Feed aggregator

Who are the people who make you look at your ‘hood differently? Photo: Francisco Collazo

I might be envious of Lara Dunston and Terence Carter if they weren’t so nice… and if they didn’t run this sweet contest.

Lara Dunston, travel writer and guidebook author, and her husband Terence Carter, a travel photographer, lined up a pretty sweet deal for 2010.

They’re traveling the world courtesy of HomeAway Holiday-Rentals, visiting 24 destinations in 12 months and “living like locals” by staying in home rentals rather than hotels.

It’s an enviable project for many travel writers and photographers, but one of the caveats built into the agreement with HomeAway is that the Grantourismo project would provide opportunities for other people to travel, too.

Earlier this week, Lara and Terence announced the first in a series of travel writing contests sponsored by Grantourismo and HomeAway.

Each contest will have a specific theme, and the prompt for this contest is “The ‘Hood.” “Posts in this category,” they write, “explore everyday neighbourhoods and the people who live in them, the idea being to inspire people to get out of the tourist zone and off the beaten track, to get an insight into everyday life, and to interact with locals….”

You can read full details about submissions and prizes on the Grantourismo blog.

Community Connection:

Don’t forget the Nick Gallo Award, which is given for the best submission about Mexico. The deadline for that contest is March 15; full details are in this contest announcement.

Air France and Ryanair clashed over subsidies after the French carrier accused its low-cost Irish rival of putting pressure on regional authorities to give unfair support as the price of using their airports.

Photo: Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake

You have a great idea for an NGO, non-profit, or small business. Now you need the money to get it off the ground.

One of the most popular articles we’ve published on MatadorChange is How to Start a Successful NGO in 10 Steps. The article, written by photographer and NGO-preneur Ryan Libre, has had more than 200,000 views since it was published in September 2008.

Every day we receive comments on this article, often from people in “developing” countries who are fired up on solving local problems with local solutions. They view starting an NGO as an excellent way to do just that.

They’re right, but the challenge they all face is funding. If dollars were distributed on the merit of good ideas alone, well… you wouldn’t need an article like this one.

If you’ve got a sweet idea about an NGO, non-profit, or small business that could change your community–or the world–here are a few ways you can bootstrap your start up with some funding methods beyond the usual approaches.

1. Set up a blog.

If you’ve got a great idea but no one knows about it, how do you expect to get funding for it? Setting up a blog is almost as simple as having an Internet connection… and it’s free.

Start establishing your Internet presence by setting up a simple blog on WordPress. Matador’s got dozens of resources to help you understand exactly how to do this on our Blogging Tips Focus Page.

Essential information includes: the name of your organization; your mission; who you’re working with and/or serving; what need you’re fulfilling; and why no one else is filling it. Provide a way for visitors to get in touch with you if they want to ask questions. Let them know how they can help.

2. Broaden your web presence.

Screenshot of Matador member Misty Tosh’s NGO’s website

What evidence can you provide that you’re already working to solve the big social problem your NGO, non-profit, or small business is going to address?

Flickr and YouTube will let you compile and present visual evidence that you are (1) who you say you are, (2) where you say you are, (3) working on what you claim to be working on.

Flickr and YouTube accounts are free and they’re essential to building and broadening your web presence. They also can be integrated into your WordPress blog easily.

Beyond Flickr and YouTube, set up a Twitter account. Connect with other social entrepreneurs who have started their organization or who are in the process of setting one up. Share ideas and contacts; provide each other with support. Connect with journalists and other people who may be interested in your enterprise. Ask for their support.

3. Now, start raising funds.

It used to be the case that starting an NGO or non-profit required non-stop grant writing.

While grants remain a significant source of operating income, the Internet provides many more tools you can use that will supplement your organization’s financial flow:

ChipIn: ChipIn is a free widget you can embed on your blog to raise money for your cause.

Screenshot from ChipIn

People who want to support your fledgling organization donate money using their PayPal account by clicking on the ChipIn button that now appears on your blog. You can also add the ChipIn widget to your Facebook profile.

Matador has used ChipIn to raise funds for our Brave New Travelers scholarship.

Kickstarter: Kickstarter’s a bit like ChipIn, but with a twist- you set a fund raising goal for your project and you have to meet our goal within a certain period of time in order for the donors’ money to be released to you.

Screenshot of Irina Zhorov’s project on Kickstarter

There are two other catches: (1) You have to have a US bank account and address in order to set up a Kickstarter account and (2) Kickstarter makes its money by taking 5% out of your funded project.

But if you’re agreeable to those terms and if you have a network of people you can reach out to to contribute, it can be an effective fund raising platform. Charyn Pfeuffer, who was profiled on MatadorChange recently, recently funded her $20,000 international voluntourism project on Kickstarter and Matador contributor Irina Zhorov is currently fund raising for a project on Kickstarter, too.

Grow VC
Grow VC is a brand new venture capital funding platform for entrepreneurs who are launching start-ups with a mobile or web-based focus. If your project falls into that category, read about this new funding option on the Grow VC website or in this article from TechCrunch.

Amazon Affiliate Program
You won’t be able to fully fund your start-up as an Amazon affiliate. You likely won’t even make enough to buy coffee for a week, but if you use this program as part of a diverse set of passive income sources, you might just cover some basic operating expenses, like simple office supplies.

There are all sorts of catches, but if you’re approved, the program is easy to use. Read all about it in Amazon’s overview.

Google Grants and Google for Non-Profits
Google has all kinds of resources that relatively few people know about, and Google for Non-Profits is one of them. In addition to its grants program, Google offers in-kind AdWords advertising to non-profits. All of their relevant resources can be accessed on the Google for Non-Profits page.

Community Connection:

Do you have experience funding a non-profit or NGO? Want to share your tips? Leave your advice in the comments section.

For too long, the American flag has been undefended by travelers unwilling to bear the brunt of foreign scorn. Natalie Grant believes it’s time Americans show the world they are better.

Photo: seagull productions

At the time of the last Presidential election, I was living and working at a backpacker’s hostel in Scotland.

One of the only other Americans there at the time helped me celebrate what she and I christened ‘Obama Day’ by baking a massive cake and frosting states red or blue accordingly as the ballots came in.

When the cake was just over half-frosted, the room, which was riddled with mostly Spanish, Canadian and Australian onlookers, gazed in awkward amusement as we burst into tears, held hands and shrieked the Star Spangled Banner at the top of our lungs.

Since then, I have never been able to think of that day – that moment, erupting with unadulterated national pride – without feeling guilty about how rare those moments are for me.

After all, I travel with a Scottish luggage tag on my backpack.

According to TIME magazine, the number of American flags sold by Wal-Mart on September 11th 2000 was around 6400. September 11th 2001? 116,000. And it doubled the next day.

Patriotism comes in unpredictable waves, and too often, the icon of the American flag carries negative connotations – like excessive consumerism, for example. Recently some new stigmas have popped up: one might misconstrue flag-flying as condoning the war in Iraq, a judgmental religious fanaticism, or worse, a feeling of superiority over other nations.

This last one is what really kills it for me. As a traveler, it’s in my nature to feel quite the opposite.

Diminished At The Edges

Every so often, though, “Old Glory” (as the flag was nicknamed by William Driver, an early nineteenth century American sea captain) can be a poignant reminder of the principles on which our country was founded.

“A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges.” – Benjamin Franklin

Post 9/11 flag-flying is a classic example of how our country’s emblem can suddenly dump all those unfortunate legacies of our cultural and international wrongdoings and be re-conquered by the compelling and inspirational ethos of our founding fathers – if only temporarily.

Sam Adams wasn’t just a future mediocre-tasting lager. He was a visionary who called for citizens to take individual responsibility for themselves, to carry out their civic duties. And Thomas Jefferson did more than seduce his slaves. He insisted that “the cement of this union is in the heart-blood of every American.”

That’s us, even when we’re haggling in Peru or paddling up the Yangtze.

In fact, Benjamin Franklin had a tasty little metaphor: “A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished at the edges.” Our country’s reputation is easier to nibble at abroad, where there are fewer people to stick up for it.

That is, expat Yanks worldwide are America’s fondant and sprinkles. The jaded trail-bums, the naïve Kumbaya-ers, and especially everyone in between… we are all the edges of Obama’s cake. Unfortunately, we are the edges of the Iraq-Halliburton-Enron cake, too.

This is a call to put more responsibility on our shoulders than we bargained for when we flew, starry-eyed, across our first ocean.

Missing Out

I’m guilty of hiding behind the Scottish flag. And it seems many Americans play it safe with the Canadian flag too.

In Egypt, I was told to pretend to be Australian as we entered a Mosque. Even a friend once recommended a city to me and added, “But you’ll have to say you’re from Canada if you want people to be nice to you.”

To be honest, it’s not entirely our fault that so few of us are willing to expose Old Glory while traveling. Travelers and expats bear the heaviest burden – much heavier than that of everyone at home.

We are the faces and voices of our nation’s past mistakes. We are the messenger, the tangible entity at which resentments can be aimed, the minimum-wage single mom who happens to be on the other line of a 1-800 complaint number. We are the ones who repeatedly and involuntarily must defend, apologize, and explain.

This, the constant risk of verbal judgment or attack, is why many become too shy, tired, over it, or embarrassed to bring a tangible form of Old Glory along for the ride.

At our hostel, everyone had their national pride on display somewhere. Aussie boxers, a South African flag hung above a bed, a Kiwi beach towel. At one point the few Americans congregated and realized we didn’t have much in the way of insignia.

We admitted we don’t usually bring Old Glory with us. And, looking around, we realized what we might be missing out on.

Reclaiming the Flag

The way I see it, travelers are citizens of the world – we shouldn’t bear the burdens of our government everywhere we go, especially if we travel to escape or to forget a stigma we did not choose for ourselves.

At the same time, if we are open-minded, considerate, adventurous, and passionate, isn’t it more important to carry the flag with us? After all, how else are we to change people’s opinions about our country; if we let the intolerant and the corrupt carry the flag alone?

Sam, Tom, and Benji would be ashamed of those of us who play pretend when we don’t have to. Representing the U.S. in a positive light should be a welcomed civic duty.

Every traveler has the right to decide whether they want to blend in or say it loud and proud. Both choices come with a sacrifice. Bringing Old Glory with you when you travel can highly influence how you’re treated.

Yet whether you choose to put it on your keychain, your hat, or nowhere at all, you can’t change where you come from. You can only change whether or not you have a positive attitude about it – quietly or otherwise.

If we’re brave enough pack our national identity with us, we can start to change people’s discriminatory attitudes by setting a positive example.

Rescuing our most meaningful and remarkable icon… Benji Franklin would be proud.

From the innovative design site, Conceptual Devices’ Just Undo It series, comes an 8-step process for converting your old college sweatshirt hoodies into a practical daypack.

Photos courtesy of Conceptual Devices. 2010 © Conceptual Devices.

Paul Sullivan looks at some of the nebulous “industry standard” practices regarding photoshopping and journalism in the context of the World Press Photo contest disqualifying a recent winning entry.

Image: Michael Spencer

As reported on by the New York Times and the British Journal of Photography, last week saw the World Press Photo disqualify Stepan Rudik, one of the winners of this year’s contest, after concluding that he had digitally manipulated his work.

Rudik’s disqualified entry, called “Street fighting, Kiev, Ukraine”, was shot for the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. It had won 3rd prize in Sports Features before being ruled out.

The manipulation involved removing the foot of one of the subjects in a photo, which broke the competition rule that stated: “The content of the image must not be altered. Only retouching which conforms to the currently accepted standards in the industry is allowed.”

Rudik has announced that he is not arguing with the decision of the jury and has decided to make the original photograph public in order to save his reputation as a photographer. You can see it here.

I think it’s both savvy and brave of Rudik to face up to the WPP decision in this way, but the decision itself is interesting too, in that it gives an insight into the world of photo reportage and image correction generally.

. . .it seems not to bother the WPP jury that the photo has been cropped, desaturated, vignetted and granulated to create a vastly different image to the original (in terms of appearance, if not subject or theme). They only ruled it out on the grounds that the small portion of foot was removed.

For instance if we peek at the original, it’s in all honesty a fairly average shot. The manipulated image is much more dramatic than the original, honing in on the essence of the original scene without necessarily misrepresenting the “story” Rudik wants to tell.

Yet it raises some questions: why didn’t Rudik shoot more frames, from different angles? Why didn’t he focus in on the fighter’s hand at the time? Why didn’t he even leave the foot in the final shot, since there was so much manipulation it would have been barely noticed?

Also, it seems not to bother the WPP jury that the photo has been cropped, desaturated, vignetted and granulated to create a vastly different image to the original (in terms of appearance, if not subject or theme). They only ruled it out on the grounds that the small portion of foot was removed.

Their rules about “currently accepted standards in the industry” seem a little vague don’t they? And you have to wonder what the real difference is between, say, cropping out all the other unwanted elements in the original and taking out a few cm of errant footwear. As can be seen over at Peta Pixel, the decision has opened up a whose can of worms on issues of authenticity and photographic post-processing in general.

Community Connection

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter in the comments box below.

The place where the body of Pol Pot, the former Khmer Rouge leader, was unceremoniously burned in a pile of rubbish is set to be the latest location from Cambodia's dark recent history to be transformed into a tourist spot.In...

International students could be the saviour of Auckland's economy in recessionary times - but some say they don't know where to spend their money.Business bodies say Auckland firms are not doing enough to woo international students...

The Adelaide Fringe is the second biggest festival of its kind in the world but producers would like to see a greater audience from interstate and overseas.

The proposal to ban hiking up Australia’s famous red rock has been overruled.

Photo: Masao.M

LAST JULY I asked the question, Would You Hike Uluru?

It sparked a furious debate with many people firmly against it:

Climbing Uluru is pretty much the most ignorant thing you can do.*

while other commenters justified it:

if you’ve already stepped foot on the land at Uluru – Kata Tjuta, you may as well carry on and do the climb, I say.*

In January this year, Peter Garrett, current Environment Minister and former lead singer of the politically charged Midnight Oil, overruled the proposal, but he didn’t shut the door on it.

The issue can be revisited, and the climb potentially closed, if one of these three conditions is met in the future:

1. The number of people climbing Uluru drops from the current 38 percent of visitors to fewer than 20 percent.
2. The attraction of the climb is no longer the primary reason visitors travel to Uluru.
3. A range of new experiences are put in place for visitors.

Hmm. Number one is straight forward enough. But how do you prove the second condition? Will there now be questionnaires presented to everyone asking why, exactly, they are here? And when they say “visitors” are they talking about ALL visitors? Or is there a threshold?

As for number three, what would that look like? Should they build a rollercoaster to replace the climb? Maybe ATV rides around the rock, while shooting at cardboard cutouts of kangaroos that pop up form the ground? (After all, shooting real kangaroos is cruel.)

I wouldn’t hold my breath.

*These are partial comments only. For full context please read the article and comments in full.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Does the overrule anger you? Is Minister Garrett making a mistake? Or is this a reasonable (temporary) resolution to this heated issue?

Photo by Susie Burkett.

Every now and then, the world steps in to deliver a personal message.

Maybe you’ve had a similar experience. You’re driving along your regular route to work, window rolled down, listening to radio voices deliver morning news. And then you turn your head, and Mother Nature says, “Hey, have a great day.”

Susie Burkett, from Akron, Ohio, took this photograph.

Happy Thursday!

Community Connection

Wherever there’s love, there’s inspiration.

Photo: Micah Sittig Feature Photo: LHOON

Go for a ride on a Chinese train.

At 4:45 a.m. you wake to the gently rocking train and the early, absurdly early, Chinese morning light. It gets light around 4:30 now, probably because China rejects the idea of time zones in favor of national solidarity.

Waking up at quarter to five — usually the thickest slog of night with darkness and dreams at their heaviest — and seeing pale green light rising is yet another of those in-between-worlds sensations so frequent in life in China.

Waking up, you are not quite sure where and if you are. Awakening in the train is an unsettling experience. It’s odd to both fall asleep and get up in noticeable motion, like being in another, floating dimension.

Then the light and the snoring senior tour group below quickly ground you in reality, and it’s time to hit the bathroom before fifteen people try to pack it in and brush their teeth and spit over one another and pass each other in the hall and refill their tea thermoses, ah, the humanity!

Soon the masses will be filling the narrow corridors with all their odors and routines and steaming cups of hot tea and jabbing toothbrushes but now, at first light, it’s still calm, there are still feet sticking out from under the covers and snores and the steady, calm sound of the lulling train.

Photo: Fotos Oaxaca

You sit up and promptly catch yourself before you smack your head on the train’s ceiling. You have smartly chosen the top bunk in the hard sleeper class. Hard sleeper isn’t so much hard as cramped; each car contains 10 small door-less rooms which hold six beds.

These are actually quite comfy and come with big, fluffy white sheets which you want to believe are freshly laundered. The three beds that comprise one bunk have different prices; the lowest one is fifteen yuan more expensive than the highest one. This supposedly buys you space and ease except for the reality those in the hard seat classes, random passerby, stubborn grandmothers or people in top bunks usually end up using your bunk as a comfy window seat.

The middle bunk is alright but still puts you full on in the fro of the noodle-sellers and the curious onlookers and the random arm or foot and is much too central for your taste. So the top is the way to go, except for the fact that you have about a foot less head space than the other two bunks so you are constantly curling your neck into absurd S-shapes.

Photo: Fotos Oaxaca

But once you lie down you are in (relatively) peaceful serenity in your own individual universe. You can lie there and contemplate your culturally-determined top-bunk individualism. It’s not the closed door, roomy, soft sleeper compartment with four beds and fake felt roses on the little tables, but it’s not the hard seat with seeds being spit at your feet and migrant workers sleeping in your lap, either.

So you curl your head like a gummy worm to squeeze out of the bed and ease down the little ladder without stepping on anyone’s feet or head. You step into the narrow corridor, rock a little, straighten yourself out, and take in the wheat fields which are passing silently in the morning light.

The morning is hazy white and faintly dizzying, and under it the landscape seems uniform and endless. You make your way to the bathroom, where you pride yourself on your incredible stability faced with a squat toilet and a moving train. Then you splash your face with water, brush your teeth and head back to the two little fold-out seats in front of the window to watch the morning grow and the landscapes slide by.

Slowly the train wakes up around you. People stumble with crazy hair to the bathroom. Old men strut and flex and roam in their tight white long underwear. The senior tour group is up and busting out their bags upon bags of bizarre Chinese snack food. You count four bags alone with the two old ladies in the bottom bunks of your room. They’re wearing the unmistakable red caps of Chinese tour groups. Their male friends, donning the same caps, come over and crowd into the bunks for a little Chinese breakfast party.

You watch as the fiesta unfolds. They break out metal bowls and the women serve up millet congee. Then there are boiled eggs for everyone (some duck and some chicken) meticulously peeled and devoured. Then the freak parade of meats—tubed white sausages, chicken feet, and gooey unrecognizable who-knows-what. Then, refreshingly, apricots and cherries, which leave a big mound of pits on the small table. And finally little white bread biscuits out of an enormous bag that says, “Fine French Bred!” and finally, everyone slumps back in their seat to wait out the final hour to Qingdao.

Photo: Fotos Oaxaca

Whew. You, meanwhile, break out your French press to awe and astound your neighbors with coffee, that scandalous, criminal beverage. You put two scoops of grinds in the French press and fill it with hot water (available in all Chinese trains) as the senior tour group gathers round with looks ranging from outrage to amazement.

They whisper to each other and you hear the occasional “laowai” (foreigner). What’s the foreigner doing?! “Ruining her stomach, for sure!” you’re sure one woman is saying as she clucks her head back and forth. The group of red-capped elderly tourists watches for the full four minutes of brewing time until you push the French press down and serve your coffee, and they wait until you drink it—will she do it, will she do it?!?—before they lose interest.

From there on out, it’s a smooth caffeinated ride through the flat, silent landscape. Gigantic nuclear plants rise out of the haze and fade again into the disappearing wheat fields. You see huge stretches of vegetable fields where the tiny, distant silhouettes of farmers can be seen crouched and lost in work. From time to time a road appears between the ceaseless flat fields and on it is a girl on a bicycle.

Eventually grimy buildings covered in pipes and wires and ancient-looking metal machinery conquer the landscape and you know you’re getting closer. You pass a few rivers and ponds which are a green oily color straight out of animated TV shows. Patches of blue sky show and fade in the gray haze, and then you see the telltale lingering cloud ahead which indicates smog and encroaching civilization.

The train makes a final pass through a landscape that is now dominated by rusted parts and chugging factories of who knows what, and the occasional river bordered in brightly colored garbage, mostly plastic bags. The last kilometer of the train ride is the most brutal. Dozens of orange-shirted migrants, most of whom look older than fifty, are bent over hammering away on the tracks. Even the toughest-looking construction workers have clear plastic thermoses of tea.

The city begins to emerge out of piles of dust and bricks, and finally parallel tracks appear to either side and train cars block the scenery and the train grinds to a final halt. Everyone simultaneously makes a grab for luggage in a free-for-all chaos where it seems as if bags are falling from the sky and limbs are flailing everywhere, and then people book it for the doors. You heave your pack onto your back and step out into the streams of passing people, into the Chinese morning, into Qingdao.

Roman Koons 408foxman Like Williamsburg in Brooklyn or Jamaica Plain in Boston, the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles has become famous as a haven for “hipsters”. Who are these so-called “hipsters”? And more importantly, where do they drink?

The term’s been around at least since Norman Mailer called himself a White Negro in the 1950s. But according to snide contemporary outlets like the Urban Dictionary, there’s not much more to the hipster than his/her ironic mullet, the preference for cheap swill and poor hygiene — oh, and the avowed dislike of the word “hipster”.

Citing the rise of real estate prices in hipster neighborhoods, Time Out New York has accused the demographic of selling out, morphing into “indie yuppies.” For true cool to begin its comeback, the hipster city guide argues, all hipsters must die.

Silver Lake lives this tension on the ground. Some more authentic heirs to boho beat culture still rent studios here, though the bubble has priced out a lot of starving artists. Body odor’s harder to come by, and Rough Trade, the gay sex shop, just closed its storefront.

These days, the area’s a vibrant mashup of rockstar shades, wildly expensive cheese shops, lingering dive bars, graffiti murals, industry types bravely forging a life far away from the West LA cult of the body-beautiful (but within walking distance of excellent coffee), and even, now and then, the occasional remnant Latino drag queen.

Here’s a guide to drinking in the local style, at both ends of the spectrum. 1. Red Lion

The Red Lion wears its dinginess with pride. Its dark wood interior makes it homey in a good way. And then there are the lederhosen. Yes, the waitresses play to the German theme with ironic/authentic attire. What could be more Silver Lake?

The bratwurst are greasy, the herring salad is salty, and the beer comes in steins. Some poor souls never even find their way past the second bar into the beer patio. I watched the last World Cup at the Red Lion, and plan to do the same with the next, thereby completing some kind of hipster/international circle. It’s a wonderful, hoppy, greasy experience.

2366 Glendale Blvd. (323) 662-5337

Cha Cha Lounge

2. Cha Cha Lounge

The last time I went to the Cha Cha Lounge, the smell of disinfectant was so overpowering I could barely drink my weirdly sour cocktail. My friend ordered Pabst Blue Ribbon – the original, ironic hipster Silver Lake move. The décor is what I would call Tiki frat revival by way of día de los muertos.

It has a wacky vending machine. It can be loud and unpredictable. Like many other Silver Lake institutions, it seems to have a drag queen past, but now usually seems hetero. Some would call the Cha Cha Lounge the dive bar ground zero for Silver Lake hipsterdom. Though any true hipsters therein would never say as much.

2375 Glendale Blvd. (323) 660-7595

3. Akbar

Akbar is another relic of truly hip old Silver Lake, from back when it was a gay neighborhood, but Akbar’s still consistently a mostly-gay hang-out. Its online manifesto is self-deprecating and funny, capturing the place well: “We think we’re Ginger, but we’re really Mary Anne.”

The dance floor’s small, but it gets going on a crowded night. You haven’t really lived Silver Lake until you’ve had a beer and done arts-and-crafts in the back room of Akbar. (I made a clock out of an old LP cover that says “Oriental Music.”)

4356 West Sunset Blvd. (323) 665-6810

4. Stinkers Truck Stop

Stinkers has an animatronic Skunk inside. Is this true to Silver Lake’s kitschy, unserious soul? Or is this the Jekyll & Hyde of Silver Lake, a theme-park-ready bar? J&H in New York signaled the historic end of Bohemia, as flocks of outsiders looking for a boho thrill settled instead for a waiter doing the monster mash.

Stinkers is not easily categorized. What does it mean that gangs of bikers convene here, but that they seem like they might be comprised solely of hipsters on crotch-rockets? What does irony mean when it turns on itself, again and again, devolving eventually into a mise-en-abîme of layered meaning? I don’t know. I just wanted to use that fancy French term in a sentence.

2939 West Sunset Blvd. (323) 661-6007

Silver lake Lounge

5. Silver Lake Lounge

Word on the street is that on a good night you can spot Kiefer Sutherland at the Silver Lake Lounge. It’s a black box with standard drinking fare, but it’s crucial for this list.

When my friend’s band played there, the lead singer was stuck between a protruding wall and a speaker. Highlight of the evening? The band-leader’s father-in-law wore Bose noise-canceling headphones for the entire show. Right in front. He said it worked better than earplugs.

This place still serves as a Latino drag queen hangout on some nights. It ain’t hipsterdom unless the music is loud, weird, and your shoes stick to the floor.

2906 Sunset Blvd. (323) 663-9636

6. 4100 Bar

The 4100 Bar is a hookah-lounge style affair. The drinks are standard. A little bit of parking. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary. Some goth nights, some gay nights, some crowded nights. It’s a good place to see a lot of other people and to drink with a feeling of being out and in private at the same time.

1087 Manzanita St. (323) 666-4460

7. Edendale/Mixville Bar

The Mixville at Edendale is part of the new Silver Lake, by which I mean, the new median housing price Silver Lake – i.e. it’s posh. The bar menu is tasty and comes with happy hour prices. The mixed drinks are good. The mojito is almost (but not quite) up to the “New Cocktailian” standards described by Los Angeles food-god Jonathan Gold.

Sit outside in the courtyard in the summer, or watch for the occasional celebrity in the crowded bar. The building is a retrofitted firehouse. When I saw an Olsen twin here, a man came up to her at the bar and gushed, “I love your work.” Ah, ironic Silver Lake.

2838 Rowena Ave. (323) 666-2000‎

8. Malo

Yes, Malo means bad, but in the good way. Another posh-ish addition to the scene, Malo has incredible chips and salsa. Burn your tongue with the habanero crème salsa. Cool it with a margarita. You won’t ever want to stop. They have a good tequila selection. You can almost forget that Sunset Blvd. is roaring outside, especially in the summer.

4326 W Sunset Blvd. (323) 664-1011

9. Tantra

beautifulsilverlake.com

Bollywood dance music comes to life on packed Friday nights at Tantra. It’s a loud but glitzy lounge, with mango martinis and Indian food from the restaurant.

If you’re just having dinner, it’s too much to pay for what is just good Indian food. But if you’re looking to drink froo-froo cocktails, maybe dance, maybe try to do that thing they do with their heads in the Bollywood videos, you’re in the right place.

3705 W Sunset Blvd. (323) 663-8268

10. Spaceland

It’s not really a bar, it’s a music venue. But you can’t say you’ve been to Silver Lake without stopping at Spaceland. Every indie band since indie was used to describe bands, and probably since before then, has played here.

On a good night, with the right music, you can smell the bohemian dreams dripping from the ceiling. It’s an intimate venue. I live within earshot of this place, which I used to think was annoying, but now that I’m being slowly priced out, I’m grateful for the bit of grit that the thumping Spaceland baseline still gives the neighborhood.

1717 Silver Lake Blvd. (323) 661-4380

Community Connection

Feel like tempering all that carousing by bettering society? Urban Volunteering: Los Angeles could have just what you’ve been looking for. If you’re looking for a crunchier approach to life, the 8 Best Treks in California might be up your alley.

Live from Pioneer Square, Seattle. Welcome to MatadorTV, thanks for tuning in to our vlog! Don’t forget to share this vid and send links to your favorite videos.

Another week in Seattle and all signs point to spring, which is good for me because I would much rather vlog outside! Each week I will choose a new location in Seattle to shoot, keeping things fresh and inviting happenstance adventure!

This week I discovered geocaching as a new way to experience my city and have fun with Bridget. Geocaching is a perfect activity for a traveler who is not currently on some far flung journey. It encourages adventure and curiosity. Bridget joined me on my first geocache find and of course we brought the camera!

YouTube is great, I love YouTube.
Buuuuuut…when I am searching for new, beautiful videos that would feel at home on MatadorTV I find that although YouTube is king of content, there is simply too much UTTER CRAP or just too damn many videos. I mean, have you clicked the “Travel & Events” category , there is a lot of junk listed, and much of the content is very uninspiring…

On Vimeo, on the other hand, it is so effortless to find an entertaining, high quality, well made video that it’s not even funny. The Vimeo travel groups are repositories for hundreds of hours of amazing content.

My problem is that I want a mix of professional and gorgeous and home made and personal. YouTube has the character, Vimeo has the quality…

Do you know of any outstanding vloggers on Vimeo or Youtube? Folks that are consistently putting together fun and engaging travel-lifestyle content…if so send links, leave comments or encourage them to contact the site. I would love to find folks TRAVELING RIGHT NOW and putting up vlogs and videos.

No word yet on the Nomadic Matt / Gap Adventure Costa Rica giveaway…I will certainly keep you posted!

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

OF ALL THE PLACES YOU HAVE BEEN, WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO REVISIT FOR A SINGLE DAY?

Craig Ross has said he may make further acquisitions after taking sole ownership of Koala Adventures and Koala Adventure Island earlier this week.  

Ross sold his share in the Airlie Beach Resort to his long-term business partner, who has also taken sole ownership of hostels in Noosa and Hervey Bay as well as Koala’s Fraser Island 4WD product. Nomads World Hotels recently bought the leases for the two hostels and acquired operational and marketing responsibilities for Fraser. Ross retains the Koala brand and intellectual property following the asset split as well as 150 acres of Daintree beachfront and 52 units in Cairns.

He has been having a series of meetings with key partners in Sydney this week along with former TNT UK sales director Justin Williams – now based in the US – who is consulting for the business.

Ross said: “The deal means I can drive a lot more opportunities, I’ve got no debt, I’m cashed up and I have a clear direction. I may look at floating and I can still see myself acquiring businesses down the track.”

He said meetings this week had been aimed at improving the company’s distribution network and forging relationships.

He added: “It’s not rocket science to see we’ve been all over the place for the last 12 months, now you’ll see massive changes. I am free now to focus on developing the business. I am also very grateful and thankful to the industry for sticking by me throughout this difficult period.”

Photo by rhurtubia

Crashed Ice is making its way to Quebec City for the fourth time, and it’s bringing some chaos with it.

Crashed Ice is an incredibly fast race that mixes downhill skiing, hockey, and boardercross, and it all takes place on a steeply-sloped ice rink.

The sport originated in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2000 and began spreading to other European cities shortly after. In 2003, it arrived in North America, first appearing in Duluth, Minnesota, and then becoming a popular winter event in Quebec City, Canada. Over 85,000 spectators regularly show up, making the sport a fairly big deal for Quebecers.

How It’s Played

Groups of four athletes compete against each other on a course up to 500 meters long. The track is narrow, and competition is literally shoulder-to-shoulder. The downhill rink is also set with vertical drops, jumps, and rollers.

Athletes can do whatever they want–push, sprint, wrangle–anything goes. There’s only one real rule: “first to the bottom wins.”

Crashed Ice skaters, who are typically pro ice hockey players, need a pretty varied skill set. Skaters must have quick reactions, speed, the skating skills to navigate the course, and the ability to recover quickly. The whole thing has high entertainment potential for those on the outside looking in, vying to see someone face-plant into the sideboards at 70 km per hour.

Winners move on until the final race, when the victor is named.

The next Crashed Ice event will be presented by Red Bull and is going to be held in Quebec City on March 20, 2010. Still finding it difficult to wrap your head around exactly what this sport is all about? The following video should help:

Community Connection

Want to learn about more overlooked winter sports? Check out Dog-Skiing and Ice Soccer.

Winston Peters' SuperGold transport card could be facing cuts in the near future

An intensive care paramedic and three ambulance crews met a Jetstar flight on arrival in Queensland after six passengers fell ill on board.

I think I might as well call it China month here are the BOOT. I have another interesting piece for you to read about the Online market in China. This one is from McKinsey and covers online China in general (not just travel). Called "China's Internet Obsession" this article comes from the McKinsey Quarterly (registration required for full article but no cost to register). Couple of highlights from the article:

• China is world's largest internet market in terms of people - 384mm online. 50% increase since 2008;
• One in five consumers between the ages of 18 and 44 won’t purchase a product or service without first researching it on the Internet; and
  
• Online advertising has been growing at between 20 and 30 percent a year—twice the print media’s growth rate—and the market was around $3 billion (20 billion renminbi) in size last year.

thanks to Chi King via flickr for the photo

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is putting in new webcams which will allow commuters to check how congested traffic is before they travel