Homer

Boys in pigtails? No. Just no. Are you going back to school on the 7th?

Yes I have. Pepsi and Code Red make a surprisingly good mix. Have you ever chewed two different flavors of gum at the same time?

^ Odd 'un < Has a craving for Kettle Korn v Has a craving for Brawndo

"All My Life" - Foo Fighters

8/10, surprised how much I know about Disney.

I saw most of the 2007 movies I wanted to see. On my to watch list (not prioritized, just random): Wild Hogs 300 (saw a part of it) ATHF: Movie Film for Theaters Knocked Up I Now Pronounce You, Chuck and Larry Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story National Treasure 2 Juno (Hey, its written by a TPR member and stars Superbad's Michael Cera) From worst to best: 12. Balls of Fury - the worst "stupid comedy" ever made. I'm surprised Carlos Mencia and Dane Cook wasn't in this vortex of suck that included George Lopez and a few Reno 911! cast members. 11. Beowulf - It felt a little laggy, the 3D wasn't amazing, and it felt like the studio tried to make it a little bit like 300 with some of the action sequences. I dozed off near the end. 10. Evan Almighty - While I looked forward to this film, it fell a little short of expectation and not as enjoyable or charming as the previous chapter, Bruce Almighty. 9. I Am Legend - This movie was just WTF all over the place. I'm not going to explain... 8. Harry Potter 5 - A decent Harry Potter flick, but not much else to say. 7. Spiderman 3 - What could have been a good film had to fall down just because of a stupid black suit and Peter Parker acting like an arrogant prick for 20 minutes. 6. Ratatouille - Pixar hits another good movie out of the park. Patton Oswalt did a great job playing Remy and Brad Bird makes another animated movie that will eventually be a classic. 5. The Simpsons Movie - The Simpsons did a great small screen to big screen transition that felt like a good episode from the early 90's. Here's to you Spider Pig. 4. Transformers - A great summer/popcorn flick. Michael Bay did a decent job with the Transformers license. I don't know why I like his films, other than that they are mindless special effect action movies. The only other thing wrong with the movie? Too much on the humans, not enough giant robots fighting. 3. Live Free or Die Hard - Bruce Willis still has the oomph to deliver a stellar performance and made another great summer/popcorn flick. Some of the best action sequences I have seen. 2. Pirates 3 - Another stellar film that will keep you entertained for hours with a great, epic final battle. The trilogy ends with a bang. 1. Superbad - A good stupid comedy film I think a lot of teenagers can relate to through 3 nerdy high school seniors who want to go out with a bang. Just a great, slap happy, comedy that will keep a smile on your face.

^Chadley, Backlot Stunt Coaster is a LOT better than what Movie Park Germany did to Lethal Weapon Pursuit (now removed). http://www.rcdb.com/id970.htm "Cop Car Chase," just be grateful CF has a better taste in names.

^The ride wasn't moved, however the prop guns are being used on SFOT's Yo-Yo ride. http://www.sfot-source.com/flats/gunslingerlayout.php

Happy new year from the east coast. 2008 has been meh so far.

"Brand New Hero" - Reel Big Fish

Thanks for posting all of that neat stuff, Shane! A few things of note: 1. Odd to see Pac-Man as a mascot for Six Flags. At least it was the first attempt at bringing video games into a theme park environment. I still want to see a Nintendo park though. 2. I have to agree, I snapped a shot of that ride on my 2004 trip. Sorry for the quality; Great Gasp at night. Taken in 2004 from the Wingate Inn near the park.

Busch Gardens Africa 1. Replace Gwazi's trains with Millennium Flyers. 2. Ease up Montu's trims. Cedar Point 1. Chill out on the rain policy. Islands of Adventure 1. Rehab Hulk, give it a repaint, add/renovate theming. That ride needs some freshening up. King's Island 1. Make the park easier to navigate. I had a hard time trying to find the picnic area. Mount Olympus 1. Improve customer service in general. Some of the workers seemed less than enthused to work there. 2. Get new trains for Cyclops. The state of the trains on the Midwest Trip were horrible. Also, the ops didn't enforce the infamous "Cyclops Law." 3. Retrack Zeus and Pegasus, both rough rides. Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom 1. Either rehab or demolish T2. The ride has seen better days, but a fresh coat of paint, getting the new SLC trains, and getting rid of the "Kudzu theming" will make this thing pleasantly ridable again. I think thats all.

"Bulls on Parade" - Rage Against the Machine

Never. I really do want to go to one though. When was the last time you were in the chat room?

Because the combination of X and D is annoyingly overused. I'm guilty of doing that awhile back, I admit. But at least stay to the graphical interpretation:

Thank God. New Episodes? That makes me very excited. I haven't seen new ones come out in a long time. I plan on renting or buying Bender's Big Score soon. I've heard it's good. Just remember, the new episodes are essentially the DVD movies being released right now. Each movie consists of 4 episodes to make up a 16 episode season. And it looks like Comedy Central is going to be airing a lot of Futurama. Every weeknight from 8 to 9:30 (I guess its going to be that way until the writers strike is over and the Daily Show & Colbert Report are back).

Great video Erik. That was one incredible night. Sad I didn't ride the Haunted House that day. But that did look like an awesome house.

Its alright, my only peeve would have to be software compatibility. RCT3 can't run without me having to right click and run as admin. The window boxes in RCT2 have been bugged and installing a saved game or custom scenery always makes 50 billion security dialog boxes pop up. Microsoft really didn't handle the launch of Vista as well as they did with XP and 95.

20 Kit Kat bars last week from secret Santa at my workplace. Mmm. Oh yeah, Swedish Meatballs too.

BONUS: Homer Versus the Toboggan! Merry Christmas, folks! Here's a special bonus from the depths of my Midwest trip experience! The Toboggan, a roller coaster made by Chance rides in the 70's that provided parks with a small and inexpensive roller coaster that looks like fun. A simple ride which consists of a "vertical" lift hill and a series of helixes spiraling down, following with some small airtime hills before heading back into the station. Why didn't this seemingly fun concept take off? Was it the claustrophobic cars? The horrid capacity? Or is it because it was a fun concept, yet poorly executed? In my opinion, all of the above. But if anything, the Toboggan is a rite of manhood and passage into being a "coaster enthusiast." What did I think of the ride? Maybe the worst steel coaster I've ridden, although Flying Coaster at Elitch Gardens was horrible in its own way. Video Note: Elissa gave me permission to post this video. Also, I say a swear or two. But keep in mind, this site is rated "PG-13." homervtoboggan.wmv Warning: mild language. But do I survive the Toboggan? Find out by watching!

^My problem with the East Coast is school. The trip ends on the very first day of school for me in Fall 2008.

^I dunno when Casey is going to finish his TR. But I know he'll procrastinate by barking his quote again in this topic. I just know it. ^^Tomi, you're also forgetting that they're both claustrophobic. Thanks for your kind words, I really do miss the Midwest trip now that I think of it.

Thanks for the comments everybody. I should have added the Taco Bell closet portion to the Indiana Beach thing. Day 4: Little A-merrick-a- No Comment. So today was another long drive day. After cutting through a "theme park" called "Chicagoland," which is by far the worst theme park ever since it was a just a drive through I-294. Although we did get an "Oasis" credit where there was an array of food built over the highway. It was an interesting diversion and for Will... well, trying to win at Elissa Bingo. The Oasis was nice, I admit, and might I say I love Oreo McFlurries. We were eventually in Wisconsin. And Wisconsin was just like Indiana... more corn... and well, cheese. After more driving through the rural backroads, we eventually ended up in a small mom and pop park known as Little A-merrick-a. The park was very hospitable towards us and well, we were offered a sneak peek of their new for 2007 ride, Meteor, a relocated Herschell junior woodie. The park also contains a nice selection of old school rides as well. On to the ride reviews: #60- Meteor (7/10) I love the smell of fresh wood in the morning. The ride was bare bottom smooth for a wooden coaster. Although it was not intense, it was a pleasant family ride. Here's hoping Meteor continues to give out nice little rides for years to come. #61- Toboggan ( /10) Riding a Toboggan is a passage into manhood in the way of how many uncomfortable elements you can cram into a small space. The experience is kind of like being put in a trash can down a hill. A chuggy vertical lift, a series of helixes, and some small but painful airtime hills make up this experience. But oh God... it was horrible. #62- Kiddie Coaster (of DEATH!) (4/10) If you remember reading Robb's 2005 Midwest update, this was the infamous coaster with a graveyard behind it, hence the (of DEATH!) in the title. The little hills were painful, it was "no frills" of course, but I had the joyous bliss of the train overshooting the brake run. #63- Mad Mouse (5/10) Mad Mouse should have had the "Bone Rattling experience" sign in front of the ride. The entire circuit was shaky and the coaster seemed like it had better days. Did I also mention there were barely any restraint. Another intense experience and I also liked the layout of these old school Schiff mice. Other flat rides and such: "Monorail" A pleasant trek around the park, provided for some interesting shots. Roll-o-Plane A fun old school flat ride. Its like an actually fun version of Toboggan. I liked it. After a short and fun diversion, it was off to the Dell's to take on a park that was a little disappointing... none other than Mount Olympus. But well end this trip report on a high note with a fun wild mouse. I like to thank Little A-merrick-a for the sneak peek of Meteor and the nice atmosphere. It's worth a "Sunday drive" over to the park. Mount Olympus coming soon. Don't be shy to comment! ...and then some turds. I checked out their arcade. And they had some gems... At the end of the visit, my nerdiness got in the way. This park earns 300 cool points for a Mario themed ride. Meanwhile... Shapiro... please build Nintendo World? I like the design on the sides of the trains though. Despite the rickety-ness, Mad Mouse was a bone rattling experience. God? Zombies! (or the reason why the Kiddie Coaster is called "The Kiddie Coaster... of DEATH!") I liked this shot. Meanwhile, Robb... (rolls eyes) But this part was hell! This part wasn't as bad. Big... open... spaces... big... open... spaces... I can still feel the claustrophobia looking at this pic. Oh God... DREW! It's the end! HEADCHOPPER! Because fresh planks of wood is awesome. Behind the scenes of Roller Coasters in the Raw. "I know there's a Balder in you!" The big attraction, Meteor. Look at those fresh planks of wood. Yep, we're here. Are you sure we are at Little A-merrick-a? However, the Oasis did take some of the boredom out. How is that Powerthirst treating you, Erik? (If you don't get it: ) Man, Chicagoland was such a bad theme park.

I don't care how generic it is, I liked Wicked Twister's paint scheme.

Sunny, highs in the 80's, lows in the 50's/60's. Always this hot during Christmas, it feels odd to still wear all short sleeves this time of year.