Photo of the Day (2/14/09)

by Jamie Rhein on


I’ve dreaded every Valentine’s Day for the past five years, but I guess that’s because I’ve long been unattached on this day, and usually spend my time moping around the house and giving my pug Iris hugs every hour or so to make up for the love I’m not getting.

Also every Valentine’s Day I find time to rummage through all of the cheesy card in the neighborhood drugstore’s Hallmark aisle and gag at the ridiculously romantic lines within. Sometimes I even buy a card for myself — often one that says something like “Loving you is the easiest thing to do” or something completely self-indulgent like that.

Despite my disappointments come this Day of Love, I must say pick-up lines are some of my favorite things. This year, a friend sent along some of the craziest pick-up lines I’ve ever read. So, to you single people out there, wherever you are in the world, you might want to give these lines a try. Go ahead and sidle up to one of the pretty ladies / handsome men at a bar around the corner and have at it!

  • If you were a booger, I’d pick you first.
  • You’re like my dandruff, I cannot get you out of my head!
  • My love for you is like diarrhea, I can’t hold it in!
  • You remind me of a library book, because I always want to check you out.
  • Is your father a terrorist? Because you’re “da bomb!”
  • Excuse me, are you a dictionary? Because you give meaning to my life.

Kidding aside, this photo of red locks in a heart shape comes to us from Styggiti. Couples in South Korea climb Namsan, fasten a lock at the top of the mountain, and then throw away the key as a symbolic gesture of their love for each other. I know couples do this in some parts of China as well.

Happy Love Day, everyone.

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

Photo of the day (2.10.09)

by Grant Martin on

I happen to be in Chicago this Tuesday evening, en route to an extra special Virgin America event and visiting our Editor at Large, Justin Glow.

Since I grew up only a few hours east of here, I spent a lot of time growing up in the city, wandering around thrift and army surplus stores on Clark and Belmont, shopping around Michigan Avenue and running around Navy Pier. Buckingham Fountain, located in Grant Park has always been a trademark landmark that reminds me of the city and all of the fun that I used to have there. Flick user mce323 captured the fountain against the Chicago skyline here perfectly.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day. Make sure you save them under Creative Commons though, otherwise we can’t use them!

Photo of the Day (2.7.09)

by Brenda Yun on


I’ve been to Alaska twice and not once did I see the northern lights. Maybe it was the wrong season or maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough, but I’m sure when I do see them (and I will) I won’t forget the sight.

That’s what one of our dedicated and intrepid adventuring photographers, localsurfer, discovered on a trip to Norway four years ago. He writes, “It’s impossible to really take a picture of what the lights look like. This was like a pulsing river of light from horizon to horizon.”

The eerie green color reflecting off the water and the purple-brown night sky are nature’s way of saying what human words cannot.

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

Photo of the day (2.3.09)

by Grant Martin on

Here in the Midwest, we’re in the midst of an unholy winter. Record snowfall, wild ice storms and weeks of subfreezing temperatures are starting to weigh heavy at this point, and as we drag ourselves out of the darkness into snowy daily rituals, it’s easy to repeat and repeat the phrase “I really hate winter.”

Only in times of warmth, reflection and patience do we sometimes get to enjoy the beauty that comes along with a fresh snowfall. Naked branches covered with sleeves of white, icicles dangling off rooftops, smooth silent landscapes. It almost makes you think “Maybe I could spend just one more winter here — Right?”

BluePeak‘s photo reminds me of those times. Times where I’ve been on top of a mountain, bundled up in three jackets, warm, comfortable and at peace with winter. If only I could bottle that feeling up and use it every day.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr, and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day. Make sure you save them under Creative Commons though, otherwise we can’t use them!

Photo of the Day (1.31.09)

by Brenda Yun on

There are so many reasons why I love Hawaii: for the weather, the surfing, and the people. But this photo captures yet another facet of Hawaii that mostly locals can appreciate — the native culture and food. Long before Captain Cook “discovered” Hawaii, the islands’ natives were living off the land and cultivating taro from farms just like this one. Taro is one of the main starches in the Polynesian diet, and yesterday I tried to explain to my students how Hawaiians like to pound the taro to make poi, which is best described as a bitter purple pudding.

This lovely photo by konakoka, a fellow kama’aina (a “child of the land” or resident) from the Big Island, is a great reminder of the rich resources that makes Hawaii such a green and sustainable place. I adore the shiny lime glow of the taro leaves, which are framed so nicely by the other plants in the foreground.

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