Author: garrettw

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The best airline (any?) commercial ever

OK, I’m late to the party… (big surprise!)

This commercial that United aired during the Olympics is simply a masterpiece. It is an epic film in 60 seconds.

Normally I’m not a huge sappy guy, but this one softens even my hard edges. It is so nuanced and heartfelt — literally; the way the heart gets cut-out and slipped in a pocket. They way you see the light thru the empty heart during the presentation. They way the bird flies thru it and the score is outstanding. Plus just a hint of United’s famous use of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” at the end, which has to be one of the most effective, and really great, corporate identities out there.

Just too bad United is really going through some rough times, as obviously they have some incredible talent and feeling somewhere in that leviathan body. This is beautiful.

Anyways, here it is…

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My new favorite blog

And no, it’s not mine! 🙂

http://www.bsideblog.com/travel/

This guy is hysterical — he writes about his travel experiences. He’s an awesome writer (apparently what he does for a living) and he says it like it is! The travel section of his blog is just a part of his other subjects. But it’s the one’s that I identify with the most.

He used the word “gauche” in a post. Always a plus in my book.

He’s also obviously a Child of the 80’s like me, For example, on JetBlue’s videos channel:

“Anyway, I’ve watched a good number of videos on the three-headed monster that is MTV-VH1-VH1 Classic. Highlights have included “No Air” by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown (my new guilty pleasure), “We Built This City” by Starship (my all time favorite guilty pleasure), “Foolish Beat” by Debbie Gibson (a guilty pleasure I didn’t even realize was a guilty pleasure until it came on), “Wishing Well” by Terrence Trent D’Arby (a smooth pleasure), “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles (a goddamn pleasure), and “Touch My Body” by Mariah Carey (a funny video pleasure). I should note that for whatever reason, I was oddly compelled to sing along to “We Built This City,” but I restrained myself out of respect for the passengers and/or any small animals that may be aboard. I should also note that while I’ve seen the video many, many times in my life, this was the first time that I carefully studied Grace Slick’s dance moves, and let me say that while rhythm might not be her strong suit, no one can touch her when it comes to teetering over on her side / clapping oddly.”

I especially loved the first few points of his “Top Ten Worst Baggage Claim Annoyances.”

Say it, man, say it!

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Olympics, CBC, HDTV and Gas

I’m a live TV junkie — for events like the Olympics Opening Ceremony it appalls me to the depths of my soul when US networks decide to delay the telecast for the money and label it as “live, pre-recorded”. Shame on them. I honestly, really, really wish the producers hideous gas the rest of their lives.

Luckily I live in Seattle, right by Vancouver, BC. So that means that we are in broadcast range of CBUT, the CBC affiliate in Canada. See, Canadians understand me on this: They broadcast the opening ceremonies live, as it should be. So I caught some of the best parts this morning as I got up at 6 AM. It was nice.

But then I decided to compare the Canadian telecast with the junk NBC throws-out. The only thing I have to say is this: The only reason I enjoyed it the second time was that it was in HDTV, whereas the CBC broadcast comes to me in standard def. HDTV really did bring a lot more to the ceremony — a lot more than I thought it would. Incredible detail and crispness. I felt I was watching a whole new show.

So there you have it — my rant of the day. Go Canada, and my Republican colleagues can now scream at me for being so un-American and not a patriot because I bashed the American-based television networks — whatever.

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I look like Kevin Mitnick…

This pleases me very much in a very sinister way…

For those not in the know here’s the Wikipedia article on Kevin Mitnick, old-school cracker of the early Internet.

The best quote of that entire article (emphasis mine): “Mitnick states that he compromised computers solely by using passwords and codes that he gained by social engineering. It is notable that Mitnick did not use software programs or hacking tools for cracking passwords or otherwise exploiting computer or phone security.”

People: beware.

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Airshows, noise and fries with gravy…

Today I went to the McChord AFB Airshow with my airliners.net friends April and Steve — was a complete blast and the weather was perfect. I got my airshow need taken care of for the year. It was great.

I took mostly videos instead of photos. Here’s some of the best. The first two are experimenting with larger sized videos

An F/A-18 rips by at mach 0.99:

Watch video

Thunderbirds solo cross:

Watch video

B2 stealth:

Watch video

Thunderbirds loop:

Watch video

After waiting 2 hours to get out of the Parking lot, April MADE us stop at Ikea (where I left my car and carpooled with them) and eat meatballs, fries and gravy — with the gravy over the fries…Hmmmm. Must be a Canadian thing… 🙂

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Gone fishin’

My Dad was quite successful in his latest endeavor — gone fishin’. Here’s the results:

This was significantly larger than the 2″ minnow we caught at Cranberry Lake while camping decades ago! 🙂

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Be warned…

Natalie and I are once again joined in our relentless pursuit of all things beer & kitsch related.

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