TheGreatOne

If Twister consistently gave rides when it is dry like it does when it rains, it would be one of the three or four best woodies in the world. -Bryan "floored by how amazing Twister was in the steady rain" Wood

Jennifer Connelly in The Rocketeer was my first crush when I was a kid. I also loved Danielle Fishel (Topanga from Boys Meets World) and Candace Cameron (D.J. from Full House). Nowadays, it's Scarlett Johannson, Rachel McAdams and Lacey Chabert (who could also qualify from my "younger years").

I was really hoping to be able to get to PA for the fall to get to PPP, but I can' t seem to get anyone interested in going. So it looks like I'm going to make a weekender to KBF and SFMM. How are the crowds at KBF and SFMM on Saturdays and Sundays in October?

Since drinking water out of the tap = certain death in Phoenix....I started drinking more bottled water. I don't drink the highly expensive stuff. I used to like Aquafina, but when I moved here last year, I was introcduced to Arrowhead water, which is amazing. So I take Arrowhead over Aquafina. Dasani is my least favorite, it tastes like pool water.

Sadly, none of those movies were really blow-you away films. I manage a video store (not Blockbuster, thank God), so I get to see a lot of movies and buy them for cheap. Here is my list of the best films from this year. 1. Crash (Comes out on DVD this Tuesday). Outstanding, outstanding movie that takes a real (and very harsh) look at how racism is so prevalent in our country. It also includes racist LAPD, so you know it's accurate. 2. Sin City. Obvious. 3. Kung Fu Hustle. I'm partial to Kung Fu flicks, and for a great action-filled picture to mix in some Monty Python-style humor was great to see. A very original movie. 4. Machinist. If you liked Christian Bale in Equilbrium, then Machinist would be worth seeing. He lost 60 pounds and played an insomniac machinist trying to figure out what is bothering him. A very dark and well-made movie. 5. Upside of Anger. A woman (Joan Allen) goes crazy after her husband ups-and leaves her family without contacting them in any way. A ex-ballplayer (Kevin Costner) comes along to try to woo her. A great ensemble that makes up her daughters includes up-and-coming actress Evan Rachel Wood, Erika Christiansen, Keri Russell and the underrated Alicia Witt. I've heard Broken Flowers with Bill Murray is really good and Pretty Persuasion with Evan Rachel Wood, Ron Livingston and James Woods is supposed to be another good one. It is also directed by Marcos Seiga, who has done mostly music video work for Weezer and Blink 182 among others. Broken Flowers is in theatres now, Pretty Persuasion has a limited release currently. Both new Nicholas Cage movies (Lord of War and Weather Man) along with Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown look like winners soon to be released. -Bryan "Surprised Sahara wasn't on the list unless it was released in 2004" Wood

1.) Phoenix. The balls-out airtime ride that is wild no matter what. 2.) Chance Zipper. A wild freaking ride, so disorienting. 3.) Phantom's Revenge. I love the setting, airtime, speed and lose gracious lapbars. 4.) Any Intamin Giant Drop. Still the best freefall towers around. 5.) Zamperla Power Surge. A truly unique ride that isn't too intense, but wild at the same time. 6.) Hades. Wow....just an insane ride and completely different from most woodies. 7.) Skyscraper Towers, like the one that used to be at Dorney. A crazy ride that really taps into the fear of heights quite well. 8.) Haunted Mansion, Knoebel's. Just an amazing dark ride with many unique stunts. 9.) Huss Giant Frisbees. Heavy G's and speed with tall heights for a "flat ride". 10.) Bisch Rocco Flying Skooters (Knoebel's, formerly PKI as well). I love snapping the cables and watching onlookers watch in horror. Such a fun ride, and anything interactive is always entertaining. -Bryan "there is more to parks than roller coasters!" Wood

The grass is too green. We have sprinklers going off at a pretty good pace and still can't keep it green.

BGW is an overall great experience. I went there as part of my Spring Break in 2004 and it was well worth the trip. It's a little on the expensive side, but totally worth it.

Stewie in the foxhole was absolutely hysterical, I had tears in my eyes.

I've heard the ops at L.I. Adventureland run their flats well, especially the Mondial Top Scan (which is apparently manually run). I've also heard Astroland runs their flats (Power Surge, Breakdance and Top Spin 2) very fast and long. Of the park I have visited, Knoebel's does a pretty good job. The best though was Camden Park. For as hokey and slightly dangerous as that place is, they run their flats wild and for long periods of time. I had 5 minutes on a Spider and over 8 on a Tilt-A-Whirl during my visit in 2002. It was insane, and the only time I've ever felt nauseous at a park.

For me, it is: Mt. Olympus Kennywood (I'm partial since it was my adopted homepark) Hersheypark Indiana Beach PKI PKD Carowinds If Knoebel's had a third, it would probably be at the top. I'm sure Holiday World will make a convincing argument for the top next year as well.

Double freaking Dragon. 15 years later, still stuck in my head.

If that rides turns out with half of the themeing that the artwork has, it's still going to look amazing. Man, I'd love to visit that place. We do have a former exchange student that lived with us from Germany, so maybe I can work out a trip there plus Europa and Holiday Parks.

The best picture that represents Akron, Ohio and surrounding areas.... Pretty much the crappiest place of all time. Everyone is ghetto (even white people think they are...but they're just trashy) or amish. The roads suck, the food sucks (except Amish food), "entertainment" sucks, shopping sucks, colleges suck, most high schools couldn't give you an education for anything. The only thing I care about in Akron was High School football. Schools in that area had a passion for the game. Heck, my school sucked, and we'd still draw 3500 people a game. My first game drew 10,500 people and was televised in Cleveland. I sort of miss the Midwestern friendliness though. In short, I'm glad I moved away from there last year. Anyone who lives there and likes it has never traveled anywhere outside of Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh. Phoenix is much more progressive, I really like it. Sadly, I've never met so many unfriendly and ignorant people in my life. Natives blame people moving from California (I can see that), but the natives are the biggest jerks of all. -Bryan "Now only if I could find a cool place to live WITH friendly people" Wood

Checking with a friend who works for Maricopa County, Archangel Investment LLC has not registered as a business for any kind of tax reasons. Also, they have not purchased any land whatsoever. I honestly doubt this will happen. It's WAY too ambitious. Not to mention the state is getting ready to fund a small amusement park in West Phoenix/Glendale and a massive entertainment center (with amusement park) in Williams, which is just south of the Grand Canyon and about 2.5 hours from Phoenix. -Bryan "You think you would purchase land before planning roller coasters on it" Wood

Wave heights topping at 24.9 feet already being recorded at a buoy 40 miles east of New Orleans. All buoys further south have not responded in the past hour. This buoy will probably stop responding shortly, but click the link to see the latest while it lasts. http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=42040 Graph showing a dramatic increase in height over the past 12 hours: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.php?station=42040&meas=wvht&uom=E Graph of sustained dominant 20+ foot waves: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.php?station=42040&meas=dmpd&uom=E

It's too late for that now. Traffic is at an absolute standstill from New Orleans to Alabama on all major highways. The outer bands have begun landfall to the East where people are trying to drive and hurricane force winds extend 80 miles from the eye...so the hurricane force winds experienced in Florida Thursday will be felt 6-8 hours before the worst of it arrives. The barometric pressure is so low (not to mention the incredibly DEEP depth of warm water...much deeper than when Andrew stuck) that there will probably not be any major decreases between now and tomorrow. It did decrease from 175 to 165 in terms of SUSTAINED winds, but I honestly think there could be gusts recorded close to 200 as the east part of the eye wall hits the coast. As one forecaster said, at this intensity, the 10 mph decrease is like getting hit by an 18-wheeler compared to a train. Either way, it's not going to be pretty.

This is unbelieveable. I actually took up meteorology as a major at Ohio State and intensely studied Hurricanes. This was released by the NWS in New Orleans. This sounds like something you'd hear from a street bum who always announces the apocolypse is coming. This is just...wow. HURRICANE KATRINA A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969. MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE. HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT. AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK. POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS. THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED. AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS. ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE! I was eight years old when Andrew struck, and I still remember news broadcasts vividly. Something tells me this will be along the same lines. I also don't want to brag, but three days ago, I predicted this scenario on my Livejournal as Katrina maintained a W-SW direction across South Florida: "New Orleans should really be glued to their TV sets. While no major source thinks Katrina will head that far west, it could shoot right up into New Orleans without too much trouble. New Orleans is 5 feet BELOW sea level, and the levies around the city meant to prevent water coming in...could actually end up holding it in New Orleans causing massive loss. There are a lot of intriguing scenarios with Katrina, so this should be fun to follow." On the other hand, I thought it would be lucky to reach Category 4 as it struck New Orleans. Certainly no one expected it to be this big. Certainly I will be keeping that area in my mind, this is going to be bad. No wind sheer and warm water is such a dangerous combination. This storm will strengthen until it hits land. I'm due for a $200 bonus from my job, but I'm going to be donating it if this storm is half as destructive as they say it is. Heck, I donated my allowance to the victims of Andrew when I was eight. Hopefully we can all find it in our hearts to do our part to help after this is over.[/url]

Since everyone here seems to have an awkward and loose sense of humor, I'll go for broke. P.S. I suck at Photoshop. "Avatar Size" "Full Size"

"You're the Best Around" from Karate Kid. You know it's the best song ever. Don't deny it.

That's Mentor for you. The east side of Cleveland is amazing. You go from ghetto to redneck to amish within an hour of driving.

I was at PKI opening day a few years back, and a guy came up to me and told me I had a nice shirt ( I was wearing a Hypersonic shirt). My friend told me (since I was ignorant) that it was WWF wrestler Al Snow.

I never hear much for Georgia Scorcher, and I love that ride. I also like some Arrow loopers (Demon at GAm, Anaconda, Double Loop) that most people don't care for.