Photo of the Day (12.13.10)

by Mike Barish on

Cities are not really that much fun in the winter. Winter is meant to be enjoyed in the mountains, in warm rustic cabins or, for those who are averse to the cold, on the beach in the Caribbean. Other than some quaint holiday decorations, cities are pretty devoid of winter perks. Snow turns black pretty quickly, slush makes walking around difficult and buildings create wind tunnels. All in all, winter in cities kind of sucks.

As we hunker down for winter, this photo by Flickr user Mike GL has me planning for ways to get out of New York City at some point over the next few months. Simply enduring wintery urban life doesn’t sound all that fun when I could be snowshoeing someplace way more scenic.

Taken any great winter photos during your travels? Why not add them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.

The Afro-Punk Festival: not your mama’s punk show

by Gadling Staff on

Each week, Gadling is taking a look at our favorite festivals around the world. From music festivals to cultural showcases to the just plain bizarre, we hope to inspire you to do some festival exploring of your own. Come back each Wednesday for our picks or find them all HERE.

You think you know what punk is. But you haven’t seen anything until you’ve joined the thousands of head-bangers who make the pilgrimage once a year in June to Brooklyn’s Afro-Punk Festival.

This two-day celebration of music, skating, and film has become a Mecca for the burgeoning movement of Afro-Punk, a collection of African-American bands, fans, and misfits who are embracing hardcore rock culture and making it their own. Launched in the summer of 2005, the festival was the brainchild of record executive Matthew Morgan and filmmaker James Spooner, who wanted to give voice to the growing popularity of indie and punk rock in traditionally urban communities. It has ever since been a focal point of musical and cultural cross-pollination, fueled by an audience as diverse as the music itself.

Each day of the festival features bands ranging from eclectic rockers like Houston-based American Fangs to genre-bending artists like crooner Janelle Monae, that by turns, awe and electrify the crowd. Afro-Punk is the wild, weird alternate universe where anything is possible (I personally will never forget seeing bass guitarist Ahmed of Brooklyn’s Game Rebellion strut onstage sporting a fan of giant peacock feathers). Want to learn more about the Afro-Punk Festival? Keep reading below…

For first-timers, the Afro-Punk mashup of grunge guitar and streetwise swagger can be overwhelming. But have no fear: punk is a contact sport, and no one can stand still for long. Crowd surfing is encouraged, from the tiniest faux-hawked kindergartener to the heaviest thrasher, so dive away! And if you yearn for the days of good ole-fashioned moshing, you’ll have no trouble finding a scrum for a little full-body ping-pong.

Other thrill-seekers can get their kicks on the festival’s custom-built skate park. The dizzying array of jumps, ramps and rails is also the battleground for the annual URBANX skate and BMX competitions, where pro-skaters and bikers defy gravity and common sense for a coveted $5,000 prize.

Listen for the distinctive clink and hiss of spray cans and you’ll also find a one-of-a-kind outdoor art exhibit. At Afro-Punk, graffiti is king, and true to form, the artists work at lightning speed, to the delight of onlookers, tagging a rich tableaux of original pieces along a 30-foot wall of wooden panels.

On Sunday, the festival closes with a block party featuring live DJ’s, fashion, and food. But before you go, take a moment to enjoy the greatest spectacle on display: the crowd itself. Revel in being someplace where piercings outnumber iPhones two-to-one, and ‘business casual’ means keeping your shirt on. There are few places on Earth where dreadlocks and leather chokers so seamlessly co-exist. Afro-Punk is the center of a movement that defies definition. In the end, what could be more punk than that?

The 2010 Afro-Punk Festival hits New York June 26th and 27th, and will this year open in two new cities: Chicago and Atlanta. Check out afropunk.com for dates and updated details.

Photo of the Day (4.18.2010)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

San Francisco is a particularly photogenic city, between the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the city’s iconic cable cars. But these “same old” San Francisco shots get old after awhile – that’s why I’m loving today’s image from Flickr user evilninjam0nky, who captured this unique nighttime street scene. A frenzy of activity catches your eye in the foreground, as a blur of pedestrians and traffic scurries back and forth. It’s contrasted perfectly by a block of stoic old Victorian brownstones, which anchor the background.

Have any picturesque shots of San Francisco you’d like to share with Gadling? Why not add them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.

100 urban adventures for the city dweller

by Kraig Becker on

Looking for something to do today as the weekend quickly comes to a close? Then look no further than Outside Magazine’s list of 100 Urban Adventures. As you can no doubt tell, it contains some of the best activities to do in the great outdoors while remaining well within some of the largest cities in the U.S.

Outside turns its attention on such urban centers as New York, Boston, and Chicago, amongst others. Some of their suggestions for outdoor fun might come as a surprise, even to those that live there. For instance, plenty of people have probably considered paddling around Liberty Island to get a spectacular view of the Statue of Liberty from inside a Kayak, but did you also know that you could go bouldering in Central Park?

There are equally interesting adventures from the other cities as well. Go sailing on Lake Michigan while in Chicago, horseback riding through the Hollywood Hills in L.A., or trout fishing a short distance from downtown Seattle. These are just a sample of some of the adventures on the list and chances are you’ll find something on it that will appeal to what ever level of activity you’re up for.

But what if you don’t live in any of these cities? My guess that no matter where you live, you’ll find similar hidden outdoor adventures right under your nose. Take a look around, and you’re likely to find all kinds of interesting things to do. But hurry, the weekend is slipping away fast.

UN: Urban Growth Set to Explode in Africa

by Josh Lew on

In 1950, there were only two cities in Africa with more than one million inhabitants. They were both in Egypt (Cairo and Alexandria). In the 2008 version of continent, there are more than 40 urban centers with populations over 1 million. A report by the UN Human Settlements Programme projects that the number of Africans living in cities will double by 2030 to more than 700 million.

The image of an urban Africa is not one that usually comes to mind. Much of the continent’s tourism is still based on wildlife and the natural beauty of rural areas. It’s too early to tell if the landscape will totally change in the coming years.

Large cities are not growing rapidly, but mid-sized cities of between 500,000 and 1 million people are the ones that the UN report focuses on. These upstarts are growing at a rate that will see them soon rival or even eclipse the populations of current African mega-cities like Johannesburg and Nairobi.

[More on the UN Human Settlements Programme report]