SkyMall Monday: Inflatable Turkey

by Mike Barish on

Few, if any, SkyMall products leave us speechless. Sure, there was the one product that I disliked, but I had plenty to say about that. In fact, I usually can’t say enough about SkyMall gear. This week’s SkyMall Monday, however, was a challenge to write. I stared the product for hours while pondering how to describe it. It’s clearly ripe for the SkyMall Monday treatment, yet it truly defies explanation. This is not to say that I entered into any sort of existential crisis. I haven’t been left to question the meaning of this product’s – or my own – existence. Rather, I’ve been left with an inability to explain how I can have such an affinity for something while simultaneously having no idea why. It’s kind of like how we all felt about Charlie Sheen when he first started acting crazy but before it all became sad. So, forgive me if my thoughts sound scattered, but I’m thoroughly enamored with – and completely baffled by – the Inflatable Turkey.It should be noted that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. Perhaps that’s why the Inflatable Turkey has engendered such good will over here at SkyMall Monday headquarters. The idea of placing an inflatable turkey on an immaculately set table does, indeed, make me giggle. However, my pulse rises and I break into a cold sweat when I envision a carving knife getting too close to the puffed up poultry. Perhaps no SkyMall product has played with my emotions quite like the Inflatable Turkey.

Think that inflatable animals are a perversion? Believe that all meat served should be real and succulent? Well, why you make some gravy we’re going to gobble up the product description:

Create a centerpiece for a vegetarian feast. Use it as a placeholder on the platter as you visualize the Best Thanksgiving Ever. Then deflate for next year. Made of completely inedible vinyl; sized a realistic 16″L; photorealistic down to the bronzed tips of its wings.

I can’t think of a less offensive centerpiece for a vegetarian meal than a replica of a cooked animal. It will be nice to not have to use those photos of slaughterhouses to decorate the table at my next vegetarian pot luck. Sadly, this vinyl is inedible but at least the photorealism will have you laughing at your young nephew when he starts gnawing on the fake bird. Won’t that be a riot?

I wish I could better express my feelings for the Inflatable Turkey but I simply don’t understand them well enough. Hopefully, Lady Gaga will record a song that empowers me to embrace these emotions and articulate them more eloquently. Until then, I’ll just feel a tingle in my giblets that you may never comprehend.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

Knocked up abroad: Turkish superstitions on pregnancy and children

by Meg Nesterov on

Being pregnant in a foreign country, even as a traveler, gives you a unique perspective into a culture, their beliefs and practices, and values. While I’ve been in Istanbul, I’ve found Turkish superstitions to apply to all aspects of life, pregnancy and children no exception. Over the past six months, I’ve heard a lot of interesting customs and beliefs, some of them wackier than others. Turks love babies and tend to be deferential towards pregnant women – I always get a seat on the train and am often offered help whether I need (or want) it or not.

As a foreigner with a non-Turkish husband, I’ll be exempt from many of these traditions, but enjoy learning about each of them.
The nazar – don’t leave home without it
If you’ve been to Turkey, you’ve undoubtedly seen the nazar boncuk, or evil eye, everywhere. The blue glass stone is put on doorways, cars, jewelry, and anywhere else it can be attached to. There is no religious significance and not many people still believe the old superstitions, but the tradition remains. Few Turkish parents would let their child out without a nazar pinned to their clothing for protection from evil spirits.

Beware of cold
Nearly every illness in Turkey will be attributed to cold drafts, and this means many Turks will not use air conditioning in summer, and bundle babies even on the hottest days. Cold floors are repeatedly the culprit, and women should avoid walking barefoot to avoid infertility, miscarriage, and just unpleasant gas. Mothers-to-be should wear slippers to avoid lectures from Turks. After birth, the mother should continue to stay warm while breastfeeding, as cold milk will result in a stomachache.

On food
My favorite Turkish custom has yet to happen for me, but it’s said that if a pregnant woman smells food, she must taste it. In theory, waiters might chase pregnant women down the street with a food sample to avoid bad luck. If you crave sweet things, you’ll have a boy; sour food means a girl. A lot of red meat will result in a boy, mainly vegetables, a girl. If a pregnant woman eats eggs, the baby will be naughty. Any particular food cravings may result in a birthmark on the baby in the shape of the food. I’ll keep you posted if I have a badly-behaved set of boy-and-girl twins with pickle-shaped birthmarks.

Be careful what you look at
According to Turkish custom, pregnant women should look at nothing but pretty things while expecting, for fear that the baby could take on unpleasant characteristics of an ugly, disabled, or dead person. Trips to the zoo are limited too, it’s bad luck to look at bears, monkeys, or camels. It is said that if you look at a person often, the baby will resemble them, so keep watching Mad Men if you want a handsome boy. For extra measure, once the baby is born, never call him cute or pretty, best to call it ugly so that the spirits won’t make it so.

Cutting the cord
When the baby is being delivered, fathers will choose a secret name and tell the doctor, who will whisper it into the baby’s ear as she is born. After birth, the umbilical cord has to be properly disposed of, and where it is buried will influence the child’s life. Bury it outside a mosque for a devout child, at a medical school for a future doctor (I’m guessing Harvard must have a lot of umbilical cords in the grounds). Circumcision practices are a whole other story, but they happen much later in life for boys and involve little sultan’s costumes.

Visiting the baby
Traditionally, new mothers didn’t leave the house for the first 40 days of the baby’s life, but this is rarely the case today in Turkish cities. Baby showers take place after the birth in the home of the new baby. New parents should provide small gifts for guests who visit the baby, such as chocolates or a sachet of herbs. In return, guests bring pieces of gold for the baby (also common at Turkish weddings) and drink a special drink, Lohusa Şerbeti, to welcome the newborn.

Sweat the small stuff
Most of us have heard that pregnant women should be careful coloring their hair (it’s really fine, just avoid getting color on your skin), but many Turks also believe that cutting the mother’s hair will cut the baby’s life short. Speaking of short, don’t measure the baby, lest he stay short-statured. Finally, they may be small, but don’t think you can just step over a baby: it’s bad luck for you as babies are considered to be angels.

Many thanks to my Turkish and expat friends at the Sublime Portal for their stories, input and advice!

Gadling readers, what beliefs are popular in your country or places you’ve traveled?

[Photo courtesy Flickr user Camera on Autopilot]


Want more Knocked Up Abroad? Check out the first few installments here, and stay tuned for more on travelling in the second and third trimester, where to do pre-baby shopping, and more on having a baby in a foreign country.

Celebrate Italy’s 150th birthday in Torino

by Meg Nesterov on

150 years ago, Italy became a country. Well, sort of. Venice and Rome didn’t join for another 9 years, so many Italians will be waiting until 2020 for the big celebration of the Risorgimento, as the unification is called in Italian. Nevertheless, as Italy’s first capital city in 1861, Torino (aka Turin, home of the famed Shroud) is celebrating all year, including the reopening today of the Risorgimento Museum, with free admission for the rest of March. This weekend also marks the reopening of the Automobile Museum, with a huge expansion and total concept overhaul, fitting for a country that gave birth to the Ferrari, the Lamborghini, the Alfa Romeo, and Torino’s own Fiat.

Beginning this summer, the history and evolution of Italian fashion will be celebrated just outside Turin at La Venaria Reale. La Venaria Reale will also host a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition starting in October 2011. Not to leave out food, visitors can attend “royal dinners” all spring through fall, sample traditional regional dishes, and learn about their history as part of the unification. Buon compleanno, Italia!

Learn more about Italy’s birthday events at eng.italia150.it and

www.dreamofitaly.com

Hotel Madness: No free breakfast vs. Expensive minibars

by Mike Barish on
This first round Hotel Madness match-up is all about food. Our #6 seed is No free breakfast, a killer when you just need some fuel to power you through a day of conferences, meetings or sightseeing. It’s battling #11 seed Expensive minibars. All too often, we find ourselves with late-night cravings for snacks. We’d satisfy it by raiding the minibar but it always seem to cost more than our hotel room did!

Take a closer look at this battle of hotel peeves below. Then cast your vote for the one that bothers you the most. The winner will advance to the second round of action.

(6) No Free Breakfast
Not everyone is a foodie. Sure, some people require that every meal, snack and crumb that they savor on a trip be culturally poignant. Other people, however, just need fuel. Or coffee. Easy enough to just stop in the lobby before the big conference/hike/day at the beach and fix yourself a simple breakfast. Sadly, your hotel offers nothing more than some instant coffee in your room. No continental breakfast. No omelet station. Certainly no buffet. Just a few teabags and non-dairy creamer. There’s a Starbucks across the street, though. $8 should get you some burnt coffee and a satisfactory to adequate muffin.

(11) Expensive Minibars
After a long day of meetings/sightseeing/tolerating your wife’s family at her nephew’s bris, you just want a nightcap and some M&Ms. You’re exhausted and everything in town is closed anyway. Of course, you can always snack in your room thanks to the ever-convenient minibar. Just grab a mini-bottle of rum, a can of cola and a bag of M&Ms and invite them all to that party in your mouth. Oh, just a heads up: those 50 milliliters of rum, 12 fluid ounces of cola and 3.27 ounces of chocolate with a hard candy shell will run you about $30. You’re also not going to feel well in the morning.

Which food foul bothers you more? Do you resent having to forage for your own breakfast or get ticked off by $10 Tic Tacs? Vote now!

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First round voting ends at 11:59EDT on Sunday, March 20.

More Hotel Madness action:
#1 No free Wi-Fi vs. #16 Annoying hotel TV channel
#2 Bad front desk service vs. #15 Everything about TV remotes
#3 Expensive parking vs. #14 Tightly tucked-in sheets
#4 Resort fees vs. #13 Early housekeeping visits
#5 No airport shuttle vs. #12 One-ply toilet paper
#7 Bad water pressure vs. #10 Small towels
#8 Room not ready on time vs. #9 Early checkout times

Follow along with the Hotel Madness tournament here.

Five outstandingly delicious places to eat in Alaska

by Darren Murph on

In the spirit of journeying during periods less traveled, I’ve embarked to Alaska this winter. Follow the adventures here, and prepare to have your preconceived notions destroyed along the way.

Particularly in the winter, it’s pretty crucial that you stay warm and well fed while in Alaska. We can’t make any promises about the ease of the former, but we’ve got the latter completely under control. Believe it or not, The Last Frontier is a foodie’s paradise, with a vast number of outstanding local eateries to choose from. During my stay in Anchorage, I was told that there were some 16,000 restaurant permits floating around the greater ANC area, which likely means that you’ve more food options than lodging choices. I was also interested to find that a great many of Alaska’s best eateries are tucked into what we Lower 48ers would call “strip malls.” I’ll admit — prior to visiting AK, I’d visited all 49 of the other states, and strip mall food was rarely a hit. Not so in Alaska. Read on to find out five totally delectable places to eat in the Anchorage and Fairbanks areas; who knows, your favorite hole-in-the-wall might be in there!

%Gallery-118372%1) Silver Gulch

This place didn’t even serve food three years ago, but after being a dedicated brewery for a decade, the owners decided to try their hand at something new. Good thing they did. Located in the tiny town of Fox, Alaska (around 20 minutes outside of Fairbanks), this restaurant and brewery makes its own grub and beer, and it’s easily one of the best meals you’ll find in the greater FAI area. The design of the place is refreshing as well, and the public is welcome to take a tour of the connected brewery at no charge. Looking for a recommendation? The Pub Pommes to get things going, the Halibut Tacos to stuff you and a walk around the brewery to make you feel a little better for overeating.

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2) Seven Glaciers

Perched high atop Alyeska Hotel, this AAA Four Diamond restaurant is a serious treat — from both a visual and deliciousness standpoint. I’ve never been to a place with a more astonishing entrance. In order to get here, you’ll need to step foot into a scenic tram that lifts you up the mountainside in a matter of minutes. The views of the surrounding mountain ranges in Girdwood (~45 miles outside of Anchorage) are downright breathtaking, and the food inside may be even more so. Reserve a table with a windowside view, and feel free to opt for any of the (seriously amazing) fish dishes. You’re in Alaska, after all!

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3) Moose’s Tooth

If you’ve heard of one restaurant in Alaska through the so-called grapevine, chances are it’s Moose’s Tooth. Situated in Anchorage, this place is widely known for having the best pizza in the state, maybe even the country. That’s a pretty tall claim, and after trying it for myself, I’d say the place mostly lives up to the hype. The vibe is laid back, the staff is warm and welcoming, and the service is top-notch. The food is truly world class; the only pizzas that I’ve had to rival this one in taste come from (the now defunct) Giordano’s in Chicago and Mellow Mushroom in North Carolina. Make no mistake — the sheer quantity of wild topping options is worth making a trip for, and I can guarantee you won’t leave disappointed.

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4) Lemongrass

Thai food… in Fairbanks? It’s true! In fact, Fairbanks is fairly well known for having a staggering array of Thai food options, and Lemongrass is a particularly delectable choice. As I alluded to earlier, this one’s tucked slyly within a strip mall of sorts, so it’s fairly easy to overlook. You’d be smart to look it up, though, as everything at the table I sat at drew wide smiles from those eating. Naturally, the Pad Thai was remarkable, so even if you aren’t feeling too adventurous, you can still snag a great Thai meal in Alaska.

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5) Crow’s Nest at the Captain Cook Hotel

I’ll be honest with you; this one’s worth stopping at just for the view. The food is delicious, mind you, but it’s a bit pricey and not quite as on-point as the grub at Seven Glaciers. But if you’re looking for the most impressive view of Anchorage from an eatery in the city, this is it. It’s located on the 20th (i.e. top) floor of The Captain Cook Hotel, and the overlook of the city (shown above) is simply astonishing. Be prepared to pay said view, though, and make absolutely sure you and your partner save room for the Bananas Foster dessert. That alone is worth making a reservation for.

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Obviously, there are a lot more than five great places to eat in the state of Alaska. Southside Bistro, Bear Tooth Theater Pub and Middle Way Cafe all come highly recommended in the Anchorage area, while Big Daddy’s BBQ in Fairbanks calls itself the most northerly place to get southern barbecue. Got any other great recommendations for food in Alaska? Shout ’em out in the comments section below!

[Images provided by Dana Jo Photography]

My trip was sponsored by Alaska Travel Industry Association, but I was free to report as I saw fit. The opinions expressed in this article are 100% my own.