In the words of Bjork......

[Daltons Chin Dimple]

It's oh so quiet.......

Where the hell is everybody ?

[LeiterCIA]

It's oh so quiet.......

Where the hell is everybody ?

I have been hard at work doing my podcasts. Saw my first non-Casino Royale movie last week. ;)

[neglet]

Well, I've reading a lot. In his year-end assessment of 2006, EW's Owen Glieberman named "Casino Royale" his best movie of the year:

1. Casino Royale
It's admittedly a little jarring: Could the best movie of the year actually be the most entertaining movie of the year? Scandalous! How old-fashioned and obvious and déclassé! The beauty of Casino Royale is that it does more than just restore the lustrous excitement of the James Bond series. By reimagining 007 as a volatile human being who confronts every new pleasure and danger — high-flying chases and high-stakes card games; dry-ice flirtation and deadly torture; hell, even ordering a martini — as if it were happening to him for the first time, the film reconnected audiences to the very soul of movie escapism, reviving the primal enjoyment of what action, suspense, and romance feel like when there is something at stake. As 007, Daniel Craig floods the screen with personality the way the old stars did, using his saturnine sexiness, his implosive intelligence, and the silent lone-wolf hunger at his core to turn James Bond into a superagent for our time, a man who's still discovering what his license can win him. Many have asked: Is Casino Royale the greatest Bond film ever? Let's put it this way: It will never be quite as quintessential as, say, Dr. No, the first and (to me) still the finest moment of Bond's Connery/Cold War/Playboy heyday. Yet if Casino Royale isn't a greater Bond film than that, it's a greater movie, period.

[UNCLEagent]

Busy with work and the real world. But still here - waiting for CR to hit the local brewery theaters where I can watch it again with a nice pint of IPA.

[Boromir006]

I've been holidaying at Disney World the past week. Got to be an extra in the Indiana Jones stunt show - probably the closest experience to being in a Bond movie I'll ever have!

[Daltons Chin Dimple]

I am going to Disney World in April. Renting a house in Kissimee with friends. 14 days to do as much of central Florida as possible, the usual suspects plus Discovery Cove and scuba diving thru the Living Seas at Epcot as my buddies eat food in the Coral Reef restaraunt.

Any tips or hints ? We are already planning it like a military operation.

[Boromir006]

Tips & hints... hmm... okay.

1. Two words - FAST PASS. With this you can prebook an "appointment time" for a busy attraction and skip the line, so long as you don't mind returning during a specific hour. Doesn't cost a penny and saves lots of time. You get these at the entrances to each attraction that features them.

2. Get there when the park opens first thing in the morning and head straight to the back, then work your way forward. Attraction wait times tend to be less around noon and 5 pm, when all the kiddies need their lunches and dinners.

3. About wait times - anything that says 20 mins or less (assuming you don't take the FastPass option), go for it.

4. If you want to be chosen as an extra for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular (at Disney-MGM Studios) sit as close to the center and front as possible and be energetic as hell during the pre-show selections.

5. The busiest rides at each respective park are - Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom), Soarin' and Test Track (Epcot), Tower of Terror (MGM) and Everest (Animal Kingdom). Test Track is also apparently the most failure-prone ride in any of the parks, leading to much longer waits. Plan accordingly.

6. If you want to add an extra day to your park pass it's uber-cheap. My girlfriend and I were only able to get 5-Day park hoppers in advance but we were there for six. The extra day ended up costing us a total of $4.23.

7. And most importantly - BE PATIENT. Lots of screaming kids and parents at the ends of their ropes. Don't rush, take your time, and remember you're there to have fun.

Anything else you were wondering about?

[UNCLEagent]

Thanks for the excellent tips.

I am planning a trip to Disney World for March, along with Cape Canaveral. We want to see the site of Major Anthony Nelson's home.

[BeauButabi]

Tips & hints... hmm... okay.

1. Two words - FAST PASS.
BLASPHEMY! Fast Pass is the downfall of theme parks! FOR SHAME! :mad:

Speaking of Disney theme parks, I'm going to Disneyland in April. HOORAY!

[Daltons Chin Dimple]

Excellent tips all round. I klast went back in 1999, or was it 1998, about two months before Islands of Adventure opened I think.

One thing I do say to the people I am going with is to decide what you want to do, and then frickin' do it ! Don't stand about gawping and get sidetracked. Plenty of time for all that later. Be single minded until you have ticked off your "to do" list, then you can waste time meandering about and browsing the shops etc.

And first stop is always guest relations to get the map and sthe show times for the day.

Did you do any non-Disney parks ?

[Boromir006]

Nope, it was a strictly all-Disney vacation. We were staying at a Disney resort and transportation to, not to mention admission to anything else was cost-prohibitive. The original plan was to spend a day doing Universal but since the extra day at Disney was so cheap we went for that instead.

Beau, believe me, sometimes standing in those hour-long lines at Disney attractions is soul-crushing, particularly if you're standing near a particularly annoying family. Fast Pass makes it so much better.

Our second-last night, Soarin' was down to one theater because they had to change a projector bulb. The standby line was two hours long. With the FastPass it was only a twenty minute wait for us. It's a no-brainer.

[BeauButabi]

Beau, believe me, sometimes standing in those hour-long lines at Disney attractions is soul-crushing, particularly if you're standing near a particularly annoying family. Fast Pass makes it so much better.

Our second-last night, Soarin' was down to one theater because they had to change a projector bulb. The standby line was two hours long. With the FastPass it was only a twenty minute wait for us. It's a no-brainer.
Nope, still disagree. Fast Pass was made by the devil. If you want to go on a ride, just get in line, none of this "oh, but I have a spot saved with this little ticket so I can go before everyone else who was patienly waiting in line while I was at the food court eating a pretzel" crap. It's part of the theme-park going experience, investing time standing in line, then the exhilaration of being at the front right before you get on. Makes you feel on top of the world.

DOWN WITH FAST PASS!

[neglet]

I am going to Disney World in April. Renting a house in Kissimee with friends. 14 days to do as much of central Florida as possible, the usual suspects plus Discovery Cove and scuba diving thru the Living Seas at Epcot as my buddies eat food in the Coral Reef restaraunt.

Any tips or hints ? We are already planning it like a military operation.

Tampa is less than an hour and a half away from Kissimee, and on the outskirts of Tampa is a fantastic facility: Big Cat Rescue. (http://www.bigcatrescue.org) They're not a zoo, but they do have tours (http://www.bigcatrescue.org/VisitUs.htm)a couple of times a day. The last time in Florida we visited there and it was quite memorable (especially the time a black leopard tried to pounce on Neg Jr. as we passed her cage). If you are fascinated by big cats, this is a great place to visit, and they do great work so you can feel good about paying your tour money. They have restrictions on kids, too, so the atmosphere isn't like, well, a zoo.

[LeiterCIA]

Busy with work and the real world. But still here - waiting for CR to hit the local brewery theaters where I can watch it again with a nice pint of IPA.

Damn that sounds nice! I might have to fly out to see ya! ;)

[Daltons Chin Dimple]

Mmmmmm, beer & Bond.... almost perfect. Which is why I await the DVD release with bated breath as then I can do that in the comfort of my own sofa !

The Big Cat reserve is in the diary for one of our rest days, even if i have to steal one of the hire cars myself.

I am really looking forward to Discovery Cove and the dive at EPCOT. I also hear you can dive (protected) with the sharks at Sea World.

[Anna]

I am going to Disney World in April. Renting a house in Kissimee with friends. 14 days to do as much of central Florida as possible, the usual suspects plus Discovery Cove and scuba diving thru the Living Seas at Epcot as my buddies eat food in the Coral Reef restaraunt.

Any tips or hints ? We are already planning it like a military operation.


I'm all for military style operations, Dimple. There's something sexy about being punctual! Smiles....

I hope you aren't planning to attempt Disney during the American April school holiday break. If you are, you may as well go ahead and stab yourself with a fork right now!

~Anna

[Anna]

Damn that sounds nice! I might have to fly out to see ya! ;)

I'd fly just about anywhere for a combination of Bond, IPA, Leiter's autograph on my iPod and a good discussion with Uncle about Literature into film and what might be gained and lost as print is transformed into celluloid...

Nudge, nudge...

~Anna

[Martini97]

Well, I've been busy , because I moved to another state, and trying to get adjusted to my new job position. However, I didn't neglect my bond fandom (re-reading the books, purchasing the soundtrack etc.)

[UNCLEagent]

I'd fly just about anywhere for a combination of Bond, IPA, Leiter's autograph on my iPod and a good discussion with Uncle about Literature into film and what might be gained and lost as print is transformed into celluloid...

Nudge, nudge...

~Anna

*nudges back

Remind me to show you my etchings. :Eyebrow:

[Anna]

*nudges back

Remind me to show you my etchings. :Eyebrow:

:p

Really? Intaglio, litho, mezzotint?
I'm impressed with the boy from Portland... (Smiles....)

Tell you what, I'll show you my copper intaglios, you show me your etchings, we will swap notes, Leiter will bring his incredable drawings, and whoever hosts gets to provide a good Bordeaux...

What say you all?

~Anna

[LeiterCIA]

I'm in!! ;)

[Daltons Chin Dimple]

Just booked Disney passes online. The US dollar is at $1.9917 to the £1 Sterling today and the analysts here at work reckon it'll hit two in the next couple of weeks (OK, so improper use of company resources but, whatever !) so all the others I will get when I get out there. i will also take an empty suitcase and hit the shops I think. Great time to be a Brit in the US.

[Anna]

Just booked Disney passes online. The US dollar is at $1.9917 to the £1 Sterling today and the analysts here at work reckon it'll hit two in the next couple of weeks (OK, so improper use of company resources but, whatever !) so all the others I will get when I get out there. i will also take an empty suitcase and hit the shops I think. Great time to be a Brit in the US.

Step right up, my friend. Welcome to AMERICA, the Church of consumerism...

~A