Former JetBlue Flight Attendant Steven Slater pleads guilty

by Tom Johansmeyer on

For putting lives at risk – rather hypocritical for a person who’s supposed to be in the “safety business” – he faced felony charges for criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing. He faced up to seven years in prison.

By pleading guilty, Slater will only serve a year in a mental health and alcohol/substance abuse treatment center, instead of the one-to-three-year sentence he was staring down. Upon successful completion of the program, the charges are knocked down to misdemeanors. He’ll also have a year of probation.

[Image credit: AP Photo/Louis Lanzano]


As expected, the notorious nutjob who popped the emergency slide after an altercation with a passenger has entered a guilty plea. Former JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater grabbed some beer for the road before sliding to glory.

According to MSNBC, the district attorney indicated that alcohol was involved in the incident on the JetBlue plane, even before he grabbed the Blue Moons for the drive back to his Queens home.

Slater said after leaving the courthouse that he found the public interest “surprising, unexpected and encouraging.”

Really? Surprising? Unexpected? I can see how he’d call it encouraging … if he was only paying attention to the airline business supporters who believed him to be a hero. Meanwhile, it looks like dealing with passengers really did drive him to insanity.

Flight attendant Steven Slater may avoid jail

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who popped the slide and grabbed a beer after an altercation with a passenger, is scheduled to appear in court today. According to a report on Fox 5 New York (broadcast), he’s expected to plead guilty. The Associated Press reports that he may be eligible for an alternative sentencing program, such as treatment or community service (depending on his mental health evaluation). Maybe this means he won’t be a hero to flight attendants and other aviation professionals any longer.

In case you missed it:

The incident occurred Aug. 9 aboard a JetBlue Airways Corp. flight from Pittsburgh that had just landed at Kennedy International Airport. Slater got on the plane’s loudspeaker, cursed at passengers, then slid down the plane’s emergency slide.

The crazy flight attendant no longer works for JetBlue, having resigned. A career in reality television seems unlikely. I do wonder, though, if he’ll celebrate Halloween dressed as himself.

Dí­a de los Muertos celebrations around the US

by Pat Perrin on

Skulls made of sugar, dancing skeletons in fancy dress, colorful masks decorated with flowers … these are all part of the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations that spring from deep in Mexican history. The Day of the Dead is not a scary holiday even though it takes place so close to Halloween. It’s a warm family celebration in honor of relatives and friends who have passed away. Each year, Mexican graveyards and home altars are decorated with gifts, food, and drinks left for the dead-toys, sweets, atole (a hot, tasty Mexican drink), tequila, and whatever other favorites might entice spirits to hear the prayers and remembrances held for them.

The right kind of flower is especially important. Marigolds — their petals sometimes scattered in paths from graveyards to homes — are thought to guide dead spirits back to the world of the living for a happy family reunion.

Although the dates for the Day of the Dead vary from place to place, November 1st is often the day honoring dead children, and while November 2nd is for adults. The tradition is thought to date back thousands of years to pre-Columbian times, and these days it continues not only throughout Mexico but in many United States communities as well. Wherever you might be traveling late in October or early in November, it’s well worth checking for a Día de los Muertos celebration. You’ll find wonderful food, music, performances, and parades. There’s usually a hands-on workshop or two where you can learn to make sugar skulls, puppets, papier mâché masks, traditional treats, and the lovely altars that families build in remembrance of the departed.

U.S. cities that celebrate the Day of the Dead include Seattle, Austin, El Paso, Phoenix, Houston, Santa Fe, Tucson, Missoula, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Portland, Cleveland, Longmont (Colorado), and many others around the country. The dates of these local fiestas vary, so check ahead. Here’s how the Día de los Muertos is honored in a few big cities…

New York City
New York City comes alive on the Day of the Dead with activities all over town. The world-famous Brooklyn Children’s Museum celebrates with puppet-making, Mayan hot chocolate, and other traditional treats on November 2. Free with museum admission.

Altar exhibits, mariachi performances, special treats, free workshops, and a Mexican Market are sponsored by Mano a Mano in the churchyard of St. Mark’s in-the-Bowery. Free and open to the public on October 29-31.

A Día de los Muertos art exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art runs from September 10 – December 13.

Family activities at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian include live entertainment, and hands-on crafts activities on October 30.

Washington D.C.
Everyone is invited to The Mexican Cultural Institute Día De Los Muertos Open House on October 31. The altars-dedicated this year to the Mexican Revolution-will be on display through the month of November.

A two-day celebration at the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall offers demonstrations and hands-on crafts, live dance and music performances, films, and a display of Guatemalan kites on October 30-31.

On October 30 at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia, you can view Day of the Dead themed artwork, listen to mariachis, and paint sugar skulls. In the evening, a parade of people-and-dogs-in-costume is led by Day of the Dead puppets. The evening culminates with a masquerade and dancing.

Los Angeles
Every Mexican community in LA has their own festivities, from family events at local cemeteries to neighborhood block parties. The one on Olvera Street, also known as El Pueblo Historic Monument, features altars, exhibits, entertainments, and a Pre-Columbian procession each night from October 25 through November 2.

The Hollywood Forever Cemetary, Los Angeles’s oldest memorial park, invites guests to their celebrations on October 30. The hosts suggest you come dressed as a calaca (traditional Day of the Dead skeleton).

All over L.A., theaters and clubs will offer special events, and popular celebrations are also held in San Pedro, Pasadena, and other local communities.

San Francisco
This year San Francisco got started early with installations at the SOMArts Cultural Center on Friday October 15. The exhibit ends with a closing reception on November 6.

On November 2, the Mission District, the center of San Francisco’s predominantly Hispanic community, is the place to be for traditional Día de los Muertoscelebrations. You’ll find workshops on creating altars, sugar skulls, and papel picado (decorative Mexican paper cutting) at the Mission Cultural Center, Casa Bonampak, and Encantada Art Gallery. A festival of altars is held at Garfield Park, and you can join an annual procession led by the Rescue Culture Collective.

Pat Perrin spent years training horses on a Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, farm. Her diverse books include the historical novel Anna’s World, set in late 1840s America. Read her blog on Red Room.

[Photos: Flickr | uteart_away.picking.seashells; sfmission.com; -Chupacabras-]

Five reasons why the Amtrak Acela Express is far superior to flying

by Tom Johansmeyer on

There are four basic ways to travel among Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. You can fly, drive, ride a bus or take a train. Every traveler has his preference, but having played with all four options, I’ve found that hitting the rails is the right one for me, an increasingly popular position. I hate to be behind the wheel (a side-effect of living in Manhattan), and buses do tend to be slow, uncomfortable and unpleasant (though incredibly inexpensive). Flying … well, flying is everything a bus is only more expensive, a little bit faster and still slower, usually than driving or taking the train.

Usually, my decision on how to travel these routes comes down to flying versus rail. There’s no choice any more. Last weekend, I took the Amtrak Acela Express on a Boston-to-New York round trip, my second this year, and I was thrilled with every aspect of the experience.

Here are five reasons why the Acela is far, far superior to air travel in the Bos-Wash corridor:1. Save time up front: whether you’re in Boston or New York, you don’t have to leave the middle of the city to get to your transportation, and the same holds when you arrive at your destination. In New York, you get on at Penn Station, and in Boston, you can choose either South Station or Back Bay Station.

2. Save more time up front: the track isn’t announced until around 15 minutes before your train departs. So, don’t worry about having to get there an hour early or longer. I know, I know: for the Delta Shuttle, you don’t have to get to Marine Air Terminal an hour early, either. If you’re flying at a peak time (think Friday at 5 PM or Monday at 7 AM), you really do need to get to the terminal more than an hour ahead of time. They’re “peak” for a reason.

3. Stretch your legs: business class is the minimum on the Acela Express, and I won’t even begin to fantasize about what first class is like. Everything is comfortable, from being able to recline (and have the person in front of you do so) to the clean, spacious bathrooms. It can be difficult to get up and walk around when the train is moving at its top speed, but you are free to do so – with no “fasten seatbelt” light to slow you down.

4. Service with a smile: several of the announcements on the ride came with the simple yet highly effective suggestion, “Have a positive day.” It worked. I’ve hear similar announcements on planes before, but not often and not with the same voice (this guy was good). The food options weren’t great, and you do have to pay for them, but again, there was that smile involved.

Note: I have no problem with airlines charging for food and think they should have moved to this model a while ago. A la carte just makes sense to me. The differentiator for the Acela is the service that puts it into your hands.

5. There’s no dehumanizing security process: first, there’s no reason not to feel safe, and there are security measures in place to protect Amtrak’s customers. That said, you don’t have to squander your youth waiting to get wanded by someone from the TSA. You just carry your bags on board and take your seat.

[photo by Mr. T in DC via Flickr]

Daily Pampering: The Pierre Hotel’s organic caviar and oyster tasting

by Melanie Nayer on

When the Pierre Hotel wants to celebrate, it celebrates in style. In honor of the hotel’s 80th anniversary, the Pierre in New York is recapturing the glamour of its past with a tasting flight of a trio of organic caviars with wine and vodka pairings.

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from October 22 – December 31, 2010, Executive Chef Stephane Becht will debut the caviar tasting menu and The Pierre’s Two E restaurant. Enjoy a hand-selected tasting menu of organic caviar as well as North American oysters with wine and sprit pairings. The tastings start with three organic American Caviars served with blinis and crème fraiche for $65. The caviars served include:

AMERICAN PADDLEFISH: From the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, these glistening steel gray eggs rival Sevruga from the Caspian Sea
MOUNTAIN LAKE WHITEFISH: From Montana, these crisp and golden eggs burst with a fresh, mildly salty flavor WILD
HACKLEBACK STURGEON: This dark, silky caviar from the rivers of Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee offers a refined, nut-like flavor with a semi-sweet finish

If oysters are more your liking, choose from Neguac, New Brunswick shells, Kumamoto from California, Oregon, and Washington and Chesapeake Bay oysters.

Add wine or vodka pairing for $14 that includes: Chablis Domaine Roland Lanamtureux 2007 Burgundy; Muscadet ‘Clos de la Senaigrie’ Luc Choblet 2008 Loire; Picpoul Saint Garrigue 2007 Languedoc. Vodka options include Russian Standard Imperial; Belvedere and Chopin.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.