katie Hammel on

Warm waters caused by El Nino currents may be responsible for the record number of sea lions that have shown up weak and hungry along the California coast this year. In Sausalito, the Marine Mammal Center says it has rescued a record number of exhausted and malnourished sea lions, who can’t find enough food to survive because the squid and anchovies they normally eat have headed out into colder waters. While the center normally helps around 600 sea lions, so far they’ve rescued over 1000 in the last 7 months. In southern California, the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro has taken in 365 sea lions since January.

Want to help? You can book the “Save the Sea Lions” package at the Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club in Redondo Beach. For $299 per night (plus tax), you’ll get an ocean-view room, a sea lion stuffed animal, a disposable camera, and a two-hour paddle-boat rental so you can get up close to the sea lions in the water. 10% of the proceeds from each package sold will go to the Marine Mammal Care Center to help them rescue and care for the sea lions. You can also visit the Center to learn more about their efforts firsthand. They don’t charge admission but do accept donations.

[via Los Angeles Times]

Roadside California: World’s Largest Artichoke

by Alison Brick on

What else are you going do when you come to the “Artichoke Capital of the World” (as the sign to Castroville, California boasts)?

Two things: take a photo next to the World’s Largest Artichoke and sample all-things-artichoke.

The giant artichoke sculpture is quickly visible once you get off Highway 156, just north of Monterey. Built in 1963, it’s made of concrete and rebar and stands 20 feet tall and 12 feet wide. It’s definitely popular, as far as vegetables go–on a recent stop there, kids hung from the sculpture’s protruding leaves, and a couple from LA posed for photos in front of it.

Next door at the Giant Artichoke Restaurant, a friend and I shared the giant artichoke platter: large steamed artichoke, fried artichoke hearts, and artichoke bread ($11.41). As someone who grew up enjoying playing with her food–and naturally loving artichokes–I was in heaven. Especially with those fried niblets.
And it turns out, it doesn’t matter what meal you’re there for–artichokes are always on the menu. Breakfast: artichoke eggs benedict ($9.99). Lunch: artichoke salad ($9.49). Dinner: artichoke pasta stir fry ($12.49).

Since 1959, Castroville has hosted an Artichoke Festival every May, but even before that it has crowned an Artichoke Queen. You might recognize the very first Artichoke Queen, crowned in 1947. Her name: Norma Jean, who went on to become Marilyn Monroe.

Appropriately, nearby Gilroy and Salinas have their own salad-inspiring monikers. Gilroy is the “Garlic Capital of the World” (and yes, you can smell it) and Salinas is the “Lettuce Capital of the World.”

Top U.S. ports of entry

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Eighty-six percent of international arrivals to the United States come through only 15 ports of entry, according to data from the Department of Transportation. This represents an increase of one percentage point over last year (measuring the first five months of 2008 to the first five months of 2009.

The top three ports of entry are hardly surprising: New York (specifically JFK), Miami and Los Angeles. How insane is it that the leading first impression of our country is in Queens?! These three spots were responsible for 40 percent of all arrivals so far this year. Their share of all international arrivals – trending with the top 15 – increased by roughly one percentage point year-over-year. Miami, Orlando and Philadelphia were the only members of this group to post increases.

Six of the top 15 ports of entry into the United States sustained double-digit decreases in arrivals. The stream through San Francisco is off 18 percent, moving it into the #6 position on the list (behind Honolulu). Detroit dropped 32 percent, pushing it to fifteenth, behind Boston and Philadelphia, and Agana, Guam fell 9 percent, putting it behind Chicago on the list.

Solar airship will fly from NYC to Paris

by Katie Hammel on

First, let’s just get this out of the way: it is not, I repeat not, a blimp. Whew! Okay. . . Turtle Airships (a Spanish company that seems to have some intense aversion to the word “blimp”) is working on an airship that will make the journey from NYC to Paris, powered predominantly by the sun.

The top half of the blimp airship will be covered in solar panels that will store energy in batteries and use it to power four electric motors. The craft will also have a biodiesel engine as a back-up so the ship can fly in bad weather and at night. It will be able to take off vertically, land on ground or in water, and travel at around 40 miles per hour in ideal weather (making for a very long Transatlantic journey).

The airship is having a bit of difficulty getting off the ground at this point though, due to lack of funds. Turtle Airships is working on a prototype and hoping that as buzz for the project increases, so will the financing. Once the cash comes in, they say they’re ready for lift-off.

Until then, you can indulge your Goodyear fantasies with Airship Ventures, which offers Zeppelin flights from several California cities, ranging from $199 to $600 per person.

[via Wired]