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June 30, 2007
Real news, Hilton news.
Paris Hilton's jail time is no news to Mika Brzezinski, a news anchor and experienced journalist working with US-american TV channel MSNBC, who takes matters in her own hands and threatens to burn the manuscript containing the Paris-story in front of the camera.
Unseen in the land of happy-clappy morning shows, the presenters reveal a bit about how little they actually care about what really matters to people's lives and the country. Brzezinski is the only one who's got an argument to make: that she won't present such a nonsense celebrity story as the lead on a day that has actually interesting stuff to offer.
I remember myself how difficult I found it, a couple of years back in Berlin, to present more serious topics in the context of a happy, human-interest radio show. The website of a man oppressed for years by the Eastern-German STASI (secret police), for example: the interview with him went rather wrong as the guy couldn't get his point across during our 10-minute studio slot, and wasn't happy to only get two minutes air-time in the end. We had to scratch the interview in the end.
It's great that Mika Brzezinski stood up to her editors. I believe she was either right - or is presenting the wrong format and should really work for CNN. But watch it yourself:
Posted by dr at 3:13 PM | Comments (0)
June 28, 2007
9-hour delay of a jet2 plane because the crew couldn't install seats into the aircraft.
8 hours 35 minutes
a bad poem of a bad dream
two lonely reclineable seats near gate 2
power plugs for the laptop near gate 1, far away
a £3 voucher for airport breakfast
what a fun day.
got up before 6 for the flight at 9
the monitors say it's delayed to 15.30
What the hell?
"I'm sorry sir, you've got to take it up with jet2, and that's not me!"
But don't leave, we might get going earlier!
Exploring Edinburgh Airport on a rainy Saturday.
delayed: 15.45.
8 hours 35 minutes, why?
Bad weather caused a delay at Stansted on late Friday. The jet2 crew went over-time - and they then weren't fit to fly the plane back to Edinburgh. At the time, the plane was configured to fly cargo, but it was brought to Edinburgh for the 9-o'clock passenger flight to Prague.
A new, not-so-sleepy crew arrived and brought the plane back to Edinburgh overnight. What we were told about the furhter delay was quite incredible. They didn't manage to put the seats back into the plane! It wasn't until 17.30 that the jet2.com plane finally took off into the grey Northern skies.
The flight was full, and most of the passengers were understandable grumpy. The delay was foreseeable in the early morning. Why weren't passengers not informed? Their web site said "on time" all along. The flight crew with the "jet2" badges say: take it up with jet2. Jet2, that appears to be someone else.
And then they had the guts to sell us drinks on board.
"Thanks for flying with jet2, and we hope to see you again."
Foxtrot Uniform.
PS.:
I managed to find a direct number (no call center!) though -- inofficial, and almost certainly not meant for us "valueable" customers: +44 1202 597600, and 0113238744. If you have any success with these numbers, let me know in a comment (below).
Posted by dr at 9:52 AM | Comments (1)
June 13, 2007
Norwegian Skies and a low pass
Had fun in Norway over the weekend. Excellent soaring conditions - we took the gliders around fjords, hills and mountain peaks. I was honored to be accompanied first by a Norwegian gliding champion and then by a master of aerobatics. In the end we did this low pass at 280 kph:
And here's a silly picture of me trying to use the radio with a Norwegian phrasebook. I barely learned to pronounce the Norwegian equivalent of "Notodden ground"...
Posted by dr at 2:44 PM | Comments (0)