bert425

we don't have a dedicated TV show thread (other than this one). . so although we don't have Disney+ service? I DO have some goddamn amazing friends, who came by today and gifted me this! (it's a "WandaVision" Press Box . . which were apparently only distributed in LA and in Austin, + mailed out to some tv reviewers). So hard to get, and I now have one. I must be a good person to have friends like these

the past 36 hours have had both Larry King and Hank Aaron, but the 1st death late on Thursday night hit me hard: Mira Furlan. best known in the USA as "D'Lenn" from "Babylon 5" or as "the French Woman" from "Lost", she was also quite an accomplished musician/singer. it was a shock too, as most outside of her former castmates on B5 didn't even know she had been ill. (she passed from complications of West Nile Virus) Rest In Light, Mira. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55763658

I rode it in 2014, but I was one of only 4 people total on it, and they made us sit 2 on each side to "balance" it

^ you do NOT want preferred parking at SFOT - if you are planning to stay until end of day. they empty the lots at end of day, by opening up exits at the BACK & Sides of the main lots. . so if you're in preferred (ie: parking up front), it's a bitch and a half to get out. You'll be sitting stuck in massive traffic jam if you wait until end of day to leave. Yeah, you would THINK you could exit out the same entrance you came in, but nope. . SFOT doesn't do that. so yeah, Kim, I'd say go towards the back of the lot, nearest the exits you can find, then just make the longer walk up to the front gates. You're gonna be doing a lot of walking anyways, and it will save you a ton of grief at the end of the day (just my 2cents). this isn't an issue at SFFT, since the Exit is the same as the Entrance for everyone.

^ the moldy Garfield props are what stunk, I'm sure I'm sure it got deep clean/fumigation when they converted it over!

^ it smelled SO bad in there tho. . . I still have flashbacks to it, years after we went! great report, and pics!

last year was their 1st year round cycle (and it got funky due to Covid). SFFT went year round 2 years ago.

I do NOT need any more T-shirts. . especially "nerd" T-shirts. . . but - Offworld Designs has sent me an email telling me that as the founders are retiring (and it sounds like they are closing the business) they are having a sale on everything in the warehouse to reduce the inventory remaining. everything 50% off. . . (that's EVERYTHING. . even the stuff on sale). so? I couldn't help myself 4 for me, and 2 as gifts for friends if you want/need any geeky/scienc-y/fandom-y Tshirts, here's the site: https://www.offworlddesigns.com/

Highly unusual. . and this is the largest snowfall in decades (if not ever). the last time we had "snow" was ~5 years ago, and it was a very light dusting mixed with ice / sleet. this was actual snow. for a good 9 hours.

@dankeykang ^ oh it Snowed in Texas. (and temp was ~32.9 all day) not sure about San Antonio, as that's further South than us, but at my house we got over 4" yesterday. because it is TEXAS? People flipped the hell out (there's still quite a bit of snow on the ground - tho it's now melting - but yes, EVERYTHING in Central Texas shut down yesterday, and most are still closed today. the stores were insane too - people stripping the shelves. Was nuts. . sheesh people. this is in Austin yesterday: neighbors building life-sized snowmen it snowed for another 6 hours after I took this pic.

If I had to guess, the new Mardi Gras Voodoo walkthru (I'm assuming TPR will be posting more details) is going to be in the Haunt that's over there across from the SpassBurg Train Station entrance. (that Haunt was always walking thru a mad professor's laboratory. . so seems like it would be an easy "overlay" to make it a House of Voodoo). great use of a space that's off the main path, and isn't used other than a Haunt, if that's where it is.

only what they announced at Winterfest. that it WILL be reopening at some point in the future.

HMMMMMM. . . . from the SFOT website:

Sundays at SFFT tend to be quieter anyway, so I always recommend Fiesta Tx on Sunday.

I had hit my goal, then put some back on, and spent from Feb-August dropping it again to come back to where I was before. I got "bad" in Sept, back on track for maintenance in Oct/Nov, then had a really bad Dec - it's been rough, and I've prolly put back on ~12 lbs. so I'm guessing I'm in the 190 range right now - so still ~60lbs lighter than I was a couple of years ago, when i really started to focus on dropping weight (I was at 248#). but, 190 is ~13lb gain from my lowest, so really wanna get back to ~180. so yep, back to being serious about my "no fast food/no sodas" restrictions, and go back to exercising 6x per week (I had dropped off to every other day, or every few days) we can all do it!

the Premier Spaghetti Bowls (the 6 flags versions that run without MCBR), get faster and faster, and take the back half & that final inversion at a really fast speed. (to the point that the brakes slam you forward when they catch on the brake run) you can really feel it start to speed up at ~30 second mark in this:

ok. . spoiler free take on WW84 (which thanks to the new giant TV we just got (75" across, and equipped with HBO Max - which we get free since we pay our cable provider for it), was just like watching it on a Movie Screen anyways). Overall, it's decent. It's not *great* (certainly not as good as the 1st one), and I'd honestly give it a grade of "C+" - but it's worth seeing, even with several issues. Pros: - the design of the film/characters, and overall set design is fantastic. - the acting is (for the most part) very good, and Kristen Wiig impressed me as Cheetah - I wasn't fully onboard, and early on was a bit concerned. But she really pulls it off. - multiple moments of "oh wow" - many straight from the WW comics, that gave me joy out of nowhere. Stay thru the credits, for one of those moments. Cons: - at 2 1/2 hours, it's much too long, and multiple "tone setting" scenes should have been dropped, as they slow the plot down to a crawl - there is a serious lack of clear motivation (specifically in two characters), and it's hard to understand why they are doing what they do, when it hasn't been made clear why they are doing what they are doing. - the lighting in a key scene towards the back end of the film (a climactic battle at that), really annoyed me. Why ruin some fantastic design work, by filming a lengthy scene in grey tones? Yes, I get it - they wanted to highlight the golden armor (not a spoiler, it's been in the movie posters), but by greying out everything else? muddy, muddy, muddy - the plot device to drive the film (and explain Steve Trevor being in 1984) is just silly. It comes across as an executive saying "it's a comic book film, so why not?". . . I mean. .it's not terrible, but it's silly. and my biggest nit-pick: there is a *lot* of CGI in this film. That's not necessarily "Con". . .but too much of it here is BAD CGI. It's really looks unfinished. and that's kind of shocking, as several scenes are so bad they pull you right out of the film. (and no, none of them are in regards to the Cheetah character - it turns out the shots that looked so poor in the trailer must have been unfinished at that time, as they are much better in the finished film). so. . .yeah, worth seeing, and I'll probably get on Blu.. .but not as good as the 1st.

yeah, the cast on the arm is the "signature" of the lead character in "Dear Evan Hansen"

I love all the early industrial and techno. and it's Finger-F.O.C. (Friends Of Carlotta). . it's their theme song. it's only dirty if you have a dirty mind, Bill

^ glad you're feeling better. (also really glad I wasn't able to meet up to spend the day with you at Fiesta around this time. . . . ) !

hmmm. I totally get why they want it "understated" at night (illuminated, but not brightly lit), as they don't want it to "distract" from Spaceship Earth. But honestly, the central lighting isn't really doing it for me, and actually I find is a little distracting. I think it would look a TON better if the only lighting was inside/around the base, matching SE's colors, and the main fountain remained clear and unlit from inside (maybe a spot shined on it instead of interior lit? if at all? I really do think it would look fantastic with only the base lighting in the water). - HOWEVER - that's just my art-director/nitpicky coming out-- as this fountain looks amazing during the daylight/unlit hours. Really nice design, that fits the area perfectly. can't wait to see this in person (at some point in the future).

^ those are absolutely being sold as "pairs" get two boxes, if you want a real "train". .Like I did with the doom buggies!

heh. . I happen to be listening to Friends of Carlotta (F.O.C.)

^ that's a huge shame re: Spiegelworld. . I absolutely *adored* "Absinthe" I hope the performers are able to land somewhere great once things start to get a bit back to normal in 2021

IDEAL: Sometime May trip to Carowinds (to make up for our cancelled 2020 trip) Mid Summer California Trip, to finally get to go to SF Magic Mountain. (I'd love to do a Summer roadtrip to multiple parks, but I just don't have a good feeling that things will be back to normal enough to allow that to happen) Dragon*con on Labor Day weekend (including a Labor Day visit to SFOG) Asia Disney Parks for Christmas/New Years time REALISTIC: Carowinds (tho I have a feeling it WON'T happen in May -- and instead will bump to Summer, and knock any California trip out of 2021 Dragon*con/SFOG (it's Labor Day, and even tho I expect things will look different for the Convention? regardless, I hope to be in Atlanta that week to see my friends and hang out). December Asia Trip (fingers so freaking crossed this can happen in 2021)