Welcome to Virgin America flight VX8001. This party plane is about to take off and celebrate the launch of the Gogo in-flight Internet service on Virgin America. The flight will also be the launch location of Youtube Live. The celebration includes Youtube celebrities and plenty of Champagne, so it is bound to be a fantastic ride!
We take off in about an hour, so please check back for some live photos from the party in the air!
A 1,200-foot-long Royal Caribbean cruise liner being built in Finland got a test run of sorts yesterday, launching into water not far from the country’s capital, Helsinki.
The ship boasts 16 passenger decks, 2,700 cabins and can hold 6,300 passengers and nearly half as many crew. And get this: It’s got an open-air arena that, according to the Associated Press, is the size of a football field!
It’s also got a Greek amphitheater, a skating rink and much more. It cost about $2.5 billion to build.
The official name for the cruise liner is the Oasis of the Seas. Royal Caribbean has ordered another one from Finland, to be launched in 2010.
Shipbuilders say the inaugural liner will be completed in about a year and will then sail to Miami before taking on its first passengers. If you’re a cruise fan, this is one ship you should keep an eye out for.
If you see Hawaii’s Jessica Agbunag at a casino some time soon, you might want to rub up against her for good luck.
Agbunag, 24, made her first trip to Las Vegas this week and on Wednesday, at the California Hotel and Casino, she won a cool $2.4 million at a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. She pumped in about $16 into the machine before hitting the jackpot.
Agbunag is a babysitter who was in Sin City with her boyfriend and family on a commemorative trip in honor of her grandmother, who used to love the Vegas slots. She says she is going to use the winnings to pay off her car, and she will spread a little bit of the wealth around among her relatives, she told the Associated Press.
The real question is if this happened to you, would you ever go back to Vegas again? Not sure I would.
“If we can not end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.”
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was assassinated 45 years ago today. As one of the events that certainly shaped the collective consciousness of Americans, at least in my opinion, here are places I’ve been where I’ve thought of Kennedy and that fateful day where the words “grassy knoll” and “book depository” became part of history books.
As a former Peace Corps volunteer, his legacy has touched me personally.
Place 1: Dealy Plaza and the grassy knoll. There is a plaque here to commemorate Kennedy. The grassy knoll was made famous by the idea that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone. Theories abound that shots were fired from the grassy knoll as well. If you drive along Elm Street, you’ll be on the route Kennedy’s limousine was following when he became Oswald’s target. The plaza is a National Historic Landmark.
Place 2: Sixth Floor Museum at Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Located in what was formerly called the Texas School Book Depository, the museum chronicles Kennedy’s life and death. (Although, I’ve been by the building, I’ve not been to the museum.)
Place 3–The limousine that Kennedy was riding in on the day he was shot can be seen at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. I have been here. The rest of the museum is also worth a visit. It can take hours to see everything.
Place 4–His grave at Arlington National Cemetery. His inaugural address was used as the grave’s inscription.
Place 5–One place I have not been is the JFK Library & Museum in Boston, MA. Here you can learn more about Kennedy’s life and presidency through films and artifacts. Jacqueline Kennedy’s life is also included in the mix.
Here is another Kennedy quote that reminds me of travelers. Its message encapsulates one idea of what draws people towards distant horizons from where they were born. But it is also what pulls them back to the familiar.
“All of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it — we are going back from whence we came.”
In an Absolut World, Everyone Would be Welcomed Home from ImprovEverywhere on Vimeo.
One Gadling post that consistently gets weekly hits, sometimes daily, is the one on ImprovEverywhere’s “Frozen Grand Central.” The Grand Central stunt is an amazing feat of ingenuity and organization on the part of this improv drama troupe that specializes in creating fun and amazement in public places. I think of it as a more creative, involved version of Candid Camera. Plus, it involves way more people.
My favorite ImprovEverywhere stunt, hands down, is Food Court Musical.
This most recent improvisation comes pretty close. It involved 20 ImprovEverywhere actors who were the greeters, and the unsuspecting travelers who arrived at JFK expecting to be met by a driver and no one else. The drivers (only the first one is shown) didn’t know they were in on something a bit unusual.
The result is something charming and heartwarming. Very sweet and very fun. How terrific life would be if EVERYONE had such a greeting upon arrival at an airport. The closest I ever came was arriving in Hawaii and being given a lei. My great aunt and uncle met me, so don’t expect a lei if you arrive in Honolulu. Maybe, but don’t count on it.
Thanks to Intelligent Traveler for first posting on this gem. It made my day.