I try not to bore you guys with my media mentions too often (if you really care, I put them on this page), but I thought you might like to see my TV debut. I got a call a couple months ago from the guys at Current TV asking if they could do a short profile piece on me. Of course, I said yes, but I had one stipulation – they had to send me a copy because I don’t get Current on my cable system. Fortunately, they put all their programming on their website.
So, here’s the clip. Head down below to read more about the filming experience and let me know what you think.
So, that’s it. It was actually a really fun experience. I started by telling my story to the guys at Current and they found a producer, Dave O’Brien, who came up with a plan. This seemed like it would be easy to set up with one exception. He wanted to do some filming on a plane.
Fortunately, the folks at Southwest were more than happy to help. They were able to arrange a Saturday morning visit to John Wayne/Orange County airport so that we could film on a plane. As you probably know, Southwest planes don’t sit on the ground for long, so if we wanted to do it, it had to be REALLY early in the day.
We met with our friendly Southwest contacts at 530a and went straight to the shiny new 737-700 that still had that new airplane smell. (It was only a couple months old.) We got that filming out of the way as quickly as we could so that they could prepare it for a full day of flying.
Once we finished in there, we filmed in the terminal, by the ticket counter, and just far enough away from security that the TSA wouldn’t hassle us. By 9a, I was already pretty tired, but the day was only half over. The producer and I had talked about some of my favorite planespotting sites, and of course I mentioned the park by the In ‘n Out at LAX. So, we left the OC and headed up the 405 to LAX.
Once there, he had the unique problem of getting me to focus on the camera long enough without looking up at the planes. As you can see in the video, that didn’t go so well because I couldn’t stop turning when I heard a plane go by. He had me talking for a long time over there about everything and anything related to the industry. Finally we finished around 11a and by then I was more than ready for a Double Double (animal style, no tomatoes) to cap the morning.
It was a very tiring day, but it was a lot of fun. Dave was a really nice guy, and though I’d never done anything like this before, he made it easy and time passed really quickly. The only snag? I have transition lenses on my glasses (yes, I’m a huge dork), so they couldn’t film me wearing them outside. I must admit, it’s pretty weird watching myself without my glasses on.
Just a couple notes here. InsideTrip was one of the many websites we discussed throughout the day, but they got some great PR here when the editing was done. In case you were wondering, I’m not affiliated with them in any way, but I did have an email exchange with the founder when I wrote my post about the site.
Also, you may be wondering why I didn’t dress up for the occasion. First of all, I hate dressing up. Seriously. I mean, I wear flip flops to PriceGrabber during the day. But more importantly, they wanted me to dress as I do when I travel. I always wear a sweater, comfortable jeans, and closed-toed shoes, usually tennis shoes.
Anyway, thanks to Current for being interested in putting this together, and thanks to Dave for doing a really great job with it.
29 comments on “Cranky’s First TV Appearance”
Congrats on the publicity Brett, very interesting clip.
Congrats!! :)
Dude, that is awesome! Way to go.
Even with the editing they did it still looks great.
Very well done Brett, congrats!
Brett-
Congratulations! Good stuff.
Awesome. Except for that giant laptop. Is that a 21″ screen, or is the 21″ LCD on my desk just making it look so big? ;)
Gotta try a layover at LAX for a trip to that In&Out burger location
Sweet, you’re famous! Okay, *more* famous. It’s a good clip, you should be pretty psyched. I’m sending it to my friends and then ordering more Cranky-wear.
I am going to be in LA for 2 days on business with some dead time. What is the best time to go to that In & Out and see the International flights come in, any recommendations
Thanks for the comments, everybody.
Oliver – Yeah, it’s not a tiny laptop, but it’s pretty thin and I like it a lot. It’s a Sony VAIO VGN-FE790, which they don’t make anymore.
David – I have yet to see a better summary of when to go to In ‘n Out than you’ll find here.
Cool! It’s a nice piece. On a side note, I wonder if the powers to be at Current fear any backlash for showing so much LUV – as Current is shown on VX’s Red entertainment system :)
Congrats, Its actually quite great to see you on video as I’ve read your stuff for quite some time.. Nice to put a moving image with a name!
Ditto – great piece. Congrats!
I found it funny how you pointed out the Southwest 757 flying overhead near the start of the video. Especially when you consider that Southwest doesn’t have any..lol. Great piece overall though.
Cool stuff. Very well produced. Thanks for sharing.
Great piece…nice finishing shot with the CX 747
Chris – Take a listen again. I definitely said it was a Southwest 737, not a 757.
Chris and CF – when I watched this I swear I heard “this southwest 757” too.
I quickly backed it up and realized the high jet noise blended in with the moderate pitch of his voice creating an “fff” sound – but listening again of course he does clearly says “this Southwest 737”
My mistake. I wasn’t making fun, and I really did enjoy your blog. I checked out the insidetrip.com site and it’s great. Thanks for the information.
That’s cool. I’m just glad I didn’t get it wrong – that would have been really embarrassing.
Nice video!
Congrats on being named one of 30 most influential blogs!
That’s quite an honor.
Keep doin what you’re doin man.
Peace.
Maybe I’ll catch you on a flight!
Hi,
Great clip. You are so laid back. You are the kind of seatmate I’d love to find next to me.
As a travel writer and a travel addict, I fly frequently, and I’ve learned to relax and enjoy not only the destination, but the trip itself.
Like you I employ tips and tricks to make travel life easier. But my best advice is to learn to love the tripping as much as the destination: the people, the airports, the unfamiliary sights, the interactions.
I turn everything into an adventure, even airport layovers, and cranky security officials, and I have the time of my life. Guaranteed.
Happy travels,
Sheree
Um, that’s. . . “unfamiliar.” The bugs that come with one-handed typing. Sheesh.
Check out my Picajet travel blog.
Hey Cranky,
You were great, Brett. So has “Entertainment Tonight” or “Inside Edition” contacted you yet for an anchor job?
Brian
Brian Lusk – Fortunately, no! Having to report on celebrities all day would probably make me want to jump off a building. If only people cared about airplanes as much as famous people . . .
Excellent clip! Congrats!
Let us know when you’ll be needing your 8 x 10 glossy publicity photos updated.
Ellen and Larry
Did you really say be ready “…to put your bag in the overhead and keep moving…?” It looked like you headed down the aisle to a seat away from where you stored your carry on.
I hate people who do that. Especially when I’m the person who comes on and finds the overhead above my seat full (espacially if it’s near the front of the plane) and have to inconvenience everyone by finding an open bin not near my seat, and then making my way back to my seat.
I think the attendants should be preventing people from doing that instead of gabbing in the galley.
Please tell me you walked down the aisle for dramatic effect and a better camera angle and you didn’t put your bag over someone else’s seat. Otherwise, you’re one of the causes of “cranky travelers”!
Good catch, Dan. That was at the direction of the producer and not my move. I will put my bag as close to my seat as possible. And I agree, that’s really annoying when other people take your overhead space. My point was to put it up and sit down – basically get out of the way.
But don’t worry – I didn’t bother anyone on this plane since we were the only ones onboard before its flying day actually started.
Brett (how fun that people are actually calling you by name here?) – I am so proud of you! You are a force to be reckoned with. I LOVED the childhood photos and who knew we had the same favorite in-n-out syle? Keep chasing you dreams, Cranky.
BRog :)