Six Flags Over Texas Has a Ridiculous Deal Running

Six Flags Over Texas was recently featured (kind of) in our Top Ten Amusement Parks list for good reason: Six Flags dominates rollercoasters.

Of course, that domination usually comes at a price to your wallet. But not in Texas, baby -- starting tomorrow, Six Flags Over Texas customers can purchase SIX admissions for the low, low price of $49.99. No joke.

"While it’s tough and everyone has to watch their discretionary spending, value’s going to win out. Tried and true is going to win out. Those that are investing in the product are going to win out," said [Mark] Shapiro [Six Flags CEO], who walked the grounds with Steven Martindale, Six Flags Over Texas president. They stopped to inspect the Texas Giant wooden roller coaster, slated for $10 million in new track, trains and controls in the fall.

Hey, what can I say? That's a freaking steal. It's a bit of a nightmare that they're not pushing it to all their parks -- I have zero chance of going to Six Flags Over Texas six times this summer, and, again, I don't care for rollercoasters, but the fact of the matter is that the park is fun enough on its own and if this was an option at Carowinds (just an hour from my house) you can bank on me being there six times over the course of the summer, just out of sheer principle.

Yamaguchi: One Dead, 20 Sick After Hotel Gas Leak

A young photographer died and 20 others fell ill after a gas leak in a Yamaguchi Prefecture hotel in Japan.

The Yamaguchi Shuhou Plaza Hotel was occupied by around 80 people at the time, most of them part of an elementary school group from Takatsuki visiting the famous Akiyoshi Cave.

A photographer in his 20s died after being taken to a hospital and a teacher briefly lost consciousness, according to the police. There were no students who felt seriously ill, they said.

The police said three nurses accompanying the students and teachers first collapsed soon after entering a top-floor room in the three-story hotel, while most of the students were eating dinner on the first floor. Teachers and others who tried to rescue them also collapsed.

The Yamaguchi prefectural police said the poisoning appeared to be from carbon monoxide. The students will visit the mine Wednesday as planned, before returning to their home town of Takatsuki in the Osaka Prefecture.

Twitter Robbery of Arizona Man Could Freak Some Folks Out

Twitter -- you know what it is, obviously, please, in addition to following PTG and myself? -- doesn't have many downsides, provided you're not some cranky old person that hates "those dang kids and their blog machines!" Or if you're Twitter user "@IzzyVideo" who recently tweeted that he and his family were going on vacation. Good times, right? Um, no. He got robbed, likely as a result of the social media site's ability to reach hundreds of thousands of people.

On May 24th, Izzy dropped this:

We made it to Kansas City in one piece. We're visiting @noellhyman's family. Can't wait to get some good video while we're here. :-)

And then four days later ...

Well, it's confirmed. Someone stole my Mac Pro and two displays while I'm visiting relatives here in Kansas City.

But, fortunately (I guess) the robbers left his Xbox. Now, before everyone decides to freak out and blame the Twittermachinez for this horrible travesty, let's go ahead and point out the same thing that Izzy did: his Twitter account automatically updates his Facebook status. That means Izzy could have accidentally sent this message out to thousands of people (I'm not his friend, so I have no clue how many he has) in addition to the over 2,000 folks that follow him on Twitter.

And the other thing, as I tell my parents often, is that we live in a very transparent world when it comes to internet personalities -- most of the "interwebz people" aren't hidden behind some odd name or false front anymore, particularly if they earn their living online. Which means that if you see Person X tweet that they're somewhere on vacation, and that person has a website where they make a living, you can probably find out where they live (or at the very least, check the WhoIs.net registration for the site) or at the very least get your Google/White Pages on.

Izzy actually has his full name, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and mobile phone number on his website. That's not particularly shocking, because it's his business site, but the thing is with a mobile number and a first and last name, you can track anyone in the world down to their home address pretty quickly. Which is what someone, obviously, decided to do.

Either that or one of Izzy's friends is a real jerk. The lesson? Well, it's not that "Twitter is evil" or the "Internet will kill us all" as many people will probably shout once they see his story all over the news (it's been picked up by ABC, NBC, CBS and then tweeted by IJustine, who's actually bigger than all of those, somehow).

The lesson is that you have to be careful when you broadcast something on the interwebz. Yes, it's that simple: just think before you tweet, folks.

67 Days of Smiles: Orlando Presents Free Money to Do Nothing

Queensland, Australia already made international news with the "Best Job in the World" promotion. Now, Orlando, Florida is trying to follow suit with their "67 Days of Smiles" promotion, which is going to pay two lucky people $25,000 to hang out for three months and ride amusement park rides.

No, it's not as long or as tropical as the BJITW, but it's still pretty sweet.

Work and play are one-and-the-same! The selected pair will experience everything from roller coaster riding to hang gliding, swimming with dolphins, golfing, shopping, spa-ing, gator wrestling, museum exploring, theatre-going and more.

The catch? There isn't one! No, there's not really. All that's required is that you "pick a partner," (bf, gf, brother, random homeless person, whatever) and create a 1-minute video which somehow explains why you're qualified to run around Orlando and have fun. Then you take pictures of your smiles (which might make the random homeless dude a bad choice) and apply online.

Orlando's Tourism board asks about a "blog, Facebook, Friendfeed, Flickr, Linkedin, Myspace, Twitter and YouTube" so it's pretty obvious that they want someone with tons of social media experience and an ability to spread the word VIRALLY (it's so buzzy and hip!) about Orlando's fantastic attractions.

Of course, that doesn't make it less awesome that you get to smile for a camera over the next 67 days, or generally hang out and ride rollercoasters while getting paid 25k for it, but it does mean that if you can figure out what Orlando's trying to do here -- and I believe I just told you, right?? -- that you stand a much better chance of making yourself an attractive candidate for the gig.

Via Walletpop:

Cleveland Tourism Videos [Late Meme Action]

We couldn't possibly be more tardy on the Cleveland Tourism Videos (note: they're not real, ya'll) internet meme. But that's okay. They're still hilarious. And when I saw that TNT decided to spoof a spoof with their Inside the NBA promo last night, I couldn't help but realize that late or not, people needed more of Cleveland. YEAH! Seriously, it stinks to be Cleveland and get dogged here, but these are hysterical.



And the second one ...

JetAmerica Offering $9 Airplane Tix

Airplanes typically tend to favor bigger markets; this is an obvious economic trend based on the fact that more people and more money reside in said markets.

But just like .OBP was ignored for years in baseball (see Michael Lewis' Moneyball), the large-market trending of airlines creates a value void of sorts: which is exactly why JetAmerica is offering $9 airplane flights from various mid-size markets.

Clearwater, Fla.-based JetAmerica said 34 nonstop passenger flights a week will
start July 13 at Toledo, Ohio; South Bend, Ind.; Melbourne, Fla.; Newark, N.J.;
Minneapolis and Lansing, Mich. Twenty-eight flights start or end at Newark
Liberty International Airport. The carrier will add six more flights — from
Toledo to Minneapolis — starting Aug. 14.

And the reason they're flying into places like this is that, as mentioned above, the mid-size markets have been ignored. Oh, that and they're getting subsidies from the various geographical locations in order to provide service there for cheap, cheap rates.

Yes, the word "subsidy" sends a shiver down my spine too, but remember, these are coming from the airfields themselves. It's not some awkward GM/Big Tobacco situation.

Rapping Flight Attendant Explains Generally Acceptable Accounting Principles to Southwest Shareholders

No. The title is not a mistake. Southwest's upper management people decided that they should bring David Holmes, the famous rapping flight attendant, to the shareholders' meeting in the role of "rhythmic ambassador" to explain actually what "Generally Acceptable Accounting Practices" are. As the CEO explained, "Now GAAP is fun!



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'Cheese Rolling and Wake' Festival: Where Hilarity Always Ensues

I wish I could possibly attempt to explain the unintentional hilarity revolving around the annual Gloucestershire 'Cheese Rolling and Wake' at Cooper’s Hill near the village of Brockworth. But I can't. What I will tell you is that the "winner" of the "race" is a five-time winner (consecutive, no less!) named Chris Anderson, who, at the age of 21, just retired from the "sport."

David de Rothschild to Sail the Pacific in the Plastiki, a Boat Made Entirely of Recyclable Plastics

The Plastiki is an odd "boat," mainly because it is made entirely of recyclable plastics. Of course, that would just be kitschy, if David de Rothschild's didn't plan on sailing across the Pacific Ocean in the literal piece of junk. Via the New Yorker.

Disney Plans D.C. Hotel at National Harbor

Earlier this week, Disney Parks and Resorts purchased a 15-acre site from the Peterson Companies at the National Harbor in Prince George's County, Maryland.

The property overlooks the Potomac and is being considered for a new stand-alone Disney hotel. Milton V. Peterson, chairmen of the Peterson Companies, was thrilled over the sale:

Disney is the top family entertainment company in the world, and its purchase is a great vote of confidence in the future of National Harbor.

For Disney's part, Jay Rasulo, Chairman of Parks and Resorts, said the family entertainment giant had plenty to offer and plenty to gain from a Washington DC property:

As we began identifying possible locations to grow our business, the Washington, DC area immediately jumped to the top of the list. National Harbor offers an array of entertaining activities for regional visitors, but it is also a family-friendly base camp, from which visitors from around the world can explore the stirring sights and inspirational stories of our nation’s capital.

Disney's new resort hotel will join an already wide variety of National Harbor attractions, including a variety of restaurants and venues, boutique stores and J. Seward Johnson Jr.'s mildly terrifying but completely awesome sculpture, "The Awakening." (pictured above)