Boardwalk Empire

I imagine saying an HBO show is great is a lot like saying water is wet.  By now, HBO has a pretty good reputation when it comes to producing great shows.  With Boardwalk Empire, they once again prove that they deserve that reputation.

I've had an odd relationship with Boardwalk Empire.  Both this season and last season, I watched the first few episodes then lost interest and wandered away.  Once again, with both seasons, months later, when I started watching Boardwalk Empire again, I couldn't stop watching.  In the last few days, Mark and I have watched probably seven episodes.  Boardwalk Empire is one of those shows that you forget how good it is until you are actually watching it.

Like a great deal of the other HBO shows, Boardwalk Empire is a very smart show.  You have to pay attention to follow what's happening.  If you decide to spend part of an episode reading Reddit, you're going to have no idea what's going on two episodes later when the ripples from that other episode are finally felt.  If you've watched the Wire, you know how deep the show can get.  Boardwalk Empire isn't quite to the level that  the Wire reached, but it's still an excellent show.

Boardwalk Empire's greatest strength is the cast.  Steve Buscemi headlines the show, and he is amazing.  He's played so many characters, and it's nice to see that he can still bring something different to the table.  I was originally going to discuss each character and the wonderful actor that portrays him or her, but I don't have all night.  Instead, I'm just going to list off the best, the ones that keep me watching.  Watch Boardwalk Empire to see Kelly Macdonald, Michael Pitt, and Michael Shannon.  Oh yeah...freakin' Omar is on the show too!  For those of you unfamiliar with the Wire, Omar was essentially their twisted and amazing version of Robin Hood, played by Michael Williams.  He is amazing, and whenever his character shows up, amazing things happen.

Because the cast is populated with such strong and accomplished actors, they are more than up to the task of giving the characters nuance.  Characters that I really like are constantly battling each other, and I just want them to make up and get along.  While there are characters that I just want to see dead because they are annoying or relatively evil, I'll find myself feeling sorry for them when some bit of history is revealed.  Some shows shy away from giving their main characters unattractive or socially unacceptable traits.  I'm sure most of you have never played Deadlands, but when you create a character in Deadlands, you have edges and hindrances.  Each character is balanced.  For every awesome aspect to Nucky's character, he has a flaw.  It's a more human portrayal than some people like in their "hero", but its what makes Boardwalk Empire so great.  No one is a simple character; they're like Transformers, more than meets the eye.

It doesn't hurt that the setting for Boardwalk Empire is very enjoyable.  It's the roaring 20's, and the attention to detail is fantastic.  From costumes to sets, you feel like what you're seeing is real.  It's an impressive feat.

I imagine all shows are influenced by those around them.  In an overwhelming majority of successful shows, characters evolve and change.  They grow.  Sometimes, a show will under-go that same process.  In the case of Boardwalk Empire, I can't help but feel that the second season was a bit influenced by Game of Thrones.  If you have seen it, you may see what I saw.  If so, let me know.  The second season just took some turns I did not expect.

If you're looking for a show to kill some time, you can't really go wrong with Boardwalk Empire.  There is an interesting setting that acts as home to a myriad of deep characters.  I love some of the characters, even while I hate the things they do, but it's okay.  At least it makes sense in the narrative.

Instant Geekery Podcast

I'm not generally one for listening to podcasts; I don't like listening to others speak if I can't join in the conversation.  While I do sometimes listen to the Nerdist, it is usually done with my husband.  We often pause it to discuss different points.  The same applies when we sometimes listen to video game podcasts.  Today, I decided to give the Instant Geekery podcast a listen.  It's a new podcast being produced here in Myrtle Beach that focuses on a variety of subjects, connected by the common thread that is geek.

The show opens with the three hosts thanking you for listening and giving a bit of a description of what the show is going to focus on.  Pretty quickly, they move on to their first segment, which has been a long favorite game of mine and Mark's.  They want to know who would win in a fight...Superman or the Hulk?  This is a great way to garner a bit of geek cred and eases the listener into the show with familiar ground.  At some point in time, everyone wonders about two characters doing battle and which would be the victor.*  In case anyone from the podcast were to ever stumble upon this review, I want you to know that the Hulk would win.  I'm not preferential to the Hulk as a character, and I don't really care much about Superman either.  What defines the winner of this tussle is their basic defining characteristics.  The Hulk is essentially a rage monster, with no real inner voice to tell him that tearing someone to pieces is wrong.**  Superman is a pretty good guy and would hold back.  You either kill the Hulk or you die.  Superman will end up in pieces.  Will he survive it?  Maybe.  Does it matter?  Nope...he still loses.

After discussing important battle issues, they moved on to news.  There were stories that I didn't find particularly geek-centric, but I still found them interesting.  In particular, they discussed buying votes with sandwiches.  Unlike myself, they have more faith in the voting public, saying a sandwich probably won't sway voters.  I beg to differ; I've met some people who really, really like sandwiches.

The show also included an interview segment with an author by the name of T. C. McCarthy.  He has written a couple science fiction novels, which I now want to read.  The interview portion of the show was recorded at the X-Con convention here in Myrtle Beach.  The author seemed quite nice, and the interview flowed fine.  The only rough part during this segment was the volume seemed to jump up a bit.  It was probably just a by-product of the additional background noise from the convention.  Frankly, I was quite happy the sound was so good.  Both the author and interviewer were easy to hear, not always an easy feat.

I'm not going to cover everything the podcast did; if you want to hear all of it, give them a listen.  It's their first episode, and I'm sure they would be excited to have more listeners.  The podcast also covered transparent tvs, a game for your iWhatever, and a more in depth explanation of who your hosts are and what they do.

There are a few things a podcast needs to have to get me to listen to it.

1. You must talk about something I care about.  -  I think this is pretty obvious.  Someone that never reads is not going to listen to a podcast about literature from the 1800s.  As these gentlemen were discussing a variety of nerd-type and pop culture related topics, I was avidly listening.  When they talked about the transparent tvs, my mind wandered a bit, but that is just because I am not that big into technology.  When I heard them comment on 3D television, I was right back, avidly listening.
2. Your podcast needs to have good production values.  -  If I can't hear or understand what is being said, I'm not going to listen.  Instant Geekery's production values are quite good.  They were on par with pretty much any other podcast I've listened to in the past.  As I stated before, the only odd part was the volume change when the interview began, and that was not the end of the world.  I just turned it down a bit.
3. The hosts need to sound engaged.  -  A host that is bored by his own show is going to chase me away.  If the host doesn't care, why should I?  When listening to Instant Geekery, you can tell how much these guys enjoying talking about the subject matter.  It's just as apparent that they're having fun doing the podcast.  In particular, Daniel has an excellent voice for this kind of work.  He sounds like the offspring of Scott Johnson*** and Chris Hardwick****.

I really have no complaints about this podcast.  There were only two small suggestions I could make to the hosts, and I really had to think about it.  If anything, they need to make sure the volume is consistent, and they need to make sure they explain who people are.  At one point, they talked about Eduardo Saverin, whom I was unfamiliar with.  They did eventually explain who he was, but I was getting ready to look him up.  As I said, they did explain who he was, so I don't even really have that as a criticism.

If you're looking for a new podcast that you can get in on before its cool*****, check out Instant Geekery.  You can visit their website or look for them on iTunes.  I'm impressed enough with this debut episode that I only expect it to get better.  I knew it was my kind of show when Daniel thought WI was the abbreviation for Wyoming; that's something I would wonder about.

*My favorite hypothesized battle was between Wally, who was our boss at the time, and Godzilla.  Eventually, Wally was given the ability to fly and breathe fire, but I believe he still lost to Godzilla.

**As evidenced by the time he tore Wolverine in half.


***Scott Johnson hosts the Morning Stream, which I have never listened to.  However, I used to listen to a World of Warcraft podcast he did back in the day.  He always struck me as a bit dopey, but he put together a well structured podcast.  The dopey impression came from his experiences in World of Warcraft.  At the time, we were pretty big into raiding, so he never sounded to us like he knew what he was talking about.

****Chris Hardwick hosts the Nerdist podcast, which I have gushed about before.  We were going to go see him live but were prevented by a funeral.  Someday, I will take Mark to see him, and all will be well.

***** I figure that might get all you hipsters to go check it out.  You can tell people all about this cool podcast they've probably never heard of.

Louie

It is generally dangerous to judge a comedy show based on its pilot episode.  There are some great comedies that don't hit their stride right off the bat and take weeks or even months to reach their pinnacle.  Some shows may even take a year or two.  Judging a show by its pilot if a bad idea, but I'm going to do it anyway, as I have only had time to watch the first episode of Louie.

A couple weeks back, I watched a comedy special of Louie C.K.'s.  I recall enjoying the humor that was based around his kids the most.  His show, thus far, has some comedy based on his interactions with his children, as well as the adventures of being a single 40-something year old father.

The first episode has me interested enough that I will continue to watch the show.  However, if it doesn't get a bit more interesting, it will lose me.  I understand that in the early episodes we are getting to know Louie.  Until the audience has that connection with him, it will be harder to watch the show.  Luckily, I'm confident he can pull it off.  Frankly, I've heard so many good things about the show that I want to keep watching anyway.

Based solely on the first episode, Louie C.K. is a very awkward man.  I don't think he actually is, but that is how they're playing it on the show.  It works, and he does such a good job of it that it is uncomfortable at times.  In particular, his exclamation regarding his daughter's medical condition in the first episode is so cringe-worthy, but that's the point.  Louie C.K. is very good playing what is essentially himself, which is probably why it works so well.

I look forward to checking out more episodes of Louie.  There is a lot of promise in the first episode, and I look forward to watching the show find its stride.

PS3 Remote

If you have a Playstation 3 and watch movies on it, which you should because it's a Blu-ray player, you should invest in one of the PS3 remotes.

There are a number of reasons this is a good investment:

1. You don't have to worry about the battery in the controller constantly needing charged.  The battery life in the remote is much longer than that of the controllers.
2. It is much easier to navigate the menu screens of your favorite movies with the remote control.  I don't find myself hitting a random button, hoping it will return me to the menu.  I know which buttons do what, and it is glorious.
3. Having the remote helps with my OCD.  If I am arranging my remotes on the table, I'm not annoyed that one of them is really a Playstation controller.
4. Inevitably, if you are using a Playstation controller rather than a remote control, you will forget to charge it.  This means you'll have a silly cord running from the coffee table to the Playstation itself.

The only real downside is the potential for losing the remote control.  It is fond of diving between couch cushions and under tables.  These are places that are not friendly to the Playstation controller; it generally won't fit in these places to become lost.

If you have a Playstation 3 and use it to watch movies or television, be sure to pick up one of the remote controls.  We spent years without one and are now very happy to have one.

Wilderness Lodge Bear Puppet

So, I was sitting here, getting ready to write a review of Adventure Time, when I noticed something.  Mark was sitting on the couch, with his bear puppet, who was wearing a pirate hat.  Both Mark and the bear were watching Mad Men.  Now, I have no idea what inspired Mark to pick up the bear, but I know it inspired me to write about what is probably the best souvenir we have ever bought.

Last October, we were visiting Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando with my family.  It was our last night on property, and we ate at the Whispering Canyon Cafe which is located in the Wilderness Lodge.  After our meal, we decided to kick around the gift shop, which is when Mark found him...the bear puppet.

He is a decent size, sitting well over twelve inches tall.  He has a hole in the back of his head so you can control his mouth.  His paws sport hidden Mickeys, which denote him as a decidedly Disney souvenir.  Mark starts playing with the bear, and I pretty much expected him to leave it when it was time to go.  Well, that's not the case.  Mark falls in love with this puppet, and when he realizes it is only $20, he tries to convince me we should buy it.

Out of context, $20 for a stuffed bear puppet is probably a bit steep.  When you realize it is a Disney souvenir, bought in one of their own gift shops, that also happens to be a puppet, the value becomes apparent.  Needless to say, we walked out of the store heavy one bear puppet.  We didn't need a bag because Mark wanted to play with it.

Mark spent the boat ride over to the Magic Kingdom bonding with his new toy.  The bear evolved a personality and characteristics.  For example, he loves to gnaw on his one paw when nothing is going on.  He also found his voice.  We got some weird looks that night, but Mark was having fun.  He was making me laugh, and if we ever have kids, they'll be well entertained.

The next morning, we only had a couple hours before we had to head home.  We split the party*, with Mark, Ryan, Christy, Casey, and I going to the Magic Kingdom, while my parents went to Epcot.  At this point, you should realize that the bear accompanied us.

I realize that Mark imbues the bear with personality, hence magnifying its intrinsic value, but a less well done bear would not have worked.  It was a perfect find.  That morning, Mark had the bear in character, and I will always look back fondly upon it.  While waiting to see the Enchanted Tiki Birds, Mark and his bear made a friend.  Some little boy was just delighted with the bear and didn't want to leave Mark's side.**  Not only did Mark entertain me, he also made some little kid's day a bit brighter, all while just having fun himself.

Upon returning home, most souvenirs are forgotten.  The bear continues to make random appearances though.  Mark dressed up as an animal wrangler for work one day, bringing the bear along.  When our friends visited, Mark entertained Gui with the bear, and as I mentioned earlier, the bear will randomly watch tv with us.  I know Mark does it to entertain me, but he doesn't make a spectacle out of it.

If you find yourself visiting the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, and you're anywhere near the Wilderness Lodge, stop in and see if they still have that bear puppet.  While the bear is only as charming as he is because of Mark, it is still a great Disney souvenir at a great price.  It's a high quality toy, and if you or your kids have any imagination, the bear will be loved.

*Don't worry; we didn't fight a werewolf.

**Before you get all weird and dirty, the kid's parents were right there.  It was completely innocent, you internet weirdo.

Coca-Cola Chicken Wings

On this beautiful summer day, I decided I didn't want to go outside and cook.  Why enjoy the sunshine when I can hang out in the air conditioning??  Anyway, I fired up the oven and made Coca-Cola chicken wings today, and they were very good.

The Recipe:

1 cup brown sugar     1 can (12oz.) Coca-Cola     

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

3 lbs. chicken wings

1.  Combine brown sugar, Coca-Cola, onions, garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper in large casserole dish or 9" x 12" pan.  Stir until mix then add chicken wings in sauce mixture.

2.  Bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours.

3.  Remove the chicken from the dish and pour the remaining sauce into a skillet, reserving 1/4 cup in a separate bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the 1/4 cup sauce in the separate bowl then return that mixture to the skillet.  Bring to a boil then pour over chicken wings.

For the most part, I followed the recipe as it appears.  I didn't salt and pepper the wings or sauce.  I actually forgot they even suggested it, as the wings were fine without it.  I did cut all measurements in half, as there were only two of us dining today.

As I'm not an astounding cook*, I'm looking for ease when it comes to recipes.  I don't mind trying new techniques or cooking styles, but today's recipe didn't require me to do much of difficulty.  Normally, the most time consuming task would have been chopping the onions and mincing the garlic, but my handy dandy Ninja made that process painless.  The most difficult task I had was peeling the garlic so I could put it in the chopper. Once that was done, prep was very easy.

During the two hour bake time, I spooned the sauce over the wings a few times.  The recipe didn't say to, but it seemed like a good idea.  As the wings neared their completion, I flipped them over.  I probably didn't need to, but I was afraid their tops would burn.  I'm paranoid.

I served the wings with corn on the cob and a pasta salad, and it was a good meal.  The wings were tasty, with good flavor.  They were very sticky though, so you need to wash your hands to employ wet naps.  Dry napkins are not going to cut it.

Between the two of us, we ate all the wings, and I'm probably going to make this recipe again in the future.  The sauce was very good, and I may use it with other meats at a later date.  Add in the fact that I got this recipe from my free Sam's Club Cookbook, and it's all win.

* I'm actually a very lazy cook.  I can't be that bad, as I haven't made us sick yet.

The Note App

There are so many apps that come with our phones and so many more that we can download.  Frankly, I find most of the ones I have to be unnecessary.  I use my phone for taking pictures, texting, making calls, and reading Reddit.  There are the occasional games that I have, as well as my Disney line apps.  I don't think I use any pre-loaded apps, with the exception of one...the note app.

With the reviews I do, some of them require me to take notes, and the app works perfectly for that.  Additionally, when we travel to Disney, I can tell you where we were, at what time, and what we were doing.  I can easily keep track of all of that with this little app.  For once, something pre-loaded on the phone is useful!

Myrtle Beach Bike Week (From the POV of a Non-Biking Local)

In my day to day job, I speak with a great deal of locals here in the Myrtle Beach area.  Leading up to the Memorial Day weekend, there aren't that many who regale me with their plans for the long weekend.  Instead, many of them just say they are hoping to get out of town.  Why?  Well, it's Bike Week, of course.

Myrtle Beach is home to two separate Bike Weeks that happen consecutively.  One week focuses on Harleys and similar bikes, while the following week focuses on sportier bikes, more of a street type style.  Each week brings a different type of person into town.  Because the Memorial Day weekend is crowded with both bikers and people who want to visit the beach for the holiday, I hear many locals lamenting the bikes.

Are the bikes really that much of a problem though?  Well, not really.  In the past, there was a greater turn out for the Bike Weeks, but the city of Myrtle Beach enacted a helmet law a few years back.  While the law was later removed for legal reasons, many bikers still harbor ill will towards Myrtle Beach.  This leads to them avoiding regular old Myrtle Beach in favor of North Myrtle Beach or other surrounding areas.

As I primarily dwell in Myrtle Beach, I'm not impacted much by the bikers.  My job isn't one where I am frequently interacting with those parties on vacation; this means the only impact they have on me is more of my business customers are busy.  I don't frequent many tourist focused activities here in Myrtle Beach, so I am not impacted in my day to day leisure.

Where I actually live, empty condos are rented out as vacation homes.  What this means is that holidays often see a surge in vacationers in my complex.  Because we have a security guard and bikes are to park at the front, where the check-in building is, I don't have to listen to the roaring of bike engines.  Therefore, my sleep is not interrupted by bike shenanigans.  Frankly, the drunk golfers who come down to golf, drink, and visit the strip clubs have more of an impact on my way of life.  They like to stand around the stairs of my building and drink.  They're all pretty friendly, so that's not a problem.  I do, however, notice them more than any individual down for Bike Week.*

I have no clue what type of activities are offered to the Bike Week visitors.  I'm sure certain bars organize entertainment, as well as some tourist businesses.  Since they don't have much of an impact on my day to day life, I wish them all the best.  If you're thinking about visiting Myrtle Beach, don't let Bike Week scare you away.  Summer traffic, with tourists who don't know where they're going, is more dangerous that the speedy little bikes.  Just be aware, and everyone will be okay.

*Thus far, anyway.

Dungeon Raid

I'm so very resistant to new things.  Mark will encourage me to try something, and I will avoid doing so.  On Sunday, while Mark was away, he encouraged me to download Dungeon Raid for my phone.  I made excuses and did not do so.  Tonight, Wednesday, when I got home from work, he was playing it.  Being five years old, I immediately claimed his phone to play his new game, not realizing what it was.  It was Dungeon Raid, and it was glorious.

The game is a lot like Bejeweled, in that you match like objects to make them go away, hence changing the game board.  The difference is that items on the screen impact your stats.  For example, you have health, shields, experience, and gold.  If you chain three of something or more together, your stat will reflect appropriately.  If I clear out some potions, my health increases.  When there are skulls on the field, they represent monsters and do damage to you on each turn.  When you link skulls, they take damage.  Link them with swords, and you get a bonus to your damage.

As you advance through the game, your stats permanently increase, and you are given additional spells or stat modifiers, like armor.  To keep it fair, the monsters also increase in strength, with the occasional boss monster showing up to wreak havoc on you.  You can see what special abilities boss monsters have by holding your finger down on them.  This is the same way you can check your spells if you don't recall what they do.  Just be sure to slide your finger off of the icons first, or they will activate.

The graphics are about what you would expect from this type of game.  They're not amazing, but they're clear and colorful.  The only confusion comes when you try to recall what each of your special abilities does.  The icons are not overly indicative of their purpose.

The sounds that accompany the game are fun and add a lot to the game play. As Mark and I were watching Family Guy, I had my game muted for a while, and it wasn't quite as fun.  The screen responds to you quite accurately, but when you accidentally click a coin, rather than a skull, it makes a different noise, so you know you need to restart your line.  The low health warning noise is great too, as sometimes boss monsters show up unnoticed.  Multiple times, I didn't realize they were in play until my low health triggered the sound effect.

Unlike a lot of puzzle games that require you to link things together, Dungeon Raid allows you to move at an angle.  Instead of only being able to go north, south, east, and west, I can go north-west if it makes me happy.*  I didn't realize that at first, and it would have helped had I known.  Of course, I didn't take the time to read anything about how to play.  I just started messing with it.  Since the game is easy to pick up, it's good for anyone.

There is a free version of Dungeon Raid, but since I liked it so much when I played the full version on Mark's phone, he just downloaded the full version for me.  Frankly, the game is so much fun that I didn't want to stop playing and write my review.  I hear Mark playing behind me, and it's driving me nuts.

In short, go get this game.  I'm gonna go play some more now...

*And it does.

Bitplay.net

Apparently, the internet exists solely to take my time away from me.  Over the weekend, I discovered bitplay.net.  If you haven't checked it out, you should.  It is a game that shows you a still from a movie and you have to guess what movie it's from.  It is right up my alley.

There are a few problems with it, namely that once you run through all the slides, you're done for the day.  There is a finite number of movies displayed.  What's nice about bitplay is that each day brings new slides.  You still see a lot of repetition from the previous day, but you can look forward to some new challenges.

If you decide to attempt all the slides, be sure to stay at your computer until you're done.  The site will time out and reset your score to zero after so long.  I haven't timed it yet, so I'm not sure when the timer actually runs out.

Each slide is worth a certain number of points.  They seem to range from two points up to ten.  I'm not sure how exactly they assign the point value.  Some very obscure or older movies were worth ten, which made sense to me.  On the other hand, there were slides that had an iconic character in them, making them feel like they should have been worth less than they were.  Either way, it's fun to watch your points accrue.

When you finish all the challenges for the day, you can choose to save your score.  You can see other high scores, which is fun.  You can see exactly where you stand in comparison to other people who let the internet siphon away their lives.*

The game is actually a bit forgiving, which can be nice or annoying, depending on how seriously you want to take the game.  If you guess the Godfather when the actual movie is the Godfather II, you still get your points.  You will be told that you were close enough in your guess.  This is nice because it sometimes lets you get around careless typos.  At the same time, I got a movie wrong because I accidentally typed "teh" instead of "the".  I guess it all evens out in the end.

I expect that bitplay.net is really only fun when you first discover it.  Upon revisiting it the next day, I grew bored with the vast majority of stills being ones I had already seen.  Even more frustrating is when you get one wrong, the site doesn't give you the correct answer.  It makes perfect sense, as people would cheat.  Also, you might recognize it the next day, having not earned it.  I'm sure when I'm bored, after I've been away from it for a week, I'll wander back to bitplay.net.  It's a lot of fun, and you should try it out.

*I can say that because I participated.

501

{{Editor's Note - This review was made for Friday, May 18th, but I accidentally saved it as a draft.  This means it does not read with the correct date.  Sorry for any confusion.  Silly buttons...confusing me!}}

As I am still pretty new to driving, I don't always feel like I can comment on driving related issues.  Fortunately, I am blinded by my annoyance at times, hence reviews like this one.  Having driven north to Pennsylvania and south to Florida, I feel like I've driven on a lot more roads.  As such, I've noticed that 501 is just plain terrible.

501 is the road the majority of people going in and out of Myrtle Beach are forced to use, depending on which way they arrive in Myrtle Beach.  You can tell because it is often backed up when heading into Myrtle Beach.  When we came down to check out a place to stay before moving, we sat in traffic for close to an hour.  There was an accident, but the road doesn't have sufficient lanes to keep traffic moving when something like that happens.

Sometimes, 501 gets backed up just because of the number of people on their way into town.  The bottleneck seems to be primarily caused by the small bridge that crosses the intracoastal waterway.  Shortly after the bridge, you run into a light.  If you are smart enough to leave 501 before the light, you're probably getting on 17.  Luckily, if you do that, it is set up like a normal exit, allowing you decent visibility and enough of a partial lane to safely merge.

The same cannot be said if you are going from 17 to 501.  To see what's coming, you have to look back under the over-pass.  People behind you, waiting to merge as well, get very nasty when you wait before going.  You have very limited visibility approaching the merge point.  They either need to alter the on ramp or put in a light.  I know my feelings are probably indicative of my inexperience, but I actively avoid 501.  I either find a better way to get on 501, such as the Seaboard light, or I choose other destinations that don't make me rely on 501 to reach them.

501 is a terrible road.  There are not enough lanes to handle the traffic, and it's difficult to merge onto 501 when heading out of town.  Do yourself a favor.  If you have an alternate route that allows you to stay off of 501, take it.

Bob's Burgers

I suppose before I review Bob's Burgers, I should let you know what other animated comedy I enjoy.  This will allow you to decide if I am a credible source.  I love Archer, and I really like American Dad.  I still watch Family Guy, but I don't find it as entertaining as it once was.  I haven't watched the Cleveland Show at all this season, but I have watched it before.  Because I feel I should include it, I have never been a regular watcher of the Simpsons.  They haven't been funny for years, and when they were funny, I didn't watch them.

Now that my animated comedy background is summed up, let's talk about Bob's Burgers.  When discussing any animated comedy, there are a number of typical areas I judge them on.

1.  Animation Style
     While I can watch animation that is less than stellar*, I have found animated shows that are so bad that I can't watch them, even when it is intentional.  For example, I don't care for the style of 12 oz. Mouse.  Bob's Burgers is decent animation.  While I am not a huge fan of the character design, it has grown on me.  The more I come to know the characters, the more I see the design as being fitting.

2.  Voice Acting
     Whenever you have H. Jon Benjamin as a primary part of your vocal cast, you're doing it right.  The man is great, and I love listening to him.  A couple of the female characters are voiced by men, and it's awesome.  The cast is made up of a few people I've heard of (H. Jon Benjamin and Kristen Schaal), and some people that are new to me (Most of the rest of them that are regulars).

3.  Writing
     The writing on Bob's Burgers is solid, giving us a different type of show than a lot of the ones that are currently playing.  Bob's Burgers isn't full of cut-aways, like Family Guy and its offspring.  To me, one of the defining characteristics of the Simpsons is their large stable of odd characters; Bob's Burgers has a smaller focus group.  Of course, that's a by-product of how long the Simpsons has run.  Having not watched it in the early years, I am not the best person to examine it.
     Bob's Burgers follows a small core group performing the same menial tasks on a daily basis.  While random adventures do crop up, the show is loosely believable.  There are small touches that make sense in the context of the show which are great.  I love seeing the different burgers Bob comes up with, as the puns are delicious.  The interplay between the kids is regularly funny, with each of them having their own personalities.  Right now, they're pretty simple, but it's working.  Since Bob's Burgers is relatively new, the show actually feels kinda fresh.  Family Guy and its spawn shows, while enjoyable at times, feel like the same thing over and over.  I can't tell a new Family Guy from one that came out three years ago.  I'm not saying that's bad; they've found something that works for them.  I still watch Family Guy, so they're holding their own.  I've just reached a point where I would probably rather watch Bob's Burgers.

If you like animated comedies and haven't seen Bob's Burgers, you need to check it out.  Don't worry about starting at the beginning.  As it is, I catch random episodes.  I may not be completely caught up, but I have seen more episodes from the current season than the first one.  I haven't felt lost yet.

*See Home Movies

Paul

There are certain things that press my happy buttons when it comes to movies, tv, and books.  At this point, you can probably predict what I like and do not like based on my previous yammering.  I would imagine most of you would expect me to like Paul, and most of you would be right.  Paul is a funny movie with just the right amount of pop culture references to work for me.

Why did I enjoy Paul?

1.  Simon Pegg and Nick Frost  --  Thus far, I have enjoyed everything I have seen these two perform.  If they are starring in a movie, I'll give it a go.  It just so happens that they seem to choose the types of films that I enjoy.

2.  Perfect Casting  --  From the charisma between Pegg and Frost to the affable nature of Paul created through Rogen's performance, everyone in the film fits.  The casting is spot on, and the acting is good.

3.  Pop Culture References  --  Including pop culture references can be tricky.  You don't want to go the route of films like Scary Movie or Epic Movie; they focus on references that are pertinent now, so when you watch them two years later, they're dated.  Those references had no staying power, so it does not create a lasting product.  Paul's scribes were smart enough to use a vast number of science fiction based pop culture references that have proven to be classic.  If you're referencing movies like Back to the Future, Aliens, and Jaws, you're doing it right.

4.  Cameos  --  There are a couple nice cameos to be found in Paul.  I almost don't count the one as a cameo because of how long it is, but the film includes a couple people that I like.  The fact that they were willing to be involved in the film helped me to unconsciously give bonus points to Paul.  At this point, I don't know that it would be considered a spoiler to name the involved parties, but I like to err on the side of caution.

5.  Sci-Fi Cliches  --  Paul manages to include a great deal of science fiction type cliches but makes them fresh.  To see what I mean, watch for time travel when you see the movie.

6.  Special Effects  --  While I often grumble about CG, Paul is done incredibly well.  Using motion capture technology paid off in this instance, as Paul feels real to me.  There is a scene where Paul is talking to Nick Frost's character as he grills, and it looks great.  The lighting properly reacts to Paul, as if he is actually there.  It's the attention to small details, coupled with Rogen's voice-work, that make the character real.

7.  The Story  --  The movie plays as a science fiction flavored road trip buddy movie.  What's not to love?  Because the script is decidedly fantastical in nature, it is able to not come across as the generic buddy road movie it could have been.

Frankly, I don't have any real complaints about Paul.  You may be able to make a case that some of the humor is immature, but I still found it funny.  Comments about probing abound at first, but I felt they tried to handle it in a truly humorous manner.*

If you haven't seen Paul yet, you should check it out.  If you don't like science fiction movies, it might not be your cup of tea.  That's okay; we can still be friends.

*With bagels.

Glee

One of the worst feelings when it comes to television shows and movies is that feeling of missed opportunities and squandered potential.  Last year, when I saw previews for Sucker Punch, I was incredibly excited.  From the use of an excellent Led Zeppelin to the amazing visuals, I was ready to be in love with that movie.  I had enjoyed other films by Zack Snyder; he made one of my favorite zombie movies.  He does well with other people's properties, but when I saw Sucker Punch, I was let down.  I know he made the movie he wanted to make, but it could have been amazing.  He was making what looked like a live action anime, and it didn't look unbearably silly.  Unfortunately, it didn't have a workable story, and it just felt like a missed opportunity.  Glee gives me that same feeling, only in television show form.

In the beginning, Glee was an amazing show.  While there have been musical shows before, there hadn't been anything quite like Glee in my tv viewing history.  The show featured a group of stereotypes who were singing real songs that conveyed their feelings and suited the situations.  It was a great musical.  While the characters weren't overly deep, the show was still new, and the potential for character growth was there.  Yeah, some songs were just songs, with no real deeper meaning, but the amount of emotion and plot development in many of the songs was great.  It was exactly what a musical is supposed to be.

Unfortunately, this only lasted for approximately the first half of the first season.  What changed?  It seems to me that you could argue that success is to blame.  See, there was a lot of positive word of mouth regarding those first thirteen episodes, which drew in more and more people.  Mark and I didn't originally watch it when it was on.  We watched it on DVD from Blockbuster before they aired additional episodes, and we fell in love with it.  Imagine how let down we were when the show started making decisions that just didn't seem to work.

Obviously, one of the best parts of Glee is the music.  Hearing good versions of songs I already love is fun, but I get even more excited when the show introduces me to a song I don't know, especially one I wouldn't have discovered otherwise.  I had never heard any music from Wicked, and I immediately loved Defying Gravity when I heard it.  I already thought Dancing With Myself was a good song, but the way Glee did it was different but still good.  It's these musical choices, coupled with the story being told, that showed Glee could be amazing.

The first of many mistakes seems to be the theme episodes.  When an episode centers around a particular musician, such as Madonna, the show is no longer about the songs fitting the story or the characters.  It becomes about cramming in as many songs by said artist as possible.  This undermines what the early episodes achieved.  

It seems, as time goes on, that more and more songs take place either on the stage or in the music room.  The early episodes don't avoid this quite as much as I remember, but the best musical numbers expand or avoid these places altogether.  Always having the musical numbers in these two locations quickly grows stale.  Throughout the series, there are excellent numbers performed in other places that stand out.  Even though it is not from the early episodes, Loser is performed at the bed and bath store.  While they write it off as a daydream, it still means more than the generic music room pieces.  

Perhaps it is these glimmers of hope that are the worst part of Glee.  I am currently caught up on Glee, save one episode, I believe.  I missed a couple through this season that were no longer on Glee, but I watched multiple episodes in a row that showed me Glee isn't as great as it could have been.  The kicker is those songs that are well done and actually mean something.  Last season, when Quinn and Rachel did I Feel Pretty/Unpretty, it was moving.  The songs blended well; the singers worked nicely together; and the song served to give you a glimpse into the characters.  I actually felt something.  It's these moments that keep me catching up to Glee periodically.  The next paragraph is going to discuss a spoiler for one of the recent episodes.  If you are not caught up on Glee and care, don't read it.  I don't usually include spoilers, but it serves to illustrate my points.

**SPOILER**  Recently, we learned that Coach Beiste had been struck by her husband.*  She shows up at school with a black eye, where a couple of the Glee kids make a joke about her man striking her to let him be on top.  She, of course, claims she had an accident at the gym.  Sue and Roz immediately punish the four girls, making a big deal about how abuse is no laughing matter.  Now, I agree that hitting people isn't generally a good idea, but the way they present it is ham-fisted and seems false.  I audibly scoffed at their initial handling of the matter.**  Now, I don't recall how it fell out, as I know the arc takes more than one episode.  Beiste admits that she is being abused, and I felt for her.  A later episode featured her finally realizing she could leave Cooter.  What finally helps her realize that?  Circumstances surrounding Puck lead Beiste to come to her own realizations, which are spurred by their duet of Mean.  I'm not proud to admit it, but I cried during that episode.  Glee can go from poorly executing a patronizing message to actually making that message mean something.  The most moving way for them to do that is through songs that actually mean something to the plot.  When the show-runners realize that, they create wonderful and moving pieces, rather than generic music videos.

**END SPOILERS**

Glee is lucky enough to have decent singers and dancers.  The characters have the potential to be moving and wonderful.  The show is lucky enough to have some talented actors.  Upon reflection, a lot of the music that involves Coach Beiste, played by Dot Jones, is great.  It may just be that she is a good actresses that seems more real than the others.  I recall being unimpressed by the first kiss plot line with her, but she has come to be one of my favorite characters.***  

At this point in time, it's too late for many of the characters; many of them are graduating this season which will make them less prominent in the future.****  Glee still has the potential to be great.  If they learn from past mistakes and make the show about the characters, not shoehorning in certain songs, we'll see the show become watchable.  Until then, I'll make no real effort to watch it, merely putting it on as background noise on days that I'm cleaning house or messing around online.  

* On a side note, I don't recall them getting married, but I did miss a couple episodes.

** Which creeped out the cat.  I then discussed with him at length how poorly done it seemed.

*** Fun fact: Dot Jones was the woman in The Boondock Saints who explains the rule of thumb and subsequently gets into a fight with the brothers.

****Supposedly.

<< I try to keep my unfounded complaints out of the reviews themselves, but I absolutely hated their choice for a slowed down version of Poker Face to be the song Rachel sings with her mom.  Whose idea was that??  Also, how did they not do a good version of Rolling in the Deep by Adele?  I know not everyone is capable of doing the song justice, but it seemed like they didn't even try.  I know they could have done better by it, as the Rumor Has It/Someone Like You mash up was great.>>

Community

Back when it first premiered, Mark and I tuned in to watch Community.  I'm not sure what it was about the show that initially drew us in, but we gave it a shot.  We were pleasantly surprised.  Now sitting at three seasons, Community is a great show, probably one of the best of its type.

Early on, Community was a lot more tame.  The initial season is much less out there and crazy than the third season.  I enjoyed Community's early episodes, but I realized how amazing the show was with the Halloween episode in the first season.  They referenced Beastmaster, for goodness' sake.  It was then that I realized the show writers were definitely working on my level.

Community has struggled, and I would think it has to do with the referenced material.  Community has a cast of characters that are well played and constantly changing.  Characters that didn't have much to do with each other in season one have grown to be great friends.  The best part is that the character changes have been organic.  You don't see a character magically becoming something they are not.  You see them become a bit different through experiences and believable choices.

Perhaps to enjoy Community you must have a love of pop culture.  Being a fan of most things pop culture, I can't really distance myself enough to ascertain if that is the case.  I enjoy Community and am baffled when others do not.  I love most of the theme episodes, while I have heard others criticize them.  Tonight, while watching the 8-bit episode, Mark kept repeating how awesome it was every few minutes.  Why?  Because it spoke to him.  It was done in the style of something he loves.  It payed respect to the idea while still telling a story.  The theme episodes aren't just about the themes; there is room for great storytelling, as well.

Community is an interesting show that is right up my alley.  It is crafted with great writing, populated with good acting, and home to some of my favorite characters on television.  If you haven't been watching it, shame on you.  If you tried it and didn't like it, that's okay.  No show is for everyone.  At least give the show a shot.  Try out the first Halloween episode, from season one.  It gives you a good idea of where the show can go without requiring you to have an in depth knowledge of the characters yet.

Men's Warehouse

Mark and I are not fancy people.  Mark's experience with suits and suit shopping is akin to my experience with hair salons.  As long as I've known Mark, he has purchased two suits.  I can no longer recall where we purchased Mark's first suit, which was bought for his initial interview to join the Sam's Club management program; he wasn't accepted.  His second suit was bought at Macy's a couple years ago for his grandmother's funeral.  Really, his suit experiences are pretty marred.  His only positive suit experience, our wedding, was in a tuxedo he borrowed from my brother.*

Well, it was high time to change all that.  Mark has an interview this weekend for a position that is a step up in many ways.  It was time to pimp out my man.  We initially popped into JC Penney to see what they offered for suits.  A very nice lady measured Mark, and he tried on some suits.  What we realized was that none of the off the rack suits were going to fit.  What we needed....were alterations!

In the past, all alterations have been handled by my mother.  With the exception of one time**, they've always been awesome.  Unfortunately, Mark needed his suit tailored by Sunday.  Since I didn't think my mother was going to make it down in the next few days, we decided to shop around.  We remembered our good friend Rick speaking pretty highly of Men's Warehouse, so off we went!

Arriving about an hour prior to close, we were warmly greeted by the young man at the front.  We explained what we needed, and another gentleman from the back came forward to assist.  It would be my assumption that he was more of the help you find a fit type.

The man helping to fit Mark was incredibly knowledgeable, unafraid to school us in what is usual interview attire, as well as the different jacket cuts and what would flatter Mark most.  He didn't make us feel silly when we didn't like certain things, but he was honest about why he was pointing us towards certain colors or cuts.  It was actually quite refreshing.

When we finally picked two jackets we liked,*** Mark and the gentleman went back to take care of the pants.  By the way, super surprise to find out the one jacket actually came with two pair of pants.  We were told this was because the pants are the quickest thing to wear out on a suit.  I, of course, made jokes about this.  I won't repeat them, as I'm not sure they were actually funny.  Either way, I was entertaining myself while some man talked to Mark about his "seat" needing taken in.  Yeah....

Anyway, while Mark was being fitted, the other young man was putting together a collection of shirts and ties for Mark to choose from.  It was actually a genius sales strategy.  By the time Mark was done having the suits marked for their alterations, there were about eight different looks put together for him to peruse.  By putting them with-in the jackets Mark was going to be purchasing, it was easy to visualize just how they would look.  We picked the ones we liked, made some suggestions for the ones that weren't bad, and listened to what the young man had to say.  We ended up with four shirts and four ties, much more than we planned on buying, but we were happy about that.  Mark hasn't had a phenomenal wardrobe, and this definitely felt like step in the right direction.

While checking out, they asked when he needed which suit, so he could be good to go for his interview.  They scheduled it to be ready two days beforehand, which is nice in case he needs additional changes.  It was an exciting experience for Mark, even though he spent the whole time asking me if it was okay.  We dropped quite a bit that night, but it was worth it.

Whether or not Mark gets the promotion isn't all that important.  What's important is that he feels good going to his interview, and I would like him to have a more positive association with suits than he has had in the past.  Of all places, Men's Warehouse was able to provide us that.  Both of the guys working were wonderful.  They could have rushed us out, botching the process, but they were happy to help us.  As a matter of fact, we ended up not getting out of there until about ten minutes after closing.  I hated being those people, but I like to think they didn't mind too much.  We had a lot of fun chatting with them, and that attitude is why I would suggest that if you need a suit, you visit the Men's Warehouse.

*How weird is that?!?

**Admittedly, that dress had layers, and they were a pain.

***They were buy one, get one free!  I know that's how they get you, but still...awesome!

Diablo III - Initial Impressions

I am all of twenty minutes into Diablo III, so this review is only going to include my first impressions.  Keep in mind, I have not played the previous Diablo games.

1.  Battletags - I don't like this.  Blizzard, I go out of my way to come up with unique names.  I hate names with numbers after them.  I understand that all battletags have numbers, but that doesn't mean I like it.  Instead, we all look silly.  If we need a special tag, you shouldn't have made us all sign up for battle.net with our email addresses.  I knew it was a silly idea.*

2.  Cinematics - Thus far, the cut scenes are well done and very pretty.  This comes as no surprise from Blizzard, as they have been capably handling cut scenes for quite some time.

3.  Character Creation - I know the game can only handle so much, but would it have killed you to let me customize my little guy?  I'm not asking for much, as I know it will be hardly visible under my awesome armor, but at least give me the illusion of control.  I do appreciate the ability to customize my banner.**  Were the game solely single player, I wouldn't care about the lack of customization, but since I can interact with other people, I want to feel unique.  Mark assures me my loot will make me feel all special and whatnot.

4.  Voice Acting - Currently, I'm trying out the demon hunter, and the voice acting is pretty good.  It actually reminds me a lot of Kate Beckinsale's vampire character from the Underworld movies.***

5.  Game Play - The game continues to be pretty, even when just tooling around.  I know there were complaints that it looked to bright and shiny, but since I have no previous Diablo experience, I can't comment on that.  I like it.

6.  Lag & Logging On - I actually had no problem getting logged in, and thus far, I have experienced no lag.  Of course, I just played solo for twenty minutes, so that is a rather small sample.

7.  Fun - So far, Diablo III is quite fun.  I plan on playing more.  Mark and I will be making themed characters because it makes me happy.****

Once I have more experience with Diablo III, I will report back and give you a full review.  For now, I'm not regretting signing up for a year of Wow to get it for free.  Let's hope I don't come to regret the choice.

*Quite a bit like Camelot, actually.

**It has a tree on it!

***That might actually indicate that it is poor acting.

****I'm thinking we'll both create demon hunters.  One will be named Sam, while the other shall be known as Dean.

Giantfreakinrobot.com

It seems that I am slowly, but surely, covering all of the places on the internet that steal my time from me.  I've covered Reddit, cinemablend, and Film Critic Hulk.  Today, I'm going to cover one of the newer sites I have begun visiting...Giantfreakinrobot.com.  There is a bit of a connection between giantfreakinrobot and cinemablend due to Head Honcho Josh Tyler, which is actually how I discovered giantfreakinrobot.

Giantfreakinrobot.com isn't for everyone.  They primarily focus on science fiction.  I've seen articles that are solely science related, while a great deal of articles cover science fiction in film and television.  While cinemablend meets my movie/tv information needs, giantfreakinrobot goes into more depth and pays more attention to the science fiction genre.

Spending time on websites that solely cover the big ticket properties doesn't really help you discover new shows or movies or books that may be of interest to you.  Because giantfreakinrobot has a science fiction focus, they often have articles about science fiction properties I am unfamiliar with at the moment.  That's one of the greatest bonuses regarding this site.

If you enjoy science fiction, you should check out giantfreakinrobot.  Maybe you're a super sci-fi fan, and it won't be in depth enough for you.  Maybe you're not into sci-fi, and the subject matter won't appeal to you.  Either way, it can't hurt to check it out.  You never know what might just pique your interest.

Kona Cafe

I have eaten at a number of restaurants at Walt Disney World.  As I am a creature of habit who is somewhat afraid of change, I will often frequent the places that I know have food I like.  I've dined at Kona Cafe for both lunch and dinner before.*  This time, we tried out Kona Cafe for lunch.

Mark and I spent the weekend in Orlando, celebrating our anniversary.  Before heading home today, we decided to venture over to the Polynesian Resort, which just so happens to be where we were wed.  Lucky for us, even though we had no reservation, walk-ups were only experiencing a wait between 30 and 45 minutes, according to the young lady we were connected with when we called.  Armed with that information, we drove to Disney property for a nice breakfast.

Getting to the Polynesian when driving yourself is a little weird, and since you have to get there for breakfast at the Kona Cafe, I feel it's pertinent to comment on.  Usually, when we visit Disney, we stay on property, so we are able to use the bus system to get around.  If you have to drive yourself there, you actually have to pass the gates for the Magic Kingdom where you pay to park.  Luckily, letting them know we were heading to the Polynesian kept us from having to pay.  They just directed us to a lane to the right that lead away from the Magic Kingdom parking lot.

When we pulled up to the Polynesian, the lady on guard was very nice.  Mark explained our situation, and she directed us to the correct parking lot.  See, they have to be careful, as some people have attempted to park at the Polynesian or Contemporary to get out of paying for parking to visit the Magic Kingdom.  Luckily, they didn't give us a hard time.

After parking, we had a short walk into the Polynesian.  Let me just say that the Poly has a beautiful lobby area.  There is a large centerpiece featuring water, rocks, and exotic plants.  I'm not doing it justice, and I didn't take pictures of that.  I have some from when we got married, but it seems like a lot of work to find them.  Just trust me that the setting is wonderful.

The two full service restaurants are located upstairs, so we headed for the staircase.  For the tired, there are elevators, which we later used.  At the moment though, we were so excited to be there that stairs were no problem!  No stairs would keep me from noms!!

Upon checking in at the podium, we were told the wait was about 25 minutes.  Luckily, the beepers are good for anywhere on the top floor.  This allowed us to wander over to the smaller gift shop.  In less than five minutes, the buzzer went off.  It was sweet, sweet music drawing us toward food.

While the hotel as a whole is beautiful, the Kona Cafe is pretty simple and basic.  It's full of earthy colors, very mellow.  There are regular tables, as well as tables that have chairs on one side and a bench on the other.  We were seated between two other tables, but it didn't feel cramped.  We had plenty of room and didn't bump elbows with our neighbors.

Our server immediately came over to greet us and offer to take our drink orders.  Once the authenticity was verified, I ordered chocolate milk**.  Mark opted for hot tea.  When our drinks came, they were both just fine.  Mark was smart enough to order water when he ordered his tea, but I forgot to order a water for myself.  Since there was no refill on the chocolate milk, this would be a problem later.

The server, whose name escapes me, answered some questions for us then left us to make our decisions.  Mark ordered the Samoan, which was poached eggs drizzled with a Hollandaise sauce, which are then served over a hash made from smoked pulled pork.  Due to my indecisiveness, I picked the Big Kahuna, which consisted of two half pieces of french toast, two small pancakes, scrambled eggs, home fried potatoes, ham,  and bacon.  Upon consulting the menu, I notice it should have come with sausage, as well.  I will have you know there was no sausage present on my plate.  I probably didn't notice because I ate very little of my meal.  I've been ill recently, and eating is making me urpy.


Mark's Samoan was very good.  He didn't eat all of it, but he enjoyed it.  The hash, which he is used to having made from corned beef, was unique because it was made from pork.  I thought the hash tasted okay, but I don't know if it actually tasted like hash, as I haven't really eaten hash before.  Mark didn't finish his plate, and he assisted me with mine.


My food was pretty good.  There was something on the french toast that gave it a unique taste, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.  The pancakes weren't your usual fair, as they were covered with macadamia nuts, pineapple sauce, and chunks of pineapple.  They had good flavor, but I had a hard time handling all the different textures at once.  Mark loved the pancakes.  As I have learned to like eggs again in the past few years due to Disney, I was happy to get my scrambled eggs.  I'm not sure what Disney does to their scrambled eggs, but they are amazing.***    The bacon was pretty good, not too crispy, and the ham was pretty basic, no amazing favor.


All in all, I think Mark enjoyed the breakfast more than myself, which makes sense.  I've never been a huge breakfast eater.  When you factor in the I felt unwell, that just cemented my lack of appetite.  The meal was good though. 


What was less than good was our service.  By the time we arrived to the restaurant, it was by no means crazy busy.  I try to be forgiving of poor service.  By that I mean I will try to attribute their failings to forces outside their control.  Unfortunately, there were no apparent forces keeping our server away from us.  I mentioned that I forgot to order water earlier in the meal.  When she took our orders, I made sure there were  no refills on the chocolate milk then ordered a water.  She told me it wouldn't be a problem, but she never brought it.  I'm sorry; she did bring me a water when I was done eating.  I acknowledge that she apologized, but I am a heavy drinker.  I will go through four to six glasses of whatever I'm drinking at a meal.  I had a single glass of chocolate milk.  I held out for a while before I started stealing sips of Mark's water.  The point is that should never have happened.  She walked by our table multiple times, but she wasn't paying attention.  She was nice, but I was thirsty.


There has been a great deal of speculation on whether or not the service levels have dropped in Disney restaurants due to the meal plans.  When we first utilized the dining plans, they actually included the tip.  Servers were guaranteed a percent due to the meal plan.  Shortly thereafter, Disney took the tip out of the plan.  Because a great deal of people have free dining due to promotions, the theory is that servers don't care about service, believing people to be cheap.  I've read people claiming that those paying out of pocket are likely to get better service.  I can now say that is not the case.


All in all, I was so happy to be there with Mark that the service wasn't that big of an issue.  I enjoyed my breakfast and my morning.  We walked out to the actual site of our wedding and had a moment.****  In short, regardless of the service, I'll return to Kona Cafe.  I'll probably go for lunch, rather than breakfast, but that's just because I'm not much of a breakfast person.




*Lunch is by far a superior meal.  There is a steak with mango salsa that is best described by the word "sploosh".

**I am well aware that all chocolate milk starts as white milk with a chocolate syrup mixed in.  Real chocolate milk is not created on the spot.  If you're mixing the syrup into the milk in the on site kitchen, you're doing it wrong.  Brink me chocolate milk that arrived at the restaurant in that state.  You can dump your impostor chocolate milk down the drain.

***I'm sure their secret is that they're not actually eggs.

****There was crying, and Mark is amazing.

The Universal Studios Theme Parks (Orlando)

For our anniversary this year, Mark wanted to take me to Disney...just for the weekend.  Unfortunately, that is super expensive.  At the time, we had no annual passes, and since I insist on staying at Disney hotels, it just wasn't affordable.  In an attempt to make us both happy, I suggested we visit Universal Studios Orlando.  For a fraction of the Disney cost, we could spend a day in both Universal parks and have two nights at a hotel that would grant us early entry to Islands of Adventure.  We decided to give it a go.

Before we set off, we had to make some decisions. We had already decided to stay at a hotel that would grant us the early entry to Islands of Adventure.  I wasn't sure how busy Universal would be in mid-May, so we wanted to make sure we could ride the Harry Potter ride.  We also mulled over whether or not to buy the front of the line perk.  It allows you to go into a shorter line for almost every ride in the park.  They only sell a certain number of them per day.  In the end, we decided to take our chances.*

We set off for Florida after work that Friday.  I was supposed to get out early, but fate conspired against me.  I got out less than an hour early that day, setting us back.**  Once we got going, the drive was pretty uneventful.  I did hit a bird and cry about it for twenty minutes, but Mark assures me the bird was a serial killer.

It makes me sad that you can't get your 

free orange juice at night.

We arrived at our hotel well after 2am.  The check-in process was painless, although we did have to wait for two gentlemen to check in ahead of us.  It's kind of funny that we weren't the only people checking in that late.  Our room was pretty nice, bigger than most Disney rooms.  It didn't have the Disney feel though, so it didn't do much for me.

After getting showered and laying our clothes out for the next morning, we decided to get some sleep.  The plan was to be at the park thirty minutes before the resort only early opening.  Because I often have trouble sleeping in on my first day of any trip, I was up around 6am.  Since Mark was awake too, we decided to just get up and get going.  After navigating the suddenly one way road***, we swung through a McDonalds drive thru**** and headed towards the park.

The first thing that I really appreciated at Universal was their parking options.  You can pay a few dollars more for preferred parking.  We don't usually splurge, but since we were running on about four hours of sleep, we decided to go for it.  We were the first ones in the King Kong seciton.

Firsties!

Kong!

Once you're parked, there are moving walk-ways to lead you towards the parks.  Mostly, we were seeing employees on their way into work.  The walk-ways dump you out in City Walk, which is a lot like Downtown Disney.  It connects the two parks and some of their more expensive hotels.

We headed left, towards Islands of Adventure.  We went to the automated kiosks to pick up our tickets.  It was relatively painless.  You just have to make sure you have the credit or debit card that you payed with.  You swipe it to verify identity.

Tickets in hand, we got in line.  We weren't the only ones who wanted to arrive early.  The plan was to power walk to the Harry Potter ride and get it out of the way.  We figured we could ride it again if we wanted to, as it was early.  I had heard horror stories about two hour waits.  I knew I wanted to experience the ride, and I knew I wouldn't wait that long.  We had a plan, and it was going to work.

Now, this is a problem Disney has, as well as Universal.  There is nothing so annoying as standing in line, waiting to get through the turnstiles to open and realizing you're behind the slow people.  The people ahead of us were struggling to use their cards and get it together.  When they were finally into the park, our turn came.  We swiped the cards and went to see Harry.

I'm not a student of Hogwarts, but I have

toured the grounds.  I'm kind of a 

big deal.

With this particular area, Universal got the theming right.  If they could apply this level of detail to the rest of their parks, they might be able to give Disney a run for their money.  From the snow capped buildings to the queue for the ride, the entire area is downright amazing.  I wish you could just buy a ticket to see that part of the park.

It's not real snow.

The ride itself was neat, but I don't think it's the next big thing in theme park attractions.  Now, I was running on very little sleep and was a bit urpy, so maybe this wasn't the best choice for the first ride of the day.  It was neat, but I never felt well enough to go on it again that day.

We decided to visit the re-themed dragon coaster to see if it was any good.  We hadn't waited for Harry Potter's ride, and we didn't wait for this coaster either.  It's set up as a dueling coaster, and you can choose which dragon you want to ride.  I think we rode the blue one, and we waited for the front.  It made us miss a whole car.

With the dragon coaster, I felt like I was back at Cedar Point.*****  The coaster itself was pretty good, but there was little attempt at theming.  The ride train was done up, but the grounds under the coasters didn't instill any interest in me.

With our feet firmly on the ground, it was time to wander onward.  We didn't have much of a plan past the Harry Potter ride, so we just set off walking.  After a detour to the Dr. Seuss area and a single ride on their version of the Peoplemover, we moved on.*****  Soon, we could see the Jurassic Park building, which was exciting.  I remember really liking the movie, and Mark likes dinosaurs.  One would expect that we would both be happy.

You do intend to have dinosaurs on your

dinosaur tour...

Before too long, we had made it to our new destination.  We weren't really sure where we were going, so we ended up near the splash down area, where you see the boats come down the big hill.  At that point, we were no longer worried about having to wait.

Either the dinosaurs ate the guests or 

your average guest has little interest in riding this.

We finally made our way to the actual entrance and saw that we would have no wait.  Now, I don't usually get very wet on Splash Mountain, so I figured we would be fine riding this.  Maybe we would get some wet spots, but surely, that would be all.  I should have realized that wasn't the case when I saw how wet the boat was.  By the end of the ride, we were both bored and wet.  A ride full of dinosaurs should be more interesting.  The pacing and scenery just don't hold up well enough.

Silly people on their phones on 

vacation will be eaten!

I don't recall hearing Richard Kiley. 

I guessed they cheaped out.

I did appreciate that they recreated the building from the movie.  That's the type of theming I want to see at a park based on movies.  There was a banner inside with the little DNA guy too.  I also saw a man who had a newly hatched dinosaur,which was pretty neat.  It seemed like they put some thought into what was going here, and if the ride had been better, it would have been a great area of the park.

After walking through the Saturday morning comics area*******, we moved on to the comic book area, which features all sorts of Marvel inspired fronts and attractions.  There is a Spider-Man attraction and a Hulk coaster, as well as some shops.  First, we had to meet some villains.

Mark hasn't paid his back taxes in his

native land, Latveria.

They were fighting over the pumpkin bomb, not dancing.

At least, that is what Mark tells me.

This is another piece of the show that Universal got right.  While there weren't really organized lines to see these guys, like Disney has, these particular characters put on a great show.  The Hobgoblin had different poses for people, as did Doctor Doom.  It was neat to watch them interact with the guests, especially the nerdy ones like my  husband.

After Mark vanquished some evil, we decided to ride the Hulk coaster.  I was still a bit nauseous from riding Harry Potter********, but I knew we wanted to ride this.  I sucked it up and got in line.  This was one of the few lines we stood in that day, but it was still under twenty minutes.  They were showing the Hulk cartoon while you waited in line, so that was nice of them.

The theming in the ride seemed of a lower quality than their competition over at Disney.  At the same time, this coaster is better than some of Disney's.  I'm used to lift hills, and I'm also used to the power launch.  I'm not used to the combination.  As the ride starts slowly up the lift hill, you hear Dr. Banner talking about losing control.  When you're almost halfway up the hill, he hulks out, which pushes you into a power launch.  It's an amazing bit of theming, a nice tie in.  I really liked that coaster.  I may have even enjoyed it more than the Harry Potter ride.

Mark, on the other hand, didn't have as much fun.  When we got off, he told me that he almost blacked out.  He is on high blood pressure medication.  He is borderline for needing it.  After the ride, he looked online and found out that this is sometimes a side effect.  We decided to take it easy and skip the Spider-man ride for the time being.

We knew we needed a butterbeer and to look through the Harry Potter shops, so we headed back that way, passing a weird man on the way.

He is barfing water.

First order of business when we were back near Hogwarts was to get that butterbeer.  There was a cart that sold them, but we went into the tavern.

Boar!

The boar would occasionally move his head and snort.  It was really neat.  Our time in line passed quickly, as I kept trying to get a picture when the boar was moving.  I continued to be amazed at the level of detail in the area.

The foam tasted good, but the rest was weird.

We got the souvenir cup, which was nice.

The wand shop was really fascinating, as well.  We skipped the show because we figured they wouldn't pick an adult to participate.  I have since heard that they will, but it wasn't on our list of priorities.  I bought my sister-in-law a wand for her birthday*********, and Mark got a hat.  I also picked up some postcards, which they would stamp with a Hogsmeade Owl Post stamp.  Once again, it was an amazing touch that they didn't even need to do.

Yet another picture of the school.  It was impressive

looking and demanded multiple pictures.

The butterbeer is really, really sweet.  It has a butterscotch flavor, and we had the non-alcoholic version.  We couldn't finish it and decided to pour it out on the curb for our fallen comrade, Cedric Diggory.

Alas poor Cedric.  He will go on to be 

in Twilight, working opposite a 

piece of wood.

At this point, it was time for lunch.  We were both dragging, and I was still worried about Mark.  We almost ate at the restaurant with the weird puking face outside, but we decided to go back to City Walk and eat at Panda Express  We don't have one where we live, so we take that opportunity when we can.  We also took a detour to our nearby car to change out shoes.  We find it keeps our feet happy to swap half way through each day.  It's why I sometimes end up with four different pairs of shoes on a longer trip.

Refreshed, we made our way into the original Universal Studios Orlando park.  We hung a right, making our way towards ET.  Now, I don't know if we realized that at the time.  ET was really, really disappointing.  I imagine that someone who was high might really like it, but it wasn't nearly as charming as I remembered.  The last time I was to the park, I had to have been maybe twelve.  Twelve year old Holly has been known to lie.

Next up, we went to ride the Simpsons ride.  I really wanted to skip it in protest of them getting rid of the Back to the Future ride.  Yester-Holly's opinion on Back to the Future stands, as I couldn't re-experience it. I didn't really care for the Simpson's ride, as it made me urpy all over again.  Mark really liked it.  I guess the ride wasn't that bad, but I am not a Simpsons' fan.

After our toony adventure, we decided to ride the Men in Black ride.  It was our first experience with another of Universal's smart moves.  They have short term, free lockers.  If you're going on a thrill ride, they require you to put up your bags, and it doesn't cost you anything.

The ride was actually pretty good.  You have to shoot targets, and it's nice that the guns can be moved.  The shooting rides at Disney are all stationary with a pivot.  You felt much more in the game with the more free moving guns.  Additionally, you could turn them sideways, which is a kill shot!**********

Now, we were to the point where we wanted to look around.  We had decided not to go back for Spider-Man.  We knew we wanted to ride the Mummy, and we were on the fence about the roller coaster at the front of the park.

While looking around, we were offered cash, I think $25, to watch a show and give them our opinion.  We got to be a test audience!  It was really neat.  It took up about half an hour, but it was good, as I needed the break.  Little sleep coupled with thrill rides will make you urpy.

With some extra cash in our pockets, we went to ride the Mummy.  This is another one of those rides with great theming.  It's kind of like a roller coaster dark ride hybrid.  Mark had raved about it, and now, I was finally experiencing it.  It was pretty good.  I was a bit on the nauseous side, which impaired my enjoyment a bit.  There was a part with a fire effect, near the end, that genuinely scared me because I could feel the heat so strongly.

Feeling just awful, we decided to skip the last roller coaster we were interested in.  Instead, we decided to cut out and head to Raglan Road at Downtown Disney for dinner.  While it doesn't sound like we did much, we got to experience the two parks and most the rides we had hoped to see, all by 6pm.

We had to buy something fluffy before leaving and

get the standard photo op picture.

Universal was a fun experience, but I don't need to go back any time soon.  Overall, their theming just doesn't live up to what I've come to expect.***********  The Harry Potter area was amazing, and there are a few things Universal does right.  Unfortunately, it's not enough to get me coming back any time soon.

*It just seemed wrong to buy our way to the front.

**I just appreciated that they tried to get me out early at all.

***There was some sort of marathon, so they had closed half of the road down, which delayed our progress.  It was a good thing we were already running early.

****Mistake.
'
*****Which I love and miss.

******This was where we bought the most expensive tube of sunscreen ever.  It was like $13 for a tiny little tube.  It was embarrassing, but Mark burns easily.

*******It was just terrible, really.  We didn't ride anything there.

********<Snicker snicker>

*********She didn't get it until maybe August or September.  We are terrible about mailing stuff.  I still have the postcards we bought.

**********It's not really, but it is gangsta.

***********Thanks for ruining other theme parks for me, Disney.