cfc

Sheesh! Sounds like Vancouver is somewhere near Williamsburg--sums up the weather here, too.

I have so got to get down there next fall. Thanks for the updates, Jose.

Camp Spend-a-Lot? Paul Bunyan's World of Jam? Camp Skanky Steakhouse? Camp Kid Dump?

Here's the latest picture of my cat, Angus McNasty. Looks rather casual doesn't he? And he's filled out enough to fill up that basket. "Hey--be a pal and pour a me cold Anchor Steam, dude."

Damn straight there are, waterviper! The Motorcycle Chase was cool, too.

Brian Setzer's Christmas albums are pretty cool.

That would, indeed, make him beg for death. Then we could pretend to execute him, but force him to ride DL's version of Winnie the Pooh, until he, once again, begs for death . . .

a Bono impersonator who was waiting for a flight on Southwest Airlines to . . .

Yeah, he didn't look anything like Cher's dead ex-husband. Oh, wait--that's the other Bono. My mistake.

Christmas Story--note the ornament in my holiday avatar. Christmas Carol--any of a number of versions, but I am fond of the one with George C. Scott as Scrooge. We're No Angels--Now I am not talking about that wretched flick with Robert De Niro and Sean Penn (nearly unwatchable crap), but about a movie from the 1950s with Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, Aldo Ray, and Basil Rathbone. As far as I know, it's the only Christmas movie set on Devil's Island. Bogie, Aldo, and Pete are three convicts who, along with their pet snake, Adolph, escape the prison and are trying to find a source of ready cash to book passage off the island. They glom onto to a family who run a little general store, planning to kill and rob them; but being as this is Christmas and all, they end up helping them out, instead. One of many funny moments: The three cons have just cooked Christmas dinner for the family, and Pete and Aldo lament how it just doesn't seem right to kill them now. Bogie berates them for being soft. "Beat their heads in! Gouge their eyes out! Cut their throats! Soon as we wash the dishes." It starts out a little slow, but stay with it--a charming little movie with just the right touch of dark humor. EDIT: Correcting fuzzy recollection of Bogie quote.

everybody cuts, everybody cuts footloose while wearing . . .

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to hock loogies on unsuspecting tourists from the sky ride and . . .

Except about what constitutes good ice cream. If this is the "ice cream of the future," I think I'll stick to Ben and Jerry's and Dairy Queen.

and his old buddy the Dreamfinder (or whatever that dude's name was) standing over his body, cackling madly. Meanwhile, over at the River of Time ride in the Mexico pavilion . . .

I really miss those pararchute rides--the old Sky Jump at Knott's was great.

the Living Seas to check out the new manatee-mating exhibit and leather bar, where I was surprised to find . . .

his new, surgically enhanced nipples. Meanwhile, TPR was in an uproar when it was learned that . . .

^Now here's a bizarre park-related memory for you: How I went to Busch Gardens in LA, yet never went to the park at all. Sherman, set the Wayback machine for the year 1980 (at least I think that's the year). I was an ornamental horticulture (OH) major at Cal Poly, SLO (ended up with an English degree--long story). An OH buddy of mine and I decided to take a road trip south to check out Disneyland and Knott's over a three-day weekend. My buddy's real objective, however, was going to BG to score some free beer samples. We barrelled down there in his pickup, pulled off the freeway, and tooled over to the brewery and the park, only to discover there was no park at all--just a big hole. My buddy, distraught over the thought of "no free beer for you today" actually made a Starsky and Hutch u-turn, tires squealing, in front of some rather big trucks (I freely admit to screaming like a little girl at the thought of being crushed by a Kenworth), and screeched to a halt in front of a rather bewildered Busch security guard, who was manning his post in a parking-lot kiosk. The guard calmly explained that the Gardens, the brewery tour, and the days of free beer were no more. What some folks will do for free Bud . . . Chuck "Might do that for Anchor Steam or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale" Campbell

My home park is BGW, where the best coaster is Apollo's Chariot. Not big on flat rides myself, but the best at BGW is probably Da Vinci's Cradle.

"Fearful Symmetry"--it's all in the cat's eyes (he obviously had some deviltry planned).

What's great about Festivus is that you can buy an aluminum pole all year 'round.

Hmm--think I have to go with Yukon Cornelius in Rudolph. "Even among misfits, we're misfits!" Chuck "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" Campbell

I think I may have visited the Santa's Village near Santa Cruz, but my memory is, at best, fuzzy (I was probably 3 at the time). My parents do have 8mm film of the place with my older brother and sister, though (along with Disneyland in the 1950s).

the enormous inflatable Chicken Little from DCA, who had formed an unholy alliance with . . .

Yes, only Godzilla can save DCA from the wrath of Chicken Little (the inflatable contradiction in terms)!