Movieguy

My Sister is a Student at NYU, having just started a month ago. This gave me a chance to go visit her with my Mom for Parent's weekend a few days ago. Keep in mind, I haven't been to this city since 1988, when I was 7 years old. We traveled down and back on a special bus that runs between Cornell University here in Ithaca, and the Cornell Club near 44th street in the City. At first, I got a lousy impression from the city, because we were walking along the streets with our luggage, and were unable to get a cab. Drivers refused to pick us up, because we weren't a bajillion miles away from our hotel. But, Nola (my sister) told me that's a pretty common thing down there, and showed us how the subways, and even walking when you can, are much better ways of getting around. After that, though, the experience got better and better for me, as you'll see in these photos. I was so afraid on the first night that I was going to get lost if I went on my own anyplace. But after Nola showed me the basic layout of the streets of Manhattan, I had a much easier time navigating on my own as time went on. In short, I loved this place, and I want to see it again soon. The Affinia Dumont, our hotel for the trip. VERY nice place. Our first meal was here, at the Rare Bar and Grill. I had a wonderful rib eye burger here. Tried to get a couple shots of the Empire State Building Afterward... A little tough for me to film this at night, for some reason. One of the big surprises for me, which Nola strongly recommended, was Forbidden Planet on Broadway, AKA: Geek Paradise! This place was a cornucopia of obscure sci-fi and horror references that made my nerdy side tremble with delight! Right next to Forbidden Planet was a HUGE Regal Theater. Got to see Jackass 3-D here the next day. The next day, I got to see bits of where Nola lives on campus. My mother saw the bulk of it, but what I saw was very nice indeed. Nola, and one of her new friends, took some time to show me Washington Square Park. On the fly shot of me and my sis. A little in-park entertainment. Very pretty place. After lunch, I went back to Broadway, and did a little exploring from there back to the Hotel on 34th street...here, I found the place where Nola says she's been gouged of many a dollar for necessities. A lovely church I discovered on Broadway earlier in the day. I thought this was the Seinfeld diner for a moment...too bad it wasn't. Howard Stern sings the praises of Nobu all the time. I should check it out next time... OK...You've got my attention! I also went back to Forbidden Planet, and found all these wonderful imports from Japan! From left to right: Ultraman Nexus, Ultraman Agul, and Ultraman Gaia's supreme version. These will take some time to put together, but I look forward to doing it. Yes, I know...I am a nerd! ^_^ Forbidden Planet...if you're a geek like me, go there now! We had dinner at The Barking Dog Cafe, next to the hotel. Some New Yorkers think it's mediocre, but I loved it. I had a lobster dinner here, my first one since my college years. After dinner, we took a shuttle subway to Times Square. Photos and videos don't do this place any justice...it is immense...overpowering...just awesome. Really now?...I find it to be a disgrace to musical theater, but, to each their own. Now we're talking! My sister still loves all things Lion King, but this isn't what we saw. We went to West Side Story. My mom and Nola spent a lot of time here on the final day. They love the Macy's in Syracuse, so this was a natural for them. Boy, you ain't kidding! I felt like I was gonna have to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to find my way back out. I spent a good chunk of the day back in Times Square. Had a very nice pancake breakfast at this place. Then I found this...a gigantic Toys'R'Us! No psychotic boat rides here, thankfully. Holy schnikes! It's not every day you find a huge animatronic T-Rex in the middle of a toy store. Not where I live, anyway. It makes me so happy to know that kids worship a superhero that I loved when I was their age, in a time when very few other kids did. Yes, that's a real Ferris Wheel! I didn't know these guys made ice cream too... It's too bad The Force Unleashed 2 wasn't out yet, otherwise, I would have bought it here. West Side Story was great. I highly recommend this revival! My god...I remember seeing this show with the entire original cast...no joke! Wow...that's very 90's of you, Times Square. Big Brother M&M is watching you! This one's for you, Robb and Elissa! Boy are YOU in the wrong place. Nola says this place is really good...must remember it for next time. Got myself a really good slice here. And after the long walk back, I got a really good pastrami sandwich here. Definitely check this deli out if you're in the area. Our view from the hotel room. Breathtaking... One more shot before leaving. So long Affinia! So long, NYC! Whoops, I forgot one other item from Forbidden Planet!

If Sky rocket's a great coaster, then who gives a rat's behind what the name is? I'm just glad that Kennywood, one of my all time favorite parks, has a new coaster that reportedly kicks a ton of butt. That's all I care about. I don't give a damn about what it's called. If I don't like it, I have so much imagination that I can rename it whatever I'd like in my head. The point is, I'm just glad that such an awesome coaster even exists, especially in Kennywood

I don't get people complaining about a name. How can you hate a name? What the devil does a name have to do with a coaster. I'm with Robb, it's nowhere near as bad as Drop Tower, or Flight Deck, or Ride of Steel Sans Superman (What the hell, Darien Lake?) tsk tsk tsk, so much nitpicking...this is why I never became an ACEr, despite the fact that I tend to eat like one.

Sorry if I derail the main conversation, but I read about there once being a Gremlins darkride in this park in this thread, and immediately headed to Youtube to check it out. As a young man, I used to fantasize about creating a Gremlins ride constantly. Then I found a video...my reaction...What the hell was ALF doing in a Gremlins-themed ride? I expect that nonsense in Japan, but not Germany!

Three launches on one coaster? My No Limits wet dreams are coming true at last! This sounds like an awesome coaster, and I can't wait to see it in action. It's also nice to see that parks like BGT and companies like Intamin are willing to take the plunge and build coasters that don't necessarily rely on gargantuan hills to attract people. a low and quick coaster can do the job as well, judging from how much the TPR crew seemed to enjoy Rita at Alton Towers.

Being a Syracuse Orange fan, I've usually had to wait until basketball season to experience any happiness in college sports. But, now, coming off their narrow win against South Florida, I can take some momentary solace in the fact that Syracuse is now 4-1 for the first time in what seems like a while. Of course, I used the word momentary, because they play Pittsburgh next week. I know Pitt's struggled a bit this season, but I just don't think the Orange are able to beat them just yet, looking at their stats. The rest of the schedule from here on looks pretty tough as well. But, seeing as how the Orange actually managed to win 4 games this season...that's a small victory for us up here.

My god, those videos were crazy. That whole park looks sick! It's amazing how you guys can keep digging up all of these small parks that no one else seems to know of...and often, those small parks are even more memorable than the big parks.

I was recently involved in an interesting production. It was an English translation of Pauline Viardot's Cendrillon...the French version of Cinderella, basically. In this operetta version of the story, The prince does more than stand around and look good. He actually starts off walking around a neighborhood disguised as a beggar, and Cinderella is the only one who shows him any kindness. It's because of that, Cindy's family gets invited to the ball. Also, the night of the ball, the Prince switches places with his Chamberlain, to see which woman will love him for what he really is, as a person. My character was the Step FATHER (No stepmother in this version, but still stepsisters. My mom played one of them in this production!) He calls himself a Baron, but he's actually a grocer who struck it rich, and only makes himself look like a Baron...and he feels miserable for it, secretly. You can see pics of me as my character in my facebook photos. Also, it is insinuated that the fairy godmother is actually the spirit of Cindy's real mother, and that she not only loved the Baron in her former life, but the Chamberlain as well. Oh, how French. Anyway, I wish you guys could have seen it. We had a great time putting it on.

Yay Starflyers! I so want to ride one, and am insanely jealous of those who have.

I will say, even though Frankenberry's still my favorite, I decided today that I missed Count Chocula as well. I bought a box, and now it stands in my shelf next to Frank. Even though I voted for Frankenberry, The Count comes a very close second for me.

I was just watching all the Piers videos again...here's what seeing my favorite Brit on the sauce kind of reminds me of... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m6LhZJdCQY

A sad loss for the world of amusement parks...I've always wanted to see Europa Park, and all the wonderful things this man brought to the industry. R.I.P Franz Mack

How many trees are in Dorney? My least favorite part of Cedar Point are those sections with no trees, or no places to sit in the shade, and you're just baking out in the sun on hot days. This is why I've really enjoyed parks like Knoebels, Hersheypark, BGW, and Kennywood, which incorporate natural beauty with their overall look very well.

I love park nostalgia! Thanks so much for putting the time and effort into your impressive collection, Shane.

I'd love to see the old Arrow multiloopers come back as well, just so long as they can find a way to improve the wheels or restraints, so they can cut back on any headbanging issues. Also, didn't S&S create those 4-D coasters? When I think of those, I always think of seeing the POV from Eejanaika, and hearing Robb's wonderful, and painful commentary ("*beep* this ride!" "That was actually worse than X!")

I LOVE TellTale Games and their whole lineup, so this Back To The Future idea has really got me excited. I got Dead Rising 2 last week. I was pleasantly surprised that a lot of my major issues from the first game have been fixed. The survivors no longer run into walls endlessly when I try to guide them, and there's a ton of time to go through all the cases, and still get in plenty of zombie killing at the same time. You're still under a limit, but it's not as straining as it was in the first game. Also, I just bought Castlevania: Lords of Shadow today at Best Buy. the God of War style combat system is familiar, but it fits this game much better than it did for Dante's Inferno. So far, Hideo Kojima's storyline has me interested, while the music and voice work (Patrick Stewart FTW!) are fantastic. The titan battle at the end of Chapter 1 is the only thing that's irked me about this game so far. I'd say, definitely check this one out, overall.

I've never visited either park yet, but I visited a large park in Hershey this summer, and found myself rushing around to get from spot to spot in such a big space. That's especially tough when you have other people with you. I think next summer I'm gonna go to smaller park, and Dorney has definitely moved to the top of my list after reading some of this. So, I would recommend Dorney as well, seeing as how this is a family trip that's being planned.

If you grew up in the 80's, like I did, then many of you probably have fond memories of the monster cereals. Count Chocula, Frankenberry, and Boo Berry, all graced the shelves and cupboards of America (Along with the short-lived Fruit Brute, and Yummy Mummy). Nowadays, Count Chocula has taken up the entire spotlight, in a world that, to me, has too many chocolate flavored cereals now. But this Halloween, General Mills is once again bringing back the full lineup. I don't know about anywhere else, but here in in Ithaca, they've been selling like mad to kids and College students alike! Boo Berry in particular, which seems to have a cult following on the internet. Frankenberry was always my personal favorite, and I now buy a box whenever I can. So what are your memories of these classics? Which was your favorite. Do tell!

Yet another fantastic expose from TPR It's funny...I've actually never been in a haunted house attraction, and I even shy away from most darkrides. In the past I've just been really easy to jump scare, and it's always bugged me a bit, because I love horror movies and things like that. I think my Asperger's might have something to do with the anxiety surrounding me being spooked like that. But, since I've been taking anxiety medication, I find myself a little more mellow, and can even watch those awful screamer commercials for that K-fee stuff in Germany, and just laugh after being scared now. So who knows, I may finally try a haunted house around here. I will say though, that I'd love to be a character in a haunted house. I love makeup, and I'm told I'm a pretty good actor (I've performed on stage multiple times). The only thing is no opportunities for that have come up around here. Knotts seems to have a good halloween event so it's nice to have something else to remember this park for.

I remember visiting this park a few times in the past. It's the home of my first ever big boy coaster, the Blue Streak. That being said, this park has definitely seen better days.

http://angryjoeshow.com/2010/10/star-wars-3d-rerelease/ I'm not the typical anti-3D ranter you see all over the internet. I love 3-D, and the way it is now, you can do so many cool things with it. Avatar, for all of its minor flaws as a film, really did a great job of showing 3D's promise. But this...this over-saturation of 3D re-releases, last minute conversions, and the like...it's going to kill and bury 3D yet again, and I don't want that.

Well, I do believe in evolution, but I have a fair amount of religious faith as well. To me, the two don't have to be mutually exclusive, though that doesn't seem to be a popular view with either side of the aisle. I'd say I'm a deist. I believe there is a prime mover of some sort, and that our universe is much too complex for scientists to fully explain, even at this point. But, I think whatever this prime mover is, it leaves most of our existence up to ourselves. Most evangelicals probably wouldn't like me much, because I don't believe in a literal interpretation of the bible. The Old Testament, the book a lot of fanatics like to lean on, is also the book of the Jews. Ask any Jew, and he/she will most likely tell you that much of it wasn't meant to be taken literally. I respect Atheists, and don't force my views on them...But at the same time, I just think it's a rather depressing, and hopeless way at looking at one's self and the world.

Sky wheel doesn't impress me at all, looking at it. It just seems like a souped up version of those "ring of fire" rides you find at a carnival. I'm surprised, really, that none of these Maurer coasters have OTSRs. I know I've complained about headbanging with those types of restraints before, but it seems like they would make the most sense on that type of ride...then again, though, that would probably put a lot of strain on the shoulders and neck of the rider.

Here's an idea, Robb...how about the next time you go to a park with a "Never in America" attraction, you use Weird Al's "I'll Sue Ya!" as the music?

Oh my god...I finally watched all the Piers videos. Probably the funniest things I've seen in my life so far. I'm a pretty good drinker myself (More wine than Beer lately.), but it's been YEARS since I've gotten that trashed...though, I came pretty close at the NY State Fair a while back.