Editing problem in new Southwest Airlines commercial

I admit that this is a very picky post. However, I have been known to be a stickler for details, and if you don't believe me, ask Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her mystery plane controversy which I first reported on the hallowed pages of this blog.

The other night while I was watching the new Southwest Airlines commercial that shows the ground crew running over to an airplane of another company and baring their hairy chests which spell "Bags Fly Free," I happened to notice that somebody royally screwed the ad up.

Here's a link to the ad, which notwithstanding the editing problem, is actually one of my favorites. Diane's mother happens to find the "Y" very funny.

Did you notice anything?

Well, look again closely and this time pay attention at the :14 second mark. You can see the plane clearly in that shot and you can see that it has twin engines mounted at the rear of the fuselage. I presume this is an MD80, as seen directly below.
Now, pay close attention at the :21 second mark. At this point, we are shown the perspective of a passenger in the above-referenced plane looking out the window at the crazy ground crew. Notice, however, that in this shot, you can make out the wing of the plane, and - and this is the key point - an engine mounted on such wing!!!This means that we are dealing with two different planes, folks. The only explanation that I can think of for this is that Southwest's fleet is composed exclusively of Boeing 737s. The competitor's plane is clearly not a Boeing 737 - you know, with the rear-mounted engines and all. I assume that since Southwest wanted to use their own aircraft for the interior shot, they had to use a Boeing 737.

My question: why not use an interior shot that doesn't include the wing?

Disappointing

Making this very glamorous list of the "Lamest Blogs" was a goal I set when I started this forum. Apparently, I was not lame enough. But, fear not, I am working on being lamer than ever in the coming year.

Lies and the lying presidential candidates that tell them

Let me tell you a little story.

I did not watch the Republican National Convention for my health. I was compelled by Senator McCain's story of torture in a North Vietnamese prison and felt that perhaps I should try to endure some torture myself by watching some hateful people spew their hateful message.

By the end of it, I was severely nausceated and, frankly, I felt physically ill.

I know I'm not the brightest person out there, but I did manage to pick up the main theme of the campaign: Country First.

Fine. Lovely. Wonderful.

By the way, wasn't this guy's campaign slogan also "Country First"?

Now, I have been in rehab recently because I used to have a major problem assuming things that sometimes should not be assumed. But, wouldn't you ASSUME that the candidate whose slogan is "Country First" would use a campaign plane built in said country, in this case, the US of A?

Me too.

Then why is this Senator McCain's campaign plane?
An Airbus. A Frenchy, cosmopolitan, elitist Airbus.

Confidential to Senator McCain: Airbus is a European conglomerate. You know, the same Europe that Rudy and Fred and Mitt trashed during the convention.

One more thing: they are the biggest threat to Boeing in commercial aviation. You know, Boeing, that Seattle, WA-based company. In America.

Senator, I really do not care what plane you use. But do not be so assinine as to allow your thugs to bash Europe when you are the only candidate that flies around in a "Freedom" plane.

UPDATE: Clinton quiet on mystery plane controversy

I was very impressed with Senator Clinton's speech last night at the Democratic National Convention. As I have alluded to before, I voted for the other guy in the primary, but I think that she showed last night why 18 million people chose her instead. It could not have been easy for her last night. As she walked on-stage I could just hear her thinking to herself how she thought she would be making a much different speech at that venue.

As was first reported by this blog on August 15th, 2008, Senator Clinton was raffling off a trip to be her guest at the Democratic National Convention on a mystery plane. Sadly, Senator Clinton did not answer for "Planegate" last night.

I will not let this controversy die down. I pledge to you, my readers, that I will press the Senator's staff until I get an answer. Until then, I offer more evidence in support of Planegate.

Here is Senator Clinton's mystery plane again:

The important detail here is that this is a four-engine plane with standard landing gear underneath the wings.

Exhibit 1: This is an A340. Notice, four engines like the mystery plane, but an additional wheel underneath the wings.

Exhibit 2: Here we have an A330. Only two engines, but landing gear matching the mystery plane. I would like an answer, Senator.

By the way, as a respected plane expert, I will be endorsing a candidate for President in the upcoming general election. My pick will be determined on the color scheme of each candidate's campaign airplane. I will not be making an endorsement until after the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I did make the Obama campaign's short list for VP, although certain incidents in the summer of 2006 at the upper soccer field at Camp Wah-Nee ultimately disqualified me from contention. The McCain campaign has not contacted me yet regarding joining the Republican ticket.

No one "flied" when Clinton lied

I did not want to inject politics into this blog. After all, the beauty of airplanes and aviation in general is that it is, like the staff of the Colorado House of Representatives, non-partisan. However, I could not resist informing all my loyal readers of this obvious fabrication from the campaign of my junior US Senator (who I proudly voted for in '06), and "former" presidential candidate for the Democratic Party.

What the hell:
Senator Clinton, in an effort to fundraise to pay off some of her debt from the long campaign, is raffling off a chance to be her special guest at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO later this month.

Small problemo: the plane pictured does not exist, so it would be mighty difficult to fly into Denver on it.

It looks like an Airbus A340. In fact, since it's an airliner with four engines in that mold, the only other airplane it could be would be a Boeing 747, and we know that's not possible. However, the A340 has a much different landing gear under the wings. They look like this:

See that extra wheel in the middle? Now look for it on Senator Clinton's picture. I'll save you time: IT'S NOT THERE!

Just one more thing, Senator. If you are planning on flying your special guest to Denver on an A340, you'll have to send them to Germany first, because last I heard, the only airline using A340's into Denver is Lufthansa.

Is nothing sacred in politics anymore?