jmicha

^Just before 1:14 there's a really odd section of track in the first bunny hop. It levels out then abruptly angles back down and definitely doesn't look intentional. In fact, none of the trackwork appears very smooth. It seems like the ride has some defects. Hey, just a little something more to add to the wackiness of this ride

The ride looks like it could be pretty intense. Possibly some nice airtime going forwards over those humps and what looks to be some nice positive G's going through the loop and into the spike. I'm looking forward to some firsthand accounts of how this ride is. Certainly an interesting concept.

^I know the feeling, I was supposed to go to Universal Studios for four days starting at the beginning of December, but unfortunately some extra expenses (car getting crashed into and totaled by a 16 year old girl texting, driving 50 in a 25, in the rain, at night, with her headlights off. Needless to say, my car had to be replaced) came up. I'm keeping my outlook positive though. I'm planning for a trip next December and everything will be open by then and it will only make it better due to my two year hiatus from Orlando. I miss Universal Studios and can't wait to get back. Harry Potter, HRRR, the Simpsons ride, and the renovation of Earthquake will all be new additions to my lineup. And hopefully I'll be able to get to SeaWorld when I'm there and can add Manta and hopefully Kraken to my count (Kraken was closed for seasonal maintenance last time I was there).

Yesterday my best friend got back from school and brought his Wii with him and he has the New Super Mario Bros. and we played through the entire game from start to finish. The game is extremely fun and as addicting as the classic Super Mario games. We also played a lot of WarioWar: Smooth Moves. Despite the game being extremely odd and somewhat creepy at times, it was a lot of fun and definitely a good game to play with a group of people. I had never played anything on the Wii before, and from what I saw yesterday, there are some fun games. I still won't get it (buying my PS3 a year and a half ago is enough for video games for the time being) but it's a lot of fun.

^^Lol, I watched The Ugly Truth last week and we all had the exact same question when the sex scene came on. Both women in our group laughed at how ridiculous this was, especially considering the rating of the movie. There was no need to attempt to gloss over what actually happens, just use a sheet. But apparently using a sheet to cover up isn't acceptable anymore.

^I didn't see it in 3D. I get a headache after about five minutes of watching a 3D film. I'm not sure why, but my eyes and 3D just don't get along. But it was still awesome. I saw it twice this weekend, and it was better the second time around. I have absolutely no problem with any of the characters or the story in general. Sure some of the characters are cliches, but they weren't so over the top that it detracted at all from the story. It's one of my favorite movies and I'm pretty sure it's going to stay up in my top five for a while. I'm excited for it to come out on bluray so I can watch it whenever I want (with proper HD and surround sound that is, it is necessary for this style of movie).

^Agree fully. I saw it opening night at midnight and was in awe when it was over. The CGI is basically flawless and is indistinguishable from the real actors. The environments were beautifully designed and the characters were extremely diverse and deep. It was easy to establish a connection to the main characters. I honestly can't think of a single thing that I didn't like about the movie. Not only was the story extremely well done, but the visual stimulation is like nothing I've ever seen before. Everyone needs to go see this movie as soon as possible. 9.5/10

^That is absolute truth, everyone should have to read this post and follow it to the grave lol.

^That's not necessarily true. Somebody from the area or with more knowledge will probably be able to confirm/deny this, but didn't Marineland's Dragon Mountain advertise itself as the largest coaster in the world, or steel coaster in the world (can't remember which), and it was based on the area that it covered? Plus, this might be just a translational error for all we know. I would love if I was extremely wrong and it was a massive 456+ foot beast longer than Steel Dragon 2000 though

Personally I think the large low-to-the-ground turn was one of the best options, if not the best, for an element after such a large hill. The sensation of speed going around that turn that low to the ground then up into an airtime hill that's under the hill you just came from is most likely going to be a great start to what looks like an awesome layout. I'm glad they didn't just go into another hill right after the first drop. This is far more interesting in my opinion.

^^Oh I know it's not going anywhere, I've seen more impossible looking structures studying architecture, but even though I know how structures like this work, it still doesn't stop my brain from thinking it looks severely undersupported. I'm looking forward to hearing the reviews for this ride when it opens. Hopefully I'll be able to get out to Virginia and ride it in the near future.

It's funny, from certain angles at first glance it actually doesn't look that big because of the way the lift is constructed. The truss system looks like normal Intamin track and the lack of supports adds to the effect of it not looking that tall until you look at the surroundings to give it a sense of scale and you realize just how massive it is. That lift is going to be by far the most impressive part of this coaster once the temporary support is removed. It just looks like it's ready to fall over in the slightest breeze lol.

^I don't know much about Dubailand itself, but Dubai in general has just overbuilt to the point where new projects are being cancelled left and right. It's obvious they are attempting to transform themselves way too quickly. Projects like the Burj Dubai, the Palm Islands, The World, The Universe, Dubai Waterfront, and the likes are fun to look at, but when it comes down to it, there isn't anywhere enough demand for even one half of what has been/will be built. And I'm not even going to get started on the actual design merit of any of these projects... It's really a shame though, there were so many cool concepts for Dubailand that will most likely never come to existence. If everything had gone as planned, it would have been one killer theme park hub.

After watching both videos it looks to me like the inverted side is ahead of the sitdown side through all of the ride causing the dueling to be off. It also looks like this is caused by the inverted side accelerating more quickly on the lift than the sitdown side, which is almost guaranteed to be adjustable so hopefully they'll work things out as testing continues. It would be a shame for it to not duel quite the way it was intended.

So I saw 2012 last night. It was exactly how I expected it to be. Amazing special FX with hardly anything to back them up. The story had potential but there was just WAY too much drama, impossible situations, and movie cliches for me to take it seriously. And some of the comedic reliefs were in really bad taste and didn't really help the movie at all. If it had attempted to be a little more realistic (I know, coming from a movie about the end of the world sounds funny, but I think you'll all know what I mean) it could have been a very interesting movie. In its current state though, it's pretty laughable. 3.5/10 (for the amazing special FX)

^It's funny, those waterless urinals are really great at lowering the level of stink in a bathroom. They don't need urinal cakes (obviously, there's no water to activate them), yet they don't ever smell like urine. And they save a lot of unnecessary water-use. Things like that are a great way for a park to save on its utility bills.

^It is hilarious at how awful at driving some people can be, but at the same time I feel so bad for the car. He left it running when he got out of it...fifteen minutes later it made some gurgling sounds and died. Maybe it could have ended better if he had turned it off, I don't know, but the guy shouldn't be allowed to own such a nice car.

^^I just posted that in the Youtube thread. It makes me cry and die a little on the inside. I'm still trying to find this 'low flying pelican' that supposedly distracted him.

This just makes me cry a little on the inside. There is some language in the video at the end, just as a warning to those of you that may be offended. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32yyvmlGOdo&feature=player_embedded

^Nice, it's rare that I actually buy music (I know, bad lol) but I would definitely support a fellow TPRer's cause and buy So Confused. Let me know when it's released...and when you're going to have a releasable version of Manequin

^I suppose you really do need to have the surround sound of a theater for the noises to really get to you. And I watched the illegal version which has a different ending than the theatrical version. *Spoilers for anyone that hasn't seen either* I read up on it and the ending of the one I saw involved Micah awaking to Katie screaming after she had been staring at him for hours in his sleep again and when he runs downstairs you hear him yelling and then they both stop. There are then some loud footsteps up the stairs and Katie emerges with a knife and blood covering her tanktop. She then proceeds to rock back and forth for an entire day until her friend Amber comes over, finds Micah and runs out of the house. The police show up shortly after and upon finding her rocking back and forth upstairs, she comes out of it and starts walking towards the police officers frantically asking where Micah is. Then the door at the end of the hallway slams shut which startles the police who end up shooting her. This is the original ending apparently and this version is a little longer and had a few differences. It was 97 minutes long instead of 86 and didn't involve the scene where the portrait is broken. Instead it has a scene showing the exorcism of a girl with the exact same circumstances as Katie that goes bad. The girl ends up chewing her own arm off in an attempt to escape and dies from blood loss. And the ending doesn't include Micah's body being thrown at the camera. Apparently there is a third ending that was only shown publicly once that is similar to the ending of the original version but instead of rocking back and forth for a day, she walks upstairs and slits her throat and that's the end of the movie. *End Spoilers* I wish I could have seen it in theaters. Unfortunately I'm in an area right now that only has two theaters within 50 miles, both of which aren't playing it, and by the time I get home it is going to be out of theaters. Oh well. The movie wasn't bad in the sense that it was poorly shot, acted, etc. In fact I felt that acting was extremely good. It just wasn't that scary and the suspense was missing, something that I don't think seeing it in a theater would really change. Sounds do get me going sometimes, but only when they're sudden and the most sudden sounds in the movie were always preceded by softer sounds, which for me removes the jumpiness. Just out of curiosity, which version did you like better? I will rent it once it comes out on blu-ray that way I can get a surround sound, HD experience (not as good as movies surround sound, but better than a laptop lol) to see if my opinion changes. And I'm always open to rewatching movies to see if my opinion changes of them, which has happened many times in the past. Some of my favorite movies were just 'meh' movies the first time I saw them. So maybe watching it again will lend me to a different opinion. Still though, I just feel the movie was missing something overall.

So I just used ^'s link to watch paranormal activity...alone in a big creepy building. And it still failed to get me going. The story was interesting and I liked the style of the movie, but seriously, there wasn't any suspense. The buildup of events didn't really lend itself to any dramatic suspense and the ending was extremely predictable. I guessed the general ending even before I started watching the movie. I'm not sure I understand what all the hype was all about. 4/10

^Ah, I see I see. That makes perfect sense. Definitely keep the melody the way it is then and once you add the bassline let us know. I definitely would like to hear it. And yeah, a downloadable version of Manequin and So Confused could possibly be nice

I took the ACTs three times. I took it beginning of 9th grade and got a 25. I took it again beginning of sophomore year and got a 29. Later that year was when I knew where I wanted to go to school and knew I needed to do one point better in order to qualify for the early application for the University of Cincinnati's architecture program, so I took it again the summer between 10th and 11th grade and got a 30. That was the last time I took it even though I'm sure I could've done quite a bit better if I took it again when most people were taking it late junior and early senior year. Advantage was though that I was accepted into the program the first week of senior year so that was a huge part of senior stress that didn't even exist for me. I wouldn't mind taking them again just out of pure curiosity...then again I don't like wasting time...or tests that are several hours long

I liked it, but there's something missing from it. I'm not sure what it is but I feel like it needs something a little heavier, if that makes sense. Not too heavy obviously as that wouldn't fit the theme of the song, but everything feels too soft and...nintendo-y lol. I'm not sure if this is actually helpful in any way since it's very possible it only makes sense to me, but I hope it helps. Oh and I agree with ^ The way you sing so confused is awesome. It's funny, I found myself humming both that and Manequin today while I was working. That means job well done in my books lol.