Discover Africa

by Brenda Yun on

Yesterday saw the launch of an amazing online image resource for anyone interested in traveling to Africa. (You can’t see it, but my right hand is waving frantically above my head right now as I’m typing with my left). DiscoverAfrica.com plays host to some of the most breathtaking photos you will ever see of this most picturesque continent.

My simple search for “Morocco” came up with over one hundred images of places, people, and sights in this country. Then, of course, my mouse gravitated to “Surfing,” where my bottom lip promptly dropped to the floor as I laid my eyes upon some of the most vivid and captivating photos of the ocean and the sport that I have seen.
There are few words on this site, which is just as it should be as it lets the images speak for themselves. I could honestly spend hours sifting through thousands of photos taken all over Africa and need to come up for air. The site itself is extremely simple, clean, and user-friendly. It’s all about admiring the images — paying homage to the continent. Seriously, every one of the site’s images puts my amateur photos to shame.

To celebrate the launch of their site, DiscoverAfrica.com is holding a cool African safari giveaway contest until April 21. Your entry in the contest can be in the form of an essay (on your blog), photo (on Flickr), or video (on YouTube), so long as you communicate your heartfelt desire to travel to Africa and go on a safari. The key to winning this contest is to generate as much buzz about Africa (and your entry) as possible. They know you’ve entered the contest by officially registering with the site and providing the link to your entry.

You’re going to have to beat my entry, though, which is forthcoming. Africa is my least traveled continent, and a destination I’ve so longed to go to. My sister thought I was a shoe-in to be on Survivor: Africa (I’m an enormous fan of the show and have applied five times!) and bought me an African cookbook five years ago, hoping I would make use of it as a castaway. Maybe one day I will finally get a callback and put it to use — or maybe I will actually win this contest and go on the trip/safari of a lifetime!

To beat me to the punch, you can enter the contest HERE. But beware: more competition = more motivation for me!

Daily deal – Sanyo VPC-E2 waterproof digital camcorder for $199

by Scott Carmichael on

My daily deal for today is for the Sanyo Xacti VPC-E2 digital camcorder. This 8 megapixel camera has all the features you’d expect from a digital video camera, including a swiveling screen, a 2.5″ LCD screen, up to 8 hours of video (on an 8GB card) and the ability to capture video in 60 frames per second in VGA resolution.

What makes this camera different, is the ability to work underwater – and not just “splashes of water”. The VPC-E2 is waterproof enough to work in up to 5 feet of water for 30 minutes. Of course, this does not make it your next best diving buddy, but you should be able to film some nice clips of your kids diving, or of the underwater environment on your next vacation.

The VPC-E2 comes complete with a rechargable battery pack, charger, Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 (for video editing), a soft case and a hand strap.

The camera is on sale at Amazon.com for just $199, making it one of the cheapest true underwater video cameras on the market.

Pounding weather, in New York and on the runways

by Jerry Guo on

It’s pouring here in New York, with a severe weather alert out for high winds and quarter-sized hail. It’s a good thing I haven’t been going outside this summer–and my apartment, with its windows facing an inner courtyard shields me away from most of nature.

In honor of weird weather, here in New York, in Beijing (where it’s predicted to rain for the better half of this week), and apparently on the runways, here’s an unbelievable clip of an A380 in a crosswind. As an added bonus, the commentary is in Icelandic!

Enjoy Monday.

“Tent City” in New Orleans does, in fact, exist

by Justin Glow on

When Democratic presidential nominee hopeful John Edwards dropped out of the race late last month, he stood in front of his supporters in New Orleans and talked about an unfortunate site he witnessed on the way into town. “We passed, under a bridge that carried the interstate,” he said, “where 100-200 homeless Americans sleep every night.”

In response, everyone’s favorite hatemonger, Bill O’Reilly, took a jab at Edwards by questioning whether the homeless enclave actually existed. “[W]e called the Edwards campaign and asked where exactly is that bridge so we could help those people. Apparently, they don’t know or they wouldn’t tell us. The Edwards campaign can’t pinpoint the bridge.” Watch a video of his response here.

Well, Bill, I was in New Orleans last week, and on the way out of town, I passed under a bridge where hundreds of tents were pitched. It’s known as “Tent City” and it’s a very, very real thing. I’d estimate that there were well over 500 tents stretching in both directions at this location alone.

If you’re interested in staying true to your word and helping those people, Bill, they can be found, among other places, under the I-10 bridge at Canal and Claiborne. In fact, here’s a map to help you get they’re a little quicker. People need help, and they’re waiting for you.

Bill O’Reilly can be contacted at oreilly@foxnews.com or 1-877-9-NO-SPIN during show hours.

Watchmojo: Eye-candy videos of your next vacation destination

by Jerry Guo on

If you’re short on time (and who isn’t), you can’t be bothered to read long travel pieces. You may also enjoy seeing a destination on screen. If this fits your personality, then WatchMojo, which bills itself a “web video magazine”, may be your thing.

They offer a lot of short 3-min clips introducing various vacation destinations, such as Toronto, Stockholm, Orlando, Florence, and the site of the video clip below, Rome. These clips are somewhat PR-ish, but they do put out some interesting stuff, for instance a series on ice hotels around the world.

Check out their selection here.