Sequester Downs Nation’s Air Shows

by Rob Annis on

Congress’ long-running budget battle with President Barack Obama claimed another casualty this month as dozens of air shows across the country were canceled.

The long-running Indianapolis Air Show was the first major show to skip 2013 after event headliners the U.S. Navy Blue Angels bowed out, citing the sequester. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Army’s parachute demonstration team, the Golden Knights, also suspended upcoming performances.

With the Department of Defense looking to slash $46 billion from this year’s budget, per the Los Angeles Times, air shows were an easy mark. In a news release, Col. Barry Cornish, 99th Air Base Wing Commander at Nellis Air Force Base, said the move “prioritized combat readiness over other activities, and air shows have been canceled as a result.”

With Congress and President Obama unable to work out a compromise, other major air shows, including large events held in Ohio, South Dakota, Virginia and Arizona, announced their cancellations this week.

Other tourist-friendly activities promoted by the government, such as White House tours, have also been cut because of the sequester, while reduced manpower means longer lines and more headaches for national park visitors.

The acrobatic air squadrons are major draws for air shows, bringing a 25 percent larger audience, according to the New York Times. Without those draws – and the additional military support each show receives – it didn’t make financial sense for the shows to go on.

In 2011, the Dakota Thunder Air Show cost the air force base about $200,000 in expenses, including more than 87,000 gallons of air fuel, supplies, security and lodging for visiting aircrews.

At least two major air shows without a major military presence historically – EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and Wings Over Houston – will go on as planned.

[Photo Credit: Flickr user Sebastian Bergmann]

Video Of The Day: Brooklyn Stop-Motion Tour

by Elizabeth Seward on

“Brooklyn Brewery Mash – A trip through BK in 3000 photos” from Paul Trillo on Vimeo.

This stop-motion tour of Brooklyn is pretty cool. As a tribute to Brooklyn Brewery’s MASH tour, Landon Van Soest and Paul Trillo put this video together. Using over 3,000 images, this video manages to capture much of the essence of Brooklyn – the people, food, drink, culture and sights from the street – in about one minute. These filmmakers have a knack for slow motion shots in addition to stop motion video. Slowing down at all the right moments in the video (dust being blown off of a vinyl record; popcorn in the air in a theater), pausing for this video will put a little bit of Brooklyn in your day.

Souvenir Of The Week: Mold-A-Rama Figurines

by Megan Fernandez on


Decades before the dawn of 3-D printing and resulting wonders like self-portrait gummy bears, Mold-a-Rama vending machines were pressing hot wax into tiny figurines delivered in seconds. These vintage contraptions still exist at zoos and other attractions, where miniature keepsakes cost only a couple of dollars and smell like melted crayons.

At the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, machines magically make models of Rosa Park’s bus and wee wax Weinermobiles before your eyes:

Zoos are hotspots for Mold-a-Rama machines. At Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, several generations of visitors have taken home 3-inch-tall wax gorillas. The city’s Brookfield Zoo has 13 machines, currently spitting out dinosaurs.

According to the fan site moldamania.com, other zoos proffer macaws, dolphins, manatees, panthers and killer whales. The bust of Frankenstein and tiny space capsules can be found if you’re lucky. Hundreds of molds existed back in the technology’s heyday (the original was invented in the 1960s and spawned several imitators). Back then, Disneyland delighted park-goers with figurines of favorite characters, ready in 30 seconds.

Cheap? Check. Packable? Check. Better than a gummy bear in your likeness? You decide. Here’s a list of Mold-a-Rama locations.

Do you have Mold-a-Rama memories from childhood?

[Photo credits: Craft*ology and Sarabeephoto via Flickr; video credit: Mark Frauenfelder via YouTube]

5 Destinations For Excellent Coffee Culture

by Anna Brones on

Cafes are often a travelers hub, not just because you can kill your jetlag with a cup of espresso, but because they are inevitably the place where you go to sit and do some people watching and, while you’re at it, take a moment to get immersed in the local coffee culture.

If you’re a coffee drinker, finding the best cup in town is often an adventure in and of itself, sometimes leading to a city’s most off-the-beaten-path destinations. Remember: they may speak English, and you know what that grande latte is going to taste like, but it’s not at Starbucks that you’ll find your bliss.

Love coffee enough to travel for it? Put these 5 cities on your list of next destinations.

Hanoi, Vietnam

Strong Vietnamese coffee is made with a filter that sits atop your cup. It’s most often served with sweetened condensed milk. In Hanoi, you’ll find a variety of coffee shops, from the back alleyway hole-in-the-walls, to the more luxurious places where you can sit all day and use the Wi-Fi. Check out Hang Hanh (Coffee Street) in the Old Quarter, which is home to many cafes. And while you’re at it, get an iced coffee at least once (cà phê sữa đá if you’re working on your Vietnamese). You’ll need it in the Vietnamese heat.

Portland, Oregon

Every Portlander has their local craft roast of choice, and you’ll quickly learn that although Stumptown is good, it’s not the only excellent coffee in town. If you like your coffee made with care – and we’re talking about both the beans and the end drink – break out of the box and check out places like Coava, Water Avenue, Ristretto and Heart. Just don’t order anything ridiculous like a double skim vanilla latte or you’ll be shamed out of the coffee shop quicker than you can say Portlandia.

Vienna, Austria

While many cities may claim that they love coffee, only Vienna has a UNESCO status going for it. Going back to the 17th century, Viennese kaffehauskultur – coffee house culture – has the ultimate in recognition as part of Austria’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, honoring the city’s distinct atmosphere that can be found in its many coffee hubs.

Istanbul, Turkey

As the Turkish proverb goes, coffee should be “as black as hell, as strong as death and as sweet as love.” Türk Kahvesi, or Turkish coffee, is certainly known as being such, and you’ll find it served in the numerous coffee shops around Istanbul. This kind of coffee is made by boiling finely ground coffee beans in a pot, and then serving the coffee in a cup where the grounds are given time to settle. If you like your coffee strong, this is the way to do it.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In the top ten of coffee exporting countries, Ethiopia has a coffee culture that goes all the way back to the 10th century. In the home, coffee ceremonies are a common thing and can often be quite elaborate. In Addis Ababa you will find a burgeoning cafe culture that offers both opportunities for more Italian-like drinks as well as true Ethiopian style.

[Photo Credits: osamukaneko, toehk, OKVidyo, dorena-wm, John Picken, myeralan]

Galley Gossip: The Worst, Funniest and Most Common Bad Airline Passengers

by Heather Poole on
Photo credit: Telstar Logistics

From time to time I get asked questions about bad passengers. I thought I’d share a few of them here.

What’s the worst passenger behavior you’ve witnessed?

I’ve caught passengers taking other people’s luggage out of the bin to make room for their own bags. I’m not joking. They’ll pull out a bag, drop it on the floor and walk away leaving it in the middle of the aisle for the passengers behind them to crawl over. Have you ever tried stepping over a 21-inch Rollaboard? Not easy. Happened three times last month!

The funniest?

Recently a woman tried to stow her suitcase in that, oh, what do you call that spot? Crevice? Crack? Between the overhead bin and the ceiling? There’s like a millimeter of space there! I don’t care which airline you’re traveling on, that’s not going to fit. Then there are the recliners and the anti-recliners. One anti-recliner got upset at a recliner because she couldn’t get her tray table down. I suggested if maybe she removed the gigantic fanny pack from around her waist it might go down. She looked at me like I was the crazy one! One man actually called me over because the passenger in front of him had reclined his seat. I had to point out that, uh … his seat was reclined too!

What’s the most common bad passenger behavior you’ve seen?

These days, people are so self-absorbed multitasking as they board a flight they don’t even say hello to the flight attendant greeting them at the boarding door. They’re too busy talking on the phone, typing on their laptops, listening to music and texting as they walk down the aisle to notice their backpacks and duffle bags are whacking people in the head. Recently a passenger got mad at me – ME! – because I wouldn’t help him lift a heavy bag. That’s because he couldn’t get off the phone to improve his one arm bag swing. Two arms always work better than one when it comes to getting those bags into the overhead bins.

What are the rules for dealing with bad passengers?

We can’t call the police or the fire department at 30,000 feet. That’s why it’s a good idea to take care of problem passengers on the ground before we depart. Before we kick someone off the plane, we’ll do everything we can to make a bad situation good again. Usually, it involves doing the following:

  1. Getting Down: Literally, we get down on one knee in the aisle at the passenger’s level. This position is less threatening to passengers.
  2. Listening: Most passengers just want to be heard. That’s it.
  3. Keeping Calm: We try not to raise our voices. Staying calm and in control will diffuse most situations.
  4. The Facts: We might ask what the problem is and then have the passenger suggest a solution. This way we’re all on the same page.
  5. Walking Away: A new face is new energy. If I’m not getting anywhere with a difficult passenger, I’ll remove myself from the situation and ask a coworker to step in. Even though a coworker may tell the passenger the exact same thing I did, they could get a completely different response.

If that doesn’t work, and we’re in flight, we might issue a written warning signed by the Captain. All this means is if a passenger doesn’t stop doing whatever it is they were doing, authorities will be called to meet the flight. That’s why I say if you’re going to freak out, might be a good idea to wait until we’re safe and sound on the ground and parked at the gate. No one wants to divert a flight. Plus you don’t want to end up in jail far away from home where no one can rescue you.