When a New Yorker is dropped in the middle of the Amazon and only eats fruit and yucca for weeks, the temptation to eat adorable animals becomes unavoidable. So says Redditor and UWS resident Aaron, who posted photos of his journey to Peru to prove that he in fact "begrudgingly ate such natural wonders as armadillo, turtle, crocodile, toucan," and yes, "a f*cking sloth." He describes the taste as "one of the few absolutely disgusting animals we ate. It was really, really tough, and there really wasn't that much meat." Also, the sloth in the photo above holding a human hand (not Aaron's) is alive, but wouldn't be for much longer.
Photos: NYC Man Eats Sloth, Other Exotic Animals
Time Lapse Video: What Does Superman See When He Flies Over The Earth?
Have you ever laid down in the grass and found yourself in a staring-contest with the stars, wondering what Superman, Silver Surfer and Jeebus see when they fly over the Earth? Now you can get an idea in the very cool time lapse video below. Over 600 photos were taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbited the planet at night. The video, assembled by science educator James Drake, begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America—you can see cities lit up like Lite-Bright pushpins and flashing blue storms—before entering daylight near Antarctica.
Flight From JFK Crashes Into Two Pieces In Guyana, No Fatalities Reported
A Guyana-bound plane that departed from JFK airport yesterday carrying 140 people crashed and broke into two pieces around 1 a.m. this morning, seriously injuring four, but miraculously caused no deaths. A woman on the plane said there was a loud noise as the plane landed, and everyone began screaming. "It was terror," she told a Guyanese news outfit, "I was praying to Jesus."
Miracle Bucket Saves Brooklyn Woman After Capsizing
A Brooklyn woman who had traveled down to her home country of Guyana to spread the ashes of her late brother ended up in the throes of an incredible near-death experience along the Corentyne River. For 36-hours, Sherry Haynes clenched onto a 5-gallon bucket after the capsizing of a water taxi that would take the lives of a friend, her sister and in all likelihood her nephew. Besides the bucket, the Crown Heights woman says that a combination of prayer and hopes of seeing her 19 year-old daughter again kept her alive. “I never in my wildest dreams anticipated that this was what I was coming for, for all these funerals," Haynes said. She plans on bringing the bucket back to Brooklyn with her.
Watermelon, Debate Casualty, In Season
We don't have the luxury of forgetting indefinitely because this is not a sustainable proposition. By the time my kids are my age, they're going to look back and say, "You did what with the last drop of fossil fuels? You pushed a watermelon from Chile to your door so that you could eat it out of season? What were you thinking?"
Flying Monkeys! Man Boards Plane With Monkey Under His Hat
Emergency newswires are reporting that Port Authority cops requested that the Emergency Services Unit hustle over to Laguardia's main terminal this afternoon - and with a cage - because there was a monkey on the loose inside the airport. The animal apparently arrived at Gate B6 on Spirit Airlines' Flight 180.
Quixotic Sailors Love New York Harbor
The Abora 3 itself is “old school” to say the least. Built of 12 tons of bundled reed by the Aymara-Indians in Bolivia, the Abora III was shipped to Liberty Harbor, New Jersey to be prepared by Gorlitz and his crew.more ›
Get Your Ph.D. From The AMNH
The first class of students will enroll in the fall 2008. John Flynn, the lead curator at the AMNH who recently discovered South America's oldest and best-preserved primate skull and rodent skulls with colleagues, was named Dean of the school.
NYC Had the Worst Airport Delays
In less than shocking news, New York City had the worst airport delays in the whole country. Not only are Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports very crowded, bad weather was also a factor making 2006 a record year for airport delays.
Opinionist: ¡El Conquistador!
Before the house lights dim, ¡El Conquistador! begins with a breezy prologue by the play’s sole live performer, Thaddeus Phillips, who introduces the audience to the quirky world they are about to visit. His story is set in an upscale condo in Bogota, where apartment dwellers are never issued keys to their buildings. Phillips tells us that for security reasons, metropolitan Columbians are usually at the mercy of their doormen who, in ¡El Conquistador! at least, find work to be a constant distraction from their telenovela TV shows.
The Cinecultist's Weekly Movie Picks: Man Child edition
about a tiny jewel thief and the family who puts him in diapers thinking he's a sweet baby. Awww, isn't it adorable when Marlon smacks Shawn upside the head with a frying pan?
Going Below the Equator: Sampaist
, led by editor Leandro M. Pinto. While we need to brush up on our Portuguese, we have learned that it's the start of winter down there (!!), subway service is being changed because of the World Cup schedule, and there's even a Critical Mass-esque event to promote bicycle and other non-auto means of transport. So, for a quick trip to South America, visit Sampaist.
Extra Extra Tuesday Is So Boring Edition
- David just got back from South America and has been putting up great glacier pictures. Or are those fjiords? And Joe also took a big trip-- to Greenpoint!
Map of the Day: Manhattan Coastline!
Today is Historical Map day at Gothamist-- starting with this great map of the Manhattan Coastline from PBS' Center of the World show. Check out how skinny Manhattan was back in the 1650s! Doesn't it look exactly like South America? We haven't been able to track down any New Amsterdam Google Map Mashups, so we've had to hit the archives: check out the maps at Fordham's library, this cute tour of New Netherland, and our all-time favorite map of New Amsterdam. Does anyone else have any good historic Manhattan maps links?
South America Is En Fuego!
First it was Australia, then it was New Zealand . . . now the next New World wine region to capture the hearts and taste buds of New Yorkers is South America. What makes this region so spectacular for easy to drink, plush, fruity wines is the perfect climate. Grapes get to bask in the warm Latin sun – enjoying a particularly long ripening season. Kind of like the holiday we wish we could take. Rain and frost are non-issues and with plenty water from irrigation those lucky grapes are more spoiled then the tenants of 927 Fifth Avenue.
Roots
There’s been much debate about Old World vs. New World wines - which wines are better, the role of tradition, the opportunity for scientific advancements – Gothamist could go on forever, but we will not. To us it’s not a choice and either style can be fabulous based on what we are looking for at any moment in time. What interests us is the back story, the untold story of how the two worlds came together to save wine as we know it today (insert overture to “West Side Story” here).
2012 Olympic Plan: Divide and Conquer
Some insiders are saying that, while it's really too early to count votes, New York would have to win votes from Central and South America, Asia, and parts of Europe. Why would Europeans vote for New York? Because if Paris wins, hopes of their countries hosting the Summer Games in 2016 are gone. New York is also establishing plans of promoting the "lesser known" sports after the 2012 Games, making use of facilities that would be constructed for the games.
Vegan Father Wants Baby On Vegan Diet
What's That in the Sky?
Look! Up in the sky! It's Superman, no wait, it's Spiderman, no wait, it's Underdog, no wait, it's a whole lot of dust and aerosols! Led by scientists at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, research has shown that the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface decreased by 1.3% from 1960-1990. The cause of this dimming is the ever increasing amount of made-made aerosol particles in the atmosphere. The aerosols reflect and absorb incoming solar radiation. They also alter the optical properties of clouds, making them more reflective. The cooling effect of the aerosols is counteracting the warming effect of increased greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. In other words, were it not for the aerosols the climate would be warming faster than it currently is.
Touched For the Second Time
Of course, Gothamist is linking to Madonna's Like a Virgin - there is nothing else we can do.
New Jersey Blob
Apparently the stinky mass in Little Egg Harbor's lagoon was not some rotting carcass or a mass of sewage, it was just algae or vegetative waste. With the blob at about 8-feet by 10-feet and smelling like rotten egg (and it's Little Egg! ha!), the NJ township called in the state's Department of Environmental Protection to remove it, and the Times detailed the team's efforts, including one intrepid man's lassoing of the blob.



