Airport sit-ins are the new asking for your money back, apparently, as the second one occurred within the span of days. While two separate, problem-plagued flights were affected by the passenger sit-ins, no doubt the most recent was influenced by the success of the first.

The first, occurring for a few days at the beginning of June, involved a triple-delayed China Eastern Airlines flights on its way from LAX to Shanghai. After the airline flew in a mechanic, the flight was finally able to leave, but not before the stranded folk staged a sit-in at LAX.

This weekend, the second occurred on the other end of the route back in Shanghai, when a Shanghai Airlines plane headed back to Shanghai, delaying the flight for 24 hours. When finally the plane landed in Taipei, Taiwan, the passengers refused to leave the jet until Taiwanese authorities "persuaded" them to do so, but not without the airline ponying up a 400RMB ($58) "we're sorry" bonus.

So it looks like sit-ins are here to stay; a viable option since airlines already have us on involuntary hunger strikes.

Related Stories:
· Shanghai Airlines Passengers Stage Sit-in in Taiwan [Shanghaiist]
· Shanghai-Bound Passengers Stranded For Three Days at LAX [Jaunted]

[Photo: teemus]]]> JetSetCD 2009-06-15T11:05:11-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/1/2/91559/48302

Late in 2008, St. Louis was rejoicing that Jason Reitman and George Clooney would be crawling all over the city to shoot the new flick "Up in the Air." But rather than wait for producers to notice them, officials in Taipei are straight up financing a feature film, which will start shooting this spring.

Reports the Taiwan Journal:

The film follows two sisters who move to Taipei and open a coffee shop, with the metropolis serving as a backdrop to their relationships with customers and friends, as well as their love stories.

The film will take viewers around the city's most famous tourist spots such as the Tong Hua night market, Nan Men traditional market, Taipei Zoo, which will soon be housing two pandas, Maokong--an area on the outskirts of Taipei known for its tea plantations and tea houses--and will also take them for a ride on the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit System, the city's subway.

While it could be an early contender for the best travel movie of 2009--producer Hou Hsiao-hsien is an international film festival veteran--Emily Haile of the travel blog The Telegraph wonders if it will be more "extended commercial" than cinematic success because of the city's intimate involvement.

Related Stories:
· Taipei on Screen: Future Film [The Telegraph]
· Filmmaker Set to Showcase Taipei [Taiwan Journal]
· The Soup Strainer Jets To St. Louis [Jaunted]

[Photo: tylerdurden1]]]> pbb 2009-01-02T10:00:41-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/22/145524/526

These days, mega-skyscrapers have balls. Huge balls, up in their attic spaces, designed to swing back and forth in the opposite direction of the building's sway. These tuned mass dampers, as they're known, prevent the feeling of seasickness by occupants of the upper floors, but their real benefit comes during times of natural disasters, like tornadoes, typhoons and earthquakes.

Such was the case recently with the world's tallest completed building, Taipei 101, which felt aftershocks from the devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hit China's Sichuan region on May 12 of this year. As it happens, a traveler with a video camera was enjoying a tour of the building and was wandering past the 728-ton stabilizing ball when the aftershocks hit, capturing this amazing video of the damper doing exactly what it was designed to do.

The iconic tower emerged unscathed, and nobody was injured, which both speaks to the amazing advances in architectural technology and the unspeakable devastation that results when builders lack the means--and scruples--to ensure that every building holds up against the forces of nature as well as possible.

Related Stories:
· In Action: A Skyscraper's Amazing 728-Ton Stabilising Ball [Deputy Dog]
· Skyscrapers coverage [Jaunted]]]> Victor Ozols 2008-06-22T15:45:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/1/13/223231/907

Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 12 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

After another non-elimination round, all bets are off as we head into this week's episode. Last time, TK and Rachel gambled and lost to the airlines, coming in three hours behind the other teams. As a penalty, they'll have to complete a Speed Bump task somewhere along the way--as we find out which set of racers will miss out on the season finale.

Will Nick and Don be able to run a more balanced race, or with Gramps weigh them down? Will Christina and Ron stay harmonious and focused, or will Nate and Jennifer push even harder and move in front? And will TK and Rachel be able to make up that three-hour deficit?

Let's find out!]]> Todd 2008-01-14T08:33:53-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/3/2/2537/28574

While "2/28" doesn't sound quite as familiar as "9/11," in Taiwan it has just as much meaning, symbolizing a February 28, 1947 massacre of Taiwanese by the then-Republic of China. And that's why Taipei's National 228 Memorial Museum--which opened on February 28 ten years ago--was an extremely popular place to visit this week.

While the historical and political value of the 228 is something we won't (and can't) dispute, what interested us especially was the rules for museum visitors. They include:

Please wear proper attire, i.e., no slippers.
Please do not smoke or bring food into the museum (includes chewing gum and betelnut).
Please do not speak loudly or engage in horseplay inside the museum.
Please keep in mind that handling museum articles can damage them, and unduly influence other visitors.

Exactly how touching a museum article (not that we condone this) can unduly influence another visitor is a bit of a mystery. But what we are clear about is that we should bring along with us a betelnut-chewing horse wearing slippers. Politics, history and etiquette lessons, all in one.

[Photo: davidreid]

Related Stories:
· Taiwan Museum to Represent Change [Post Chronicle]
· Visit to the 228 Museum [David on Formosa]
· 228 Incident [Wikipedia]]]> amandak 2007-03-02T10:34:48-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/1/11/162815/932
Lonely Planet author Joshua Brown is on the road in Taiwan, where he's updating LP's guidebook. We're pleased they're keeping up with that one and not going decades in between refreshes. He's keeping a blog on his own, but recently checked in with Lonely Planet's blog to report on a "fascinating conversation" he had with a prostitute on Lane 32 in Taipei. Fascinating. Conversation. Uh huh.

One of the women, thin, about 30 with dark eyes and a puffy white sweater drawn over her shoulders, looked me up and down, her eyes resting on my copy of the old Lonely Planet guide I was updating.

"What I mean to say," I continued "is that our book is really focused more on introducing westerners to Taiwan's customs and history - parks and museums. Culture, that sort of thing."

The woman in the white sweater spoke up softly. "I have culture."