by Paul Riegler

Today’s passengers value seat comfort above anything else, in a time when even top airlines are cutting back on legroom and personal space on aircraft, according to a new study of frequent travelers.
The GlobeRunner Insights Air Travel 2018 study also found that, despite the promise, in-flight Wi-Fi was deemed one of the least important of the criteria when choosing an airline or flight.
“Frequent flyers continue to value personal …

Review and Test Drive: 2018 Lincoln Navigator Reserve and Black Label

by Jonathan Spira

Back in the day, when I was in high school secretly reading car magazines instead of the approved reading assignment, the battle for the best luxury sedan or coupe was a fairly big deal. One of the leading car magazines of the period would refer to the winner as “King of the Hill” and typically pitted a Cadillac Eldorado against a Lincoln Continental Mark VII or, later, Mark VIII.
The Lincoln-versus-Cadillac …

Review and Test Drive: 2018 Toyota C-HR

by Jonathan Spira

Unveiled at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, the Toyota C-HR keeps everyone guessing what C-HR might stand for. In introducing the car, Toyota said the name was derived from both Compact High Rider and Cross Hatch Run-about, but that really doesn’t matter.
What does matter is that it has a distinctively funky exterior and a solid cabin design. Toyota says it’s based on what it refers to as a Sensual Speed …

Review: Sonos One with Apple AirPlay 2 and Apple Homekit Support

by Paul Riegler

Sonos became the first third-party company last week to support Apple’s AirPlay 2 standard when it issued an update for its Sonos One, Beam, Play:5, and Playbase speakers.
AirPlay 2 support means that it’s possible to speak to Siri (via an iPhone or iPad presumably) in order to control the Sonos device and adds support for multi-room playback as well as control by the iPhone’s Control Center.
While the Sonos …

Theater Review: 15 Years of ‘Avenue Q’ As Original Stars Return

by Jonathan Spira

It’s been 15 years since “Avenue Q,” the brilliant slacker musical, opened on Broadway with the cheery and rather innocent sounding opening number
The sun is shining,
It’s a lovely day,
A perfect morning
For a kid to play…
However, as the song continues, the theatergoer starts to realize we’re not on Sesame Street anymore, but on a much darker and far more fun place.
The first time I saw “Avenue Q,” shortly after it transferred …

Airbus, Boeing (Once Again) Raise 20-Year Market Forecasts for Passenger Jets

by Paul Riegler

The world’s two largest airplane manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, both raised their forecasts for aircraft deliveries over the next two decades as the Farnborough International Airshow gets underway.
Airbus, in its 20-year market forecast, said over 37,400 planes would be delivered in that period, with a value of $5.8 trillion, a 7% increase over last year’s forecast.
Boeing sees an even bigger market, however. In its annual 20-year outlook, the Chicago-based company …

Review: ‘Friends! The Musical Parody’ at St. Luke’s Theatre

by Jonathan Spira

The television show “Friends” ran on NBC from 1994 to 2004, depicting the lives of six 20-something friends who lived in New York City.  It became one of the most popular television shows of all time, garnering a total of 62 Emmy Award nominations, and inspired an Off-Broadway show, “Friends! The Musical Parody.”
Created by Tobly and Bob McSmith, who also created “Bayside! The Saved by the Bell Musical” and “90210! …

Lobby Bar – July 13: Space Odysseys, Gabor Sisters Camping, and ‘I’ll Take Stolen Vehicles for $100, Alex!’

by Anna Breuer

Lobby Bar – It’s the Real Thing, Maybe.
Open the pod bay doors, HAL. InterContinental is adding artificial intelligence to some rooms at its hotels in China, giving guests the ability to push the limits of what they can do in their rooms simply by speaking a command. Although unrelated to the new technology, one recent guest by the name of Dave reported on social media that the system is refusing …