When passengers show bad behavior at the airport, everyone notices. Bad airport behavior is one place Hollywood gets it right, even when scenes are a bit outlandish.

Here are two scenes that show just what can happen when a passenger is vexed beyond sanity--either due to traveling with a family member or the actions of another passenger coupled with airline staff reactions.

Perhaps you'll see an element of yourself or someone you know in one of these scenerios. If you happen to have one of these moments when traveling for the holidays, try to keep a sense of humor. It can help.

Along with a sense of humor, there are a few tips to keep in mind to help you not go bonkers. If you do go bonkers, check in with Gadling, we'd love to tell your tale. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Continue reading Bad behavior at the airport, Hollywood style and how to tips for keeping your cool

Bad behavior at the airport, Hollywood style and how to tips for keeping your cool originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading New website, PublicEarth, shares hidden gems from around the globe

New website, PublicEarth, shares hidden gems from around the globe originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Quarter million animals sacrificed at Hindu festival originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ancient Buddhist caves under threat originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hank Leukart, while savoring blueberry pie and a cup of chai at the University of Zoka in Seattle proclaimed it the best coffee shop in the world. As what happens when one proclaims something the best in the world, he immediately began to wonder if he overshot by his gushing. What does he know anyway? After all, had he been in every coffee shop in the world? Of course not, but he has been to a few.

In his essay, "searching for the best coffee shop: a lifelong quest for caffeine nirvana" on his blog without baggage, Leukart extols on the virtues of several coffee shops in various parts of the world. Read his essay and you'll have visited through his eyes several coffee shops that range from Afro Cafe in Cape Town, South Africa to Latte Da in Lee Vining near the east entrance of Yosemite.

To make it to the best coffee shop list,according to Leukart, there are seven attributes a great coffee shop must have:

1. great coffee
2. great tea/Chai,
3. comfortable seats for relaxing and intermingling
4. a full menu of good food
5. free Internet access
6. laptop outlets
7. an unlocked bathroom

My current favorite coffee shop is the Crimson Cup in the Clintonville section of Columbus, Ohio. It doesn't have a full menu, but it has all the other attributes. Although there isn't a full menu, the eats are fresh baked and awesome, particularly the offerings from Pattycake Bakery that specializes in vegan treats.

For anyone in need of a caffeine fix, check out the side bar that accompanies Leukart's article. He has several suggestions.

By the way, Leukart doesn't drink coffee. He's a fan of chai. I love chai, but have yet to find a coffee shop that serves it unsweetened.

Great coffee shops around the world: What makes a great one anyway? originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shake it like a Tahitian originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

EasyJet has apologized to everyone who will listen over a fashion shoot that appeared in its inflight magazine.

Did the models wear too little? Did they look like fourteen year-old cokeheads? No, none of the usual stuff; they happened to be posing at the Berlin Holocaust Memorial.

Yes, some fashion photographer decided the concrete blocks known as the "Field of Stelae", properly called the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, would be a cool place for slinky women to show off designer duds. The editor of the magazine at INK Publishing thought it was a pretty neat idea too, and easyJet didn't notice until too late.

Now they've yanked the issue from all their planes and are "reviewing their relationship" with the publisher.

This was probably an honest oversight by easyJet, who acted quickly and appropriately when the issue came to their notice, but what about the magazine's editors? Or the photographer? Or the models? Didn't anyone stop and say , "Hey, millions of Jews died in the concentration camps. Perhaps we should take these photos somewhere else?"

Nope, apparently not.

EasyJet apologizes for Holocaust fashion shoot originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's World Heritage Week from November 19-25 and countries around the globe are celebrating the priceless treasures that UNESCO, which runs the list, is helping to preserve.

But one country, India, is wondering why two of its most famous places aren't on the list. India has no shortage of World Heritage Sites, like the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, but the 3500 year-old holy city of Varanasi (Benares) isn't on the list and the Buddhist shrines at Sarnath are only on the tentative list.

This seems like an odd oversight. Varanasi is a beautiful, chaotic, ancient city on the banks of the Ganges. Nobody knows just how many temples there are here, from massive golden structures with elegant statues to little flagstones carved with a lotus flower and daubed with a bit of paint or an offering of a flower. It seems that when you are close to the river you cannot look anywhere without seeing a temple or shrine. In fact, it's hard not to see several of them! The riverbank is famous for its burning ghats, platforms where Hindus are cremated before their remains are tossed into the holy Ganges River. But like in Hinduism itself, death and life are two parts of the same process. While people are mourning along one section of the riverside, not far off the dhobis are washing clothes, spreading out colorful saris like terrestrial rainbows, while old men play chess and kids frolic in the water. The ghats are strange mixture of morbid reminders of mortality and the throbbing life that makes India so exciting.

Nearby Sarnath is where Buddha is said to have preached his first sermon, and there are numerous temples in the representing all the Buddhist countries in the world. It's interesting to see Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, and other temples all together, attended by monks of all different nationalities.The peaceful, semi-rural surroundings make a stark contrast to noisy Varanasi.

So why aren't these two places, so popular with visitors and so important to world heritage, not on the list? Nobody seems to have a good answer, but the Indian press does have some complaints about how they are treated, not by UNESCO, but by the Indians themselves. An article in the Times of India complains that the temples of Varanasi aren't properly preserved. The stone temple of Kashi Vishwanath, shown here and built in 1777, was recently painted using enamel paint, which can seriously damage the stone. Now curators are facing a hefty preservation bill if they want to save one of the most important temples to Shiva. A recent study found about 2,000 temples in Varanasi that need help, but nobody is sure of the true extent of the problem.

Sarnath was submitted for consideration in 1998. Now it appears poised to get on the list. While the older temples and monuments have crumbled with time, the newer temples are in good condition and give the visitor or pilgrim a world tour of Buddhist practice. Here's hoping Sarnath makes it onto the list soon, and that India will increase its efforts to preserve Varanasi and get it on the World Heritage List too.

Gallery: Varanasi and Sarnath

Will Varanasi and Sarnath join the World Heritage list? originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading 10 Tips for getting a tattoo in Tahiti

10 Tips for getting a tattoo in Tahiti originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After having been left alone for a while, California isn't tolerating nudity any more. The state's Department of Parks and Recreation is putting out the word that it will crack down on bare crack this year at San Onofre State Beach. So, if you like to sun in the buff or skinny-dip in the sea, you could be out of luck. Nudists call it a "tremendous setback."

The nudist community worries that the California decision could trigger a chain reaction across the country. Bob Morton, executive director of the Naturist Action Committee, says, "There are other states in which there are sanctioned nude beaches. They're all looking to see what California is doing."

There's a secluded stretch of San Onofre State Beach, 1,000 feet long, that's been popular for sunning sans threads for more than three decades, and it has such a reputation that visitors from out of state seek it out. Cliffs stretching 300 feet into the sky block the views of would-be gawkers, making it comfortably private. And, there's a certain justice in the fact that it was a decision by President Richard Nixon that opened the beach to the public.

California smacks nude beach buffs originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This juxtaposition of images in Andrey Dorokhov's shot taken in Glasgow, Scotland is one that attests to the importance of having a terrific eye--and being at the right angle at the right moment. The interplay between light and shadow also adds interest and texture. The woman's gaze may stay steady forever--just like the statue will hold its stance. But how long will the bird be a willing subject?

If you've captured a juxtaposition of images or any other subject of interest, send your image our way at Gadling's Flickr photo pool. It might be chosen as a Photo of the Day.

Photo of the Day (11-17-09) originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Mexico - Birders will unite in the Yucatan Peninsula for the Yucatan Bird Festival from November 19-22. For the 8th consecutive year, the festival offers a wide range of field trips, exhibits, conferences, and a "birdathon." Objectives of this annual festival include promoting the rich diversity of bird species found in the Yucatan and developing a conservationist culture among tourists and tour providers.
• California - The California Surf Festival celebrates awareness and support for surf history preservation this weekend from November 19-22. It is an international event destination bringing people from all over the world to Oceanside, California, to experience surf culture through films, music, art, photography and interaction with those who embody the culture as well as highlight the surf community of California.
• Amsterdam - The International Documentary Film Festival begins this Thursday, November 19. The film extravaganza will present over 300 documentaries over the course of 10 days, ending on the 29th.
  
• Israel - Shalem Dance Festival will begin this Thursday, November 19 in Jerusalem. Over 50 Israeli and guest dancers perform in original contemporary dance works. This year's highlight will feature contemporary dance ensembles from Africa. The festival ends on the 21st.

• India - The Mim Kut and Pawl Kut Festival will be celebrated this Friday, November 20 in Mizoram. Celebrated in the last week of November or the first week of December, the festival celebrates the completion of the harvesting season.
• Helsinki - This year Helsinki's Chocolate Festival has a larger "box," as it is held at Wanha Satama fair centre November 21-22. The festivali celebrates the diversity of the sweet stuff. Choco-connaisseurs share their sweet wisdom about the impact of chocolate on health, wellbeing, history of chocolate, production and variety.
  

Get out and go: Events around the world (November 18-21) originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wearing pants in France? You're breaking the law, ladies. originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Avalon travel writer, Joshua Berman, whose Moon Belize guidebook (8th edition) hit book stands in October, took time from his busy book tour to answer a few questions about travel, writing, and living and breathing idyllic Central America.

Don't forget to enter the Gadling Giveaway of the latest edition HERE (you only have until tomorrow to enter!), or read my glowing review of Moon Belize HERE.

Enjoy the interview!

GAD: Not that I'm criticizing your choice here, but how did you end up in Belize? In your mind, what makes it such a special travel destination?
JB: It was a natural northerly progression, beginning in Nicaragua in 1998, where I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer; followed by Honduras as both a trip leader and guidebook researcher. Then one day my publisher asked if I would take over Moon Belize from Chicki Mallan, the book's original author, who was retiring. I said yes.

GAD: Based on your experiences living and traveling in Nicaragua and other parts of Central America, how does Belize contrast with its neighbors?
JB: Belize is less crowded, more diverse, more expensive, and just as tranquilo as Guatemala, Honduras, or Nicaragua. Belize is the only English-speaking country in Central America and its heritage as a British colony also makes it stand out from the rest of Central America (including Belizeans' unique affinity for dark beer and stout).

Continue reading Talking Travel with Avalon travel writer, Joshua Berman

Talking Travel with Avalon travel writer, Joshua Berman originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Whiskey buried beneath the Antarctic ice for 100 year to be recovered originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fernando Ortiz grew up on mainland Ecuador and has lived in the Galapagos the past twenty years. His career path has led him from tour guide to dive guide and eventually dive company manager. Along the route he decided that talking to tourists about conservation was not enough, so he made the leap to fulltime environmentalist. Today he runs Conservation International's office in Puerto Ayora. We talk on the town's main dock, Zodiac's whipping back and forth behind us overloaded with tourists, bags of cement, cases of water and beer, two-by-fours and cement blocks, frozen chickens and everything else needed to run a community of 40,000 on an island separated from the mainland by six hundred miles.

"I have realized a few things in the last few years regarding how best to preserve the Galapagos, primarily that it doesn't matter how good your technical arguments or human arguments are, it's not about that. It's mostly, and unfortunately, all about economics and politics.

"I try not to be critical to tourism as an economy. In fact, if we analyze it in one way, tourism is probably the best way in which nature can pay in cash for its survival. If I were to go back to the islands as I saw them for the first time, nineteen years ago, I would probably find the same biologic, ecologic and evolutionary processes still happening, the same blue-footed boobies still nesting on the same trails. The same for the sea lions and penguins. Tourism has actually been well controlled, despite its growth. It's the indirect impacts of tourism that we need to control.

Continue reading Bowermaster's Adventures -- Conservation International on the Galapagos Islands

Bowermaster's Adventures -- Conservation International on the Galapagos Islands originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"If you're not thinking about Japan every day," popular blogger Tyler Cowen likes to say, "you've yet to wake up."

Today's bizarrely fascinating cultural nugget from Japan: Chindogu. Literally translated as "weird tool," Chindogu is the Japanese art of creating deliberately complex devices that solve simple everyday problems. It's Rube Goldberg meets Japan.

And Chindogu, like just about everything else, has developed a cult following on the internet. There's the International Chindogu Society, the Ten Tenets of Chindogu (Number Three: "Inherent in every Chindogu is the spirit of anarchy"), and scores of websites devoted to tracking the newest, and most ridiculous, Chindogu inventions.

Here are a few of the most creative examples of Chindogu...

The Solar-Powered Lighter (above)

Tired of running out of fluid in your lighter? Fed up with wet matches that won't make a spark? Now there's a better, greener way to light your cigarette-- with the solar-powered Chindogu lighter. (Note: May not work at night, or on cloudy days, or at all.)

More examples below the fold...

Continue reading Rube Goldberg meets Japan: The bizarre Japanese art of Chindogu

Rube Goldberg meets Japan: The bizarre Japanese art of Chindogu originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Wild West Shows in France

Wild West Shows in France originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Understanding the wild west: Visiting a Native American pueblo

Understanding the wild west: Visiting a Native American pueblo originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New Jersey's Wild West originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.