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Dreams of squid
2006-05-08 11:42:02
I gotta quit staying up late* for Food Network. Last night on Iron Chef America, the secret ingredient was squid which kept invading my dreams. I had a pretty restless night and feel like crap today which is a shame since its a really pretty day today.
Got inspired for another craptacular AMV yesterday and I'll see if I can crank it out by the weekend. Nothing like a video dealing with VD to get the juices flowing. :P
*9-10pm ET -
I miss the beach :(
2006-05-04 19:58:43
http://www.wideopenwest.com/~kitsune/Sand.mp3
(One of these days I'll have to figure out an AMV for this. :) ) -
My (first) NYC Adventure...
2006-05-03 21:31:19
In 1986, I'd wanted to make my first trip to Florida / WDW, but my work screwed me over and instead of getting a week off, could only get my usual 2 days.
At the time, RT flights to NYC were about $98 from Columbus and I'd just read that the Cyclone roller coaster at Coney had just re-opened after nearly being torn down for expansion of the aquarium next door. (The Cyclone is from the early 20's. Everyone from Al Capone to Herbert Hoover rode it in its heydey and its still considered perhaps the greatest roller coaster ever built.)
Flight into Laguardia was ok. I'd gotten the earliest available flight and was served a full breakfast. Several passenger were bumped onto our flight from another airline and had just sweet rolls. (Guy sitting next to me was one of those. he laughed about picking the wrong airline.) We arrived about 9am and since I had time to kill before checking into the hotel. I decided to take a cab to the nearby World's Fairgrounds in Flushing Meadow, Queens. Cab driver didn't speak much English and I ended up giving directions on the fly to a place I'd never even been before. I wandered around awhile, looking at the remanants from the last World's Fair ('64-'65) that were acumulating graffiti.
I finally wandered my way out of the grounds and lucked onto a subway station where I could get to my hotel, The Pickwick Arms Hotel near the UN building. The guidebook I'd picked up prior to my flight reported that taking a limo around whas nearly as cheap as a taxi so I got the bright idea to take a limo to Coney Island. I picked up the phone receiver in the room and a huge (by my standards back then) roach crawled out of the earpiece. After an inspection and as much as a wipedown as I could muster, arranged for my limo.
Within minutes, a Lincoln stretch job was at the door. Despite the elegance of the car, the driver was pure Brooklaneese in cutoffs and a wife beater t-shirt. Chatting me up, he offered to set me up with a Korean hooker he knew. I passed. On the freeway, we passed a section that was under repair, a long line of cones blocking the left lanes. "I hate these things" he said with a grin, and proceeded to drive right over the line of cones. He did offer me the choice of crossing on the Brooklyn Bridge or one of the tunnels. I opted for the bridge.
He'd heard that another driver from his company had broken down straight ahead and asked if I minded if we stop and see what the problem was. Since I was paying a flat rate, I said no problem. We pulled up behind the other car and the two of them scratched their heads for a minute before I also got out to see what the problem was. The water punp had a crack big enough to march the Russian army though but they hadn't figured out that this is why the car had stopped running. I explained that he wasn't going any further without a tow truck. The other driver wanted to know if he drove slow, could he get it back through 20 some odd-miles so he could sneak it back onto the lot and blame the problems on 'sombody else'. I had to tell him that unless he had 2-3 days, it wasn't going to make it, presuming he hadn't already fried the engine.
We got to Coney without further ado and the limo driver pulled right up in one of the busiest areas. I AM NOT RACIST, (and I consider myself savvy enough not to look like an easy, potential victim) but I suddenly had the realization that there are no other white people in this area and here I am about to get out of a limo. "Let me out further up the street!" The driver laughed when he suddenly realized the reason for my discomfort but said he agreed with me and found a more agreeable area.
Coney was nothing like I expected. I realized its heydey was long gone, but I never expected it to look like a scene in a post-apocalypse movie. Long-abandoned rides left to rot almost made me want to cry. The parachute jump, a remanat from the 1939-40 World's Fair had been inoperable since the '60s, but I was amused to see they still ran the US and NY flags to the top every day.
The Cyclone I'd so badly wanted to ride? Closed the one day I was there for track replacement.
It wasn't a total loss. I did get to ride the Wonder Wheel and a real classic 'Dark Ride from the '20s the 'Spook O Rama' before it was partially destroyed in a fire. I also got a laugh a some poor schmuck who had to wear a witches costume in another dark ride. He laughed at himself too, so all was good.
I ended up taking the subway out of Coney and ended up near Broadway where I paid the then ungodly sum of $8 for an evening showing of 'The Great Mouse Detective' and enjoyed a laugh to myself that I'd been tramping all over NYC after dark without running into misfortune.
Day two saw a whirlwind tour. Top of the World Trade Center, the Museum of Broadcasting, FAO Schartz ( One of the World's biggest toy stores. WOW!!!), Central Park and other things I've since forgotten.
Cab ride out in the morning mirrored the first one. The driver's english seemed to be limited to the dollar amount on the meter. My flight wasn't until much later in the afternoon but I managed to snag a seat on an earlier flight and once again was treated to a full dinner.
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I've driven in Manhattan...
2006-05-03 20:19:19
(Not nearly as scary as the time I took a limo to Coney Island. looooonngg story.)
I've also driven in LA, Chicago and New Orleans.
NONE of them hold a candle to trying to get through Orlando during morning rush hour on the way to WDW. -
Verm
2006-04-30 04:45:40
I've seen that one but find this one more inspiring:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/members_videoinfo.php?v=74700
Wish I'd thought of that one first! :)
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