400 strip for Aer Lingus tickets, some of them hotties

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Remember that stunt we covered last week … where an anonymous airline was giving away free flights to people who would flash as a flash mob? Well, it was Aer Lingus, and there were only 400 winners. Fortunately, they all seem to be attractive. I’m guessing we didn’t want to see the other 600 anyway.

The strip site, which was kept secret until the last minute, was Jubilee Gardens in London. Thanks to the power of cliché, this St. Patrick’s Day get-together featured shamrocks for the participants to wear. Fortunately, this didn’t stop a few die-hards from going “Full Monty.”

As if anyone cares, the stunt was organized to promote new Aer Lingus routes from Gatwick Airport to Europe, with a tagline of “no hidden extras.” Though, I guess that depends on who was wearing the shamrock.

Will Chicago get an airport on the South Side?

by Jamie Rhein on

In May, I’m flying into Chicago. My friends live in Bolingbrook, a suburb to the south about 35 miles from downtown. According to Map Quest, it will take me 54 minutes to get to their house. I’m thinking, if I’m lucky. Traffic through Chicago can be a nightmare. This summer we drove right by downtown at 1:00 in the morning and traffic was still heavy, so heavy that we missed a toll booth lane and had to send our $1.35, or thereabouts, in the mail.

In his column in the New York Times today, Bob Herbert outlines the plan in the works for a new airport in Chicago to be built on the South Side. There are stumbling blocks to such a plan. Politics for one. What interests me is the number of jobs an airport produces, both during construction and afterward. The number is well into the thousands.

From Herbert’s description airports sound like beehives of activity. As he points out, O’Hare has grown to be so massive that it’s unwieldy at times. Although, according to O’Hare’s Web site, it was voted the Global Traveler Award for Best Airport in North America in 2007. Herbert also points out that Midway’s runways are short which poses another problem.

The airport on the South Side makes sense to me. It would sure make getting to Bolingbrook much easier. Possibly it could help lessen traffic through downtown by people who had to head further north in order to fly out of town.

Justin Timberlake To Climb Kilimanjaro?

by Kraig Becker on

Pop singer Justin Timberlake tells GQ magazine that he intends to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, to raise awareness for that continent’s dramatic water shortage which has hit nearly every nation and has had a tremendous impact on the environment and people that live there.

Timberlake is reportedly already preparing for the challenging trek to the summit of Kili, which stands at 19,340 feet, by working out four times a week in an attempt to increase the efficiency of his cardio system to deal with the altitude. He says the team will be climbing for “a week straight, carrying thirty pounds on our backs”, indicating the daypacks that typical trekkers on the mountain carry.

There are multiple routes to the peak of Kilimanjaro, and it can take as little as five days to summit, although most take eight or nine days to top out. Porters carry the bulk of the equipment, while the climbers usually carry a daypack with a variety of gear, food, water and so on. While it is mostly a non-technical climb, the fairly rapid ascent, and high altitude can be quite daunting for many, which Anne Curry of the Today Show discovered when she made an attempt on the mountain a few months back.

At the moment, there is no word on when Timberlake is expected to make his climb. The spring is traditionally the rainy season in East Africa, so it’s likely to not take place until June or later.

[via Backpacker.com]

Top 10 stupidest laws you could encounter abroad


Moscow luggage handlers lighten load

by Tom Johansmeyer on

What’s going on in Moscow? If you have any valuables in your luggage, they may not be there when you get to the hotel! Well, maybe the odds are better now that police at the city’s main international airport have arrested several luggage handlers suspected of sifting through bags and pocketing the good stuff.

The thefts began in early January at Sheremetyevo Airport. It seems that a daily flight to Sharm el-Sheik, a Red Sea resort in Egypt, was the most popular target. This destination is something of a favorite among Russians. So, the bags on Nord Wind Flight 1921 were lightened a bit, especially of cameras, computers and jewelry.

Police spokeswoman Yelena Starkova was stingy with the details, not revealing how many arrests were made or the value of the stolen goods.

Cameras for Kibera, a non-profit project to help Kenyans

by Jamie Rhein on

The Dutch project Cameras for Kibera is aimed towards helping young Kenyans become video journalists in order to help them tell the stories about Africa’s largest slum. Kibera, Nairobi is home to possibly as many as 2.5 million people who live in crowded conditions of poor sanitation, poor housing and very little possibilites. For the most part, the plight of the people who live there has been largely overlooked which is one reason for the video project. This particular video was created by Rocketboom Field Correspondent Ruud Elmendorp who videotaped one of Camera for Kibera’s video journalists at work.

The thing I like about this project is its matter of fact approach. It shows people having a life despite the odds, but also points to the fact that help is urgently needed without making the people themselves sound pitiful. Cameras for Kibera is an offshoot project of the Dutch Hot Sun Foundation. If you have video camera you’re no longer using, here’s a possibility for putting it to use.