bert425

Texas A&M (Aggies) is there (I have friends who went there and tell horror stories of being chased thru the fields by Cadets). but then again, you are aren't too far from Austin either - home of UT, and a very, very liberal city.

^^ you say that NOW just you wait until you have to deal with a Texas summer. (not to mention all the extreme Right-Wing Conservatives that populate the majority of the State). but i HOPE you like it here!

ummm. . . it looks like the "humping" may have gotten a reaction from you. . . Hiding something behind that cup, are we?

I remember when they used to give them away!. . the giant unfolding ones. I don't mind the little pamphlet maps they hand out now, but I did really like the big unfold-able ones. Particularly the ones that were "waterproof"

I have a couple of Pins i've picked up at DisneyWorld (usually related to Haunted Mansion or "Nightmare Before Christmas"). I tend to go for the glowing ones, or the ones that move. my partner is thrilled I never got the bug to collect the pins. . LOL. . . as I tend to be a completest, and he'd KILL me for dragging him into every Pin-booth if I was. I really don't have any park maps (until recently with the Bag o Crap), but I do have an Astroworld one from ~1976 (yep, Marvel McFey!) that's moved with me from every home since I first got it. No idea where it is. . I suspect in one of the many boxes in the closets or in the attic. . but I know I ALWAYS have packed it when moving, and haven't thrown it out)

ahhh. .. thanks for these memories! I LOVE the Disney CD's and have most of them. but the only one I actually have from the parks is the Box Set of Music from Disneyland. I need to buy more of the music when I'm in the parks, but I always go to Amazon (or online to find it cheaper). . that's why I don't think of them as "park souvenir". . although I guess they would be. I have TONS of the Disney books too. . the "Poster Art of Disney Parks" is one I grabbed the moment it became avail. on Amazon, and I LOVE it (glad I got it when it first came out, like most Disney books, it shot up in price on the secondary market already -- over quadruple cover price already!)

Posting recently about Astroworld, has really made me miss that park. Growing up so close to the park (I grew up in Meyerland, less than 2 miles from the Dome), we always had Season Passes, and spent MANY summers getting dropped off every morning, and spending the days walking thru the Wacky Shack, examining EVERY gag/trick in the Magic Shop, and playing Skeeball, where you won tickets and could trade them in for some wonderful crap. We got to know some of the operators at Skeeball (both in the Western area near Wagon Wheel, and later in Coney Island right next to the big theatre), and they showed us the "trick" where you could put your quarter in, but not return the handle all the way after pulling it and get several games with multiple balls without re-setting the score! As a result, we had tons of tickets, and used to bring home all kinds of stuff for my Mom that she "loved" (hey, we were young, we really thought she liked the ashtrays, and other crap) one thing I think she really DID like -- after all, she kept them for years -- were pieces of the Astroworld China Set. We were never able to get her anywhere near a full set (those cost a LOT of tickets!), but we did end up with at least 4 plates, a few TeaCups/Saucers, and the Gravy Boat. I wish she still had them, but they broke long ago . . . still, I think these were my favorite souvenirs! (not my pics -- found em online) What is/were yours (from your favorite park)?

I haven't ever been overseas, or to here. . but isn't Dollywood heavily themed? every pic I've seen of the park is beautiful, and keeps with it's "mountainy" theme.

yeah, that's another of the reasons I thought this was a good one to bump. Loved hearing what he thought of the coasters back before the RM makeovers. (and as I noted, it made me very nostalgic for Astroworld). I also thought it might spark a conversation about rides that only exist to flip the rider upside-down and that's it. Cause I was serious, we simply won't get on a Top Spin any more, even tho we used to like them, since Swat "ruined" us. I still have flashbacks to how much i HATED just hanging upsidedown as the ride SLOOOOOOOWLY rotated. granted, it was just after they built it, so they likely hadn't worked out the exact cycles yet, but it was so awful. Interestingly, we rode it just after it opened, and there was almost NO lines. It was almost a walk on (maybe we waited one cycle?). I guess back then it was such a new-ish concept that folks in Houston were just afraid to get on it.

hehe. I wish it were still open. . just a big, grassy lot for many years now. unfortunately!

Went digging for older threads (via a "suggestion" I saw. . ). stumbled across this one. BEAUTIFUL pics (particularly of the Alamo in San Antonio). . but man, o man, does this TR make me miss Astroworld. Loved seeing the pics of the park in it's last operating year, and reading how even near the end they still were in no rush to get things running fast. . LOL. SWAT -- sheesh, still really the only ride we ever regretted getting on. It's what ruined "Top Spins" for us! After one cycle on SWAT, we never, ever have wanted to get on any non-coaster ride that only exists to spin us upside-down.

I was wondering if this would make the list. great cover of a great song, with a fun RCT like video!

I used to LOVE riding the Texas Cyclone in the rain -- that thing just flew when the tracks got wet. nowadays, I'm an old, crabby man. .if it rains, we do the indoor stuff

Ok.. Gretchen Wilson would be a HUGE draw in Texas. how do you think she's gonna do in Florida? (If I were able to, I'd absolutely go, and i'm not even a big Country Music fan. .yeah, she's THAT good).

You preferred Chucky over "Alf" ???

Interesting that my favorite (by FAR) hasn't gotten a mention: Coke's "America the Beautiful" just a gorgeous, commercial, with a theme that SHOULD resonate with everyone in the Country. (but of course, instead brought out the Xenophobes, Homophobes, and Hatemongers who are threatening to stop buying Coke now). me?. . I loved it, and will make an effort to support Coke *more* where I can.

Sounds like a great weekend. Curious if Kid Rock played a lot of his older "Metal Rap" stuff, or stuck to the Country-Rock that he's been doing for the past 6 years or so. I'd think with Alan Jackson there yesterday, it's likely the later. . but how fun would it be to hear him bust out "Bawitaba" in the middle of his set. . .

but as Elissa pointed out, "Now of course we all know the media can take bad pictures and selectively edit" Here's a pic of him taken 1/17 (from the prior day). . and he looks pretty healthy. no dark circles under his eyes or what looks like terrible skin. . but who knows. bottom line take away is that drugs, Heroin in particular, are a TERRIBLE thing that can cut a career short. I'll miss him as an actor and feel very sad for his Children and family.

I think the reason folks are so sad, is because yes, he was a well known drug addict. but he also had been getting help, and doing well (which I have a feeling led to an accidental overdose -- for example, if you shoot up the same amount of heroin after getting clean that you were used to doing prior to getting clean?. . yeah, i would THINK it would lead to potential overdose). not that I have any info as to details. . .but I do know he was looking and sounding really good at Sundance (just two weeks ago). so it's terrible to see someone who seemed to be doing better, lose the battle. But yes, I do agree with you 100% -- he did it to himself.

TERRIBLE: Phillip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead in his NYC apartment! http://news-briefs.ew.com/2014/02/02/philip-seymour-hoffman-dies/ I'm dumbstruck one of the best actors of our current times.

I told my partner we have to go back to Circus Circus next time we are in Vegas (and not for the Steakhouse) and he said, and I quote, "Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?" so I showed him the clip Robb posted of El Loco testing? and he said, "oh. YEAH!" (yep, made me think of Kool-Aid too. . LOL).

Only thing that would have made it more fun to watch would have been if it got stuck and all of y'all had to reach down on the tracks to "pull" the car into the station at the end

Have a scorpion and main sized nachos at the Peppermill before, I dare you. The ride looks sweet, it absolutely zips around that track. ^^ Thanks Jeromy! ^ HAHA! Oh the Peppermill, my absolute favorite place in town (diner wise)! And of course the Golden Steer for my favorite steakhouse! what do you think of. . 'Blueberry Hill" (I think that was the name of it). local friends took us there last time we were in town and RAVED about it. I thought it was a lot of food, but wasn't that impressed with the *quality* of it. . .

Triple Feature with "Sharknado" ! That brings back memories of "UPNs Saturday Night Blockbuster Cinema" -- anyone else remember that? TRULY awful films with production budgets of about $6. . . but we used to get together, get drunk, and yell back at the screen in a big party every Saturday night!

Just from the trailer. . . It LOOKED like all the CGI from the "Underworld" films crammed into one movie, along with the plot of "Legion" and the set design of the "Gargoyles" TV cartoon. we passed.