BDC Now: Air New Zealand’s New Flight Crew Consists of Hobbits and Elves
Peter Jackson’s already directed six movies about Middle Earth, so why not tack on another four and a half minutes to help out Air New Zealand? See his work on today’s BDC Now, and read more about Starbucks’ new holiday drink, the Statue of Liberty’s new outfit, a man with a 20,000-calorie diet, and how much Americans spend on Halloween.
Listen to Frodo and Have a Safe Flight!
The airplane safety lecture is always the same. Buckle your seat belt. Look where the emergency exits are. Know how to use your life jacket. If you’ve flown once, you probably feel comfortable ignoring your flight attendant’s whole speech (even though you’re not supposed to). So it makes sense to mix things up by enlisting Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, and some other famous faces from “The Lord of the Rings’’ series in Air New Zealand’s new in-flight safety video. That said, there’s something unsettling about having characters from a fictional medieval land being responsible for flight safety. Something tells us an elf or an orc wouldn’t know much when it comes to inflating a life vest and escaping a plane crash. But hey, we can’t blame Air New Zealand for doing whatever it takes to get people to watch their safety video.
The Dawn of a New Era at Starbucks?
The pumpkin spice latte has been a revelation at Starbucks in the 11 years since it was invented. But after more than a decade of PSLs, the coffee giant is ready to bring in a new contender: the chestnut praline latte. We’ll admit that we had to look up what a praline is, and once we found out, this drink actually sounds pretty good: espresso, steamed milk, flavor of caramelized chestnuts and spices, topped with whipped cream and “spiced praline crumbs for crunch.’’ We’re not really sure why a coffee drink needs a “crunch,’’ but that’s why Starbucks is the coffee kingpin and we’re just its humble customers. The only hurdle the chestnut praline latte will have is meeting the standard set by good ol’ pumpkin spice, and it all starts with the nickname. “CPL’’ will take some getting used to, but it’s not bad. This cup of joe might just have what it takes.
Lady Liberty Looks Good in a Bow Tie
The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of American freedom, prosperity, and hope. But ever since it was dedicated more than 125 years ago, it’s always felt like it was missing… something. Now, thanks to Joe Boxer founder Nick Graham, we know what that something is: a bow tie. Graham apparently put together a bunch of 30-foot tall, 60-foot wide bow ties that he’s going to strap to some helicopters next Thursday before flying them in front of Lady Liberty’s neck. It sounds weird, but the mock ups actually don’t look all that bad. And the statue will be fine – the helicopter are expected to stay at least 500 feet away from her. That is, if this really happens. Gothamist spoke to the Federal Aviation Administration and they haven’t gotten any applications about a bow tie fashion show near the Statue of Liberty next week. So this might just be a viral hoax from Joe Boxer, but it’s probably still worth pointing your camera at Lady Liberty next Thursday – just in case.
America’s Going for Broke This Halloween
If you have any good sense, you’ve already got your Halloween costume stashed away and can spend the next week safely avoiding your local party store. If you don’t, you are bound to join the hoards combing through leftover capes and discarded crowns, trying to convince yourself that “The Magician King’’ is an acceptable costume. It’s not, but that party store will be happy to sell it to you as it tries to rack up its share of the $7.4 billion that Americans are projected to spend on Halloween this year. That’s right – when it comes to getting dressed up and giving away candy, we spend billions with a “b.’’ That sounds crazy on its own, but the breakdown is even more insane. Projections include $2 billion on candy, $1.9 billion on decorations, and nearly $3 billion on costumes, including $350 million alone on costumes for pets. Halloween is big business, but don’t worry if your wallet feels a little light as you leave the party store. A true Magician King shouldn’t have any problem just conjuring up some extra cash.
Meet a Man Who Eats Like It’s His Job
Eating 20,000 calories a day sounds like fun (just think of all the ice cream!), but eventually all that energy has to go somewhere. For most of us, it would probably go straight to our thighs. For Robert Oberst, who actually consumes between 15,000 and 20,000 calories per day, that energy goes into picking things up and putting them down at a world class level. Oberst is a strongman, and while most of his time in the public eye is spent putting his muscles to work, Vice’s YouTube channel, MUNCHIES, spent a day finding out how he powers those muscles as part of their FUEL series. As it turns out, eating isn’t easy. For Oberst, it takes between five and seven meals per day and a grocery bill that can top $400 a week to get the calories necessary to maintain his training. Not surprisingly, he spends most of that on things other than ice cream: he eats about 18 eggs a day and clears out entire shelves of meat. Ten minutes and 36 seconds might seem long for a YouTube video, but we promise it’s worth watching – even if you’re only interesting in seeing his pasta asciutta recipe at the end.
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