Le Festin

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My friend blogged (http://fivecentwhiskey.blogspot.com/) about this SNL Digital Short a while back and I thought I would do the same.

In late September of 07, Columbia University in New York invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak. This was highly controversial considering the strained diplomatic relationship between the United States and Iran. The tension has been caused by everything from fears of an Iranian nuclear program to accusations of Iran aiding the Shiite militias in Iraq.

This short video highlights what is perhaps our greatest weapon as a nation. Amid all the threats posed by Iran and those posed by the U.S. right back (preemptive war anyone?), nothing can defend against the threat of merciless parody. The nation that banned YouTube, Wikipedia, and Western music has no recourse against the institution of American humor. When your whole identity is predicated on being taken seriously, what could be more devastating?

A few Ahmadinejad gems referenced in the video include denying the Holocaust and claiming that there are no gays in Iran. Enjoy.

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/1244400

Many, including myself, laughed and cringed (but mostly laughed) at poor Miss Teen South Carolina’s befuddled word salad. While there could be few greater wastes of time than trying to figure out what she meant, one thing she said stood out to me.

=> Read more!

I thought it would be appropriate if my first post was about aviation, so here it goes.

Is this ridiculous or awesome?

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1301993/L/

It is the Airbus A380. It is not the largest airplane ever made, but it is the largest passenger plane. It is 238 feet 8 inches long, 79 feet tall, and has a wingspan of 261 feet 10 inches. Sitting on the ramp empty it weighs 610,700lbs with a max takeoff weight of 1,234,600lbs! With those dimensions you would expect it to have flying characteristics somewhere on par with the Wright Flyer. Well thanks to four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines producing 84,000lbs of thrust each, the A380 can carry over 500 passengers over 8,000 miles at a speed of mach 0.85 (Mach 1 is the speed of sound). Perhaps it's most distinctive feature is the two decks of seating. This is not a new idea; it was introduced on the 747 in the 1970s. However, that airplane featured only a handful of rows and the flight deck on a sceond level at the front. The A380 has two full decks of seating. The additional capacity has led airlines to draft ambitious plans for everything from onboard suites to restaurants.

So is this thing really cool or a little frightening?

Later in the aviation category we will talk more about the intersting multi-national Airbus company, the many problems it faced in building the A380, and the differing philosophies employed by Airbus and Boeing.