Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Time to Stand and Be Counted

OK...it's time to stand up and say "prove it."

Prove to me that the knee-jerk reaction by TSA to impose new regulations that will cause us to sit for the final hour of our flight with nothing to do with our lives but stare blindly into space will make me safer. No computers. No iPods. No Books. No babies on our laps.

Why the last hour? Just because this last guy tried in the last hour of his flight? Like, that's in new memo from Al-Qaeda? Because, if I recall, the only terrorist play that ever worked happened in, errr, the first hour of flight.

But, of course...that's why we've been taking our shoes off as we traverse security for EIGHT YEARS. Because a nutjob tried (and, ummm, failed) to blow up his shoes. ONE NUTJOB. And we've been taking off our shoes for EIGHT YEARS.

So, tell me just how this new directive makes us safer. Because we'll be looking at each other because we have nothing else to do? Just itching to jump over a seat and tackle someone because they look like they're about to blow up their pants?

How has it come to this? How have we allowed our government to become so mindlessly totalitarian? 

Ya know what making me sit and stare into space for an hour will do? It'll make me damn sure to vote against anybody who is currently in office that allowed this bullshit to happen. And I am so sure I won't be the only one.

Randy Gage's rant yesterday was so dead on. Then travel blogger Chris Elliott posted the double secret probation rules that evidently came down from some wonk that said our laps must be visible. And then the Feds showed up at his door!

WTF?

Uhhh...I thought that government communications were pub-lic rec-ord. Guess not.

So...if I can't see what my government is up to, have we completely lost our center?

I think you know the answer...and I'm sure I'll (with Chris) be on a no-fly list soon as retribution for saying the emperor here...is butt nekid.

Sigh...

Who is John Galt?

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

OK...just one more obscure holiday video before we get back to business.

This, from an unknown named Matthew Luke Sandoval, making this classic his.

As one of the commenters offered, dude...you need to try out for Idol.

O Holy Night

The video isn't much...but this version of the Christmas Classic is simple sublime. Founding Yes frontman Jon Anderson's minor change-ups make this one of the most beautiful renditions of this song ever recorded.

Merry Christmas to all...and all the best for the New Year.

An Amazing Combination

Still one of my all time favorites. Pairing Bing and Bowie was a masterstroke that has never been matched.

Robert Downey's White Christmas

Short and sweet, this clip from the old Ally McBeal show features Robert Downey Jr.'s take on the Irving Berlin classic.

And, he kinda sounds like my friend Jay Moran, whose Unmade Bed (while not a Christmas song in any stretch of the imagination) is definitely worth a listen. Though penned years ago, it's one of my current faves.

Blue Christmas

He ain't Elvis...but, in keeping with the rare Christmas videos string started last Friday, Jon Bon Jovi's live version of Blue Christmas, recorded sometime in the '90s, is pretty cool.

Best Unknown Christmas Video

There are so many...and maybe next week will be a compendium of my faves. But no holiday season can escape without Billy Joel's "She's Right on Time."

A History that So Needs to be Recorded

While attending a birthday gathering for a friend a couple weeks ago at the Nitty, the conversation switched (as it always does when he's in the room) to music. The topic: a recent series of posts by music industry maven Bob Lefsetz. And all four of us in the conversation nodded as Stu started talking.

"You get the Lefsetz Letter?" he exclaimed in astonishment as he looked around at the three of us. Of course. We're all music junkies.

Lefsetz has hundreds (if not thousands) of posts that are just about as fascinating a look into the music business as you'll find. Some are simply inspired. But one from a week or so ago, about an evening he spent with Quincy Jones, is magical.

Like, that he knew Paul McCartney back in ‘62. That he and John Lennon couldn’t write for shit.  Credit George Martin for teaching them how. And how they bombed in Paris and were freaking out that they might do the same on their first tour in the States.

That Frank Sinatra would do one take and leave...even if it was rehearsal for that night's TV appearance.

That Michael Jackson didn't want to do the intro on "Thriller."

Amazing stuff...that I so hope Quincy sits down in front of cameras and records for posterity. THAT would be the stuff that would so enhance the Rock Hall of Fame...and our understanding of how the music that transformed the world came to be.

Air Law 15

I'm simply shocked. It has been a year since I last posted an Air Law.

Since then, I've referenced them...but haven't added more laws to the original 14 (which can be accessed here). I tell myself that is because I nailed them all the first time around. On the other hand, maybe I just got lazy.

But a new study from Skyscanner has reminded me of a situation that always frosts me...and apparently 27% of the poor souls with which I share the sky: the dishonest announcement about delayed flights.

As noted in Travel Daily News, “Telling you a flight will be 30 minutes late, then another 30 minutes late, then another – when they know full well that the plane hasn’t even left its departure airport – is extremely annoying and downright dishonest,” said Barry Smith, Skyscanner co-founder and director.

And we couldn't agree more. So...

AIR LAW 15: Any ticketed passenger that confirms that a gate agent is fibbing on the status of any flight (inbound or outbound) is hereby authorized to a) announce to everyone else in the gate area that an Air Law has been violated and b) encourage everyone to get in line to change their seat assignment, ask about what snacks will be served and question whether the pilots assigned to the flight wear boxers, briefs or thongs.

I've never quite understood why gate agents think they can get away with lying...because the plane is not coming and they know it. It's one thing when a President or Sports Figure lies, 'cause there's a chance they can pull it off (yeah, good luck with that). But when you know the flight hasn't left Reagan and you're saying it'll be a 30 minute wait in Denver? You're busted before you start.

So, it's only fair that, since they are annoying us, we return the favor.

TravelMuse Shows Troubled Tourists the Way

It's one of those concepts that takes a while for many of us to grasp...that it's the small mindless purchases that stack up in the end and put us in a position to not be able to acquire something of substance. Like the conversations a few years ago with one of my daughters that had developed a serious Starbucks jones.

"You know, honey, just two less Starbucks a week and you could buy 30 more songs a month from iTunes...songs that you'll be able to enjoy forever." Yeah...whatev.

Well, TravelMuse has taken that same concept and applied it to travel with Yaycations. An online calculator shows how much a traveler could save by cutting back on coffee, DVD rentals, fast food and 17 other discretionary purchases.

In my test-drive...I saved over $750. Which could be just enough to make the numbers work for that next vaca.

Very Cool.

And thanks to Iconoculture for the catch.

Best Damn Snowball Fight

With roughly 15 inches of snow falling in Madison over the past 24 hours...why wouldn't students at the University of Wisconsin set out to break the world record for biggest snowball fight in history.

While these types of attempts are de rigueur at UW, video and YouTube now chronicle the attempts like never before.

I love the first video here, where fate, luck and whimsy come together to nail the videographer...who said, just moments before, "I am the target."

Tightrope Walking Over Texas Stadium

Well, not exactly over the top of Texas Stadium...but I'm sure it feels that way for our friend Maura Gast of the Irving CVB.

As explained in a fascinating story in this weekend's Dallas Morning News, Maura is leading the efforts to land a corporate sponsor and a national contest for the upcoming implosion of the former home to the Dallas Cowboys. To make the deal work, she must sell the City and the 'boys on the concept...without spilling the beans on who covets the sponsorship. Divulge the name...the deal's off.

Which means the City and the Cowboys must trust Maura. To not do so costs everybody great visibility on the international stage.

But, for control freaks (like cities and football teams tend to be)...this has got to be killing them.

3 Key Questions

Fred Reichheld penned a great book called, "The Ultimate Question." Forbes recently offered the 10 Questions you should never stop asking.

Three of them are key:

• What is our purpose for existing?

• Who is our target audience?

• Why does anyone need what we're selling?

Questions that we all need to ask more often than we do....

The Next Step in Quantifying Impact

The Destination & Travel Foundation has developed a case study demonstrating how tourism in Phoenix impacts city, county and state government. And, unlike most impact studies...this one factors in a new impact.

Property Tax. At last.

A number of us have talked about this for a while...but it's now quantified. Over a quarter of all taxes generated by visitor expenditures come in the form of property taxes. In Phoenix, every hotel room generates just over $1700 in property taxes each year. Which is more per square foot than comparable property tax on homes.

This changes the conversation. A lot.

The Luxurious Voice of Cow

That would be John Cowan...

I've been a huge fan since hearing him on internet radio in a hotel room in Roanoke VA years ago (funny that I remember exactly where I was...but his voice'll do that to you). I've collected several of his CDs, from his days with the New Grass Revival to his stint as a soul singer to where he is today...a fascinating mix of bluegrass, jazz, blues, country and gospel.

And one of the most beautiful voices on the planet. As I finally got to witness last night in West Bend WI.

He's on a tour supporting his holiday season release "Comfort and Joy." If you're anywhere near Cleveland, Buffalo, Vienna VA, Petersborough NH, West Newton MA, Lexington MA, Piermont NY, Asheville NC or Aberdeen NC over the next two weeks...treat yourself. Tour schedule and samples of the new CD are on John's MySpace page.

Thanks for a wonderful evening, John. And please come back to Wisconsin soon.

How Hard Can This Be?

In a hotel room, looking for the ice bucket. Grab the obligatory baggie because we can't trust that housekeeping actually washed the bucket.

That's been going on for....what? 3 years? More?

So, forgive me, but...shouldn't hotels have figured out by now what size baggie works with their ice buckets? I'd bet a third of the hotels in which I stay haven't...and usually provide baggies that are too small.

But then there's this one. Which reminds me of that great line in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where, after blowing the shit out of of a train car, Redford looks at Newman and says, "Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?"

Nashville Trains Taxi Drivers

A year ago, Nashville Tourism officials blasted local cabbies for their rudeness. The cabbies retorted that they didn't make enough money and threatened to strike.

What a difference a year makes. Armed with a grant from the Nissan Foundation, the Nashville CVB, the Tennessee Foreign Language Institute and Metro Transportation and Licensing Commission are offering 3-day training programs to taxi drivers, many of whom weren't actually trying to being rude to visitors. They just didn't understand American culture (there's a switch).

The program helps them with English idioms, the area's colloquialisms and how to greet passengers warmly and make eye contact. The goal: 200 of the city's cabbies through the groundbreaking program over the next year. Very Cool.

No word whether they are teaching them to say, "You talking to me?'

My Mom Just Poked Me

No...not MY Mom. She's not on Facebook (I don't think). But Outside Joke's is.

Hilarious video on how parents are screwing up the online world for their kids.

A Different Kind of Luxury Travel

Great article in this month's issue of Wired (and online here) on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, which plans to launch its space-tourism play in 2012.

300 people have already plunked down $200,000 each (and at least one guy has cashed in his Virgin Atlantic miles) to reserve their spot on one of the 12 weekly flights planned. According to Virgin Galactic, several hundred more are "in the pipeline" and 82,000 have signed up for updates on the company's website.

Who said luxury travel was dead? 'Cause it's not about travel...it's about the experience.

After the Long Weekend...Nothing Has Changed

Last week, the Cincinnati City Council narrowly passed an $100,000 addition to its 2010 budget to bring the World Choir Games to the city in 2012. Dissenters wailed that such a subsidy sends the wrong message.

And, just what message would that be? That a city shouldn't invest $100,000 (that will be matched by $3 million in private sector sponsorship and in-kind services) to land an international event that will generate $14 million in spending on the streets of Cincinnati? That will save jobs on the edge? Not to mention expose the city to thousands of potential future residents and investors?

That it passed 5-4 is great news (way to go Mr. Lincoln). That the vote was as close as it was makes me just shake my head in wonder at how unsophisticated some elected officials can be.

Photo by Derek Jensen