Dubya and Little Richard

For those of you who aren't sick of the Geico commercial featuring Little Richard (or Dubya for that matter), here's a spoof:

South Korean Kid Plays a Mean Guitar

Almost nine million people have watched the following video of a kid from Seoul playing Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D on electric guitar. I promise this will be a bit more uplifting than the last YouTube posted.

Take from it what you will

Proof that people will say and do whatever it takes to get out of a dire situation. It's a wonder how some kidnapped journalists' lives are saved while others aren't so fortunate.

Centanni, Wiig convert to Islam

Copper Mine Dump Truck

Copper Mine Dump Truck
Originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Here are some examples of a really cool effect that people with more photography skills and equipment than myself can accomplish.

Fenway Fake Miniature

Fenway Tilt-Shift Collabo
Originally uploaded by girlzone41.

A tilt shift (fake miniature) of Fenway Park in Boston.

There are no mini disasters

There are no mini disasters
Originally uploaded by Automatt.

Another example of a photography effect called tilt shift.

Miniatures are cool

PICT1760-Edit
Originally uploaded by malanalars.

Is it just me or does this look fake. Just in case you're unsure, it's not.

HOV Traffic Waits for No Man, Even the President

It doesn't matter where you're from or what party you align yourself with, this has got to be one of the most boneheaded ideas you, or I, have ever heard. If you think otherwise after reading the following article I’d love to hear it in the comments section of this post. It goes a long way in displaying how out of touch those at the top of the political spectrum are with the average, hard-working, hard-commuting American.

The idea that a politician (and in this case, not just any politician) would consider crippling the D.C. evening rush hour for a partisan fundraising event is infuriating at the very least. This official in question is (currently) a Washingtonian; he knows the hell people go through on the area's major arteries just to get home after a long day. I think my lovely wife Kelly said it best, “It’s not that [politicians] don’t realize what they’re doing, they just don’t care.” George Allen, host of the aforementioned event, is still trying to save face after the whole "Macaca" fiasco, I’m not sure he wants to have every DC commuter pissed off at him as well.

Besides, who takes 395 to Mount Vernon??

From today’s Post…

Wouldn't it be nice to have the highway all to yourself? All alone during rush hour, whizzing down Interstate 395 with not a single car or bus to get in your way? Alas, even the leader of the free world doesn't get that kind of treatment.

Not that he didn't ask.

On Tuesday, the Secret Service asked Virginia officials if they would be kind enough to shut down all of the HOV lanes on I-395 from 1 to 7 p.m. the next day so President Bush could get where he needed to be, according to state officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussing the president's travel.

The request was made ahead of a fundraiser for Sen. George Allen (R) held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at a house near Mount Vernon -- a good hour's drive from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. during a typical rush hour. Read more...

If you haven't seen this yet, it's worth taking a look

Kings Dominion

On the Anaconda, which I say is next to Busch Gardens' Loch Ness as Best Roller Coaster Ever. Some great corkscrew loops, super fast, and not *too* shaky--at least not compared to the Hypersonic and Volcano rides, which we overheard one rider say were comparable to the feeling of taking off in a supersonic jet or something like that. There were definitely G forces involved in those ones.

Notice how I am gripping the outside of my chest-brace thingy. I was nervous that it was moving a bit even though I know it was locked!! I guess the rationale there is if I'm not properly locked in, I'll keep myself from being thrown off the ride by holding down on the thingy. Like that great Seinfeld bit about transporting mattresses on the roof of your car and holding it with one hand out the window for added security: "I got it, I got it."

Some great during-the-ride shots from Chris!

Going up into a loop! I'm holding on for dear life, Chris is shooting photos.




A great self-portrait taken coming out of a loop. We were in the front car so it's cool to see the rest of the train behind us.

The kid in front of us on (I think) Rebel Yell.

This is the aforementioned Hypersonic. This ride was intense, and not for the faint of heart. Literally. The whole ride lasts about 1 minute--maybe less--and the thrill is the speed with which you "launch" in the beginning, and the angle of this, the only notable rise and drop. You go straight up and straight down at astonishing speed. An unsuspecting thrillseeker with a heart arrhythmia or something like that could have some real problems after this one. Awesome!



Ever wonder what it would feel like to take the elevator to the top of skyscraper and then have it lose control on the way back down? Check out the Big Drop. (That may not be the proper name for it but that's what we called it.) We are not on this particular one; we're just watching it as Chris and Lauren's brother Brian try to convince me, Lore Lore and Lauren's sister Colleen to ride it.

Kelly and Lauren watching the Big Drop.



It's our turn. I didn't really want to ride this but there were a ton of kids on it! I couldn't let those little punks show me up. I reminded Colleen of this too :) I planned to keep my eyes closed the entire time, which I did but I think it made it even worse. I told Fearless Chris to tell me when the drop was coming, but I could hear that we had reached the top of the ride and knew it would be imminent. I peaked through my squinted eyes at the surrounding Virginia landscape, which was terrifying. And then after a three-second drop, it was all over.

A great shot of Lauren, Brian and Colleen, but seen in the reflection of the ridemastser's booth as we awaited the rise on the Big Drop. You're in these harnesses that restrict your movement so much that Chris couldn't turn next to him to get the picture. So we noticed the reflection and took a chance and it turned out pretty good! Chris was later busted by said ridemaster and told he couldn't take the camera on the ride, which thwarted his plans to get some killer scenic shots of above the park. What a party pooper.

Visibly shaken after the Big Drop.

Lore Lore gives the Grizzly her approval. Way too jerky for me, though. I'm nursing bruises on my elbows from the wooden coasters: Grizzly, Rebel Yell and the Hurler.

Waiting in line at the Log Flume in front of the big-splash-finish.





A couple more spins on the Anaconda.

Colleen and Lauren



Lauren finally gets her much-sought-after chocolate/vanilla ice cream cone as we wind down for the day.

And so does Chris.