All stories about "Hunter Walker"

Wishing you were Olympics-bound in Beijing, when you're actually stuck in the Big Apple? No need to fret. There are plenty of places in Chinatown offering a taste of the motherland. While out-of-towners usually stick to Canal Street and haggle over counterfeit purses and perfumes, those in-the-know steer clear of that mob scene and head to the surrounding blocks to shop and feast on the unique brand of Chinese food that New York has become famous for. Chinatown is open late, and it's easy on the wallet. Best of all, it's one of the last neighborhoods in the city that hasn't been completely gentrified and overrun by "hipster" hordes living off of the monthly checks their parents send from the suburbs. Better enjoy the cheap dim sum and chow mein now before the ever-expanding Lower East Side creeps southward, leaving Mott Street covered in condos, indie bars, and American Apparel outlets.

Remember the story about the pilgrim colony where the settlers all disappeared? The whole town vanished with no trace except a bunch of empty houses and a creepy message on a tree that no one understood. This post is going to be kind of like that tree message. I can't tell you anything about what's going to happen next here at Gridskipper or how I'm going to keep paying for the salmon roe, espresso, and fine Dutchmaster brand cigars that I need to keep me alive. What I can tell you is that I've learned so much while working for this crazy little web site. In fact, my time here has taught me so much that, as a parting gift to you, my dear readers, I wanted to share this list of the Top Five Life Lessons I've Learned From the Blogosphere.

Beaches in Spain and the Mediterranean are bracing for an "assault" of jelllyfish that's expected to hit the region this summer. The Economist says the massive jellyfish bloom in Southern Europe is just the latest evidence of a steep rise in the number of the stinging creatures caused by overfishing. [via]

There have been several high-profile Somalian pirate attacks in the past month, raising global awareness to the lawless conditions in the waters around the horn of Africa. CNN has aprofile of the pirates, who they say are armed with GPS and rocket launchers, make up to $40,000 a year, and have a 75% success rate. International law enforcement agencies are seeking new laws that would allow them to pursue the pirates past coastal waters. [CNN]

Does your idea of a fun Sunday afternoon involve crying babies? Then Tokyo's the place for you! Yesterday, the good people at Sensoji temple held an annual event at which sumo wrestlers scare the shit out of babies and the tot who cries loudest "wins." The religious types all think this exercise somehow promotes health and growth for the children. Reuters has a photo gallery of the event that's priceless. [Reuters]

Thomas Kohnstamm, the travel guide writer who made headlines recently after an Australian newspaper reported that he "plagiarised and made up large sections of his books," may not be the liar that many in the media (including yours truly) have made him out to be. I emailed with Kohnstamm this week to get his side of the story and he says he wasn't as dishonest as the press firestorm makes it seem. He claims the interview that sparked so much controversy took his statements out of context. Since Kohnstamm still does admit to cutting some corners in his work for guidebook publisher Lonely Planet, I'd take his claims with a grain of salt, but in the interests of fairness, I'm repeating them here.

I'm feeling a little out of sorts today, so I've decided to just post whatever I'm in the mood to blog about. Obviously, I've used this as an excuse to write up odes to some of the finest women in the world. No day of posting international hottie photos would be complete without acknowledging the Princess of Monaco, Charlotte Casiraghi. No less an authority on pretty women than Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld (who, regardless of his personal preferences, is constantly surrounded by gorgeous models) once likened Princess Charlotte to the famous French sex kitten Brigitte Bardot. Her movie star looks are to be expected, since Charlotte's grandmother is none other than Grace Kelly. In addition to her royal pedigree, killer tan, and piercing grey eyes, the 21-year-old Princess is also in possession of her own island off the Sardinian coast, which is a good thing because she looks damn good in a bikini.

There's a graffiti war going on in the bathroom at the Tenth Street branch of the Park Slope Tea Lounge. The bathroom at the popular cafe is filled with several heated exchanges that reveal the ongoing turf wars in the neighborhood. One prominent note on the wall reads: "To the Tea Lounge Nazis, do us the favor and f*** off." Below that lovely missive, someone scrawled an angry retort: "Then stay out of the Slope." Nearby, a seemingly innocuous message saying "music is the weapon of the future" provoked this reply: "disagree it's baby strollers." This graffitti is like a hate crime against the stroller yuppies in their holy inner sanctum. Can't we all just get along?

Since we're blogging about whatever strikes our fancy today, I thought I'd take this time discuss one of my all-time favorite topics-- beautiful women! Some of my favorite sources for sexy lady eye candy are the international editions of Playboy Magazine. Hugh Hefner's porno empire has spread throughout the world, and presently there are at least 25 international versions of the magazine. Each of these global remixes of Playboy has their charms. The Russian edition features hardcore chicks with tattoos and rippling muscles who look like they could survive a stint in a bleak Stalinist factory or kick the shit out of you in a bread line. Brazilian Playboy features naturally curvy, implant-free cuties. The best part of Brazilian Playboy is something called "Coelhinhas," which seems to involve regular girls sending in naked pictures of themselves to the magazine. To be quite honest, I'm not exactly sure what "Coelhinhas" are, I just know that whatever it is, I like it a lot. Anyways, I digress. All of the international Playboys are pretty great, but today I want to talk about the best one of them all: Playboy Germany.

I'm blogging live today from the Park Slope Tea Lounge. There is a surprising lack of stroller mommies here at the moment, but I do see some hardcore homeschoolin' going down at one of the desks. There was also this one great hipster guy in a pinkish flannel shirt having a serious nose picking session on the couches in front. I'm seated in the back near the bathroom and it's a bit awkard since I'm working on something that involves naked ladies and the people heading to the toilets keep catching glimpses of nipples on my screen. I've been experiencing some intensely disapproving glances from my fellow coffee house loafers. Bloggers clashing with chai drinkers! Only in Park Slope people, only in Park Slope.

Hey there friends! Today is a special day at Gridskipper! We have all been feeling a little . . . adrift since last Monday. Today, it occurred to us that it might be as good a time as any to make this site a little more homey, a little less like a job and a little more like the hobby it's been feeling recently. So in between giving you the travel news you come to us for, we'll also be journaling, Tumbling, Twittering, or whatever it is the kids are calling it these days until someone decides to tell us to run another stripper map.

City streets are getting more clogged and smog-choked than ever. To keep up with urban style mavens and fight back against future gridlock, car makers have recently released some ambitious concepts for city driving. We caught up with Jalopnik editor Ray Wert to take a look at some of the designs that may shape the traffic jams of the next century. After the jump, check out photos and specs for some of the latest urban concept cars.

Hey! What are you still doing here? In fact, what am I still doing here? I'm not really sure, but it's Friday and we're having ourselves one heck of a dream vacation contest.

Want to enter? Too bad friend, it's too late for that, but you can still vote to your heart's content. Just follow the link to the profile page for the entry you think kicks the most ass, and click the plus sign that says "follow this commenter." Don't write a message on the page though, well actually feel free to, but it's not a vote. Definitely don't write us an email though. That just pisses us off and it's not even close to a vote. (We kid, we will definitely help.)

Confused? Of course you are. Just try to relax. To help chill you out, I've run this post alongside the best nearly naked picture of Scarlett Johansson and her incredible breasts in a cheerleader outfit to ever grace the internet. Alright, to be honest, I actually ran that photo of ScarJo because it gave me an excuse to say "pictures," "breasts," "naked," "cheerleader," and "Scarlett Johansson" in the same post. That guarantees that this here post will get mad pageviews. Oh that reminds me-- Boobs. Yeah, I needed to get that one in there too. Don't believe me? Check back in a month, this thing will have more views than a Julia Allison sex tape. See that? There I go, I just did it again. God, I'm good.

Monkeys on Gibraltar are being treated to lethal injections since they've become a huge nuisance to tourists visiting the island's famous rock. Twenty-five of the macaques are slated to be shot full of poisonous chemicals following widespread incidences of people receiving monkey bites and having their homes vandalized by the troublesome apes. [Reuters]

Oh Japan. Words cannot express how much I love you. You always give us the best sex links. First, there were bar bunnies, and now there's this video of Tokyo cafes where dudes in French-maid outfits draw pretty ketchup pictures on omelettes. Perhaps weirdest of all, these cross dressing "maid cafes" are only open on holidays because all of the drag queens have day jobs. The miniskirted male maids also seem to insist that their behavior has nothing to do with homosexuality. Sure thing, fellas. The Reuters reporters who got the clip link this phenomenon to Japanese otaku or "nerd" culture. One of the best things about Japan is the way the freakiest sex subcultures are linked to the most mundane sectors of society. You've got the massage parlor and hostess-bar-happy salarymen and the geeks who love pornographic cartoons and kinky cosplay. If only things were more like this in New York, Silicon Alley would look like a fetish club and Midtown would be, well, still pretty much the same old Midtown. Check out the full footage of the Japanese drag cafe-maid madness after the jump.