Going "Nuts" Can Get You Jail TimeCho Hyun-ah, you were wildin'.

Going "Nuts" Can Get You Jail Time

Yo, unless you are craving jail time as a getaway from family and friends, DO NOT flip out over airplane snacks so much that it lands you in the slammer. Because "nut rage" or any kind of snack rage on an airplane will get you locked up like Akon and Styles P. Seriously, thanks to  Cho Hyun-ah there is now a precedent for giving people clink-clink time for snack misbehavior on airplanes. It's actually really ridiculous that it has come to this. 

Cho was sentenced to one year in prison and stripped of her titles with Korean Air due to her tantrum. The story starts way before the incident that is now known as the "nut rage" case. Indeed, this is story of privilege and entitlement that went wrong as the world watched. Cho is a Korean Air heiress (daddy dearest is the Chairman) that consistently gained higher positions and promotions up the Korean Air ladder. Her accomplishments could have been through hard work, but there have been many whisperings of alleged nepotism.  

In any case, somewhere along her way to becoming "head of cabin service" her perspective got twisted. She came to think that she could interfere with flight paths and schedules, inconvenience an entire plane full of passengers, disrupt a captain in performance of his duties, assault a crew member, and force crew members off the plane. Cho, you were wildin' out. Just because some macadamia nuts weren't served on a dish? There is definitely more to life. Maybe the year in prison will teach you that. 

And people better not start a #FreeCho campaign! 

What's the craziest thing you've ever seen in-flight? Sound-off in the comments. 

Image courtesy Huffington Post

Songspiration: The Roots "You Got Me"

Because this big world is actually small.

Songspiration: The Roots - "You Got Me"

This is one of my all-time favorite travel-themed songs. I love how Black Thought waxes poetic about meeting a woman while he's on a world tour and building a life beyond borders. Its truly beautiful and I get excited every time I see a homegrown artist on tour in another country. Yes, I wonder if I'm about to have a "You Got Me" moment. Also because ?uestlove and Erykah Badu. And because love, yo. Because love. 

Share your great travel songs in the comments so we can all fly together. 

The "Songspiration" series spotlights songs that are 1) travel themed; or 2) have travel related lines/verses; or 3) inspire me to travel even though travel isn't explicitly clear; or 4) are great airplane songs.

Going to Tokyo? Great choice!

The world's safest metropolis deuces big city crime stats.

Going to Tokyo? Great choice!

If you go to sleep and Paris and wake up in Tokyo (as Lupe Fiasco suggests you should), you'll find yourself waking in the worlds safest city for 2015. Tokyo, the world's most populist city according to the UN, is also the world's safest according to the Economists safe city index. So much for the theory that big, populous cities are dangerous, huh? The Index doesn't just account for personal safety, however. It also accounts for digital security, health security, and infrastructure safety. So, in short, Tokyo ranked highly enough in all four categories to take the title of numero uno. 

Asia holds the top three spots on the list with Singapore and Osaka following Tokyo. New York is the only U.S. city in the top 10, while Australia has both Sydney and Melbourne taking top spots. Toronto also reps for North America at number 8, while Europe claims spots 4, 5, and 7. 

The biggest surprise of the list to me was Chicago with an overall placing of 16. Yes, Chicago, Illinois is number 16 on the world's SAFEST cities list. I think we've all been hoodwinked and bamboozled by someone because its seemingly illogical that Chicago is (terribly) nicknamed Chi-Raq, yet places on the world's safest cities list. I need answers. 

Check out the entire report here or here.

Image Wikipedia

Look What We Bought The President!

Tax dollars equal an awesome ride.

Look What We Bought The President!

Our tax dollars bought the next Commander-in-Chief a brand new plane! Its like a Presidential version of the Price is Right, without the price guessing and with bigger/better prizes. Its not like the Price is Right at all. I just wanted to mention the show. Anyhoo...

The new Air Force One will be a Boeing 747-8 with all of the Presidential bells and whistles needed to be command central in the sky, if necessary. The new AF1 should be delivered some time in 2017 or 2018 and will include shielding against electromagnetic pulses, amongst many other highly classified technological upgrades. In short, the President will be flying better than first class because AF1 is in a class of its own. President Palmer would be proud and I can only dream.

Image: Wikipedia

Solar Powered Travel A Reality?

The sun's energy will power Solar Impulse 2's RTW trip.

Solar Powered Travel A Reality? Hopefully.

I consider myself to live relatively green; I recycle, watch my water usage, and try to be resourceful. In other words, I love Mother Earth and try to do my part to care for her. Except when I fly. Flying adds so many steps to my carbon footprint and the (very) slight guilt I feel about it has never stopped me from boarding a flight. Trust me, I do care about it. But am I bothered enough to NOT fly? No. No, I am not. I remain, however, a proponent of green/greener travel and engage in it whenever possible. That's why the Solar Impulse 2 excites me.

In March of this year, the Solar Impulse 2 will take off for an around the world flight using the sun as its only energy source. Yea, I can get with that. I know this is only a first step but hopefully it will lead to further developments in greener travel. If/when this technology is available to the public, I will use it (even though I'm almost certain each ticket will cost at least $858, 913.99).

Image courtesy of solarimpulse.com

Songspiration: B.O.B. "You Got Me"

A lyrical, upbeat RTW trek.

Songspiration: B.O.B. - "So Good"

Today, our light shines upon B.O.B. and his upbeat travel song, "So Good." Bobby Ray's words literally take us around the world as he shows his lady how good life can be through song. So, let's fly with him and "pack your bags real good, 'cause you'll be gone for a while." And by a while, I mean 3 minutes and 42 seconds, which is how long the song is. 

Do you know a great travel song? Share it in the comments so we can all fly together.

 

The "Songspiration" series spotlights songs that are 1) travel themed; or 2) have travel related lines/verses; or 3) inspire me to travel even though travel isn't explicitly clear; or 4) are great airplane songs.