Can you describe your favorite city in one word? Yellow Bus Tours, a tour guide company in Portugal, recently asked tourists of Lisbon to describe the Portuguese capital in one word.
Set to a montage of beautiful scenes shot in and around the city, the video sets a vibe that certainly makes the city look inviting. Kudos to Yellow Bus Tours for capturing the feel of the city & inviting their guests to help promote Lisbon tourism.
Can you describe Lisbon in one word? Have a link to a video of your favorite city? Share it with us in the comments below. It could be the next Photo/Video of the Day!
Sure, we’ve been occasionally lured-in to visit a new destination due to a cheeky tourism campaign, or two — guilty as charged. There’s nothing as reassuring, though, as seeing the citizens of a city band together to proclaim to the world, ‘hey world, my city is great!’ And we can’t help but notice the chutzpah overflowing in the state of Michigan.
Over the last year Michigan‘s citizens, students and seniors have pulled out their video cameras and uploaded tourism video after tourism video to YouTube in an effort to show their pride. There are four in total so far, Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Grand Valley State University and the Clark Retirement Community, and it doesn’t exactly matter whether the videos follow the antics of a classroom full of a students, a building full of the witty elderly or an entire city, they all bring a special brand of magic you can only find in the hearts of people that truly love the place where they live and love to dance about it.
Call us gullible, but we’ve added a tour of Michigan to the bucket list, if not only to share a beer with the enthusiastic townsfolk that fill that state with so much love.
The residents of the Clark Retirement Community in Grand Rapids teamed-up with students at GVSU to create the world’s first-ever all-senior lip dub.
Over in Traverse City, townsfolk rocked out to Paul Simon’s “You can Call Me Al” and Van Halen’s “Jump.”
GVSU might have created the original Michigan lip dub last October, which a student quickly submitted to Reddit.
Grand Rapids is currently Michigan’s king of lip dubs, holding the world record of 5,000 participants in one video, parading through the closed-off streets of the Downtown area.
Though aviation enthusiasts are the focus of each annual Oshkosh AirVenture, there’s also a big commercial and and industrial component. This year, for example, Ford, GE and Honda each had a significant presence on the grounds, largely for what seems to be exposure.
As part of the festivities, Southwest also brought one of their Boeing 737s to display at the show, and they chocked the airplane full of volunteers, employees and media for a special shuttle flight from Chicago‘s Midway into the heart of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. And since Gadling Labs is based out of Chicago, we hitched along for the ride.
Departure from Midway was at an eye-rubbing 7AM, and once on the ground in Oshkosh we had full range to wander wherever and photograph whatever we wanted. And just as the clouds rolled in at 5PM, we gathered back together to make the journey home.
First officer JC was standing on the airstairs as we watched the clouds roll in, and somehow we got onto the topic of cockpit jumpseat availability. Asked if we could take an open slot, he shrugged in affirmation — since this wasn’t a commercially operated Southwest flight the rules on passengers in the cockpit weren’t as strict, so after checking with the captain of the flight we came up front.
Above, you’ll see the perspective of the Southwest crew during the taxi and takeoff from Oshkosh AirVenture. With spectators lining the parallel taxi way and a festive atmosphere all about it was truly a unique experience — we hope you enjoy the perspective.
Going to the bathroom on planes is never pleasant. In fact, doing your business anywhere in public can be nerve-wracking. Many public restrooms smell unpleasant and are filthy. Beyond that, there’s the embarrassment caused by the sounds emanating from our behinds and the ensuing odors created by the gastrointestinal festivities. There’s nothing more awkward than emerging from the stall after a particularly loud and aromatic session to find people at the sinks visibly traumatized by the experience. That’s why we only go number two at SkyMall Monday headquarters. We have a soundproof bathroom built two miles below ground inside a mountain. For those of you who didn’t have your facilities designed by a military contractor, SkyMall has just what you need to keep your bathroom business from becoming a public fiasco. The next time you have to use a public restroom to evacuate your bowels, be sure to bring along some You Go Girl!For those of you who think that women neither pass gas nor defecate, it’s time to grow up. All manner of things come out of women’s bodies and some of those events are more odoriferous than others. Unlike men, women do not celebrate the size, shape and pungency of their fecal trophies. In fact, women feel great shame when their number two is loud and noxious. That’s why they need a concealer.
Think that noises made by bodily functions are normal and healthy? Believe that we’re all mature enough to handle naturally occurring events without embarrassment? Well, while you suffocate in a port-o-potty, we’ll be reading the product description:
Reduce bathroom anxiety on airplanes, restaurants or at work with You Go Girl. Just pour a packet into the toilet before use to mask embarrassing odors, dampen sounds and eliminate splash. Biodegradable, phosphate-free formula is safe to flush, and each packet is small enough to carry discreetly in your purse, day bag or pocket, so you can feel confident taking care of business away from home.
Toilet splash is the 84th leading killer of women in public restrooms*. Eliminating this damp scourge is worth the $12.85 for a 10-pack.
Like you, I was baffled by how such a product could not only eliminate odor, but also dampen sounds and eliminate splash. Thankfully, the company has produced an informational video. Even more thankfully, that video utilizes computer animation. I trust that you will see the brilliance of You Go Girl! Of course, men do not need this product. Our farts sound like Lynyrd Skynyrd and smell like fresh baked apple pie.
* Maybe.
Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.
Forged is a recently-released movie that explores the stories within deep family bonds and the quest for redemption. Directed by William Wedig, the movie was shot in Scranton, Pennsylvania in February 2009. According to Wedig, 2009 was actually the coldest winter in Scranton over the last 50 years. The cinematography in Forged nonetheless came out beautifully. The crisp and dreary shots of the naked trees sent chills down my spine when paired with the striking plot of the movie. I watched Forged in New York City just before it won Best Picture at the New York International Latino Film Festival. The New York Times just reviewed the film yesterday here. Check out this Q&A with Wedig wherein he dishes on what it was like to capture Scranton on film.
1. Who did the cinematography for your movie, Forged?
My cinematographer is a guy named Zues Morand. He does a lot of music videos and he’s super talented and really versatile. If you need somebody to shoot something, definitely look him up. Zeus Morand on shooting Forged: “The characters in Forged were all flawed and weathered. We tried to choose locations that were aged, rusted, and reflected the history they had seen.”
(That’s Morand, the cinematographer, in the green.)
2. Forged displays Scranton in a way I haven’t seen before. The footage of the landscape looked dreary, because it was winter, but simultaneously beautiful. How did you go about scouting locations for the shoot?
When we were trying to find our locations in and around Scranton, we wanted to make sure that we showed that duality between the dreary, lonely, cold nature of the place, and the beauty which exists in a place so rustic. We were originally going to make the film in Texas but it just seemed better to put it in a place that’s so cold and beautiful. It’s like the cloud that hangs over these characters because of the past never escapes them. It’s always a part of their world.
3. You shot in February 2009 and you say that was the coldest winter in Scranton in 50 years. How did your team cope with shooting outside for long hours at a time in this kind of weather?
Well shooting in those sort of locations was a challenge. I couldn’t feel my feet for about two months and we’d make fires in cans or find a nearby shelter so people could cycle in and out. Some places didn’t have heat like the Lace Mill which has been shut down since the late 80’s or so. It was gorgeous though and there was talk of converting them into studios which is a great idea. It made it hard with the snow, but when you believe in the story you’re telling, it really isn’t that hard to motivate yourself.
(That’s Wedig on the left and lead actor Perez on the right.)
4. I’m assuming that throughout the shoot, you and your team discovered a thing or two about Scranton. Have any favorite locations?
There’s a couple places in Scranton that I like. Lake Scranton is gorgeous and when I saw it I knew I had to shoot there. Russells restaurant is fantastic (and they even donated film to us), but they have amazing chicken and pasta, and the Mohegan Sun in Wilkes-Barre is always fun to hit up and spend a few dollars and maybe make some back. We had a great time there, and even had some interesting adventures with Zeus at Hardware Bar in downtown. We loved shooting there and really the whole town helped us out.
Forged has won more than the New York International Latino Film Festival. Forged received ‘Official Selection’ at the Los Angeles International Latino Film Festival, ‘Outstanding Film Award’ at the Providence Latin American Film Festival, and ‘Official Selection’ at the San Diego Latino Film Festival. Starring Manny Perez, Margo Martindale, David Castro, Jaime Tirelli and Kevin Breznahan, Forged opens tomorrow in NYC at Quad Cinema (34 West 13th street NY, NY). Forged is hitting the road, as well. Forged will be showing in Los Angeles tomorrow evening, in San Diego and San Antonio August 5th, in Dallas August 12th, in Miami September 9th, in San Francisco September 16th, and Chicago dates are coming. For more information, check out the the website: www.ForgedMovie.com. In the meantime, check out the trailer below.