The sky is falling!: Nope, it’s just plane parts

by Jamie Rhein on

Imagine this. You’re going about your busy day without much thought about what’s going on above your head and then Bam! There’s a bit of an explosion and pieces of metal start falling, some the size of a BlackBerry–others bigger. Not as big as a house, but bigger than a BlackBerry.

“Was Chicken Little right?” you might ask yourself and whoever else is close by, providing those people weren’t beaned by the falling objects.

This scenario is similar to what happened yesterday when an American Airlines flight out of LaGuardia heading for Chicago had an engine explode. Luckily, the plane was designed to fly on just one engine so the plane headed to JFK and landed safely.

Also, luckily, the engine parts fell over an industrial area. Instead of landing on Jimmy and Susy playing on their backyard swing set (although it is still cold out so perhaps they wouldn’t have been out in the backyard), the parts landed on top of a warehouse and scattered across a parking lot, cracking windshields and one of the building’s skylights.

Can’t you just hear the “My words!?” and “What the heck?!” of the people working inside the building? Particularly when they went outside and saw the small pieces of titanium like metal scattered every which way.

There is an investigation to find out what caused the explosion. The McDonnell Douglas-80 plane had 88 passengers on board who now have an interesting story to tell about the time they helped make the sky fall.

The airline’s take is that these things happen. True, but a bit unnerving. I’ve been on three planes that have been diverted because of engine trouble. I wonder if anyone had to duck and cover down below? [via wcbstv.com]

10 tips for smarter flying


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Undiscovered New York: East Village by way of Japan

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Japan lies more than 6,500 miles away from New York, separated by an entire continent and the world’s largest ocean. But don’t let the distance fool you – there’s no place in the U.S. outside the West Coast that packs more Japanese culture per square foot than New York City.

Throughout the city you’ll find numerous Japanese restaurants, cultural events and businesses. Although the variety is great, covering everything from sushi spots to Japanese department stores like Takashimaya to Cherry Blossom festivals, finding New York’s Japanese culture can be a workout. It’s scattered all over the city.

Thankfully there is one area you can go to get a taste of Japan all in one place – Manhattan’s East Village. No area offers a higher concentration of Japanese culture. Though it bears no official title, the area is practically its own “Japantown,” boasting authentic Japanese businesses and cuisine: laid-back izakayas, quirky toy stores, hidden sake bars and authentic Japanese groceries are all waiting to be discovered.

Is that plane ticket to Tokyo not in the budget this year? Cheer up – consider New York as your backup option. Want to eat some of the best ramen this side of the Pacific Ocean? Do you know the difference between hot and cold sake? Looking for a place to pick up that obscure Astro Boy figurine? Then grab your suitcase as Undiscovered New York takes you to Japan by way of the East Village…
Ramen!!!!
If there’s one Japanese food we particularly love here at Undiscovered New York, it’s ramen. The truth of the matter is nothing beats the perfect combination of salty noodles, spicy toppings, fatty pork and crunchy vegetables that comprise one of Japan’s most famous dishes. You really have to try it to understand why.

New York’s East Village is ground zero for some of the city’s best ramen spots. Foodies love to debate which ramen shop has the best and/or most authentically Japanese ramen. Is it David Chang’s Momofuku Noodle Bar, a relative newcomer that now includes three sister restaurants? Or what about Ramen Setagaya, the spot many purists claim is most faithful to the Japanese ramen recipe? Not if you listen to the owners of straight-from-Japan Ippudo, the newest addition to the East Village’s brewing “ramen wars.” The only way to decide is to head to the East Village and try for yourself. Forget the fact we didn’t even cover the East Village’s numerous yakitoris, izakayas and sushi spots. That’s enough for its own post!

Japanese Toys
It’s sometimes said that New Yorkers live in a state of perpetual adolescence, always delaying the onset of adulthood for the priorities of career, finances and fun. There’s certainly some truth to that statement when you consider the preponderance of Japanese toy stores in the East Village, offering the latest and greatest in Japanese playthings.

Among the favorites is Toy Tokyo, stocking everything from your favorite 1980’s movie figurines to Japan’s favorite monster, Godzilla. Just a short walk east is J 1 Pan Toy, which carries a similarly impressive collection of Japanese stationery, DVD’s and greeting cards. Just one block north is Giant Robot, a gallery space with a smallish collection that tends to skew more towards the savvy and obsessive figurine collectors. If you still can’t get enough of that Japanese merchandise, there’s Aica, a retailer that specializes in “hard-to-find” collectibles straight from the motherland.

Time for a drink
If all the salty ramen and scouring of Japanese toy stores has made you thirsty, it’s time for a cold beverage. You could do worse than stopping by Decibel, an “underground” sake bar that’s literally hidden in the basement down a flight of steps. Stocking a huge selection of more than 70 varieties of the beverage, it’s a great place to try both hot and cold sakes and hang out with a friend.

If your thirst is more of the non-alcoholic variety, never fear, the East Village boasts several authentic Japanese grocery stores. Grab yourself a cold bottle of green tea or some Pocari Sweat over at Sunrise Mart. Nearby is Korean grocer M2M, which stocks a surprisingly large array of Japanese products, as well as JAS Mart on St. Mark’s.

Age old question of chicken or beef ends up in Court of Appeals

by Scott Carmichael on

Chicken or beef? It’s the question almost everyone on an International flight will end up hearing at one point (unless of course you are flying up front, where you’ll probably get more choices).

Millions of people answer this question every year, and are presented with a meal that is somehow meant to represent their choice.

On an American Airlines flight from Zurich to New York several years ago, passenger Pierre Delis was only offered one choice – beef or beef?

The normal reaction to the lack of chicken would be to roll your eyes, perhaps even mention to the poor flight attendant what a horrible airline she is working for.

Not so with Mr. Delis. His lack of a chicken option escalated into a verbal battle, and ended with the flight attendant getting a punch in her stomach.

Now, punching a flight attendant is never a good idea, but to do so when the plane is airborne is turns the whole thing into a nasty mess. Mr. Delis was arrested and convicted of “simple assault”. He was sentenced to “time served” and was told to pay a $10 court fee (I’d say he got off really easy).

Not content with having a criminal record, Mr. Delis has been battling the ruling for years, and his case finally came to an end this week when the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan unanimously ruled that his conviction should stand. His argument that he never intended to injure the flight attendant was not sufficient to change the mind of the Court.

Undiscovered New York: lesser-known museums

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Undiscovered New York loves our museums. Who hasn’t come to the Museum of Modern Art and spent hours gazing at works like Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon? Or visited the the Met on a warm evening at dusk to take in one of New York’s best views from the rooftop sculpture garden? Or gazed in awe at the massive lifesize Blue Whale at the American Museum of Natural History?

But the truth is that whether you live here or you’re coming from out of town, a trip to New York’s “must see” museums can get old quickly. Don’t get me wrong – if you’ve never seen the Musuem of Modern Art or the Met, by all means go. But at the same time, the ridiculous weekend crowds and steep admission fees can conspire to spoil that ideal New York museum visit, especially at some of New York’s biggest and most popular spots. What’s a museum-loving visitor to do?

Lucky for you, New York is absolutely jam packed with amazing museums, covering just about any culture, subject, genre of art or period of history imaginable. Best of all, many of these museums are extremely cheap or free and you’ll avoid huge crowds and long waits that can spoil a visit at some of New York’s “biggies.” Want to have an awesome New York museum experience without all the fuss? Step inside Undiscovered New York’s favorite lesser-known New York museums, after the jump.
City Reliquary
On the outskirts of Brooklyn’s trendy Wiliamsburg neighborhood, sandwiched along a row of unassuming storefronts and steps from the noisy BQE Expressway lies one of the more unique museum collections in all of New York. It’s called the City Reliquary, and it’s a less a formal museum than a testament to the maniacal habits of obsessive-compulsive New Yorkers.

Rather than focus on collection curated by some academic “expert,” the City Reliquary started as a repository for the collections of ordinary New Yorkers ranging from “vintage thermoses” to Presidential Plates and antique pens. The organization supplements these resident collections with displays of interesting New York paraphenalia including architectural remnants of New York City buildings and Statue of Liberty mementos. It’s a small but often fun antidote to the stuffy, more established museums across the river in Manhattan. As another plus, the admission is “pay what you wish.”

Rubin Museum of Art
The Met has an amazing collection of artwork from the Far East – enough to put most major museums to shame. But there’s so much to see it get a bit overwhelming at times. That’s why a museum like Chelsea’s Rubin Museum of Art can be a great alternative for easily distracted visitors. Rather than try to cover a huge range of countries and cultures in Asia, the Rubin Museum focuses exclusively on Himalayas and surrounding regions on several manageable floors. It’s a decidedly more leisurely, manageable and less crowded way to check out some amazing culture in a cool setting.

Museum of Sex
We mentioned the the Museum of Sex this past Valentine’s Day, and it honestly deserves another mention here. OK, yes, I know – it’s a museum about sex. But before you break into nervous giggles and write it off as some place for perverts, did you ever think to consider it might be an interesting museum? The answer is a definite YES. In all honesty, the scope of the Museum of Sex goes well beyond celebrating flesh to take a deeper look at human sexuality. Honest-to-goodness academic questions are asked through exhibits about censorship, obscenity laws and the changing morals of different societies through the years. And yes, of course, there are images of some naked people here and there (shocking isn’t it?).

Photo of the Day 3.2.09

by Karen Walrond on


I’ve spent a large part of my day today checking in with friends of mine who live on the east coast of the US — my HEAVENS, but you guys are getting dumped on with snow! It’s for this reason I couldn’t resist posting this great photograph of New York taxis lined up and buried in the white stuff, shared by Global Voyager in the Gadling Flickr pool. Hang in there, guys. Spring is just around the corner.

If you’ve got some great travel shots you’d love to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day.