Gladiator II, Scheels, Kobe’s Steakhouse, Public at the Brickyard & Regurgitation

My apologies for not doing one of these in almost two months. There have been ups and downs since the last time, and not too much has been done. I’ll wish everyone a Merry Christmas (or at least a Happy Holidays) and I will return in a few weeks to discuss the last week of 2024 and the start of 2025.

The biggest event was my return to Kansas for a few days to see one of my sisters & her family. As always, that went fine and it was nice seeing my nephews. Their two cats did provide entertainment just by their being cats. One for certain liked me—twice, she laid down by me on the couch for the purposes of a nap. An afternoon was devoted to lunch at a nice watering hole in Wichita (Public at the Brickyard) which was festively decorated for the holidays, then a place I’d been to before-Nifty’s Nut House-was visited. Another afternoon, the local mall was visited. They had a Scheels, a store I knew of but had never visited; think of Dick’s Sporting Goods & Bass Pro Shops combined, w/ two bowling lanes. It was quite the establishment.

My last night there, Kobe’s Steakhouse was the big meal of the evening. I’d never had a problem there, but given what happened on my flight back, it had to be the source of my food poisoning! The morning I flew back, my stomach was upset even before a quick breakfast at my sister’s house. It escalated at the airport right before boarding began. In short, I felt awful and right as the plane was about to take off… I barfed into the barf bag! In total, puking happened three times (one in the lavatory) and I felt bad for everyone on board. I’ll give credit for Nina the flight attendant and especially Josh-the poor soul who sat right by me-for going above & beyond while I was down & out. As I also fell ill while flying back last December…

Other than that, not too much to write about. I did not attend the annual car show at the Orange County Convention Center for the simple reason that only a few manufacturers were there yet the prices were raised. It’d be a total waste of time & money, so why bother? Thanksgiving was spent (as it has the past several years) in the Fort Myers region. That went swell. One evening I saw Gladiator II; in what’s an unfortunate modern trend, the sequel was in essence a worse version of the first film. II wasn’t horrible but of course the original was far better. Another evening, the Longhorn Steakhouse that’s been open in town the past three months was finally visited.

Another time, dad & me visited my aunt in The Villages and ate at a restaurant. Otherwise, not too much to discuss. Everyone in my family is doing well. While it doesn’t feel exactly like Christmas this year for some reason, I’m still doing alright and more stories will be shared next time.

TRON Lightcycle/Run, Here, The Sunny Pint & Artman County Smokehouse

Here's a bit of a smaller update as I had the time/inclination to write one today. Florida traffic is still as bad as ever but otherwise can't complain about things as of late. One afternoon I picked up someone from the Orlando Sanford Airport and one afternoon had lunch w/ some family members at a hole in the wall BBQ place around The Villages called Artman County Smokehouse; they do serve good food. Another afternoon I was up in Wildwood on my own and ate at another local establishment called The Sunny Pint—they serve decent food.

The highlight was visiting the Magic Kingdom the Monday before Halloween & FINALLY riding TRON Lightcycle/Run, a year and a half after the ride opened. It's not necessary that you've ever seen TRON: Legacy before experiencing the ride. Just note that it has a cool blue aesthetic and cool electronic music (those were the highlights in Legacy; it far surpassed the story, characters, and the de-aging CG at the time that they used to make 2010 Jeff Bridges look like 1982 Jeff Bridges) and you ride stomach-down on unique ride vehicles. Yeah, it's not the longest ride-the most common criticism-but the same can be said about the Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Epcot and both are a lot of fun. Due to the ride vehicles, they actually have lockers that you can access w/ your pass or MagicBand to put your items in beforehand. Sadly, it may be a long while before I'm able to get on Tiana's Bayou Adventure but I won't worry about that now. It wasn't that busy at the Magic Kingdom so TRON was ridden twice and it was in fact neat to visit & ride the Haunted Mansion right before Halloween.

One film was seen theatrically. The night of the election-I voted in the afternoon-it was best to go out and not even think of the ballot results as the most important one wouldn't be determined for hours. Thus, Here, the newest movie from Robert Zemeckis. Of course, I have fond memories of his Back to the Future and has some other fine movies but I know his output as of late hasn't been so hot. As I saw only one trailer for it and it is flopping at the box office, a plot explanation is likely needed. It has the wild gimmick of leaving a camera fixed in place the entire time (until literally the final minutes) as a patch of land is looked at through history... mainly since 1900 and mainly focused on the family of Tom Hanks and his wife Robin Wright. They were both de-aged as that technology has improved in the past 15 years so it didn't look quite as phony to see them as they looked in the 1980's. They still sounded like their old selves but that piece of technology to fix this logic flaw apparently isn't around yet.

While it's not without its flaws, it's a nice movie and unlike most modern films, it is not sarcastic or cynical-which is appreciated by me. A shame that the critical opinion is even worse than that of the public opinion. It even addresses the disappointments in life (including death) which probably isn't a shock for a movie made by a senior citizen. Regardless, I don't think it's as bad as you may have heard... if you heard anything at all.

I may not return until sometime in December. At least I know of a few things to write about then—not just my Thanksgiving plans.

Hurricane Milton, Megalopolis, Miz Kathi's Cotillion Southern Cafe & Mr. McMahon

I'm happy to have created that bit of alliteration. The most important topic to mention is how I survived Hurricane Milton. Indeed it was a worse than usual storm and the brunt of it wasn't even experienced in Clermont. I know various people in & around Tampa, where they did receive the brunt of Milton. Tropicana Field's roof was literally shredded apart and some I knew didn't have power for a few days. Minor damage experienced where I was was indeed that, minor. What luck on my part that nothing major has ever happened from hurricanes to me in the 20 (!) years I've been down here... and more than once, the eye of the storm passed over. It was a relief to survive Milton relatively unscathed. Who knows when or even if the Tampa Bay Rays will return to Tropicana Field next season but that's minor in the grand scheme of things.

By the way, those that listen to esoteric podcasts... if anyone listens to Between the Sheets (an inside look at pro wrestling history) and heard my name... yes, it was me who requested on Patreon them covering a week in 2007. That will drop sometime tomorrow. No, I'm not on the show itself!

Only one film was seen theatrically by me in the past several weeks: Megalopolis. I haven't seen much Francis Ford Coppola since his 70's heyday, but as he (mostly) fell off badly after Apocalypse Now that's probably for the best. I HATED Megalopolis. The story itself was ridiculous; the execution of it is best described as “arthouse, avant-garde nonsense” and I rarely am down for such antics. It was just baffling and was not an enjoyable experience.

Otherwise, the past few weeks have been relatively quiet. When the food trucks were in downtown Clermont on the 4^th, a trip was made down there & among other delicacies, a warm soft Amish pretzel was had; now that was divine. I also saw the 6 part Mr. McMahon documentary on Netflix. As someone who follows such things quite closely despite not watching the modern product (especially the WWE) in YEARS, of course I know or would have heard what was half-truths, mostly right, downright fabrications, etc. It's naturally more for the casuals although it was nice to hear Vince McMahon (figuratively) expose himself w/ his own words and make himself look like a total weirdo. The rare footage/photos was also a plus.

To end this on a positive note, one late afternoon/evening was spent w/ family. Dinner was had at Miz Kathi's Cotillion Southern Cafe, a small quaint place in Wildwood full of charm. They are most famed for their pastries but just from their dinner I know it's a great place I'd be happy to visit in the future. I'll do another one of these sometime in November.

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Oreo, Southeastern Fire Football & Primark

Now I am finally caught up to the randomness of my life and what I've done as of late. Recently, I viewed Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. In fact, the original was viewed by me both as an adult and a kid; it's always remained enjoyable. The entire era where Tim Burton has made bad movies-it's entirely been avoided by me, as hearsay was enough for me to stay away. There was skepticism as to if the sequel would be like most of the bad, needless, creatively lazy sequels/reboots/whatever of recent years. Of course the original is better but Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice was still pretty good. While not all the humor hit nor were all the weird new ideas successful, some of them did work and it was REALLY appreciated by me that the movie wasn't full of fan-service, fell into the modern tropes or had the title character act politically correct. Instead, it felt in the spirit of the OG property and thank goodness it wasn't “safe.” Even the musical choices I approved of-it was different from the Harry Belafonte heard in 1988. By the way, the limited edition Haunted Apple from Fanta—it has a mixed reception yet the flavor is good to me.

As a random aside, the new Oreo flavor for Coca-Cola Zero Sugar was tried. The regular Zero Sugar was never tried before, mind you... nor will I ever try that! There are good reasons why I don't drink diet or zero sugar sodas—the taste is like sewer water, to borrow a phrase. Sorry, even w/ the taste of Oreo, it was not a taste preferable to me.

Recently I drove to the Florida Mall where the new Primark store was visited. I have it on good authority that their location at the Sawgrass Mills Mall near Miami is huge & has a great selection. The Orlando location of this famous Irish chain is small, has a bad layout and the selection was rather poor. What a massive disappointment. Otherwise, no new places have been visited as of late that weren't mentioned recently. This includes restaurants... although for the first time in at least 15 years, I ate at the California Pizza Kitchen restaurant at the Mall at Millenia. They've been open as long as I can remember and their food is fine, so might as well go there, right? The quality of their food hasn't changed, thankfully.

A few days ago, I went to the AMC at Disney Springs to see The Killer's Game, a film starring Dave Bautista, some other people from Marvel movies, various B-movie actors and even Ben Kingsley. It was Great Value Guy Ritchie, Tarantino and John Wick stuck in a blender; nothing more needs to be said about it.

Finally, I'll mention that last Saturday I went to Lakeland to see an NAIA football team play—the Southeastern Fire. I've been there before to see games as they have a nice stadium which is great compared to some other teams on the same or similar level who typically play in random municipal stadiums. Albeit, those previous two games were in 2015 (against a college which would soon then close its doors) and 2018, so my return was long-overdue. This time it was against Reinhardt, located north of Atlanta. It was a muggy night and during the game, there were flashes of lightning in the distance. Suddenly those came closer... yes, there was a delay, which ended up lasting two hours. No, I did not stick around to the end. The delay began late in the 3^rd quarter w/ Southeastern leading 21-10. Plus, the heavens opened up and it started pouring; waiting around in the car for an indeterminate amount of time wasn't going to happen. I saw enough where it was a satisfying experience at the stadium. There have been changes in college football in recent years—to an old goat like me, most aren't for the better but plenty can argue about that. While this also applies to NAIA football it's not to the same degree so I can view those games without feeling conflicted.

On the way back I did stop at a Harvey's Supermarket; they are owned by Winn-Dixie so the products are the same. As I left, a couple best described as “derelict” were arguing w/ each other to an uncomfortable degree. They were ignored the best that I could and thank heavens they paid no heed to me.

My return will be sometime in October.

Gochujang Sauce, Alien: Romulus, Coraline, Afraid, Sid Vicious & James Earl Jones

Around this time next week I'll make my next post & finally I will be caught up. For now, discussion of a few theatrical movies plus several random tidbits. First, just why my opinion of Alien: Romulus was lower than that of most people. Alien is a classic & Aliens is one of my personal favorites. Romulus was just dumb from the beginning, was even more dimly-lit than most modern movies, had insufferable characters, the inclusion of a certain actor & the size of their role was just a horrendous idea and by the final act it seemed like a fan film... a bad fan film. Why many people liked or even loved it is beyond me.

Coraline in comparison was much more appealing to my tastes; while it was something I should have watched when it first came out 15 years ago, at least my initial viewing was on the big screen. Between the stunning stop-motion animation, the macabre story and the score, it was a delightful experience. Not as delightful was viewing a movie I suspected would be bad, and Afraid was indeed that. At least it was at the AMC at Disney Springs. Afraid has John Cho and his family receive an AI device that runs the house-as they constantly remind you, it's much more advanced than Alexa. The movie was just a dumb mess which did at least try to be modern but it was so disjointed and the final 10 minutes became so hysterical, I can't give it a passing grade yet at the same time it can't be rated as terrible. It was viewed in one of their 10 Dine-In auditoriums, meaning a dinner of boneless wings was had by me. For the first time I tried it with gochujang sauce, not knowing for sure what the taste would be. You know what, it was actually pretty good; it's a sauce that should have been tried by me in the past.

As a pro wrestling fan of course I have to mention that Sid Vicious (i.e. Sid, Sycho Sid, Sid Justice, etc.) passing away recently was sad news. Sure, he was eccentric-that's why he never stayed in one federation for too long-but what a million dollar look and million dollar charisma he had. People I know who haven't watched in ages still remembered him. I did see him wrestle live once: at a WCW Nitro show in Rockford, Illinois. For a show in a minor market like Rockford they went all out with surprises and big matches. Besides getting to see a match in the perennial feud between Sting and Ric Flair, Sid wrestled against none other than Hulk Hogan.

Finally, like everyone else I was saddened to hear that James Earl Jones died. Yet I shouldn't be too sad—he lived to the age of 93 and for decades was beloved by millions around the world. It's a voice that will be missed as it's literally been heard by me since my childhood.

To reiterate, sometime next week I shall return.

Cook Out, Sinclair Gas, Mountain Dew Overdrive, Toasted Ravioli & Other Kansas Road Trip Anecdotes

Sometime in September I'll mention the other things I've done as of late (including my explanation of why unlike many, Alien: Romulus was a movie I did not like, and I love both Alien & Aliens) but there's plenty for me to say about how I took my first road trip in fifteen (!) years and drove a vehicle from Florida to Kansas then flew back home several days later. The reasons why aren't important—it's nothing for anyone to be concerned about. The long drive on my own wouldn't be a concern; sure, the only times that I'd been in a car on the way to Kansas as an adult was w/ someone driving but I've driven from Illinois to Florida on several occasions in the past. I had podcasts and music to listen to so that wasn't a concern.

I left on Sunday the 11^th and drove to Tupelo, Mississippi; America's Best Value Inn was just that. It wasn't fancy but at least I slept in a king bed, had a mini fridge/microwave and it was less than 100 bucks. First, food was at at a Cook Out restaurant, a popular Carolinas joint but they had one in Troy, Alabama. Their famed shakes were good but I hope their burgers aren't always burned like they were here. Dinner was at a Jack's... no, not Jack in the Box but an Alabama staple known as Jack's.

The chicken fingers were tasty; the service, rather horrible. It took me a half hour to get my food! They had an issue making food but of course it took me overhearing a conversation to know this instead of anyone informing me of that fact. Never stop at the Jack's in Parrish, Alabama. What I learned on this trip: the theory concerning how workers in certain occupations went to other jobs after COVID so at places like gas stations and restaurants in general, the average worker is not that great at their job, to say the least. I wasn't sure if it was just a Florida thing but it seems to be true nationwide.

Monday the 12^th I drove to the Wichita area of Kansas and oh boy, it left me frazzled. Not only was there busy traffic in Arkansas and Oklahoma, I was stunned by how many bad, erratic drives there were. No details but I was relieved to be at my final destination. It was at least amusing to get gas and then a quick bite to eat at a KUM & GO station (that name will soon be eradicated as they were bought out recently. Might as well, given that the food service & maintenance on their soft drink dispenser was only mediocre. It's always neat to stop at a Sinclair as hey, a dinosaur is their logo and dinos are cool.

Oh, and in Memphis a rest room stop was needed and as I literally drove by the giant pyramid that used to be an arena but now is a giant Bass Pro Shops, that's where I stopped then looked around for a short amount of time. They have a LOT in there, including a pond in the middle, restaurants and a museum. Believe it or not, me and two pals once went on Spring Break in Memphis 21 years ago and we saw the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Chicago Bulls in a game as tickets were only like 9 bucks each. The area looked great but otherwise was rather lousy. They were still building their current arena at the time. It sat abandoned for years until the bizarre idea happened for it to become a huge store. It was nice to visit there again, in other words.

I won't dwell on my time in Kansas, except that of course it was nice to hang out with family, and at one point babysit a toddler for a bit. Thankfully that turned out fine as he was usually preoccupied and otherwise didn't have any meltdowns. Nothing new was visited in Wichita yet that's OK. I did visit a Casey's in Oklahoma for a Monday evening meal the another afternoon in Kansas for a drink. I hadn't visited a Casey's General Store in many years. That's where I had Mountain Dew Overdrive (a punch) and Goji Citrus Strawberry. Both were good, as was me having LiveWire. They haven't sold LiveWire in Florida in years, sadly.

Friday the 16^th, it was time to fly home. Allegiant doesn't have direct flights to Orlando or the Tampa area so instead, it was Southwest for me. I'd never been on Southwest before; heck, I'd never been on a flight w/ a layover before either. The first flight was to St. Louis then a 2 hour wait until the flight to Orlando International. The first flight was bumpy but otherwise fine. In St. Louis it seemed a neat idea to try a local delicacy, which was sold in more than one restaurant. I had the toasted ravioli; interesting yet good.

The flight to Orlando was in the evening so was only 1/6 full. Pretty soon they'll end this practice but they still currently assign you a spot in line, where you then enter the plane and pick your own seat. Both times were aisle seats so it was much more comfortable than the typical Allegiant flight. The service on both legs was rather good; there was free (salty) pretzels and a beverage, my checked suitcase was free—so overall I was happy w/ Southwest. The airline has occasional hiccups due to their ancient computer system but don't worry, there was no issue on either Boeing 737 I was on, even the MAX that was the second leg. What a horrible past few years Boeing has had but that's another topic for another time.

Overall, even with the negatives, it was nice to see that I can still drive 20 some odd hours over the span of two days even as a middle-aged person, experience some new things, and spend time w/ family. Like I said, I'll see you in September.

Twisters, A Quiet Place: Day One, Paris Olympics & July Craziness

As it's a rainy afternoon now & the Olympics are on the TV, it was time for me to do one of these. Now, it's not been too eventful a July. Mainly, I've returned to various places to eat and for entertainment. For example, Mecum had their smaller-scale version of their auto auction in Kissimmee earlier on the month, so I went one day. The same goes for various restaurants; yesterday I ate at a Yard House for the first time since last year. Oh, and one afternoon I got a much-needed haircut; in fact, more needed than usual.Otherwise, I've watched various sports on TV (like the MLB All-Star Game) and marveled at all the wild events in July. This includes the attempted political assassination and general shocking moments in that world along w/ too many celebrity deaths of figures that were popular when I was a kid. You know, like Richard Simmons and Shelley Duvall.

The Olympics probably aren't seen as “cool” by some and I realize the exorbitant cost of hosting one. It's still entertaining to me, whether it be the popular sports or the niche ones like handball, archery and field hockey. I was amused by the opening ceremonies and how they were even more bombastic & weirder than typical—the parade of athletes in boats down the Seine, a Celine Dion musical number on the Eiffel Tower, French heavy metal bands doing a musical number about the French Revolution, a piano lighting on fire, etc. Anyhow, I know Mom would have loved watching this edition of the games; she always did. I still can't believe she passed away on the 25^th of this month 4 years ago already. Sigh...

To close this out, what I've seen theatrically since the 4^th of July:

First I'll mention Kill, a Hindi-language movie from India that not only is more interesting than its generic title, is not the wild 3 hour blend of many genres that includes musical numbers that many people assume all Indian cinema is. Rather, it's more along the lines of John Wick or the Indonesian Raid movies. The lead does battle with many villains on a train and wow does it being graphically violent. It was a blast as there was still the melodrama that you usually find in Indian cinema. It was neat seeing a serious, gruesome bloody martial arts picture from that country, and on the big screen no less.

A Quiet Place: Day One I realize is a film that some didn't like as it was more about a personal story between two characters (and a cat!) rather than an epic blockbuster about how those aliens first invaded Earth. If you're fine with that, you can be like me and enjoy a drama-thriller with many introspective moments alongside the scary alien bits. Thankfully, I've liked all the movies in that franchise so far.

Finally, last weekend was Twisters. The crowd experience wasn't the best but I won't dwell on that. Instead, it was dumb popcorn entertainment that I still had fun with, no matter how scientifically implausible it probably was. The original Twister I don't love yet does have a nice memory attached to it: the entire family saw the movie theatrically during the summer of '96.

Sometime in August I'll return. Nothing is on the agenda... yet.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Thelma, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 & 4th of July

As I had the free time to do one of these (nothing is ever done on the 4^th of July... which is not a complaint as it's easier to relax at home & view fireworks on the TV rather than going out among the masses & trying to see some when the weather may not cooperate anyhow.), this was part of my afternoon entertainment. Aside from a haircut that was in fact much-needed, the only thing I've done of note was viewing some films.

The first one I'll mention is the Netflix special I experienced last night. For YEARS there were rumors of a Beverly Hills Cop 4, to the point I never thought there would ever be one. The first two are cool, while the third, rather bad. Finally, it happened, and... while not as terrible as 3, I otherwise wasn't a fan. The story was just lame & obvious, the presence of too much modern humor was a turn-off, Axel Foley wasn't the legacy character done the dirtiest by Axel F, and the character of Axel's daughter I could just never warm up to. When even the action wasn't shot in a thrilling way—disappointing. Still, many others like it more than me so your mileage may vary.

Last week I saw an independent movie theatrically called Thelma. It starred June Squibb, an actress in her 90's who has voiced some Pixar characters and I know her best for the 2014 independent movie Nebraska, starring Bruce Dern. Whether on stage or on screen, this was her first starring role, which is amazing. It's about a senior citizen who is ripped off in a phone scam & she wants her money back. It's a charming movie about the perils of aging which does not become condescending and it is great she teams up with Richard Roundtree-this was his last role before he died last fall.

Finally, several days ago I viewed Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1. I don't love everything he's ever done and have never seen his former show Yellowstone but I do respect how he used millions of dollars of his own money to bring an ambitious passion project to the screen—of course, this decision literally ruined his marriage and the box office performance was as mediocre as I figured for a movie that skewed towards audiences even older than me, but alas... a 12 hour epic saga Western in four different chapters in a theatrical setting is a tough sell. Me, I appreciated how it did NOT feel like a modern movie and instead I greatly enjoyed this 3 hour film (flaws & all) which juggled many different characters in several distinct settings; presumably everyone from all the settings will meet up in Chapter 4 but regardless, I saw enough where I am on board to see Chapter 2 and where they take the film. Thankfully, Chapter 2 is in early August although the rest won't be until next year.

When I return later in July, there will be more to discuss. Hopefully everyone has a nice 4^th.

Mountain Dew Summer Flavors, Run Lola Run, In a Violent Nature & Pinocchio Village Haus

Now I should finally be caught up. One thing I've enjoyed so far this summer is the THREE new Mountain Dew flavors that for me unexpectedly appear at the grocery store; of course I enjoy Liberty Chill (formerly Liberty Brew, which combines FIFTY flavors), the raspberry/strawberry Star Spangled Splash and the peach lemonade Freedom Fusion. Also good are both Pepsi Peach and Pepsi Lime along with the coconut-flavored Dr. Pepper, most of which I mentioned previously. By the way, I just learned that there is yet another new flavor, this one only at Speedway & 7-11 stores: Infinite Swirl, which sounds awfully similar to the old Typhoon flavor as it's also strawberry-pineapple. That will have to be discussed next time.

One activity I did a few days ago: return to Walt Disney World, the Magic Kingdom in particular. Thankfully it wasn't too unbearably hot or too unbearably busy. Tiana's Bayou Adventure-the replacement for Splash Mountain-will open in a few days; looking at the exterior, I noticed that a tree now partially blocked the popular view of people going down the hill... even more peculiar is that as of now, there are only small signs noting this new attraction. Why isn't there a giant sign at the entrance like there was w/ Splash Mountain? Disney has baffled me along with many others in recent years; maybe a sign will go up by the time it opens on Friday. At least for dinner I ate at Pinocchio Village Haus, a restaurant in Fantasyland which has decent food.

Regardless, I'll close this out by mentioning the two films I've watched on the big screen. First was Run Lola Run; yes, the German film from the late 90's that was 4K restored and released mainly at AMC Cinemas due to a lack of new movies. I had never seen it before. In 2024, the late 90's electronic music throughout most of the runtime tickled me pink but its unique plot/format still felt fresh now-I was glad to have finally given it a shot.

My opinion of the horror movie In a Violent Nature is far less glowing. It's a Canadian independent production which is designed to be like an 80's slasher out in the woods where the perspective is from the killer that's a blatant ripoff of undead Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13^th. Unfortunately, this means plenty of walking around doing nothing, a switch in perspective at times that belies the gimmick, insufferable characters all over the place, it was shot in a modern style, and gore so absurdly over the top it's just stupid. I HATED the movie and how the conclusion included a random 5 minute soliloquy from a new character which meant absolutely nothing. Yes, this was pretentious also & tried to “subvert expectations”, which usually really upsets me after experiencing how The Last Jedi followed that exact same formula. Naturally, many “film fans” dig it but Lord did I not.

When I return sometime in July, I should be discussing better films than that.

Oakland Athletics, Hogan’s Hangout, Eaton’s Beach, Red Lobster & TGI Friday’s

As has become customary now, this is Part 1 of what I’ve done in the past month, with Part 2’s posting to occur in around 24 hours. I’ll start with the negatives first. Several people I know (no, not immediate family) have had health issues as of late, which have included major surgery in one case. They are all fine now. However, someone I met a few times years ago—he unexpectedly died earlier in the month. The fact that he was only a few years older than me… in addition, Donald Sutherland passing away bummed me out too.

Now, onto my usual frivolity. Late in May I had the opportunity to visit the St. Petersburg area one afternoon/evening. First, I went to Hogan’s Hangout in Clearwater. Yes, that’s as in Hulk Hogan; long ago he used to have a standard restaurant in Tampa attached to a hotel but that closed. Now, he has a beach dive bar/restaurant which is as grungy as you’d expect but they did have pretty tasty shrimp. No, The Hulkstar wasn’t in attendance. Afterwards was the drive to Tropicana Field to see the Tampa Bay Rays lose to the Oakland Athletics 3-0. Not the most exciting game yet it was still fun; furthermore, due to a flash sale I had good seats for not a lot of cash. Neither team is full of superstars but that is OK.

Otherwise, nothing too extraordinary as of late. Several restaurants old to me were revisited for the first time in awhile; this includes Eaton’s Beach Sandbar & Grill in Weirdsdale w/ family, a Miller’s Ale House, Red Lobster (a shame what happened w/ them), and a TGI Friday’s where there was more staff than customers but the food was decent & the jukebox played 80’s hits… including Gerald McMann’s Cry Little Sister, as famously heard in The Last Boys! I also visited the likes of Citywalk one night and the Florida Mall one afternoon for the first time in months. Finally, a few days ago I went to Walt Disney World… the Magic Kingdom in particular.

I’ll definitely have more to say tomorrow, from movie reviews to new soda flavors.

Slim Chickens, Lotus Electre, Pepsi Peach, Sprite Chill & 76 Gas

It's been over a month so inevitably there will be something I plum neglect to mention but there isn't too much to share anyhow. There was some mundane activities such as going to the IKEA in Orlando to pick up a new pillow (the old one was literally falling apart), returning to EPCOT for the afternoon, visiting a Whole Foods and lunch at the Raising Cane's in Kissimmee; otherwise there weren't too many highs... while thankfully there weren't too many lows either.

There thankfully are some limited edition sodas for the summer. Sprite Chill is simply the soda w/ cherry, meaning it was pretty tasty. The same can be said for both Pepsi Peach & Pepsi Lime. There's also Dr. Pepper Creamy Coconut; it was purchased but hasn't been sampled as of now. To mention something completely different, at ironically a gas station I saw the Lotus Electre for the first time. The name signifies that it's the brand's all-electric SUV. It looked rather sharp, especially in British Racing Green. Speaking of gasoline, recently in Davenport I visited a new 76 gas station. It was the first purpose-built 76 around here in many years. Due to its distance, that place will only barely be visited. I wish places like that and Cumberland Farms was closer; alas, there's still plenty of decent places around the area to stop and if need be, purchase something from the convenience store.

The one new restaurant of note was Slim Chickens, located at the south tip of Celebration, meaning another place I wish was closer. There's one in Wichita but I had never been able to visit it. In fact I was impressed by the food; it's a relief that even if some places are relatively far away, there's enough places to visit for dinner when some places this year have either fallen off and are lousy or closed down.

Nothing is planned for Memorial Day Weekend; that is fine w/ me as that's usually the case. By the time I return next month, there are some plans I have in store for the next several weeks.

Spider-Man, The Mummy, Mars Express, The Blue Angels & Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

So, it's been awhile since I've done one of these. In fact, it will be another two-parter, with the second half coming about 24 hours from now. As it is easier to do, this will be devoted to the theatrical movies I've seen since the middle of April. Before that, in fact I was bummed that a few days ago, Dabney Coleman passed away. I remember him mainly as a jerk boss from the likes of The Muppets Take Manhattan (which I revisited on Sunday night as it happened to be on Turner Classic Movies) and Nine to Five, which I finally saw in full this past Saturday. I also remember him from Cloak & Dagger, a childhood favorite Hitchcock for kids pastiche that still works as an adult and is quite violent for its type.

Sony brought all the Spider-Man movies to the big screen so last month I saw the 2002 movie (which beforehand was only watched like 20 years ago because it featured Macho Man Randy Savage for a few minutes) and the 2004 sequel. Both drew big crowds and they were into the films; I was happy to watch both in such a setting, although it doesn't change my ambivalence towards comic book movies in general. Another blast from the past was 1999's The Mummy. I was happy to have finally seen that theatrically as it's still a hoot, a fun time. After that I revisited The Mummy Returns then The Scorpion King at home; bad CG aside, those are fun also.

One night was a random French animated movie & I took a chance on it. Thank heavens then that Mars Express was a very interesting futuristic sci-fi picture involving AI, robots, and a neo-noir style. It was rather rad. A few days ago, I went to an IMAX screen to check out the new documentary The Blue Angels, about the United States Navy demonstration aerial act where a small group of skilled pilots do death-defying maneuvers 12 to 18 inches from each other and it looks impressive visually. Plenty of time is spent with the pilots on the ground and it was all interesting.

In the past I've viewed all the Planet of the Apes movies; the ones from the 60's and 70's are all interesting & usually had rather dark conclusions. The 2001 film... the less said about that, the better! The new timeline that began w/ Rise in 2011, it was surprisingly great given the state of most blockbusters in the past 20 or so years—most of those I don't even bother with. Yet, that trilogy w/ Caesar as the ape leader is tremendous. I had feelings of trepidation about Kingdom as it was a new director plus new characters. Much to my relief-nitpicks aside-it was a very good movie where it was easy to enjoy Noa's Hero's Journey along with seeing the world 300 years after the previous trilogy's setting. Once again the CG was impressive although it was the bold, interesting stories that made me rate that trilogy highly. It did make me want to see the payoffs to the setup that Kingdom created.

To reiterate, I'll return tomorrow evening w/ the rest of the story.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, The First Omen, Monkey Man, Tesla Cybertruck & Imo’s Pizza

Finally, I saw a Cybertruck out in the wild. It was at a Walmart earlier today, of all places. In person, it’s still ugly! I don’t care for Elon personally but Tesla vehicles (and most electric vehicles) are pretty cool… although still flawed and it will take a LONG time before it’s practical for a lot of people. Tesla seems to not be as well-built the more they have become popular-I see them in Florida constantly-as searching for Cybertruck just now revealed several different bad news stories of them stopping sales, software errors, and them breaking down.

So far, my April hasn’t been too eventful. I’ve mainly visited new locations of restaurants I’ve been to before (such as the new Pollo Campero that is on Orange Avenue right by Michigan Avenue), a Denny’s for the first time in a few years (even they have raised their prices) and two downtown Clermont bars for the first time in more than a year. That was nice, although the rest of the month should have more for me to discuss. Those not familiar with Imo’s Pizza, they are from St. Louis and offer their product with what they call Provel cheese-provolone, cheddar and Swiss. They now offer frozen pizza at Winn-Dixie, which I already had. It was… interesting but not bad.

In any event, I’ll close this out by mentioning a trio of movies I saw.as of late:

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was the same as the other movies in the MonsterVerse that began w/ Kong: Skull Island… meaning it was silly yet fun popcorn entertainment. Of course it’s drastically different from Godzilla Minus One but both can be enjoyed for what they are. The humor did not always land yet I still liked the film, especially on an IMAX screen.

Monkey Man: Oh boy—a lot of film fans went wild for the movie, but not me. It was a slow and ponderous drama for the most part (the trailers were misleading) and when there was action, it was mostly shot in an incoherent manner. The two hour movie felt like five; my crowd was not digging it, including several looking at their watches to see when it would end. Afterwards, as I disposed of my garbage, an older Black man told me and no one else (because I was the only one nearby) “Never in my whole life have I wanted a movie to end!” and I said I agreed. The conversation did not progress past that but my comment was just a tiny bit hyperbolic. I have viewed worse theatrically and films that felt like they would never end. However, it was quite disappointing so don’t listen to the hype.

The First Omen: What a shame that I had to leave the AMC at Disney Springs due to an awful audience full of brain-dead people constantly dead-eyed looking at their phones and also flapping their jowls. I was NOT happy, especially because the horror film wasn’t either one of those pretentious “elevated horror” pieces of twaddle that do little for me or the PG-13 movies that are just totally lame. The Exorcist: Believer was unbelievably bad so what a shock that this movie was actually pretty good. To clarify, once I left in a huff and got away from the disastrous screening, the movie was seen in full by me at my local cinema in Clermont, where the experience was much better.

But back to The First Omen. It tried to be a serious 70’s or 80’s horror, with homages that hardcore buffs will know. It had some legitimate scares, even. I refuse to believe that NELL TIGER FREE was born with that name as how preposterous would that be… in any case, she was great as the lead so no complaints there.

I should return in a few weeks’ time. By then I should have a few adventures to discuss.

Easter, Love Lies Bleeding, Mountain Dew Baja Point Break Punch, Potbelly Sandwich Works & Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

On this Easter Sunday, I had the time to do one of these. Not too much to share during this update, but despite some ups and downs, nothing too negative to mention and I really shouldn't complain, all things considered. My Easter was & will be spent at home, relaxing. Some baseball has been watched since the full season began a few days ago. As for March, I visited some restaurants for the first time in awhile; new to the area was Potbelly Sandwich Works, a chain popular in the Midwest. They have decent sandwiches.

The one new to me location was The Legacy Restaurant at Nancy Lopez Country Club, up in The Villages. A relative was visiting so me and various people went to that relatively nice place for dinner. It was good food. Otherwise, March was a quiet month where not a lot happened. That is OK after how hectic February was at times. I did try the two new limited edition sodas from Mountain Dew (Point Break and Laguna Lemonade), which are both quite refreshing. Other than that... the rest will be me discussing some random movies I saw theatrically.

Love Lies Bleeding was that rather peculiar romantic movie featuring Kristen Stewart, the buff Katy O'Brian and a hilarious-looking Ed Harris. It was rather odd (and set in 1989) but despite some odd fetishistic moments and an ending out of nowhere which almost lost me until the final scene allowed me to rationalize what it meant... it was something I enjoyed.

A few nights ago I saw a little horror movie designed for a niche audience... which I happened to be a part of. Late Night with the Devil was a found footage thing where the gimmick was that the viewers saw a faux 70's late night talk show where a possessed teenage girl was a guest—of course she eventually caused havoc. It did look and feel the part, but most importantly for me, a key character was right up my alley: someone obviously modeled on the late magician turned renowned skeptic James Randi, who debunked pseudoscience. As I know that lore pretty well and so did the filmmakers, they greatly targeted my esoteric tastes. Unfortunately, some people online had a massive overreaction and got upset that the movie used THREE AI images which were interstitials on the program. Yes the filmmakers shouldn't have done it as otherwise the world that humans created was authentic. At the same time, the calls for boycotts or bootlegging the movie (no, really) was way overblown and even now is just preposterous that they freaked out over something so minor. The film is great, but I'm not the most objective here.

Finally, I went to a place I hadn't visited in years (the CMX Plaza Cinema Cafe in downtown Orlando) to check out Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Some were curious so I felt obliged to. Afterlife was fine, although too dependent on nostalgia for the first movie. Frozen Empire was at least different and not as nostalgic. Still, it was overstuffed w/ plot & characters and as I think too often w/ modern movies, the humor did not always land. Overall, though, the movie was fine. Plenty of lousy modern movies are out there, so I'm happy when a movie does enough well to just be fine. As for the Plaza Cinema Cafe... there's no reason for me to return. The service was only OK; that doesn't even include the giant pile of spilled popcorn in my auditorium from a previous screening that no one bothered to clean up. It wasn't a surprise that I was the only one at this screening.

I'll return sometime in April. The month will be busier, I am pretty confident in thinking that.

Dune: Part Two, Summer House on the Lake, Fatburger, Coca Cola Spiced & Daddy's Chicken Shack

My March may be relatively dull; at least February was quite eventful. First off, I was able to see Dune: Part Two last night. I've never read the novels but the David Lynch version from the 80's is fine and Part One from 2021 I really enjoyed. Well, Part Two is even better, a misgiving or two about the plot aside. Viewing it on a giant screen is preferable, if possible. The spectacle, the acting, the mature plot, the characters, the action, the destruction, the score... it's all great.

Several restaurants new to me were visited. Via reading an article concerning Jack in the Box coming to the area (one day), the people who will manage that also brought in a chain new to me: the memorably-named Daddy's Chicken Shack. It was a quick service place in Lake Mary which makes fine food. I won't be able to visit often but at least it was not a letdown. Way down on the southern tip of Celebration (visited on a night where I went to Old Town for a bit) was Fatburger; long ago they had one in Clearwater for a short amount of time before going away. Not my favorite burger yet overall the food was still fine & in the future I'll try one of their shakes. Speaking of beverages, the new limited edition Coca Cola Spiced is out; “spiced raspberry” is at least traditional compared to their outside the box flavors they've had in recent years, and is pretty decent.

Before I go-likely only to return late in the month-I'll mention the new restaurant at Disney Springs: Summer House on the Lake, right by the AMC. It has “California” food, meaning “pasta and a few other items.” It looked nice, has decent service, the price isn't too bad by Disney standards and I actually went there twice: once on my own and the other w/ some other people. Both times I liked the food; the portions are a tad small but otherwise I can't complain.

Salt Shack, Alien Swirling Saucers, Madame Web, Citrus Tower & My Birthday

I'll post a continuation of this the next day. Yes, plenty will have to be mentioned, mostly due to having both family and a family friend down here the latter half of February, the friend longer than the family. Fun was had, although it was for certain exhausting. One detail that was reinforced: too many restaurants have fallen off due to the pandemic. I'm referring to both the food and the service. Those places won't be mentioned by me out of the kindness of my heart.

Another detail that isn't a deal-breaker but is still unfortunate: the decision to have your restaurant play LOUD music for no good reason. This includes places like Raising Cane's (they opened a new location in the western half of Kissimmee) and Salt Shack, a new joint in Clermont which I knew nothing about as I'd never been to their original location in Tampa before. That is a shame as Cane's always has tasty chicken and Salt Shack had seafood that everyone enjoyed... that's where I chose to eat for my birthday. I'm now... well, let's just say “old!” Tomorrow, I'll mention several other restaurants which are worthy of compliments—or to use a phrase I understand is “popular” among “the youth”, deserve their flowers.

It was nice having that sister (the one who still lives in Illinois) down here with her beau and two young children. My niece is two so all she can call me is “Baa!” but it is adorable. With them, one morning in Clermont was visiting the Citrus Tower (my first time there since shortly after I moved down here) which offers nice views but little else, especially for the price it is at now and a breakfast restaurant known as Cheeser's Palace, which wasn't as good as most people proclaim it to be. An even more fun day was at Hollywood Studios; of course the kids loved such rides as the Alien Swirling Saucers and Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway. No one loved the now too-common issue of various attractions breaking down at Walt Disney World—alas. The Genie+ app and the general cost of Disney has rankled everyone, including at least one popular video on YouTube I saw several weeks ago.

Yes, last weekend I used my AMC A-List app to see the “masterpiece” that was Madame Web. It wasn't because I care about comic book movies-I don't-but rather plenty was already consumed by me concerning how bad the movie was. Turns out, it WAS quite bad, although amusingly so. What I plan on seeing soon should be MUCH better than that, although it is likely that will be discussed late March.

Jeni's Ice Cream, Out of Darkness, Taglilino Pasta & Level Up Lemonade

In the few hours before the Super Bowl begins, I have the time to mention a few things; might as well do it now as the back half of February will be full of activities. The game itself I could not possibly care less about (and I say this as someone who knows fans of both the 49'ers and Chiefs) but I'll make a prediction anyhow: San Francisco 22, Kansas City 21. Feel free to chuckle if this was way off the mark.

One moment I should have mentioned last time was that when I was in Winter Park several weeks ago, I had dessert at a place new to me: Jeni's Ice Cream. In fact, it was very good so a repeat visit will happen one day. Last Friday the food trucks were in downtown Clermont as that's the monthly first Friday in the month tradition & I was able to attend. Dinner was Taglilino Pasta, which was good. Level Up Lemonade provided the beverage; in fact, the gimmick was Super Mario Bros. That extended to the costumes that the young couple working there were wearing. It wasn't cheap but at least the concoction was in a huge container... and it was quite good. Downtown Clermont now has a large selection of eateries in brick and mortar buildings which need to be sampled by me... that'll come later in 2024. Restaurants I used to like back in the day have fallen off-perhaps I'll explain another time-so it'd be nice to find a good spot close to home.

Otherwise, not too much else to write about. On Saturday the 27^th I picked up someone from the airport in Sanford. Before then I was in Daytona Beach, which yes meant a quick stop at Buc'ees after I picked up a sandwich at a favorite of mine (Larry's Giant Subs) so it could be eaten the following day. My annual pass at Disney was renewed (heh heh heh); it was done at Hollywood Studios and it was nice to walk around, not to mention eat at the Muppets-themed Pizzarizzo restaurant. I'll be back at Disney soon.

One last thing: yesterday I saw a “new” release, which was a 2022 British movie that was picked up for release only because last year's strike has resulted in a rather barren 2024 at cineplexes across the United States. Out of Darkness was a survival thriller about a small tribe of nomads looking for a new residence 45,000 years ago, only to be hunted by a mysterious entity. I thought it was awful! Them inventing a new language (it was subtitled) was interesting linguistically but the film was full of characters I couldn't stand, the story was incredibly basic, it wasn't scary or thrilling, was quite dull, and the movie (which looked drab anyhow) was lit poorly so it was difficult to see not a lot happening. Hard pass. The actual highlight of yesterday was picking up a polo shirt and a new belt (the ones I had were all ragged) from a store at the nearby Altamonte Mall.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Soul, I.S.S. & Fisker Ocean

Now I am fully caught up to the events of January that I wish to share. There isn't much news in the way of restaurants new to me, instead, more than one spot was revisited. Some interesting places are scheduled to open in my county throughout 2024 so I have that to look forward to. The most interesting experience will be discussed first: after almost two full years, I was finally able to ride the indoor roller coaster Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot on Wednesday.

In recent years, how Disney has done lines and queues for its most popular new rides is not “customer-friendly.” Until recently, there were only two times a day where you had to rush to the Disney World app on your phone and hope you are blessed by the gods & were able to join a virtual queue, and you have to arrive at the ride within a certain window of time. See what I mean about “customer-friendly”? Recently, with this there was a new option but that required paying for Lightning Lane (their new and vastly inferior version of FastPass) and then ANOTHER fee to ensure I'd be able to get on. While I waited to get on, I used Lightning Lane on one of the few attractions that were operative and hadn't run out of virtual passes for the day: getting to ride on Soarin' Over California one more time was neat but boy is Disney just not the same when it comes to treating their customers right.

That is a crying shame especially in this case, as Cosmic Rewind is a great attraction. I'll be vague and there's always YouTube & Wikipedia for those that do want details... it's like Space Mountain, only more modern and quite wild. Expect to hear a popular song from the past on the ride; it rotates between a half-dozen songs you expect on Star Lord's mixtape. This whole rigmarole will have to be done again at the Magic Kingdom for the purpose of riding the new TRON attraction... one where opinion is sharply divided on its quality or lack thereof. It may be one that disappoints, which would sting.

The rest of my time at Epcot was spent walking around, admiring the new garden they have where the old Fountain of Nations used to be, and looking at the art available during The Festival of the Arts that is now a yearly tradition at the start of the year. Also, as I walked back to the car to head home, what a surprise it was to see a Fisker Ocean electric SUV in the parking lot; it was so new that temporary paper tags were on it instead of license plates. It was smaller than expected yet still was appealing to my eye. That's the company which in a previous iteration a decade ago had the great-looking but questionable-in operation Fisker Karma, which was a plug-in hybrid and totally flopped. At least I was lucky to see one in person at a Publix grocery store parking lot, of all places.

Otherwise, not too much else to say, except that there were two theatrical releases seen this month. I'll mention the second first: I.S.S. The reviews were mixed yet the premise of a thriller on the International Space Station still intrigued. Sadly, the movie was totally “meh” & forgettable so while not terrible, it could never even be called good. In contrast, Disney released 2020's Soul to cinemas as they weren't able to at the time due to COVID. That's a great film between the animation, the story, the characters, the music... while it should have been seen by me on Disney+ before, the first time experience being at a cinema was grand.

Who knows when I will return next. Like last February was, next month should be rather eventful.

Francisco Ciatso, 7UP Tropical, Hangry Bison, & Manta Mirage

On Friday I'll post another update where I'll mention the other activities I've done so far in January 2024, but the main reason to write now is to mention an unexpected death in a world I used to be a part of: local independent pro wrestling in Florida. This past Friday night, one of its competitors died in his sleep at only the age of 48. I'd seen Francisco Ciatso (sometimes known as Frankie Capone) wrestle many times through the years; he was not someone I'd ever really talked to but that is irrelevant. A lot of people are upset by the news; I feel awful for all the people “in the business” he was pals with along with all the fans who knew him better than I did. 48 is far too young, to state the obvious.

To be more upbeat the rest of the way, one detail I should have mentioned last month was that when I was in Kansas, a soda only sold at Kroger was 7UP Tropical, which I was able to have. As Kroger only has that grocery delivery service and no actual stores, it was a brew unable to be sampled before. One late Sunday afternoon, I returned to the Hangry Bison in Winter Park for dinner. The only other time was almost 4 years ago; someone there claimed to recognize me, and that's probably true. There's no one out there who looks quite like me!

The other activity I'll mention in this installment: as customary, one day was spent at the Mecum Auctions in Kissimmee. Unlike typical, the day before there was heavy rainfall. That resulted in some rather muddy areas although thankfully the grass parking lot did not suffer that same fate. The variety was as expected; plenty of muscle cars from the 60's, supercars of all ages from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche & the like, various oddities, etc. As wild as it is for car geeks to see a Ferrari F40 parked right next to a Ferrari Enzo (both are literally worth millions now), I can be amused by seeing a few Chrysler Crossfires-remember those?-and a 70's kit car w/ avant-garde styling (many may say “ugly”) based on a 60's race car known as the Manta Mirage. It apparently has performance like a race car so I couldn't imagine driving one.

Driving home from Mecum, I was able to stop at a place mentioned a few months ago: Colbie's Southern Kissed Chicken. It was even less busy there than the first time, making me wonder if I'll have the opportunity for a third visit. That'd be unfortunate, as they have decent food. It's not quite at PDQ level-which is an issue-but on that happy note... like I said, the next time will be four days from now.

Botanica, The Wichita Gardens, City Bites, Robot Servers & 25 or 6 to 4

Those that missed it, I posted something yesterday which discussed the theatrical films I saw in December. Now, the other activities I did during the month. A few days I was rather ill but otherwise I can't complain about how 2023 concluded. As for why I quoted a famous Chicago song, I just saw an ad for Prime which used it; there's a tune not heard in a long time by me.

As always, the highlight of each December is heading on out to Wichita to see one of my sisters and the rest of her brood. Everyone there is doing fine; another “as always” is that three pre-teen boys is a handful and there is one of many reasons why it's a good thing I am not a parent. One night we went out to see Christmas lights at Botanica, The Wichita Gardens; those looked tremendous. Another night was dinner at a new Japanese hibachi restaurant known as Umi; the place looked great and the staff was augmented by robot servers... the first time I'd seen such a thing in person. Unfortunately, the robots were more reliable than the rest of the staff and none of the food tasted as good as a standard Kobe's, let alone JMK Nippon in Rockford, Illinois. You live and you learn... however, City Bites (a sandwich shop w/ funky décor) and River City Brewing Company (w/ an explosion of Christmas décor inside) both had tasty food.

Overall, it was nice to spend a few days out in Kansas. The trip there and back was on the low-buck airline Allegiant; at least the prices were still acceptable when airline tickets in general are a lot more than the pre-COVID days. The trip out to Wichita was fine except that the plane left more than an hour late. The way back was fine also... but what an incident at the airport in Wichita. As I was dropped off, a sight you'd never want to see at an airport was present: cop cars, ambulances and fire trucks on the cargo runaway. It wasn't until arriving home that the full story was known: a plane traveling from Newark to Denver had to make an emergency stop due to engine problems. That isn't automatically a sign of something bad but this time it was: an engine fire happened on the ground! No one was hurt in all that calamity, which is the important detail.

Otherwise, December wasn't too exciting for me... I went out to see Christmas lights on more than one night; a random late Tuesday had me visiting the new Raising Cane's in Orlando. Probable even now that location is still slammed with customers most of the time; even at the late time the place was busy. The food was still delicious, thankfully. Just two nights ago I went to a new restaurant in my hometown of Clermont: Portillo's just opened a location here, sooner than expected. No complaints about the food there, either.

Sometime late in the month I'll return. There are a few places I plan on going so there should be plenty of activities to discuss.