jmicha

^It was 9,000 barrels, not gallons.

^That's exactly how I felt after seeing the movie. I feel that the only reason Two-Face was in the movie was to show how far-reaching the Joker's abilities were. If he can turn the number one sign of hope into a villain, who will there be to save Gotham? He acted more as a symbol of Gotham's inability to save itself than as an actual villain.

I went to see the movie last night. I would give it a solid 9.1. I've never really been into the superhero movies, but this one definitely held my attention. And $155 million shows I'm not the only one. Oh, and for all the people that were talking about fanboys just clicking "10" on IMDB, the top 250 list only counts regular voters when calculating the average, which is why when you click on pretty much all of those top movies, their ratings are different than in the actual top 250 list. This is done to reduce the amount of biased votes.

^^I know everyone "proved" that it was in reference to the dive coaster because it mentioned the vertical drop and whatnot, but what if the news company accidentally stumbled upon information about a new inverted coaster and thought it was actually information about the dive coaster and reported it. If you look at some of the information reported, it doesn't make any sense that it would be about the dive coaster. The statistics are all off.

I'm not really sure why people keep thinking that these new designs will have the same problems as the old Vekomas. Every reason the old designs were roung has been eliminated. One-position wheels, individual bogies, track design, etc. have all been reworked. I mean, seriously, look at Expedition Everest. With the exception of the awkward lift engagements, that ride is just as smooth as any B&M or Intamin. And from what I've heard, all of the other new Vekomas are just like this. I'm pretty sure that with these new designs, Vekoma will be definitely be in the run for one of the best coaster designers. On another note, in that article it mentions that an inverted coaster using that new, 4-across design, is in the works at an unknown park. Does anyone know where this may be going? Is it possible that the rumors of the tallest and longest inverted coaster for Chimelong Paradise could be true and it could be of this new design from Vekoma?

^Why would it be hard to tolerate? The speed at which it would rotate would be so slow you would hardly notice it. The only indication that you are even moving would be the slightly changing view when looking out the windows. It's no faster than a rotating restaurant, and if rotating doesn't cause problems when people are eating, then I doubt it would cause problems in every day living. I also think there is actually a good chance of Dubai getting this tower. I mean, seriously, Dubai is home to huge manmade islands in the shape of palm trees and the world, is building a half-mile tall tower, has plans to build a potentially 4,000 foot tower, and will be home to more 1,000+ foot towers in about 5-10 years then even exist today. A rotating tower seems like it would fit in fine in Dubai, and is no more of an engineering challenge than some of the projects currently under construction or in development. There is already a rotating apartment building (forget where. Somewhere in Europe) and apparently the residents love it there. I think we will be seeing this tower come into existence in not too long.

Huh, now I'm wondering where I got my information from. But yeah, this building is a great step forward in the whole green movement of architecture. For one, it's just a really cool concept, and two, it provides WAY more energy than it needs.

^Actually, there are four MASSIVE turbines that generate electricity from the rotation of the floors, and it will be able to produce enough electricity for it, as well as five other buildings of similar size. The building rotates based on the wind for the majority of the time, unless there is a special reason to control the spinning. And the way you will enter the building is similar to that of a rotating platform on a log flume or rapids ride. The core, where the elevators and stairs are located, is stationary and when you exit the elevator, you will step onto the rotating floor and walk to the entrance door. Quite simple actually.

^I know, it took me a couple times until I noticed how the guy was dragged into the scene. Really quite disturbing.

Lol, I think some parents would have serious problems if the upside-down man was the mascot.

^ I have no idea, but I find it extremely interesting how this type of advertising is completely acceptable in Japan, but would never be allowed to be seen anywhere on public television here in the United States. I mean, seriously, in the "gross doll" one, he pulls the upside-down man by his...manhood...which is obnoxiously huge. and why exactly do their heads explode at the end? In the "grandpa doll" one, when he searches through his undergarments for the flashlight, it definitely looks like he's doing something he should not be doing on television .

^Lol, what exactly is going on in that picture? Is there really a reason for turning your trees upside down?

^^^I know what you mean about the "personal bubble" thing. This year at school, two French foreign exchange students lived next to us, and the majority of the people on my floor originally thought they were both gay because of how they held their conversations with us. I think the difference between how Americans and Europeans converse is mainly due to how disconnected Americans are from one another. Even friends get uncomfortable around each other when they get too close. This isn't always the case though. I'm gay, yet my best friend James is not, yet he has no problem hugging me goodbye when we won't see each other for extended periods of time and there have been several times where we've both fallen asleep on his bed next to each other while watching a movie. I think the problem in America is that the majority of men are always trying to live up to the American male standards of being the big, tough, money-makers of the family, and in doing so stop acting like their true selves.

God, I laughed so hard after this part in Horton Hears a Who. I had no idea what had just happened, and my friend insisted on replaying that part over and over again to the point where I was on the floor crying. Katie is the most amazing movie character ever.

Lol, that's exactly how I felt after watching them. There's really no explanation for what's going on.

Whalom Park. I don't know the exact amount of times I visited there, but starting at age three going to age eight, I visited the park at least once a week while it was open during the summer. And I'd also visit the beach and slides at least three times a week while I still lived in Massachusetts. Man I miss that park. Flyer Comet got me hooked on coasters ever since the first ride I took on it the very first time I visited the park.

Okay, so my friend was showing me a funny video that involved a creepy doll, and in one of the related videos was a picture of...well...a creepy doll. So I clicked on the related video and watched it and was utterly confused as to what the heck was going on. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=The+Weirdest+Kewpie+Creepy+Dolls&search_type=&aq=f Those are all of the videos for this strange doll, and I though I'd share this with others, as I really have absolutely no idea what was going on in those videos and would really love some insight into these dolls. I understand the concept behind them (they are capable of changing into something else from their baby form) but I really don't understand the crazy advertising for them. The "gross" doll definitely has the strangest commercial (if that's what these are) and really made me question this world.

This is definitely getting me excited. I go to school in Cincy, but have yet to go to King's Island unfortunately. I'm definitely going to have to try to go when I get back down there for next school year. On a side note, JZ, were you at Riverstar Sportsplex for your brother's game by any chance? My brother had a tournament there and it's right on the river across the highway from Coney Island.

The site is kind of...meh. Yellow really doesn't fit the park (despite the fact that there's loads of yellow in the park) and blue was a much better choice. And why on earth did they remove the fun animated banner of the park? It added a nice amount of "life" and movement to the site that goes well with the feeling of an exciting amusement park.

^I find it kind of ironic that that coaster, in its current location, was used for an accident scene in CSI a few years back, and it was brought up on this topic about accidents.

^Lol, Lollipop is like the epitome of what type of song Cedar Fair will not play. The entire song is one giant sexual innuendo.

I'm pretty sure there are so few left because the parks would constantly have to replace the rings as people would take them as souvenirs. For some reason, the number 50,000 a year pops into my head from a show on Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. That's a lot of rings to be replacing every year, and with the way most parks operate, it doesn't surprise me that the only ones remaining are located at smaller, more family-oriented parks.

They are on the outside of the ride. It looks like an arm and a ring sticks slightly out of the end closest to the ride, and you grab it as you go by. The merry-go-round on Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts has brass rings for free rides. I remember every year my family would camp on the Vineyard and we would always try to win the free ride, yet I never won. My older brother would always be the one to get the brass ring, but I was never so lucky. I do, however, have one of the souvenir brass rings that you could buy in the gift shop. Gosh, those were the good old days. Go to the beach in the morning, to the town to eat at night, go ride the merry-go-round, play the gator-smash game, and sit around a fire at night as a family.

^The Florida Springs are some of the most beautiful bodies of water I've ever seen. Only problem is that the majority of people don't know about them. Scuba diving with the manatees is amazing. And the less known beaches are often great places to spend a day. The Everglades are also a very unique place to visit. Florida is full of things to do other than theme parks.

I currently live with three roommates in campus housing at University of Cincinnati. Four people living in an 11x18 room is quite cramped to say the least, especially since we are the "hang-out" room and there are always at least two other people in our room. At times like when we watch movies or play video games, there can be up to ten people in the room. Breathing can sometimes seem difficult. But it's not bad since we all get along amazingly. Next year, however, three of my friends and me are living in and on-campus apartment that isn't actually owned or operated by the university. One current roommate is living with me next year as well as another architecture student we met in studio and an automotive design student we me through our other two roommates who we are not living with next year. The apartment is great. It has two bedrooms (each of which is as big as our dorm room meant for four people) two full bathrooms, a full-size kitchen with bar, and a living room big enough for at least six people...and it's all cheaper than the tiny quad I live in now. Funny how that works.