John Donne
A Hymn To God The Father
Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.
I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, thou hast done;
I fear no more.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Hey all...I am still around. Thanks for the comments re. the house issue.
About Heart of Darkness...suffice to say it's one of the best written, well reasoned, and symbolic books ever writtern. All from a man for whom English was a second language. Pretty freakin amazing if you ask me.
Yes...it's one of my favorite books. I'm certain that's largely based on when I read it and who I was at the time. I took the whole archetype/symbolism thing hook, line, and sinker. Invisible Man (another of my favorites) is rife with multi-level symbolism and archetypes.
Later...when it's not so late, I'll talk more about my favorite books. And it's been a while since I posted some poetry (not mine...good stuff only).
About Heart of Darkness...suffice to say it's one of the best written, well reasoned, and symbolic books ever writtern. All from a man for whom English was a second language. Pretty freakin amazing if you ask me.
Yes...it's one of my favorite books. I'm certain that's largely based on when I read it and who I was at the time. I took the whole archetype/symbolism thing hook, line, and sinker. Invisible Man (another of my favorites) is rife with multi-level symbolism and archetypes.
Later...when it's not so late, I'll talk more about my favorite books. And it's been a while since I posted some poetry (not mine...good stuff only).
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Eggs, Chickens, and that Whole Counting Thing...
Right...
Time for some censorship...the posts about the house have been deleted. Spoke too soon. In short, we weren't happy with the inspection and are passing.
The search begins anew. And next time...I'll restrain my irrational exuberance and make an announcement once we're actually on track to get it.
Time for some censorship...the posts about the house have been deleted. Spoke too soon. In short, we weren't happy with the inspection and are passing.
The search begins anew. And next time...I'll restrain my irrational exuberance and make an announcement once we're actually on track to get it.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Okay...Tuesday at Islands of Adventure...
Incredible Hulk Coaster - 4pts. It's a fine coaster but it seems a bit slow. They use magnetic propulsion to get you to speed in seconds and you crest the opening hill full speed and doing an inversion. There are something like 7 inversions and a lot of spinning. However there's no real air time...those moments of zero gravity. One of my favorite things.
Doctor Doom's Fearfall - 1pt. Rather sucktastic. It shoots you straight up and slowly brings you down. No thrill here.
Amazing Spider-Man Ride - 5pts. One of my favorite rides of all time. Even better the second time. Great use of 3D, special effects, and flight simulation. Must be experienced to be believed.
Storm Force Accelatron - 2pts. Simple varient on the tilt-a-whirl or Disney's teacup ride. Nothing special. Too short.
Jurassic Park River Adventure - 3pts. Universal's answer to Splash Mountain. It has a bigger drop...the visuals..okay...I liked Splash Mountain better.
The Cat in the Hat - 3pts. Trip through the high point of the book. Great visuals and animatronics. Fun for the kids and adults. Part of a whole section of the park dedicated to Dr. Seuss. The whole section was well designed...but a little goes a long way.
8th Voyage of Sinbad - 2.5pts. Not a ride. A mildly entertaining stunt show. Designed to appeal to all ages. Skip it or don't. It will provide shade but not heat relief in the summer since it's an outdoor production.
Poseidon's Fury - 2pts. More like the fury of suck. This wasn't a ride...rather another show/movie with special effects (both water and fire). Think bad Sci-fi channel movie of the week. The one cool piece was a tunnel of water you were forced to walk through. Not cool enough to save this "ride." The sad thing is that Universal clearly spent a lot of coin on the exterior to give a distressed temple look...but they needed to focus on the attraction itself.
Dueling Dragons: Fire and Ice - 5pts. I loved this ride. We all loved this ride. Two hanging coasters. Both very good, though Fire was my favorite. Due to the reletively low number of people at the park I think we rode this 7 times over two days. It was more fun on a coaster than I think I have had. I know the park wants to hype the Incredible Hulk coaster...but I think these are better by far.
Interesting thing happened on Tuesday. We were blocks away from a bank robbery and hostage situation. Were were very lucky. We were able to get to and from our condo. The police perimeter began at the street we needed to turn on. It would have genuinely sucked to be either blocked from our condo or stuck there. Thankfully we made it out to dinner once Peter and Beth arrived.
Ah...dinner...at my favorite Orlando restaurant (like I know that many) Cafe Tu-Tu Tango. Everyone should go. It's sad that Little Rock probably couldn't (wouldn't?) support a fun restaurant like Cafe Tu-Tu Tango.
More photos today...then a look into the Magic Kingdom tomorrow...
Stay tuned.
Incredible Hulk Coaster - 4pts. It's a fine coaster but it seems a bit slow. They use magnetic propulsion to get you to speed in seconds and you crest the opening hill full speed and doing an inversion. There are something like 7 inversions and a lot of spinning. However there's no real air time...those moments of zero gravity. One of my favorite things.
Doctor Doom's Fearfall - 1pt. Rather sucktastic. It shoots you straight up and slowly brings you down. No thrill here.
Amazing Spider-Man Ride - 5pts. One of my favorite rides of all time. Even better the second time. Great use of 3D, special effects, and flight simulation. Must be experienced to be believed.
Storm Force Accelatron - 2pts. Simple varient on the tilt-a-whirl or Disney's teacup ride. Nothing special. Too short.
Jurassic Park River Adventure - 3pts. Universal's answer to Splash Mountain. It has a bigger drop...the visuals..okay...I liked Splash Mountain better.
The Cat in the Hat - 3pts. Trip through the high point of the book. Great visuals and animatronics. Fun for the kids and adults. Part of a whole section of the park dedicated to Dr. Seuss. The whole section was well designed...but a little goes a long way.
8th Voyage of Sinbad - 2.5pts. Not a ride. A mildly entertaining stunt show. Designed to appeal to all ages. Skip it or don't. It will provide shade but not heat relief in the summer since it's an outdoor production.
Poseidon's Fury - 2pts. More like the fury of suck. This wasn't a ride...rather another show/movie with special effects (both water and fire). Think bad Sci-fi channel movie of the week. The one cool piece was a tunnel of water you were forced to walk through. Not cool enough to save this "ride." The sad thing is that Universal clearly spent a lot of coin on the exterior to give a distressed temple look...but they needed to focus on the attraction itself.
Dueling Dragons: Fire and Ice - 5pts. I loved this ride. We all loved this ride. Two hanging coasters. Both very good, though Fire was my favorite. Due to the reletively low number of people at the park I think we rode this 7 times over two days. It was more fun on a coaster than I think I have had. I know the park wants to hype the Incredible Hulk coaster...but I think these are better by far.
Interesting thing happened on Tuesday. We were blocks away from a bank robbery and hostage situation. Were were very lucky. We were able to get to and from our condo. The police perimeter began at the street we needed to turn on. It would have genuinely sucked to be either blocked from our condo or stuck there. Thankfully we made it out to dinner once Peter and Beth arrived.
Ah...dinner...at my favorite Orlando restaurant (like I know that many) Cafe Tu-Tu Tango. Everyone should go. It's sad that Little Rock probably couldn't (wouldn't?) support a fun restaurant like Cafe Tu-Tu Tango.
More photos today...then a look into the Magic Kingdom tomorrow...
Stay tuned.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
So...back from sunny Orlando, Florida.
It was a great week spent with Collin, Kathleen, Beth, Peter, and Jessica. The weather was perfect, and as luck would have it, the only rain occurred while we were on an indoor attraction at Epcot.
Sunday:
Arrive. Flight was smooth. Somewhat disappointed in the resort but the suite is adequate. Got turned around in Celebration, Florida. It's a completely manufactured community. Remember G.I. Joe...and their enemy Cobra? Well Celebration makes me think of the Cobra town Springfield. A bit too wholesome for it's own good (kinda like Disney).
Monday:
Universal Studios. Fun but rather boring looking park. Their claims about "riding the movies" is slightly exaggerated. It was amazingly empty. We had very little in the way of wait times. Most of the time we walked right up and got on the rides. As for the attractions I'll use a 5pt scale.
Shrek 4D - 4pts. Very good and very funny 3D animated presentation...thus not a ride. Set sometime between the two movies. Used the voice talent from the movie. Worth seeing again.
Revenge of the Mummy - 5pts. Two words...Brain Fire. Too short but worth every second. If only the coster were a bit more thrilling....but BRAIN FIRE!!! We rode this three times.
Terminator 2 3D - 4.5pts. Another 3D show (again..not a ride). An early use of the technology...but they spent good money on it and it was well done. If only the third Terminator movie could have been this good.
E.T. Adventure - 3pts. At least it's a ride. Weak story about helping find some lost friends of E.T. is the reason for flying around and seeing scenes inspired by the movie. The ride is not exciting at all. Worth it for the way Speilberg hoored himself out for the video intro. The visuals and animatronics are also very good...surreal at the end when you reach E.T.'s home planet. Another odd thing...the staff asks your name before the ride, gives you this silly intergalactic passport...then takes it away with no explanation. Why was my name required? It's a mystery.
Men In Black: Alien Attack - 3pts. Simple indoor attraction. Cars are equipped with light guns and scoreboards. Think moving shooting gallery with aliens, fluorescent paint, and blacklights and that sums it up.
Back to the Future - 4pts. I liked this one more than the rest of the party. Sure it's old but I had fun. They could get Doc Brown and Biff...but it's clear that Michael J. Fox was too expensive to participate (or too big a star).
Twister: Ride it Out - .5pts. That's right. Half a point. This sucked hard. It wasn't a ride. Basically you watched a fake tornado tear up a set. Than goodness they had a flying cow on a wire. Waste of time. Not suspenseful or fun at all. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton appear in intros. It's clear they have never been to the ride. If they had...they would give their money back and fire their agents. Oh..and despite the name...there is no ride.
Earthquake: The Big One - 2.5 pts. Simple backstage peek with a simulated 8.5 earthquake. The ride was predictable but mildly entertaining. It would be perfect on a summer afternoon if you need to get out of the heat. The very lame audience participation was made better by the on-screen appearance of Chuck Heston (star of the Earthquake movie) and out MC, Voltaire. Your eyes decieve not...Voltaire. He was a lot of fun and what a great name. We weren't sure if it was his real name or not. I think we decided that his parents must be professors.
Jaws - 0 pts. It was closed. I've always wanted to ride one of the Jaws rides.
We had enough time on Monday to visit the other Universal park: Islands of Adventure and the crowds were still low enough that we made it through roughly half the park before we quit for the day. I'll get to reviewing the rest of the week over the next couple of days....
It was a great week spent with Collin, Kathleen, Beth, Peter, and Jessica. The weather was perfect, and as luck would have it, the only rain occurred while we were on an indoor attraction at Epcot.
Sunday:
Arrive. Flight was smooth. Somewhat disappointed in the resort but the suite is adequate. Got turned around in Celebration, Florida. It's a completely manufactured community. Remember G.I. Joe...and their enemy Cobra? Well Celebration makes me think of the Cobra town Springfield. A bit too wholesome for it's own good (kinda like Disney).
Monday:
Universal Studios. Fun but rather boring looking park. Their claims about "riding the movies" is slightly exaggerated. It was amazingly empty. We had very little in the way of wait times. Most of the time we walked right up and got on the rides. As for the attractions I'll use a 5pt scale.
Shrek 4D - 4pts. Very good and very funny 3D animated presentation...thus not a ride. Set sometime between the two movies. Used the voice talent from the movie. Worth seeing again.
Revenge of the Mummy - 5pts. Two words...Brain Fire. Too short but worth every second. If only the coster were a bit more thrilling....but BRAIN FIRE!!! We rode this three times.
Terminator 2 3D - 4.5pts. Another 3D show (again..not a ride). An early use of the technology...but they spent good money on it and it was well done. If only the third Terminator movie could have been this good.
E.T. Adventure - 3pts. At least it's a ride. Weak story about helping find some lost friends of E.T. is the reason for flying around and seeing scenes inspired by the movie. The ride is not exciting at all. Worth it for the way Speilberg hoored himself out for the video intro. The visuals and animatronics are also very good...surreal at the end when you reach E.T.'s home planet. Another odd thing...the staff asks your name before the ride, gives you this silly intergalactic passport...then takes it away with no explanation. Why was my name required? It's a mystery.
Men In Black: Alien Attack - 3pts. Simple indoor attraction. Cars are equipped with light guns and scoreboards. Think moving shooting gallery with aliens, fluorescent paint, and blacklights and that sums it up.
Back to the Future - 4pts. I liked this one more than the rest of the party. Sure it's old but I had fun. They could get Doc Brown and Biff...but it's clear that Michael J. Fox was too expensive to participate (or too big a star).
Twister: Ride it Out - .5pts. That's right. Half a point. This sucked hard. It wasn't a ride. Basically you watched a fake tornado tear up a set. Than goodness they had a flying cow on a wire. Waste of time. Not suspenseful or fun at all. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton appear in intros. It's clear they have never been to the ride. If they had...they would give their money back and fire their agents. Oh..and despite the name...there is no ride.
Earthquake: The Big One - 2.5 pts. Simple backstage peek with a simulated 8.5 earthquake. The ride was predictable but mildly entertaining. It would be perfect on a summer afternoon if you need to get out of the heat. The very lame audience participation was made better by the on-screen appearance of Chuck Heston (star of the Earthquake movie) and out MC, Voltaire. Your eyes decieve not...Voltaire. He was a lot of fun and what a great name. We weren't sure if it was his real name or not. I think we decided that his parents must be professors.
Jaws - 0 pts. It was closed. I've always wanted to ride one of the Jaws rides.
We had enough time on Monday to visit the other Universal park: Islands of Adventure and the crowds were still low enough that we made it through roughly half the park before we quit for the day. I'll get to reviewing the rest of the week over the next couple of days....
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