theme-parks – Observations Along the Road

News Chum Stew: Onesies and Twosies

Posted onSaturday, August 20, 2016Saturday, August 20, 2016Authorcahwyguy

Observation Stew Last night, we had a Shabbabaque at Temple (“Shabbat” + “Barbeque”). There was a bunch of food leftover, and so I brought some home — the sliced tomatoes and roasted zucchini — and threw it into a crockpot. That’s a great thing to do with leftovers: make a stew (and I intend to suggest formalizing that next year*). Just like at the Shabbabaque, I’ve got loads of leftovers — onsies and twosies of news articles — that don’t make a coherent dish. Perhaps they’ll make a good stew. What do you think?

Jewish Summer Camp

LGBTQ and Jewish Summer Camp. Two articles related to this subject. The first looks at how one camp is trying to rework the Hebrew language, so transgendered kids fit in. The second explores the ways that Jewish summer camp helps LGBTQ fit in, and the ways that they don’t.
Ga-Ga. One more camp related article: If you’ve been to a Jewish summer camp, you’ve likely seeing that an octagonal court and an odd game of dodgeball called ga-ga. Ever wonder where it came from? Hint: It wasn’t Israel.

Food and Eating

Turmeric. My wife has recently been turning to turmeric for its anti-inflammatory properties. Users of the herb should note that a number of formulations have been recalled due to possible lead contamination.
Rotisserie Chicken. We’ve all heard that rotisserie chicken is cheaper than uncooked chicken, because markets are trying to get rid of the chickens before they spoil, and some profit is better than none. Someone actually investigated. In most cases (i.e., Costco), it is still cheaper to cook it yourself.

Local Returns and Departures

Returning: Labels Table. According to this article, Labels Table has returned to Tarzana. The problem is: I don’t remember it being here in the first place (although my wife says that it was, and that it was pffffft).
Ports O’Call. It appears that the demolition order has been issued for the old Ports O’Call in San Pedro. Replacing it: A hipsters revisioning called “San Pedro Public Market”.
The Music Center. Supposedly being reinvented is the plaza at the Music Center. Spend 30 million, and let’s see if you can make this hulk of concrete friendly. I’ll believe it when I see it. The structure is massive and above ground due to the parking, and that may just be an incurable.

The Body

Smell. The sense of smell may be found all over — outside and inside — the body. It turns out there may be a good reason. Think of smell and taste not as an odor detector, but a general purpose chemical sensor.
Vocal Fry. We’re supposedly in an epidemic of vocal fry and uptalking. But the real complaint may not be the vocal characteristic, but the fact that it is women doing the talking.

History

Right Hand Over Your Heart. Did you ever wonder why we put our hands over our heart for the national anthem and the pledge? Or why we have the pledge in the first place? Wonder no more. Hint: The former is so that we don’t look like Nazis, and the latter is to unify a nation of immigrants.
Grinning Ghosts. Here’s the true history of the Haunted Mansion, and why it couldn’t be built until Disney died.
Pinball. I bet you thought the only Pinball Museum was in Las Vegas. Think again.

What’s Left

TV Musicals. The Flash and Supergirl are doing a musical crossover episode.
Passings of Note: Fyvush Finkel, a major force in Yiddish Theatre and a builder of Picket Fences. Jack Riley, the voice of Stu Pickles and Elliot Carlin on Bob Newhart.
Theatre Briefs. Fun Home tour casting announced, including Kate Shindle, the Prez. of AEA. One wonders if she really wants to come to LA (#pro99). CSULB is doing two lesser known musicals: Stop the World, and Bubbly Black Girl. Dear World is coming to VPAC, and Parade to Thousand Oaks. Oh, and Allan Sherman is coming to Temple Ahavat Shalom — get your tickets now.

News Chum for a Busy Weekend

Posted onSaturday, June 11, 2016Authorcahwyguy

userpic=lougrant This is another busy weekend, so I should probably put this pot of news chum on the stove to simmer. What’s in it? A collection of articles and other items I’ve seen on the web this week that have stuck in my head. Let’s lift the lid and find out what is in this pot:

“The Ever-Tightening Job Market for Ph.D.s“. It is graduation season. This means that metric tonnes of newly minted graduates with Bachelors, Masters, and PhDs are going to be flooding the job market, and in many professions, it will be bad for the PhDs. The linked article talks about a recent report finds that many newly minted Ph.D.s complete school after nearly 10 years of studies with significant debt and without the promise of a job. Yet few people seem to be paying attention to these findings; graduate programs are producing more Ph.D.s than ever before.
“How Unions and Regulators Made Clothing Tags an Annoying Fact of Life“. Clothing tags. Those things at the back of your shirt that annoy you. Did you ever wonder where they came from? Wonder no more.
“Bookstore down: Mystery and Imagination & Bookfellows in Glendale“. Another independent bookstore bites the dust: Mystery and Imagination, which was across the street from another recent closure, Brand Books. Although some independent bookstores are thriving, others are closing… and it is a sad thing. Amazon may be great for music, but it is a pain for discovering new books. It is not just bookstores that are closing: Orphaned CDs, which was around the corner in Northridge, has been put on the market, sold, and moved to Sunland.
“Offbeat L.A.: A Cherry on Top- Fosters Freeze, the History of California’s Original Soft Serve“. I had never realized that Fosters Freeze had originated in Los Angeles, the product of an attempt to bring Dairy Queen to LA. I’ve enjoyed them over the years (particularly, the fudge dip that crunches afterwards). Interesting read.
“Want to Make America More Inclusive? Start With Stamps“. I used to be a stamp collector. I guess I still am, although I haven’t updated the collection in years. Stamp collecting has gone out of favor as a hobby, with the advent of self-adhesive stamps (that don’t soak off), pre-printed postage, and the decline in physical mail. Stamps are interesting, and have always been a reflection of a country in its values. The linked article looks as how America and other countries demonstrate their inclusivity through the images they put on their stamps (and the people that end up collecting them).
“Pacific Bus Museum in Fremont: showcasing a piece of Bay Area history“. I’m into transit history: be it trains, planes, automobiles or buses. I’m a member of a train museum, but I haven’t seen a similar attempt to save buses. Well, until I read this article.
“Going to Universal Studios Hollywood with food allergies“. As a reference for those attending this year’s ACSAC — an article on dining at Universal with allergies. Alas, the picture isn’t the greatest at the present time. Disney still wins hands down in this competition.

Life as a Theme Park

Posted onTuesday, September 1, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=eticket As we continue the process of cleaning out the links, today’s three-theme brings together articles related to current and former theme parks, although the term is used loosely:

Ensuring the Votes. If you want politics to go way, the easiest way to do it is stack the votes. Disney did this with how they engineered the governance of the land that makes up the Walt Disney World resort. They designed the city and improvement district structures specifically to speed what they wanted to do, and provide the hand-picked residents with special perks to keep them voting Disney’s way. Sometimes, of course, such attempt backfires …. such as in Columbia MO, where they thought they had engineered an improvement district to have no residents… but it turns out they forgot one. Lastly, sometimes these attempts just lead to rampant corruption (as in the City of Industry). You’re probably thinking Disney could never get away with this in California; however, just look at how they got out of paying gate taxes in exchange for a promise to expand the park.
For The Birds. Those of us who are old enough and live in the San Fernando Valley remember the days of Busch Gardens. There was recently an article exploring a relic of the Gardens that exists to this day: the bridge over the railroad tracks connected to nothing. It turns out that it once was a pedestrian walkway to a log ride known as the Ya-Hoo Flume, which entered a giant misty aviary with waterfalls and squawking parrots that flew freely. Yes, the parrots still exist as well.
An Adult Theme Park. Back in May, the adult theme park that is Las Vegas lost an attraction when the Riviera closed down. But it turns out that the Riviera is living on in many ways. … from the people to the neon to the Crazy Girls to all the stuff that once existed in the hotel.

Saturday Stew: Clearing out the Groupatwos before Pesach

Posted onSaturday, April 12, 2014Authorcahwyguy

Observation Stew In the Talmud, there is a learned Rabbi who opines that groupatwos are to be considered Chametz during Passover. Luckily, this week was so busy I accumulated a bunch of groupatwos. So let’s get that feather and that candle and get them out of the links list before Passover starts Monday night:

What You Don’t See. This groupatwo has been sticking in my mind. I have a friend who is very sensitive to privilege and racism issues. She often sees subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) concerns where I (who arguably, have been raised with privilege) see none. A few weeks ago, she highlighted an issue that has stuck in my head as an example of this subtle issue — today I took the time to find the articles again. The concern is discussed well in this article about photography and brown skin, and that was driven somewhat by this article. The issue is that film sensitivity and color sensitivity was calibrated using particular white models, and the constrast designs work best for white skin. Photographing — at least in film days — black models (and especially, black and white models together) resulted in poor photographs. Hence, what did most fashion photographers use? Truly a fascinating example of subtle racism. Was it unintended? That’s probably a different debate.
What You Wear. Two articles from last week about what people wear. The first talked about a defendent in a courtroom, who took the stand and attended the proceedings in sloppy untucked clothing. The message this sent the jury increased the odds of conviction. The second is also courtroom based — this time about a judge who admonished the female attorneys for wearing clothes that were too revealing (and in particular, they distracted him). So what is proper courtroom attire, and how much does freedom of expression come into play?
Breaking Away. Two articles about countries breaking away. In the first, the concern is Quebec, and how the charge for Quebec separatism is nearly dead. In the second, the article is about England and the different reactions to independence movements in Scotland vs. Ireland. England would seemingly be happy if the two Irelands reunited and remained separate, but Scotland should stay part of Great Britain. The article explains why.
Visitor Attractions. Two articles on visitor attractions. The first deals with Buellton California, and discusses a museum of Petroliana — old gas station stuff — that I must visit. The second deals with newly announced expansion plans for Universal Studios — hopefully, I can get ACSAC near there in 2015 and 2016, and these will draw in a bunch of attendees.
Two Singlets. Two single stories a groupatwo makes. In the first, it looks like TNT is bringing back the Librarian franchise as a series — with Noah Wyle, Jane Curtain, and Bob Newhart! The second talks about a new minimally invasive procedure for chronic sinusitis that sounds very interesting.

Designs of the Past, the Needs of Today

Posted onTuesday, July 23, 2013Tuesday, July 23, 2013Authorcahwyguy

userpic=cardboard-safe Today’s lunchtime collection of news chum brings together three stories about product designs from the past:

The Saturn V. Sometimes old designs are better, but we lose the ability to make them. Such is the case with the Saturn V, one of the most powerful launch systems made by man. Amy Teitel has a really neat article on the lost art of the Saturn V. The article explores how the rocket was designed, and why decisions made during that process led to our inability to reconstruct it today.
Voyager. Sometimes old designs just keep plugging away, doing the job they were designed to do like an Energizer bunny. Such is the case with Voyager, which is still doing its space mission with incredibly archaic technology, including 8-track tapes. 1970s computer technology… doing the job today.
Roller Coaster Seats. Lastly, sometimes old designs don’t keep up with the time. Such is the case with roller coasters, where the problem is the seats. They were designed for smaller visitors and able-bodied visitors. They have become out of date – and dangerous – when faced with our larger (read “obese”) population, and increasing numbers with missing limbs. Theme parks are still trying to figure out how to address this issue.

Theme Park News Chum: Universal Hollywood, Knotts, and Disney Chairs

Posted onThursday, April 25, 2013Authorcahwyguy1 Comment

userpic=eticket Today’s lunchtime news chum brings together some articles related, perhaps peripherally, to theme parks….

Universal: A Gain and A Loss. Lots of news out there regarding Universal Hollywood. Their expansion plans are on the verge of approval. There are many good things about this plan: it was developed with community input, and it will add not only the Harry Potter-themed area but a walking path along the Los Angeles River. The bad news: something has to go to make space for this, and that something is the Universal (oops) Gibson Amphitheater. Also going will be the former Nickelodeon, now Curious George, Playarea behind the amphitheater. I have fond memories of the amphitheater, having seen both Peter, Paul, and Mary as well as Roger Whittaker there. Nowadays their programming sucks, and there hasn’t been an interesting show in years. I won’t miss it — both it and the Greek have gone downhill in their shows. What will replace the Gibson as a large concert venue? The Galen Center at USC.
Knotts – Log Flumes and Animatronics. Knotts (which I haven’t been to since I was a little kid) is updating their tired log flume ride with its well-worn scenes and weak animation. What’s interesting is the story behind the man who do the work: a man who turned a love of tinkering and mechanics, without a high-school education, into a career. He is now the keeper of Disney animatronics (with all the original spare parts), as well as building animated characters for lots of other theme parks.
Disney and Furniture. OK, this one is a little bit of a stretch. But perhaps a comfy one, as it is about the famous Disney chair. This chair was coveted by managers and animators alike. Not interested in chairs? How about futuristic couches? I could see my daughter liking some of this. Need more Disney? How about a collection of Disney park pictures — then and now.

Music: Home Before Dark (Neil Diamond): “Act Like A Man”

One Mouse, One World

Posted onSaturday, December 8, 2012Saturday, December 8, 2012Authorcahwyguy1 Comment

“One Mouse, One World”. Sounds like a slogan for world domination by a particular corporation, doesn’t it. Sometimes it feels that way when you are in certain parts of Orlando Florida. It is also the slogan of one of that organization’s theme parks, Epcot, which we visited today.

First of all, why Epcot? The answer is simple. Most of the rest of the other Orlando parks can be found somewhere in the Anaheim parks. So it didn’t make sense to spend boku-bucks to go to them. Epcot, on the other hand, is mostly unique (except for Soaring, Captain Eo, and Nemo’s Adventures).

Epcot is a odd mix of multiple parks. The first park, when you go into it, is the “park of the future“. This is the park of the big Epcot globe, the voyage into space, and the hydroponic gardens. This is also the park that (mostly) felt dated — it felt like the Tomorrowland of the 1970s, down to the architecture and layout. It had that rounded-curve sense of the old People-Mover structure. We did ride a few rides in this area — in particular, Spaceship Earth, Mission:Space (Green) and Living with the Land. Spaceship Earth seemed a bit dated — all the audio-animatronics looked like characters from Pirates, although I did appreciate the 9-track tapes. Living with the Land, on the other hand, was neat — especially the portion where they went through the actual Epcot gardens and science areas. Mission:Space was good, but short and predictable (almost like “Star Tours”)… and you can tell where the “Orange” version would have added stuff. We didn’t get to see everything here we wanted to see — there evidently is an Energy movie with Ellen DeGeneris, but it was 45 minutes long, and we wanted to see other stuff. The line for Test Track was just too long, and the FastPast was too late. I also note that quite a few attractions allowed you to email stuff to yourself, such as the picture from this post.

The second part of Epcot is the World Showcase. This was mostly shopping, as opposed to rides (although we did see one Circlevision movie with Martin Short). The lands are Canada, UK, France, Morocco, Japan, America, Italy, Germany, “Africa” (Outpost), China, Norway,and Mexico. Each land has lots and lots of themed shopping (although at points I felt the shopping was a little culturally insensitive and stereotypical). Some of it is great (I particularly liked Canada, UK, Paris, Japan, and Germany), some of it wasn’t. Each land also has lots and lots of local food, much of it relatively expensive. Few rides, but fun to walk through and shop. There was also good music — in particular, a really good rock Celtic-Canadian band (including bagpipes) called Off-Kilter.

The third part of Epcot is a graft — Disney attempted to “graft” characters and marketing into the park. Thus you see Nemo in the Sea section, the Three Cabillaros in the Mexican lands, and various Disney face characters in the appropriate lands (i.e., Aladdin and Jasmine in Morocco, Belle in France, Snow White and Rapunzel in Germany (but no Heimlich), Mulan in China, etc.). You also see Duffy the Disney Bear everywhere, and Pin Trading and Vinylmation everywhere, and Disney marketing everywhere. You can find everything Disney in Epcot … except any books describing the original purpose of Epcot and its history and development. Evidently, remembering the history is something solely reserved for Anaheim; Orlando is for entertainment, resorts, and separating the tourists from their money. But I didn’t say that in my outloud voice, did I?

Overall, what did we think of the park? It was fun, although not the constant attraction type of fun of Disneyland and DCA. I don’t think it was worth the standard Orlando gate, given that it was mostly shopping. But it is hard to say what any Disney park is worth. I am glad I saw it.

Up in the Air

Posted onThursday, January 12, 2012Authorcahwyguy

Today’s lunchtime news chum brings together a collection of articles, all related to things that are up in the air:

Stopping a Non-Stop. When is a non-stop flight a one-stop. The answer, of course, is when it has to stop to refuel, which is something happening to an increasing number of non-stop flights from Europe. The reason for this is increased headwinds at the flight altitude, which consume more fuel. Now, that wouldn’t be a problem if jumbo-jets were being used, as they carry more fuel (e.g., 767s, 747s), but airlines (especially United) want to save money. They are attempting to utilize 757s whereever possible, and a transatlantic flight is just at the edge of their range. Give them a strong headwind, and — voila — a refueling stop is needed. This is a boon to many small airports, who just love the landing fees.
The Roar of the Engine. Those of us who live in the San Fernando Valley remember well the roar of rocket engine testing from Rocketdyne, which is now part of United Technology. Rumors are circulating that Rocketdyne will be sold to another company, such as GenCorp (Aerojet) or ATK. The interesting part of this article, for me, was the information on site development of Rocketdyne sites (as Rocketdyne owns a prime 47-acre site between Canoga and Owensmouth avenues and Vanowen Street and Victory Boulevard – right next to Westfield Topanga mall – in addition to a campus at De Soto and Nordhoff St. The article noted that “Last summer UTC filed plans with the city of Los Angeles to build a 6 million-square-foot community of high-rise buildings, 4,000-plus residential units and a 16-story hotel. Rocketdyne will eventually leave the Canoga site and consolidate operations at its campus at De Soto Avenue and Nordoff Street.”
Rescuing a Satellite. Wired had an interesting article on the rescue of the AEHF-1 satellite, along with speculation as to the underlying cause of the problem. The Slashdot article that alerted me to this also included a link to an interesting analysis that highlighted a side effect of younger engineerlings with little experience working with old engineer crows, which (to me) emphasizes the important of passing on the lessons learned to other generations. As I’m starting to enter the “old crow” stage (52 is rapidly coming up), this is a useful reminder, and something all of us need to do.
Stick ‘Em Up. Lastly, speaking of old, we have something that is old that forces you to put your hands in the air. Namely: they are still robbing the train after 60 years at Knotts Berry Farm. Now I remember going to Knotts when I was young and seeing this. The one thing not stated in the article is what the “robbers” do with anything park guests give them.

Music: Liege and Lief (Fairport Convention): Tam Lin