Caught on tape: Basketball shot made from a theme park ride

by Leigh Caldwell on

Do you remember those Hampton Inn Hilton Honors Points commercials from a couple of years back with the amazing basketball shots? Teen boys banked shots off roofs and stairways or used a tennis racket to shoot them into the goal. The ads were all followed by the tagline “Want an easier way to score points?”

It turns out those were real teens, shooting real videos at their homes in Alabama, and uploading them to YouTube, where they were discovered for the ads.

And now the boys, who call their YouTube channel The Legendary Shots, have turned their attention to theme parks. Their latest video shows one of the them making a shot from the Stratos-Fear ride at Alabama Adventure theme park in Bessemer.

In the video information on YouTube, The Legendary Shots crew thanks Alabama Adventure staff for making the Stratos-Fear video, and a second ferris wheel video, possible.

Can a basketball/theme park commercial be far behind?

British man passes through U.S. TSA security checkpoint with bag full of fireworks

by Scott Carmichael on

When 29 year old Paul Jones celebrated the 4th of July in Kansas, he ended up with a large bag of unused fireworks. Instead of discarding them, he kept them in a bag and brought them home back to the United Kingdom. In doing so, he was able to keep them in his carry-on luggage, and even passed the bag of explosives through the Kansas airport x-ray machine, in plain sight of officers.

It wasn’t until he arrived back home that a customs official spotted the fireworks and questioned him. To make matters worse, he was even able to carry a lighter though the checkpoint, which would have obviously aided in setting them off on his flight.

The BBC contacted Continental Airlines, who pointed their fingers at the TSA, who were obviously “not available for comments.” According to Continental Airlines, “We warn customers on our website about hazardous materials which are prohibited on aircraft under federal law, and the list includes fireworks.” Well, I’m sure terrorists will read those warnings and leave their bombs at home next time they fly.

Without hand screening every single bag, the TSA will of course never catch 100% of hazardous materials passing the checkpoint, but to miss a bag filled with 200 firecrackers shows an amazing level of incompetence.

[Image from BBC News]

Sun Country Airlines pays attention to JetBlue – offers 37 days of unlimited flights for $499

by Scott Carmichael on

You know what I love? Competition in the airline industry. When JetBlue announced their “All You Can Jet” promotion, Midwest carrier Sun Country Airlines didn’t sit back and watch – they introduced their own version, and added some extras.

The Sun County Fall Free For All promotion offers 37 days of unlimited flights for just $499 – making it cheaper and longer than the JetBlue promo. Of course, you’ll need to deal with a slightly limited route network, and ideally, you’ll be based out of Minneapolis.

The route network looks impressive, but many of the segments on the map are seasonal. One other downside – you need to pay taxes and security fees on every segment you book. You’ll also want to leave your bags at home, or face a $20 fee for each flight you take. Oh, and you need to call the airline to reserve each of your flights.

Still, if you are looking for value for your money, and can find destinations on their map that are on your “must visit” list, it may be worth checking out.

To learn more about the Fall Free For All deal, head on over to the promotion site.

Steven Slater reality show? JetBlue flight attendant

by Tom Johansmeyer on


“He’s certainly a people person: he used to be a flight attendant.” These are the words used to describe the potential of Steven Slater as a reality show star. Obviously, the editor of OK! Magazine doesn’t realize why this clown is in the public eye. TMZ broke the story of Slater’s new job prospect, which would feature disgruntled employees “quit their jobs in extravagant ways.” We know he won’t be on “The Apprentice,” as Donald Trump, eager to ride on anybody’s 15 minutes, has already announced he isn’t interested bringing Slater to his show.

Slater is being helped with the pitch by U.S. reality TV show company Stone and Company Entertainment, which is apparently a big-time firm. So, Slater is seriously trying to move into the post-flight attendant big leagues.

According to TMZ, Slater has received the offer:

But reality TV is a fickle thing … if Slater’s story turns out to be a big hoax — which we’re thinkin’ is the case — the offer could disappear as fast as it came.

There’s one big question behind all this, of course: how reliable will he be? Would even reality TV folks actually hire this nut-job?

Southwest Airlines crew takes baby from abusive parents mid-flight

by Scott Carmichael on

MSNBC is reporting that the crew of Southwest Airlines flight 879 from Dallas to Albuquerque are credited with removing a baby from its parents mid-flight after witnessing her parents slap her.

Southwest Airlines spokesman Brad Hawkins confirmed the incident, and said “Our flight attendants do great customer service. In this case, it was a baby that was upset, and the flight attendant asked the mother if she wanted help with the baby.”

Upon arrival at Albuquerque, local police were waiting for the flight and questioned the parents. According to the airport police chief, removing the baby calmed everyone down and neutralized the situation. The parents have not been cited for the incident.

Kudos to the Southwest Airlines crew – even though we do not have all the details about the situation, when a child is being hit by his or her parents, I feel it is very easy to justify removing the child from their parents to calm things down.

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[Photo credit: AP Photo/Ted S. Warren]