Saturday started out with a quick trip to Wild Winds Buffalo Preserve in Fremont, IN. My youngest and I didn’t take the truck trip into the preserve, but we were able to visit the 1850’s Rendezvous and talk with a few of the ‘trappers’. The main goal of the trip was to pick up some bison burgers for a gaming night at my oldest’s house. Good food, good fun and a wonderful afternoon and late-late evening. More Dungeons and Dragons was played.

Today, I made a recipe that I submitted to our Theater’s cookbook to serve at the final production of “Kitchen Witches”. Fun little show and the audience/guests seemed to like my samples. The recipe is on page 6 of our cook book. (Just wondering if we could sell that on line? — E-Book???).

I’m going to try a recipe or more from the book, they all look pretty good to me. My oldest daughter got to be the on stage “guest judge” for the show today. She seemed to really enjoy the small bit of stage work. Another day of good fun.

And finally I see that some dear friends are all back from their Florida vacations. Someday, when I can get more than a day or two off, I will need to do something like that.

That’s all folks…

It’s been over a week since we’ve been in NW Ohio, and really, not much has changed.  There are many less leaves on the trees than there were when we left for Disney World last Friday, but other than that…  We haven’t yet had a chance to check in with friends, so hopefully all is well everywhere.  I have to admit that I was a bit scarred from our last vacation – we returned to the horrible news that my beloved kitty had passed away.  So this time, I was nervous about coming home.  I told our pet-sitter that if anyone dies this time to not tell us while we were in Florida, thinking, what good would that do…  but that decision ended up backfiring majorly because then the whole time I was worried that something had happened and I didn’t know about it becuase I had left the instructions not to call us…  But nothing catastrophic occurred, at least not to us or any of our pets, and we had a wonderful time.  Now more than ever I know what people mean when they say that they need a vacation from their vacation.  After taking 4 little kids on a 1,000+ mile road trip each way and returning with the trashed car and the dirty laundry and housekeeping catch-up for a family of 6, I could really use a vacaion!

Oh well…  we had a great time and I wouldn’t trade our experiences for the world – or all the laundry in the world.  More to come about the trip after I unpack some and get used to the fact that I did not gain an extra hour this weekend like Jill my GPS friend told me I had – guess she (along with my alarm clock – glad I noticed that before tomorrow morning) is pre-programmed for the “fall back” switch for daylight savings time.  The only problem is that Jill and my alarm clock were programmed before the daylight savings hours were adjusted thanks to President Bush.  So they are now an hour behind…  but no matter, they can stay that way for another week or two, whenever we change the clocks…  and then, I will get my extra hour of sleep – always fun!

Hello every people.  My next night in Flor-ida was a spent in a downside up building.  I a look up and I see the stairs on the ceiling.  Wooly Sheep.  It was a very strange building, I never seen anything a like that.  We a go to the downside up building to see the magic man on stage.  He was a very strange man.  Little girl person, Taylor was a called on to the stage to do a magic trick.  A few minutes later, Morat was a called up.  Magic man thought Morat say Borat.  I tell him my name is a MORAT Notboratnichkov from Liswathistan.  Magic man say he a call me Timmy.  T and I tie the hands of magic man together and pull hard on the a rope.  I a think I pull little too hard because I pull the other end right out of T’s hands.  Some people in audience say Morat was a very funny.  But they were a three sheep to a the wind.  A little bit later, Chris was a called to the a stage to do a magic trick.  I a also see a weird man person who was a on stage and a showed a huge a stomach and a large a crack.  Not a only did we a see the magic, we also a eat the pizza pie.  WOOLY SHEEEP, more a pizza.  I think we all were a sick of pizza.  NO MORE A PIZZA PIE!!!!  I a like a pizza pie but I a not like to so much so a many times.  three nights in a row is a TOO MUCH!!!  But, Morat enjoy the a magic man, he was a very funny.

I have seen High School Musical 3, and I want to see it again! It’s like Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith all over again. Only, I think I was a little worse with Star Wars. I knew how many hours and minutes to Star Wars, and I wasn’t quite that bad with HSM 3. There were many surprises in this movie and I couldn’t stop laughing. Okay, of course there were some parts that you didn’t want to laugh, but I’m pretty sure you get the idea. It’s just a fun, relaxing, and entertaining show! There are some new characters, that I think they plan on using in the next High School Musical if they do a fourth one. I don’t think I’ll want to watch anymore if there are different people. It just wouldn’t be the same! I normally don’t watch sequels if there are different people playing main characters. As I sat in my seat at the movie theater, I didn’t feel as if it was as late as it was getting. You were absorbed in the show and you lost track of time. Troy and Gabriella have three duets in this movie, and you can really see that Zac and Vanessa (for anyone who doesn’t know, those are the actors) really love each other through the way they act. You can just see it in the way they are able to act with each other so well. It must have meant so much to them when they sang those songs, and were together. I have the CD now. As soon as the movie was over, we headed to Tony’s house, so I could get my money and he took me to Wal-Mart to get the CD. I can’t wait to be able to see it again! When is it coming out on DVD?!?!

I must say that the worst part of the Universal was the transition from the two parks.  There was a huge mob of people resembling a herd of cattle waiting to be lead through the gate.  The problem being… there were only 2 people taking tickets and we picked the SLOOOOOOOOW line.  But we finally made it with plenty of time to enjoy what Islands of Adventure had to offer… LOTS.

Not only were there rides drawing from Dr. Seuss, cartoons from days gone by (Popeye and Dudley-Do-Right on which I will elaborate further), but also Marvel Superheros.  While C & L went The TRUELY AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ride, I waited with the kids to take my turn (thank heaven for baby swap).  While waiting a parade of heroes riding motorized bikes came zooming in.  I saw Captain America, Wolverine (in the traditional yellow and blue comic outfit), and Spidey himself.  This was cool not only to see them, but it also made little Dis stop and look… this was before Lis introduced me to the secret weapon.

I had a very hard time figuring out which my favorite ride was: definitely a toss up.  The Amazing Spider-Man is a 3-D marvel that puts you right in the middle of a comic-book starring everyone’s favorite web-slinging neighborhood do-gooder as he battles some of his most sinister villains: Hobgoblin, Hydro Man (not REAALY familiar with him), Electro, and Spidey’s arch-nemesis, Dr. Otto Octavius.

What theme park visit is complete with out some wet fun.  The first was definitely the worst.  You have read the disclaimer: YOU WILL GET WET ON THIS RIDE.  On Popeye and Blutto’s Bilge-Rat Barges, you not only get wet, if you sit in the wrong spot… guess who… you may not neet to shower for a day.

The second water soaker featured the melodramatic adventures of Dudley-Do-Right on Ripsaw Falls. Along the way the villainous Snidely Whiplash once again had the virtuous Nell tied to the tracks. Nowhere near as drenching as P&B’s, but good.  Not so good for Chris who was suffering from an in-grown toenail.  As I was entering the log I heard a loud howl from behind me.  I had stepped on his toe.  OMG… THE PAIN!!!!  More on that later, but I KNOW  how he felt. I felt awful.

The last thrill was one we had by-passed and said we would do if we had time remaining.  Not only am I glad that we made it just to ride, it helped in the drying process.  The Hulk is a good old-fashined green steel monster with corkscrews, loops, tunnels, and blinding smoke.  While Chris took the girls to Seuss land, Lisa and I conquered the monster twice… fast pass is great.  What a rush and it never stopped.  totally awesome.

Being led by people who know the park is a great way to see the best and by-pass the rest.

Following Tuesday’s adventures, our band went to a park I have never been to (unless you count California’s version of 30 years ago… ITHASN’T BEEN THAT LONG).  All I can say is OH, MY GOODNESS.  Universal Studios Florida features 2 worlds and something for everyone that is even cheaper than going to Disney (but I love Disney, too).  The first ride we caught was Jimmy Newtron’s Nicktoon Blast.  If you have young kids who enjoy watching the cartoon characters on Nickelodeon this is a must stop area.  Not only was the ride fun but in the shop following the ride, I saw Spongebob Squarepants.  Outside (not Nicktoon characters but still…) we saw Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, and the Mystery Machine.  Unfortunately, they were on their way out before we could get a photo.

Next ride was one that has been hyped since I was invited to go in late August-early September.  Let me tell you, if you enjoy the thrill of a roller coaster and the chills of a haunted house… you must ride Revenge of the Mummy.  The only problem being… and this is not the last time it happened… I was the jinx who caused the coaster to malfunction.  I’m not sure which ride started it off… maybe taylhis will be able to remind me… but it seemed that if there was a chance that a ride would stop, there I was in the middle.  This was even more memorable because Chris and I were trapped in the hot room.  But we eventually came to the ride’s climax.  It is a doozy.

The third highlight (not that I did not love ALL OF THE ATTRACTIONS… I could spend hours elaborating), was based on one of my favorite animated series.  The entire area surrounding the Simpson’s Ride is devoted to Springfield.  Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa… don’t think we saw Maggie were all there.  There is also a Quik-E-Mart featuring Squishees that we had to have.  We have been trying to figure out in which episode of the series Mr. Burns proclaims that his lunch consists of “One boullion cube.”  Anyone? But the simulated roller coaster is just a blast too.  It actually creates the sensation (however slight) of being on a coaster while being immersed in an animated adventure with the cast.  Animated thrill rides have come along way since even Star Tours was introduced at the now named Hollywood Studios at Disney World.

It is a seasonal thing… I was going to post a news article about a big spider in Australia, but after seeing some of the pictures, I decided not to. If you really want to look it up, it was about a spider the size of a person’s hand dining on a bird.

What really interests me is that there are so many different arachnids around the world. I always thought of the tarantulas as the big spiders. The tarantulas are not web weavers in general. But here was a rather large spider in Australia that actually spun a web that caught the bird.

Anyway what caught my attention to this story was the bird being the victim here. If I remember the song correctly the bird ate the spider, after it ate the fly….

Now who started going through the rest of the song???

Yes, that’s right the old video game of Pong, OK, actually it was the first video game, not quite Pong.

I’m old enough to remember the first Pong games in the city of Toledo. They was one located in the entry of a K-mart store. At least I think it was a K-Mart. I remember the game, not really the store local. 1 quarter allowed you to play the game. My older brother would let me play it on his cash. Well, he was 12 years older and had a job, I was around 12 when they first came out. I remember those few games with my brother. I looked up to him, and he had time for a jerky little kid.

Fast forward a few years, and there were video arcades, games in bars, and of course home game systems. They all really started because of Pong. If you read the links, you will have found out that Pong was not the first video game. It was the first game to really take the home market. The same game you had to pay a quarter for, you could play for free at home whenever you wanted.

Back in the 80’s there was PacMan, Ms PacMan, DigDug, Q*bert, Centipede and many others. These also came to the home market. Soon the home market was bigger than the Arcade business, so much so that you are hard pressed to find any independent arcades anymore. There are some arcades in a few restaurants, or in Family activity centers that deal with things you just can’t fit in your home. Me I grew up in the age of the arcade. There was an arcade in almost every mall. There were arcades set out by themselves or in strip malls. Turn a corner and you could find a place to play a video game. I liked these games, and was very good at a few of them.

Then came the home consoles. I never did get the hang of those games. Quirky joy sticks that didn’t work quite the same as the arcade. No heavy duty track balls. No big red firing buttons. Then the games started to use game pads. Tiny buttons that you had to know exactly which one to push and when. Nope, never got into those. At first I said it was because the graphics were so poor on the home games, then of course it was the poor joy sticks. But of course the graphics got better than anything we saw in the arcades, but the interface was still not quite right.

A reader of this blog, and a friend pointed the way to arcade style controls in his blog. It would be interesting to have my own arcade style game, but for me not really needed. I have enough to fill my time right now, I don’t need to add an additional hobby. Sounds like fun, if someone wants to invite me to play on their home arcade, well I’d be willing to give it a whirl, but I won’t be putting in my own. Has to be someone with lots of room though. Those arcade games can take up a bit of space….

Does anyone remember the old Atari game console? What were your favorites? I found a list here. My favorite, was Pong at the arcade machine with my brother…

On the topic of The Legend of Zelda I brought up a couple of posts ago, here are a few videos I turned up at Youtube/Google Video.  Enjoy!

[google-video]https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2967926040995072267[/google-video]

Hilarious live action parody.  College video, so has some foul language at a couple of points.

.

Japanese Legend of Zelda dance.  ‘Nuff said.

.

Different live action video.  Funny soundtrack too.

.

Remember I mentioned getting so into the first Zelda that I had a book of maps I drew?  Well, this could have been me if I had a video camera at the time and was more outgoing…

.

Legend of Zelda the movie!  Wait, what was that release date again?

.

[google-video]https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4275555552047254064[/google-video]

Two in one- Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda live in concert!  Be warned, this is a two hour video and has the music from these games in the styles of Jazz, Latin, Country and Bluegrass.  Performed September 14th, 2003 at the Nihon Seinenkan Hall in Tokyo, Japan.  I haven’t watched this yet but it looked interesting enough to post here.

HELLO EVERY PEOPLE!!! Morat he a go to Flor-ida country also.  One day, the two little girl people and Morat go outside and a find many, many snails.  We a put them inside a big bowl but we a run out of a room, so we a get bigger bowl.  Then, it was a time to go to the big, round golf ball.  But a before that, Morat he a go to a share time place.

This man person giving tour laugh at Morat very much. He say Morat should a go to Vegas.  He take Morat around the share time place and he see many womans working there. It a good thing woman not give me tour.  I say, Morat will a not take tour from womans.   He ask if they are married womans.  Some say yes.  I ask if they will go on Wife Swap trading on tv box.  They all say no.  I say Wooly Sheep.  They a just laugh and turn a red face.  Finally, strange man finish talking about share of time.  Morat say no thank you very much.

Morat then wait looooooong time for OHHO people to finish at their share time.  Man who gave talk come back a to Morat and say, “You’re still here?”I no understand a dis share time.  It a sound like a bunch of how you say, tech no speak.

When OHHO people come to a pick up Morat, they a go to the COT of EP at the Mouse house.  Many, many strange things.  We a go visit other countries like a you say No Way, and Mexico country.  I a tell little people to bring the snails to France for de escargot.  but a one thing I no understand.  WHERE IS LISWATHISTAN!!!  NO LISWATHISTAN AT MOUSE HOUSE!!! I WILL SUE DE MOUSE FOR 1 BOULLION CUBE!!! Or I just let Mouse drink all the soda of Italy.  Not a so good 🙁

But Morat a like many other things at eP of COT.  I like a the Big Golf ball ride.  OHHHHH… the woman inside sound a like the woman who is the boss of Oh-oh-Seven… her name is a M.

I a also like a very much the ride of Ellen.  Is Ellen married woman?  She a seem a little strange to me.  Ellen goes on Jeopardy on tv box.

But my a favorite part of the Golf Ball Place is the Soarin’.  Wooly Sheep.  EVERYONE WINS!!!  OH, Morat almost a forget about the little Fig ride.  The smelly animal made a big stink.  And little person say Morat made a stink.