tmlfan1977

[tmlfan1977]

Well, 2 days ago we went on our trip to Canada's Wonderland. Let's break it down:

Friday night, my nephew Keith and his friend Dallas came to spend the night at my place as we were heading out extremely early the following morning. We ordered pizza, watched a couple of concerts on the tube, and basically just shot the shit. It was around 10pm when I decided we should all call it a night as 5:00am came early.

One problem......

Throughout the night, I drank a little too much Pepsi. 3/4 of a 2 litre bottle to be exact. To make a long story short, I did not, nor could not sleep. Keith was by-and-large in the same boat, so we ended up talking until about 2am when he finally crashed. I played his Switch for a little while and dicked around on the computer until about 4:30, about the time I got everyone up because we had to be on the bus for downtown at 5:40.

I made Keith an 'energy drink slushie', and made the troops some french toast so they wouldn't be hungry during the morning.

We made it downtown by 6:15 and caught the GO bus to the Square One terminal in Mississauga, where we had arrived at 7:55. After some minor confusion as to where our connecting bus would be located, we boarded at 8:25 and arrived at Canada's Wonderland by 9:30.

At that point, they were already letting people in the gate, although none of the rides would be operational until 10am. We walked through the metal detectors, had our tickets scanned and away we went into the park.

We made a beeline to Medieval Faire to the right of International Street because our game plan was to ride Leviathan first. For those who don't know, Leviathan is the tallest, longest and fastest Giga-Coaster in all of Canada. From what I had heard, it is the most popular ride and often has the longest queue.

This wasn't the case for us! Most of the queue was empty and we managed to make it pretty close to the ride itself. Of course by this point, we still had to wait as it wasn't quite 10am yet. But once it was officially running, we were on within minutes!

Keith was very apprehensive about riding Leviathan, but insisted on doing it, although I told him multiple times that he didn't have to if he didn't want. But, he went through with it!

I can describe Leviathan in only one word...... INTENSE! That first drop, and well, virtually every drop during the ride lifts you right out of your seat! Between the height and the speed, I swear we were out of our seats more than we were in! Upon completion, Keith was incredibly shaken up and overwhelmed, and it more or less deterred him from wanting to ride more coasters. But I give him huge props. Takes some intestinal fortitude to take on a ride of that magnitude, so I'm definitely a proud Uncle. As for me, I absolutely loved it!

From there, we decided to slow things down a bit as Keith wanted to ride Viking's Rage, which is an old school swinging ship that has been at Wonderland since the park opened in 1981. Always a fun ride, especially if you sit on one of the end seats, as they provide the best air time!

We then hit Dragon Fyre, a steel looping coaster (also a 1981 original). I used to LOVE this coaster when I was a kid, but somewhere along the line, that ride got ROUGH. My head was bouncing against the restraints like no tomorrow, especially through the corkscrew. I was incredibly light-headed when I exited. Thinking I may have to boycott that one on principle.

Next, Keith and Dallas wanted to ride Spinovator, basically a super fast tilt-a-whirl type ride.

After that we walked around a bit. Keith and Dallas wanted to check out a couple of shops, including a candy store. Heading over to the Grand Exposition area of the park, we were just in time to see the diving show. This show has been a Wonderland staple since 1981, where divers jump from atop Wonder Mountain over a waterfall into the water below. It was very short as there were only 4 divers, but entertaining nonetheless.

We eventually came upon Windseeker.. Picture a rotating swing ride, but a couple hundred feet in the air! Keith and Dallas gave a unanimous "hell no" on that one, so I rode alone. Having not gone in 14 years, this was my first time on it.

It's difficult to describe this one. When you're at the very top swinging around, you get this sensation as though you're almost flying. You're so high up, you barely hear the hustle and bustle of the park below. The wind hit different..... a very freeing feeling, if that makes any sense. I had my arms up for the entire time. I think serene is the word I'm looking for here. My only chagrin with Windseeker is that it was way too short. I would've loved to have spent at least another minute or two up there.

Next to Windseeker was a dive coaster called Yukon Striker. Evidently the tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster in the WORLD. Again, I flew solo on this one. It was probably the longest wait time of the day, but even still it wasn't that bad. The line had stopped for around 10 minutes as there were apparently issues with the ride. But once it got moving again, I was on in no time.

Now, Yukon Striker's trains are different than your average coaster. Each train is only 3 rows deep, with 8 riders in each row. At the end of the queue, staff delegates where you sit. You don't get to choose. So, I made it up there, and I was told to sit in the front row! I had no complaints as in my experience, the front row is always the best way to experience a coaster!

So as the ride leaves dock, the floor underneath disappears and you're left with feet dangling. You go around a corner before you reach the lift. Upon reaching the top, it makes another right turn and then inches......ever......so......slowly to the edge of that first dive. Of course I'm in the front, so I'm seeing nothing but my feet dangling in front of me, like I'm going to fall off the edge of this thing. Then without warning, down we go! The ride was insane with so many different inversions. You eventually reach a second dive point where you're inched closer to the edge yet again, albeit not as high as the first. Still exhilarating nonetheless.

Once that was done, Keith wanted to ride Thunder Run, which is a coaster that runs through the park's Wonder Mountain (the centerpiece of the park). Another fairly short line! We rode in 2 separate cars, one behind the other because there was no way we were both squeezing our asses into the same one. lol Without question, Thunder Run is still a hell of a lot of fun. It's a short ride, so they send you through twice. Hasn't changed a bit from when I was a kid. A point of interest I noticed as well is that the front of the trains sported the ORIGINAL Canada's Wonderland logo from the 80's. Loved that they kept that!

So, after Thunder Run it was close to 2pm and we were all getting a little famished. So we decided to eat at new place that was just built at Wonderland a couple of years ago called Lazy Bear Lodge. A rustic-style restaurant that served mostly BBQ fare. I had Korean style BBQ chicken, with potato wedges and cornbread. Keith had beef brisket, pit-smoked mac & cheese and cornbread. Dallas had chicken fingers, wedges and cornbread. It was a damn good meal to say the least. The only caveat was Keith's mac & cheese. Not the greatest taste, and was served cold. All I want to know is where the hell I can get that sauce they put on my chicken. Damn that was good!

We were ready to leave Lazy Bear Lodge, but Keith first had to use the facilities. About 15 minutes had passed when he hadn't yet returned. Concerned, Dallas went to the washroom to check on him, only to find out that he was TRAPPED in the bathroom stall, and she had to get restaurant staff to help him get out. I guess the lock handle was wedged and wouldn't budge. Eventually he was set free. No harm, no foul...... Ok, maybe a little foul. lol

So from there, we headed to another souvenir / candy shop and then made our way to Canterbury Theatre in Medieval Faire to catch their stage production. This year's was called "Cirque de Ambiente". I wanted to make sure we were there early for the 4pm show as I wanted good seats as a result of my limited sight. We managed to score front row center!

This show was AMAZING. This was stuff you would see on America's Got Talent. They had jugglers with glow-in-the-dark bowling pins. Roller Bladers, acrobatics, curtain climbers, hula-hoopers, etc. I was in awe from start to finish.

After the show, Keith wanted to ride Thunder Run again, this time with Dallas. So I found a place in the shade to sit and wait for them. This was the least eventful part of the day for me as I had sat there for 45 minutes. When running on no sleep, it felt like an eternity. But they had a blast, so it was all good.

We then went to the arcade. Keith had been wanting to play some games all day so I thought I'd oblige and buy some tokens. I had intended on spending $20 (the equivalent of 100 tokens), but for $30, you got 200 so I went with that. Most of the games there awarded you tickets. After you've redeemed enough, you can trade them in for a plethora of prizes. The games themselves were fun. I find I had the biggest payout playing "Piano Tiles". A game where you have to press huge clunky buttons in correspondence to what you see on-screen...... and fast. I did great at first, but got a little sloppy the more I played, so I cut my losses. I also tried my hand at Pac-Man, Wheel of Fortune and a few others. Keith played basically the same ones I did. We rounded the arcade off with a game of 'air hockey', only this table was unique as it was sloped on both sides. Made for a unique experience. Problem with air hockey is, Keith and I play a little TOO aggressively and I wound up hurting my arm while playing. (P.S. I still won!)

After the arcade, I was in desperate need of another adrenaline boost as I was running on fumes at this point. So Keith rode Spinovator for the second time, this time with me. I don't know if it's just me, but I don't remember that ride being so damn fast! No complaints though!

So back to shopping we went after that. Keith got a stuffed axolotl with 'Canada's Wonderland" printed on the stomach, and I bought my mom a keychain.

We decided to head to the front of park and get some funnel cakes. My love for this dessert knows no limits! It was the first I'd had in 14 years. Couldn't get over the price as they were now $17.99 a pop. I still say you get your money's worth because those things are HUGE. I grabbed my plate and I swear it weight a good 2-3 pounds.

Keith had never tried funnel cake before, and as it turns out, he didn't like it. That really surprised me actually, because let's face it...... What's not to like? Dallas ate most of her's but couldn't quite polish it off. I finished mine, but it took some effort! It's easy to underestimate just how filling those things are! I certainly enjoyed it after all of these years!

I'd decided at that point that I was done going on rides for the day. I was too full and too tired. So we hit a couple of souvenir shops near the front of the park. One of which had mostly Wonderland apparel. I was gutted because in one section of the first store, they had 40th Anniversary apparel sporting the original logo (the aforementioned one that was on the Thunder Run trains). Problem was, they were only available in small and medium sizes. Needless to say, I'm neither small, nor medium. Wonderland's 40th Anniversary was 2 years ago, and they were trying to get rid of what was left by selling it for 50% off. I would've been all over that t-shirt if only they had it in my size.

We then went to the other souvenir shop located at the front gate, which had a little bit of everything. After walking around a few times, I'd decided to wait outside the store. Dallas came out with a surprise for me. She had bought me a Canada's Wonderland pin sporting that original logo!!! I thought that was so incredibly thoughtful, and it meant so very much that she would do that for me.

Anyway, it was getting dark and we decided to head back to the Frontier Canada area of the park to find a refresh station for one last refill before we left. Now I have to say, their unlimited drink refill package is WORTH IT. For only $18.99, they give you a souvenir cup which allows for free refills for the ENTIRE day with only a 15 minute wait between each. On a hot day, this package is a godsend, because I assure you, you would be paying a hell of a lot more out of pocket throughout the day for each individual drink!

So, we exited the park about 9:30pm and headed to the bus terminal which is located to the left of the parking lot. A bit of a walk from the gate. The bus came at 10:25. We were back at Square One by about 11:15. We waited an hour there for our connecting bus, ad we were back in Guelph by 1:40. After calling a cab, we'd reached my apartment by 2am.......and in bed by 2:01. lol

Yesterday was strictly a day to recuperate. We didn't do a whole lot aside from chill and relax. I made Keith and Dallas corn on the cob for dinner. I think that was about the extent of my activity that day. Dallas was picked up around mid-afternoon and Keith went home shortly after.

It goes without saying that this was one of the best weekends I've had in a VERY long time. A way to destress and just have pure FUN. One of my big concerns was how I'd handle the rides at my age. Turns out...... even at 46....... I still have that need for speed!

[tmlfan1977]

In just under a month's time, Keith and I will be heading to Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario. Although I haven't set foot there in 14 years, it has always remained one of my all-time favorite places to visit!

Widely known as Canada's premier theme park, Wonderland first opened in 1981. I'm unsure if I was there during the park's opening year as I was only 4 years old at the time, but I recall having visited annually shortly thereafter. I have so many wonderful memories of that place!

Back in the 80's, Hanna-Barbera cartoons reigned supreme, and throughout the park on any given day, costumed employees would meet and greet park-goers dressed as the Smurfs, Scooby-Doo, Fred Flintstone, Captain Caveman, etc. There was an area of the park known as Hanna-Barbera Land which featured an area that resembled a real-life Bedrock. From the building structures to the seating, it was pretty great, especially when you consider that as a kid I would come home from school every day at lunch to watch The Flintstones on television. This was my utopia! They even had outdoor dining tables that resembled The Flintstones' car. I loved it!

They had a roller coaster there called Dragon Fyre (which happens to still be there today). At the time, it was the park's only looping coaster. For two years in a row during the early 80's, I had attempted to ride it, but I had not yet met the minimum height requirement! By the third year, I was finally tall enough.....and it was glorious!

I've always loved thrill rides, even at a young age. There wasn't anything I wouldn't ride. Mind you, having not gone in the last 14 years is somewhat worrisome. I'm now 46 with various aches and pains. I also take medication for high blood pressure. Something tells me I'm going to come back from this excursion either crippled or dead. But to hell with it! Let's throw caution to the wind!

One of my all-time favorite things at Canada's Wonderland has to be the funnel cake. No one makes it like they do. I always made sure to get one every time we'd visit, and this time will be no exception. Served with fresh strawberries, strawberry sauce and vanilla soft serve ice cream, it's almost worth going just for that. Heaven!!

Another great thing about the park I thoroughly enjoy are the shows. They have a diving show where divers jump from atop a waterfall on Wonder Mountain, the centerpiece of the entire park. This year they also have a stunt show, and a circus performance in the large air-conditioned theater. They even have a dog show where canines perform a series of different tricks, etc.

I've seen some great attractions in past years which included laser light shows, a "School of Rock" musical revue, stunt performances, and a killer "Days of Thunder" motion ride!

There was a time from the early 90's to (I believe) the mid-2000's when Paramount Pictures owned the park. A lot of the rides were themed after Paramount movies including "Top Gun", "Tomb Raider", "The Italian Job", etc. When the park was sold to Cedar Fair, most of the ride names were changed. "Top Gun" became "Flight Deck". "Tomb Raider" became "Time Warp", and "The Italian Job" became the "Backlot Stunt Coaster". To this day, I still find myself calling the rides by their original given names! When Paramount had bought the park in the early 90's, they removed the Hanna-Barbara characters, props and insignia (although Scooby-Doo was spared) for Nickelodeon properties such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants. Then, when Cedar Fair bought it from Paramount, Nickelodeon was replaced with Charlie Brown and the remaining Peanuts characters. I initially found this move odd considering Peanuts haven't been relevant in quite some time, whereas Nick shows were current and would resonate a whole lot more with kids. But I guess they had to work with what they had.

Some of the rides that were there when I was younger have sadly been replaced. The problem lies with the fact that they lack real estate. At one point, they had sold off a lot of their surrounding land where many commercial properties now stand, and in great abundance. By doing so, Wonderland literally has little room to grow and expand. As a result, some rides get taken down to make way for the new. Rides such as "Jet Scream", "SkyRider", "Zumba's Flume" and "The Great Whale of China" were among my favorites that are no longer in existence.

On the plus side for me, having not gone in almost a decade and a half, there are a plethora of NEW rides I'm just itching to try. So I figure now is a good a time as any. At any rate, our trip should be a fun one. I just hope I make it back in one piece!

[tmlfan1977]

The picture you see above this post is that of myself and my nephew, Keith. It goes without saying that he is one of the coolest, sweetest and most caring people I have EVER known.... and although I'm his Uncle, I say this without bias.

Keith identifies as a transgender male. When we'd first learned of this revelation a couple of years ago.... I'm not going to lie. It was difficult to wrap our heads around it. Be that as it may, we never shunned him. We never thought any less of him, and we never disregarded his feelings about it. We were however ignorant in the sense that we did not understand it.

Education is a powerful thing.

At the end of the day, all we wanted was for him to be happy. Life is too damn short. Be who you are! We eventually learned to embrace this change. I, myself began calling him Keith more frequently (although I still tend to slip up from time to time by calling him by his previous name). Hell, after referring to someone by the same name for 25 years, you'd slip up too!

I had played an integral role in helping to raise Keith ever since he was 5 months old. I'd take him to and from school every day, made his lunches, read him stories, taught him the fundamentals of life, etc. I was there for all of the firsts. First words, first steps..... First everything.

As he got older, I feared what I think a lot of parental units feared...... that he would start breaking away from me..... that a time would come when it wouldn't be "cool" to hang with ol' Uncle Andy. If anything, it's been the polar opposite. We've always had the strongest of bonds, and I think that bond has grown with time. He constantly jumps at the chance to hang out, or go somewhere. My doubts were clearly all for naught.

Keith had a rough go of it in school. He was diagnosed with a mild mental disability, as well as ADHD. As a result, a lot of his classmates pegged him as "different" and he wound up falling victim to unsurmountable bullying which lasted from elementary though high school.

But I'll tell ya. Keith persevered. He made it through high school and graduated in the Fall of 2016. He didn't conform for anybody and continues to this very day to march to the beat of his own drum......and I LOVE him for that!

It goes without saying that Keith is one my absolute all-time favorite people in this world, and I think my life would be vastly different had he not come into it. He's taught me to be a better man, and for that I am eternally grateful.

I love you Keith......

Forever and for always!

[tmlfan1977]

For those who don't know, I've been a singer for most of my life. I'd first discovered my love of singing when I was 11 years old when a friend of my sister's had invited us over to visit one day. It was there when I was introduced to karaoke. The girl's father owned a machine and a plethora of tapes. Up until that point, I'd spent much of my childhood singing along to songs on the radio. But karaoke was a game changer. The ability to sing my favorite songs using instrumental backing tracks was a concept I'd not known about prior to then..... and I was hooked!

It wasn't until I was 14 years young when I decided to take a chance by calling every bar and restaurant in town which ran karaoke. I was brutally honest with each of them by stating my age and that all I wanted to do was sing. Surprisingly, 95% of the places were cool with it! Even better, my mom was ok with me going to these places to do it!

I still remember the first bar I'd ever sang at. It was a place called "My Uncle's Pub". As coincidence would have it, the man who ran the karaoke there was none other than the father of my sister's friend who had introduced me to it only 3 years prior. Small world!

Needless to say, I took every chance I could to go out and sing, and even became a "regular" at a number of places. Friday nights (and some Thursdays), I'd sing at a bar called Brewsky's.... and Sunday nights you would always find me at the Desert Inn in a lounge called Stingers. A few years later, I'd spend my Friday nights singing at RJ's Bar & Grill, which was located inside Woodlawn Bowl (a bowling alley).

When I turned 19 (the legal drinking age in Canada), I switched up RJ's for Knights of Columbus on Friday nights, which became my watering hole for close to 20 years. I have so many great memories of that place, and had made a lot of friends!

It was around 2009 or so when I was asked by a longtime friend if I'd be interested in joining his band. He was a drummer, and his friend was a keyboard player. So the 3 of us played together for a few years. We didn't really "go" anywhere, save for a couple of private parties. Unfortunately, the drinking and the drugs between the two of them were a little much for me to deal with, so I chose to leave.

From that point on, I'd sang very little. I would go to karaoke at the Red Chevron Club maybe 2 or 3 times a year at best. I really didn't have the passion for it anymore.

This past October, I'd received a call from the aforementioned friend from my previous band of which I'd left, asking me if I'd be willing to sit in with him and another fellow who played guitar. Knowing why I'd left previously, I was promised that drinking and drugs would be non-existent. So I agreed.

We called ourselves The Basement Dwellers, a name I concocted as we played in the basement of 90 Carden Street in downtown Guelph. Google that address if you'd like to learn of its significance.... or lack thereof.

We didn't go far as a 3-piece, aside from a Facebook live stream we put together in mid-December. But, we were asked by the Pastor of the Royal City Mission to perform as part of their "Beat the Winter Blues" fundraising concert in March of this year.

That night will forever be ingrained in my mind as one of the greatest nights of my life. We performed a 7 song set along with a guest bass player. Prior to the show, I was incredibly nervous about being a "front man". After all, I'd done nothing but karaoke my entire life. They call your name. You get up. You sing your song. You sit down. You wait your turn to do it again.

For weeks prior to the event, I'd rehearsed in my head what I was going to say before and after each song. I'd literally never had to do anything like it before. So when I went up there that night, I'd put all insecurities aside, and I was a FRONT MAN! I had people clapping and cheering. I was cracking jokes. I sang "Happy Birthday" to one of the attendees. After our set, we even received a standing ovation. Watching the footage back, I'd absolutely shocked myself. I didn't realize I had it in me to do what I did that night. It goes without saying that I didn't come down from that natural high for days!

Anyway, we had decided before that point that this would be the Basement Dwellers' first, last and only gig. There were a number of issues surrounding a particular member of the band, which at that point had reached a level of absurdity.

But as they say.... When one door closes, another one opens.

I had started attending these Thursday open jams at a downtown establishment, where shortly after I was asked to join a newly formed band by the guy who was running the open jams. The rhythm guitarist from my previous band was also asked to join. Soon thereafter, a drummer had joined us, as well as a bass player, who concurrently played with the drummer in another band. We were known as the Downtown All-Stars.

From February until June, we'd play at the same place every Thursday hosting these open jams. It was fun for the most part, but quickly became cumbersome as many times our only audience were the same few regulars week after week. We had a handful of weeks where a plethora of talent would come and grace the stage. Those were the nights I enjoyed most. Unfortunately, in the four months we'd hosted this event, we received no payment of any kind. It seemed unfair because, especially on the busy nights, the establishment was thriving. I'd advertised the open jams to the hilt on as many platforms as I could find, and I gave 110% every single week on that stage to the point where my throat would be hoarse for most of the following week.

In late May, a gentleman saw us perform and had asked us to perform a set for Royal Distributing's inaugural "Bike Night" of the summer, an annual 2-month long event where bikers would come and show off their hardware, etc. I was absolutely ecstatic about being asked because I'd considered it our first big break!

During our soundcheck, I literally could not hear myself through the monitor to save my life. As any singer will tell you, you HAVE to be able to hear yourself. Otherwise, you're more or less tone deaf. I was quickly in panic mode because I literally didn't know how I sounded to the audience because I didn't even know how I sounded to myself. The problem was, the guitarists always had a tendency to be VERY loud. Even during open jams, you would constantly find the rhythm guitarist turning up his volume. The lead guitarist, who concurrently played in a punk band was equally as loud.

A few days following the show, I'd addressed the issue via group chat. The drummer and bass player were in agreement, whereas the rhythm guitarist's reply was standoff-ish, as though he'd done nothing wrong. It took 4 DAYS to get any kind of reply from the founding member and lead guitarist of the band..... Only for him to create a short video telling me that he didn't think anything needed to be changed. After all, he'd been in the business for yadda yadda years, and that there are a lot of places where singers can't hear themselves.

All this told me was that he didn't give a shit, and wasn't going to accommodate my concerns one iota. So I chose to leave. They'd held an open jam that following Thursday. I fully intended on going for one last go-round, but I'd decided against it at the last minute. If I was going to be disrespected THAT much, well..... What's good for the goose.

A couple of weeks after leaving, I'd posted an ad on the Guelph Musician's Hook-Up group, basically in search of another band looking for a vocalist. I'd specified that I was looking for like-minded musicians who were free from drama, ego and substance abuse issues.

Well wouldn't you know? This past Friday, I receive a private message from my former lead guitarist literally THREATENING me to take the ad down. He claimed that I was taking cheap shots at him, his band and his production company by stating "substance abuse" in my ad. The truth is, it had absolutely nothing to do with him. This was a personal preference..... a preference I'd even made when I created an ad 10 years ago when I was looking for a band. I told him. "Show me EXACTLY where I mention you, the band or your production company...... I'll wait......". He said if I didn't take it down, he would publicly defame MY character. For the sake of avoiding any kind of bullshit, I reluctantly took it down. After all, you can't reason with the unreasonable.

After talking to a few people however, I decided to re-instate the ad. I chose NOT to allow myself to get bullied, and I certainly don't take too lightly to threats. There were times over the past month where I had regrets, questioning whether leaving was the right thing to do..... but after he had threatened me, there was absolutely no question about it! I HAD done the RIGHT thing!

Anyway, as it stands. I don't know what the future holds in terms of singing. I'd like to think that the right band is out there somewhere. It's like someone said. You need to go where you are WANTED..... not needed. Truer words have never been spoken!

[tmlfan1977]

I've been seeing this trend lately where blockbuster films are under-performing at the box office. Most recently "The Flash" and "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny". Evidently, these are actually GOOD movies based on the general consensus, but entertainment news outlets are labelling them as "flops" because they're not pulling in the box office numbers they were expecting, which I guess is somewhat justified when a movie makes less than what it cost to produce.

I have opinions on this.

I think the theater-going dynamic changed when COVID hit. Films that were supposed to have an initial theatrical run wound up being made available on "on-demand" services. Ever since, by-and-large, films have made the transition from theatrical run to on-demand much quicker than ever before. The "Super Mario Bros. Movie" is a prime example. It was released in April, and was made available digitally in May. It was then made available on physical media by early June.

I think people are starting to become wise to this trend. When you consider that it costs an arm and a leg to go see a show, only for it to become available a month later, people aren't so quick to head to the big screen.

Let's do the math. Here in Canada, a movie ticket costs roughly $14 (more if it's in 3D or features motion controlled seating). Tickets for a family of four would cost $56. Then you pile on the overpriced concessions. None of which is cheap. 4 popcorns and 4 sodas would easily put you over the $100 mark. That's a LOT of coin just to take the family out to see a 2-hour movie.

The alternative? Wait a month and pay $20 to order the same film on-demand and enjoy it from the comfort of your home with the ability to pause whenever necessary for washroom breaks, etc. It's also a hell of a lot cheaper to make your own popcorn and what-not.

In today's economy, it's really not surprising. The cost of living has increased exponentially. The price of groceries, housing, utilities, etc is astronomical when compared to even 5 years ago. My opinion? I think it's hard for a lot of people to justify spending so much money to go out to the movies when it's becoming much more difficult for the average Joe to just get by these days..... hence the low box office numbers. Especially when a different means to watch a movie is right around the corner for a much cheaper price.

How this will effect Hollywood and the film-making process is unknown. They may have to start scaling back these $300 million blockbusters since it's becoming less likely that studios will recoup their losses, which will ultimately mean an inferior product for the viewer. It really is a catch-22.

[tmlfan1977]

I consider myself very fortunate to have been a kid in the 80's. I was in fact born in 1977, but by the time I was old enough to walk, talk and wipe my own ass without parental guidance, video games were ALL the rage! Arcades were aplenty (our city had 3 in the downtown core alone), and home consoles, albeit expensive, were popping up in a great many homes.

Now, depending on when you were born, I'm sure you have a memory of your first console, whatever it may have been. If you were born in the late 80's, it may have likely been the Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo. If you were born in the early to mid-90's, it was possibly the original Playstation or Xbox. But for me, the first console in our home was none other than the ColecoVision.

Now the ColecoVision at the time was a revolution in home gaming as the graphics were far better than that of the Atari 2600 which was released about four years prior. The problem, however was the fact that the console and the games themselves were so bloody expensive..... hence the system's quick demise into obscurity.

Our system sat in my parents' bedroom on a 13" black and white television, set to channel 3, and was connected by an RF modulator. We owned only four games (again, expensive!) which were "Donkey Kong", "Smurf", "Q Bert" and "Popeye".

At only 6 years old, I have to say, "Donkey Kong" was my jam! I played it only when I was allowed. Fortunately for me, I was a pretty well-behaved kid so I managed to play quite a bit!

It was a few years after we had purchased the ColecoVision when we had decided to switch to an Atari 2600. As I'd said above, the graphics were far inferior......but the system and games were FAR cheaper, so we basically opted for quantity over quality. We had literally dozens of Atari games as opposed to the 4 Coleco titles we owned, including a much shittier version of "Donkey Kong" which included a character that didn't even look remotely close to an ape.....but I digress.

As much as I loved my Atari, as well as the systems that followed, The ColecoVision will always have a special place in my heart as my very first console, and ultimately my first foray into gaming.

[tmlfan1977]

What a steaming turd of a film! My best bud and I watched this the other night. To put it mildly, it was basically 99 minutes of my life I will NEVER get back. The film stars pre-SNL Adam Sandler in his first film role.... and I use the term "film" very loosely! It's about a cruise ship waiter who desperately wants to be a comedian. That's it... That's the premise. Oh, there is a side plot too, where a Panamanian General hires two terrorists to board the cruise ship to kill an Australian beauty pageant contestant simply because she said "he smelled bad". Can't make this shit up, folks! I had learned that the film went from conception to completion in a matter of days, and is widely considered one of the worst films of all time.... and deservedly so. It's hard to fathom that Sandler, one of the highest paid comedic film actors of our time would star in this abomination, but as they say.... Ya gotta start somewhere!

[tmlfan1977]

Welcome!

Hey everyone.  Welcome to my Tumblr page.  ;)  I had an account about 10 years ago or so, but I’ll be damned if I know what happened to it.  Just one of those unsolved mysteries I guess.  Anyway, I’m a middle-aged, overweight partially blind guy creating a blog on a holiday Monday, so by now you’ve probably figured out that I’m single.  My goal for this blog is to just write about virtually anything that may come to mind at any given time.  I usually post my thoughts and anecdotes over on Twitter, but with the character cap, it can be difficult to get my point across without spreading them over a dozen tweets.  So here I am!  Anyway, thanks for dropping by!