Pope souvenirs could be a bargain soon?Just wondering

by Jamie Rhein on

The last few weeks have been a shopping bonanza in the U.S. for Pope Benedict XVI souvenirs. People have snapped up pope items that range from rosaries to T-shirts, mugs, key chains to postcards, including Pope on a rope soap and bobble-head dolls. The urge to take a piece of the papacy home with them has enticed some folks to spend hundreds of dollars, according to this article from the Washington Post.

Pope Benedict’s last U.S. appearance is today at JFK Airport in NYC where he is making a farewell address. (This is what is listed on the itinerary on the Vatican’s Web site.) I wonder if souvenir shop owners are looking at their shelves wondering if they over did with the stock, or did they guess right?

I also wonder if hawkers were outside Yankee Stadium today with Pope Benedict goods hanging from carts and spread out on blankets? He was there as well.

I imagine that, eventually, Pope Benedict items will reduce in price because people, who will be buying them, will be people who didn’t see him during his visit. They’ll just be browsing through a store.

That’s the problem with the souvenir business. Although, Pope Benedict XVI items have been hot sellers, it’s hard to judge just how much of something will sell once an event is over. What is a souvenir seller to do with the leftovers?

By the way, as cited in this Fox News article, according to Rev. Mark Morozowich, an associate dean at the Catholic University of America, bobble-head dolls of the Pope Benedict are fine. We have bobble-heads of sports figures, why not the pope?

How long is too long on a tarmac?

by Jamie Rhein on

Many people, who have flown frequently, have probably had their plane taxi out to the runway and sit and sit and sit for what seemed like an extraordinarily long amount of time. Peering out the tiny windows, people have wondered, “Why me? Why now?”

They’ve possibly fiddled with the window shade, putting it up for a bit and down for a bit for something to do. After awhile, they can list several items from the airline’s duty free catalog and which movies are on which route. If left sitting there long enough, people may wonder what the tipping point is for a nervous breakdown and if they, perhaps, have wandered into the set of a horror movie. They may even curse their fate that if they must be stuck on an object that’s supposed to move, it’s not the London Eye, the world’s largest Ferris wheel. If stuck on that thing, people get better service than on an airplane.

With summer travel rapidly approaching, the being stuck out on a tarmac scenarios have not improved much since last year. The gap between what passengers think is a time they can be stuck on an airplane without going bonkers, and the airline industry’s version, is not any closer because there hasn’t been a length of time established for when extra services need to kick in. Airlines view”Trigger thresholds,” within a range from “30 minutes to two hours on arrival, and from 90 minutes to three hours on departure.” When it comes to deplaning, thresholds “range from 30 minutes to five hours on arrival and and between one and five hours on departure.” What is to occur during delays isn’t established either. Do customers get a snack? water? sympathy?

According to this AP article about this stuck on a tarmac issue, to avoid spending part of the summer in a metal cylinder with wings, unsure of when life will move forward, don’t fly in or out of O’Hare in Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul or any of the three major New York City airports. Here’s a detail that gives some insight into why being stuck is not uncommon. Northwest Airlines has 56 departures scheduled for a 15-minute window in Minneapolis/St. Paul. That number is physically impossible to meet.

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Waiting to the last minute can pay off: It’s called rush tickets

by Jamie Rhein on

Although, it’s true that living the Girl Scout motto “Be Prepared” can pay off, flying through life by the seat of ones pants also has merit. Take yesterday, for example. Yesterday, I got the urge to see Avenue Q. The touring company is in town for a few days, and because I’ve been busy, getting tickets became shuffled to the background of my life. Then, about 3 p.m., I had to go. I must go, even if no one was going with me. I’d be nuts not to. At 4:45 p.m. I dashed into the CAPA ticket office to buy my ticket.

The guy behind the counter said, “Ya’ know. At 6:00, you can get a $25 ticket. There will be 20 rush tickets for sale.

At 5:30, after a trip to the library to pay off a fine for overdue books, there I was, first in line, at the Palace Theatre box office, By 6:10, I had two tickets. At that price, my husband agreed to go with me when I called to tell him about our good fortune. By 7:50 we were settled into our third- row orchestra seats on the right-hand side, much better and cheaper than the ones we would have had if I had planned ahead.

There are two morals of this story:

  1. If you get the urge to go to a performance, even if it’s last minute, don’t assume it’s too late–you might hit pay dirt.
  2. If you want to plan ahead, find out if there are rush tickets and how to get them.

Here is a link to tips on getting rush tickets for Broadway shows in New York City, and here’s a link to Talkin’ Broadway’s On the Boards that has ticket information including rush ticket policies and standing room only details. Standing room only is another last minute, cheaper ticket option. Here’s Avenue Q’s touring schedule. I highly recommend it, but it’s bawdy. Good natured, clever and terrific, but bawdy.

Canceled flights can get you some luxury

by Jamie Rhein on

If you happen to be one of those unfortunate people who come up with a dud on what seems to be a new roulette style airline game called “Will My Flight be Canceled?” or even worse, “Will my Airline Shut Down Overnight?,” you can head to certain Kimpton Hotels for a gift designed especially for you–the stranded traveler.

As a way to coax stranded travelers to a Kimpton Hotel, the “Stranded in Style” promotion allows guests with a canceled flight to choose from the following options they show a canceled boarding pass or ticket:

  • Bath salts or eye mask
  • Bottle of wine or in-room movie
  • KN Karen Neuburger zebra chenille lounge socks
  • Cocktail or appetizer at adjacent restaurant

    Participating hotels include: 70 park avenue and The Muse in New York, Hotel Argonaut in San Francisco and Hotel Monaco in Denver.

    This may not be enough to turn lemons into lemonade, but it’s an interesting idea. I wonder what budget motels could come up with? Maybe you could get real Half-and-Half instead of non-dairy creamer with that complimentary cup of coffee.

    • Camel cheese – coming soon to a grocery near you

    by Jeremy Kressmann on

    As any proper Bedouin will tell you, camels are an essential part of a nomadic desert existence. They provide a convenient method of transportation, require little water and can stand up to great extremes of temperature. We now also know that they provide the perfect compliment to your next cheese and cracker platter. I’m talking more specifically about camel cheese, the latest delicacy to make its way to grocery stores here in the U.S.

    The camel cheese trend started in the African nation of Mauritania, site of the world’s first and, to the best of my knowledge, only camel dairy farm. Mauritanians consume camel milk as part of their everyday diet, but it was a local expat named Nancy Abeiderrahmane who first got the idea to turn the milk into cheese to preserve its shelf life. The idea was a hit, and Nancy has been producing camel cheese ever since.

    The cheese made its debut in the New York City area this past month. Connoisseurs compare it favorably to goat cheese, citing its subtle “barnyard flavors” and the ability to spread it easily on bread or crackers. When it comes to food, nothing wins me over quicker than when I hear phrases like “barnyard flavors.” Pick up some now for your Final Four party this weekend!

    [Via Buzzfeed]