Killing Time in Airport

Okay, here's my contribution for September issue of Asian Airlines and Aerospace. Very useful.


Killing Time In Airport

You are in a transit. You have another three hours before your next flight. What do you do? Who do you call? Ghostbusters?

Fret not, I have all the right stuff you can do to kill time. If these steps do not help, well, I suggest the most common and inevitable measure – sleep on the benches.

So, first things first, how do you deal with the stress? Head to the nearest bar and have a glass of beer? Are you crazy? Do you how much a glass of beer costs in airport lounges?

Well, I checked howto.com and it says that you should go to the gym. Well, I know its not much fun, but at least you can get tired enough to sleep on the bench.

What if the airport has no gym? Well, don’t look at me; I didn’t suggest the gym thing. The same site says that you can ‘power-walk’ around the entire airport. “Store luggage in terminal lockers, lace up those walking shoes and get the blood pumping,” the site says. How appropriate! And watch out for that “Wet Floor” sign.

Next, the helpful site says that bored passengers can “Surf the Web and answer e-mail at an Internet kiosk to make the time fly. Keep in mind that, in some airports, you'll be charged for the time you spend online.”

Always remember to spend wisely. We don’t want to see you scrounging for money because you hocked your return ticket. The Internet can be addictive, especially the chat rooms

Next, one can purchase souvenirs and presents for friends and family at the airport's gift shops and retail stores. The most popular souvenirs have always been chocolates. The reason is simple; if you get hungry you can eat them yourself. Don’t worry about the empty box, when you present them to your loved ones don’t forget to quote Forrest Gump.

“Get a shoeshine,” says the site, though it did not state what to do if you are wearing sandals. Shine your legs? The site says that many larger airports feature hallway shine specialists to buff and polish your shoes. If the airport doesn’t have such facilities you can do it yourself. What did you say? No wax of your own? Now, you know what else to bring along during your trips, don’t you?

Next comes the best part. The site asks you to enjoy a drink in the airport bar if there is one. “In US airports,” it says, “the day's big sporting event will probably be blaring on the television.” That is in the US. In other countries, the shows themselves are the reason why we should stick to the bar and drown our sorrows with a bartender who probably does not speak our language.

The seventh step is to have a good book. This is my favourite time killing measure. Make sure it’s a good book. You can scrounge the bookstores in the airport, but I warn you, you don’t usually get what you want. Sure, the bestsellers will always be there. But for readers like me, who prefer books written by authors who p[probably died fifty years ago, it can be tough. So, bring your own book. If not, bring books belonging to other people. Make sure you get their permission first though.

The site also gave an ultimate, “Keep your eye on a clock at all times, and check the departure screens regularly to ensure that you do not miss your flight.” This is provided you are not at the bar or reading a book. One can’t be doing too many things at the same time.

I hope these tips are useful. In fact, I am killing my time right now writing this piece.

Wait a minute…gosh darn! I think my flight just took off!

New Bond

This is crazy. Go to google news and type James Bond and there will be rumours on just about everyone else being tested to play James Bond. Gad. What's happening to this world?

Being a big Bond fan (my friends know how big, that's why most have played safe by staying away and issuing restraining order) I have often been asked about that: Who do you think that should be the new Bond?

I have two names: Clive Owen and Hugh Jackman. But Owen, like the third Bond, Timothy Dalton, might take the job too seriously. So, I am not sure about him. Jackman will be good. Plus, he has the market, especially over here in Asia. People know him from X-Men and Swordfish. Even his flop, Van Helsing, did big business in this region.

But all these argument are dead on water since we start getting so many news about this feller and that feller going for audition.

So, I thought and thought about it. Lets get radical. Lets think of someone nobody would have thought of.

Here it is:

Larry Mullen Jr.

"Who?" You may ask.

And say, "What are you, a f******* owl?" Haha. Okay, sorry. Stole that line from the movie Heat.

Larry is the drummer for the superband U2. I am a big fan. So are millions all around the world. Look at him. What do you think?

I think I am nuts. But back in 1961, many thought of the same of Bond producers when they took in a blue-collarish Scotsman named Connery.

Just think about it.

Movie marathon for weekend

What a weekend!!!!!!!!!

This must be the weekend I saw most movies. Anyway, I have no time to write the reviews for my movie site, so I will write mini-reviews. Here we go:

Fantastic Four:
Great fun. A very balanced script. Everything is in, the humour, the pathos, the action and the delight of superpowers. Chiklis and Evans excel - one suffering and the other having fun. The others are okay too, especially the delicious Alba. CG not overdone. Don't mind sequels.

The Island:
Interesting premise. But halfway, I kinda got sleepy. On one side Michael Bay (the director) wanted to please the critics, and the other, he wants to please the hardcore audiences he had always pleased. So, in between what seemed to be legitimately good story, there's running, explosion, fighting, shooting and more running. McGreggor is very good in what seems to be the usual Tom Cruise role (hero on the run and later gets back at the big organisation he is running away from; see The Firm, MI, Minority Report, WOTW).

Stealth:
absolute f****** waste of time. I messaged someone saying that it is not even worthy of a Pirated DVD. Jamie Foxx is wasted. He is not suited for this kind of role. The technology does not impress. The Talon aircrafts looks like the one Eastwood stole in Firefox. The stealth aircraft does not even do stealth operations. What the F***!

The other flicks I watched on DVDs.

The Mad Max movies:
I watched all three over a week period. Mad Max is okay, a bit dull. Nothing great to be recognised as a cult favourite. I guess it was the other movies that made this one respectable. The one I saw was relooped with American voices, so dubbing was bad. Like the Spaghetti Western movies.

The Road Warrior was good. Damned good fun. Mel Gibson get to do a bit of acting here, and you can see why he is perfect as action hero. The film is often said to be the source of influence for many good and bad post-apocalyptic sci-fi. I'd credit that to Escape From New York too.

Beyond Thunderdome is good, but inferior to Road Warrior. Tina Turner looks delicious. But the ending is all fuzzy. She just leaves and the movie finishes. Huh?

Laws of Attraction:
I watches this for one person only: Pierce Brosnan. He is great at comedies and nobody, not even Bond movies, tested him at that talent. He shines here. Finally shows how versatile he can be and this genre - romantic comedy - is easy as he had had the practice in TV (you know which show). Julianne Moore is good too. Nice movie, but not the one I want to revisit over and over again.

The Fogs of War:
Actually saw this last week, not on weekend. Documentary on Robert MacNamara, former secretary of defence for JFK and LBJ. Powerful. Very moving, with MacNamara (now in his 80s) narrating. Sometimes very honest, and very open, and sometimes not. But we are made aware of how stupid and emotional human being can be and how much it can cost in terms of lives. He talks how he was involved in Cuban missile crisis and the Vietnam war, as well as his other gigs like in the Ford Motor company and world bank. Great piece of work.

Got to write the full reviews for my site.