Gadling

Ivana, Ivana, Ivana, you do not - I repeat - you do NOT call a child a barbarian. Out loud. On a flight. Oh sure, you can think it, we're all probably thinking it, but to outright say it....I don't think so. Not a good idea.

Now I probably would not have believed this story about a passenger who is suing Ivana Trump for calling his two adorable children names - ages 3 and 18 months - or the fact that Ivana has filed her own counter suit against the passenger who created those little barbarians. But the fact that the word barbarian was used to describe two little children, well...that is just so so wrong. Which only means it has to be true!

Ox-drawn carts squeak by towering marble monuments – with slogans like "Live forever our father" [Kim Il Sung]. Remnants of four-lane highways snake parallel to a single train track that handles all traffic through the northwestern corridor. Schoolchildren in tattered shorts play near stiff-faced sentries (the kids wield sticks; the soldiers, automatic rifles).

Such dichotomies reflect the perplexing and almost unimaginable world that is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a hermit kingdom that may harbor a half-dozen nuclear weapons or more while simultaneously being on the brink of a famine that could doom most of its peasant population.

Now, with outside reports that North Korea strongman Kim Jong Il is seriously ill, international attention is focusing once again on this troublesome nation. The world's leaders remain, however, much as everybody else, befogged about the road ahead for North Korea. The reason for this is simple: practically nothing – news, Western luxuries, even people – is allowed in, or out.

But here I am, riding a German-imported train with 30 other Chinese tourists and plenty of North Korean guards patrolling the cabins, on our way to Pyongyang. I've come to see what life here is like for the Koreans, fully expecting the absurd.

If you live in Tokyo, it's hard not to stay on top of the latest fashion buzz...

Ranking alongside Paris, Milan, London and New York, Tokyo is one of the world's most fashionable cities. Japanese consumers, who are quick to snatch up the latest brand name goods and must-have items, largely fuel the second largest economy on the planet.

In a country defined by the phrase 'customer is king,' Japan is a shopper's paradise where flashes of cash are the preferred means of demonstrating your wealth and power. With that said, the question on everyone's mind is whether or not the Japanese will have to tighten their belts and check their spending habits, especially considering that their economy is heading towards recession.

While brandaholics might have to curb their lust for designer shoes and handbags, the latest trend in the world of Japanese fashion is Hennes & Mauritz, the Swedish retailer that is better known in North America and Europe as H&M.

Yup. That cheap-but-chic and wear-it-then-toss-it fashion giant we've all come to know and love has finally arrived in Japan. But, in a land where US$100 T-shirts and US$300 jeans are the norm rather than the exception, will H&M be a hit amongst fickle Japanese consumers?

Waldenbooks, Salina Central Mall

Having completed my first and only shopping-mall-based Marco Polo Didn't Go There book-signing, I now know what it feels like to be a public social oddity -- to have people furrow their brows at you in bafflement at the sight of you, or avoid eye-contact altogether as they walk by. At times, as I sat in front of the Waldenbooks outlet in the Salina Central Mall with a stack of my books, I felt less like an author than one of those guys who gets hired to dress up in a chipmunk costume and hand out promotional flyers for a car wash.

In retrospect, I realize it was unrealistic to think that an all-purpose indoor shopping mall in a mid-sized, mid-American city would be a good place to tout my book. After all, your average person heads out to the mall on a Saturday to shop for shoes or catch a movie, not to impulse-buy a travel-themed book by some guy they've never met before. However, since the mall Waldenbooks is the only place in Salina where one can buy new books -- and since I'm now based out of a small farmhouse about 8 miles southeast of Salina -- I figured it would be good form to make an appearance there.

After having participated in more structured book events on college campuses or in indie bookstores (for both my new book and for Vagabonding), I don't think I was quite prepared for an appearance that basically involved sitting at a table with a stack of my books and greeting passersby. In theory this might seem innocuous enough -- that is, until you realize that the only other people doing this in the mall are pushing gym memberships or cell phone plans. Thus, your average Saturday shopper has gotten used to avoiding eye contact with anyone who sits at a table and greets them in a friendly voice.

For someone who is not used to being in such situations, this can be a humbling experience.

I'm enjoying the unique perspective of the Pyramids in this photo by Flickr user DS355. Too often when photographers take pictures of these amazing Egyptian structures, they focus exclusively on the Pyramids themselves. What I liked about this shot was the way the Pyramid is shifted to the background in a sort of soft-focus haze. Also interesting is the way this shot plays with perspective, making the horses and their riders appear "larger than life" in relation to the wonder that lies before their view.

Have any photos you've taken of the Great Pyramids? Or perhaps during your vacation in Playa del Carmen? Submit them to our Gadling Flickr pool and we might just choose it as our Photo of the Day.

It's sunny and mild outside, with just the slightest of breeze: the perfect fall day. But I'm holed up in my room, watching Youtube (Man vs. Wild episodes). But there's a much better way to be anti-social on a Sunday afternoon. It's called Fancast, a site with completely legitimate full length movies and television episodes.

I just finished a 40-minute documentary on the Serengeti, narrated by James Earl Jones. It's below. Oh, and those Man vs Wild episodes? Check them out here.

Highways are, of course, an essential part of our national transportation system. Trouble is, at least in urban areas, they seem to go right through the areas that you would rather not see them go through. For instance, Seattle's Puget Sound coastline. Now, I've been to Seattle, and while I was there, I stayed in a hotel about a block away from the bustling waterfront, busy shopping areas and active nightlife. The only thing between me and the sights was a giant, towering road known as the Alaskan Way Viaduct. It's elevated, so getting across it wasn't a problem. That's not the point. It's big - about five stories. It's loud. It's a mass of bright lights at night. And, if it weren't there, I would've be able to see across Puget Sound from my hotel room.

Thus, you can imagine my delight when I discovered that the Alaskan Way Viaduct is, in fact, number one on the Congress for the New Urbanism's "Freeways Without Futures" - a list of the top ten freeways in North America that we really could just do without. And they're not roads that people are just running around complaining about - these roads actually have pleasant, viable alternatives that would free up valuable urban real estate and drive economic growth. Check out the article for the full list of roads, and if you live in one of those areas, consider adding your voice to the growing number of people calling for reasonable alternatives.

(Via Wired Magazine)

It wasn't until I saw this video that I remembered the whirring sound that the pulleys of a zipline make as they zip along the cables, whizzing people from tree to tree.

Although the quality is a bit grainy, the essence of the Hocking Hills Canopy Tour are captured here in just a few minutes. I posted about my personal experience a couple of days ago, but the video is a way to bring you along for the ride.

The people who filmed this, and posted it on YouTube, held a camera at such an angle that it feels as if the viewer is on the trip as well. There's also footage of one of the rope bridges you walk across during the tour. After the last zipline, there's a rappel down from the last platform to the ground. That part is also included. Plus, there's a mix of music and conversation. Nice touch.

Train stations are not frequently thought of as a hub of transportation and commerce - in a lot of cities, they're worn down, dilapidated, built in what has become the bad part of town, and in many cases, abandoned. Thanks to the past couple of decades, though, and a remarkable public-private partnership of a number of organizations, Washington D.C.'s Union Station has become the antithesis to that mold. Now, it's a thriving hub with high-end shops and restaurants that sees 32 million people passing through every year - including 56% of all air/rail traffic between Washington, D.C. and New York City.

Completed in 1908, the building, like multitudes of other train stations, fell into disuse after World War II and eventually was all but abandoned. Amtrak passengers used a makeshift terminal behind the main building for many years during the 70s and early 80s. Thanks to a mammoth public-private partnership, however, WUS received a $160 million face lift, completed in 1988, that brought high-end retail, shops and restaurants to the storied building. This weekend (and, in fact, all year), the building is celebrating both the 100-year anniversary of its construction and the 20-year anniversary of its rehabilitation. Events this weekend include an exhibit of both modern and historic passenger rail equipment and a display of archival photos of the station. If you can't make it in the near future, though, check it out the next time you're in the city; it's a building worth seeing.

(Via CNN)

Here's an idea for anyone who wants to travel alone, but hates to travel alone when it comes to meal time. These odd thoughts came cavorting through my mind after seeing this story on a Today Show segment. Imagine the scene:

There you are all by yourself while others are paired up or in groups. You are sitting waiting for dinner, maybe reading but feeling a bit dissatisfied. Perhaps you feel like a target to unwanted advances. You wish you had a detractor. Something that lets you know that you are not alone--or at least, if you are alone, you have a way to feel differently. Or perhaps you are a bit shy and wish you had a conversation starter, something that would break the ice when talking with strangers. And if a creepy guy is lurking about, something that would send a signal "hands off."

A fake baby might be the answer.

According to the segment, the fake babies look and feel real. That downy soft hair. The weight of them. The way they appear in a baby carrier.