Fallen Heretic

A little digging with google got me this. http://ewrdb.com/rideinfo.php?id=176 Its built by a company which at the time was called Bear Rides AG. Its now called Swiss Rides AB. Didn't dig up many pictures though.

Nice first TR! I still haven't gotten round to doing one yet and Ive been here for years! But then I don't own a camera. Im not sure where the 'Brit Crew' thing first sprung up. I think it might have morphed out of the Hooters crew thing on the 07 midwest trip. When the hooters thing scattered the Brits who were friendly stayed in touch and are still knocking about together today. Although Ive been conspicuous by my absence (its been a crazy 2 years for me). Its not really an organized group as such (in more ways that one) though the same few regulars do turn up most of the time. Seriously, TPR trips (even unofficial ones) are a great way to make friends!

Probably because of that same bad dental hygiene. Why did people used to think the Olsen twins were hot? And why dont they get the same attention now?

Merlin are also taking over the running of the Winter Gardens and the Golden Mile Centre (this is where Alien Attack runs). Im wondering what they will do with the winter gardens. There is alot of unused space there, only the theatre is used regularly anymore. Another dungeon attraction is always a good thing. They are putting in a 4D theatre as well. Im also curious what they will do when developing the top of the tower.

Metal Gear Online. Those who know will understand how tragic that is.

Sadly I missed it because it happened right when Im busy getting ready to work. Oh well, Ive seen a partial one before.

There is something wrong with the parenting in the area I currently inhabit. You know this particularly when a sweet 8 year old (or so) girl with pigtails and braces literally tells you to "f**k off". All I did was ask why she was tipping over my bins.

^^^ There are a fair few Scots around the boards. Just most of us tend to lurk for some reason. You realize Divv is from Glasgow as well, right? Im from no-mans land between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Originaly from a village that my neighbor here in Airdrie described as 'the worst bumhole in North Lanarkshire'. Looks like alot of fun guys. Sorry I couldn't be along for the ride. Im quite intrigued by the inverted mouse. How did it ride? Was the inverted dark ride like the former Wonderful World of Entertainment (i.e. flight capable)?

^ There is a slightly swanky hotel in Coatbridge, does that count? Anywhere that is fields with woods nearby is a target for holiday villas (I use the term loosely) these days. Its a shame. I cant complain though cos I rarely visited Loudon Castle. If I didnt support it by spending money there, then Ive no right to moan.

I am almost willing to bet money on the area being filled with little holiday lodges. Its the kind of countryside area that they like to build them in. Probably with biking, hiking or horse trails nearby. Land is a real premium in the UK and is worth many readies. I think Divv nailed it though. The place always seemed dead. For alot of people it just wasnt worth the journey out there.

So now M&Ds will genuinely be Scotlands Theme Park. I hope Twist n Shout finds a good home.

^ Seriously, I was just listening to that a few hours ago. Researching music for a project thats bubbling away on a back burner.

^ I dont get paid much either. I just go to the dollar theatre to see second or third run films for cheap, or rent them when they come out on DVD. In my opinion, not having the extra cash doesnt make it OK to steal movies. this next bit isnt aimed at you in particular, just movie piracy in general. Im going to blame the 'instant gratification' society we have these days. I reckon people who steal movies often do so because its just so damn easy, and they cant be bothered to wait until they save up the money. I dont agree with the folks who claim buying it would 'just be lining the pockets of the fat cats' either. The fat cats will find ways to get rich whether you but it or not, but its the regular working joes that get cut to save profit margins that loose out. So I pay for all my movies, I pay for all my music and I pay for all my games. And if I have to wait a bit to save up, well thats fine, I will wait.

^ Just be prepared that if you wait a year, she might have someone else by then. But so could you. Alot happens in a year. Well, one year married and we haven't tried to kill each other, despite many stressful situations over the last year. Relationships based on friendship and support, where physical attraction is secondary, are the mutts nuts.

^ You could just pay for it instead of being a freeloader. Folks work hard to make movies. If you watch, its only fair to pay. In other news, packing up and moving house for the third time in three months (twice internationally) sucks pretty hard.

The Flesh of the Gods - Therion

I really, really dislike the 'magic gravity-defying fushigi ball' commercials. Heres one, explanation of why I hate it below... I dislike this because I feel its a bit misleading. They are clearly just trying to rebrand 'contact juggling' as fushigi. Nothing wrong with that in itself, but they imply thats its made possible by the special fushigi ball and also imply that its easy to learn. Like there is a simple trick that even beginners can use. Neither is accurate. Contact Juggling is actually rather difficult to get the hang of unless your naturally talented at balancing and manipulating objects. To be fair, their website and most of their written articles makes it clear that this is a performance art and whereas there is a technique, there is no 'trick' to it which makes it easier. There is nothing wrong with the product itself, I actually think its a good ball, and a good idea to rebrand the art and encourage more people to get involved. However, the advert they are using is (I think) somewhat misleading.

I though Magic Mountain would become the Dora dark ride, but its not listed as a re-themed ride. Is that last map anywhere near accurate? It shows Dora in a completely different area and the Bus tour thing being where Magic Mountain is. Looks like this wont play out like I originaly thought. It almost Implies that Dora will be a boat ride as well. It does say 'sail around the world'. Wild speculation abound! I love dark rides, so Im looking forward to see what they do with it. And I say again that I love RollerCoaster having a future. Its the most re-ridable coaster in the park IMO as well as being fun. EDIT: because i didnt look at that last map properly before I posted.

I remember the first hotel on the '07 Midwest, Div and I got a double bed instead of two beds. We just looked at the bed, looked at each other, then said "ach it will be fine". So we just shared it. Nothing weird happened. At least not while I was awake. Besides, we were more concerned with the blocked toilet. Many thanks to the nameless maintenance guy who came to the room two minutes after we called and fixed it for us. See, its these little silly moments that you look back on and laugh. Sharing with someone who is easy going enough to not be a drama queen and freak out about the less important stuff helps.

^Thats awesome, and is exactly what I expected Erik to do. I remember on the '07 Midwest trip, as every park was new to me, being a bit of a whore and trying to ride every credit on the trip. But a few times, at Indiana Beach and Mount Olympus in particular, some people were complaining that they had been there too long and wanted to leave. However, I was really quite happy to have some relaxation time to enjoy the atmosphere of the park and chill a bit. It was also a great time to bond more with the new friends I had made. We watched blondie-hoff scoot about in a speedboat, a guy set himself on fire and fall off a pole. The stunt boarder mess up and take three goes to get his stunt right. Lots of good times were had there which didnt involve Coasters. And thats a good thing as far as Im concerned. It was also amusing to stand by and watch riders get told off when they were riding the self-snapping flyer. It was more difficult to stop that thing from snapping than it was to snap it on purpose. I got thirty minutes entertainment just from that. There is a place for credit whoredom but I always viewed TPR as a place thats more about having fun in parks than credit counts. And this is a great thread. Hopefully an insight into how much work goes on behind the scenes will mean some folks who take TPR for granted will complain a little less.

This is good news. Encouraging that the park is still moving forward despite things being pretty tough there just now. I personally think its a better decision to have a whole new land like this, rather than them blowing the same investment on one big kick-ass new ride. Some folks have been bitching about that. Can anyone guess which of the listed attractions the Magic Mountain will become? I always found that ride fun and disturbing, mostly cos of that damn toy shop song. Maybe the retheme will remove the disturbing part. Im guessing frog hopper will become the Krusty Krab thing. Im also really happy that Rollercoaster is part of the plan. Ive missed being able to ride it my last few visits. I am going to quietly hope thats this is also a good sign for the rest of the park in the decade to come. EDIT: And if anyone misses the bevers that much, you can always make your own furry-tastic beaver costume.

I have been present when one of the Brit Crew won an Xbox from a Stacker. Or was it an Xbox 360? Anyway, most electronic games will not let you win until they have taken a certain amount of money. Once they reach over a certain take, they suddenly become easier to win. Same idea with those ones where you buy tickets and have to add up numbers to reach 21. most of the ticket numbers are even, making it almost impossible. Then when they have taken in enough cash, they pull some tickets out from a stack containing odd numbers, making a win much more likely. People seeing the win convinces more punters to visit the booth. I will say there are legit versions of this where the ticket stacks come pre-packaged with odd numbers distributed throughout the stack, even the carney doesnt know where they are. But its still designed to give a certain percentage wins against money taken, but thats fair enough for chance games. There is also one where you have to throw a ball into an angled bucket. During the demo of how easy it is, the carny tosses the ball in and it stays. thats because there is another ball already in the bucket which traps the ball. When you try, the carny will empty the bucket, making it next to impossible. I will relate two personal experiences of dodgy carnies, both in Blackpool. One on south pier was doing a game with three pool balls and a golf tee. The tee was in the middle with three balls around it. You had to hit the balls with a cue in order to knock the golf tee out of a small circle. of course its a set-up gaff. He demonstrates it, and is successful, but when he sets it up for you to try, he does it so you cant win. i was there with friends during slow season. He called us over and said if we play, he would 'guarantee' a win if we made a big deal about it for the larger crowd approaching from behind. We decided to take him up on the offer and won, gave a cheer, and walked off with the biggest prize in the booth. Sure enough, the people following all had a go. None of them one. The other story is nasty. Walking along the prom towards night time pleasure beach (it was still opening til 11pm in those days and was free entry) some woman stops me and two friends, and exudes the wonderousness of their new game, here for only one night, top prize a crate of beer. She manhandles us around and points us up a side street. I was already going to be hyper-rude to her and continue on, but my two non-coaster and non-streetwise friends were lured by beer, and despite my protests, headed to the game. It was a quick stall set-up, where you roll some balls up a board and add together the numbers they landed on to determine what prize you win if any. Here is how the scam played out. They guy said it was 3 goes for 9 pounds. Cant remember the single game price (not sure there was one). I wasnt for playing, but my two friends handed over 10 pounds each. I did mention it looked like a dodgy set up. All they said was "aye, but we could win beer, how cool would that be?" So the carny guy was a fast talking type. My first friend had his go. the balls settled (there were five of them, thrown all at once), and after about a second and a half the guy cleared the balls off and said "nope, not this time". Must be a fast counting maths genius. Could you count five numbers in a second and a half? All double digit numbers?. Same happened another once, then he turned to the second friend, and did the same thing. two goes, not enough time to check if we had won, and then he closed his little cash box, said "sorry guys, no luck this time. Im need to be off for my break". Locked up the prize box with the beer on display, and disappeared into the back of a van parked across from the stall. So both friends paid ten pounds to roll some balls twice (was meant to be three), no chance of winning, and didnt even get their pound change back. I at least hope they learned something.

Ive been playing the robin rocket from the top gear website. Seems to capture the spirit of the actual event quite well.

Its all about the lamentation of the women, and you know it.

I still love that the F40 can out accelerate many of the modern cars which have much more power. The firespitting is a bonus too.