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!
A backpacker in Peru I met has been spending the last half year or so bumming through South America. He told many thrilling tales, but the one that really stood out being his biking trip down the world’s most dangerous road, right outside La Paz, Bolivia.
In the Youtube video below, you’ll see what appears to be a not-too-wide bike trail. In fact, buses and trucks routinely drive–and pass each other–on this so-called road. And you can share in the experience, though I highly recommend against riding in through on a bus.
Biking trips are routinely offered on the road, but be prepared to face rain, sleet, snow, mudslides, landslides, Yeti attacks, and oh death.
Apparently there’s a big debate among tourism officials in New Mexico about a series of new commercials meant to urge potential tourists to visit the fifth largest state in the U.S.
“Instead of highlighting New Mexico’s picturesque desert landscapes, art galleries or centuries-old culture, the ads feature drooling, grotesque office workers from outer space chatting about their personal lives,” according to an article from the AP.
I hadn’t seen the commercials until I pulled them up on YouTube (which you can watch after the jump), but I can see why there’s a debate. On one hand, they are a bit funny and quirky (though still cliché in that funny-because-it’s-weird way), but the aliens are definitely grotesque, not very exciting to look at, and really have nothing to do with New Mexico or tourism other than the catchy “best place in the universe” tagline. Oh, and the whole Roswell thing. But it seems to me they made an ad like this to get people talking… and, well, people are talking.
Watch them yourself, after the jump. Do they make you want to go to New Mexico? Alternatively, do they make you want to do to New Mexico what my father did to Ohio’s page in the atlas when he ran out of toilet paper? I’m indifferent, honestly. And no offense, Ohio. Really.
Since online monopolizing giant Google bought YouTube last year, it’s not surprising to see them incorporate YouTube into their Google Earth program.
I’m yet undecided as to my privacy concerns when it comes to Google Earth, since I love zooming and peering into friend’s homes, hotel rooms, offices and other random spots — (yeah, and you don’t? — admit it!). I think the ability to be able to see related YouTube videos of the spot you are nosing into is a welcome application, although not particularly necessary; I guess the need of another press release was in order.
I was going to add — who would get onto Google Earth to watch YouTube videos? But then, why wouldn’t you? — specially if they are readily available and accessible from Google Earth. Who will upload, connect and tag these videos to Google Earth? The same crazy people who make them — we are all attention seeking maniacs who will put in extra effort to link where ever we can and be seen where ever we can.
There is a spanking-ly funny video on YouTube that gives a perfect example of what we have already gotten ourselves into with Google Earth, now difference is that videos will be more geographically connected and sorted.