Posts Tagged ‘c. w.’

San Francisco’s Virgin America Airlines Gets Its Own Reality Show March 24th: Fly Girls

Friday, February 26th, 2010

San Francisco-based Virgin America Airlines has its own “docu-series” starting up on March 24th at 9:30 PM on the CW – it’s called Fly Girls (and it’s not to be confused with the In Living Color/Jennifer Lopez kind of Fly Girls from the 90’s).

Take a look. Meet Mandalay, a local “girl” who’s a Virgin America flight attendant based out of SFO in real life. Listen to her go on about the “romance of aviation” and the benefits of choosing Virgin America, the only California-based airline left by the way.

Barbie, Skipper, and the ”ethnic girlfriends of Barbie“ (or, more politely, a ”mini- United Nations of races and ethnicities“) are coming soon to KBCW-TV channel 44 / 45 and all the CW stations across America. Oh yes, their “real” names (or “reel” names) are Tasha, Louise, Mandy (or Mandi), Nikole and Farrah:

Doesn’t this promo shot from the CW Network of former beauty queen Nikole look just like a Virgin America ad?

This show is going to be something like eight half-hour Virgin America infomercials complete with 30-second commercials for shampoo and cosmetics. Nevertheless, it’s going to be better than NBC’s high-budget San Francisco-based Trauma serial, that’s a given from the get-go. (Wonder if cheeky Virgin Airlines founder Sir Richard Branson will make an appearance or two…)

Just discovered that my aging Trinitron (that could be older than you) actually receives channel 44 so I’ll be sure to tune in to check out the debut.

Excelsior, Ever Upward.

Now, meet the Fly Girls and get more deets after the jump.

Farrah Williams

Hometown Airport: LAX
Must Have Travel Accessories: Lip balm and a camera
Travel Tips: “Be nice to fellow travelers and flight attendants. It makes for a more pleasant experience all the way around.”
Security Checkpoint Tips: “Don’t make eye contact. Strip down quick so you’re not holding up the line.”
Years with Virgin America: 2 ½

Louise Nguyen

Hometown Airport: LAX (currently SFO)
Must Have Travel Accessories: Moisturizer and lip balm
Travel Tips: “While on the plane, always wear your shoes in the restroom!”
Security Checkpoint Tips: “Get in line behind someone who has already taken their shoes off, and who is not juggling a ton of things in their hands, and then do the same.”
Years with Virgin America: 2

Mandy Roberts

Hometown Airport: PHX (currently SFO)
Must Have Travel Accessory: A big, soft pashmina that can be used as a pillow or blanket.
Travel Tips: “Drink an endless amount of water.”
Security Checkpoint Tips: “Wear slip-on shoes with socks, if possible. It’s yucky to wait in line with bare feet on the dirty floor.”
Years with Virgin America: 2

Nikole Rubyn

Hometown Airport: SMF (Sacramento)
Must Have Travel Accessory: Visine
Travel Tips: “Always wear or bring socks with you to walk through security!”
Security Checkpoint Tips: “Don’t wear all of your jewelry to the airport, keep it in small bags and put it on after you get through security.”
Years with Virgin America: 2

Tasha Dunnigan

Hometown Airport: SMF (Sacramento)
Must Have Travel Accessory: Cell phone
Travel Tips: “Don’t forget your common sense at home.”
Security Checkpoint Tips: “Have all of your things in order and pay attention.”
Years with Virgin America: 2

“Fly Girls” is from Collins Avenue Productions, with executive producers Jeff Collins (“Bridezilla 3, 4 & 5,” “The Exterminators”) and Colin Nash (“The Hills,” “The City”) and co-executive producers Larry Bond and Porter Gale.

(more…)

Never Walk the Stairs to the Top of Sutro Tower – Just Take the Elevator

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Like these guys.

It would take forever to make it up the stairs to the top of controversial landmark Sutro Tower, so a swaying elevator car is the preferred method.  

Click to expand to get a closer look at a sunnier, more colorful San Francisco:

Take the tour.

Our New and Improved Sutro Tower Now Has New and Improved Digital Broadcasts

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Not that you’d really be able to tell, though. Sutro Tower Inc. has just finished a project that had some of the digital TV broadcast antennas (not “antennae” – that plural term is only used for bugs in our silly English language) gaining a higher altitude.

Not much howver, maybe a seven-percent increase, max. Does that make a big difference? No, not for most people, but at least STI is trying.

Here’s the antenna of KPIX-TV (OMG, that’s the home of Eye on Blogs – big ups, Brittney Gilbert!) a way up top, like 1700 feet above sea level. Now Channel 5 is as high as possible:

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Click to expand

The Future is Now, and what’s labeled “CURRENT” is history:

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From this:

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To this:

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Well, they were still wrapping the KPIX, KRON, KTVU antenna assembly, but you get the idea.

So it looks like we’re all set with the Great Digital TV Conversion of 2009. As long as Sutro Tower doesn’t get hit by a shooting star….

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…we’ll be all right.

Sutro Tower Has Regrown Its Antenna Antlers – Now Ready for a Digital Future

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

San Francisco’s famous Sutro Tower (owned by Sutro Tower, Inc., the buyer-offer and $hutter-upperof San Francisco’s mid-town NIMBYs) has a new look for Fall.

Here’s Before (a way back in August 2009)…

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und jetzt After, the way it looks these days (when being buzzed by a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 NG heading to El Lay, camera right, see it?)

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Click to expand

Très chic! Non?

Now, she’s all set for the next meteor shower:

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Courage.

After a Late Rutting Season, Sutro Tower Starts to Lose its Antenna Antlers

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Well here’s this scene this morning up on Mount Sutro (former home to the SF-89C Mount Sutro Nike Missile Control Station, don’t you know.) Can you see what’s missing?

Sutro Tower is losing antennas (that’s right, not antennae or antennea or anything else) and getting other updates all in the name of Our Digital Future. Get some deets here at the Burrito Justice.

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The West Stack appears all nubbed out these days, no? Click to expand.

Make your necessary adjustments and your Wheel will come in just fine every evening, as per usual. 

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Touch me.

How can it be.

Believe me

The Sun always shines on TV

2009 March of Life West Coast – Tens of Thousands Come to San Francisco

Saturday, January 24th, 2009

Of course any group of protesters naturally wants to believe they are great in number. So when turnout is hard to determine, people tend to get a little optimistic. Now let’s take a look at what the San Francisco Chronicle’s C. W. Nevius has to say about last year’s March for Life West Coast:

“They claim huge numbers for this walk – their estimate last year was 25,000 walkers, although The Chronicle story had the total at 10,000.”

Actually, The Chronicle story had the total for 2008 at at least 10,000.” To wit:

At least 10,000 abortion opponents were bused into the city from all over California, and from outside the state, for a morning rally in Justin Herman Plaza.”

Now, it’s not exactly clear what the reporters actually think in this case – it could be they just punted the issue and focussed on other matters. So it’s fairly weak support for an allegation of excessive International A.N.S.W.E.R-style overcounting.  

This was the vanguard today – it took 40-something minutes for them to all pass through. Click to expand

More photos here.

The people at March for Life West Coast appear to be generally more realistic than the average protest group, anyway. For 2009, they’re claiming more than 30,000, and one booster is saying precisely 32,200.

This number isn’t impossible, but that’s not the point. The point is that C.W. Nevius could have made his point about ignoring this large event without being devius.

Carry on.