Stuck on a plane with a violin, trombone, trumpet, recorder and a bunch of hippies - what could possibly go wrong

A Canadian Airlines plane is delayed on the the Lemon Bucket Orchestra pulls out their instruments and goes all folk crazy in the da house. Love this. Watch the video and enjoy

Hat Tip the Consumerist

11 New Yorker cartoons on being fondled by a TSA agent

In solidarity with the millions of Americans racing around the country eating Turkeys and recovering from their close encounters of the TSA kind I am posting a link to a New Yorker page with 11 New Yorker style Airport Security Cartoons.

Is the BOOT Recommended Read of the week

Thanks to Madame BOOT for sending through

Thanks to charlesfittinger via flickr for the dont touch icon

Qantas In-flight Video Kills Virgin Atlantic Money Shot

Yesterday I flew Auckland to Sydney on Qantas. Playing on their in-flight video was the new Roman Polanski movie Ghost Writer. This movie contains one of the now ubiquitous airline product placements. This one is a doozy.

It starts with Ewan McGregor enjoying a scotch in an amazing looking lounge with no mention of the brand - though clearly the Heathrow Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Lounge. Then it quickly moves to McGregor sitting very comfortably in a beautiful herringbone seat being served by a lovely looking stewardess while both are bathed in red/purple hue lighting. Again no mention of brands but clearly a Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Seat. Then it is time for the closing shot. The sweeping music filled mid shot of the airline filling the sky and filling our screens with the Virgin Atlantic brand. The VS brand money shot. But that is how it plays out in the cinema not on a Qantas flight. No way. As the grainy blackberry photo below shows the money shot is blurred out, the tail is a generic red smudge rather than a bright and embolden declaration of the Virgin brand . Can't blame QF for the mid-air editing - it is a natural reaction to blur out "unsavoury" images from an in-flight video.

SkyMall Follies: DIY traction. Please no auto-erotic asphyxiation jokes

This is the second in my series of SkyMall Follies posts. A look at the best and worst from the mile high catalogue of fun, games and madness that is the SkyMall.

Last time it was WWII Chess set. This time we have the "NeckPro Traction Device" ($50.95). A picture is supposed to tell a thousand words. But in the case on the NeckPro its promotional picture tells just 16 words - "Don't try this at home unless under the supervision of a trained bondage and discipline professional".

Targeted at both the do it yourself uninsured health care fool and the I want to live and die like David Carradine manic, this product contains a head noose/cradle/support that is attached to a pulley like structure which in turn can be affixed to a door. Yes- I could use those exact same words to describe a hangman's noose. Because that is exactly what it is except without the eye-holes, trapdoor and a series of drummer boys tapping out a death march costs extra.

Sexual and capital punishment innuendoes aside, if you suffered from chronic neck or back pain, then surely the last thing you would want to do is self medicate while wearing khakis and loafers.

Welcome to the Folly Files NeckPro. May the actor who posed for the photo in this advert one day be able to hang his head in shame.

SkyMall Follies: "brightening the room" with WWII Chess

Plenty of reasons to hate domestic travel in the US - age of the aeroplanes, on board food (or lack of it), the "no way am I going to pay $25 to check this, it will fit in the overhead locker" attitude that has added 25 plus minutes to the boarding process etc. But I love reading SkyMall. This is the ubiquitous and free magazine that contains 200 plus pages of junk, crap, stuff, items for the discerning consumer.

I love this magazine because (much like Las Vegas, K-Tel and un-missable DVD collections of the Dean Martin Show) it shows that human beings can come up with just about anything to take money from you. In between this busy week of PhoCusWright posts and activities I am going to share with you three or four of my favourite SkyMall items. The ultimate in discerning items for the ultimate in discerning customers.

SkyMall Follies Item number 1 - WWII Chess Set and Storage Box $219.99.

Themed chess sets are nothing new. From Elvis to the Simpsons and everywhere in between companies have been reinventing the look of chess through replacing typical black vs white and rook and pawn with multi-colours and character pieces.

But now I have seen - through the magic of SkyMall - a remodelling of chess that not only breaks the rules of neutrality in the two sides of the chess game but carries a level of insensitivity that even a mindless kitsch product developer should have picked up.

In the spirit of "brightening the room" (their words) and "fun to play" (again their words) with the WWII Chess Set you can elect to either lead Franklin D Roosevelt (white king) and the American Military or Adolf Hitler (black king) and his German Troops. That's right for just $219.99 plus tax and delivery you can relive your fantasy of leading a "hand painted" and "detailed" 3.25 inch Adolf Hitler into strategic battles against the forces of freedom. Bargain. Staggering. Madness. A classic SkyMall folly. More to come

I still call Costa Brava Home...when is Perth Australia walking distance to the Mediterranean

If you haven't see it yet, check out the article over at Times online Costa Brava Pyrenees Tourism authority was caught using a stock image of a beach in Western Australia as part of their marketing campaign. Makes sense. You would not want to chose an East Coast image (ie Sydney) because it would be too much effort to have to photoshop out all the shark fins swimming in the water.

(Jacobs Stock Photography/Getty/La Vanguardia) (Perth on the left, Costa Brava Advert on the right)

What the hell does Recombobulation mean? Maybe the TSA can help?

This sign was spotted at Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport. It is the place passengers go after the security check to put their belt and shoes on and reassemble computers and toiletry packs. I tried to search around for the definition of Recombolutation. This was a typical response online

That is - it is a made up word. Trying to figure it out I came across "Combobulate" which is (according to definition-of.com)

To put together in a somewhat mysterious manner. To bring something out of a state of confusion or disarray. To manufacture by some unusual or novel means. Antonym: discombobulate.

So drawing on my very poor high school grammatical training it is very nice of the Transport Safety Authority (TSA) to provide people with a place for Recombobulation or the

"putting back together of personal items in a somewhat mysterious manner"

Not sure if helping people do things in a mysterious manner should be hallmark of TSA service but then I am not the professional in this area. I am just thrilled to be able to add the word recombobulation to my list of techorati tags.

UPDATE - Looks like it was the airport not the TSA that put up the sign. Here is what the photographer "lark is already taken" had this to say about the photo in an exchange with me

"FWIW I had the impression that the airport put up the sign, not the TSA. Perhaps the airport is expressing an opinion on the whole screening process.."

Hat tip to Consumerist for the story and lark is already taken for the photo

UPDATE 2 - More fame and recognition for Milwaukee. The American Dialect Society has voted "Recombobulation" as the most creative word of 2008. To complete the story - the winner of the "word of the year" was "Bail Out" with runners up including "lipstick on a pig" and "change". Thanks to Steve Sherlock at Oodles who sent me the link.

Quick Break from the Spectator - how to make a profit flying BA to Argentina

Cute story from the Spectator. How to keep getting yourself bumped from BA flights to generate a profit and a long weekend in London. Not sure of the truth of it. The fact that the Spectator gave it a run should mean something but old media has been fooled in the past.

Election Break - I'm no stats expert but my guess is that CNN is calling Maine a little too early

With three votes counted they are predicting an Obama landslide!

The TSA marked you as a terrorist? Then simply change your name

Great story over at Upgrade: Travel Better (Mark Ashley's industry blog) about Mario Labbé - a Canadian that found himself in the infamous Homeland Security black book, ensuring that he spent hours with customs officials everytime he crossed the US/CA border. Solution - he changed his name to François Mario Labbé. Problem solved. Check out the full story here.

Qantas story and ad mishap in Age newspaper

Australian Broadcasting Corporation media industry show Media Watch picked up a great "why did we put that ad on that page of the website" story involving Qantas and the online version of Melbourne's Age newspaper. Check it out.

Bejing Olympics: Translate Server Error restaurant

If you have not seen it yet pop over to Adfreak.com to see the shot of the Beijing restaurant that clearly relied on a website to translate the cafe's name from simplified Chinese into English. The result - the cafe is now called "Translate server error".