How airport security changes your mood...

[via]

np:

Rumba Rumbero, Desi Arnaz & His Orchestra

Juke, Little Walter

Mighty Long Time, Sonny Boy Williamson

Things that make me happy...

...when I am stuck at the airport.

Portland International Airport [PDX] has an exhibit called 'From Junk to Funk' [not a great name IMO].

Appropriate for any runway, here is a dress made from miniblinds. [via Stuck at the Airport]

The layered ruffles of this evening gown are made from coffee filters.  [via Stuck at the Airport]

Probably the coziest wedding dress I have ever seen -- a beautiful, white comforter is used as the skirting material. [via hovering]

You can see these and more fashions through September 2010 in Concourse E.

np:
Gonna Rise and Fly, Greg Hale Jones
Sun Cycle, Blue Cheer
Walk on By, Isaac Hayes

Latest douche-baggery

Flights Out of Newark Airport Halted for Possible Security Breach

[air rage cartoons]

I wonder what fresh new horror I'll face at the airport on Friday? 

np:

Until Next Time, Bassnectar

Malevolent Landscape, Patrick O'Hearn

Preacher Man, Lynyrd Skynyrd 

Can you spot...

I flew out of Cleveland Hopkins this week.  These cases hang by the security line.  The sign says that this is "a small sample" of the weapons confiscated at Hopkins since 9/11.  Can you spot:

• the whip?
• the brass knuckles?
• the belt of bullets? 
• the dynamite?

It's difficult to see in this picture, but on the very bottom left, there are decks of playing cards in metal cases.  Why????

DTW - Detroit Metro Airport

I had a long layover at DTW this week.  I *do* like this airport.  It's got just enough -- I mean that it has just enough shops and perks without being overwhelming.  It's also very well designed.   The ceiling height and the width of the councourse allow you to get an overview of all of the gates and restaurants down the aisle.  I'm having trouble articulating this and I couldn't really find a good picture online.  You just feel oriented the whole time.

[each gate sign has its own clock]

[Note that the following beautiful pictures were taken by Scott Beale at Laughing Squid.  There is a series for both the tunnel and the fountain.  They are both worth checking out!]

Light Tunnel:

To get between concourses, you can use the red tram in the above picture or this lighted pedestrian tunnel.  Imagine a half-pipe combined with a mood ring.  You ride along on the Jetson sand-belt thing or you can just walk down the middle. The colors in the ceiling are synchronized with an original musical score and they change and morph while you are making your way through.

I should like it more than I do.  I appreciate the sense of calm that it intends, but the lights sometimes make me feel like they will trigger a migraine.  I suppose if there were a real problem with seizures, there would be a warning sign posted.  Or they would hand out blinders or something.

Dancing Fountain

This is just to the left when you emerge from the Light Tunnel into Concourse A.  Everything that you could ever want is to the left in Concourse A -- SBUX, a spa and this fountain.  I could watch it for hours.

OraOxygen

I am a spa addict.  I have an acute sense of when I'm approaching one.  Shall we call it 'spa-dar'?  No, you're right.  We probably shouldn't.

They gave me an 'oxygen treatment with aromatherapy' while waiting for my manicure.  Personally, I think you can skip this.  They hook you up to a nebulizer with a nasal cannula.  What made it worth every penny was that they gave me an ottoman to put my feet up.  That was amazing.  It felt sooooo good.

The manicure was very good.  She also gave me a great tip for removing mistakes with dark nail polish (I was wearing Diabolic).  She had these little artist brushes, which she dipped into straight acetone.  The polish comes right off of your skin.  She said that you have to use 100% acetone or it doesn't work as well.  I think this tip will change my life in some way.

For a directory of airport spas, about.com has this nice list.

Smoking Policy

This airport allows smoking -- albeit in designated areas, but that includes any restaurant bar.  If you must stay away from cigarette smoke of any type, then you should avoid the restaurants with bars.  I went to the Grey Goose Martini Lounge.  It must have been very well ventilated because I couldn't smell a thing and my table was pretty close to the poor puffers.

PIT - Pittsburgh International Airport

I think this is pretty much my favorite airport in the country.  I used to fly in and out of this airport when I was a kid.  It was pretty bad.   In 1992, PIT transformed the airport from an arrangement of what we called 'pig troughs' to one of the nicest airports in the country.  It is open, airy and it has art exhibits scattered around the terminals.

Megan Herwig: The Block Clouds: Mixed Media

Urbanic 2: Catalysing a Regional Economic Renaissance exhibit 

featuring local Pittsburgh artists

curated by MoxBox Consulting

PIT was the first airport in the country to use the AirMall concept.  This is different than other airport marketplaces because the prices are not inflated to airport pricing; they are priced as any other mall in the area. It's meant to feel like a local mall and it has enough shops to fill a galleria.  PIT has also received top status in Condé Nast Traveler’s '2009 Business Travel Award' for the areas of shopping, dining and amenities.

 

[calder mobile exhibit via flickr]

There is one common terminal for all arrivals and departures.  The terminals have a spacious layout that feels 'uncrowded'.  There are plenty of restrooms and there are help-desks for visitors on the airside and the landside. 

A feature that I particularly like is that they provide all postal services including USPS, FedEx and UPS.  They even have a RiteAid.

If you get stuck there for some reason, there is a Hyatt Regency attached to the airport.  You don't even have to go outside.  (You will have to go through security to get back in, though.)