Turbulence

This animated short perfectly captures the type of flyers an anxious passenger is always bound to encounter on a flight – and how a little turbulence always brings out the, err, best in people.  Our anxious flyer gets to be told off for squealing a little too loud by the father of the babies who have been squawking all through the flight.  He is sandwiched between a man whose relative has explained everything to him – it’s all down to aerodynamics – and a young businesswoman whose use of similes brings no comfort whatsoever.

The film is a collaboration between Tumblehead AnimationStudio and Houdini3D and I for one (despite being an uneasy flyer to say the least) found it very amusing.  Perhaps I related to the main character a little too much, but the final comment from the air steward at the end of the film put the metaphorical icing on the cake (as that really did happen to me once!).  Turbulence is not going to put you at your ease if the thought of flight makes you anxious, but at least it shows us that we are not on our own in that respect.

Watch Turbulence below:

Don't Jump Off The Roof!

Image Credit Flick User Hello Turkey Toe

High up on the Empire State Building a lone figure stands.  Another poor soul prepares to shuffle off their mortal coil by leaping from the ledge.  Or are they?

Image Credit Flickr User Jerseygal2009

Anthony Gormley’s latest piece of public art is causing a stir in New York City.  Event Horizon, as it is known, consists of his trademark life-sized figures, thirty one of them in total.  The only problem is that people keep mistaking them for suicide jumpers and call the police.

Image Credit Flickr User Jerseygal2009

In some respects you can’t blame those who look up, catch a glimpse of ‘someone’ perched on a ledge and panic.  After all, it is human nature to try and help someone in peril, especially if it only involves notifying the authorities and not actually doing anything else yourself!

Image Credit Flickr User Robzand

However, the NYPD is not terribly amused by Gormley’s latest attempt to provoke thought and discussion.  Since the statues have been erected they have been inundated with calls about the potential jumpers.

Each call has to be investigated and this is wasting a lot of police time.  Ironically, when the installation’s home was the capital of England, London, there were no such calls to the emergency services.

Image Credit Flickr User Robzand

Image Credit Flickr User Jerseygal2009

Perhaps that is because the buildings in London are smaller and people could more easily see that these figures are in fact statues.  Or is it that New Yorkers are in such a hurry they don’t look twice but still do the right thing and call the police to report yet another would-be suicide shuffling towards the edge of another tall building?

Image Credit Flickr User Robzand

Just in case you haven't seen one close up, here is one of the Gormley statues with its feet firmly on the ground in Madison Square Garden.