I am referencing the pinball tables Swords of Fury, The Bally Game Show, Rollergames (the glass art included a guy who sort of resembled James Caan, and that couldn't have been by accident) and Waterworld; yes they made a Waterworld pinball table. I played all those games this weekend.
Here's the recap of what I've done in the past week. I don't even remember doing anything last Monday so I presume it was a dull day. Tuesday, I went to Wawa for dinner; I got a sub sandwich for me and a sub sandwich for someone else. I also got myself a frozen drink, as that was the perfect thing to do on a day where the high was only in the 50's; the day before that it was like 30 degrees warmer than that, so it was real strange. At least their food is pretty tasty.
Wednesday, I went out to dinner with someone. We decided on Chili's as we hadn't been there in who knows how many months. Turns out, that place was remodeled. Well, it could be called a refresh as it wasn't extensive but it was still obvious. The food there was about what you'd expect from a Chili's. My time was there but I saw an odd site as the nearby bar area: a young man dressed as a pro wrestling referee! It was a Wednesday evening and while I do not follow the local independent pro wrestling scene like I used to, I thought I'd hear about a random Wednesday night show happening in the area. I did not recognize the guy either, so it was pretty odd. Thursday I relaxed as I knew Friday and Saturday would be busy days and oh they were... unfortunately the days were pretty terrible aside from the main thing I did.
Late July of '12 and '13 I attended events in Orlando on International Drive in a hotel known as Gamewarp, where a big room holds plenty of arcade and pinball games and by paying a flat fee you get to play them all. They didn't have a Gamewarp this year for whatever reasons; who knows if they'll ever come back. However, on this weekend was a new event (well, renamed from something else) called Free Play Florida and it was quite similar, down to being at a hotel on I-Drive, although one that was by the convention center and I didn't have to spend too much time actually driving on I-Drive; that's a plus as the road's always busy and always full of stupid tourists.
Friday, I experienced horrific traffic on the way there and back; there was tailgating, for one thing, and on a road with a 35 mile an hour speed limit a lady driver was a complete maniac, going way over the speed limit. Was she drunk, mentally ill, on drugs... I have no idea; I thought of calling the cops but to be honest if I tried to speed myself to get her license plate, she may have started driving even more erratically. As for the hotel, it was a Doubletree, so it was frou-frou and having to pay a few bucks for parking, I wasn't a fan of that. Having to pay each time you park, that limited food choices; most of the food they had there wasn't “normal” or not priced outrageously. Friday I ate at the bar in the lobby, where I had to listen to two random socially awkward dudes throw a huge stink over one of the employees asking for their credit card after they ordered some food; that sort of thing has become standard procedure now but those fools did not get the memo. I didn't even try to explain it to them as it'd be a futile gesture.
As for the crowds there, Friday wasn't too bad but Saturday was more hectic; it was what I expected. They had a mix of games there I played before and new ones. The number of tables based on 90's films was impressive, from Stargate to the mediocre Jurassic Park sequel. I'll list the ones that left the biggest impressions on me:
Swords of Fury will always make me laugh as the one I've seen is LOUD and a digitized voice screaming “LIONMAN, LIONMAN!” is amazing.
The Bally Game Show is actually a fun table, and the “game” is hosted by a stereotypical host known as Keith McTeeth.
Rollergames is a table I recently heard was good, and it was.
As I did well on it, I'll mention the Spiderman table.
The Twister table was rad, with some nice gimmicks.
NBA Fastbreak wasn't even a table I had ever heard of but I dug it and how you picked a team to start off with and the way you score points is to shoot the ball into the basket.
Baywatch was a table I had played before, way back when.
I did see people there I knew. It was nice to see them and I presume the feeling was reciprocated. There wasn't much time to chit-chat with them but that's expected at such a hectic event. Unfortunately aside from actually playing the games there my Friday and Saturday were pretty bad, between the traffic and other issues I won't get into. I can mention that I was disappointed how there were too many rude/ignorant people around on Saturday. It's a shame as most of the people there were fine, but there was also jerks present. I'll try to forget about all that and how I was dead tired by the time I left Saturday night, and I'll remember the good of playing those games instead of all the bad.
Speaking of bad, the Chicago Bears game vs. the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday... I was able to watch the game at home, so I did. It was quite hard to watch, as both teams are terrible and while Chicago won 21-13, for the first half of the game they were getting embarrassed by a team that had won only two times all year, and it was their mistakes more than anything else that let Chicago win. The Bears are playing Thanksgiving Day also, and it'll be while I have the big meal with some loved ones. I am expecting the game to be a loss.
I will return a week from today and while that week won't be as action-packed as the one I just had, there still will be some interesting moments.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Monday, November 17, 2014
Interstellar, BurgerMonger, MMA & More Embarrassing Wine Purchases
I do indeed have a more interesting blog post this go-around than the last few I've done. Unfortunately it was an up and down affair. Last Monday I was able to drive all the way to Tampa (the north part, meaning I didn't have to take the dreaded Interstate 4) to see the film Interstellar, as the museum in town as a giant IMAX dome (it's literally shown in a domed building with the screen being projected on the curved side of the building and you look at it while seated in steep seats; it may sound odd but the picture was pretty incredible as it was actual 70mm film instead of the digital that's at most theatres these days. I just wasn't happy with the museum in that constantly you are screwed over if you haven't been there before; you're just supposed to know everything about the place, such as which spot is the best to park at, paying for parking and whatnot. That sort of thing never makes me happy. Obvious things, you don't need to but those things would have been nice for an out of towner.
As for the movie, I've never been a Christopher Nolan fan, which I know is blasphemy to many people but I've thought that way for a long time now. More often than not I don't care for his films. I mainly went and saw this for the 70mm aspect as I had never seen a film that way before. Overall I'll say the movie is average. I can't fault the ambition in trying to tell a serious and mature big-budget tale rather than mindless stupid garbage like the Transformers films or the other atrocious big budget movies of the past few years. There are great images and some nice performances. Unfortunately, the story is a mess and I had many issues with the plot. It's a shame as it's the sort of film I should love and while I often disagree with “the common opinion” it'd be nice if I could agree with the masses more often.
After the film I went home but on the way I stopped in a city for gas and dinner. I wanted to try out a place famous in Tampa (the only area in Florida you can have it) known as BurgerMonger, as I know more than one person who digs the place. Well, to cut the story short I had a strong need to use the restroom by the time I got there... and the men's room was out of order! I was not happy with this as it was not like I could use the ladies room, so I just left and I now will swear off that place without having their food due to that. I had to go so I walked to the nearby Jersey Mike's Subs, which I can get at home and I preferred trying out someplace new but alas... at least I ate there and it included a pair of chocolate chip cookies, which were great.
Tuesday I didn't do a thing which was fine with me. I was feeling down in the dumps anyhow. Don't worry, it isn't anything major; “not understanding people in general” isn't a big deal and besides, I should be used to it by now. I definitely should not complain when I know several people who definitely have had it worse than me as of late with much more serious problems. Wednesday, I just went to Winter Garden Village to visit a few places and you'd think there'd be no problems if I just went to a place that's like 12 miles away from where I live. Well, you and I would be wrong! The issues with traffic were so bad the thought seriously crossed my mind of calling 911, as I wasn't sure if more than one driver was drunk, on drugs, mentally ill, too old/senile to drive, or what. I won't delve into the whole mess but it's a moot point as nothing of consequence happened but even for down here it was a bad day of travel.
Thursday was thankfully more sane. I did more driving, but nothing went wrong this time. I went to another Total Wine & More and this time I bought the other kind of 50 Shades of Grey for the person who asked me to do that a few weeks ago from them. After that I don't have to do it any longer... thankfully. I went to the nearby Mall at Millenia and walked around for a bit. I then ate at a restaurant I hadn't been to in months, Burger 21. I had a nice dinner there with food that's typical in my diet... a burger with fries and a shake. Friday, I didn't do a thing but Saturday was more interesting. The UFC returned to the big screen with their latest pay per view. I actually hadn't seen a pay per view in awhile. As many others think they've expanded too fast and they have been destroyed with injuries so many of their shows aren't really worth going out of the way to see, including this one.
Of course, it wasn't until after the fact that I discovered because of this guard getting destroyed by injuries and it likely bombing on pay per view, they will try again and they'll show the next pay per view in a few weeks on the big screen also. I won't complain about seeing the show on Saturday night as it was actually entertaining even if the star power was weak and I saw it at Universal Studios and not too surprisingly the crowd was just me and a few random people.
Sunday, I actually stayed in and did not go out to see the Chicago Bears play; the legendarily bad way they played in their last two contests was great motivation to stay in, even if they were playing another bad team. Chicago won that home game, but just barely, and as I saw in the highlights their field was atrocious which is embarrassing for a major pro franchise... and the game clock at the stadium wasn't even working right. What a joke.
When I return a week from today, I know my week won't be too interesting... except for the weekend, where I'll be doing something different from the norm. You'll find out in 7 days what that is.
As for the movie, I've never been a Christopher Nolan fan, which I know is blasphemy to many people but I've thought that way for a long time now. More often than not I don't care for his films. I mainly went and saw this for the 70mm aspect as I had never seen a film that way before. Overall I'll say the movie is average. I can't fault the ambition in trying to tell a serious and mature big-budget tale rather than mindless stupid garbage like the Transformers films or the other atrocious big budget movies of the past few years. There are great images and some nice performances. Unfortunately, the story is a mess and I had many issues with the plot. It's a shame as it's the sort of film I should love and while I often disagree with “the common opinion” it'd be nice if I could agree with the masses more often.
After the film I went home but on the way I stopped in a city for gas and dinner. I wanted to try out a place famous in Tampa (the only area in Florida you can have it) known as BurgerMonger, as I know more than one person who digs the place. Well, to cut the story short I had a strong need to use the restroom by the time I got there... and the men's room was out of order! I was not happy with this as it was not like I could use the ladies room, so I just left and I now will swear off that place without having their food due to that. I had to go so I walked to the nearby Jersey Mike's Subs, which I can get at home and I preferred trying out someplace new but alas... at least I ate there and it included a pair of chocolate chip cookies, which were great.
Tuesday I didn't do a thing which was fine with me. I was feeling down in the dumps anyhow. Don't worry, it isn't anything major; “not understanding people in general” isn't a big deal and besides, I should be used to it by now. I definitely should not complain when I know several people who definitely have had it worse than me as of late with much more serious problems. Wednesday, I just went to Winter Garden Village to visit a few places and you'd think there'd be no problems if I just went to a place that's like 12 miles away from where I live. Well, you and I would be wrong! The issues with traffic were so bad the thought seriously crossed my mind of calling 911, as I wasn't sure if more than one driver was drunk, on drugs, mentally ill, too old/senile to drive, or what. I won't delve into the whole mess but it's a moot point as nothing of consequence happened but even for down here it was a bad day of travel.
Thursday was thankfully more sane. I did more driving, but nothing went wrong this time. I went to another Total Wine & More and this time I bought the other kind of 50 Shades of Grey for the person who asked me to do that a few weeks ago from them. After that I don't have to do it any longer... thankfully. I went to the nearby Mall at Millenia and walked around for a bit. I then ate at a restaurant I hadn't been to in months, Burger 21. I had a nice dinner there with food that's typical in my diet... a burger with fries and a shake. Friday, I didn't do a thing but Saturday was more interesting. The UFC returned to the big screen with their latest pay per view. I actually hadn't seen a pay per view in awhile. As many others think they've expanded too fast and they have been destroyed with injuries so many of their shows aren't really worth going out of the way to see, including this one.
Of course, it wasn't until after the fact that I discovered because of this guard getting destroyed by injuries and it likely bombing on pay per view, they will try again and they'll show the next pay per view in a few weeks on the big screen also. I won't complain about seeing the show on Saturday night as it was actually entertaining even if the star power was weak and I saw it at Universal Studios and not too surprisingly the crowd was just me and a few random people.
Sunday, I actually stayed in and did not go out to see the Chicago Bears play; the legendarily bad way they played in their last two contests was great motivation to stay in, even if they were playing another bad team. Chicago won that home game, but just barely, and as I saw in the highlights their field was atrocious which is embarrassing for a major pro franchise... and the game clock at the stadium wasn't even working right. What a joke.
When I return a week from today, I know my week won't be too interesting... except for the weekend, where I'll be doing something different from the norm. You'll find out in 7 days what that is.
Monday, November 10, 2014
The Blog Where I Realize I've Become Pretty Old And Lame
This past Monday the 3rd, I actually did do something with the day, and that was return to Epcot at Walt Disney World to enjoy the last days of their annual Food & Wine Festival. I walked around and I purchased some items and also had dinner there. The musical act they had there on that night was Boyz II Men, who I remember were a huge deal way back when, and on this day they had a huge crowd for when I listened to them for a few minutes. Thankfully it was a beautiful day out so I enjoyed spending that time outdoors. What wasn't so nice... late at night I had an issue with my laptop; it took some time but I was able to fix it on my own, although I was not happy about the whole ordeal.
Tuesday, what I did was go and vote, stop at a 7/11 for some Mountain Dew Solar Flare (I hadn't had it for awhile) then I went to the library for a bit. I enjoyed the relaxing day. Wednesday, I went and got a haircut as I needed one. The lady who gave it was new at the job and while overall it ended up looking fine... I also could have done without her comments about how I “should get haircuts more often” (?) but maybe that's just me. Maybe if I get her again in the future she'll be improved. Anyhow, the traffic there and back was also a headache; at least it was the only thing I had to do on this day.
Thursday, I went with someone to a restaurant, and that restaurant was one I've been to a few times before, Oakwood Smokehouse and Grill. It was a fine experience. They typically draw a “senior citizen” crowd but that's fine with me. Friday, I didn't do a thing. I was thinking about being out and about on Saturday night, but then some things happened.
The idea popped into my head of going to a football game in the evening, only to find out it would probably be raining there. Alas... I can always see schools like Southeastern down in Lakeland play a game next year and heck, I am thinking of going to a small-time college basketball game or two in the next few months.
Plus, something popped up and as a matter of fact, today I'll be doing something for the first time, and that is see a feature length film in 70mm, which I've always heard is much better than the 35mm I was used to seeing at theatres back before most of them converted from film to digital. Plus, it's in IMAX on a legit screen rather than the much smaller ones that now get to use the name too, so you can't beat that. It happens to be Interstellar and I am a heretic who says that Christopher Nolan is overrated, but even then from what I've heard it should be a great experience watching that film in such a spectacular way so next Monday when I return I'll talk all about that and the trip I'll be taking to Tampa to see it in the city's museum.
So it's alright that I had a dull weekend and I did nothing of note except go to Walmart on a Saturday afternoon (not as much of a headache as expected but still) so let me skip ahead to Sunday night. Oh, Sunday night. For the second and last time this season the Chicago Bears played against their hated rivals the Green Bay Packers and well, for their second game in a row they soiled the bed and were disgracefully bad. They were losing 42-0 at halftime and the final score was 55-14. “Pathetic” doesn't even begin to describe the legendarily bad way they have played the last two games. Should I even go out to some bar to see the rest of their games this season? I am seriously wondering that right now.
While this was another blog post where I come across as old and lame, the one I'll do a week from today will be notably more interesting, I promise.
Tuesday, what I did was go and vote, stop at a 7/11 for some Mountain Dew Solar Flare (I hadn't had it for awhile) then I went to the library for a bit. I enjoyed the relaxing day. Wednesday, I went and got a haircut as I needed one. The lady who gave it was new at the job and while overall it ended up looking fine... I also could have done without her comments about how I “should get haircuts more often” (?) but maybe that's just me. Maybe if I get her again in the future she'll be improved. Anyhow, the traffic there and back was also a headache; at least it was the only thing I had to do on this day.
Thursday, I went with someone to a restaurant, and that restaurant was one I've been to a few times before, Oakwood Smokehouse and Grill. It was a fine experience. They typically draw a “senior citizen” crowd but that's fine with me. Friday, I didn't do a thing. I was thinking about being out and about on Saturday night, but then some things happened.
The idea popped into my head of going to a football game in the evening, only to find out it would probably be raining there. Alas... I can always see schools like Southeastern down in Lakeland play a game next year and heck, I am thinking of going to a small-time college basketball game or two in the next few months.
Plus, something popped up and as a matter of fact, today I'll be doing something for the first time, and that is see a feature length film in 70mm, which I've always heard is much better than the 35mm I was used to seeing at theatres back before most of them converted from film to digital. Plus, it's in IMAX on a legit screen rather than the much smaller ones that now get to use the name too, so you can't beat that. It happens to be Interstellar and I am a heretic who says that Christopher Nolan is overrated, but even then from what I've heard it should be a great experience watching that film in such a spectacular way so next Monday when I return I'll talk all about that and the trip I'll be taking to Tampa to see it in the city's museum.
So it's alright that I had a dull weekend and I did nothing of note except go to Walmart on a Saturday afternoon (not as much of a headache as expected but still) so let me skip ahead to Sunday night. Oh, Sunday night. For the second and last time this season the Chicago Bears played against their hated rivals the Green Bay Packers and well, for their second game in a row they soiled the bed and were disgracefully bad. They were losing 42-0 at halftime and the final score was 55-14. “Pathetic” doesn't even begin to describe the legendarily bad way they have played the last two games. Should I even go out to some bar to see the rest of their games this season? I am seriously wondering that right now.
While this was another blog post where I come across as old and lame, the one I'll do a week from today will be notably more interesting, I promise.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Halloween, John Wick, Flea Markets & Chilly Weather
Here's the recap of what I've done since this past Monday. On Monday the 27th I decided to go out and about in the evening. It was to Downtown Disney to watch a movie; I didn't have to go there to check it out, but it was on their giant screen and it's nice to see films that way. With how busy it was and all the construction still going on... who knows when I'll return there. Anyhow, I saw John Wick. Besides it being a movie that sounded up my alley and all the positive reviews I've heard, there's actually a personal connection to it, in that someone I know from the online world worked on set in an uncredited PA role. The movie's indeed pretty great. It's a simple yet effective action movie done in the style of old but it is its own thing and it's one of the best 2014 movies I've seen. Needless to say I highly recommend it.
Tuesday, I went to a restaurant with someone, and it happened to be Buffalo Wild Wings. I actually hadn't been there in a long while, so I needed to rectify that. For the most part it's the same as when I was there last. I had the boneless wings and they were good. Wednesday, the only thing I did was watch the big World Series Game 7 between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals. I have no favorites between the two but I preferred the Royals winning as them going that far was a surprise and they've been awful for most of the past 30 years, while the Giants have been much better in the same timespan. The Giants ended up winning 3-2 and I wasn't too disappointed by that as they had some great players help them win it all.
Thursday, I was thinking of returning to Epcot at Walt Disney World but I heard there'd possibly be rain in the area so I decided to wait until today, actually... I don't know about there but where I live there wasn't a drop of rain. Eh, at least I got to go to the library for a bit. Halloween, I certainly didn't dress up or go anywhere. I just stayed in and relaxed. There weren't too many trick or treaters, unfortunately. Saturday, things got more interesting.
It was on Saturday that I returned to a place I hadn't been to for over a year and that is the Flea World in Sanford. It's a huge covered but open aired flea market. I walked around and got some exercise, and I got some random DVD's. I could have done without many of the vendors blasting music to the point that the cacophony of noise just about disoriented me & gave me a headache, but then again I could have done without the absolute horrid traffic that reminded me why I only make it up to that part of Orlando & the suburbs once in awhile... anyhow, after the flea market I went to the Winghouse, as I hadn't been to that Hooters clone in a long while. The food there was alright but at least I was able to catch up on Twitter/other online activity and I warmed up; for Florida it was chilly but I know most outside of The Sunshine State won't have any sympathy for me.
Sunday, the Bears did not play as they have a bye week. With the way they played I was actually glad I didn't have to watch them play. I just stayed in and relaxed; I did enjoy the extra hour of sleep.
I know this wasn't the most exciting blog but I promise that when I return a week from today, it will be better.
Tuesday, I went to a restaurant with someone, and it happened to be Buffalo Wild Wings. I actually hadn't been there in a long while, so I needed to rectify that. For the most part it's the same as when I was there last. I had the boneless wings and they were good. Wednesday, the only thing I did was watch the big World Series Game 7 between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals. I have no favorites between the two but I preferred the Royals winning as them going that far was a surprise and they've been awful for most of the past 30 years, while the Giants have been much better in the same timespan. The Giants ended up winning 3-2 and I wasn't too disappointed by that as they had some great players help them win it all.
Thursday, I was thinking of returning to Epcot at Walt Disney World but I heard there'd possibly be rain in the area so I decided to wait until today, actually... I don't know about there but where I live there wasn't a drop of rain. Eh, at least I got to go to the library for a bit. Halloween, I certainly didn't dress up or go anywhere. I just stayed in and relaxed. There weren't too many trick or treaters, unfortunately. Saturday, things got more interesting.
It was on Saturday that I returned to a place I hadn't been to for over a year and that is the Flea World in Sanford. It's a huge covered but open aired flea market. I walked around and got some exercise, and I got some random DVD's. I could have done without many of the vendors blasting music to the point that the cacophony of noise just about disoriented me & gave me a headache, but then again I could have done without the absolute horrid traffic that reminded me why I only make it up to that part of Orlando & the suburbs once in awhile... anyhow, after the flea market I went to the Winghouse, as I hadn't been to that Hooters clone in a long while. The food there was alright but at least I was able to catch up on Twitter/other online activity and I warmed up; for Florida it was chilly but I know most outside of The Sunshine State won't have any sympathy for me.
Sunday, the Bears did not play as they have a bye week. With the way they played I was actually glad I didn't have to watch them play. I just stayed in and relaxed; I did enjoy the extra hour of sleep.
I know this wasn't the most exciting blog but I promise that when I return a week from today, it will be better.
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