Saturday, August 18, 2018

Little Green Army Men

Little green army men.   Remember them?   They were one of my favorite childhood toys.
For a dollar I could get a large bag of these toy soldiers.   They had a base to them to help keep the toy soldiers from falling over.
I visited Walt Disney World, Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Land this week.  It was a nostalgia trip down memory lane with huge representations of toys from my childhood.
And along came these "Little Green Army Men" drumming a nice marching beat on their drums.   Actually, they weren't so little.
They were completely covered in green material.   It is August and incredibly
hot, especially at 100% humidity.   I don't know how they managed to tolerate  the heat.
What was interesting was that they had flat pieces on the bottom of their boots similar to the toy army men.   And they could walk without any problem.
I only saw about half of the Toy Story Land but evidently they have the Little Green Army Men for sale in a gift shop.

By the way I was a big fan of R. Lee Ermy.   He was great both in Full Metal Jacket and Mail Call.
Have a really nice day wherever you may be.    Lew

 

Sunday, August 5, 2018

The Impossible

10" x 12".   Not very big.   About the size of a standard picture frame.   It is also the size of an x-ray film.   Actually the standard size of x-ray films were 8" x 10", 10" x 12", 11" x 14", and 14" x 17".   But there is something special about the 10" x 12" size as you will see.   In the past, x-ray films were developed by hand.   The films was clipped to a "hanger" and then dipped into various tanks of solutions.
The hangers made it easier to get a film into and out of a particular tank of solution.   It was a messy process.
One day a co-worker said that he could pas through a 10" x 12" hanger.   He was slender but this would still be impossible.   His shoulders were too wide.   Imagine taking a standard picture frame, remove the back, remove the glass, and then try squeezing through the frame.   No way.   Impossible.   He had a 10" x 12" hanger and proceeded with great effort trying to squeeze the hangar.   I was right, he had difficulty with the shoulders.   But he persisted and persisted in his effort and eventually made it.   There were several people in the room also to see this and we were all amazed by this.   I mean, have you ever seen something which you know is impossible but someone does it?   Sort of like watching a magician in a magic show do their illusions.   But this was no illusion or trickery, he actually passed through that 10" x 12" hanger.   And the hanger didn't get bent at all.   Although I saw it, I am still amazed by it.   Take a ruler and measure out and draw a rectangle of 10" x 12".   Do you think that you could fit through?   I know I can't but Jim did.   Have a pleasant day wherever you may be.    Lew
 

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

pretzel-covered turkey leg

Turkey legs.   We have all had them at Thanksgiving time.   But you can have them anytime you want at Disney.   They serve hand-held turkey legs that you can walk around the Disney Parks with.  
 They are absolutely huge.    They are a meal in themselves.
Do you know who this guy is enjoying a turkey leg at Disney?   Yep, Andrew Zimmerman.
But now Sea World has a new turkey leg.   It's a pretzel covered turkey leg and weighs more than a pound.    Absolutely huge.  
Just for scale just to get an idea of the size of this behemoth.
Can't really grasp the size yet.   Here is a picture of someone biting into one of these pretzel-covered turkey legs.   No, that is not me eating the turkey leg.
After one monstrous bite.   A long, long ways to go.   This should be on the T.V. series Man vs Food.
The price of these pretzel-covered turkey?   $14.99 with potato chips.   So the next time that you are at Disney have a turkey leg or two.   You never know, maybe Andrew Zimmerman may be there enjoying one also.
Have a great day and have some fun at Disney, the happiest place on earth.   Lew

Saturday, July 14, 2018

cupcakes

I saw these cupcakes at Walmart.
Just look at the beautiful swirl.
They reminded me of the cupcakes at Disney.   I must admit that the Disney cupcake looks much nicer.  More artistic.   So many petals.   It is suppose to be a rose.
But it also reminds me of a pink Ranunculus flower.   What do you think?   Rose or Ranunculus flower?
It's a toss-up for me.   But since they called it a Rose cupcake I guess that it is a rose.   Disney is excellent on decoration of cupcakes.   The Disney Food Blog has an excellent coverage of the various cupcakes at Disney as well the foods.   Check it out.   A good site.   Enjoy life.   Lew

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Gaston's Tavern

Gaston's Tavern.   It is located in Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom.  
 
A good place to get a nice cool LeFou's brew on a hot day.   It was really hot this day, 94 degrees and 100% humidity.
I had read several times about LeFou's brew and wanted to try it.
 
LeFou's brew is a non-alcoholic slushy/slurpee drink that is mainly unsweetened apple juice with a mango/passion fruit whipped topping on the top.  
For being unsweetened apple juice it tasted really good.   Plus I was really hot and drank the drink a little too fast.   What happens when you drink a slushy/slurpee type drink too fast?   You guessed it, a brain freeze.   So I slowed my drinking way down to alleviate the brain freeze.  You can get your drink in a nice goblet or mug, but I opted just for the plastic glass.
This is a counter service snack eatery.  
Do you like cinnamon buns?   How about a cinnamon bun with extra icing.   No, I didn't get one, but it does look good.   Really good with a cup of coffee.
The interior of the tavern reminded me of a Bavarian hunting lodge.   They had a chandelier made of deer horns (well, actually they probably were not real deer horns.   But very impressive none the less).
 
There was also a blunderbuss (early form of shotgun) hanging on the wall.
There is so much more to see at Disney than just the thrill rides.   Each time I go I discover new things.   Having a great time at "The happiest place on earth".    Lew

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Stay the Course

In the movie The Patriot starring Mel Gibson there is a line that is used twice in the movie:  "Stay the course."  
I like the phrase and I think that it means to stay on track of what you are doing and don't give up.   A nice phrase that I have adopted at times.   The movie was great and I have rewatched it a few times.
I was recently at Epcot at Disney World.   I visited The American Adventure.
People wait in a huge lobby for the next show to start.   The lobby is really nice.   There are really nice large pictures on the walls depicting various moments in American history.
I saw one picture of ships at sea.   It looks as if the ships are in a storm.
I looked at the brass plaque at the bottom of the picture and the painting is named Staying the Course.   So I assume that the phrase Stay the Course is a nautical one.
If you like watching old movies that are really good, try watching the movie The Patriot once again.   It is probably available at your local library for check-out.   Take are and have a healthy and happy life and Stay the Course.   Lew

Sunday, June 17, 2018

shower curtain

This is our new shower curtain that I have ordered.   We both like underwater scenes with fish.
Yeah, Yeah I know.   Now like Luca Brasi from the Godfather movie I sleep with the fishes.  
You remember that scene where Luca Brasi's bullet proof vest with a fish in it is delivered to the house.   Don't remember the scene?   Here it is.


Well, that isn't quite right, I shower with the fishes.   The shower curtain is very colorful.   I think that it will look really nice when we get it in about a week.   It is on order.   How ridiculous, to do a blog on a new shower curtain.   Well, I hope that you enjoyed the movie clip.   The Godfather was such a great movie.   I can't begin to tell you how many times I have seen that movie over the years.   I think that the first Godfather movie was the best one of the three.   Have a really great day.   Lew