Detroit, home of the Uniroyal Giant Tire

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Interstate I-94 East from Ann Arbor, Michigan to downtown Detroit is a monotonous drive. Low-rise housing complexes, mall parking lots and the Detroit Metro airport pass you by on the mostly flat route, snaking its way towards the heart of the Motor City. But if there’s one weird landmark you’re not likely to miss along the way, it’s Detroit’s very own Uniroyal Giant Tire, rising more than 80 feet above the roadway.

This giant disk of premium rubber has been greeting Detroit-area commuters for more than 40 years. First built in 1964 as a monument for the World’s Fair in New York, the tire was originally a working Ferris wheel which could hold 96 riders. After the Fair’s conclusion the wheel was moved to its current home along the interstate. It’s been confusing and delighting motorists ever since, suddenly rising into view like a celestial hubcap sent from the heavens above.

It’s fitting that Detroit, a city that has long staked its reputation on the auto industry, would have such a landmark. But perhaps these days, with all the doom and gloom that’s been forecast in the state of Michigan, it’s become more a ghostly reminder of glory days past than a symbol of Detroit’s hopes for renewal. Still, for anyone who’s ever driven that flat road East towards Detroit, it’s a much needed symbol of whimsy and pride that never fails to make you smile.

Photo of the Day (8-5-09)

by Jamie Rhein on

Wow! That was my first impression when coming across jonrawinson’s shot of Venice Italy’s sky. His photo is a terrific reminder that when taking travel photos, that the place one is visiting can be a backdrop for creating a visual message. The way I know this is Venice is because he says that it is. The buildings, however, do give a hint of location and provide allure. The sky, though, is the star. The static quality of the buildings make the sky a dizzying display of movement. Seriously, superb. Plus, when I head to Venice tomorrow, this photo is a reminder to look up.

If you have a shot to consider for a Photo of the Day, please send it our way at Gadling’s Flicker photo pool. We’re delighted when you do.

Airline passenger swears, throws water, makes threats and hits an elderly man with a fork

by Jamie Rhein on

In a truth is stranger than fiction tale, picture this: You’re sitting minding your own business on a Jet Airways flight from London to Mumbai, India. The engines are humming. Perhaps, the “fasten your seat belt” light has gone off. Luggage is stored and you’re settled in. All seems normal. But WAIT! The young guy in his mid-twenties who is sitting near you starts verbally abusing you and anyone within earshot. Then he ramps it up a notch and grabs at the breasts of the woman sitting next to him.

After she moves seats to get away, he continues on his rampage going from bad to worse. He stands on his seat for better a vantage point, perhaps.

When the male flight attendant tries to stop him, the passenger (allegedly) throws water in the attendant’s face and continues his verbal rampage.

He also threatens to throw his passport out the window (neat trick on an airplane), rips up his boarding pass, and hurls a fork at an elderly man.

Finally, the passenger is handcuffed and tied to his seat after the pilot asked for something to be done with the guy. Eventually, he falls asleep and wakes up right as rain as if nothing had happened. Regardless of his personality shift, after the plane landed in Mumbai, the police arrested him because of his behaviors. Now they’re trying to figure out what caused the outburst.

According to the article in The Times of India, the man is an engineering student.

For a video of the news story, click here.

Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern: Sicily. Yep, the food is bizarre

by Jamie Rhein on

Andrew Zimmern seemed positively giddy in last Tuesday’s episode of Bizarre Foods as he ate his way around Sicily’s bonanza of animal innards eats. First stop was Palermo, the capital where butcher shops display all sorts of animal parts, just like they’ve done for centuries. At Mercato Ballero, a bustling outdoor marketplace, Zimmern got busy eating with gusto.

“The cow stomachs are so fresh, you can hear them moo,” he exclaimed as he picked at a plate of intestines and stomach, naming each part to clarify which was what. “They all taste different. A little bit chewy. A little melting. If you like eating the inside of a cow, then this is for you.”

One stall sells fritole, a fritter made from the innards the other vendors don’t sell. If you’ve ever needed a clue about where Zimmern acquired his taste bud preferences, this was it.

“Fritole takes the idea of leftovers to a different level,” he said, followed by a description of eating roasted fat and skin as a boy. Zimmern would dip into the drippings off of whatever meat was being cooked.

The spleen sandwich, another Sicilian specialty, and one that has been served up since the 1800s, was right up Zimmern’s unusual food group alley.

Zimmern had his spleen with a sprinkle of cheese and pronounced the dish, “rank and foul. I love it. It tastes like mud. There’s a lot of gristle in there. This stuff is not for the faint of heart.”

Hmm. I think I’m one of the faint of heart. The more Zimmern ate in Sicily, the more I wondered what I’d be able to eat if I ever headed there.

Then came a stop at one of the best restaurants, Trattoria Ferro Di Cavallo where Zimmern ate something I would enjoy–sardines formed into meatballs. He commented on the raisins as part of the concoction. As he said, these sardines are not the same flavor as the ones found in a can drenched in oil. Canned sardines on saltine crackers remind me of my childhood.

Another dish, the capenata, a relish made of chunks of eggplant and peppers was pronounced fantastic. I would eat that too and like it. But, like a roller coaster ride that gives few reprieves from the steep drops and crazy turns, after Zimmern downed the capenata, he turned and headed for another restaurant Osteria D’Vespry for a gourmet version of the inside of a cow’s mouth. Yep, that’s right. You can eat cheeks.

The dish was delicate and gorgeous, but the description “quivering nerves and tendons” and the “fatty deep and rich with a hint of the barnyard floor,” didn’t sell me on it.

Leaving animal innards, Zimmern headed to Cerda for the Artichoke Festival. Now, we’re talking. This section hit a high mark for showing me how to cook something familiar with in a new way. Fresh artichoke can be roasted over coals, for example.

At the Trattoria Nasca, Zimmern discovered fried artichokes, roasted artichokes, artichoke fritata, and cold artichokes with dill.

Artichoke is also made into ice-cream in this artichoke loving town. The gelato is served up in a bun, handy for a hot climate. Zimmern pointed out that as the ice cream melts it soaks into the bun. That’s clever.

But, one can’t stay with normal food for too long on Bizarre Foods so Zimmern headed to a village on the volcano Mount Etna for a cooking class at Eleonara’s House. In the kitchen of this centuries old house, rabbit was cooked with pine nuts, fennel, carrots, dark chocolate and vinegar. That wasn’t so unusual, sounded delicious even, but when it was done, Zimmern called dibs on the head. He enticed Eleonara to try the rabbit cheek, something she had yet to eat in all her years of preparing rabbit. She pronounced it delicious. I sort of wanted to puke.

The cinnamon pudding from a recipe passed down from the Middle Ages perked me up, though, and gave me the idea once more that if I ever make it to Sicily I won’t starve.

At the fishing village of Marzanemi, Zimmern was up 4 a.m. to head out with the fisherman pointing out just how much work is involved with hauling in nets and what is caught. Afterward, at a fish processing plant, Zimmern was taken through tuna processing. Tuna in a can at a grocery store looks tame for sure.

What about tuna eggs, tuna sperm and tuna testicles? In Zimmern country, those cook up into delicacy dishes. The sperm is considered an aphrodisiac. Ya’ think?

What made this segment the most enjoyable was how the family Zimmern visited gather everything they eat from the sea and from their gardens. One dish I would probably go for is the sea snails grilled with a little olive oil and lemon juice. I’m also quite fond of cuttlefish, but eating it cooked in its ink? Not so much. Give me a pasta dish with just the tomato sauce and herbs, that’s another story.

One of the details I appreciate about Zimmern’s visits with folks is how much he enjoys their company. He gave the fisherman, Captain Corrado Barrone, the man who hosted him, his Swiss army knife, a present that was greatly appreciated.

Tonight Zimmern heads to Goa. I’m hoping he spends a bit more time on the culture and sights and lays a bit low on the bizarre food. I had a hard time keeping up with him in Sicily. I think he must have had a hard time keeping up with himself. His blog has yet to be updated from the Phuket episode two weeks ago.

(Photos (except for the spleen sandwich) are from the Bizarre Foods Web site.)

**This post would have been earlier, but no electricity due to wind storms creates mayhem in a blogger’s life.

Talking Travel with Chuck Thompson

by Abha Malpani on

Aaron recently introduced Chuck Thompson’s new book, Smile While You’re Lying, and today Gadling got the opportunity to have a chat with him. The interview talks about savage travel stories, “Journalistic Tiramisu,” travel-blogging, the authors complaints on the road, and the future of the travel-industry. Enjoy!

We also have 5 copies of the book to giveaway, so stick around after the interview to find out how you can score one for free!

Thank you for talking to us here at Gadling! The content of your book elaborates on savage travel truths that are usually off-limits for general travel-press, what motivated you to make this book happen? What were the challenges you faced in getting this book published?

I got fed up with coming back from intense experiences on the road – and I mean ??intense?? in both good and bad ways – and being muzzled by editors who demanded copy that sacrificed intelligence and storytelling for the sake of advertiser-friendly pap. Not just in travel, but a lot of magazine writing these days is basically glorified PR copy. The stories I told my friends over beers or wrote about in emails never seemed to make it into my bylined pieces. I’d have a story published somewhere and weeks later a friend would call and say, ??Hey, I saw your article on Panama in such-and-such magazine.?? And I’d sort of cringe and say, ??Oh, man, let me tell you what really happened in Panama.??
The challenges were pretty much the challenges faced by any unknown writer with a book proposal-it’s matter of finding the right agent and editor who really “get” your idea in the same way you do. The first agent I sent my proposal to sent back a nasty note telling me how appalled she was by the pitch and my Thailand chapter and how I’d better rethink what I was doing. She actually sent me some photocopied pages from a book on how to be a successful writer. But I remained pretty confident about finding the right people to get behind this. From the time I sent the first proposal out to the book actually getting published took about three and a half years.

What inspired the title of the book and its visual?

The title alludes to the small fibs that travel writers such as myself have to go along with in order to preserve their jobs as travel writers, the larger ones told everyday by the travel industry that perpetuate the accepted myths of the industry, and also the broader triumph of public relations that’s made our mainstream media supplicant to corporate and government spin. As for the cover, it’s meant to express what the book aims to be-fun and entertaining, but also something that shines a subversive light upon travel icons. A lot of people don’t catch it, but if you look at the cover closely, you’ll find a little subversive visual joke hidden in there.

I had to laugh as you tagged travel stories in glossy commercial magazines as “Journalistic Tiramisu,” could you explain this term?

Just the sort of lightweight, drooling, praise-heavy hack copy routinely applied to make mundane places and trips sound “magical” and “resplendent.” Travel writers can’t just walk, they have to “amble” or “meander.” They don’t simply eat, they “dine.” Any store opened within the last two years is “hip,” “hot,” or “happening.” All seas sparkle, all views are breathtaking. My favorite descriptions of this sort of travel reporting are “witless puffery” and “sun-dappled barf,” both of which I heard from other travel writers. (So please don’t present them as mine, even though I wish they were.)

You talk about the travel industry being in a state of dramatic flux and that the “golden age” of international tourism may be drawing to a close; what then, in your opinion, is the future of the travel industry?

There seem to be two divergent opinions on the matter. Boeing and Airbus and other travel and transportation companies-many based in China and around Asia-currently forecast a five-percent annual increase in air travel over the next two decades. This will cause world air traffic to triple by 2030. Imagine three times more babies and three times as many wankers in the middle seat battling you for armrest hegemony on your flight from New York to L.A.

There is a mitigating factor and that is oil. Can we get a stable supply of it out of the Middle East for the next twenty years? Even if we can, is Peak Oil for real and, if it is (which I happen to believe), how soon will it begin causing major problems with mass transportation? Look, you can build all the battery-powered cars you want and probably make ’em work, but getting a fully-loaded 757 off the ground or turning diesel-powered props of a cruise or cargo ship is quite another story. At the moment, there’s nothing even close to alternative fuel for those monsters. Those things aren’t little, plastic four-seaters that need to range 150 miles at a time. They require real power.

The “savage” type of content in your book is often found on travel blogs. How do you think the blogging industry — that warrants personal, raw and original content — will affect the travel publishing industry?

I love blogs. I like contributing to them, reading them, and being a part of them. It’s the best place right now to find authentic travel writing, even if it’s sometimes rough. I wish I had more time to spend reading them. However, I firmly believe the demise of print media has been greatly exaggerated. I don’t expect print to go away in my lifetime, I don’t expect books or magazines to lose their appeal, especially not as long as we continue to condition our kids to read on paper. You know what’s happening with the children’s book market in this country? It’s a gold rush, a boom economy. When I walk into a bookstore and see rows and rows of featured children’s books, I think, “Good for all of us in the print biz.” And just for portability and tactile pleasure and saving my eyeballs, I do prefer books, magazines, and other hard copy to reading on a monitor. I think blogs already are and will become an even larger part of the legit media mix. This is great. But they aren’t going to replace mainstream media anytime soon.

You say in your intro that one of the best things of being a traveler is complaining about the parts you don’t like, I couldn’t agree more! Care to share some of your biggest complaints on the road with Gadling readers?

I know it comes with the territory and I’m generally good-natured and smiley about it, but I absolutely hate being the zoo-animal white guy celebrity in rural Asian and African villages. There’s a smile-when-you’re-lying moment for you-me surrounded by thirty kids yanking at my arm hair with a big idiot grin of affability on my face. I’ve got a bunch of those photos and in every one I was hating life when it was taken.

Another complaint I have is with uppity “travelers” who complain about all the damn “tourists.” We’re all tourists, to a degree, none really any better than the next. If someone wants to spend his travel dollars squatting for two weeks in a bamboo hut in Cambodia, cool. If someone else wants to take her three kids to Walt Disney World in Orlando and stuf
f them with fried dough and Mega-bucket Dr. Peppers, as far as I’m concerned, that’s just as authentic an experience, whether they enjoyed it ironically or not.

What is the worst thing that has happened to you on the road?

I guess having all my money-$1,200-stolen in Thailand. I attempted to turn this into a humorous story in Smile When You’re Lying, but it was absolutely horrible when it happened and I was not thinking at the time how enriching an experience it was. In fact, I was sort of panicked. I was on an island and couldn’t even get off to make a phone call for help for lack of ferry fare. Wandering around that island starving and begging for help was lonely and miserable and embarrassing.

The biggest travel myth in your opinion?

That places are dangerous and people are scary and out to get you. I’ve been to a lot of cities and countries I was repeatedly warned not to go because it was so dangerous. Muslim-rebel territory in Mindanao in the Philippines. The Congolese jungle. Caracas. Wherever there are people, there’s normalcy. People go to work and school, they buy food at the market, they make dinner, they love their families, they’re generally kind or at least civil with strangers. I’m not talking about legitimate war zones, which are different, but for the most part, the paranoia of many people about international travel is grossly unjustified. People who don’t travel to these places think that those of us who do are adventurous and brave. But you go to these places and you see what a lie that is. And you come home and smile about it. What the hell, let ’em think you’re brave. Maybe they’ll buy one of your books.

Thanks, Chuck!

More information can be found at www.chuckthompsonbooks.com

Want to win a copy of the book? It’s easy. Here’s how:

  • To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us about the worst thing that’s happened to you while traveling. Make sure to use a valid e-mail address, or else we’ll have no way to contact you if you win!
  • The comment must be left before Friday, January 4, 2008 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.
  • You may enter once.
  • 5 winners will be selected in a random drawing.
  • 5 winners will receive Smile When You’re Lying (valued at $15.00).
  • Click Here for complete Official Rules.