All stories about "Diversions"

Pittsburghers have many alternate versions for common words: gumband for rubber band, jaggerbush for a thorny bush, and the list goes on and on. You can find many of those here. I spent all of college, and my current post-college days, responding to quizzical friends with, "Wait, that isn't a real word? What do yinz mean yinz don't eat jumbo on a hoagie after reddin' up your room?" Just today, I learned that Pittsburgh's distinctive inclines are referred to as funiculars everywhere else. Nevertheless, these cable-powered incline railways still operate in Pittsburgh and are undeniably a "must" if you're visiting da 'Burgh. Fifteen were originally utilized to transport people between the city's ubiquitous hills and valleys, but nowadays only two exist. The Duquesne Incline has its' own website, which notes that the view from the Observation Deck at the top was "ranked the second most beautiful view in America by USA Weekend Magazine." I can personally attest to this, having ridden it a few times while growing up in Pittsburgh, and 200 years after its construction, the one-way ride will set you back $1.75. Hint: try to go on one of Pittsburgh's 60 or so sunny days out of the year.

Pittsburgh Incline [Official site]

[Text: Alicia Kachmar Photo: Blynaffit/Flickr]

Previously: PittsburghHas Finally Arrived, According to Metblogs, Bowling For Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh's Sharp Edge: Yinzer Lager, Pittsburgh's Chain Arouses Smiles, Bafflement

With all the hullaballoo surrounding the most recent release by Montreal's Arcade Fire, Neon Bible, one might be tempted to forget their roots. But don't. Montreal's Arcade Fire wouldn't exist without Montreal's arcades, oases of pixelated violence, zitty testosterone and sweaty frantic victory.

After the jump. Gridskipper rounds up what makes the Arcade Fire tick, the best of Montreal's arcades.

We're given to understand that young children, if forced to watch cute animals being hunted down and shot, will cry. If you know any children like that, or are have children of your own, you ought not take them to the Tama Zoo in Tokyo:

It was only meant to be a safety drill but dozens of children were left in tears after an animal escape drill at a zoo went hilariously wrong. As acting goes, it was a little too convincing. The idea was to test the readiness of zoo staff for the escape of a dangerous animal. But despite the ludicrously obvious disguise of the runaway beast, its pre-ordained destiny - to be shot with a tranquilliser gun - had children in tears.... The ordeal of the zoo visitors began immediately when the fancy-dressed ape jumped out and frightened a school party. As he got more and more into the swing of his role, he raced around the zoo pursued by staff and scattering the crowds.

'Don't cry children, I was only aping about' [Daily Mail via Jaunted]

[Text: Omri Ceren]

Previously: Giraffe or Leonard Nimoy? You Decide at the San Diego Zoo, My Private Nakameguro: Jean Snow's First Time, Her Eyes, They Never Stop Accusing, Tokyo Undressed, Japan by Lil

We've got a kind of theory , and it goes something like this: Mother Nature is pissed off that we're destroying the planet, and she's evolving a master race of animals to take over and enslave us. They're going to be particularly pissed off about that whole veal thing. You laugh, but now that chimps are using spears to hunt animals... well, hedging your bets might not be the worst idea. A trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park is an excellent way to convince our future hirsute overlords that you were always on their side. Lots is happening this month. This weekend the Park is holding one of their All About Enrichment Weekends, where guests get a chance to go behind the scenes of a ton of the zoo's exhibits. Also on March 14, the renovated Journey Into Africa tour opens. That's two and a half miles of deceptively tame animals looking at you and wondering if you taste good. The tours are included with admission, which is $19.99 for adults and $17.99 for children. That's a steal at three times the price, and it's going toward a good cause: convincing future marauding monkey armies that there's no reason to flay you alive as an example to the other hairless chimp prisoners.

San Diego Wild Animal Park
All About Enrichment Weekends
Journey Into Africa
Chimps Using Spears to Hunt Bushbabies

[Text: Omri Ceren Photo: mrbendy/Flickr]

Previously: Portland's Zoobomb: Does This Make Sense?, Girl's Guide to Detroit, Baby Panda Madness, Animal Sex Tourism, Hot Shots of Two Cute German Bears

Friday Cities is a humongo pool of Londoners who use message boards and threads in engaging internet fashion to recommend bars, clubs, restaurants, places to engage in public sex and, recently, to die. One of the most recent threads tackles the questions and the answers might be surprising. On the other hand, if you've listened to enough Leonard Cohen, you've probably contemplated 50 ways to die in more than 50 places.

If however, you are the life-loving type, find a couple of suggested fatal locales after the jump. Though most of the suggestions involve doing stupid things in stupid places, some actually do shed insight into the psyche of London.

What weighs eight and a half pounds, is thirteen and a half inches long and is available to fondle? No, not a scarily large penis. [Affectionate chuckle] Sickos. The Oscar Statuette. Now through the 24th, 59 of these little guys are on display at Times Square and one of them is acting just like your mother, that is to say, every one gets a turn. David Carr, the NYT Carpetbagger and perhaps the best journalist of all time was recently there where he filmed a video that eerily resembles a Christopher Guest short. This lady for instance, when asked, "Where would you put the Oscar in your home?" replied, "Fuck. In the bedroom. Where I do my best performances." This, in turn, elicited a "Oh yeah! That's why I'm drug-addled!" look from Mr. Carr. Ridiculousness of the general public notwithstanding, this is probably your one chance to hold an Osar, that is until next year, when the Academy, facing even steeper declining ratings, will let you take launches its Insert-An-Oscar-in-a-Orifice contest.

Meet Oscar [Official site]
Carpetbagger

Previously: Manhattongue, Midtown Lunchy's Lover Munchies, Big Guidance in Little China, Gridskipper Hot Lunch: Wichcraft at Equinox

Despite the inherent cheese factor, the Enya-meets-porn music soundtrack and enough Spandex to span the globe, Cirque du Soleil has become one of the biggest international act ever (other than Robbie Williams, of course) brought to the Middle East. Part of the Dubai Shopping Festival, the Canadian troupe is performing Quidam in Dubai until February 10. The show comprises 50 performers from 13 countries who tell the story of an anonymous world transformed into a place of hope and connection through tying themselves into knots, flipping through the air and much much wildly theatrical gesturing. Ticket sales show that over 40,000 people in Dubai have seen the show already, and that it has broken the Middle East record of ticket sales for international entertainment. They are saying that since this show is just a test for the Middle Eastern market, it is much smaller and nothing compared to the sort they do in Las Vegas. Hard to believe, as the show is stunning as is. Held in a special tent built next to Ibn Battuta Mall, and tickets are priced from AED150-800 ($40-220), tickets aren't cheap. We recommend the AED350 ($95) tickets for reasonable seats. Schedules and other details on Quidam can be found here.

Quidam in Dubai

[Text: Abha Malpani]

Previously: Thyme and Oil Cafe: Healthy Junk Food?, Arab Gondola Ride, Don't Worry, Be Organic, Dubai Hits Cover of National Geographic, iPod Inspired Building, Asha's: Fame Corrupts (and Cooks Curry), Go On Then and Sing, Douchebags of the World Unite!, Dubai Goes Prehistoric, Dubai International Film Festival

If you follow my postings here, you've probably figured out that I'm head-over-heals in love with Tokyo, and am quite the city boy. But I'm not averse to taking in some nature, and one of the things that a lot of people probably don't realize is that you can just hope on a train, and maybe 40-50 minutes later and for less than $10, you're out in the wilderness and enjoying some rather nice outdoor scenery. The picture you see above was taken this past Sunday during an outing at Takao Mountain. It makes for quite a nice afternoon, as you can hike up the mountain (a nice walk, nothing too strenuous, but there's also a cable car and chair lift) and not only enjoy the view, but also take in the Yakuouin temple up on the summit, famous for its Tengu imagery. To get there from Shinjuku station, take the Keio line all the way to Takaosanguchi station (or take the Chuo, and switch to the Keio line at Takao station).

[Text + Photo: Jean Snow]

Previously: Pic of the Day: HDR Tokyo, Belgian Beer for the Holidays, Midwest Cafe, Ippudo, Your Neighborhood Noodle Shop, Adidas Gazelle TKY

An imaginative and authentic way of getting an all-round binocular view of Dubai is by taking an abra ride along the creek that divides the city. An abra is like a small fisherman's boat with a motor, that serves as a regular, cheap and fast mode of transport, mainly for the resident skilled labourers. A taxi ride from one side of Dubai to the other would cost you a minimum of Dhs10 ($2.70) and with the traffic these days, would probably take you atleast half-an-hour. Crossing by abra, on the other hand, takes around 10 minutes and costs 0.50fils (about 15 cents). If you can't stomach rubbing shoulders with construction workers after a long day at work, you can rent out an entire abra for yourself, for as little as Dhs50 ($13.50) and it will take you on an extended tour of the creek, at any hour of the day. A good way to notice Dubai's contrasts with the old buildings and souks on one side and the new, modern high-rises on the other. If you are lucky you will even get some Arabic tea. I fail to understand why this simple tour is not publicized as part of the (very) few traditionally cool things to do in the emirate. You can also take the extravagant 'Dhow Cruise' across the very same creek for around Dhs.250 ($68) a head. That cruise includes a 3-course meal, alcohol, belly dancer, DJ, piano player, orchestra if you want, the works. That tour is heavily publicized and you don't have to worry mixing with the riff-raff.

Creels of Dubai

[Text: Abha Malpani]

Previously: Don't Worry, Be Organic, Dubai Hits Cover of National Geographic, iPod Inspired Building, Asha's: Fame Corrupts (and Cooks Curry), Go On Then and Sing, Douchebags of the World Unite!, Dubai Goes Prehistoric, Dubai International Film Festival

When we saw Frommer's list of 11 Ports That your Kids Will Love we thought immediately of the Niepoort's 1983 Colheita, which "seduces you with its fabulous array of floral and dried fruit flavors and a hint of nuts. Medium-bodied and very sweet, it shows great balance and an ultralong aftertaste." But no, they were talking about where sea and land meet. Typical Frommer's. Despite my hatred of children, I took a look at their list and was surprised to find Wave House in San Diego's Beaumont Park. The beach-front amusement park bills itself as the "Royal Palace of Youth Culture" which does have a seductively Idi Amin grandiosity to it. A representative of the company, however, disabused us of that fantasy. "We have no connection to royalty." What they do have is a wave machine that allows kids and you alike to ride for an hour or so on an eternal barrel, a BBQ pit called the Broken Board BBQ and various other aqueous entertainment ideas. Founded by Tom Lochtefeld, the Dr. Frankenstein of water parks, Wave House costs around $5 to enter though a ride costs around $20 for an hour. Right on the beach, the amusement park is supposed to bolster that area's plans for redevelopment and though one may argue the premise of building a man-made wave feet from the ocean represents all that is wrong with mankind, let us merely remind you, artifice is a value in SoCal.

11 Ports Your Kids Will Love [Frommers]
Wave House San Diego

Previously: Al Gore, You Idiot!, Notes From the Road: The Casbah, SD, San Diego's Keating Hotel, Tower 23 in San Diego

We're loathe to moon and even more loathe to rhapsodize but today, we think, we found paradise. After making quick work of the Botanical Gardens, we decided to find these waterfalls which were written about in Revista Programa a week or so ago. The waterfalls are located in the hills behind the Botanical Gardens in the district named Horto. Be advised, discovering the waterfalls takes no small amount of courage, quadricep strength and grit. As the security guard advised us at the Gardens, make sure to scope the scene before you leave your car as isolated areas of Rio aren't, generally, a good place to be. The waterfalls are found in the hills and only after climbing pretty strenuously for ten or so minutes through dense forest, much denser than at the gardens. There are three separate waterfalls, each require a bit more climbing. We stopped at the second. When we arrived, around one, brilliant sunshine shone through the forest canopy illuminating the twenty or so Brazilian teenagers hanging out. Some popped each others zits (ah, teen love), some sprawled out on rocks and others swam in the clear pool. It was like stumbling upon Eden (plus hot chicks in bikinis and dudes with tribal tattoos in Speedos). We were the only foreigners there (we meaning me, Josh also, me guess, you Gridskipper readers) since it has yet to be written about in the English press. But we just changed that so soon it'll be overrun. Shit. Forget everything we just told you.

Directions: Take Cachoiera, the street right behind the Gardens, up around 1 km. The waterfall will be on your right. Park and climb up the rocky embankment on your right. The first waterfall you'll reach in 5 or so minutes. The second is another 10 minutes away.

Previously: Sabino's at Itaipu, Neimeyer Museum, Itacoatiara: Ineffable Beauty, Name, Candongueiro: House of Samba, Aerial Chaos in Brazil, Christmas in Brazil

I rarely end up seeing films at the cinema anymore because of how expensive movie tickets are here in Tokyo -- hint: if you do end up going, drop by one of the discount ticket places around the city and save 500 yen -- but if I'm going to go, might as well go all out, and the recently opened United Cinemas Toyosu (at LaLaport Toyosu, near Toyosu station) sounds like just the kind of luxurious experience I could go for. If the state-of-the-art theaters and sofa-like seats don't get you (at 5000-6000 yen a couple), then maybe the cafe/lounge/bar Breathe will help convince you. Popcorn just no longer cuts it.

United Cinemas Toyosu [Official site]

[Jean Snow]

Previously: Bape Kids, Tokyoke: Tokyo Karaoke Bars, Wonderwall is Go(o)d, Get Bad Wii Your Bad Self in Tokyo, Zamiang Boutique in Tokyo

Charlie "MUG" Suisman wrote today about Pocket Change, a website that scouts around for the most expensive ______ in New York. You're host for the luxurious faffing about is one Richard Nouveau, a dead ringer for Duncan Quinn. What saves the website from being less matter and more art is that on top of finding the Russian Bathhouse that costs $150 a day, they'll also include the one that costs $25, the one with best swimming pool, most and best anal sex and hippest clientele. The topics aren't restricted to dude things, breast augmentation was a recent subject as was Brazilian waxes.

Pocket Change

Previously: A Wu Tang Guide to Staten Island, The Best Sushi in New York by the Best Palates of Our Generation, Lucky Map No. 13: Prospect Heights

It would be insane, not to mention impolitic, to get to Stockholm and not indulge in some sort of lavish relaxation. The Sturebadet takes full advantage of Sweden's penchant for instilling a sense of harmony. The spa/gym/pool/wellness center offers treatments as enticing as they are perplexing. What might Arctic spa treatment include exactly? An icy-hot rubdown, a bath in cod oil? And yes though the caviar facial is self-explanatory, is it really worth US$250? For the less extravagant (or if smearing your face with fish eggs isn't your thang?), a day pass runs US$72 and includes dips in the pool, entrance into the many group classes (including something called gymping which we hope isn't what is sounds like) and sauna.

Sturebadet

Previously: Should I Laugh or Cry? ABBA Museum in Stockholm, Stockholm's Cellulospectrarchtitectural Democracy, Haga Forum For Brizzunch in Stizzockholm. Off the Heezy!

It's impossible to ignore the huge part food plays in the culture of France. It would be impossible to imagine any Frenchman spending his "lunch-hour" hunched over PC, a trying to balance a take-out sandwich, a mouse and a telephone). Just accept it, food is the number one topic of conversation, leisure pursuit and way of spending money, be it in fine gourmet stores or restaurants.

To get the low-down on all you've ever wanted to know about French cuisine (and sneak in some questions about the French) is a day with Paule Caillat founder of Promenades Gourmandes. Paule's cooking school in the Marais is legendary and she is the most no-nonsense feisty instructor (classes are small and intimate with only 3 or 4 attendees). She has a tight timescale to keep to you'll start on the dot at 9am, Marché Richard-Lenoir where she steers round to the best stalls and explains the secrets of finding the best produce. "Check the cartons", she whispers. "See those over their are wooden and it means this produce comes straight from the farm, those plastic ones are imported" (we are trying to stick to buying the best quality fruit and vegetable which are currently in season).

Fuck Currier and Ives for convincing us it's un-American not to ice skate during the holiday season. Yeah, we understand a frozen New England pond with the townsfolk smoothly circumambulating, that's American. But it seems to us, if you make the decision to live in LA, you also have to give up the bucolic trappings of Old Americana. If not, you'll be saddled with sad reproductions of New England village scenes like the Pershing Square Ice Rink in downtown LA. Billed as the "Rockefeller Center of the West" the ice rink is open 7 days a week until January 15th. Skate sessions are $6, rentals are $2 but the best time to go, we recommend, is to go during one of the weekly "Glide-In movies" during which skaters can "enjoy the action from center ice as you glide along." Not only does this mean you'll only see half of the movie but almost guarantees incredible pile-ups of LA kids who have no idea how to ice skate, let alone while watching (half of) ET.

Downtown on Ice

[Photo: Caroline on Crack/Flickr

Previously: Magic Castle hotel, Mozza Opens, For Realz This Time, Casey's Pub: Wysiwyg, McCormick and Shmicks, Laugh Factory: NSFW

If you're in or around Pier 2 in Brooklyn at the end of this month, try catching a glimpse of the floating pool that is coming our way. The pool, located on a barge that also houses changing rooms, is usually docked in New Orleans. It is being repaired in the hope that it will serve as one the city's parks-department-operated public pools next summer. A pool on a boat in the ocean, you say? How meta!

The Floating Pool: Coming to a Water Body Near You [ny4p]

[Diane Cohen]

Previously: In Bocca Al Lupo, Offering the Myrtle Branch, Flea-Bitten Hipsters in Williamsburg, Eating Out Cobble Hill, These Gay Bars Are Tops, Park Slope Wifi Without The Toddlers

Start your day with a system purge at the Cemberlitas Hammam, one of Istanbul's oldest and most atmospheric bathhouses. Don't go in looking for monkey business (though it's probably not unheard of on the men's side of the sex-segregated building); a traditional hamam experience is all about socializing and having several pounds of dead skin sloughed in dirty brown ropes from every inch of your sorry self. Cemberlitas isn't cheap - about $25 for a full wash - but you have to ask yourself how much getting soaped up and scrubbed pink by a middle-aged, size 22 Turkish woman with pendulous breasts in a 500 year old building is worth. A wash/massage combo will set you back $35, plus tip.

At the mouth of the Golden Horn, walk across the Galata Bridge. Pick one of the water level restaurants perched on its pontoons and get a fresh fish sandwich (balik ekmek) and a soda for about $2.00. The glorious view of old Istanbul is free.

Take one of Europe's oldest funiculars ($.67) up to Tunel Square at the edge of the Beyoglu neighborhood, the heart of the modern city. Those in the know base themselves in this neighborhood, which more than makes up for its lack of tourist sites with exceptionally good eating and drinking and a hopping nightlife.

Stop for drinks at the slick yet friendly Leb-I-Derya, a 5th floor rooftop restaurant with a sob-inducing view of the Bosphorus, Golden Horn. Smugly raise an $8 glass or two of Turkish Kavak (red) to all the glorious Sultanahmet tourist traps you have so cleverly left behind. But don't eat yet.

Stop by the goofy Roll shop near the Galatasaray Hamam. You and I both know 70's brand logo t-shirts are so 2002, but Roll's $12 t-shirts sport retro Turkish brands such as Dee Dee Tee bug spray and Anadolu sedans, so it's totally different. Deep in the Byzantine alleys of Beyoglu, look for furniture designer Tardu Kuman's gallery Stoa. He uses local and tropical wood, leather and recycled metal to create furniture that will last until the coming of the next Ottoman empire. There's nothing you can afford there, so keep walking.

Perusing LA Weekly's Best of LA, we came across the category Best Place to Find a Dead Clown which is terrifying for a number of reasons, chief among them that that implies there are multiple places to find a dead clown and among them, some are better than others. The Best is a shadowy organization called the California Institute of the AbnormalArts. The CIA houses the remains of Achile Chatouilleu, an American circus clown who died in 1912 and requested his body be forever enshrined in his clown get up. Among other relics (smallest freemason, fiji mermaid, alligator boy) the Institute also welcomes "barely clad beauties who pose seductively on beds of nails, the Girlie Freak Show" and other vaguely morbid vaguely arousing side shows.

Best Place to Find a Dead Clown [LA Weekly]
CIA
Through Clowning [Salon]
Uh-oh! Freakout Coming On [LAT]

Previously: Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island to Close, LA Suite: A Pomeranc Production, Juxtaposition Mania in LA, I'll Have the Bemused With A Side of I'm Disgusted, Chicken Cafe, Mono No Aware

Disneyland recently announced it would be closing its classic Tom Sawyer Island attraction in the near future. The old skool ride will be replaced with yet another Pirates of the Caribbean ride. TSI, as fans call it, is the least high-tech of any Disneyland attractions. There are rocks, you climb on them. There are paths, you walk down them. There are treehouses, you enter them. That's about it. But the 50 year old ride, the only one Walt himself designed, is the last remnant of an America where children read. One of the reasons the place will be shuttered is that children no longer know who Sawyer, Finn or even Twain are. Despite its lo-fi nature, TSI has a loyal fan base which is up in arms (all right, toy pistols) about the whole thing. No one more so than the man who plays Slave Jim, who'll have to shuffle off to find another role in the ever shrinking world of black minstrelsy with a sigh and a "Dat's a cryin' shame, sho' nuff."

Good-bye Tom Sawyer? Will Disney abandon book lovers for 'Pirates 2.0'? [Themepark Insider]
TSI To Close [Miceage.com]
Tom Sawyer Island Appreciation Page

Previously: Banksy Contagion, Disneyland Podcasts, A Free Ride to Disneyland, Only So Much Disney Magic to Go Around, Honkonh Disneyland Update: Shark's Fin Too

There are a lot of places to get rub downs in Tokyo and some of them even involve obese Japanese women covered in green goo. But there are, perhaps equally as many places to get a scrub down, the unerotic variety involving exfoliation at the hands of a usually surly masseuse. One of the best places to ditch your dead epidermis is a spa called Adam and Eve in Minato-ku. Adam & Eve, one of the many sento or bathhouses scattered through Japan. This one, recommended in the Wallpaper* city guide, "is a segregated 24 hour, no-nonsense Korean scrub down joint." Try to avoid eye contact, Wallpaper warns, with "the joint's other habitues, many of whom seem to be covered in tattoos and to sport bouffant hairstyles," while Luxe City Guides says, beware of "Korean grannies in armored bras." According to Tokyo mag Metropolis, the place isn't so hostile that Pierce Brosnan forsakes it. Brosnan has been spotted pink-faced and refreshed at Adam & Eve but then again, the man was Bond. A 30 min exfoliation goes for US$33.

Adam & Eve
3-5-5 Nishi Azabu, Minato-ku
PH: 03-5474-4455

Bathhouses of Tokyo [Metropolis]

Previously: Sobouru Basement Cafe, Forbidden Fruit, Quatre Cafe, Dorito Wars: USA 0 Tokyo 1, I Saw The Sign (Cafe) And It Opened Up My Eyes< Nakamura Gen: Tokyo's Incognito Restaurant, Half-Assed Japanese Elvii, Shanghai Bar

Note:: We are not following George Allen's footsteps, it's just that there aren't any photos online of Adam & Eve. And this one is indicative of the sort of hot spring water found in many of Japan's bathouses. Japanese people aren't monkeys.

While the film Death of a President is causing waves at the Toronto Film Festival, we thought it would be a good time to sit back and recount the US Presidents who have died within the limits of our fare city of New York City. The list isn't quite as long as one might have hoped but 3 out of 42 ain't bad. Here are the must-see sites for fans of Dead Prez.

123 Lexington Avenue, New York City: Chester Arthur died here Thursday November 18, 1886. Age 56.
West 122nd Street: Grant's Tomb. Though Grant died in nearby Saratoga County, both his and his wife's body is interred in this large mausoleum.
100 East 50th Street: President Herbert C. Hoover died in room 31A of the Walford Towers. Now a Conrad hotel, guests can still stay in the room where Hoover, in 1964, died at age 90.
Northeast Corner of Lafayette and Prince Streets: President James Monroe died in 1836 here of heart failure and TB. He was living with his daughter and her husband, Samuel Gouverneur, in their home. He was buried in the New York Marble Cemetery at 41 1/2 2nd Avenue before being re-interred in Virginia in 1858.

Previously: Surf the Serifs in NYC, Leguggenheim and other Legoized Landmarks, NYC Through Time Great Way to Waste Time in NYC, I Hear New York, Top of the Rock Party Crash, New York 2016

There seems to be no irony cut-off point in Shoreditch these days. Witness next weekend's . Taking place on the 24th September, and heavily sponsored by the obligatory drinks companyJameson there are no fees, no committees and precious little tartan (unless Confused and Dazed says it's ok) but there are 18 holes twice as many pubs and novel hazards in the shape of kebab wrappings, unlicensed minicabs and disorientated viral PR marketeers still out on the lash. And the equally obligatory DJs from XFM.

[Text: Sarah Turner Photo: Jenn Conspiracy/Flickr]

Previously: Gimme Shelter: Hotels of Import to Music Geeks, Pricey Sex Toys in London, Music Tours: London Part I, Britons Preserve Historic Tradition of Pillaging, Architours: London and LA, Lose Some Pounds in London, Christmas in Londontown

Gridskipper sees a trip to Tokyo in our future after perusing Radar magazine's online photo tour of Japanese sex clubs taken from the upcoming book by Joan Sinclair Pink Box. They've really explored all the permutations of desire your little pervy heart can desire (certainly all the one's my pervy heart desires). Fat girls, mermaids, airline stewardesses, magical middle-schoolers, magical middle-school airline mermaids, all willing, for a price, to give a you a series of things that end in -jobs. Gridskipper's pick has got to go to , "a rotating sushi breast-touching pub" where

Black lights and techno fill the club as girls with names like "shrimp" "tuna" and "urchin" rotate customers every two minutes.

Also, don't forget Tokyo's in the running for most fetish-friendly city and, 'scuse me for sayin' this but I haven't seen any "bath with naked women in green gel bathtub" clubs in Berlin! Vote here!

Fantasy Island [Radaronline]
Japanese Fetish Club Tour [Fleshbot]

[Photo: Joan Sinclair]

Previously: I Love Love Hotels, Hostess Bar, Her Eyes, They Never Stop Accusing, Otomoe Road, Tokyo Undressed

In 2003 (the last year information is available), the LA coroner's office dealt with 9,592 deaths (though 19,039 were reported) which makes them a pretty lively coroners. So it comes as a suprise to see they've also had time to develop their own line of "quality souvenir" items for morbid tourists. Among the "better" items in the "Skeletons in the Closet" boutique are the BBQ apron (it reads LA County Coroner Has Heart, then has two pockets, one for Spare Hands, one with Spare Ribs); magnets with a corpse that read "Stay Cool!", garment bags labeled "Body Bag." So if you're still hungry for death kitsch after your murder victim inspired gelato, stop by the Coroner's office and let the desecration begin!

Skeletons in the Closet [LA County Coroners via Los Anjealous]

Previously: Bar 107: Because Hollywood Is So Fucking Vapid, Man, Los Angeles Pee Zones, Art Season Hits LA, A Free Ride to Disneyland

Falling under the realm of festivals that sound like college courses, Conflux is an annual festival of "contemporary psychogeography, the investigation of everyday urban life through emerging artistic, technological and social practice." Gotta love festivals that celebrate social practice. Artspeak aside, I went to last year's and you don't have to be a maverick artist to enjoy it. It is basically a three day (Sept 14-17) gathering of really smart urban obsessed artists and the laypeople (me, a bunch of girls wearing tortoise shell glasses) who love to participate in their projects. This year scheduled projects include a free water taxi whose course is determined by the tides, a Baghdad-NYC walking tour mashup, a 6 block x 6 block wireless game of Othello and an aimless 24 hour walking tour hitting all five boroughs. Thankfully for that, you can join and drop out as you please.

Conflux 2006

Previously: The Games People Play, Gaming the City, The Lonely Planet Guide to Experimental Travel, London's Quietest Places, Music Tours Part I: London

Summer's obsession with swimming holes is giving way to a more autumnal fascination with experiencing the water without actually being in it. And let's face it: it's a lot easier to find water clean enough to float on than water clean enough to swim in. Here are some of Gridskipper's favorite ways to surf the city's waterways and stay dry.

Ferry to Staten Island:
Staten Island is home to the Wu-Tang Clan, Ralph's Ices, a killer Salvation Army and a zoo. But getting there may still be the best part of the borough. The Staten Island Ferry is a free way to see Manahatta's skyline while encountering some colorful characters on board.

The Circle Line
New Yorkers tend to shy away from sightseeing tours, but how often do you get to circumnavigate the whole island of Manhattan and see its 3 rivers, 7 bridges and incredible skyline? If you don't want to listen to the guide, turn on your iPod and have your own soundtrack. Circle Line also has Wednesday night Blues Cruises with live jazz. Cost: $29, Blues Cruise $32-45

Fishing:
New York's waters contain all kinds of fishable and marine life from striped bass, eel, to bluefish. And, the city's health department says they are all safe to eat. Instead of taking fishermen to Montauk or Jamaica Bay, guide Joe Shastay takes his clients to fish by the Statue of Liberty, the UN, and the Brooklyn Bridge. You can enjoy the views, harass some fish, and bring home dinner. Cost: Friday thru Monday, $450.00 Tues thru Thurs., $550.00 for a 4.5 hour trip. For a free fishing spot, head to Stuy Cove which is lined with DIY urban hunter and gatherers.

Staten Island Ferry
Circle Line
Urban Angler

[Text: Amanda Kludt Photo: Jezzerjohnson/Flickr]

Previously: Caracas Arepas Bar, Hummus Taste-Off, East Village's Enoteca Barbone, Knife+Fork: Gourmet Gorge Fest, Bryant Park's Beauteous Bathrooms, Pratt Sculpture Park, Dada at MoMa: Nuhuh

One wouldn't think one half of Tenacious D and a Mormon could bring Mexican wrestling to the American public eye. But it has and it might be the best thing Jack Black has ever done for mankind. Lucha Libre, or Free Wrestling, is Mexico's version of the WWF (Wrestling, not Wildlife) except without all the Ed McMahon fakeness. Despite the funny masks, these guys are for real. Photographer Malcolm Venville's new book entitiled Lucha Loco is a collection of portraits of Mexico City's masked wrestlers akin to Timothy Greenfield-Sander's porn star portraits. That is, it belongs to the "They're people too" class of portraiture. Though the book doesn't drop until November, many pictures are online along with fascinating interviews. Like this one, excerpted from an interview with Super Porky:

About fifteen years ago, a fellow wrestler died in my arms. It was La Fiera, me and Oro against Chaos and his two partners. Someone flung his arm around Oro and I thought it was just a slap on the throat but the impact was too strong and broke his neck. I took him out of the ring and told him he could make it...Everyone thinks wrestling's a pack of lies, and believe me I wish it were...God has taken away more than one partner from me up there.

Lucha Loco

[Photo: Malcolm Venville]

Previously: Lucha Libre Con El Washington Post, Pic of the Day: Mexico City,Malverde Bar: Ironic Kitsch Moves South of the Border,Terrasse Renault, Dogwalking Mexico City, That Sinking Feeling In Xochimilco

2006 is a great year for trailers. First, Starwood Hotels takes to a double-wide to promote their new boutique hotel aloft, then Rabbi Shmuley Boteach climbs into a Jetstream to bring Shalom in the Home to dueling families across the nation and now, Storycorps' mobile recording booths are winding their way through the country collecting stories like a narrative ornithologist. Storycorps invites the daughters to interview mothers, friends friends, brothers sisters and enemies enemies. The result is a patchwork quilt of American narrative. The idea behind Storycorps, that we all have interesting stories, is suprisingly well born out in those collected thus far. The website is full of recorded tales of quotidian adventures from days past as well as reveries, elegies and even eulogies. Now you can interview whomever you wish about whatever you wish, go ahead, ask your dad those awkward questions about where he went late at night, or your grandfather about what it was like growing up in on the streets of Roumania. Right now the booths (one East, one West) are in Portland, ME and Kansas City, MO, respectively but they'll be moving to Boston and Little Rock soon.

StoryCorps Schedule [NPR]
StoryCorps [Listen here, Official site]

Previously: aloft in Second Life, Duran Duran Follows, Cinque Terre in Portland, ME, Bigfoot Lives, Tripmaster Monkey, Matt Gross: Cheapo Circumnavigator, National Geographic Blog Born

Hotel Bed Jumping HQ is a blog dedicated to... jumping on hotel beds. There are young people and old people. There are nubile college girls and schlubby middle-aged men. There's even a post dedicated to waxing rhapsodic about virtual bed jumping in Second Life. As far as at-work timewasters go, it's not quite Googly Eyes on Cock (NSFW), but it's certainly good for a chuckle or three. We salute you, intrepid bed jumpers!

Hotel Bed Jumpers HQ [Official Site]

[Text: Neal Ungerleider Photo: Hotel Bed Jumpers HQ]

Previously: Morally Diminished Blog Gives Hope, Pause, Perhaps STDs, Things To Eat Before You Die, Fashion Philly Style, Where Street Art Thou?, Phnom Penh: Gastrocambogooglocartography