#the pirates of the carribean one I am sick

[rheic-arts]

Just something I've been thinking about - hell knows I don't actually talk here much but tumblr is a wonderful place to spitball - is, like, Disney villains? How everyone waxes nostalgic for the queer-coded gems of the 90s renaissance and dismisses the modern twist villains? I have a theory.

First I reccomend checking out other posts and videos explaining the origins of the Hayes code and how only villains could be queer coded etc etc and that 'no rep is worse than bad rep' explains a tiny part of it. Those posts are way better written than mine and I'm tired.

Second is that villains just objectively get better songs and all are welcome to fight me on this but villain songs just slap so much harder.

But my theory comes in two parts. 1 - the old Disney villains were FUN, whereas new ones are SERIOUS. and 2 - campy, extravagant, loud and dangerous villains are a unique brand of queer *power fantasy*.

OK. Seriously. Old Disney villains were murderers, theives, backstabbers, tricksters and they fucking revelled in it. There was NO mistaking any second of screen time that these guys were having a blast being themselves - and as such anyone watching is going to be caught up in it! We're going to be entertained! Which is the point! Of a film! Arguably watching Ursula pull out ariels voice or Maleficent casting lightning from her tower was WAY more entertaining than the romantic tension between two leads we damn well know will snog at the end.

Modern villains like Bellwether and Callaghan spend most of their time onscreen pretending to be nice. They're still fulfilling their roles as antagonists, but now they're boring to watch because they're actively trying to come across as ordinary. Until their reveals - in which they show themselves (esp in Bellwethers case) as bad people. Which is less entertaining than a splash of real world depressing - like. Damn sheep lady if I wanted to watch lying rasicts get into power underhandedly I'd turn on the news.

Old Disney villains were escapism - camp, loud, entertaining escapism that let you live in a world where people can legitimately drop bangers out of thin air while monolouging about their planned regicide (be prepared) and it was the regicide that made you the villain, not the camp performance.

On to point 2 tho -

As a smol baby bi at the tender age of seven watched Jafar slay his eyeliner routine while manipulating the sultan, saw Ursula become a hundred feet tall with a deep booming voice and the power of all the seas, saw maleficent become a full on dragon and hook nearly stab a child onscreen - you know what that tiny child wanted more than anything? Especially given in mind she was seven and would have no concept of queerness for nearly a decade?

What that tiny child, who was connecting so much harder to the villains than the protagonists, wanted, was that kind of power.

Bear in mind im whiter than a snowflake so these films were absolutely targeting my demographic, but for ages I hated being asked if I wanted to be a princess. Like, no?! I wanted to be kick ass! I wanted people to notice me, respect me, be in awe at what I could do! Be Afraid Of Me!

(it is worth noting that I am extremely competitive and had just started karate. The thrill of paid for violence is intoxicating, but we're deviating from the point here.)

As I've grown older that wish for respect has mutated into an altogether healthier drive to do well at work and to generally be a good person. That wish for fear has made me killer at Halloween decorations and costumes.

But now that I'm 25, quite comfortably bi and experimenting with Agender pronouns, what brings me back to the old villains is that despite being drawn in the era where being LGBTQA+ on TV got you dead they were unabashedly themselves.

Look I barely have to code switch or pass for straight and have grown accustomed to my queerness in a wonderful age of acceptance, and I STILL find that kind of cackling-shrieking-delight a BALM for my soul. That kind of self acceptance, self CONFIDENCE, to be outwardly proudly different to the point of revulsion to the masses is such a power fantasy I can't even describe.

I can't imagine someone not becoming sick of hiding and hurting, sick of living a lie out of complete necessity, and not wanting that desperate karmic release of paying back that pain tenfold with no consequences. Damn right you should be scared of me! I'm everything you hate and I hate you right fucking back! The fantasy of dropping your moral compass into the dirt so you can finally feel good about your existence keeps me warm at night, and I'm the child who cried when my dad accidentally stole a CD because I couldn't bear the thought of getting in trouble.

Who doesn't look at 1959's sleeping beauty and just gaze in awe of how much Maleficent fills the frame and commands attention, respect, even as she inspires fear?

You're an absolute liar if quick witted, fast talking, God of inevitable death Hades didn't make you laugh in the way sassy gay besties do even as he tried to kill a baby. We're all going to die, might as well be as ourselves, right?

I've lost where I'm going with this. Just. I feel like new generations are seeing queer coded villains as 'being gay is bad' which was legit the intent in the 40's! While getting the most rep media wise in living history. It's like this unspoken ability to relate to the vibes in media while not condoning the villains actions (because its fiction. There's no need to condemn or not, because its a story and we had absolutely NO power to change the Disney megatitan trajectory, so we took what we could and ran with it) is slowly getting lost to takes so fucking flat that you could bowl some skittles across continents and not get a bump.

Idk, power fantasies about capes, eyeliner and having horns while committing crimes is very very cool. I'm going to go watch pirates of the carribean and look at the clothes I desperately want but will be forever too scared to buy. Cheers.

[crow-caller]

End of the year 2021 asks so I thought I’d do em all.

what did you learn about yourself this year?

I am very, very, very lazy and lack a lot of ambition. But that might just be my sick brain talking. But I think it’s true. I guess I learned what pain really feels like. And what it means to have a lot of it.

best moment of the year?

None come to mind. I watched some good TV I guess technically. I like leverage. Everything else is slipping my mind. I don’t know. Not really any.

worst moment of the year?

Whole year. But mostly the time I was out at the 10min away shops and the Badness hit me. The pain I felt was so sharp and unending. I went around the shops and asked to use the bathroom (all I needed) and none would let me despite me explaining, and my obvious pain. I started to cry. I could only move an inch at a time forward from the pain. I was a wreck who could barely talk. I just needed help. I asked them and no one helped. I walked past many people, waiting in line for the post office, sitting outside, standing around. They looked at me with suspicion and I kept walking. No one offered me help. I had to walk home. It took forty minutes but I’m not sure. I was in agony the entire time. The next time I had to go outside, across the street to the pharmacy, I had a panic attack and faux Bad Attack because I was so scared to be away from my house. I am still uneasy and ill to leave my house.

what was the biggest change you experienced this year?

I got sick.

best song of the year?

Cold, cold man by Saint Motel. Not out this year. It’s that or my dad is rich by danny gonzalez, evidently the most played song on my phone’s new music app.

best album of the year?

IDKHBTFM ‘s EP I guess, and their album Razzmatazz. Discovered them this year and really enjoy their stuff.

what’s one thing that happened this year that you want to change?

Everything

best book/book series of the year?

I read a book called Angelburn which looked like a generic YA angel book but I really enjoyed a lot. Released this year was the Shadow Wand, a black witch book, which I also liked. Angelburn was best though.

best television series?

Snowpiercer? We saw that. Really liked it, it’s on a train. Gotta love trains.

how was your love life this year?

Broke up with the GF and then pandemic hit so it’s not exactly a thing.

what made you cry the most this year?

I think I discussed this. Other crying incidents have just been random mood panic attacks. Once at the doctor I just started crying because I felt so hopeless and powerless in the face of my issues. He looked concerned.

biggest regret of the year?

I haven’t done jack shit

best movie of the year?

I haven’t been watching movies let alone new ones. I think I saw sonic. I didn’t like sonic. I saw onwards recently. That was fine. Watched all of the pirates of the carribean movies... the first three are pretty good.

favourite place you travelled this year?

Travel is illegal!

We went up to a hill through the woods where you can see the whole city a few times. Star gazed, watched fireworks, etc. Very nice.

did you make any new friends?

I think I’m closer with the mortal engines server. I certainly vent more about my medical issues and they listen kindly. I love them and that space.

did you learn anything about your sexuality this year?

Do people learn things yearly about this?

what are some hobbies that you developed?

I tried some new things, and then have had anxiety about them. Right now I’m trying to stay committed to miniture painting. I have a lot of unpainted minifigures I want painted. I’m not very good at painting.

what surprised you the most this year?

The horribleness of the USA’s pandemic response and also a frightening pandemic?

do you look different from the beginning of the year?

I bet I’ve gained even more weight and I look more tired. My hair is a LOT longer, it’s like to my shoulders now. Just really committing to growing it out. Interesting experience. Still messing with bleach and dye to.

how did this year treat you in general?

Bad and ill.

what message would you give yourself at the beginning of the year?

Buy more painkillers, don’t leave your house, talk to the GPs now.

has your fashion style changed this year?

I don’t wear bras anymore becuase I don’t leave my house.

one of the best meals you’ve had this year?

You think I eat food?

who has made the biggest impact in your life this year?

My flatmate. Since we’ve been trapped, homestuck together for this long, we’ve bonded incredibly and are now solidly in kahoots with each other. We play 2 player video games. We are best friends. True allies. She’s also been invaluable in terms of my medical problems and helping me through that and getting help.

what’s one thing that you hope will continue next year?

Being alive

[skiasurveys]

449

Did you use tongue in your last kiss?
I believe so

Does the number 23 have any significance to you?
Nope

Do you have any alcohol bottles in your room?
no

Does sex mean love to you?
Kinda

What’s on your left side?
A chair

Be honest, do you like people in general?
Yeah

Who was the last person to call you?
mom

What about text?
jennifer

Last time you felt like dying and why?
The other night

Have you ever turned to smoking or drinking to solve a problem?
Yep.

What’s bothering you right now?
nothing idk life

Do you have any posters on your walls?
no

Who was the last person that left you a comment?
Idk

Lyrics to the song you’re listening to?
-

Get high?
Hardly

Its 4 in the morning, your phone rings who do you expect it to be?
Connor if it wasn’t home or my friends

Cutest person at your school?
Me

How old do you think you will be when you finally have kids?
If anything past 28 but it depends on my life

Safe sex, or no sex, correct?
Yea unless you want kids

What are you wearing right now?
t-shirt and PJ shorts

Whose the last person who asked you for money?
no one

Have you ever wished someone would die?
No

What’s your favorite cereal?
Cheerios

Do you like standing in front of fires?
Yea

Have you met anyone famous?
No

What are you drinking right now?
 Nothing

Have you ever snuck into a movie?
No

How old are you?
23

Do you have a pet?
2 cats

Did Cloverfield make you motion-sick?
Yes that movie was shit

What’s your favorite color?
pine

What’s your favorite movie?
There’s too many

Are you a rain person?
Yea

Which of the Pirates of the Carribean was your favorite?
 None never cared for those

Are you counting down the days for anything?
no

Gatorade or Powerade?
Gatorade

When do you graduate?
I already have for hs but college i’m hopping for 2022/2023

Do you think the world’s gonna end December 21st, 2012?
this is dated lol

Are you going to see the movie?
i did

Do you still blow out candles on your birthday cake?
no

Have you ever genuinely used the word “indeed?”
Yes

Last book you read?
it’s not what it looks like by molly burke i think that’s the title hhaha

Do you use Google as your spell check?
sometimes

Where’s your ideal vacation spot?
Idk

What’s your homepage?
None.

How tall are you?
5’2

Do you tan or sunburn easier?
tan

Do you care about Hollywood gossip?
fuck nooooo

What’s your ringtone?
regular one

What movie is guaranteed to make you cry?
a lot

Is your toothbrush manual or electric?
Manual.

Do your vampires sparkle & be sissies or rip people to shreds?
rip people to shreds ahhaha

Peas or carrots?
Peasss

Do you laugh when you see the number 69?
No

How many languages can you count to ten in?
1

Subway or Quiznos?
subway

How often do you get on Myspace now that Facebook’s taken over?
i only had it for a bit and now i can’t log back in cus i forget lol

Do you love the last boy/girl you were talking to?
yup

What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
Surveys

Honestly, who was the last person to tell you that they love you? When?
Mybf

Last restaurant you went to?
McDonald’s.

Have you ever crawled through a window?
yes

What do you spend most of your money on?
bills

Where were you at 1AM Sunday morning?
tumblr

Ever kissed someone over 30?
no

Have you ever dyed your hair?
Yeah.

Are you wearing a necklace?
No.

Who is someone you wish you could fix things with?
hmmmmmmm

Is there anything in your past that you’d like to try again?
Yeahhh

Are you an emotional person?
yeah

Did your parents spoil you as a child?
No.

How’s your heart lately?
not good

Are you a cuddler?
Yes

What do you want right now?
Money, sex - $$$

Who can always cheer you up?
queen

Who last hugged you?
jennifer i think

Have you ever worn the opposite sex’s clothing?
Yes.

Are you a kissable person?
yes

What is your relationship status?
taken

Who was the last person to come to your house?
mom

Look behind you, what do you see?
A wall.

Have you ever worked in a food place?
yes -_-

Any summer plans for 2010?
I think i went traveling that year

What did you eat for lunch today? mcdonald’s lol

What do you think of love?
stressful

If you had to eat 1 thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
bananas

Name 1 thing good about Myspace?
i don’t remmeber it much

Does anyone know your Myspace password?
^

Do you eat junk food everyday?
sometimes lol

Who was the last person to touch you?
connor

How did you and your number 1 become friends?
health

How late did you stay up last night and why?
i forgot like 2 am

What’s the connection between you and the last person you texted?
Best friends.

Do you like someone?
Ye

How’s your life lately?
okay

How are you doing today? 
good

Do you plan on lying? 
hmm ?

How many tattoos do you have? And how many do you want? 
0 and i want a few

[eldritchsurveys]

715.

Does your family have any Christmas traditions? >> ---

Have you been to Mount Rushmore? >> Nope. Wouldn’t go, either. I can’t imagine being even marginally interested in that bullshit monument.

How many of the United States have you been to? >> NJ, NC, NY, CO, LA, TX, SC, MD, PA, MI, IL. Eleven.

Where’s your ideal vacation spot? >> I always love revisiting NOLA, but I’m open to new places.

What meal can you absolutely not stand? >> Standard suburban party fare. There’s like a certain few things you always find at gatherings around here -- like chicken salad, crudites, shit like that -- and I find them all abhorrent.

Would you rather live in Idaho, Siberia, or the Australian outback? >> Idaho. Siberia is way too cold and isolated, and I am not suited for any sort of outback.

Do you get paranoid that someone’s looking at your through your window? >> No. I also live on the third floor, so that’d be pretty difficult to do.

Do you sleep with the door open, kinda open, or completely closed? >> Closed.

What color would you dye your hair if you HAD to? >> I am not interested in dyeing my hair and no one can make me.

What phrase/word do you tend to use a lot? >> Oh, you know, various filler phrases. Just used one in that sentence, in fact.

What grade did you get on your last major test? >> ---

What color was your Gameboy Color? >> ---

How many piercings do you have? >> Two. Three? I always get caught up in whether having both earlobes pierced counts as one piercing or two. Because it’s technically two, and plenty of people have only one lobe pierced (or like, the lobe of one ear but a different part of the other ear...), but colloquially we speak of both lobes as one piercing. Hmm.

Mountains, oceans, or forests? >> I like all three and I don’t see the point in choosing.

Have you colored in a coloring book since age 10? >> Sure.

How many times have you moved/changed houses? >> A lot. I’ve also been unhoused for a number of years.

When was the last time you “de-haired” your hairbrush? >> ---

Blistering cold or boiling hot weather? >> I don’t like extreme temperatures. In either direction. Period. Why are people always making it a one-or-the-other thing, they’re both awful.

Earbuds or headphones? >> Headphones.

What was the last movie you saw in theatres? >> Birds of Prey.

Do you have any friends that are from out of country? >> No, but I talk to people from different countries on the internet quite frequently.

Do you want Obama to serve a second term in 2012? >> I don’t recall having an opinion, but either way, he did get a second term.

What’s your lucky number? Does it ever grant any luck? >> 9 / 19. No, it’s not that kind of number. It’s just intensely synchronous and fraught with meaning for me.

Do you take showers so hot, your skin turns pink? >> Nooooo.

How old were you when you got chicken pox? >> I never got it.

Are you afraid that you’ll get swine flu? >> I didn’t even think about it while that was happening, it didn’t seem important to me at the time. I’m nervous about COVID-19 but, like... I don’t know. Being sick is kind of difficult for me to fathom, which is an interesting and probably envious problem to have, I guess.

Are any of your great grandparents still alive? >> I assume not.

Alex Trebek or Bob Barker? >> Alex Trebek all day.

Wii, Playstation 3, or XBOX 360? >> I don’t care about any of them, really.

What’s your sexual orientation? >> Asexual as far as any of y’all outworld folks are concerned.

How tall are you? >> 5′5″.

Who/what are you obsessed with currently? >> Hmm... what am I obsessed with? Not sure.

Have you had any snow days this year? >> ---

Do you need to clip your nails? >> No.

Could you go for a dip in the jacuzzi right now? >> No.

What’s your favorite TV show? >> The X-Files is one.

How much do you weigh? >> I don’t know and I refuse to find out.

Have you ever consumed alcohol? Do you still/are you going to? >> Yes and yes.

What color are your eyes? >> Dark brown.

Do you have full or thinner lips? >> Full.

Which of the Pirates of the Carribean’s was your favorite? >> The first one, I guess. I don’t really remember the others even though I know I saw them.

Is Johnny Depp really the hottest man alive? >> Oof. Not anymore, that’s for sure. In the public opinion, I mean, but also I thought he was a lot cooler when I was younger. Now he’s just vaguely obnoxious and a bit of a one-trick pony when it comes to acting...

Do you have Windows 7? >> No, I have 10 on this machine and 8 on my gaming laptop.

Brownies or cake? >> Meh.

What did you get for your last birthday? >> That’s... a good question. I assume we went to Chicago.

Where’s your significant other? >> In the living room.

Do you press the delete key or the backspace key to get rid of a mistake? >> The backspace key.

How much blankets do you sleep under? >> One, if I can bear it. I am always fighting a battle between my need for the weight of my blanket and my need to not overheat, which I do almost nightly.

[1pepsiboy]

Could I get a list with Colby going to Disneyland?? If that’s possible! Thank you!

I AM SO SORRY THIS IS LATE! I HOPE YOU SEE THIS AND ENJOY!

Going to Disneyland with Colby would be a definite adventure. There would be no cohesive way y’all would get around from each section to another. Maybe even hop back to one you already went to. There’s so much to do!!

For whatever reason though, I feel like he would go for the Tomorrowland first. He would be dragging you there by a hold on your wrist. You’d go into Space Mountain for the first ride and he would do stupid crap like trying to stand up or making overexaggerated sounds of having fun. Basically almost getting you kicked out. 

Next would be the Toy Story ride and it would be an absolute competition to see who can get the most point. Loser has to buy lunch. 

Whether or not, you lost or won, you would put a poll on Instastory to ask the people if Colby should buy you a hat or some mickey ears. Of course the majority ruling would be a yes. Colby would make a joking response on your story that he is so disappointed in everyone’s votes. Secretly, he’s happy to buy you them and see you wearing them. 

You would go to Critter Country for..SPLASH MOUNTAIN. Like the ultimate cliche and y’all would get put in the front. As you’re going down, Colby would hide himself behind you and make sure you get the most soaked. 

Next, still wet, Pirates of the Carribean! And this is upon your request cause…come on..it’s dope. You can’t not like Pirates, and if you’re wet anyways may as well. 

BUUT Colby’s next request would be…you guessed it, Haunted Mansion ride. During the ride though, you get stuck in the middle of the mirrors part and the lights flicker. Despite that, you can still see the holograms of the ghosts and Colby starts to tease with stupid, scary stories until the ride gets going again. 

The last part of the park you would go to is the fantasyland for snow white’s scary adventure, peter pan flight, and teacups. After getting fun, slight motion sickness, you go into the castle to meet the princesses. You make a dare with Colby to pretend fangirl in front of them for either a food or clothing item. You hold yourself together until Cinderella. You bust out laughing when Colby gets down on one knee to observe the actress’s shoes and clean them cause she deserved to always have the perfect shoes. 

Toward sunset, you would get a picture in front of the large castle. I don’t know why, but my gut is telling me this. It would be the cutest and cheesiest shit, like him acting like your black knight in shining armor.

To end the night, you’d walk the main street shops, get some ice cream or a different treat, and then find a spot to watch the fireworks above the castle. 

[Mer Sterf]

[klimp42]

Metroid (NES) Retrospective: A Look Back on a Classic

So with Tumblr deciding that naughty bits are no longer allowed on their site, let's look back at one of the first sexy ladies for huge nerds and degenerates, Samus Aran! Bet you thought I was going to talk about Lara Croft, no we are going back to the oldest of schools, with a lady that most people probably didn’t know was a lady when they first played it in ‘86.

    Alright, now I know it might be weird to talk about a review and retrospective in a game that is not only 30+ years old, but has been made non-canon in the Metroid story with the remake Metroid Zero Mission being a thing, but trust me I have reasons for wanting to review this. The first reason is that a friend of mine gave me a NES Classic as a Christmas gift, second I am a huge fan of Metroid and have always wanted to play the original, and third I thought up that opening line and thought it would be funny, I know its okay at best, but shut up. So for this little retro review, I am going to break this down into three categories, story, gameplay and legacy.

    When it comes to the story of Metroid, it has the same level of complexity to the story as any other NES game from the time, if you just play the game and don’t bother to look into the booklet, its a game about a person going around shooting things and doing flips and then they fight a thing in a jar and escape from a timed bomb. Yet, like a lot of games from the time, the way to get the story was to read, as there simply wasn’t enough space on the cartridges to have a bunch of text and images next to a game of this magnitude at this stage of the consoles life (I say that because games like Castlevania III eventually did just this only 3 years later). So lets break down this galactic tale of a bounty hunter fighting life-sucking aliens and a supercomputer that controls them.

In the far-flung year of 2000, all of the planets came together to make the Galactic Federation, and things were good till a bunch of dick aliens decided to be Pirates of The Carribean in Space and just cause all kinds of space problems. The space 5-0 were super bad at there job so the Galactic Federation created Space Hunters, who were way better at stopping Space Johnny Depp. So while all of these things are happening the space cops find a small egg of an unknown life form on the planet SR388 (which is actually super important and is the location of the 2nd game), and it is believed for no reason other than plot that this small egg probably is the reason the civilization on SR388 was destroyed. So the spacops and the galactic boys decide that this should be brought in for studies, but Captain Hook in space decide it would be pretty dope to have something that might have destroyed a whole civilization, so they can have a biological weapon to rip apart the galaxy, yeah jokey names aside the space pirates are actually really evil for the sake of being evil. So the spirates run off to their main hideout on the planet Zebes and the Galactic Federations men can’t get in so they call on their better fighters, the space hunters, well specifically Samus Aran, a cyborg who strikes fear in the space pirates and is a “man” with a mystery, that mystery being that he has no wangus and is a woman.

Well the only thing left for the story is what I already said, Samus enters the planet Zebes and has to go kick the brainy ass of Mother Brain and destroy any Metroids she finds, what was inside the small egg thing found on planet SR388, that have been awakened and multiplied by the pirates in space. So let's move onto the gameplay of Metroid, which is simple when you look at just the base controls. You can run, jump, and shoot a short distance at enemies with the ability to eventually be able to swap with the select button between rockets and normal energy shots. Yet this game led to the creation of an all-new gameplay style of side-scrolling and backtracking over huge areas, which sounds like a whatever concept, but it is honestly really fun...for some reason, that genre being Metroidvania, the vania coming from the Castlevania franchise. I am simplifying it, honestly, you have tight controls and upgrades to your arsenal as you play, things like the Varia suit to lower the amount of damage that you take, long shot and Ice beam to shoot your shots farther and freeze enemies in place. You also have upgrades that change gameplay like the morph ball (or the Maur Mari as its called in this for some reason) which morphs you into a ball that can get into small places and the ability to drop bombs in that ball form, the high jump that makes you do just that, and the screw attack that is used to say I would like to not shoot things that aren't bosses or Metroids anymore. Seriously the screw attack, like it is in most Metroid games, is just so good, just jump and kill everything.

Alright, so controls is one bit but what about the actual game, so it is interesting, especially being in a unique location like planet Zebes, the music is a bop, just a straight heater of a soundtrack, and the fun of hidden blocks and rooms that let you get the feeling that you are exploring through a labyrinthian planet. However, problems do show up really quickly, first thing being when you start a game you only have 30 health, alright that's tough but okay the first area's enemies in the corridor before Brinstar don’t hit to hard so it isn’t too bad. But then you find you first Energy tank which fully heals you and adds a pip to your health, so now instead of a cap of 99 health, you have 198 health, sick!. So you keep playing, maybe you go to far and hit were Ridley is, one of the bosses and poster boys for the franchise, shit you died, so you’re sent back to the start of Ridley’s area and what’s this? Your health is back at 30, which sucks but also you need to now hit a cap of 198 instead of 99! Though this becomes less of an issue as you get more E tanks, but man does it suck in the beginning to just be like oh cool this sucks. Like I get it, this is NES hard, enemies are bullshit on purpose to hide the fact that you can beat this game in less than an hour if you know what you are doing. Speaking of enemies, damn do they look super cool or super dumb, with the top of the spectrum being the Metroids themselves or Mother Brain, and the bottom being the weird ball things in Ridley’s place, Ridley himself, or those damn Cheerios ( just google Metroid cheerios if you don’t know what I’m talking about). The enemies in this game range from slowly moving annoyance to this homing at me bullshit is getting on my last nerve, so expect to take alot of hits from both of them.

Traversing around the game is alot of fun and it feels greet, but there is a little bit of a problem if you want to play this game now, see in the 80’s you had this like outline of where you where going, an idea of what to expect in the next area, cool right? Well that was in the booklet you got when you bought the game, no such thing in the NES classic or on the Switch’s NES collection. So unless you have a damn good memory you are probably going to want to pull up a map that you can use for your first time, or you might get lost, or maybe you are way better at the whole keeping track of yourself then I am and you don’t need a map.

Now, what is a game without boss fights right? So let's talk about some of, and by some I mean the three total boss fights in the game. For this let's go in order of easiest to hardest to get to, in my opinion, so Kraid, Ridley and then Mother Brain. So Kraid in this game is way smaller than he is from every other time he has, or I guess, will show up in Metroid titles, he is about the size of Samus and also from some reason there is a second one of him in his lair. His attack is what it is for all of his games, he shoots spikes from his chest and throws energy talon things, you just have to hit him to damage him, but it's difficult because he has the whole chest spike things blocking your shoots so you have to let him shoot and then land some hits. Ridley is only like his future self because he can shoot fire out of his mouth, but that's it and sometimes he will only shoot in a huge arc so you just close the distance and this boy is easy as hell to put down. The final boss of the game is Mother Brain and good god is she hard to just take down, one getting to her is the world’s biggest chore, and there is so many cheerios hitting you that trying to shoot missiles into that small window to attack her just sucks, and to get to her you have yo take down this glass tubes that regain health as you dont damage them, so you either get through really quickly, or it takes a thousand years. Also make sure you don’t in the last fight because it is back to the start of Tourian with 30 health, yay. Listen, the game has some hard fights when it comes to the bosses, except for Ridley, but it is still enjoyable to beat them and if you take the time to learn the fights it is actually really easy to exploit them, like Ridley.

Okay, so you beat Mother Brain and the only thing left to do is run to the surface of Zebes to escape it before it explodes, you do it and if you beat the game in less than 5 hours, you get to see the biggest twist in gaming, Samus is a girl! And if you beat the game in less than 3 hours you get to see her in her famous Zero Suit, and if you do it in less than an hour you get to see her in Bikini, a reward for only the most experienced gamer boys and girls! This game is rough, it's clear to see where the love of the game came from, it was unique for the time and it shows, the Metroid franchise has grown and improved with each entry, except for Other M, and was one of the reasons that the Metroidvania genre even exists.

So would I recommend playing this game? If you like classic NES games then yeah I would recommend it and if you have a Switch and just want to play the ending of the game there is a special version that starts you with all upgrades at the fight with Ridley. Also if you are a fan who has never played this game before, I would say that you should give the grandfather of the franchise a try. Now if you don’t really like old NES games or you just want to see the story of the first game, I would recommend just playing Metroid Zero Mission, it’s a complete remake of the first game with better controls and it's much easier, and if you enjoy it you could go from there to the original Metroid, or just play the franchise from there!

[toomanysurveys9]

Did you use tongue in your last kiss? i did not since i just kissed my baby’s cheek. Does the number 23 have any significance to you? it’s jacob’s birthday, and how old i was when i gave birth to jake. Do you have any alcohol bottles in your room? nope. Does sex mean love to you? no, it does not. people can have sex without being in love, and you don’t have to have sex and can still love someone...

What’s on your left side? my grandma.

Be honest, do you like people in general? depends on the day and what people have been like that day.

Who was the last person to call you? probably my mom.

What about text? kayla. she was going to come over i think but i had to take grandma to see a house for my parents. Last time you felt like dying and why? i don’t want to go there. Have you ever turned to smoking or drinking to solve a problem? drinking, yeah, i used to do that a lot. What’s bothering you right now? eh. just our current living situation. Do you have any posters on your walls? nope. not my room. not my house. Who was the last person that left you a comment? i don’t remember. Lyrics to the song you’re listening to? not listening to music. my ipod is missing. erin is watching grey’s anatomy so i can hear that. i also hear lilli, rose, and wy playing. Get high? i’ve never gotten high and it’s not really something i’m interested in at this point. Its 4 in the morning, your phone rings who do you expect it to be? i wouldn’t have a clue. Cutest person at your school? not in school. How old do you think you will be when you finally have kids? i was 23 when i had wy. Safe sex, or no sex, correct? i mean, that’d be the better idea but whatever. people can do what they want. What are you wearing right now? jeans and a tshirt. Whose the last person who asked you for money? i don’t remember. Have you ever wished someone would die? not seriously, no. What’s your favorite cereal? reese puffs. Do you like standing in front of fires? when i’m cold, yes. Have you met anyone famous? ish. they’re christian singers. What are you drinking right now? rain berry gatorade. Have you ever snuck into a movie? i have not. How old are you? 24. Do you have a pet? i do. i have two dogs. Did Cloverfield make you motion-sick? nope.

What’s your favorite color? black, blue, and gray. What’s your favorite movie? the harry potter movies. fantastic beasts and where to find them. deadpool. Are you a rain person? i am. Which of the Pirates of the Carribean was your favorite? i really liked the first one. Are you counting down the days for anything? christmas. it’s getting better. Gatorade or Powerade? gatorade. powerade tastes funny to me. When do you graduate? high school: 2012. college: 2016. Do you think the world’s gonna end December 21st, 2012? obviously it didn’t. Are you going to see the movie? i’m not sure what movie you’re talking about. Do you still blow out candles on your birthday cake? well, yes, if i have birthday candles on a cake. Have you ever genuinely used the word “indeed?” yeah... Last book you read? tales from shadowhunter academy. Do you use Google as your spell check? occasionally. Where’s your ideal vacation spot? i don’t know. i like kentucky and north carolina quite a bit. What’s your homepage? google. How tall are you? about 5′2.5″. Do you tan or sunburn easier? buuuurn. Do you care about Hollywood gossip? not really, no. What’s your ringtone? my ringtone is the same one dean has on supernatural. What movie is guaranteed to make you cry? a walk to remember. Is your toothbrush manual or electric? manual. Do your vampires sparkle & be sissies or rip people to shreds? honestly, i kind of like that stephanie meyers changed things up a little. Peas or carrots? peas. Do you laugh when you see the number 69? no. i do not. How many languages can you count to ten in? three. Subway or Quiznos? subway i guess. i’ve never had quiznos. How often do you get on Myspace now that Facebook’s taken over? never. Do you love the last boy/girl you were talking to? i do, but she’s a rotten four year old sometimes. lol. What were you doing 15 minutes ago? this.. Honestly, who was the last person to tell you that they love you? When? i don’t remember. my mom maybe? Last restaurant you went to? bob evans. Have you ever crawled through a window? yeah. a couple times. What do you spend most of your money on? things for wyatt. and food. Where were you at 1AM Sunday morning? sleeping. Ever kissed someone over 30? not romantically. Have you ever dyed your hair? a few times. Are you wearing a necklace? i’m not. i rarely do. Who is someone you wish you could fix things with? no one. Is there anything in your past that you’d like to try again? sure. Are you an emotional person? i can be. Did your parents spoil you as a child? as much as they could, but i didn’t get everything i ever wanted. which is good. How’s your heart lately? it’s okay. Are you a cuddler? with wy. baby cuddles are the best. and with phe. i love dog cuddles too. occasionally i like jacob cuddles. Will this weekend be a good one? we will see. i never know. What do you want right now? better home for us. Who can always cheer you up? wyatt. Who last hugged you? i don’t remember. Have you ever worn the opposite sex’s clothing? all the time. Are you a kissable person? jake seems to think so. What is your relationship status? married. Who was the last person to come to your house? jon and jade. Look behind you, what do you see? a wall and a bunch of random stuff. Have you ever worked in a food place? yes. hated it. What did you eat for lunch today? mashed potatoes. i shared them with wyatt. What do you think of love? it’s mostly okay. not always perfect, but nothing is. If you had to eat 1 thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? taaaacos. Do you eat junk food everyday? no. Who was the last person to touch you? wyatt. How late did you stay up last night and why? i don’t remember. but i am always awake until wy decides it’s bed time. What’s the connection between you and the last person you texted? married.

[surveysonfleek]

477.

Did you use tongue in your last kiss? no. Does the number 23 have any significance to you? yeah, it’s my boyfriend’s birth date. Do you have any alcohol bottles in your room? yeah, my boyfriend got it for me for my 19th bday. it’s still full and sealed with a leather studded case lol. Does sex mean love to you? personally, yes. What’s on your left side? my bedside table.

Be honest, do you like people in general? nope.

Who was the last person to call you? i forgot. i’m hardly on the phone.

What about text? my boyfriend. Last time you felt like dying and why? the last time i was really sick. Have you ever turned to smoking or drinking to solve a problem? not really. more of a stress relief than anything. What’s bothering you right now? work tomorrow :( Do you have any posters on your walls? no. Who was the last person that left you a comment? i forgot. Lyrics to the song you’re listening to? not listening to anything. Get high? not in a long time. Its 4 in the morning, your phone rings who do you expect it to be? probably my boyfriend. Cutest person at your school? haha i don’t go to school anymore. How old do you think you will be when you finally have kids? not sure. within the next five years hopefully. Safe sex, or no sex, correct? yup. What are you wearing right now? pyjamas. Whose the last person who asked you for money? probably my sister. not actual money, but to shout us lunch. Have you ever wished someone would die? no. What’s your favorite cereal? froot loops. Do you like standing in front of fires? if it’s cold. Have you met anyone famous? yes. What are you drinking right now? nothing. Have you ever snuck into a movie? no. How old are you? 26. Do you have a pet? yes. Did Cloverfield make you motion-sick? haven’t seen it. What’s your favorite color? turquoise. What’s your favorite movie? mean girls and white chicks. Are you a rain person? only if i get to stay at home. Which of the Pirates of the Carribean was your favorite? the first one coz it’s the only one i’ve seen lol. Are you counting down the days for anything? not really. Gatorade or Powerade? any, same shit. When do you graduate? i graduated uni in 2013. Do you think the world’s gonna end December 21st, 2012? it didn’t. Are you going to see the movie? no. Do you still blow out candles on your birthday cake? yes. Have you ever genuinely used the word “indeed?” yes. Last book you read? big little lies. Do you use Google as your spell check? no. Where’s your ideal vacation spot? the bahamas or the carribean i guess. What’s your homepage? google. How tall are you? 5'4″ Do you tan or sunburn easier? burn. Do you care about Hollywood gossip? i don’t really care about it but i guess i unwillingly stay up to date. What’s your ringtone? a generic iphone one. What movie is guaranteed to make you cry? idk. Is your toothbrush manual or electric? manual. Do your vampires sparkle & be sissies or rip people to shreds? no. Peas or carrots? peas. Do you laugh when you see the number 69? no. How many languages can you count to ten in? three. Subway or Quiznos? subway. How often do you get on Myspace now that Facebook’s taken over? never. Do you love the last boy/girl you were talking to? yes. What were you doing 15 minutes ago? surveys. Honestly, who was the last person to tell you that they love you? When? my boyfriend, about an hour ago. Last restaurant you went to? pho 76. Have you ever crawled through a window? no. What do you spend most of your money on? petrol and food. Where were you at 1AM Sunday morning? i was awake while my boyfriend was sleeping next to me. Ever kissed someone over 30? no. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes. Are you wearing a necklace? yes. Who is someone you wish you could fix things with? no one. Is there anything in your past that you’d like to try again? possibly. Are you an emotional person? yes. Did your parents spoil you as a child? eh, kinda. How’s your heart lately? fine. Are you a cuddler? yes. Will this weekend be a good one? hopefully! What do you want right now? a vacation and a ton of money. Who can always cheer you up? idkkk. my boyfriend. Who last hugged you? my boyfriend. Have you ever worn the opposite sex’s clothing? yes. Are you a kissable person? idk haha. What is your relationship status? taken. Who was the last person to come to your house? my boyfriend. Look behind you, what do you see? the wall. Have you ever worked in a food place? i have. i worked in a steakhouse. Any summer plans for 2010? wow, this is old lol. What did you eat for lunch today? fried rice. What do you think of love? it’s great. If you had to eat 1 thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? sushi. Name 1 thing good about Myspace? i guess the community? i was way more social on myspace than i am on facebook. Does anyone know your Myspace password? haha i don’t think i even know it. Do you eat junk food everyday? no. Who was the last person to touch you? my boyfriend. How did you and your number 1 become friends? haha. How late did you stay up last night and why? maybe 4am. it’s my usual bedtime. What’s the connection between you and the last person you texted? he’s my boyfriend. Do you like someone? yes. How’s your life lately? not great. How are you doing today? i’m okay. Do you plan on lying? no. How many tattoos do you have? And how many do you want? none. What’s something you’re not looking forward to? going to work tomorrow. Do you think it’s a bunch of bull shit when people say “I have no regrets"? not really. i mean, i don’t have any deep regrets. Who got you the jewelry you’re wearing? my aunty and my boyfriend. There’s a serial killer inside your house. What do you do? find a weapon, hide or escape, ring the cops. Do you get scared during scary movies? sometimes. Have you ever cried in front of your best friend? yes. Where do you want to live when you’re older? idk yet. Was it a boy or a girl to last text you? guy. How do you feel right now? tired. Who is on your mind? no one. Are you in love? yes. Is there anybody you wish you could be spending time with right now? sure. Do you like hugs? sometimes. Have you ever fallen asleep with the last person you kissed? yes. Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? no lol. Have you kissed the last person you texted? yes. What are you wearing on your feet? nothing. You wake up, all your hair is gone, your first reaction? figure out wtf happened. The last person you kissed, how many times have you cried in front of them? plenty of times. Two days from today, where will you be? work. When was the last time you saw someone attractive? today. Has someone ever made you a promise and broke it? yes. Is there someone you don’t ever want out of your life? yes. Are relationships ever really worth it? yes. Honestly, are things going the way you planned? not at all. Do you miss your past? sometimes. What were you doing last night at midnight? at home. Is the last person you kissed older than you? no. Are you wearing something you borrowed from someone? no. What color shirt are you wearing? white. When you sleep on your bed, is stuff usually on it? no. What do you currently hear right now? the fan. What are you planning on doing after this? idk sleep. Are you gonna be home tonight? nope. Name the first person you can think of that you know that has a tattoo? haha my dad. Do you slam doors when you’re mad? no. Is your room messy or clean? it’s messy right now. it was too hot to clean it today. When was the last time you had a real smile on your face? today. Do you tell your best friend EVERYTHING? mostly. Do you think anyone has feelings for you? yes. Is it easy to make you smile? yes. Do you know anyone who doesn’t smoke pot? yes. Did your last kiss take place on a bed? no. Are you someone’s best friend? yes. Have you kissed anyone whose name starts with a Z? no. Has anyone told you they don’t ever wanna lose you? yes. Your ex calls you at 4 a.m because he needs you, do you go? no. What would you say to him? -

[professorsnortwort]

Over the last year I have spent a significant amount of time at the Madrid library in Spain doing research for my latest paper, “Exterior stucco colors in Southwest Spain on the common home during the period of 1501 and 1508”.  I suggest you give it a read on any afternoon you have a few hours to spare, it is quite interesting.  I can’t help but give a bit of a spoiler on the subject however, it turns out to be white!  What shades of white I shall not tell, that is left for you the reader to discover!  

However, back to my main point of this story - while looking around the library, I noticed a dimly lit staircase in the corner of the building, and decided to see what it may lead to.  With each step I found myself venturing further from warm light of the main library floor, my eyes working hard to adjust to the darkness of the stairwell.

After slowly stepping to the bottom of the stairs, I found myself in a cold brick hallway.  My footsteps echoed as I walked along looking for anything interesting, when I came across a door labeled “Ye Olde historical archive”.  Peeking my interest, I wiggled the handle of the door and found it unlocked. 

It took a forceful push upon the door handle to make it give way. The heavy door creaked open to reveal a cold dusty room.  The center was full of shelves filled with heavy bound books and along the wall sat tall filing cabinets.  Upon inspection, the drawers contained old manuscripts wrapped in protective plastic sleeves. 

It is within one of these drawers, far in the back of that room I found a very interesting document that I do not believe has been seen by anyone for decades.

This document was a journal written by Nina, an officer of the Spanish galleon Gaspar, which travelled to Panama in 1661 to carry gold back to Spain. This gold was found in remote regions of Columbia which was then transported by mule trains to Panama.  The cargo was then loaded upon Spanish Galleons like the Gaspar to be brought back to Spain.

The Gaspar was sailed by Captain Krunk, and Pinto, Nina and Maria were the officers of the ship.

Captain Krunk and his crew loaded the silver onto the ship in the port of Colon in Panama and sailed towards Spain.  The weather was good and the ship was sailing at good speed as it passed through the Carribean.  It was when the ship was passing southeastern Florida that their luck turned for the worse.  Little did the Krunk know, the menacing pirate One Eyed Willy was waiting off the coast of the present day town of Ocean Ridge, FL to attack any treasure laden ships passing through the area.

One Eyed Willy was a pirate that plied these waters throughout the mid 1600s, and by the time he came across the Gaspar, he was already famous for his plundering of Spanish galleons. Sailors feared One Eyed Willy, talking of tales about his ruthlessness and cunning skill when overtaking ships.  

Before One Eyed Willy was a pirate he sailed up the Amazon river looking for gold.  Once when trekking deep into the jungle he came across a jaguar stuck in some quicksand.  He threw a rope around it and pulled it to safety, and after that it followed him back to his ship.  He named the jaguar Obsidian and it became his loving pet. If anyone tries to hurt One Eyed Willy, Obsidian will attack that person.

Not finding any gold in the Amazon, One Eyed Willy scoured the roughest taverns in every port of call, recruiting the meanest and toughest sailors.  This is how One Eyed Willy not only found all the sailors for this crew (which he named the Bones Brigade), but also how he met his wife, Jetty Betty.  Jetty Betty worked tending bar in Port Royal in Jamaica, and was known to be a skilled knife thrower. One time 4 sailors tried to rob her bar.  They came in and demanded she give them all the money in the till, and she pulled out her knifes and pinned each sailor to the wall by piercing their shirts and pants with the knifes.  “How about you run out of here now before you loose more than just your clothes!”, she yelled, and they ran out of the bar as fast as they could into the streets screaming, wearing nothing but their underwear.

Back to our story, One Eyed Willy saw the ship Gaspar coming up the coast.

Willy fired on the Gaspar and it hit the captains quarters where Krunk was sleeping and he was knocked overboard.  Pinto, Nina, and Maria took charge but at that time Willy and the Bones brigade had boarded the ship and had the ship surrender.

Willy had the captain tied up and walk the plank, so Pinto kicked a barrel on the deck overboard in disgust, Krunk disappeared into the night

Willy and the bones brigade made the crew slaves and had them cook and clean all day and night while they sang and drank. 

When they were done with all the dishes, they would go into a cabin to sleep, but Obsidian loved to sleep on the bed, so Pinto, Nina and Maria would sleep on the hard wood floor. Every morning the ship’s monkey Scratchy would wake them up by pulling their hair and screeching

Pinto, Nina and Maria got so sick of the hard work and also how mean the Bones Brigade were to them - one night the bones brigade was bored, so they made the three stand on the deck while they threw tomatoes at them.

Maria one day told them it was her birthday, so they asked her to make a cake. When the evening came, they sung;

Happy birthday to you, 

You smell like a shoe,

We are bad to the core, 

Now go sleep on the floor!

Then they make Pinto, Nina and Maria go to bed, and stayed up and ate the cake w/out them.

Tired of how mean the Bones Brigade and One Eyed Willy were, they decided to escape. They quietly left their cabin in the middle of the night making sure not to wake up Obsidian, snuck into a rowboat and rowed to shore.  They landed somewhere on the shore of present day Ocean Ridge, Florida.

Before they left, they stole some gold coins and jewels, split them up evenly between them, and buried them for safe keeping.

The next day Willy and the pirates launched boats and hunted them down, putting them back on the ship. Willy said that he was going to stop being so nice to them and stop letting them have desert each night, and they pointed out that they never get desert.

One night they woke up to cannons firing on the boat in the moonlight, the ship started sinking and they thought they were going to drown.  They went above deck and found Captain Krunk standing there, he came back to save them from One Eyed Willy!

Willy and the Bones Brigade were put in jail, and Pinto, Nina, and Maria never made it back to dig up their treasure left on shore. To this day, the treasure has never been found.

Stay tuned, I am translating more of the journal to find out details on where the treasure is buried in Ocean Ridge!

[mcsanders278]

Travel Series : Disneyworld (days 1 & 2)

I’m a bit behind on my travel blogs. Incidentally, I went to Disneyland in October with my youngest son but I figured it would be best to write about my Disneyworld trip a few weeks ago with my eldest.

For some reason I never really gave much thought to visiting Disneyworld until recently and when I had enough American Airlines points to essentially get 2 round trip flights anywhere within the US it was thrown out more as a “what if” to my sons. As my youngest voiced no desire to fly to Florida / visit Disneyworld it made the choice somewhat easy as my eldest son’s winter break started much sooner (one luxury of a college schedule).

We took a non-stop flight from Phoenix to MCO on a Saturday (nowadays I try to avoid layovers like the plague unless they are necessary). Between the 4 hour flight and 2 hour time difference I wisely did not pay to visit the parks the day we flew into Orlando. For those flying from Phoenix / the West Coast I highly recommend the same thing as not only is it about 30 minutes from the airports to the area with the parks / hotels, you also then have to drive to whichever park you plan on visiting. I also suggest using a share-driving service versus car rental as the parking fees alone seemed to average about $25 at the parks and hotels. I think in all we spent about $200 for the ride-shares, which undoubtedly is less than we would have spent on a 4 day car rental and parking.

One thing to keep in mind about Disneyworld is that unless you are staying at a Disney hotel specific to the park there is no option to walk to any of the parks. As it was my first trip to Florida one of the first things I noticed was the nice green surrounds with intermittent ponds / lakes. This is one way that Orlando is far superior to Anaheim...let’s face it, aside from Disneyland Anaheim is the pits. That being said, I have heard that Florida summers are brutal (compared to California summers) so you will definitely want to choose a time with decent weather. We luckily were there during colder weather (more on this later).

Other options which Disneyland does not have (but should adopt) are the Magicbands and setting up Fastpasses 30 days in advance (60 days if you stay at a Disney hotel). The Magicbands link anything you need for the parks - since we did not use a dining plan we only used it as our ticket and for the Fastpasses. Having the Fastpasses 30 days beforehand it a great tool as it will allow you to properly structure your days. One thing I learned; however, is that you can only choose the passes at one park each day (ie, you can’t have one pass at the Animal Kingdom in the morning and one later that day for Epcot) but you are allowed to get 3 passes each day. I highly recommend selecting the passes as soon as the option opens / at the 30 day mark as even in doing this there were rides which were already out of passes (likely grabbed by the Disney hotel people) or had very late entry times / were almost out. The hot ticket rides seemed to be both rides in the Avatar Pandora land at Animal Kingdom and the Test Track and Frozen rides at Epcot.    

I didn’t choose to look at a map of Orlando prior to the trip but when I finally did I noticed that downtown is north of the airport while the theme park areas are southwest. This is a plus for travelers as there was pretty light traffic heading to and from Disneyworld.

Taking advantage of having a Saturday evening without park tickets we decided to go to the Disney Springs area. For those of you familiar with Downtown Disney at Disneyland this is essentially a souped of version of that. It was much larger than I was expecting and should fulfill any and all consumerism needs. One thing to note is that getting into the Disney Springs area was probably the most traffic we dealt with on the entire trip (being Saturday evening was likely the main factor).

Sunday was our first day at a park and we chose to visit the Animal Kingdom. Another item to note is that none of the parks are within walking distance of each other; however, there are transportation options between each one. The Animal Kingdom only has the option of buses to the other parks but the other parks are either connected by bus, monorail, and even boat. Aesthetically, the Animal Kingdom is quite stunning. It is essentially a wildlife zoo intermixed with rides. At the center of the park is the Tree of Life - it really is a sight to behold with pictures not doing it justice.

The park’s lands are structured by the countries Africa and Asia and also has a Dinoland and the Avatar Pandora land. Since we only had 3 days at the parks and had been to Disneyland so many times we chose to only use our time there as wisely as possible by only focusing on attractions which were specific to Disneyworld / not at the California parks. I was expecting rain on our day at Animal Kingdom but wasn’t really expecting the slight drizzles to turn into a relatively heavy on-pour for about 2.5 hours. Although this hindered things it also played in our favor later on in the day.

During the initial light rains we started at Dinoland, which is mainly for younger children and was probably the most unimpressive section of the park / could use an update. The Dinosaur ride is the main ride in this area, which is essentially Disneyworld’s version of Indiana Jones. Needless to say, it is nowhere near as good as Indiana Jones - it is a passable ride but I wouldn’t recommend spending over 20 minutes in line and would also recommend getting Fastpasses for other rides.      

It was then that the heavy rains began. We ran between any overhead coverings we could find and made our way to the Nomad Lounge. We luckily made it there right when it opened as other visitors had the same idea in mind of finding refuge from the storm. The atmosphere of the lounge was fantastic. At Disneyland we always make a point of going to the Carthay Circle Lounge for a break amidst the walking / crowd insanity and Nomad is the perfect place for such at Disneyworld. It also has a much better selection of food than the Carthay Circle lounge. We ordered more than we would have under other circumstances, essentially to stake our claim on the table until the rain let-up as people continued to file into the lounge trying to find non-existent seats and even gave us an eye like they wanted us to share our table. In their defense, we did have a pretty large area in the indoor/outdoor area which consistent of two end chairs, a sofa and a coffee table but our anti-social tendencies prevailed. To be fair, I did raise the idea of sharing the table  to my son but he only scoffed and continued to watch patrons sit on wet chairs at wet tables. It probably didn’t make us look any better when the people it a similar seating area next to us were kind enough to allow another couple sit with them.

For $1 you have an option to fill out the small banners which are hung from the ceiling and on the walls. There are numerous questions posted throughout the lounge pertaining to travel - you simply choose your favorite question and write your answer. It is a nice option for those who want to become a part of a Disney park in some way. If you go to the lounge I recommend trying the bread board, which is different breads from around the world with different spreads.

The best thing about the heavy rain was that the lines drastically diminished the rest of the day, which in turn allowed us to ride the Flight of Passage in the Avatar land (as noted previously, the Fastpasses were gone even 30 days before our trip). I am by no means an Avatar fan but I have to admit that the detail in the Pandora land was quite impressive. I highly recommend going there during the night / when all of the surroundings are lit-up. We did have Fastpasses for the Na’vi River Journey, which is a boat ride in the vein of Pirates of the Carribean. My son and I both agreed that it was alright - there were a few cool visuals but not worth an extremely long wait (the line can usually run over 2 hours). 

I was a bit reluctant to ride Flight of Passage as my initial read-up on it gave the impression like it was similar to the Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios Hollywood (which was probably the most nauseating ride experience of my life). When I asked the attendant about the ride and noted the Harry ride as comparison she quickly pointed out that she usually gets sick on rides and didn’t have the issue with Flight of Passage. It is usually against my better judgment to stand in line for 85 minutes for any ride by my son really wanted to experience the ride and this undoubtedly was the shortest the line was going to get during our trip (as I am writing this the wait time noted on the app is 285 minutes...that’s right, over 4 hours...). There are enough things to look at during the 85 minute wait / in the queue but I cannot in any way justify recommend waiting in line over 2 hours for a ride, let alone 4 hours. That being said, the ride experience was pretty cool. Think Soaring Over the World crossed with an Avatar theme in which you get your individual seat...the idea is that you’re riding one of the banshees from the film.

The two other rides we experienced were Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris. Both of these rides were very impressive. Expedition Everest has the same Yeti theme as the Matterhorn but be forewarned, it is a bit more intense. My son was not too keen initially on riding the Safari but with the rains diminishing the line to a 5 minute wait we choose to check it out. Neither of us were disappointed - it seriously is a straight-up safari in which the animals have free roam of the land and you are actually riding in a jeep which isn’t on rails - there is a path for cast members to follow but he/she can stop and go as they please if there is something interesting going on.

Overall thoughts : Although it is not a park heavy on rides, there is more than enough to see / do between the live animal exhibits, rides, and restaurants. Definitely check out Nomad for lunch or dinner and the 3 rides I recommend for Fast Passes are Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest, and Kilimanjaro Safaris.          

[cebeavers]

Disneyland Resort Part 2 2005

March 8, 2005

Disneyland is definitely traditional. The front of the park looks very traditional. After traipsing across the courtyard between the 2 parks and Downtown Disney, we had our Park Hopper tickets scanned and entered Disneyland. Of course,Space Mountain wasn't up yet, and Splash Mountain was down for maintenance, as well as Jungle Cruise, I believe. Oh well, that gives me more reasons to come back later.

We first found a restroom, and then waited at the Castle for the other three. I don't care what anybody says about the size of Sleeping Beauty's castle, it was still very nicely done. One of the first noticeable things was how much more crowded Disneyland was than DCA. The first 'ride' I saw was the Astro Orbiter. I almost took a spin, but the line was just a bit too long, since we were meeting someone.

Then, we saw Peter Pan's Flight. This line was uber long, so we opted out of that. Maybe next time. So we walked back thru the castle and I saw Tina waving for me. We went over and quickly met Bill and Jodi. Then it was off for a ride. I'm pretty sure I have this in order, but there may be some discrepancies. If so, I'm sure one of the 3 can correct me. First, I was up for some Haunted Mansion. The line wasn't short, but the wait wasn't that long.

Haunted Mansion-Granted, the actual ride portion wasn't a bit scary. But the stretching room kinda was at the end. Never the less, I really like dark rides, and this was no exception. I know there were some changes recently, which is cool. Overall, aside from being a bit too cool for us, I really enjoyed the ride on Haunted Mansion. I've been waiting for many, many years to ride one of those, and I believe this is the original, correct? Now when are they gonna add that 1000th ghost?

After Mansion, I needed a coaster, so we headed over towards Big Thunder Mountain. But first, we passed by The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh, and I just had to take a spin.

The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh-It was pretty good. I said I like Dark rides, and it was a nice break. The ride looks very nice, and brand new. But then, so does the rest of Disneyland. I'm just glad Pooh got his Honey before the ride was over. I liked his Heffalump dream world scenes the best.

So it was time for another coaster. I was kinda worried about this credit, since I know about it's recent history. Oh, what the heck, I would be riding Monty and Perilous Plunge at Knott's, and I've been on other things after tragic accidents. Might as well give this a try as well.

Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road-After just a few lifts and drops, I proclaimed "If we were at Carowinds, It'd be over by now". Bill agreed, Tina and Jody just laughed. This was my first ride with Bill. The trains were comfy to sit in, the ride was paced just right, and the theming was, once again, just blissful. Disney really is in a class all to themselves. Then there is that lift in the tunnel. After that, I proclaimed once again "If this were Adventure Express, it'd be over by now, and I'd be once again disappointed". Bill was also making some Adventure Express comment (okay, so I did like it my last visit to Kings Island...). But BTMR was more than both of the previously mentioned mine train coasters. Heck, it is kind of the original. It was a fun ride, nicely paced with some decent ups, downs and laterals. I'd do it again.

Well, that was #98. Next up was another classic Disney Ride, and one that has been in the rumors lately: Pirates of the Caribbean. One neat thing was the restaurant that the ride actually navigates around.

Pirates of the Caribbean-Another golden oldie, We really like this (Jamaal & I). It was fairly long, which is a good thing. More time to sit down. Plus it was a dark ride. Yay! The one drop was unexpected, and the animatronics were all in top notch order. Heck, I've been in some more 'up to date' dark rides that weren't this good. Another oldie down, and another satisfied customer.

Okay, so now should have been the time I checked to see what all was in Disneyland. Instead, we rushed over to Matterhorn for another coaster. Had I looked, I would have realized all that Disneyland had to offer. In fact, I didn't spend any real time in Tomorrowland, didn't even go near the closed Space Mountain, and almost missed out on two of the better rides in Disney. But enough about my non-regrets. I rode another coaster.

Matterhorn (right side)-We were told to ride Matterhorn's right side in day time, and left side at nite, so we felt that was good enough advice. This was it. The first tubular steel coaster. It was also the last of my double digits. It is a fairly intense ride, just slightly Arrow rough, but I've been on newer coasters that are way worse than this, Arrow or not. Again, good theming, good coaster, and the water as a natural break is funky. The mountain actually looks almost real as well along the skyline. We all were in one train for this one, me by myself.

Bill, Tina, and Jodi were hungry, and Jamaal and I still needed pictures for DCA and to use our Screamin' Fast Pass, so we headed back over to say goodby to DCA. I found out that the Monorails were only for onsite guests, that kinda sucked. Would have been a nice way to get over to DCA. Oh well. So we picked up a disposable camera on our way into DCA and took pics all around before heading over to California Screamin' again. The second ride was just as good as the first, and with 99% less waiting. No front seat again, but we were in a different part of the train. Again, nice launch, good coaster. Not my personal favorite, but strong none the less.

A few more pix and DCA was closing. We were over there for almost an hour. Another ToT ride would have made me happy, but oh well. Two was a good thing. So we headed back over to Disneyland. Again, Disneyland was much more crowded than DCA. Oh well, they don't know what they're missing. Or do they? Next time I'll know I need a full day for Disneyland and 6 or so hours for DCA (if not more, I really did like it). But on this trip, I'm just happy to be there.

I couldn't get the gang to answer, so I figured they were in line or on a ride and had no Cell reception. So we walked over towards Tomorrowland when I saw the one thing I had forgotten Disneyland even had. I am an Ubergeek. I like comics (okay, I don't really read them anymore, but I watch all the movies), I like coasters (duh), I'm a Trekkie (we'll get into that later...), and I like Star Wars. So when I saw the 'Star Tours' sign, I bout flipped out. Thankfully, Jamaal is a Star Wars geek too.

Star Tours-We just had to. I even called my other best friend, Jon, to tell him what I was doing. The line was long, but moved swiftly. This was the only thing in Tomorrowland I did, but it was Star Wars. So we saw Tina and Bill and Jodi in line up ahead, told them to wait outside. Eventually we got thru all the scenery and were off on our mission. It was fun. I mean, I'm not a huge simulator fan as they make me sick, but just doing something physical that deals with Star Wars was cool enough. The movie was funky, and I'm glad I got to do it. Again, Yay Disney!

So we met up with the others and walked around, all the while taking pics of the park. Just outside of Star Tours was the newly soft opened 'Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters', which had no wait for the other three earlier on. For us, it would have been 40min. I wasn't willing to wait, so off we were.

Then it was that time. Time for #100. Everyone counts coasters in their own way. If I'm riding something like American Eagle or Thunder Road which is 2 tracks, but a racing coaster, I only count it as one. I count dueling Coasters as 2. Matterhorn has two semi-dueling sides. The sides are different, and that makes it, to me, 2 different coasters.

So it is kind of odd that my 99th and 100th coasters are the same.

Matterhorn (Left Side)-Big Whoop. Yes, it is 100. Yes, it was 99. Yes, it was still the first tubular steel. It has history. So that was, to me, a good choice to make it both the last of my double digits and the first of my triple digits. Not that it matters to anybody but me. Enough lines dedicated to my 100th coaster. Seriously, I wasn't thinking about that during the rest of the trip, even though I did spend it with some cool peeps and one of my 2 best friends. The other side was definitely more intense. Was it because it was nite? I dunno, but it was also a little rougher. Oh well, Matterhorn was still sweet, and being in the night riding a partially dark coaster rocks. Heck yeah, I finally conquered something Disney!

Okay, again, I forgot what all Disney had to offer. We were going over to do the Kiddie coaster when I saw something else that is impossible to pass up the first time. Another classic, and I don't' think I'll ever get that darn song outta my head...

"it's a small world"-Yes it is, but the line wasn't. Again, though, we're at Disney Capacity, so it wasn't a long wait. The ride, however, was about 15 minutes too long for me. Okay, I had to do it once, and I'll probably do Disney Worlds when I get down there. It was funky, and a good family ride. But couldn't they do a remix of that song, just once?

Another classic down, and then we were at another coaster. The last tangible Disney credit. The theming was again just superb, even if I'm not an Inspector Gadget fan.

Gadget's Go Coaster-Another Rollerskater. It was fun, it was themed, and it was #101. Nuff said, lets move it along. (okay, so it was the best Rollerskater I've ever been on, out of 3).

Another funky ride I saw was Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. I used to love that movie, how would the ride be?

Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin-Spinning cars that go thru the track? Flippin Sweet! I loved this! It was again nicely themed, just the right length, and a whole lotta fun. Jamaal was with Bill, Jodi was with Tina behind me, and I was all alone. Yay Spinny Cars! Tons o' fun yet again. Thank you Disney!

There were lots of other things I'd like to have done. Didn't do Dumbo, didn't do Snow White's Scary Adventure, didn't do this, didn't do that. But it was all up to me, as the other 3 had been there all day and were letting me lead the way. That, and Jamaal wasn't so in to Disneyland. So I decided to take us back for a last spin on the Haunted Mansion. But one thing everyone had mentioned was Indy, and how we needed to do that. I thought it was the stunt show.

Boy was I wrong. So when we passed by it, they turned me towards that entrance instead.

Indiana Jones Adventure-This was the best ride at Disneyland that I rode! You board Jeep like vehicles after the long long themed queue. Then the ride starts. It was amazing, all the effects seemed to be working on time, and I really had a blast in this thing. Second row ride in our 'Jeep'. Heck yeah, I'll do it again in a heartbeat!

So that was it. Wr went back by Pirates and Haunted Mansion for pics. But Disneyland was officially closed. The park was ultrasweet, and I can't wait to go back again hopefully next year. Even with all that I missed, we got do do some important things. But next year I'll know to schedule more time for Disneyland. We headed up to Jodi's car for some USH Mummy posters she had (thanks again Jodi!) and then Tina and Bill left as well.

Jamaal and I were going to eat at Downtown Disney, but our legs hurt too much to walk back. And then we lost our car. Thankfully, we found it just where we had left it (thank Alamo we had a panic button on the keychain). After a quick stop at Carl's Jr. (Hardee's for you east coasters) and their nasty new burger I didn't like (hey, they can't be perfect all the time), we headed back to Motel 6, and I was soon to sleep.

[suckitsurveys]

Did you use tongue in your last kiss? No.  Does the number 23 have any significance to you? It’s one day before me and Mark’s anniversary.  Do you have any alcohol bottles in your room? Not in my room, no.  Does sex mean love to you? I never understand this question. Like you can have sex with people you don’t love? And vise versa? 

What’s on your left side? The rest of the couch. 

Be honest, do you like people in general? Yes and no.

Who was the last person to call you? The doctor. 

What about text? My husband. Last time you felt like dying and why? Yesterday. I was so tired and out of it.  Have you ever turned to smoking or drinking to solve a problem? I mean, a stress reliever.  What’s bothering you right now? I got poked three times with needles today. One of them was a flu shot and now I feel achy and gross.  Do you have any posters on your walls? Yes. Who was the last person that left you a comment? I’m not sure.  Lyrics to the song you’re listening to? I’m watching 30 Rock.  Get high? ALL I WANNA DO IT IS GET HIGH BY THE BEACH GET HIGH BABY BABY BYE BYE Its 4 in the morning, your phone rings who do you expect it to be? I don’t know, maybe a family member? Cutest person at your school? I don’t go to school.  How old do you think you will be when you finally have kids? I’m not going to have kids.  Safe sex, or no sex, correct? Yes.  What are you wearing right now? I’m in leggings and a tshirt.  Whose the last person who asked you for money? Mark. Have you ever wished someone would die? Yes. What’s your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Do you like standing in front of fires? I do. Have you met anyone famous? Yes.  What are you drinking right now? Water. Have you ever snuck into a movie? Yes. How old are you? 28. Do you have a pet? I do.  Did Cloverfield make you motion-sick? I haven’t seen it.  What’s your favorite color? Purple.  What’s your favorite movie? Wet Hot American Summer. Are you a rain person? Yes. Which of the Pirates of the Carribean was your favorite? I’ve only seen the first one. Are you counting down the days for anything? Christmas!!! Gatorade or Powerade? Gatorade.  When do you graduate? I did already. Do you think the world’s gonna end December 21st, 2012? It didn’t. Are you going to see the movie? What movie? Do you still blow out candles on your birthday cake? Of course, I’m not a heathen. Have you ever genuinely used the word “indeed?” I mean yeah? Last book you read? I’m currently reading a book by Paula Poundstone. I can’t remember the exact name of it.  Do you use Google as your spell check? Sometimes.  Where’s your ideal vacation spot? Somewhere with a beach.  What’s your homepage? Google.  How tall are you? 5′2′’. Do you tan or sunburn easier? Burn. Do you care about Hollywood gossip? I mean, I get caught up in some, but I don’t actively seek it out.  What’s your ringtone? Bad Girls from Bob’s Burgers.  What movie is guaranteed to make you cry? My Girl. Is your toothbrush manual or electric? Manual. Do your vampires sparkle & be sissies or rip people to shreds? I don’t have vampires. Peas or carrots? Carrots.  Do you laugh when you see the number 69? I’m 12. How many languages can you count to ten in? A few.  Subway or Quiznos? Jimmy John’s. How often do you get on Myspace now that Facebook’s taken over? Never,  Do you love the last boy/girl you were talking to? I do.  What were you doing 15 minutes ago? This. Honestly, who was the last person to tell you that they love you? When? My husband, a minute ago. Last restaurant you went to? McNamara’s. Have you ever crawled through a window? Yes. What do you spend most of your money on? Food. Where were you at 1AM Sunday morning? Sleeping.  Ever kissed someone over 30? Yes, my husband is 33.  Have you ever dyed your hair? Yup, lots of times.  Are you wearing a necklace? I am not. Who is someone you wish you could fix things with? My sister. Is there anything in your past that you’d like to try again? I mean, probably? Are you an emotional person? Yes. Did your parents spoil you as a child? They did, but not to where I was a brat.  How’s your heart lately? It’s cool.  Are you a cuddler? Yes. Will this weekend be a good one? No. Maybe. We’ll see. Shit might get messy. What do you want right now? A shit ton of money. Who can always cheer you up? My husband.  Who last hugged you? Also my husband. Have you ever worn the opposite sex’s clothing? Yes. Are you a kissable person? Yeah. What is your relationship status? Married. Who was the last person to come to your house? Randal. Look behind you, what do you see? A wall and a window.  Have you ever worked in a food place? Yes. What did you eat for lunch today? Bacon and eggs and hashbrowns.  What do you think of love? It’s great.  If you had to eat 1 thing for the rest of your life, what would it be? Crab legs.  Do you eat junk food everyday? No. Who was the last person to touch you? My husband.  How late did you stay up last night and why? Til about 11, I was so tired.  What’s the connection between you and the last person you texted? He’s a coworker.