Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Monday, August 07, 2006
Why Americans Should Never Be Allowed To Travel
The following are actual stories provided by travel agents:
I had someone ask for an aisle seats so that his or her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.
A client called in inquiring about a package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?"
I got a call from a woman who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information when she interrupted me with "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts. "Without trying to make her look like the stupid one, I calmly explained, "Capecod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa." Her response ... click.
A man called, furious about a Florida package.... we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state."
I got a call from a man who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." He said "But they look so close on the map."
Another man called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had a 1-hour lay over in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and I need a car to drive between the gates to save time."
A nice lady just called. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:20am and got into Chicago at 8:33am. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of llinois, but she could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally I told her the plane went very fast, and she bought that!
A woman called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know who's luggage belongs to who?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I'm overweight, is there any connection?" After putting her on hold for a minute while I "looked into it" (I was actually laughing) I came back and explained the city code for Fresno is FAT, and that the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.
I just got off the phone with a man who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have numbers on them."
A woman called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-cola on one of those computer planes." I asked if she meant to fly to Pensacola on a commuter plane. She said, "Yeah, whatever."
A businessman called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him he needed a visa. "Oh no I don't, I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express."
A woman called to make reservations, "I want to go from Chicago to Hippopotamus, New York" The agent was at a loss for words. Finally, the agent: "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" "Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the customer. After some searching, the agent came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Hippopotamus anywhere." The customer retorted, "Oh don't be silly. Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" The agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?" "That's it! I knew it was a big animal!"
I had someone ask for an aisle seats so that his or her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.
A client called in inquiring about a package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?"
I got a call from a woman who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information when she interrupted me with "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts. "Without trying to make her look like the stupid one, I calmly explained, "Capecod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa." Her response ... click.
A man called, furious about a Florida package.... we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state."
I got a call from a man who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." He said "But they look so close on the map."
Another man called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had a 1-hour lay over in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and I need a car to drive between the gates to save time."
A nice lady just called. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:20am and got into Chicago at 8:33am. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of llinois, but she could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally I told her the plane went very fast, and she bought that!
A woman called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know who's luggage belongs to who?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I'm overweight, is there any connection?" After putting her on hold for a minute while I "looked into it" (I was actually laughing) I came back and explained the city code for Fresno is FAT, and that the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.
I just got off the phone with a man who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have numbers on them."
A woman called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-cola on one of those computer planes." I asked if she meant to fly to Pensacola on a commuter plane. She said, "Yeah, whatever."
A businessman called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him he needed a visa. "Oh no I don't, I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express."
A woman called to make reservations, "I want to go from Chicago to Hippopotamus, New York" The agent was at a loss for words. Finally, the agent: "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" "Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the customer. After some searching, the agent came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Hippopotamus anywhere." The customer retorted, "Oh don't be silly. Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" The agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?" "That's it! I knew it was a big animal!"
Popular Kyrgyz imam shot dead
By Natalia Antelava
BBC News, Kyrgyzstan
A prominent and popular imam has been killed in the south of Kyrgyzstan, in the town of Korasuv in the Ferghana Valley near the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border.
According to his family and local police, the imam - Rafik Kamalov - was shot dead by Kyrgyz special forces.
But security officials have not confirmed.... his death.
The Ferghana Valley lies in the south of Kyrgyzstan - the very heart of Muslim Central Asia.
Authorities have been cracking down on what they call Islamic fundamentalism.
Outcry
In an interview with the BBC, Kyrgyz security officials confirmed that they had killed three men during a special operation on Thursday night and that all of them were members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan - a banned radical organisation.
The officials neither confirmed nor denied that Rafik Kamalov, the Imam of the biggest mosque along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border, was among them.
But family members, who are preparing for the funeral, deny that he belonged to any Islamic group.
For the past month, Kyrgyz security services, often with the help of their Uzbek colleagues, have launched a massive operation aimed at eradicating what the government here calls the serious threat of Islamic fundamentalism.
But human rights groups have voiced concern that this label is often used to silence political dissent.
The death of this hugely popular Imam could provoke a major public outcry among the deeply Islamic population of the Ferghana Valley.
BBC News, Kyrgyzstan
A prominent and popular imam has been killed in the south of Kyrgyzstan, in the town of Korasuv in the Ferghana Valley near the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border.
According to his family and local police, the imam - Rafik Kamalov - was shot dead by Kyrgyz special forces.
But security officials have not confirmed.... his death.
The Ferghana Valley lies in the south of Kyrgyzstan - the very heart of Muslim Central Asia.
Authorities have been cracking down on what they call Islamic fundamentalism.
Outcry
In an interview with the BBC, Kyrgyz security officials confirmed that they had killed three men during a special operation on Thursday night and that all of them were members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan - a banned radical organisation.
The officials neither confirmed nor denied that Rafik Kamalov, the Imam of the biggest mosque along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border, was among them.
But family members, who are preparing for the funeral, deny that he belonged to any Islamic group.
For the past month, Kyrgyz security services, often with the help of their Uzbek colleagues, have launched a massive operation aimed at eradicating what the government here calls the serious threat of Islamic fundamentalism.
But human rights groups have voiced concern that this label is often used to silence political dissent.
The death of this hugely popular Imam could provoke a major public outcry among the deeply Islamic population of the Ferghana Valley.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Thursday, August 03, 2006
We Fest: the hottest seats in country
Jon Bream, Star Tribune
Last update: August 03, 2006 – 12:27 AM
DETROIT LAKES, MINN. - Close the corral. The We Fest -- the country-music-and-camping festival that starts its 24th year today at the Soo Pass Ranch -- is sold-out for the first time.
"They're packing 'em in," said Dianne Matthews of St. Paul, a 13-time We Fester who arrived Tuesday at her site at the VIP campgrounds. "People started coming on Saturday."
The unprecedented sellout of.... 45,000 tickets can be attributed to two factors: the strongest music lineup ever and a reconfiguring of the seating that slightly reduced capacity.
First, the three-day lineup -- it's hotter than July was.
Through Saturday, the $5 million We Fest will present four of country's biggest acts. Rascal Flatts, tonight's headliner, is the most popular country group since Alabama. Their "Me and My Gang" is the second-best-selling album of the year -- in any genre.
Brooks & Dunn, who top Friday's bill, have been named vocal duo of the year by the Country Music Association (CMA) in 13 of the past 14 years.
In 1996, Brooks & Dunn also were chosen entertainer of the year.
And, to top it off on Saturday night, it's the CMA's two most recent entertainers of the year -- Keith Urban (Mr. Nicole Kidman) and Kenny Chesney (the former Mr. Renée Zellweger). That's the country equivalent of Prince and Michael Jackson on the same bill in the "Purple Rain"/"Thriller" days of 1984.
"They've hit it out of the park -- it's the best lineup they've ever had," said Clear Channel Radio executive Mick Anselmo, who oversees nine Midwest country stations, some of which are We Fest sponsors.
Tickets sold faster than ever in all categories -- from $80 three-day general admission to $600 VIP with meals and drinks, said We Fest co-owner Randy Levy.
He said that some $60 one-day-only tickets will still be available but that all 8,000 campsites are taken.
"If somebody shows up in a car with four people who have tickets and one who doesn't, we'll certainly sell them one ticket and not send them back to Minot," Levy said. "But I don't have any camping to sell them."
More seats and services
The promoter said his staff listened to festivalgoers and added more reserved seats, thus reducing capacity by 5,000.
We Fest also added one campground, 10 ice stations, four gates to the music area and 60 permanent toilets, with 43 designated for women.
Despite the unprecedented sellout, Becker County Sheriff Tim Gordon does not expect this We Fest to be different from its predecessors -- save for some road construction in Detroit Lakes that his force has never encountered during the event.
"The majority of what we're doing is the same," said Gordon, who has witnessed every We Fest.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, he estimated that at least 30,000 people had already arrived in the 10 campgrounds.
Some of the fans might want to plan ahead for next year's 25th anniversary We Fest and buy an early-bird special three-day general-admission ticket for $80 this weekend at the Soo Pass Ranch.
Last update: August 03, 2006 – 12:27 AM
DETROIT LAKES, MINN. - Close the corral. The We Fest -- the country-music-and-camping festival that starts its 24th year today at the Soo Pass Ranch -- is sold-out for the first time.
"They're packing 'em in," said Dianne Matthews of St. Paul, a 13-time We Fester who arrived Tuesday at her site at the VIP campgrounds. "People started coming on Saturday."
The unprecedented sellout of.... 45,000 tickets can be attributed to two factors: the strongest music lineup ever and a reconfiguring of the seating that slightly reduced capacity.
First, the three-day lineup -- it's hotter than July was.
Through Saturday, the $5 million We Fest will present four of country's biggest acts. Rascal Flatts, tonight's headliner, is the most popular country group since Alabama. Their "Me and My Gang" is the second-best-selling album of the year -- in any genre.
Brooks & Dunn, who top Friday's bill, have been named vocal duo of the year by the Country Music Association (CMA) in 13 of the past 14 years.
In 1996, Brooks & Dunn also were chosen entertainer of the year.
And, to top it off on Saturday night, it's the CMA's two most recent entertainers of the year -- Keith Urban (Mr. Nicole Kidman) and Kenny Chesney (the former Mr. Renée Zellweger). That's the country equivalent of Prince and Michael Jackson on the same bill in the "Purple Rain"/"Thriller" days of 1984.
"They've hit it out of the park -- it's the best lineup they've ever had," said Clear Channel Radio executive Mick Anselmo, who oversees nine Midwest country stations, some of which are We Fest sponsors.
Tickets sold faster than ever in all categories -- from $80 three-day general admission to $600 VIP with meals and drinks, said We Fest co-owner Randy Levy.
He said that some $60 one-day-only tickets will still be available but that all 8,000 campsites are taken.
"If somebody shows up in a car with four people who have tickets and one who doesn't, we'll certainly sell them one ticket and not send them back to Minot," Levy said. "But I don't have any camping to sell them."
More seats and services
The promoter said his staff listened to festivalgoers and added more reserved seats, thus reducing capacity by 5,000.
We Fest also added one campground, 10 ice stations, four gates to the music area and 60 permanent toilets, with 43 designated for women.
Despite the unprecedented sellout, Becker County Sheriff Tim Gordon does not expect this We Fest to be different from its predecessors -- save for some road construction in Detroit Lakes that his force has never encountered during the event.
"The majority of what we're doing is the same," said Gordon, who has witnessed every We Fest.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, he estimated that at least 30,000 people had already arrived in the 10 campgrounds.
Some of the fans might want to plan ahead for next year's 25th anniversary We Fest and buy an early-bird special three-day general-admission ticket for $80 this weekend at the Soo Pass Ranch.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Corkamama's Birthday Dinner Details
- Who: Corkamama
- What: Her birthday
- When: August 9th, 6:45pm
- Where: Buca di Beppo, 12650 Elm Creek Boulevard
- How: 763.494.3466 for Directions
We have made a reservation for 16 people so, please let me know if you
plan to come by Monday August 7th.
Regards,
Sara
Sara Jorde Photography
612-338-6923
www.jorde.com
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
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