The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[ParkPeeker]

This morning I had the joy of waking up in Yosemite Valley. I do not believe there is a more beautiful place on earth than here.
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Love Yosemite! Tunnel view is ducking majestic! The only time I’ve ever been was during Nov, cause we were trying to avoid heavy crowds. So the one downside was that during the hike, we only got to see thin waterfalls.

Some pics of sunset at glacier point

 

[TP2000]

This morning I had the joy of waking up in Yosemite Valley. I do not believe there is a more beautiful place on earth than here.
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Fabulous pictures! Yosemite National Park truly is a special place.

And your photos are incredible. Please tell me you've had some formal photographic instruction, and these weren't just you snapping them randomly from your iPhone. I mean, modern technology is great, but these photos are so good that you must have worked at it.

But if these were just random iPhone pics, then suddenly it's a great commercial for Apple.

Your photos also remind me that DCA is worse off without Golden Dreams. Yes, I know, I was right there with everyone else making fun of that budget-cut Pressler show on boards like this circa 2001 to 2005. But there were elements of Golden Dreams, like the segment on John Muir and his artistic capturing of Yosemite for East Coast newspaper readers, that was really fabulous.

It's a shame Paul Pressler and Michael Eisner cut the budget drastically on Golden Dreams, and reduced it from its original Carousel Theater version to a static movie screen. But still, DCA today is noticeably less sophisticated and less mature without Golden Dreams.

"Ma'am, you forgot your bag."

 

[donaldtoo]

That's kind of tempting. I've enjoyed ultralights (basically a hang glider with a lawn mower engine) on tropical vacations. Don't know if my inner ear could take it nowadays.

ETA kind of related to the submersible, when we went on Kauai it was flight suits, helmets and a safety training video. On Rarotonga it was "yeh sure, hop on. Try not to lose your flipflops."

Very cool…!!!
Several years ago, I watched some videos of a guy with an ultralight rig that sounds similar to that. In one video, he flew up to 10,000 ft., and it was crazy-awesome to watch…!!!!!!!

If ya’ ever get a chance to fly in a gyroplane/gyrocopter, don’t pass it up…it’s amazing…!!!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Love Yosemite! Tunnel view is ducking majestic! The only time I’ve ever been was during Nov, cause we were trying to avoid heavy crowds. So the one downside was that during the hike, we only got to see thin waterfalls.

Some pics of sunset at glacier pointView attachment 726177View attachment 726178

I have not been to Yosemite in decades, but, it’s sooo beautiful…!!!
When we lived in No Cal (San Jose, specifically), from ‘68-‘76, we went twice.
El Capitan, Half Dome, the falls, all just awesomely beautiful…!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

And the more you read about it... the arrogance is insane. The disdain towards experts, and industry knowledge / warnings is foolish.

Titan sub CEO dismissed safety warnings as 'baseless cries', emails show

Warnings over the sub's safety were dismissed by OceanGate's CEO, emails seen by the BBC show.

www.bbc.com

Really parallels all the wannabe experts these days that think they know better than scientists, doctors, etc.

Wow. What an arrogant (now dead, along with his victims) a$$hole.

 

[Communicora]

Okay, gang, it's Friday and it's finally summer. It's calendar summer, it's meteorological summer, it's Hallmark summer, it's summer.

Time to have some fun, fun, fun!! Which brings me to this surprising news:

Last night I was talking to the family on a group call organizing summer schedules at the beach (Disneyland still not on their wish list for this summer ), and one of the summer plans now is for all of us to go see....

The Barbie Movie. And it was MY idea. I had to get the family on the call watching the YouTube trailers in real-time after they protested (and asked how much I'd had to drink and what my current medications were), and then they were in on it too. They're as excited as I am. I'm in charge of snagging seats for us at the fabulous Del Mar Cinepolis.

I'm calling it now. The Barbie Movie is going to be huge. It's going to bring America together. It's going to be the hit of the summer.

And I'm not joking. Happy Summer!!

It's going to be so fun!

I used to work on the animation side of Barbie commercials in the late 90s and became a collector for a time, so Barbie holds a special place in my heart. I'm shocked about how much freedom Mattel has given them on this film!

This Architectural Digest video about the set made me even more excited (although Greta Gerwig has me a little worried about her shallow interpretation of 50s musicals).

 

[Consumer]

Fabulous pictures! Yosemite National Park truly is a special place.

And your photos are incredible. Please tell me you've had some formal photographic instruction, and these weren't just you snapping them randomly from your iPhone. I mean, modern technology is great, but these photos are so good that you must have worked at it.

But if these were just random iPhone pics, then suddenly it's a great commercial for Apple.

Just random snaps on my iPhone.

Your photos also remind me that DCA is worse off without Golden Dreams. Yes, I know, I was right there with everyone else making fun of that budget-cut Pressler show on boards like this circa 2001 to 2005. But there were elements of Golden Dreams, like the segment on John Muir and his artistic capturing of Yosemite for East Coast newspaper readers, that was really fabulous.

It's a shame Paul Pressler and Michael Eisner cut the budget drastically on Golden Dreams, and reduced it from its original Carousel Theater version to a static movie screen. But still, DCA today is noticeably less sophisticated and less mature without Golden Dreams.

"Ma'am, you forgot your bag."

I can’t say Golden Dreams was my favorite former DCA attraction, however I completely agree a show about California’s history ought to be in the park.

Speaking of attraction DCA desperately needs, while wandering through Yosemite Valley, I kept returning to the idea of a Pirates of the Caribbean style ride set during the Gold Rush with the equivalent of the bayou sequence being a float down the Merced River.

I have always thought this and even more so now after having explored more of California, but a theme park celebrating the culture and history of this state is a brilliant idea. The fact Disney botched it so horribly is a terrible shame. I could write an essay listing the potential lands and attractions a Disney park celebrating California could feature, but instead we get Pixar Pier and San Fransokyo and Mission Breakout. Pathetic!

 

[Parteecia]

Nope. I’m already all in on this one just from the trailers. And it’s likely the ONLY movie I’ll go see this summer, perhaps entire year.

Sometimes you just have to go with your gut.

I admire and need your confidence! When I choose a group movie I tend to worry myself sick that they might not like it.

 

[Parteecia]

Very cool…!!!
Several years ago, I watched some videos of a guy with an ultralight rig that sounds similar to that. In one video, he flew up to 10,000 ft., and it was crazy-awesome to watch…!!!!!!!

If ya’ ever get a chance to fly in a gyroplane/gyrocopter, don’t pass it up…it’s amazing…!!!!!!!

I just emailed Adventure Air in Chino.

 

[donaldtoo]

I just emailed Adventure Air in Chino.

AWESOME…!!!!!!!
Make sure you go with an open c o c kpit model, as it makes a beautiful difference…!!!
Also, in my last flight where we went up to 5,000 ft….
You can see from my pic that I was dressed very lightly. No matter how warm it is down on the ground, it is waaaaayyyyyyy cooler at that altitude, and I was shivering for a bit, so dress appropriately…!!!

 

[DCBaker]

Jamie Lee Curtis, Owen Wilson and LaKeith Stanfield in Disneyland to do some promotion for the upcoming Haunted Mansion movie.

Use the > on the right to move through the slides.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Oh dear.

 

[Phroobar]

I was in Minneapolis on business yesterday so before my flight home, I checked out the Mall of America. They have ride there called Flying Over America. It's pretty much a flying theater just like Soarin' over California. They have two movies. America and Hawaii. I did the America one. It follows beat for beat Soarin' over California. A lot of scenes were copies from California like the fighter jets flying over the desert and the city fly throughs. They even did the skier jumping and flying over the Golden Gate Bridge. The movie is much better than Soarin' over the World since there isn't much CG. The ride mechanism has you walk up stairs to the upper levels. The the chairs move out about ten feet into the screen. The benches are just like DCAs. It was fun ride for a ripoff.

 

[Communicora]

I was in Minneapolis on business yesterday so before my flight home, I checked out the Mall of America. They have ride there called Flying Over America. It's pretty much a flying theater just like Soarin' over California. They have two movies. America and Hawaii. I did the America one. It follows beat for beat Soarin' over California. A lot of scenes were copies from California like the fighter jets flying over the desert and the city fly throughs. They even did the skier jumping and flying over the Golden Gate Bridge. The movie is much better than Soarin' over the World since there isn't much CG. The ride mechanism has you walk up stairs to the upper levels. The the chairs move out about ten feet into the screen. The benches are just like DCAs. It was fun ride for a ripoff.

I hope you got to see more of Minneapolis than MoA!

Was the ride worth it? I haven't been on it yet, but I've been tempted.

 

[Phroobar]

I hope you got to see more of Minneapolis than MoA!

Was the ride worth it? I haven't been on it yet, but I've been tempted.

It was $24 and was worth it. The queue reminded me of Epcot Soarin queue with a lot of red paper airplanes. Fairly cheap looking. Unfortunately I didn't see much more of Minneapolis outside of the roads and a couple more malls. There didn't seem to be much to see. It looked pretty flat with ponds everywhere.

What is with the 60 MPH speed limit on these little 2-3 lane freeways? I was doing my usual California 75-80mph and wondering why I'm passing everyone. They are going so slow. Also what is the point of the metered on ramps that have two lights alternating between red & green but only one lane? I guess they are to be ignored.

The Nick Universe was pretty cool. The ips were really old things like Fairly Odd Parents, Last Airbender, Dora and Sponge Bob. They had lots of flat rides with some decent family coasters. The Sponge Bob coaster is just a shorter version of Knott's Hang Time. They had a Ghost Blasters dark ride that was cute. The park is free to enter. You buy points for the rides. Someone was nice enough to give me their left over points. I did a couple of rides and still had some left over. I gave it to some one else.

 

[Communicora]

It was $24 and was worth it. The queue reminded me of Epcot Soarin queue with a lot of red paper airplanes. Fairly cheap looking. Unfortunately I didn't see much more of Minneapolis outside of the roads and a couple more malls. There didn't seem to be much to see. It looked pretty flat with ponds everywhere.

What is with the 60 MPH speed limit on these little 2-3 lane freeways? I was doing my usual California 75-80mph and wondering why I'm passing everyone. They are going so slow. Also what is the point of the metered on ramps that have two lights alternating between red & green but only one lane? I guess they are to be ignored.

There's a lot to see and do here, but you have to get away from the suburbs/airport. Can't speak for the silly roads and ramps!

I will have to try out that ride next time I brave the mall.

 

[Phroobar]

There's a lot to see and do here, but you have to get away from the suburbs/airport. Can't speak for the silly roads and ramps!

I will have to try out that ride next time I brave the mall.

So what else is around the Twin Cities outside of the baseball stadium? Any great places to eat? Wasn't thrilled with the pizza the office brought in.

There just wasn't anytime to get away.

 

[Communicora]

So what else is around the Twin Cities outside of the baseball stadium? Any great places to eat? Wasn't thrilled with the pizza the office brought in.

There are a lot of great restaurants. I'm rather amazed our population can support so many of them. One of my favorites is Young Joni. They even have pizza. What types of cuisine do you like? If you like breweries and distilleries, there are many to choose from.

We have a good music and theater scene. There are great museums. I'm partial to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. There's also the Walker, Weisman, Bell, Museum of Russian Art and many more. If you like nature, there are numerous parks, including Minnehaha Falls. A lot of people enjoy the extensive bike trails.

You are right that we don't have the varied elevations you have in California, but if you get out into the prairie it has its own kind of beauty. I will never forget a golden hour visit to the Jeffers Petroglyphs and there was a recent move to make the Driftless Area into a state park. It failed, but it's still an interesting area to visit.

I feel bad when people visit and think the airport and Mall of America area is what Minneapolis is like. Not only because both are in Bloomington, not Minneapolis.

 

[Phroobar]

There are a lot of great restaurants. I'm rather amazed our population can support so many of them. One of my favorites is Young Joni. They even have pizza. What types of cuisine do you like? If you like breweries and distilleries, there are many to choose from.

We have a good music and theater scene. There are great museums. I'm partial to the Minneapolis Institute of Art. There's also the Walker, Weisman, Bell, Museum of Russian Art and many more. If you like nature, there are numerous parks, including Minnehaha Falls. A lot of people enjoy the extensive bike trails.

You are right that we don't have the varied elevations you have in California, but if you get out into the prairie it has its own kind of beauty. I will never forget a golden hour visit to the Jeffers Petroglyphs and there was a recent move to make the Driftless Area into a state park. It failed, but it's still an interesting area to visit.

I feel bad when people visit and think the airport and Mall of America area is what Minneapolis is like. Not only because both are in Bloomington, not Minneapolis.

Those are great things. I wish I had more than a couple of hours. My wife's aunt lives there. Maybe we need to spend a few days in the area. I'd totally be all over the Petroglyphs and the museums.

 

[TP2000]

I hope you got to see more of Minneapolis than MoA!

When Mary Tyler Moore passed away, I was seriously considering a sudden weekend trip to see her hat throwing statue and Phyllis Lindstrom's house and the office building that WJM was in and that fancy atrium restaurant that she was having lunch in during the opening credits.

I forget why I talked myself out of it, but now I kind of wished I'd done it.

I used to change planes in Minneapolis when Northwest Orient was often my airline of choice, but I never made it into the actual city.