The diversity of SDA readers never ceases to amaze me. Or perhaps I’m thinking of “alarm”.
Gord Marsden explains;
Flugtags are homebuilt human powered airplane flying contests that are held around the world every year for the past 15 years.
Flugtag is German for Fly Day and is sponsored by Red Bull – the energy drink, “Red Bull gives you wings”, thus the sponsorship.
The first Red Bull Flugtag took place in Vienna, Austria, in 1991. Since then, more than 35 Flugtags have been held around the world — from Ireland to San Francisco — attracting up to 300,000 spectators at each event. The record for the farthest flight-to-date currently stands at 195 feet set in 2000 at Flugtag Austria. The U.S. record stands at 155 feet set in Nashville, TN in 2007.
Teams are judged on three criteria: distance, creativity and showmanship. What constitutes a craft is purely up to the imagination of the participating teams. Past Red Bull Flugtag entries have included a pregnant cow, a diaper-delivering stork, a pimped-out Cadillac, a giant Oompa Loompa, and yes folks — a lobster named Larry. This years North American Flugtags are held in Nashville TN and Austin TX. The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (thanks Hillary Clinton) is the only foreign entry into the US flugtags this year.
And based on this set of Youtube videos, maybe the last.
“We’re the only foreigners in the competition,” declares Gord. “We live in the Great White North – America’s Hat – where the temperature averages 1 degree Celsius over the year.” The team’s politics are purportedly as icy as their homeland. “We’re driving almost 5,000 miles round trip to be at the event,” says Gord in reference to the teammembers’ residences in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the Alberta towns of Calgary, Lethbridge (where Heather attends the University of Lethbridge), Strathmore, and the “Redneck Riviera” of Eagle Lake (aka, “the test site”). Gord adds, “Our skit is based on the most iconic right-wing politicians – Ronnie Reagan, Maggie Thatcher, and Donald Rumsfeld – overcoming the bad green influence of Al Gore on the young Stephen Harper.” In case that final name leaves you out in the cold, Flugtag faithful, Stephen Harper is the prime minister of Canada.
In the tradition of the truly goofy, a time waster if ever there was one. But as they’re advertising SDA to Flugtaggers worldwide on the side of their trailer, I owe them. So, try to be complimentary, eh?
I’d love to be complimentary….I love Flugtag, Red Bull, Calgary, Lethbridge and Harper. And Reagan.
But I’m still a little amazed. Much like the skyrocket, over-priced Real Estate market, word of Flugtag makes it to Saskatchewan 15 years late, after the hey day, and while in decline. Always at the back end of things here….
Via la Socialist Paradise!
Vast Right Wing CONSPRIACY???
Uncle-Daddy from Nashville is seriously funny.
Unlike The Northern Maggieus, this Maggie may get her knickers in a knot.
No, WC,”Vast Right Wing Conspiracy”!
Something like the ‘Frisbee-Head-Hippie’ crowd.
What struck me was;
“We live in the Great White North – America’s Hat – where the temperature averages 1 degree Celsius over the year.”
Hard to believe —– but from Enviro Canada site;
Year round, day and night, average temp
Winnipeg 2.6 C
Ottawa 6.3 C
Van 10.3
That ain’t a hell of a lot above freezing!!
Drop it a bit and Canucks are into another ice age — like the one only 15000 years ago —- ice a kilometer or two thick !!
And Gore and Suzuki want to make us another degree colder !!?? By wrecking our lifestyles.!!??
By the way, those temps were from EC’s site — who knows how much they are skewed to the warm side (surfacestations.org) to help the ‘our-fault-global-warming-crowd’.
I know. They promise us warmer winters and wetter summers under the global warming models.
I’m failing to see the downside in this.
calgary +1 C. with a standard deviation of 0.5 C
over one hundred years. this with a climate that can vary 40 degrees in one day.
edmonton +1C
grandprairie 0
highlevel -1
it gets worse further north.
Some people have way too much time on their hands. 😀
WLMR: I only wish I had a little extra time on my hands to be a child again. If you can’t enjoy every day, come to SDA and enjoy a minute or two.
Thanks Kate, for the opportunity to get goofy.
I too worry about the amazing and sometimes alarming commments on your blog. But, you know Kate, as a health professional I figure your folks can get by with the occasional ativan or a few cocktails or both. I know I do.
Beware of those Rabble folks though! I’m thinking thorazine and straitjackets over there.
Well Kate, I feel too gellow to get moofy. I guess I’m just one of your folks.