Category: Adventure

Find YOUR Cool Museum!

~ mehopper

It’s officially summer, and baby it’s HOT outside!

Hot Outside

Stories like this are everywhere.

A Potent Heat Dome is Building Over the US, Sending Temperatures into the Triple Digits (Luke Snyder and Mary Gilbert, CNN)

Thus there are also many stories like this one about how to stay cool.

Here are 7 Fun Ways to Beat the Heat this Summer (Kelly Chan, Boston.com)

I was surprised to see that the above story didn’t mention museums, though.

Of course, I’m probably biased about this because I just updated my New Media Museum’s guide to learning about media and computing in the Boston area (NMM@Boston).

New Media@Boston
Media & Perception
Harvard’s Mark I & Hopper
MIT’s Whirlwind & Forrester
Artificial Intelligence & Robots
Logo & LEGO
Games & Immersion
Micro Center & MIT Flea

Not everybody is going to want to geek out to my guide.

Most folks are likely to opt for well-known museums like those in this article.

12 Boston Museums Everyone Should Visit at Least Once (Kristi Palma, Boston.com)

There’s actually a whole website devoted to the Museums of Boston.

If you’re further afield, here’s a website for finding somewhere to enjoy cooling off.

Museums & Galleries in New England (Visit New England)

Finally, if you’re nowhere near Boston, then there’s a site for you, too.

The 51 Best Museums in the United States (Condé Nast Traveler)

If you’re lucky, you may even have get free admission if you are a member of a museum in the North American Reciprocal Museum Association.

“The North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association® network is a mosaic of 1,470 art museums and galleries, historical museums and societies, botanical gardens, children’s museums, zoos, and more. When you sign up with your favorite participating NARM institution, you can receive reciprocal membership benefits across the United States, Bermuda, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.”

My membership to Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) includes it. If you have a museum membership, it’s worth checking.

Perhaps you’re feeling adventurous and want to try a museum that’s a bit off the beaten path, but is specific to your interests.

For example, if you’re into sports, there’s a Sports Museum located in Boston’s TD Garden (which is above where I catch the commuter rail).

Sports Museum

In fact, there are other sports museums here in this state.

Sports Museums in Massachusetts (Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism)

There are also hundreds of them around the country. You can find them here.

Sports Museums in the US (Museums.US)

Museums.US is a great place to find all sorts of museums.

Here’s a page with links to well over a hundred categories.

Museums in the US (Museums.US)

Although, I couldn’t help noticing that “illusions” wasn’t a category on the list.

This means that you wouldn’t find some of the experiences described in this post.

Perception, Illusions & Holograms@Boston (New Media Museum)

One of the experiences covered in the post is the Museum of Illusions, Boston.

It has illusions galore, and many of them are mind-bending!

Museum of Illusions, Boston

This museum displays a variety of well-known optical illusions.

Example Exhibits, Museum of Illusions, Boston

It also has many more elaborate exhibits such as an Ames Room.

Ames Room, Museum of Illusions, Boston
 
If you’re not in Boston, there are plenty of other neat museums out there.

Here’s a story about some of them.

10 of the Most Unique Museums In the United States (Nina Derwin, MSN)

The post includes the Idaho Potato Museum in, where else, Idaho. It covers the Neon Museum in Las Vegas, and last, but not least, the Spam Museum in Minnesota.

Of course, if you live anywhere near them, you’ve probably already heard of them.

Here’s a “somewhat” obvious trick for finding museums near you that you haven’t heard of yet.

Google “Unusual and Weird Museums, and then add your location to the search.

For example, my search for Unusual and Weird Museums in Boston included this article.

11 Quirky and Unusual Museums in Greater Boston (Celina Colby, The Boston Calendar)

The search also included this article from Atlas Obscura.

Unusual Museums in Massachusetts (Atlas Obscura)

If you’ve never hear of Atlas Obscura, then you MUST check it out!

Atlas Obscura: The Definitive Guide To The World’s Hidden Wonders

You’re bound to find something interesting near you.

Finally, it’s only fair to mention the museum that inspired this post.

Ice Cream Museum Boston

The Museum of Ice Cream is a “cool” and “instagrammable” place (and yes that’s a real word according to the Cambridge Dictionary).

One just opened in Boston, and there’s one in New York where it originally started.

You can also find one in Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas, Austin and even Singapore!

There you have it. I hope this inspires you to find a cool, refreshing experience near you!

However, if you prefer to stay ensconced in your air conditioning, then perhaps you might enjoy exploring this “Web World” with links to hundreds of virtual 3D and 360° experiences!

Click on objects to see 3D and 360° experiences, and click doorways to go to other Web Worlds.

If you can’t see it, or it isn’t working, you can also see it directly on Kuula.

You can find out more about “Web Worlds” in this post …

Hike, Wander & Walk-in the Web!

Stay Cool & Happy Summer!

Find out more about Museums@Cosma …

Enchanted Beach Houses

~ mehopper

I live in the Northeast, and I hate January!

I know it’s “almost” February, but I’m not a huge fan of that either.

This is the view outside my window right now.

There’s more winter left than I can take, no matter what the ground hog says this weekend.

Look at my weekend forecast from yesterday.

What the heck is freezing spray advisory anyway? I had to look it up on Wikipedia.

Freezing Spray Advisory is issued by the National Weather Service to warn sea vessels and sometimes road vehicles near the shoreline that accumulation of freezing water droplets and icing due to a combination of cold suspended droplets, wind, and cold air, so vessel movement is possible, however, accumulations are not expected to reach rates of 2 cm per hour, or else a heavy freezing spray watch, warning or a specific notice would be issued. — Wikipedia

Lovely.

I guess I should be grateful that it’s not a heavy freezing spray warning, right?

Somehow I just can’t muster that gratitude.

Being the beach person that I am, it’s at times like this that I do what I’ve dubbed “beachscrolling” — it’s a bit like doomscrolling, but far less depressing.

For example, my favorite walk between King’s Beach and Nahant Beach looks like this now.

So I go visit various web pages where I’ve posted this 360° image that I took years ago.

When I go to walk at Revere Beach, this is what it looks like at the Wonderland MBTA Station.

Here’s a view from the South end of the beach.

That’s when I get a bit of joy out of re-visiting this 360° image that I took a few summers ago.

Finally, sometimes I get bored with my own still pictures of local beaches. That’s when I start beachscrolling on YouTube looking for other people’s 360° videos of beaches that I loved visiting in the past. This is probably more aptly dubbed “beachstrolling.”

Here’s a 360° video by Ryan Kawailani Ozawa for beachstrolling on Waikiki Beach.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Ryan Kawailani Ozawa (YouTube Channel)

Last week I got a little carried away, though.

I decided it would be more visceral to have a 3D interface for beachstrolling.

Here’s an imaginary hut that I hacked together on Waikiki Beach.

Just click the doorway to take a beachstroll.

If you can’t see it, or it isn’t working, you can also see it directly on Kuula.

Now that’s a break from winter in New England!

One problem, though.

I love to beachstroll on South Beach, too.

Here’s a 360° video from YouTube for doing that.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

vr360videos (YouTube Channel)

There’s just one door in my tiny beach hut.

What to do?

Make a beach shack with more doors, of course!

If you can’t see it, or it isn’t working, you can also see it directly on Kuula.

I was happy with my new digs for a few days.

Then I happened to be updating all of the country pages on Cosma, and I came across a bevy of 360° YouTube videos showing awesome beaches in Australia. Here are a few of them.

Sydney Bondi Beach (SouthernCross VR, YouTube 360° Video)
Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia (Tourism Australia, YouTube 360° Video
Bells Beach Drone Interactive Flight. (Spin 360-3D, YouTube 360° Video)

That beach shack got an(other) upgrade!

Welcome to my Enchanted Beach House!

If you can’t see it, or it isn’t working, you can also see it directly on Kuula.

If you get bored with my set list and want to go somewhere else, here is how to do it.

Start by picking a beach. It can be one you’ve been to yourself, or any other one.

You can find plenty of great U.S. beaches on Stephen Leatherman’s Dr. Beach website. If you’re feeling more adventuresome, then you can take your pick from the best beaches in the world using CNN Travel’s Worlds Best Beaches website. They have an Interactive Map to help you find a great beach for “beachstrolling.”

Once you know where you want to go, then go to YouTube and put in the name of the beach followed by “360°.” Voilà, you will probably have plenty of gist for beachstrolling.

So a few things happened during my adventures in beachstrolling this week.

One of those things is that I got inspired to add a new category of links called “Fun in the Sun” to the country pages on Cosma.

In addition, I was listening to the radio and heard these lyrics to the song A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman.

There’s a house we can build
Every room inside is filled
With things from far away
The special things I compile
Each one there to make you smile
On a rainy day
— Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Now that was food for thought, and look what happened after that …

Welcome to Wanderlust Magic Travel Villa!!!


You can also explore it on Kuula.

Happy beachstrolling … and other travels 😉

Find out more about beaches, travel and the World…

Americas Canada, United States, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina
Europe United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece
Africa Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, South Africa, Madagascar
Asia India, China, Japan
Oceania Australia, New Zealand
Polar Regions Arctic, Antarctica

Umbraphiles

~ mehopper

umbraphile : One who loves eclipses, often travelling to see them.

You’ve probably heard about the April 8th solar eclipse (Wikipedia), and if you live near the path of totality, then you’ve probably also seen news stories like this one.

Party in the Path of Totality at These Solar Eclipse Getaways Across New England (Kristi Palma, Boston.com)

There are also a ton of stories like this about why this year’s eclipse is a such a big deal.

Why the 2024 Eclipse Will be a Different Experience from 2017 (Ashley Strickland, CNN)

While there are plenty of information sources out there, my favorite one is good ol’ NASA.

They even made a trailer about this year’s event.

NASA (YouTube Channel)
NASA (Official Website)

NASA will be streaming the eclipse live April 8 From 1 to 4 p.m. EDT.

2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA (Official Broadcast, YouTube)

Here’s a link to their neat interactive website for finding out “where & when” it will happen.

2024 Total Eclipse: Where & When (NASA)

They also have a dedicated webpage for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse, one for Eclipses in general and one with Safety Guidelines.

Now, you may or may not know, all of the fuss about people in the United States getting to see a total solar eclipse might be just a wee bit overblown. With all the hype about the tourism and special sun glasses, you may have missed a couple of stories pointing out that the event isn’t all that rare. Here’s one of those stories.

Total Eclipses Aren’t that Rare — and You’ve Probably Missed a Bunch of Them: They Happen About Once Every 18 Months (Sara Chodosh, Popular Science)

There is one group of people who know this well — they are the Umbraphiles, more commonly known as Eclipse Chasers. They are unique tribe, and their fascination with the celestial event tends to be described in terms well outside the realm of science.

Here’s a link to the article about them that actually inspired the title of this post.

Chasing Totality: A Look Into the World of Umbraphiles (Andy Wright, Atlas Obscura)

Better yet, here’s a talk by David Baron that may have single-handedly helped to increase the ranks of Umbraphiles over the last few years.

David Baron’s Talk (TEDxMileHigh)
TEDxMileHigh – July 8, 2017 (YouTube Playlist)
TEDxMileHigh – July 8, 2017 (Official Website)

So, one way or another, in real life if you’re lucky enough to be in a good place to see the eclipse, or online with NASA at YouTube, enjoy next Monday’s eclipse with safety and awe.

Then if you’re inclined to join the ranks of umbraphiles after that, here’s a handy list from Wikipedia that includes when and where future total solar eclipses will occur.

List of Solar Eclipses in the 21st Century

If you would like to become an Armchair-Umbraphile, then head on over to YouTube — there are a ton of 360° Videos of Solar Eclipses to enjoy anytime and anywhere.

Here are even more links that might be of interest to Umbraphiles.

History of Eclipses (Objectivity, YouTube)
Eclipses (National Solar Observatory)
Eclipses (Eric Weisstein’s World of Astronomy)
Eclipses (Wolfram Alpha)

Finally, if you’re into really rare celestial events, then keep an eye out for a star to appear sometime between now and September. Here’s a NASA story about it that I tripped over while doing research for this post.

View Nova Explosion, New Star in Northern Crown (Beth Ridgeway, NASA)

Have a great week, and may your weather be great for viewing if you’re in the path!

Find out more about the Sun, Moon, Stars and the Universe in general …

Beachy Adventures

~ mehopper

Hello, it’s been awhile.

You may have noticed that there haven’t been as many posts on Cosma as there used to be. There are a few reasons for this, but a big one is that, with an old project like Cosma, the focus on different parts of it must shift over time.

Last year’s focus began with cleaning up and expanding the content on the pages. The previous formatting wasn’t great, and there were quite a lot of broken links. They were pretty mangy, and it was time to deal with it.

Then the abrupt discontinuation of the 360° image hosting service called RoundMe required an additional focus on recoding and posting all of the Toy Worlds. You can see all of the re-posted Toy Worlds on Kuula.

Here is the main entry to the new version of Toy Worlds. Click on objects to find out about them. Use the menu or doors to visit other Toy Worlds.

While all of that was going on, the posts (which I call Adventures), a major priority for so long, fell by the wayside. Once upon a time there were over 200 of them that had been accumulating since 2016 when Cosma moved to WordPress after Wikispaces shut down (there were hundreds more posts there that were written over ten years and have never been re-posted here). Many posts on this site were outdated, and a lot of the YouTube videos were broken. I decided that it would be better to hide them until I had time to currate and repost them.

So, the time to focus on posts has arrived. Watch for many old and new “Adventures” to (re)appear in the semi-near-future.

I decided to start with (re)posting some “Beachy Things.” This isn’t because they’re all that central to the content of Cosma. They are not.

It’s just because whenever I start to work on something for Cosma, I tend to start with things that relate to my personal art and adventures, and those tend to be focused on beachy things. I attribute this to the undue influence of my pesky Hopper genes.

It is no coincidence that there are pages about beaches, lighthouses and sandcastles.

One of my first Toy Worlds was also a silly little beach scene. Here it is.

I first introduced that in this post called, not surprisingly, The Beach.

Here are other “beachy” posts that I spiffed up.

Beach Gazes
Gone Beaching!
Catch Some Waves!
Sand Art

I hope you have enjoyed this beachy break. If it has inspired you to visit a beach, either virtually or in real life, then check out CNN’s A Year of the World’s Best Beaches and Dr. Beach to find more sea, sand and sun.

Happy Beaching!

Zip the World!

~ mehopper

Virtual zipline rides are addictive, and they’re also a neat way to see the world!

I found this out by accident.

While I was planning a trip to Niagara Falls, I stumbled over a 360° video of a zipline ride.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Akron Drone Services (YouTube Channel)
Akron Drone Services (Official Website)

Then I watched it again “just for fun,” and that led to a “side adventure” that grew into this post.

That’s because watching the Niagara Falls video led to YouTube suggesting another minute long 360° video of a zipline ride in Cañon City, Colorado within Royal Gorge Bridge & Park.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Royal Gorge Bridge and Park (YouTube Channel)

Then another 360° video of a zipline ride by Superfly Ziplines in Whistler, British Columbia popped up. Again, only a minute long — innocent enough, why not?

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Superfly Ziplines (YouTube Channel)

How beautiful, not to mention seasonally appropriate, was that!?!? Show me more!

The next 360° video that YouTube suggested was of a ride at Zip World in Wales.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Orchard Immersive Tech (YouTube Channel)

Wahoooo! Notice that the speedometer on the video said 100 MPH!

That ride turns out to have been on the longest zipline in Europe and the fastest in the world. Great to experience virtually, but probably terrifying in real life!

A Google search showed that Zip World is a sort of playground for grown-ups with a number of jungle gym like “destinations.” Here’s a non-360° video about what they offer.

Zip World (YouTube Channel)

After watching ten 360° videos of zipline rides in under 15 minutes, it occurred to me that ziplining is a “thing” at tourist destinations, and taking 360° videos of the rides is too. I couldn’t help but wonder, how many more 360° video clips of rides are there out there?

A YouTube search for zipline+360 turned up hundreds of results from all over the world!

Better yet, the rides themselves are only about a minute’ish long, by definition, and they’ve got great bird’s-eye views of scenery that you wouldn’t see otherwise. If you’re into seeing great places, what a way to do it!

Happy Zipping 🙂

If you enjoy adventures with a side of adrenaline then check out these other posts …

Heights!
Up, Up and Away!
Wingsuit Rush!
Go for a Fly!
NYC Highs
Extreme Biking, Artfully!
Catch Some Waves!

Find out more about travel, the World and adventure in general …

Fairy Chimneys

~ mehopper

I was searching YouTube when a video about “fair chimneys” came up in my results.

It sounded so whimsical, I couldn’t resist checking it out.

It turns out that fairy chimneys are geological formations, also known as hoodoos, that form within sedimentary and volcanic rock in dry, hot areas around the world.

While that may not be that interesting, the video about them is quite enticing. It’s footage of an area of Turkey called Cappadocia where fairy chimneys have been carved out to be homes, churches and even whole villages for millennia.

Go Türkiye (YouTube Channel)
Go Türkiye (Official Website)

Here’s a 360° video that’s more history of the Goreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia featured in the above video.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Turing Kültür Sanat (YouTube Channel)

On a more entertaining note, anyone that visits Cappadocia can become a troglodyte because some hotels there are in fairy chimneys.

Here’s a video with some peeks into the exotic “cave hotels.”

Globe Motion (YouTube Channel)

Finally, what about all those hot air balloons in all of the videos?

They were there because Cappadocia also happens to be one of the hot air balloon capitals of the world. Check out this brief 360° experience.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

VIEMR – Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality (YouTube Channel)

I hope you’ve enjoyed this “fairy chimney” inspired adventure.

If you’ve become as enchanted as I have with Cappadocia’s fairy chimneys, cave hotels and hot air balloons, maybe even added visiting them to your bucket list, then here are some links to where you can learn more.

Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia (World Heritage Site, UNESCO)
Turkey’s ‘Fairy Chimneys’ Were Millions of Years in the Making (Chris Heller, Smithsonian Magazine)
Cappadocia: Turkey’s Land of Fairy Chimneys (James Bainbridge, Lonely Planet)

Find out more about the Asia and the world in general…

Yellow Submarines

~ mehopper

My last post was about an adventure with seals doing science in Antarctica.

This adventure begins where that one left off, but this is a very different, and fun excursion that happened because Boaty McBoatface surfaced in my news feed.

In case you never heard of him, Boaty’s a submarine that got his name via a publicity stunt by the UK’s National Oceanography Centre that went viral and didn’t turn out like they expected. He turned up in my news feed this week because he’s been doing science similar to the kind that the seals in my last post were doing, and the results have just been published.

Google assumed that if I would want to know what seals with antenna were doing in Antarctica, then I would definitely want to know about Boaty’s activities.

Here’s a video about Boaty’s discoveries as well as the fiasco that led to his name.

Audacy (YouTube Channel)
Audacy (Official Website)

Here are links to some stories about Boaty’s research.

Boaty McBoatface Sheds Light on Warming Ocean Abyss (British Antarctic Survey)
Rapid Mixing and Exchange of Deep-Ocean Waters in an Abyssal Boundary Current (Alberto C. Naveira Garabato, et al., PNAS)

Boaty’s research is important, but seeing him, whose thoughts could help but wander to The Beatles’ song/album/movie Yellow Submarine?

Google/YouTube couldn’t resist helping me along with those musings. Next thing I knew, nostalgia kicked in, and I was watching a trailer for the re-release of the movie in the UK and Ireland that was done for the movie’s 50th Anniversary.

Yellow Submarine UK Theatrical Trailer (Beatles, YouTube)

Then I discovered that The Beatles have official Playlists on YouTube, and there’s even a dedicated Yellow Submarine Playlist that has over twenty videos with all sorts of insider stuff about the movie.

The Internet then led me to scads of ancillary products inspired by the movie. For example, there’s a Yellow Submarine turntable from Pro-Ject (YouTube). Who knew?

LEGO also released a Yellow Submarine Set, and here’s their colorful trailer for it.

The Beatles’ LEGO Yellow Submarine vs. the Sea Monster (LEGO, YouTube)

That’s fun, but there are a number of fan videos that are pretty great, too.

Here’s a lovely stop motion video with a creative take on building the kit.

The Bits Beatles Tribute (YouTube Channel)

Here’s another fan made stop motion video done in the MTV style.

White House Productions (YouTube Channel)

Neat stuff!

Of course, LEGOLAND in California even went so far as to build a ride!

Theme Park Insider (YouTube Channel)

Personally, I prefer the open sea, and it turns out that there’s a ride for that, too.

An outfit called Submarine Safaris operates Yellow Submarine tours out of Tenerife and Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Here’s a promo video for their tours.

Tenecar Tenerife (YouTube Channel)

If you’re inspired to book a trip on a real Yellow Submarine, then here’s a link to a video with some background on the Canary Islands that you may want to know before you head out on a real-life adventure.

Introducing the Canary Islands (Lonely Planet, YouTube)

There you have it. One minute you’re doing science with seals in Antarctica, and then the next thing you know, you’re exploring the warm waters of the Canary Islands in a Yellow Submarine.

Isn’t the Internet a wonderful place?

Finally, if all this talk about The Beatles has you craving something a bit more psychedelic, or you just want to play a little while longer, then here’s a trippy little 360° video that claims to be “inspired by The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Rock Hy. Zhang (YouTube Channel)

Find out more about music, fun stuff in general and ways of getting around in the water …

Catch Some Waves!

~ mehopper

Want a quick mini-vacation? Check out this 360° video of tuberiding.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Waveor Company (YouTube Channel)
Waveor Company (Official Website)

It’s beautiful, but as you looked around, did you notice that there’s no surfer in the video?

I didn’t realize, at first, that it’s a promo for a game called Virtual Surfing. So, while it’s awesome that it’s so realistic, it’s not real.

On the other hand, there are a couple of fun 360° videos of real tuberiding on YouTube.

Here’s one with Ollie O’ Flaherty tuberiding off of Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Wild Atlantic Way, Discover Ireland (YouTube Channel)
Wild Atlantic Way, Discover Ireland (Official Website)

If you are a surfer and want to do this yourself, then here’s an article where surfing pros share their favorite places to go tuberiding.

The Best Tubes on Earth According to Experts (Ashel Pierson, Surfline)

If you’re not a surfer, but would like to be one, then here are some helpful links to get you started catching waves …

Surfology: How to walk on water in 7 easy steps (Surfline)
Surfology: Surf School Directory (Surfline)
Surf Schools: A Guide to Learn How to Surf (Surfer Today)
Top 10 Surf Schools (National Geographic)
10 of the best surfing schools in the world (Jennifer Hudson, The Guardian)

Hang ten!

If you enjoy adventures with a side of adrenaline then check out these other posts …

Heights!
Up, Up and Away!
Wingsuit Rush!
Go for a Fly!
NYC Highs
Extreme Biking, Artfully!
Zip the World!

Find out more about sports and adventure …

Extreme Biking, Artfully!

~ mehopper

This week I came across something that I thought was fairly unique.

There is a Scottish BMX rider by the name of Kriss Kyle that has elevated his extreme biking into an art. Here’s a video published by Red Bull that starts out with a brief introduction to the young man and then transitions into an artistic performance he calls Kaleidoscope. Stick with it — just when it gets a tad tedious, he introduces a new twist.

Red Bull (YouTube Channel)
Red Bull (Official Website)

The way I first found out about Kyle was by stumbling over this 2 minute featurette that is a “behind the scenes” 360° video about the making of Kaleidoscope. Among other things, he mentions that he had to take motion sickness pills to get through one of his stunts.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Red Bull (YouTube Channel)
Red Bull (Official Website)

As if Kaleidoscope wasn’t “artsy” enough, Kyle was later invited to do a demonstration of his riding inside of a new wing of the Tate Modern Museum. Here’s the museums explanation of the literal publicity stunt.

The Tate Modern Museum were launching a new gallery wing and wanted an exciting, immersive experience to help promote the launch. The agency brought Kriss Kyle, the legendary BMX rider on board to perform stunts through the gallery and showcase the space in a fast-moving 360° immersive experience. — Kriss Kyle@The Tate

Here’s the resulting 360° video that has a distinctly different vibe than Kaleidoscope.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

David Betteridge (YouTube Channel)
David Betteridge (Official Website)

Finally, Red Bull sponsored an even more extreme demonstration of Kyle’s talents with Dubai’s major landmarks as a backdrop.

Red Bull (YouTube Channel)
Red Bull (Official Website)

So, Kyle’s work is pretty unique, right?

Well, not so much as you might think.

It turns out that there’s another BMX rider with an artistic bent. His name is Danny MacAskill, his work is also sponsored by Red Bull, and his stunts also tend to fall under the category of “don’t try this at home.” Here’s a video of his entitled Imaginate that is a wonderful example of his creativity at work.

Red Bull (YouTube Channel)
Red Bull (Official Website)

MacAskill has also taken his art to great, adrenaline inducing heights. Here’s a video entitled The Ridge in which he returns to his native Isle of Skye to go on a breathtaking and death-defying ride along the Cuillin Ridgeline.

Cut Media (YouTube Channel)

It’s easy to see why Red Bull loves these guys!

You can watch a ton of other extreme riders on Red Bull’s web site dedicated to Moutainbiking (MTB) as well as their YouTube Channel.

If you happen to be a very adventurous rider, you might also enjoy this article.

Seven of the Scariest Mountain Bike Trails (James Smurthwaite, Mountain Bike Rider)

If you enjoy adventures with a side of adrenaline then check out these other posts …

Heights!
Up, Up and Away!
Wingsuit Rush!
Go for a Fly!
NYC Highs
Catch Some Waves!
Zip the World!

Find out more about cycling, sports and the arts …

NYC Highs

~ mehopper

New York City has a new place with a view.

Two weeks ago Hudson Yards opened to cheers from the developers and some jeers from the community.

The Escheresque whimsy of The Vessel captured the media’s attention at the opening, but the views from the observation deck called Edge is the big draw. Here’s a link to a clip about the views.

Sky-High Observation Deck Being Built in NYC (Associated Press, YouTube)

Seeing the views from Hudson Yards inspired me to open my files and look for my notes about other clips with views of New York City posted online — they’re all 360° videos, so look around!

This first clip takes you on a two minute stroll along the High Line which was mentioned in the Hudson Yards clip above. It’s a 1.45 mile long elevated walk way that ties together Greenwich Village, the Meatpacking District, Chelsea, and Midtown Manhattan. The views are nice, but more down to Earth than those at Hudson Yards.

TXTExploring the High Line, NYC’s Elevated Urban Park (Washington Post)

Of course, no matter how many new views are generated by new developers, there will never be a more iconic vista in New York than the one from the top of the Empire State Building.

Empire State Building 360 4K VR (Thoughtworks Canada)

A more adventuresome 360° experience was posted by the New York Times. It is a two minute clip from the perspective of a guy who climbed the spire of World Trade Center.

Climbing 1 World Trade Center: Man on Spire (The New York Times)

Finally, The New York Times< also published another great view from even greater heights. It's entitled Take Flight, and it was featured in their 2015 edition of Great Performances. The piece lifts you up from a New York City street at night to take you on a mesmerizing flight of fancy towards the Moon.

Take Flight 360 Video (The New York Times)

The soundtrack is fine, but I can’t help hearing Christopher Cross’s Arthur’s Theme when I watch it.

There’s also a non-360° version on The New York Time’s YouTube Channel that shows each of the individual performances up close, and here are some more stories about Take Flight.

Editor’s Letter: Take Flight With Virtual Reality (Jake Silverstein, New York Times Magazine)
Great Performers Take Flight (New York Times Magazine)
Behind the Scenes of ‘Take Flight’ (Kathy Ryan, New York Times Magazine)
The Art of Flying in the Movies: A cinematic history of going airborne (A. O. Scott, New York Times Magazine)

If you enjoy adventures with a tourch of adrenaline then check out these other posts …

Heights!
Up, Up and Away!
Wingsuit Rush!
Go for a Fly!
Extreme Biking, Artfully!
Catch Some Waves!
Zip the World!

Find out more about North America and the World …

Speleological Wonders

~ mehopper

I came across a cool 360° video about how biologist Naowarat Cheeptham has been searching for antibiotics in a cave.

Spelunking in Search of Antibiotics (New York Times, YouTube)

It’s an interesting story, and there’s a lot more about it in this article from Wired.

Inside the Slimy Underground Hunt for Humanity’s Antibiotic Saviour (Tom Ward, Wired)

What I didn’t expect was that a two minute excursion into a cave would turn into a fascinating journey into speleology. One thing just led to another, and that’s what happened.

It all started because the video and story about the cave reminded of my own experiences in Mammoth Cave. It’s in Kentucky, and I grew up in Indy — it wasn’t that far away, so I visited it numerous times over the years.

In case you’ve never been, here’s a link to a quick peek.

Nature: Mammoth Cave National Park (CBS Sunday Morning)

Each visit was a bit different, but the one thing that I remember most was that Mammoth Cave was billed as the largest cave on Earth. After many hours of tours, it felt like it, too.

Ha, what I saw hardly scratched the surface, literally and figuratively!

Check this video out!

International Mapping (YouTube Channel)

It was a bit mind-bending when they zoomed out to show the true scale of the place. Yet that was nothing compared to what I tripped across next.

It turns out that Mammoth Cave was the largest cave, but it’s not anymore.

That honor belongs to Son Doong Cave in Vietnam. It was “discovered” in 1991, but it wasn’t really explored until 2009. Wow, it’s positively Verne’esque — it even has a jungle!

Here’s a link to a video about how photographer and journalist Martin Edström went on a 360° photo expedition into the cave for National Geographic.

Journey Through the Largest Cave in the World Expedition Raw (National Geographic, YouTube)

Here’s a link to an interactive website where you can explore the results of the expedition.

Son Doong 360: Exploring the World’s Longest Cave (Martin Edström, National Geographic)

Here’s a link to another video with some awesome drone footage.

Drones Take You Inside Hidden World Live (Good Morning America, YouTube)

It’s worth noting that there are tensions surrounding tourism at Son Doong Cave. Here are links to a two part 360° video series about the issue.

Saving Son Doong: Part One (RYOT, YouTube)
Saving Son Doong: Part Two (RYOT, YouTube)

While it is hard to top Son Doong, I came across a number of other speleological marvels in my unexpected journey.

For example, speaking of Verne, here’s a link to some drone footage of a gorgeous ice cave in Vatnajokull National Park on the south coast of Iceland.

The Ice Cave – Drone Video from an Icelandic Ice Cave (Iceland 360VR)

Here’s a 360° video of another ice cave under Pemberton Icefield in British Columbia. Not surprisingly, the lifespan of such wonders in our current climate also comes up in the video.

360° Ice Cave Exploration Near Whistler, BC (Super, Natural British Columbia)

Here’s a 360° video by AirPano that shows a breathtaking time lapse of a sunset looking out of an ice cave at Baikal in Russia.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

AirPano VR (YouTube Channel)
AirPano VR (Official Website)

That was mesmerizing, but there is a Giant Crystal Cave in Mexico made out of gypsum instead of ice that might be even more stunning to see. Unfortunately, you can’t.

Luckily here’s a video that shows a bit of what it looks like as well as explains why you really don’t want to see it in person.

Weird Places: Mexico’s Giant Crystal Cave (SciShow, YouTube)

I was bummed that I couldn’t find great footage of Crystal Cave. However, while searching for that, I found this fun 360° video of the Waitomo Glowworm Caves in New Zealand.

Glow Worm Caves of New Zealand in 360° (National Geographic, YouTube)

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves even have a whole YouTube channel dedicated to them!

Waitomo Glowworm Caves (YouTube Channel)

Near the end of my unexpected detour into caves, I found this neat 360° video and lesson about ancient cave paintings. It’s about art, creativity and communication. These are all near and dear to my heart, so I couldn’t resist including it.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

TED-Ed (YouTube Channel)
ED-Ed (Official Website)

Explore Cave Paintings in This 360° Animated Cave (Iseult Gillespie, TED-Ed)

Finally, my unexpected journey ended with this fun, semi-off-topic, discovery 🙂

GoPro Awards: Epic Cloud Cave Wingsuit in Fusion Overcapture (GoPro, YouTube)

I hope you’ve enjoyed this speleological detour as much as I did. If you want to continue exploring caves on your own, here are some resources to get you started.

From the Biggest to the Longest, Five Amazing Caves To Visit (Natasha Geiling, Smithsonian.com)
Hidden Earth: The UK’s National Caving Conference and Exhibition
National Speleological Society

Find out more about Earth and its geology …

Go For a Fly!

~ mehopper

Want a quick pick-me-up?

Why go for a walk or coffee when you go for a fly instead?

Here are links to some short 360° videos that will have you soaring like a bird in a jiffy!

Paraglide Over Peru In 360 (The New York Times)
Paraglide the Pacific Coast in VR (USA TODAY)

Relaxing so far, right?

Here’s a link to a higher energy video that takes you gliding over Yosemite.

Hang Glide Over Yosemite National Park in 360 Degrees (Nature on PBS)

For an even faster paced ride, here’s a link to a video that takes you over Austria’s Paznaun Valley.

Paragliding in the Paznaun Valley, Austria (Garmin)

Curious about how it’s done?

Here’s a link to a five minute hang gliding lesson.

Hang Gliding Above the Ocean in 360º (Seeker VR)

You can find out a lot more about both paragliding and hang gliding from the US Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association.

Finally, here’s a link to a video with the story of how Francis and Gertrude Rogallo invented hang gliding.

Francis Rogallo (1912-2009), Hanglider Pioneer (Steve Close)

If you want more of a break, check out these earlier posts …

Heights!
Up, Up and Away!
Wingsuit Rush!
NYC Highs
Extreme Biking, Artfully!
Catch Some Waves!
Zip the World!

Find out more about flying and adventure in general …

Wingsuit Rush!

~ mehopper

Hey, adrenaline junkies, how about a quick fix?

Remember all of those action movies where people jump out of airplanes or off of buildings wearing wingsuits?

Did you ever think it would be cool to do that for real?

Well, now you can get a sense of what it would be like.

Here are some 360° videos that share the experience from the jumper’s point of view. It’s the next best thing to doing it yourself, so don’t forget to look around!

In this first video, Jeb Corlis jumps out of a plane with a group of friends. It starts off as a nice, peaceful experience, but the suspense builds by the end as the ground comes up to greet you.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Jeb Corliss (YouTube Channel)

Of course, the above video was cut so that you didn’t actually get to see the landing. Here’s a short, fast clip of someone wingsuiting over Dubai, and it shows what it’s like to land. You also get to see what it’s like to jump from a plane and then land on the ground in about a minute and a half after visiting some skyscrapers up close and personal in between. Geronimo!

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Dubai360 (YouTube Channel)

As fun as it is to see what it’s like to jump out of a plane and not go splat, the experience of “basejumping” off of stationary things like cliffs can be even more adrenaline inducing. Here’s a dramatic perspective from Jokke Sommer and Halvor Angvik whose basejump takes them up close and personal with the mountains of Stryn, Norway.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Making View AS (YouTube Channel)

Finally, my favorite video of all shows Gabriel Lott jumping off of a mountain, buzzing some traditional skydivers, and then landing near a beautiful beach! 🙂

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

If all of this adventure from the safety of your own screen isn’t enough of an adrenaline rush, and you’re just dying to get out and try it yourself, here’s a few things to consider before you “try it at home.”

First, there’s a lot more to it than just buying a suit from a vendor like Squirrel and jumping off of a cliff or building. Here’s a nice one minute video primer that covers the basics of what you really need to do before you jump.

Rated Red (YouTube Channel)

Here’a a helpful article with even more information published by a place called Jumptown that just happens to be a skydiving center here in Boston.

How to Become a Wingsuit Flyer (Jumptown)

Here’s another nice, honest article about wingsuiting.

10 Things No One Tells You Before You Become a Wingsuit Jumper (Francis Blagburn, The Telegraph)

Of course, it’s one thing to find the obligatory Wingsuit flying article on Wikipedia. It’s another to find their page with the List of fatalities due to wingsuit flying.

Personally, I file this under things that should make sane people just say, no!

Still, I hope you enjoyed this vicarious adrenaline rush compliments of some adventuresome folks who didn’t say no, and then even took 360° cameras along so us landlubbers could experience their rides, too!

If you like adventures like this, then perhaps you will enjoy these other posts …

Heights!
Up, Up and Away!
Go for a Fly!
NYC Highs
Extreme Biking, Artfully!
Catch Some Waves!
Zip the World!

Find out about other ways to get around in the air and adventure in general …

Around the World In …

~ mehopper

Once upon a time, back in the Victorian era a hundred years ago when Jules Verne was writing Around the World in Eighty Days, it took a little while to even vicariously circumnavigate the world by reading about it.

These days, thanks to professional video productions from groups like Travel Channel and Lonely Planet, you can feel like you’ve seen the world in far less time than it takes to read a book about it, and you can see it in considerably more vivid detail.

But now, thanks to the wonders of compilation, time-lapse and 360° video, you can make the journey even faster and with a far greater field of view than ever before. Here are links to three excellent examples from YouTube that together, appropriately enough, take eight minutes.

Daybreak Around the World (The New York Times)
The Best 360° Aerial Footage by AirPano (AirPano, YouTube)
Explore the World with IM360 (Ryan Whitehead, YouTube)

So, there it is — “Around the World in 8 Minutes,” and in 360° no less!

Of course, that just scratches the surface of how great 360° videos and other types of “3D virtual experiences” can take you to exotic places all around the world.

Check out Cosma’s newest Web World called Wanderlust Magic Travel Villa that is designed for exploring the World through 360° experiences!

Touch doorways to visit 360° experiences, and touch posters to find out more.

You can also explore it on Kuula.

Also, check out these recently updated pages on this site to see more fine-grained experience, but beware, there are enough experiences in the Wanderlust Magic Travel Villa and on these pages to take you around the world in about 800 hours!

Find out more about the World and how to travel around it…

Americas Canada, United States, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina
Europe United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece
Africa Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, South Africa, Madagascar
Asia India, China, Japan
Oceania Australia, New Zealand
Polar Regions Arctic, Antarctica

Up, Up and Away

~ mehopper

Want to take a ten minute break and float away from it all?

Here are some nifty 360° videos that will take you on some virtual hot air balloons rides!

This first clip is from the The Golden Ring of Russia Air Balloon Festival.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

AirPano VR (YouTube Channel)
AirPano VR (Official Website)

The next one is a one minute view of a ride in Cappadocia, Turkey.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

VIEMR – Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality (YouTube Channel)

This one takes you on a quick ride over the Theban Mountains in Egypt.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Vocativ (YouTube Channel)
Vocativ (Official Website)

If you’re hooked, there a ton more hot air balloon 360° videos …

Finally, for those who are too young to know or too old to remember, here’s a fifty year old pre-MTV flashback by the The 5th Dimension singing the song that inspired the title of this post.

Groovy!

If you like this adventures then perhaps you will enjoy these other posts …

Heights!
Wingsuit Rush!
Go for a Fly!
NYC Highs
Extreme Biking, Artfully!
Catch Some Waves!
Zip the World!

Find out more about getting around by air, adventure and the World in general …

Heights!

~ mehopper

A Monday morning caffeine fix is nice, but how about a serious adrenaline rush instead?

Nothing will get your pulse going like some good old fashioned adventure at extreme heights. Luckily, there are a ton of 360° videos on YouTube designed to do just that, so pick your poison from these five specially selected experiences, don’t forget to expand the video, turn up the resolution, look around, and especially down! 🙂

Dive from a very tall cliff …

Cliff Diving From a Rocky Ledge in Italy (Red Bull Cliff Diving)

Walk a tightrope over a deep canyon …

Walk The Tight Rope (Discovery)

Take a paramotor flight over some water falls …

Paramotor Flight Above Iguazu Falls Rafael Goberna (Red Bull)

If you haven’t had enough of a rush yet, then check out the Thrillseekers YouTube Channel, and if you’re a real adrenaline junkie, head over to the ExLife YouTube Channel!

Finally, if you enjoy adventures with a side of adrenaline then check out these other posts …

Up, Up and Away!
Wingsuit Rush!
Go for a Fly!
NYC Highs
Extreme Biking, Artfully!
Catch Some Waves!
Zip the World!

Find out more about adventure …

Dive-in-Art

~ mehopper

Check out this video from the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival.

FloridaKeysTV (YouTube Channel)
FloridaKeysTV (Official Website)

There are a ton of YouTube videos about the annual fest, and here’s an article about it.

Watch An Underwater Music Festival ‘Make Waves’ for Reef Protection (Florida Keys News Bureau)

You might think that this event is fairly unique, but it turns out that there are lots of divers who are also fans of the arts, so “arts under the sea” is not nearly as rare as you might think. For example, underwater art museums are thriving. Here’s an article about where you can find your nearest “dive-in” art museum.

Underwater Museums of the world: Immerse Yourself in Art in the Depths of the Sea (Ukranian Shipping Magazine)

Here is a video about the Museo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA) mentioned in the article.

Dmitriy (YouTube Channel)

There are even some artists who are specifically known for exhibiting underwater. The photographer Andreas Franke once made news by staging an art exhibit on the Vandenberg battleship that was deliberately sunk off the coast of Key West to create the second largest man made reef on the planet (watch the Vanderberg sink). Here’s a 360° video of the exhibit.

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Subsurface Media (YouTube Channel)

The pictures from the exhibit were brought up to create a landlubber’s exhibit. Franke moved on to create an exhibit on the SS Stavronikita off of Barbados, and then he went on to create another exhibit on the USS Mohawk CGC off the coast of Sanibel Island.

Barbados Property Search (YouTube Channel)

Ghostly Underwater Art Gallery Breathes New Life to Sunken Ship (Sheena McKenzie, CNN)

Jason deCaires Taylor is another artist who is known for his underwater work, but he specializes in sculpture rather than photography. Here’s a TED talk where Taylor provides insights about what motivates his work.

TED (YouTube Channel)
TED (Official Website)

The eclectic multimedia artist Doug Aitken worked with LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art to construct a large-scale underwater installation entitled Underwater Pavilions off of Catalina Island. Here’s an official video from MOCA about the work.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (YouTube Channel)
The Museum of Contemporary Art (Official Website)

Here’s a cool 360° video that gives a great sense of what it’s like to visit the exhibit.
Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

Superswell VR (YouTube Channel)

The current that tends to run through all of the underwater artist’s work is the appreciation and preservation of the Earth’s ocean environments, so please share this to support their work!

Here are links to some other, related posts on Cosma.

Walk-in-Art
Art Revisited
Leonardo Lately
Magical Paintings
Into Van Gogh
Walk-in-Art & Museums!

Enjoy, but beware, it’s easy to get lost in 360° art!

Find out more about the arts and the ocean …

AirPano

~ mehopper

While reviewing the posts during “the move,” there was one glaring omission that emerged. It turns out that there was never a post about a fantastic Russian crew going by the name “AirPano” that has been traveling the world using drones to capture and publish fantastic 360° panoramic videos, and they have been doing it since before there were 360° YouTube videos. As soon as there was such a thing, they were doing that, too. It was very remiss to not “Spotlight” their work before this. Here’s their boiler info. off of their YouTube channel…

“AirPano is a not-for-profit project created by a team of Russian photo enthusiasts focused on taking high-resolution aerial panoramic photographs. Although we usually photograph from a helicopter, we also like to shoot from an airplane, a dirigible, a hot air balloon, and a radio-controlled helicopter. Today AirPano is the largest resource in the world — by geographical coverage, number of aerial photographs, and artistic and technical quality of the images — featuring 360° panoramas of the highest quality shot from a bird’s eye view.”

So true, so true, they are definitely not exaggerating. Check them out!

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

AirPano VR (YouTube Channel)
AirPano (Official Website)

Watch the video below in 360° on YouTube here!

AirPano VR (YouTube Channel)
AirPano (Official Website)

Here’s a great article about them!

A Cut Above the Rest: Stunning Drone Photographs Capture the New Seven Wonders of the World Like You’ve Never Seen Them Before (Becky Pemberton, Daily Mail UK)

Find out more about them!

AirPano (Official Site)
AirPano (YouTube)
AirPano (Facebook)

Find out more about the world…