The 4th 2nd Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational Tomorrow!!!

by Willy Volk on

The 4th 2nd Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational takes place in LA tomorrow! Although the location will not be announced ’til the morn, we do know the doors open at 7 pm, and the cheese flows promptly at 8. Wanna participate? Sorry, registration is closed, but you can still come out, eat, and vote. Also, the organizers are looking for some extra hands to run the merch booth, set up/tear down, and help judge the 3 different sammich categories:

  1. The Missionary Position (Standard bread, butter, and cheese);
  2. The Kama Sutra (Exotic or standard bread, butter, and cheese plus additional ingredients); and,
  3. The Honey Pot (Exotic or standard bread, butter, and cheese, but a sandwich that is sweet in general, or would best be served as dessert).

Um…whatever. In case you haven’t been able to figure it out yet, this ain’t no ord’n’ry cooking competition:


Click To Play

Contestants will be judged on Presentation, Taste, and something called Wessonality. For details about the various sammich categories, the difference between standard and exotic butter, or tips on how to win a trophy, you should check the website.

[Via the I’m-always-having-more-fun-than-you guys at Laughing Squid]

Kwanzaa Parade

by Adrienne Wilson on

A friend of mine just shot me an email telling me to tune into KPFK 90.7 fm radio out of Los Angeles to chill out to some very soothing music and he was right. Thanks to his thinking of me I found yet another cool holiday event that seems worth all your attention. The 5th Annual Kwanzaa Heritage Parade and Festival kicks off December 30, 2006 from 10am-7pm in Leimert Park Village. For those who aren’t quite hip to the African American holiday which takes place every year from December 26th to January 1st, it was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga and is derived from the Swahili word KWANZA, meaning first fruit. Though the roots of the holiday are African an extra ‘A’ was added by Dr. Maulana Karenga to distinguish differences between African and Afro-Americans.

Having never gone to a Kwanzaa parade or any event for that matter in my past it sounds like a great cultural learning experience if all else. They break down the meaning behind each day. The first is Umoja or Unity where individuals strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race. Find out what the other six days represent and make plans to attend if you’re around So. Cal.

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of October 22

by Adrienne Wilson on

Can everyone say TGIF? Boy, am I glad the first hint of the weekend has arrived. It’s been a long one and if your week happened to have been as hectic as mine then you may have missed some of these Gadling pieces, but never fear – they are here.

5. Paris Too Hardcore for the Japanese?:
Culture reads are always fun in my book and seeing how different tourists react in certain countries is also good info to know, but something about this piece on Paris being too tough on Japanese strikes me as odd. I’ve never heard of a city that caused one to seek psychological counseling after your return. Is there anyone out there who can back this up?

4. World’s Most Expensive Restaurants:
Follow poor Erik as he accidentally gets in on a dinner bill at one of NY’s most priciest restaurants and regrets ever showing up. After sharing his own personal story he points those that like having restaurant tabs starting at about $370 a person to this Forbes List of most expensive restaurants. Chow down for me, because you won’t find me there.

3. New York Times Looks at Los Angeles:
Erik lives in New York. Neil lives in Los Angeles. I live in Limbo. What better set of travel bloggers could one possibly find? While I stay out in the land of Limbo I can thank Neil for holding his ground in LA to help provide honest criticism on the City of Angels when folks like the NY Times try to sum it all in one go. If you’re considering travel to LA, read Neil’s blurb and this pretty good read from the NY Times as well. Then let us know what you think.

2. Dirty, Filthy, Nasty, & Unclean Airplanes:
Some find horror in film, but I find horror in real life. I call it soiled seats, filthy carpet and greasy windows 35,000 feet in air. I’m sure you’ve been on a dirty airplane a time or two. Well, reading this piece will probably have you reaching for that barf bag next time you fly.

1. Smoke-Free Hotel Rooms:
With this news I’m sure some non-smokers lungs are singing praise and screaming hallelujah! Yes, it looks as though Westin Hotel & Resorts along with the Marriott are banning smoking altogether in their chain of hotels. Good news for us, but I’m sure those not ready to kick the habit are either pouting or puffing it up in some shady smoked-filled motel room.

Searching for Hollywood’s Real Stars

by Adrienne Wilson on

In Los Angeles, the stars are everywhere. They line the pavement on the famous Hollywood Blvd. strip, they sit disguised in overly cramped cafes on Melrose and you can even find them in the eyes of some young hopeful, aspiring actor or actress looking for their chance to appear on the silver screen. However, the hardest place to find stars is straight up in the night sky where you’d expect to see billions. Sigh. Sad, sad, sad… With all the light pollution from the city itself, real star gazing can be a tough hobby to take up in the City of Angels without the use of tools, but there is good news my true star gazing pals.

On Friday, November 3rd, a newly restored Griffith Observatory is set to reopen to the public after four-years of work and expansion. The observatory has long given people the opportunity to view the real stars resting over and directly above the city as well stars over places unimaginable. CNN dishes the details on what Los Angeles’ Griffith Observatory now has to offer the public. The Zeiss telescope in the Eastern dome and the solar telescope in the Western dome both remain, but should the night become chilly or you just need to step inside the observatory building, you’ll notice the big, new changes. The building which expanded 40,000 square feet is the house of plenty new attractions which include scale models of planets, exhibits on tides, optics and electricity, and other natural phenomena according to CNN.

It is said that some 7,000 people are expected to swing by the observatory when it reopens next month which is quite heartwarming. It helps me think people are trading in those silly Star Maps (guides for stalking down famous folk) for the real deal.

Flight 001 Looking for Ground Crew

by Adrienne Wilson on

We are by no means a job board here at Gadling, but occasionally we’ll see something that could be of interest to our travel feigning readers and from there we blog about it. Depending on where you land a career in the travel industry it is either a blessing or a hellish nightmare. I like to imagine working where the perks are many and woes are few. I’d never want to be a TSA screener and while I never made a stellar salesperson, I wouldn’t mind applying for a gig at Flight 001. The online travel shopping portal is looking for ground crew at their east coast, west coast, and Midwest locations. That gives almost anyone with a knack for ringing in the sales an opportunity to get in on what seems like a pretty happening place to work. Even if only for the holiday season so you can stash some extra cash and break for Brazil after you’ve saved enough, but don’t go in there talking like that. Chances are you won’t get the job. Go figure.

Flight 001 is currently seeking Sales Crew and Store Leaders at various NY and CA locations. Their headquarters is in need of a Buying Office Assistant and Staff Accountant.