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The 15 all-time best travel movies

Travel movies are practically an institution by now. The genre has dozens of sub-genres: the entitled white woman travels to a foreign locale and bangs an exotic dude while discovering herself subgenre (Eat, Pray, Love; Under the Tuscan Sun; The Holiday), the douchebag bros traveling around getting laid subgenre (Road Trip; EuroTrip; the Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle trilogy), the traveling while being hunted by murderers / serial killers subgenre (Deliverance; Duel; Identity; The Hills Have Eyes; Jeepers Creepers), and so on.

There’s a lot of crap in the genre. But there’s also a ton of brilliant, life-altering shit in there, which you should absolutely watch if you want to get the inspiration for your next big trip. So here’s my list of the all-time best travel movies. A quick side note before I start: The criteria is that at least some characters in the movie have to be travelers. So a movie doesn’t count just because it’s set someplace exotic. Also, I have to have seen it. Sorry, Bollywood.

15. Midnight in Paris

Especially for readers and movie buffs, travel is often less about visiting an actual place than it is about visiting the place as described by your favorite writer — Hemingway’s Spain, Joyce’s Dublin, or Faulkner’s South. Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris takes a nostalgic screenwriter (played by Owen Wilson) and allows him to travel back in time to the Paris of the 1920s, back when it was chock full of the best writers and artists in the world. If for nothing else, watch it for the awesome scenes with the drunken, macho Hemingway.

14. The Lord of the Rings trilogy

J.R.R. Tolkien considered The Lord of the Rings to be a single story, so I’m counting it as one here, even though the three movies add up to 9+ hours of viewing time. And yes: It counts as travel even if it’s in a mythical land. If you haven’t seen The Lord of the Rings, then I don’t know what the fuck you’ve been doing with your life, but it basically defines the word “epic.” And while many people consider director Peter Jackson’s inability to do anything at all with any sort of brevity to be the trilogy’s great weakness (his kids presumably hate it when it takes him 18 hours to make them toast for breakfast), it’s still an incredible story to watch. At the very least, it’s an amazing advertisement for visiting New Zealand.

13. Zombieland

It’s a road trip with zombies. I mean, what more do I need to say about it?

12. Dumb & Dumber

It doesn’t matter how dumb or dated this movie is, I will always love it, and I will probably always be able to quote it from beginning to end. Also, you get to see great American sights, like the plains of Nebraska (“That John Denver was full of shit,”) and Aspen, “where the beer flows like wine and the beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano.”

11. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

The movie, sadly, is not as excellent as Douglas Adams’ insanely awesome book or any of its four sequels, but that was maybe too much to hope for in the first place. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, it’s about a man who survives the demolition of Earth and then travels around the universe searching for a decent cup of tea. I suggest, of course reading the books first (which are full of useful travel advice, like, “Don’t panic,” “Always know where your towel is,” and “The secret to flying is to throw yourself at the ground and miss”), but in a pinch the movie will make your universe feel larger and stranger, which can only be a good thing.

10. The Darjeeling Limited

Other than maybe Slumdog Millionaire, no movie made me miss India quite as much as The Darjeeling Limited. It’s a Wes Anderson movie, so naturally full of whimsy and understatement, but the tale of three brothers taking a train across India to see their mother seems to capture the feel of being a stranger in huge, crowded, cluttered, confusing India perfectly. You can almost smell the country.

9. Thelma & Louise

Thelma & Louise is indisputably the best American buddy road trip movie all time. Yes, even better than Dumb & Dumber. It’s also a rare popular feminist movie, so that’s an added plus.

8. Life of Pi

Ang Lee’s adaptation of Yann Martel’s book Life of Pi is one of those rare movies that is actually better than the book. It’s about a young boy who is, along with an adult Bengal tiger, the only survivor of a shipwreck, and is stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is visually stunning and is one of those rare movies that looks even better in 3-D. See it that way, if you can.

7. Raiders of the Lost Ark

Of course this is a travel movie. It gets into the top 10 solely on account of its iconic map travel scenes. Technically, I could throw all three Indiana Jones movies in here (what fourth?), but Raiders is by far the best, and if it doesn’t put some swash in your buckle, nothing will.

6. Lost in Translation

One of the most defining parts of travel is the sense of feeling isolated, exhausted, and culturally cut off. Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation manages to convey that perfectly, while also making Tokyo look pretty fucking incredible. The fact that Bill Murray didn’t win the Oscar for this movie is proof that there is no God.

5. Up

You really don’t need to say anything about Up except that it’s a Pixar movie, but it’s also an incredible travel movie. I always worry that I’m going to turn 60 and find that I haven’t been to all of the places that I want to go, and to that, Up answers, “Who cares?” Ultimately, it’s a movie about living life to the fullest no matter what your age. Also, it has talking dogs.

4. In Bruges

After a botched assassination in London, two hitmen go to the medieval Belgian town of Bruges to hide out. It is one of the funniest, darkest movies you’ll ever see, and if it doesn’t make you want to go to Belgium afterwards, nothing will. Except maybe waffles.

3. The Before Sunrise trilogy

Yes, I’m cheating by putting two trilogies on here, but the Before Sunrise collection is not only the best travel trilogy of all time, but the best trilogy of all time. You heard me, George Lucas. If you aren’t familiar with these movies, Before Sunrise starts with an American boy (Ethan Hawke) and a French girl (Julie Delpy) meeting on a train and getting off in Vienna to spend the night together before he flies home. The next two movies follow their relationship — in real time! — over the next two decades. Each movie really only contains three characters, Jesse (Hawke), Celine (Delpy), and whichever foreign locale they’re wandering around: Vienna in Before Sunrise (1995), Paris in Before Sunset (2004), and Messenia, Greece, in last year’s Before Midnight. Inexplicably, each movie is better than the last, and it’s an absolute fucking treat to watch.

2. Into the Wild

Watching Into the Wild is basically an act of vicarious wish fulfillment. Who hasn’t wanted to drop all of their belongings and leave home for good, committing to life as a wanderer? Into the Wild is based on the true story of Chris McCandless, who did just that for two years back in the ’90s. The movie focuses less on the problematic aspects of McCandless’s life — that he abandoned his family and didn’t tell them a thing about his whereabouts, or his wild irresponsibility in refusing to use maps in the Alaskan wilderness — than Jon Krakauer’s excellent book does, but it’s still an incredible movie, and will make you itch to get on the road.

1. The Motorcycle Diaries

The Motorcycle Diaries is the true account of two Argentine friends’, Ernesto Guevara and Alberto Granado, trip around South America on a rickety motorcycle named La Poderosa, or “The Mighty One.” Ernesto Guevara found himself politicized by the trip, and went on to become the Marxist revolutionary “Che” Guevara. Aside from being one of the most beautifully shot movies I’ve ever seen, The Motorcycle Diaries wins the top prize by being about how travel can be uncomfortable, exhausting, and fundamentally life-changing. Che Guevara’s world got bigger when he traveled, and for better or worse, that trip changed history. [image error]

Have fun during a polar vortex

I don’t live in a resort town, so there aren’t a lot of ways I can have fun in the snow (cross-country skiing through Central Park is surprisingly anti-climactic). The recent polar vortexes offered nature lovers the chance to perform some interesting experiments, such as how soap bubbles react to sub-zero temperatures in Canada. Based on this video, hanging out in -20°C (-4°F) weather can actually be kind of awesome.

5 reasons to go to Coachella

Photo: Thomas Hawk

1. The full-body reset

Leave your mind and problems at home and let your body get back to nature. The only thing you think of during the day is how hot you are and how much water and beer you should be drinking (one day I drank 20 bottles of water and 20 beers and peed thrice). Night falls and it’s still perfect weather for the beach. The beats are bumping and you could give a hoot about the unchecked emails in your inbox.

Last year, I was having trouble getting motivated to put in work on my thesis. It was the only thing I thought about, but the last thing that I wanted to work on. Coachella took it off my mind, and when I came back I was ready to make some progress. Use a getaway like this to give your brain a break from whatever you think about most.

2. The people watching

There are people everywhere. A lot of them use this weekend to do a lot of drugs in public. Watching someone scream, yell, and love on an inanimate object never gets old. My favorite times to people watch come during the nighttime main-stage events where all the different drug cultures come together to watch an artist they’re all familiar with. The ravers come out of their techno-tents full of flashing lights and pumping bass to mingle with the ultra-chill and relaxed stoners who sprawl out on the grass to enjoy the calming tunes, while the psychedelic crews are always close by, just wanting to touch everything with a look on their face that shows they aren’t anywhere close to this reality.

Everyone is fascinated and driven by something a little different, and the building tension is just hilarious to watch as they all come together to get a good view of the stage and listen to some music.

3. The technology

All of the lights. The lights. The sound. The video. I get geeky on it. Check out the video above and just think about all the work that had to go into setting it all up. Organizers also make a conscious effort to be as green as possible by having trash, recycling, and compost bins everywhere.

There’s even been a stage powered by a generator run off of people riding stationary bicycles, as well as several other very creative initiatives to minimize waste throughout the festival.

4. The artwork

Image courtesy of: Stephanie

5. The energy

You can feel it as soon as you enter the venue and it continues all weekend. It’s fantastic.

Research shows that if you’re trying to buy happiness, your enjoyment from experience-based purchases starts out high and goes up over time, whereas enjoyment from tangible goods like a new TV or clothes decreases over time. So if you’re in the market to perk yourself up with a purchase, make it a trip to Coachella instead of that new iPhone. [image error]

This post was originally published at The Quest for Awesome and is reprinted here with permission.

Norwegian beats Bill Gates at chess

My introduction to the game of chess began when I got my first Microsoft computer in the 1990s (when it was one of three games you could play without a floppy disk). You’d think that Gates, with his years of experience crafting computerized, impossible-to-beat versions of chess, would be able to ace any game. This video proves, however, that just because you’re smart, it doesn’t mean you’re good at chess.

With nine moves, 23-year old Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen beat Bill Gates in a televised match on Scandinavian TV. Carlsen has been playing chess since he was young, becoming a “grandmaster” at age 13. Just over a minute to p’wn one of the greatest media moguls in history? Carlsen wins at chess, and at life.

(H/T via Gawker)

The problem with 'green restaurants'

Photo: specialoperations

As much as I like to complain about New York — how it’s too expensive, how in most parts it’s been gentrified beyond recognition, how the subways seem to randomly switch to express routes without notice — it will always have at least one thing going for it: its restaurants.

When you say you live in New York, one of the comments you hear most is, “Wow, you must eat some great food.” And although the statement has become as stale as late-evening Balthazar bread, it is nonetheless true. There are Chinatown hole-in-the-walls, Michelin-starred Midtown classics, overpriced Meatpacking haunts, polished West Village gems, grungy East Village dives, jazzy Harlem hotspots, trendy Williamsburg diners — really any type of food in any borough at any time of the day.

Yet, as the city has cleaned up its act, so too its restaurants have become more gentrified and “progressive.” New York has become a modernized mecca with Citi bikes and restaurant health grades, and the city’s food options have followed suit. Now restaurants seem more about locally sourced, organic soup du jours than service — less about a delicious steak than a rare variety of kale. Whole Foods now holds more cultural cachet than the 21 Club, and while it’s great to pull up a wooden chair at Roberta’s in Bushwick after waiting on a communal table for over two hours, sometimes one doesn’t actually care all that much about a restaurant’s “cool” factor or environmental footprint.

Sometimes, all you want is to have a career waiter to treat you like a guest, to have your napkin folded upon returning from the bathroom, to have a menu of classic drinks void of “pomegranate martinis” or Manhattans wretchedly ruined with a “citrus twist.”

Perhaps these hipster-ized restaurants will be what save the world.

I suppose it’s a bit hypocritical to rail against this new breed of restaurant. After all, it’s my flannel-wearing, community-garden-volunteering generation that has done the bulk of the damage. The “classic” restaurant is a bit of an imagined ideal too. Let’s not forget that the classic culinary haunts we see on Mad Men and in our collective sepia-tinted memories are filled not just with starched white tablecloths and stellar service but also with cigar smoke and misogyny.

Perhaps these hipster-ized restaurants will be what save the world. Perhaps the “classic” restaurants I’m so fond of are simply unsustainable and a product of post-war excess that has since fallen out of vogue.

“Sustainability,” though, has moved from an admirable ideal to a bit of a marketing ploy. At Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s ABC Kitchen, waiters sport biodegradable sneakers and the utensils are (rather inexplicably) made of potatoes. Some might say places like Le Bernardin, Per Se, 21 Club, Le Cirque, and La Grenouille epitomize culinary pretension, but honestly, what’s more pretentious than serial do-gooders trying to shame you into eating at a certain restaurant or ordering a certain dish? Sometimes the steak frites looks best. No need to deprive yourself. Man cannot survive on quinoa alone.

As Sadie Stein over at the T Magazine noted, old New York restaurants seem to be preserved in amber, unconsciously chugging along, creating the same classic food and providing the same wonderful, slightly self-serious atmosphere ever since. We dine out for the cuisine and for the time with friends, but why we really dine out is to be treated like guests. We can always throw a dinner party or whip up something for ourselves, but to go out to eat is to have the expectation that we’ll be treated with hospitality.

It seems like a very simple give-and-take: The customer pays money, and the people who are receiving said money serve you. Yet, from Bell Book and Candle (the country’s first “rooftop-to-table” restaurant) to Smörgås Chef (a “farm-to-table” restaurant with three New York locations), you’re treated as though you’re lucky to have even landed a reservation, cast out onto wooden tables and chilly outdoor terraces. The ethos reflects something more along the lines of the stereotypically snooty French waiter than than the kind of dining experiences that have made New York — and dining in the United States in general — such a pleasure. Somewhere along the line, “eco-conscious” pretension overtook the charm of fine dining.

The first time I dined at the New York Grill in the Park Hyatt Tokyo (for a special occasion of course), I had what it’s most famous for: steak. A clean-cut waiter recommended the Grilled Yonezawa sirloin, and as I slowly cut, ate, and took in the 52nd-floor view, I realized the intrinsic irony of the situation. The restaurant and its adjacent bar were featured in Sophia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, and while its dark hues, spectacular view, and jet-setting power players certainly seemed to be ripped from a film, it could’ve been a film set not in Tokyo, but in one of the classic Manhattan restaurants that made the mid-century New York dining scene so alluring.

Perhaps I’ve entirely imagined the classic New York restaurant — The Russian Tea Room circa 1970, the 21 Club in the ‘50s, the Café Carlyle at any time — but even if I haven’t, well, surely it has fallen out of style, systematically replaced by healthier vegan and gluten-free options.

As I finished my drink and looked at my empty plate, not a bit of steak or potato left, I suddenly felt as though I were sitting in a museum, and while the Tokyo lights gleamed just as they do in New York, there was the indelible feeling of having been duped, of never being able to find a similar place in New York. At least not in this era. And likely, never again. [image error]

This post was originally published at Thought Catalog and is reprinted here with permission.

Pics of Iceland look like paintings

Photo: Andre Ermolaev

“It looks like an alien planet,” is how I often describe the geography of Iceland to friends. The terrain is just so totally different than anything I’ve ever seen – moss-covered lava fields, sloping mountains, and pools of glaciers, are all large geological features that make this small island unique. Seeing it from the ground is inspiring, but seeing it from the air? Why didn’t I think of that before?

Photo: Andre Ermolaev

Russian photographer Andre Ermolaev has been taking aerial photos of Iceland’s volcanic rivers for several years. He triumphs in not only capturing the natural beauty that is Iceland, but also goes beyond traditional landscape photography in that every picture also looks like a painting. The beauty in these settings is genuine as well — Iceland is a leader in sustainable practices, and citizens take pride in keeping their environment clean and healthy.

See more images at PetaPixel.com.

How I optimize for happiness at work

Photo: Josefe aka Hipnosapo

Fantasies. Unfounded expectations. Unrealistic goals. We know the negative effect they can have in our personal lives, but we seem to forget once we get to work.

We optimize for happiness at home and misery at work.

We strive to create a perfect living environment, and then neglect our working environment (where we spend most of our conscious time).

We know what’s reasonable and what’s healthy in our homes. We set reasonable goals and we attempt to pursue healthy lifestyles. But once we get to work, we set unachievable goals, cling to unrealistic expectations, and make unhealthy choices. This all leads to a toxic state of negativity and disappointment.

Where’s the logic in having two sets of rules for how we live our lives vs. how we run our businesses? Especially for us entrepreneurs — who know that in many ways our businesses are our lives. Trying to live by separate principles and practices is no different than removing all of the sugary snacks from your home, and then going into the office breakroom for a donut (or three) and not even questioning it.

Here’s the problem

It’s not that we’re trying to run our businesses by a different set of principles, just as we’re not trying to sabotage our diets when we shove that third donut in our mouth. It’s that we (usually) don’t pause long enough to genuinely consider our actions.

It’s a problem of awareness, rather than intentional neglect.

In other words — wake up! As anyone who’s tried to implement zen practices in their daily life knows, the lion’s share of any effort comes from reminding yourself to simply be aware. Without an acute sense of awareness (aka, turn off autopilot), most every other effort is futile.

How I’ve used zen at work

It’s through this simple practice of awareness that I’ve recently discovered the zen ideals I’ve been trying to implement in my personal life actually have a very welcome place in my business life. Here’s how it’s done.

1. Forget the fantasy.

Every industry has a fabricated image of what your company or career is supposed to look like if you’re a card-carrying member. Are you a startup? Are you automatically supposed to work 23 hours a day in a dark room with a case of Red Bull? No! And you certainly don’t need funding. You also don’t need to know all the answers of how you’ll scale and what your exit strategy is. If you have an idea you’re passionate about, just start doing it. Start stacking your bricks, one by one.

We have this notion of what a “startup” is supposed to look like, but it’s complete bullshit. Don’t waste any of your precious time trying to fit into some predetermined mold of what your business should look like. There is no “should.” There is only what you do. So start doing and stop listening to the noise.

2. Question your goals.

We set unrealistic goals all the time. But where are we getting these expectations in the first place? Often we choose our goals as a result of looking to the outside, at someone else and what they’ve achieved, not inward at what’s actually right for us. But there’s no logic in that. What’s right for someone else is almost never what’s going to be right for ourselves. The factors contributing to their successes or their failures will never mirror the factors contributing to our own.

So as tempting as it may be to set benchmark numbers based on what someone else has achieved, it’s completely unfounded and can actually be a dangerous path to go down. Be deliberate and honest with yourself when you set goals — especially ones you intend on meeting.

Additionally, reflect on things you’ve achieved that weren’t explicit goals. Celebrate small accomplishments and acknowledge all that you have done, rather than focusing on what you haven’t. Do this regularly.

Here’s a great video I find really thought-provoking. Tim Ferris and Leo Babouta debate the notion of not setting any goals:

3. Coax change.

This doesn’t mean change your plan every five minutes for no reason. What it does mean is actively looking for ways to induce opportunities for change. Question whether your previous goals are still the right target to be focusing on. Question whether your workflow still makes as much sense as it used to.

Think about what you’re doing and why…and be motivated to change it.

Just like anything else in life, the more you do it, the easier it gets — and the better you get at it! It’s one thing to say you’re agile, flexible, nimble…but it’s quite another to actually be those things. That, in fact, takes effort.

4. Stop under-estimating and start under-committing.

We under-estimate all the time. And we constantly over-commit. But the result of these actions isn’t limited to ourselves. We let down employees. We disappoint clients. Our bank accounts suffer. And our futures become uncertain.

Over-estimating and under-committing are great ways to lift the burden off our shoulders and give ourselves a chance to execute on beautiful works without unnecessary outside pressure.

5. Remember your intention.

Turn off autopilot and really think about what you’re doing at any given time during the day. In any situation, no matter how big or small, you have a reason for being there, for doing what you’re doing at that moment. You have a reason for writing that email, for calling that meeting, for saying those words.

Remember your intention as often as you can. Set regular reminders on your phone. I promise you, without a doubt, you’ll be more skillful in your actions. You’ll be more engaged in what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with. And ultimately, you’ll be more pleased with your outcomes.

“What you do today is important, because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.”

Remember, just like anything else you want to get better at in life or at work, you have to put in the effort. You are the only one in control of your own happiness. So do the hard work. And see the awesome results. [image error]

This post was originally published at Medium and is reprinted here with permission.

MatadorU Student of the Month: Dec

ONCE A MONTH, MatadorU faculty members get together to spotlight one standout student from a pool of faculty and student nominated weekly selections.

“I am a writer and photographer in Stuart, FL. I freelance for several papers and magazines and have a photography studio where I specialize in portraiture. I love what I do, but I would love it more if I could travel while doing it!” Find Alisha on Facebook and visit her website.

For the month of December, MatadorU Travel Photography and Travel Writing student Alisha McDarris was honored as our Student of the Month. Faculty members and students both loved her simple but evocative photography style. Alisha’s got a great eye for composition, and we’ve loved watching her skills progress. Following the completion of the photography course, she decided to start the Travel Writing course, so we’re thrilled to have her back in the student body and to continue working with her and watching her grow as a writing student.

We caught up with Alisha to ask her a few questions about her MatadorU experience.

Congrats, Alisha! We’ve been so stoked on your progress through your MatadorU courses. Tell us a little bit about your background.

I grew up in the Dayton, OH area: Tipp City, Troy, and Vandalia. I grew up playing outside and backpacking with my dad, writing novellas in notebooks during study hall in junior high, and taking photos with the first camera I bought myself in sixth grade. But I’m also into acting, which I’ve done both professionally and for fun since grade school. And of course I love to travel.

What would be your dream travel journalism opportunity?

I know every travel writer/photographer probably says the same thing, but my dream job would probably be providing stories and photos for National Geographic. But I’d also love to write for magazines like Backpacker and Outside that feature adventure-based stories because that’s how I like to travel.

We hope you’ve been having fun with the U! What’s been your favorite part of the process so far?

The feedback from educators. Often in the magazine/newspaper world you don’t get a lot of constructive criticism, so it’s nice when you finally do.

Now that you’re all the way through the Travel Photography course and have begun the Travel Writing course, do you have any advice for people out there who are considering signing up for a program like MatadorU?

Just do it. It makes the dream of travel journalism, photography, etc. seem achievable. But learn the basics first. If you’ve never picked up a professional camera before, learn how to use it first, then sign up for the photography course. If you don’t know the subtle rules of grammar and journalism, get comfortable with them before taking the writing course.

You’re currently a working writer and photographer — has MatadorU supplemented the work you’re already creating and putting out there?

It’s true. I write for local newspapers and magazines, often taking the photos that accompany the pieces. And I own Studio 509 Photography where I specialize in portraiture.

MatadorU has encouraged me (and educated me on how) to come up with ideas to pitch to magazines that I’d like to contribute to. It has me focusing more on my goals.

While I’m not sure it affected my portrait work much, now when I’m out shooting people I do occasionally wonder, “Hey, would this be a good shot for a magazine?” So I guess it’s shaped how I think.

Anything else you want to share about your experience?

Now that I’ve finished the photography course I better get started on the writing course! I’m interested to see which one is faster and easier for me to get through.

Student of the Month honorees are selected based on not only the quality of their work, but the progress they’ve made throughout the course, the effort and enthusiasm they show during their MatadorU journey, and their willingness to support and help their fellow students. Check out MatadorU.com for more information about our travel writing, photography, and filmmaking courses, and to learn how you can join Alisha in our community of travel journalists from around the world.

30 apocalyptic protest images, Kiev

Editor’s note: Ilya Varlamov is a photographer covering the protests and riots occurring in the Ukraine via his livejournal. His ground-level photojournalism captures the emotions of citizens reacting to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s rejection of trade agreements with the European Union. This conflict has been ongoing since November, 2013; each day, Varlamov ventures out to various parts of the country to capture the unrest and conflict.

Below are photographs Varlamov posted on January 23 from the capital, Kiev. Reddit user xtender5 provided translations of the captions. All photos are property of Ilya Varlamov and have been reprinted here with permission.

1


Europe Square. When it all started, there was a stage here, and politicians regaled the crowd with their brilliant ideas. Now the politicians have moved to the Maydan, and Europe Square has become a sort of rear area of the revolution. These vehicles deliver food, old tires, wood, medicines, and reinforcements.





2


Michail Grushevsky Street. The first barricade was built here. Guards do not let bystanders pass. Only press, activists (those prepared to clash with Berkut), or volunteers are allowed in. Rubberneckers are kept out, to prevent them from interfering with the work at hand.





3


This is the main fire barricade, next to the Dynamo stadium, about 100 meters away from the first. The barricade consists of hundreds of old car tires which have been brought here from all over the city. The demonstrators have been very lucky with the wind, which carries the black smoke into the Berkut and internal forces' lines. Neither side can see the other through the smoke and both sides are working blind.





Intermission





Protesting Feliciano: Images from a human rights march in Brazil





People across the world wrestle with who they are and where they came from





Reflections from a blind traveler












4


On the hill groups of onlookers follow the battle. The fight has been going on for four days.





5








6


Activists approach the lines with shields and throw rocks. No one can see the enemy but everyone has an approximate idea of how far Berkut can lob their grenades. The grenades are either flashbangs or tear gas which cause no harm at all to experienced demonstrators. The main thing is to avoid a direct impact or a detonation in your immediate vicinity, which can cause a concussion.





7


Fresh tires are constantly added to the fire. The smoke screen must be thick! At one point Berkut attempted to illuminate the Maydan positions with a searchlight.





8








9


As on every battlefield, there are scouts who keep a close eye on enemy positions. The man wearing the gas mask and carrying a shield will always tells you where it's safe. "Hold on, there's a bastard behind that column taking potshots. Don't go past this line. We'll get him out of there in a bit."





Intermission





11 images to remind us of the need for activism around the world





5 lessons from a prolific Kickstarter





What Istanbul’s occupied Taksim Square looks like from the air [vid]












10


Scouts constantly provide updates on the enemy and coordinate activists, who throw rocks and Molotov cocktails.





11


Internal Ministry troops turned several water cannons on the demonstrators. Amazingly, no one is particularly afraid of water. This scout is climbing up to the balcony to observe enemy movements behind the smoke screen. Those that got wet retreat to the fires to dry themselves. Many just walk around wet. There is a surreal atmosphere here. On one hand the exhaustion of the people is readily apparent. On the other, there is a certain euphoria and expectation of victory. In these circumstances, people ignore wet clothing. Only the volunteer medics demand that people dry themselves to avoid frostbite.





12


Activists with Molotov cocktails on the front lines.





13








14


Fireworks are occasionally thrown at Berkut. When one goes off, the whole square becomes lit in bright colors and the people scream "hurray!"





15


In reality, the center of Kiev is very beautiful now.





Intermission





How to report on protests: Getting involved vs. staying impartial





20 street-level scenes from the uprising in Brazil





23 laws from other countries the US should adopt












16


Somewhere there, hundreds of government troops prepare for the next assault. Assaults are always unexpected and very much dreaded. In the morning, Berkut showed that it is capable of dispersing the crowds in minutes. Why they have not yet done so remains a separate question.





17


To replace the captured and destroyed Catapult 1, came Catapult 2. In reality it is a slingshot writ large, but the nomenclature was retained.





18


A wonder of engineering! Catapult 2 has passed testing and has arrived in the revolutionaries' arsenal. The crew of the catapult consists of six people. Three extend the elastic band containing the missile, two hold the construction in place, and the last loads and carries ammunition.





19


The wonder weapon works well, but slowly. The missiles fly far into the darkness, but reloading takes almost 2-3 minutes.





20


Nearby in an alley, Molotov cocktails are prepared. In reality, most bottles contain either pure kerosene or gasoline. No one pays much attention to the correct proportions—no time. Empty glass bottles are in short supply.





21


Noticed these guys guzzling Pepsi and thought to myself, why would you drink this crap in freezing temperatures? Turns out that glass bottles ran out and someone dropped off several crates of Pepsi. So as not to let the soda go to waste, everyone piled on and drank the contents. In general, any glass container is usable, even little jars from baby food. Any glass container can be thrown at the police. On the front lines, refueling duties are handled by the activists of the "right sector," but in the rear areas bottles are filled by old ladies and young girls alike, anyone whom the guards at the first barricade stop from going to the front lines.





22


The bottles are indeed a problem. The contents of these is liquid, not gel, as it is intended to be in a real Molotov cocktail. The "fuse" is a simple rag. In the act of throwing, gasoline splashes out of the bottle and ignites on the thrower. He is, of course, quickly doused, but the effect is less that optimal. More that half of the cocktails spill before reaching their target.





23








24


The onlookers on the hill help in any way they can. One way is to blind the Berkut troops with lasers. At one point, the police climbed the colonnade at the stadium entrance and the Maydan resistance began to be pelted with Molotov cocktails and gas grenades. People with lasers try to either hit the Berkut troops in the eyes or to pinpoint snipers on rooftops. There are constant stories about snipers but no concrete proof of their existence has yet been found.





25


This volunteer on the front line is distributing dry, waterproof footwear.





26


A girl with a can of hot tea is serving an activist on the front lines. Some people bring sandwiches—others, dry clothing.





27


Fires behind the barricades allow wet and cold people to warm and dry themselves.





28








29


On my way back I run into a group of people attempting to pry open a manhole cover. "Why are you opening the manhole cover?" I ask. "Trying to close the water supply to the water cannons," they answer. The manhole remains closed. This is a government district and all the manholes are secured from the inside. The group then tried to break the manhole cover with a sledgehammer. I tried to explain that it's a futile exercise, but no one listened. The manhole, by the way, was never opened, and the water cannons continue to douse the demonstrators with cold water.





30

18 amazing glass floor experiences

I’ve never been afraid of heights in the traditional sense, but I’ll admit to small bouts of vertigo experienced while standing on glass floors like these. I think it’s the idea that I’m stepping out onto something delicate and thin, when realistically these floors are engineered to withstand massive amounts of weight, the elements, even bullets.

Here are 18 of the best glass floor experiences from around the world. [image error]

1

Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre
Location: Macau, China

Height: 1,109ft

Anthony Bourdain bungee jumped off the top floor in an episode of No Reservations.

Photo: myhsu






2

Peak 2 Peak Gondola
Location: Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia, Canada

Highest point in the ride: 1427ft above Fitzsimmons Creek

Each gondola is equipped to fit up to 28 people, and able to transport over 4,000 people per hour.
Photo: Andrew-Hyde





3

CN Tower
Location: Toronto, Canada

Height: 1,815.4ft

The CN Tower's EdgeWalk feature allows particularly ballsy visitors to walk around the outside rim of the tower, tethered only to an overhead rail system.
Photo: saschaaa






Intermission





24 exceptional ice sculptures





20 wanderlust-inducing book covers





Citylapse: New York City and San Diego












4

Willis Tower
Location: Chicago, Illinois

Height: 1,451ft

On a clear day, visitors can see three additional states -- Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin -- from the tower's skydeck.
Photo: daveynin






5

Spinnaker Tower
Location: Portsmouth, England

Height: 560ft

The glass floor at the Spinnaker Tower is the largest in Europe.
Photo: vinmar





6

Calgary Tower
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Height: 626ft

762 steps lead up to the observation deck of the Calgary Tower.
Photo: Yixler





7

Sky Tower
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Height: 1,076ft

The tower is designed to resist earthquakes; seismologists have stated that even an earthquake measured at a magnitude of 8.0, and located 12 miles away, would not cause the tower to collapse.
Photo: burritoes







8

Tokyo Skytree
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Height: 2,080ft

Locals were asked to vote on the tower's official name. Other choices included "Tokyo Edo Tower," "Tower of the Future," and "Dream Lookout."
Photo: *_*





9

Sea Life Sydney Aquarium
Location: Sydney, Australia

Visitors are guided through the aquarium via acrylic glass tubes and tunnels; it's home to more than 6,000 individual fish and other aquatic animals.
Photo: TheGirlsNY





Intermission





Pompey’s Pillar to St. Mary’s Peak – 1062 images in 2 minutes





The 54 best photos of 2012 [Matador edition]





12 looks at the modern skyline of Dubai












10

Sydney Customs House
Location: Sydney, Australia

The floor of the entrance corridor is transparent, and includes a 4.2m x 9.5m scale model of Sydney's Central Business District.
Photo: zayzayem






11

Tokyo Tower
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Height: 1,093ft

Tokyo Tower is more than a radio transmission structure. Travelers can visit the tower's aquarium, wax museum, amusement park, and the Trick Art Gallery, which specializes in optical illusions.
Photo: kadluba







12

Eureka Skydeck 88
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Height: 975ft

Visitors actually walk into something called "The Edge" -- a black cube that moves out over the building once a person has stepped inside of it. Once the cube has moved all the way out (approximately 10 feet), the glass turns from opaque to clear, revealing the city below.
Photo: atlai






13

Grand Canyon Skywalk
Location: Arizona, US

Height: 4,770ft

The Skywalk has received opposition from environmental groups, as well as from some members of the Hualapai tribe that manages it, for obstructing the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon.
Photo: L. Richard Martin, Jr.





14

Aiguille du Midi Skywalk
Location: Chamonix, France


The Aiguille du Midi Skywalk, aka "Step into the Void," officially opened to the public on December 21, 2013. It claims to be Europe's tallest skywalk attraction, at a dizzying height of almost 12,605 feet.
Photo: Darren Wilkinson





15

Sydney Tower Eye
Location: Sydney, Australia

Height: 1,014ft

This skywalk is a circular glass-floor walk around the tower's highest point. The tower itself was featured in Mission Impossible: 2, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, and Godzilla: Final Wars.
Photo: Read Every Day. Lead A Better Life.





Intermission





11 images to remind us of the need for activism around the world





30 images of Morocco we can’t stop looking at





Celebrating the sunsets of Seattle












16

Ostankino TV Tower
Location: Moscow, Russia

Height: 1,600ft

This tower has been the tallest structure in Europe for the past 46 years.
Photo: egorick






17

Skywalk 100, Shanghai World Financial Center
Location: Shanghai, China

Height: 1,614.2ft

Skywalk 100 is currently the world's highest observatory. Travelers get unobscured views of downtown Shanghai and the Huang Pu River.
Photo: Kenneth Moore Photography





18

Oriental Pearl Tower
Location: Shanghai, China

Height: 1,535ft

Up to 50 guests are transported via elevator to the various levels of the tower, which acts as a dining facility, hotel, and TV transmission point.
Photo: Ana Paula Hirama