Gay Kenny Ray

Blog. Over.

2009-02-20T23:21:00.000-08:00

I guess putting off the inevitable is really just a form of denial. Recently I've been fight my way out of denial to finally accept that what I've been convincing myself is working really isn't, no matter how much effort I put into it.

The last two years has been, um, interesting to say the least. And while chronicling my adventures, mishaps, achievements, and disappointments has been enjoyable (and even a strangely therapeutic at times), in the end I couldn't shake the feeling that maintaining this was all just a burden of non-necessity…a task without purpose…a blog without meaning. How it outlasted the typical 90-day life span of most personal blog I have no idea. Now that I think about it, you can thank (or blame) Betty that I made it this far. :)

Maybe I'm drawing too many correlations between this blog and my own life. Both should be strongly based in purpose and for the past many months neither feel like they have. Fortunately for me, I'm finally fed up with just accepting things the way they are and starting to make my own change. I'm working on losing the cubical-mass that I've acquired over the past 5 years, I'm taking classes on the weekend to reawaken my brain, and I'm shedding the people, places, and things that draining me of my time, money, and happiness.

Things are easy to get rid of, but the real trick is withstanding temptation to run out and buy new things. I need to unclutter. What about people? Well, that's a slippery slope even on a good day (and you're screwed if they're people you're stuck with because you work together), but now I finally understand that if the people around you only want to be there for their own benefit you're just wasting your time and have no one to blame but yourself. I feel like an idiot that it's taken so long to accept that…lord knows I've been given plenty of lessons throughout life. Finally, there's places…which is going to be the most challenging as the bank may have a thing or two to say about whether or not I'm stuck here. It's time to move on, time to uproot, time for a change in scenery to match the other changes.

As I'm typing, I'm realizing that this, the process of changing my life to find satisfaction, could be just what the blog has been missing: a cohesive theme! But luckily for you, I'm not so narcissistic that I believe everyone out there on the interwebs is hanging on my every word. Even I'm not that interested in me, and I'm all I've got!

Is this the end of Gay Kenny Ray? For the blog, yes. For the man, no…it's a new beginning. (Are the italics too clichéd?) If we're both lucky, you may not recognize me the next time we meet.

Well, thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the rest of your web browsing. Good bye.

On hold.

2008-12-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

Thank you for visiting. All of our blog posts are currently assisting other visitors. Your visit is very important to us. Please stay online and the next available entry will be with you soon. Your approximate wait time is…

I really can't say, right now. If or when it happens, it'll just happen. Good things come to those who wait, relatively speaking.

Today's the day

2008-12-10T10:10:00.001-08:00

All over America thousands of men and women are banding together in a radical form of protest. What started out as a call to action against the passing of Prop 8 (aka: Prop H8, Prop "Hate") by removing ourselves from the work world (similar to the work stoppage of 2006's "A Day Without A Mexican") has gone one better. Rather that dropping off the face of the earth for a day by not working or contributing to the economy as originally suggested, today DWAG supporters of all orientations will be volunteering their time and giving back to the community. In other words, today we're fighting H8 with love. And in a nice bit of coincidence, today is also International Human Rights Day.

Today I will be joining at least one of my coworkers at the SF Food Bank to help sort and package food, and whatever else they need help with to ensure that no one in SF goes hungry this winter. I'm looking forward to being able to help there again. There seems to be quite a bit of news coverage about today, from the looks of a quick Google search. Let's hope that it doesn't get cast in the wrong light, and that no one goes out and does anything negative in the name of the day.

OK, gotta run…I don't want to be late!

Cut it out

2008-12-06T13:50:00.001-08:00

I've been going through a bit of a creative dry spell recently. Photography isn't doing the trick. Graphic design felt forced and unnatural. And as for writing, well, the absence of a post here for days should speak for itself.

But sometimes inspiration can strike in the most unexpected of places and reasons. This time it struck when I was font shopping at Veer.com and while browsing the merch section stumbled across this scarf created from uppercase letters in Helvetica. Not sure how warm it would keep a neck, but at least it'd be the most literate neck around. The laser cut letterforms really made an impression on me. It's such a striking look, and one I thought might be fun to recreate and make into a project.

I had reason to send someone a thank you card and it seemed to me like a great opportunity to make the card rather than buy a commercial one. So after finding the right weight of Helvetica for the job, the layout began. And while it took longer to design the layout of the card than I'd like to admit, the actual production of the card was a bit trickier than I had expected. It's been many many years since I had to wield an x-acto blade for artwork and am woefully out of practice. All the straight lines were pretty easy, but that curvy "s" took as long as the rest of the card did. If I do this again, better paper will be needed as the paper I used didn't fold crisply, the grain of the paper was not working to my advantage. Plus it might be nice to have a laser cutter do the trimming…maybe Santa will bring me a table top laser cutting machine.

Overall I think the results are satisfactory. Not as clean and accurate as I would have liked, but I don't think the recipient will notice or even care. Which now makes me question why even do it. Well, at the very least the strike of creative inspiration, while not igniting a full-on fire, has started a smoldering that, hopefully, if fed the right fuel will turn into a burning passion again.

GKReview: "Four Christmases"

2008-11-30T00:21:00.001-08:00

Very good! Will it become a holiday classic? Eh, probably not, but it is filled with lots of laughs nonetheless. The heart of the movie is actually the relationship between the couple played nicely by Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, so really it's a romantic comedy that just happens to take place during Christmas rather than being a full fledged family holiday comedy. National Lampoon's "Christmas Vacation" this is not, and that was a little disappointing to me. As a date movie, it's pretty decent, but I might think twice about bringing the whole family along. That said, I give the writers kudos for showing us that even divorced families, while not always living up to our expectations, are still family, especially at the holidays. Even the white-trash ones!

Posted with LifeCast

GKR revealed...in 100 Questions (61-80)

2008-11-29T12:32:00.001-08:00

Did you miss any part of the series? Catch up here with this link.

We're more than halfway through. Hey, why are you cheering?!

Cheated on a test? YES

Forgotten someone's name? YES

Slept naked? YES

Gone skinny dipping? NO

Blacked out from drinking? YES

Played a prank on someone? YES

Gone to a movie at midnight or later? YES

Admired your reflection as you walked past a window? NO

Failed a class? YES

Choked on something you're not supposed to eat? YES

Camped out overnight to buy tickets? NO

Cheated on a girl/boyfriend? NO

Thrown strange objects? NO

Felt like killing someone? YES

Felt like running away? YES

Have you ever ran away? YES

Made a parent cry? YES

Cried over someone? YES

Had sex more than 3 times in one day? NO

Dated someone more than once? NO

Had/Have a dog? YES

There are only two simple rules to follow if you care to follow along at home:

1. You can only answer "yes" or "no"

2. You aren't allowed to explain anything in your answer. Just "yes" or "no." Of course, if someone asks for more details about an answer, all bets are off.

Food coma. The lethargy continues.

2008-11-28T23:36:00.001-08:00

After eating so much tasty, high calorie, high starch, high fat food last night, and the copious amounts of unbelievably delicious artisan breads today, I'm afraid I'm simply too ~~lazy~~ drowsy to post anything of value, interest, or deep thought tonight. Some of you might chime in saying, "You haven't posted anything like that before, why start now?" Yeah, yeah, yeah. More tomorrow, smartasses.

Overheard at Thanksgiving Dinner

2008-11-28T11:58:00.001-08:00

Yet again, taken out of context, the following could raise an eyebrow or two.

4-year old nephew: "Do you want to be a bad girl?"

4-year old niece-in-law: "Well, yeah!"

***

bro-in-law: "He usually does OK if he gets the head into his mouth and not just on his lips."

***

And it's this last one that has reenforced my faith and confidence in the suburban undercover white trash family unit.

4-year old nephew: "Ow! Uncle Kenny, she hurted my dick."

Uncle Kenny: "Well, that's what bad girls do. Just be glad it was only her hands."

Now I'm not sure how my nephew managed to pick up that adultish slang word, but it's better, if only marginally, than my own family's slang word of "mister" when referring to the penis. (My mother was a registered nurse for heaven sakes, you would think she'd be able to use the clinical terms comfortably with us.) The last time I visited my nephew he left me stunned with his reaction to my seemingly innocent request to stop doing Ninja-style kicks near my groin. Upon one of a little-too-close-for-comfort attempts I snapped, "Hey, watch it, mister!" To which he replied, "I'm not mister…! THIS is mister!" and he proceeded to flash me. YIKES! As a gay man, I'm living under enough misconceptions and irrational stereotypes already, the last thing I need is a preschooler doing that and someone walking in not having been there for for the first half. So yes, I'm glad he's moved on in his slang vocabulary because the chances of me calling him a dick and getting a repeat performance are far, far less likely.

Listen to this!

2008-11-24T23:50:00.001-08:00

A few years ago I had a special opportunity to visit New York City for a weekend. So totally not long enough to take in all that is the thriving, full of life, a story around every corner, metropolis. The group I was part of were given a private sightseeing tour of Manhattan and one of the places we stopped was the site formally known as the World Trade Center. It was a powerful and reflective experience. It was at the site that I first learned about StoryCorps. This fascinating project's mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening. I dig that. So when I learned of the National Day of Listening taking place on Friday, November 28, I jumped right in head first.

Now if that date sounds vaguely familiar, you might recognize it better as Black Friday…the day of the humongous day-after-Thanksgiving Day sales where people camp out waiting for stores to open where they can then proceed to elbow, push, and trample their way to the limited-quantity half-off old-fashioned kettle corn popper they never knew they needed or will ever use more than once. Needless to say, there's going to be some competition for time that day.

Well, I don't know about you, but this year I've learned to embrace the simple truth that "the only thing you take with you when you're gone is what you leave behind." —John Allston. So maybe this year is the year to start thinking more about the quality of our actions rather than acquiring more possessions. Heaven forbid the economy gets any worse because people stop buying things altogether, so please feel free to get out there and spend some money. All I'm suggesting is that maybe society would be a little happier, the world a bit nicer, if we made positive actions as much of a priority. Actions like listening, truly listening, to someone.

I've used StoryCorps' online tool to build my list of questions to ask the various important people in my life. My family will be easy to interview, but my friends and I will be separated by many many miles, making for a bit of a challenge. We'll just have to wait and see if technology can come to the rescue. (I'm not worried at all.)

So if you're at all interested, even just a little bit, in participating in the National Day of Listening, click on over to the website and get ready to make a new personal connection, or deepen an existing one, and start building a positive legacy that will out live the two dozen tube socks you scored for a dollar.

Worky worky? Not so much...

2008-11-23T23:47:00.001-08:00

So I tried to post an entry using LifeCast, but, well…

…as you can see by the little spinner in the lower right corner of the screenshot, posting has been taking a little longer than normal. 3 hours longer than normal. In fact, the posting is still stuck in LifeCast. I pray for the day that MarsEdit comes to iPhone…because even thought LifeCast is free and all, it leaves a lot to be desired. Such as successfully posting my lame entry. *Sigh*

It's been a long day. I'm going to bed.

GKR revealed...in 100 Questions (41-60)

2008-11-21T23:59:00.001-08:00

Did you miss any part of the series? Catch up here with this link.

There are only two simple rules to follow if you care to follow along at home:

1. You can only answer "yes" or "no"

2. You aren't allowed to explain anything in your answer. Just "yes" or "no." Of course, if someone asks for more details about an answer, all bets are off.

Ready for more? Well, let's just pretend you are…

Felt like dying? YES

Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t? YES

Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? YES

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? YES

Sang in the shower? YES

Made out in a park? NO

Had a dream that you married someone? NO

Glued your hand to something? YES

Got your tongue stuck to a pole? NO

Ever gone to school partially naked? NO

Been a cheerleader? NO

Sat on a roof top? YES

Didn’t take a shower for a week? NO

Too scared to watch scary movies alone? YES

Played chicken? NO

Been pushed into a pool/lake with all your clothes on? YES

Been told you’re hot by a complete stranger? NO

Been easily amused? YES

Mooned/flashed someone? NO

Cheated on a test? YES

Stay tuned…

Please don't give any "Milk" money to Cinemark, Century, and CinéArts theaters

2008-11-20T23:31:00.000-08:00

Some of you out there on the interwebs may have read recently that Cinemark CEO Alan Stock made a nearly $10,000 contribution to the Yes on Prop 8 campaign. You remember that campaign, don't you? The one designed to, if passed, to take away the rights of same-sex couples to marry. Well it passed. I still can't believe that it did. I honestly thought that my fellow Californian would care at least equally for the happiness and rights of humans beings as they do motherclucking poultry. I was wrong.

Well, in just a few days, "Milk", the film about California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone will open in theaters. [trailer: HD | iPhone] And guess what chain is ready to reap the financial rewards for showing this much anticipated film? That's right, Cinemark. It can't be denied that "Milk" will draw a large audience from the portion of the population that is gay. But hell if I'm going to let any of my money ultimately end up in the pockets of a person who doesn't believe I should have the same rights that he does.

So I ask you, the moviegoing people of the world, regardless of your orientation, if you go to see "Milk", please do not see it in a Cinemark theater, or any of its subsidiaries. The third-largest theater chain in the U.S. also operates theaters under the name Century Theatres, CinéArts, and Tinseltown. Please avoid these theaters if at all possible.

"But Kenny, how can I easily find a theater near me that isn't part of the Cinemark brand and putting money into the pocket of Mr. Stock?" Good question! Please check out the NoMilkForCinemark.com and BoycottCinemark.com websites for tips and alternate viewing locations. In the San Francisco Bay Area I highly recommend AMC Theaters (their projection and presentation quality tends to be far superior to that of Century and CinéMark anyway), Landmark Theaters (the best place to see the best in independent film), and, of course, the world-famous Castro Theater (which you might just spot me and Hooters standing in front of as extras during the filming of "Milk").

Entertainingly unfortunate line breaks

2008-11-19T00:33:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine and I were chatting the other day about how we both enjoy TV Land and classic sitcom from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. After I mentioned the delight I take in watching I Love Lucy on Sunday mornings enjoying breakfast, he shared with me his relief learning something unexpected about a certain president-elect. Unfortunately — or fortunately, depending how you look at it — the chat window was just wide enough to cause me to do a total double-take.

This is what I saw:

Can you figure out what he was talking about? Here's a hint… think 1960s sitcom, New Rochelle, and an ottoman/tripping hazard.

GKR's word of the day

2008-11-18T06:01:00.000-08:00

soulstraight (sōl•strāt)

n.

Similar to a soulmate, used to express the deep friendship, emotionally intimate, but fully platonic relationship a gay person has with a straight person either of the same or opposite gender.

Origin:

2008; GKR

If you were gay, you'd be my soulmate. But it's cool having you for a soulstraight.

***

I'm so lucky to have both a guy and girl for soulstraights. Right now, where I am in life, I wouldn't trade them for my actual soulmate.

NaBloPoMo 2008: FAIL

2008-11-17T23:30:00.001-08:00

So just barely a little more than half way through the month and NaBloPoMo and I missed posting last night. I have failed NaBloPoMo 2009. And I have absolutely no regrets because I missed it for a very good reason.

Life is all about the choices we make, the actions we take. If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't change a thing about Sunday.

GKReview: Bolt Disney Digital 3D Preview

2008-11-15T22:18:00.001-08:00

Since I'm still at the movies, I'll keep this short since typing on my mobile device takes longer. Ultimately you win. :)

There are many people who will assume that because it's computer animated and released btmy Disney that this was created by Pixar. This is NOT a Pixar film. But, that isn't to say it isn't any good. It's quite good as a matter of fact, just not Pixar quality.

Kudos to the animators for not stuping to the cheap visual gags that so many 3D movies tend to employ. Rather they let the extra dimension enhance the world that the story takes place in. The look of the movie made for a delightful and enjoyable experience. But what about the story?

It didn't such either! It was particularly deep, and didn't break any new ground, but it was fully engaging and entertaining. I have a feeling that with Pixar's John Lassiter serving as executive producer, and other Pixar alums along in various other roles, all help keep this movie from turning out like other studios animated fare. This is Disney's best non-Pixar animated film in years.

It opens on Friday in 35mm film and Disney Digital 3D. Skip the film version and treat your eyes to the rich feast you'll find in digital 3D.

Phew! Just in time, my next movie is about to begin...time to silence my mobile device.

Posted with LifeCast

GKR revealed...in 100 Questions (21-40)

2008-11-14T06:42:00.000-08:00

Kissed a picture? YES

Slept in until 3 pm? YES

Love someone or miss someone right now? NO

Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by? NO

Made a snow angel? YES

Played dress up? YES

Cheated while playing a game? YES

Fallen asleep at work/school? YES

Yelled at a friend? YES

Felt an earthquake? YES

Touched a snake? YES

Ran a red light? YES

Been suspended from school? NO

Had detention? NO

Been in a car accident? YES

Hated the way you look? YES

Witnessed a crime? YES

Pole danced? NO

Been lost? YES

Been to the opposite side of the country? YES

Stay tuned…

Home. Alone.

2008-11-13T06:57:00.000-08:00

It's been two weeks since Angel got his wings and he flew off to be reunited with his mommy and daddy. I really thought that I would miss his furry presence more than I do. But as it turns out I am really enjoying coming home and not having to immediately turn my attention to his special brand of "pay attention to me, and only me, you live to serve me" thinking.

Every day at work, countless times during the day, I'm called on by my peers to help answer their questions, troubleshoot their issues, and make their work a little bit easier. The trade off is that it tends to make my own work day a little more challenging. So after providing personal attention to everyone but myself during the day, it's nice to come home and not have to worry about anyone, or anything else, and finally be able to take care of myself.

I've noticed that I'm getting more and more aware about how much time I have for myself. Kenny-time. I've lived with more than a dozen roommates in the past 10 years and while it can be nice to have someone around the house — especially to be there when I'm changing a lightbulb just in case I fall off the ladder — I'm willing to take my chances for the relief and relaxation that comes with knowing that my homelife is on my terms.

While I've contemplated getting a pet of my own after Angel took flight, a beagle perhaps, I'm really not sure I'm ready for that, at least not until I'm able to reclaim my own time at work. Or get married. Oh, wait…scratch that last one.

One week later...

2008-11-12T00:30:00.001-08:00

It's been a week now, and I've had some time to reflect and come to terms with the decisions that were made by family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, fellow Californians. I'm referring to California Prop 2 and Prop 8. And there's an undeniable truth that's come to light. My fellow Californians care more about farm animals than their fellow human beings. Don't believe me? How else do you explain this…

(click for full size iamge)

Animals were given more freedom (well, technically, that "freedom" is the ability to move around more comfortably) and a section of the population had their equality revoked and civil liberties taken away. Does that make any sense to you?

Historic indeed. But not the good kind. I can't help but feel that while our country took a step forward, we also took a step back. That's hardly progress.

We live in a world where America will finally have a non-Anglo president, but in a country that still seems content with denying equality and liberty based on differences.

To all the people out there who voted in favor of Prop 8, the ones who voted in favor of discrimination and bigotry, thinking that by doing so they would some how be protecting marriage, family, and children (and I really don't understand the "protecting children" argument) I would like you to answer the following questions:

1. How does divorce factor into your ideals of protect marriage, family, and children?

2. Why haven't you outlaw divorce?

3. Can I get a refund on all the wedding presents I've purchased for straight couples who got divorced?

No, I'm serious! If you really want to protect marriage, you need to outlaw divorce. It's done more to destroy your so called "holy matrimony" than anything two men (or two women) in a committed relationship have done or will ever do.

And, lastly, for those of you who continue to argue that Prop 8 needed to pass to "[prevent] other consequences to Californians who will be forced to not just be tolerant of gay lifestyles, but face mandatory compliance regardless of their personal beliefs" please consider this…

The Bible says "Do to others as you would have them do to you." — Luke 6:31 (New International Version) but if you choose not to be tolerant of me I hope you won't mind if I choose not to tolerate you. I guess I don't really have a choice, they're your rules.

GKR revealed...in 100 Questions (1-20)

2008-11-11T06:29:00.000-08:00

I normally destain receiving email questionnaires, you know the kind, asking you about your favorite things and then requiring that you forward it to 20 of your closest friends or something bad will happen to you. These lost their novelty immediately after the first one I received.

But while perusing the gay blogs of the interwebs, you know, for "reasearch" I stumbled across Slow Lane Dan and his blog containing an interesting questionnaire. But Dan didn't ask anyone to fill it out, instead he simply posted his own answers. And that, I can totally get behind. I don't even mind if he "stole" the idea from Janek.

For today's post, I've decided to expand on Dan and Janek's idea and post my own answers. I've made a few tweaks and also added a few more that I would like to know about other people if given the opportunity to ask.

There are only two simple rules to follow if you care to follow along at home:

1. You can only answer "yes" or "no"

2. You aren't allowed to explain anything in your answer. Just "yes" or "no." Of course, if someone asks for more details about an answer, all bets are off.

Here we go…

Taken a picture fully naked? NO

Painted your room? YES

Made out with a member of the same sex? YES

Driven a car? YES

Danced in front of your mirror? YES

Have a crush? YES

Been dumped? YES

Stolen someone's heart? NO

Gotten in a car with people you just met? YES

Been in a fist fight? NO

Snuck out of your house? YES

Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back? YES

Been arrested? NO

Made out with a stranger? YES

Left your house without telling your parents? YES

Had a crush on your neighbour? YES

Ditched school to do something more fun? NO

Slept in a bed with a member of the opposite sex? YES

Seen someone die? NO

Been on a plane? YES

More to come…

Does this blog make me look gay?

2008-11-10T23:58:00.000-08:00

BestGayBlogs.com has just awarded my blog a Silver Award. I have no idea what earned me silver, but now I want to know what it's going to take to earn gold.

At press time there were only 157 other blogs listed in the Personal Gay Blog category, though I have no doubt that there's thousands actually out there on the interwebs. I've checked out many other blogs that, like mine, are based on the daily happenings and personal interests of their writers, and really I wouldn't even give myself a tin award. But I'm happy to be recognized by BGB.

While it's true, I'm a gay man and I have a blog, I'm not exactly sure how gay my blog is. I'm also a geek and have a sneaking suspension that my geekiness plays a far bigger role in my random musings. I guess my gayety is a secondary (or tertiary) to my daily life and general interests. Would my blog benefit from being gayer? No idea. I'm not even sure how I would make it gayer. Sure, I could plaster photos of half-naked, or fully naked, guys all over this blog, but there's plenty of other places you can find that kind of content (just take a look to your right). Not that naked men is all that appeals to gay men. I'm just saying there's more to it.

I guess what it comes down to is that, as I've gotten older, I realize who I am is much more than can be defined by the gender of person that I want to fall in love with, give my heart, and spend the rest of my life with. My definition of who I am, and therefore what I write about, may not be to everyone's liking, but if it were anything else it wouldn't be Gay Kenny Ray.

So, enjoy the blog-bling below before the people at Best Gay Blogs come to their senses and take it back.

Thank you, Red Sweater Software!

2008-11-09T12:38:00.001-08:00

Thank heavens for the guys and gals at Red Sweater Software for developing MarsEdit. The majority of my posts in the past several months (this review has been a long time in coming) have been written and posted in using MarsEdit and I can't begin to tell you how much more enjoyable it's made the blogging experience for me. Is it perfect? No. But it is the best solution I've found that's actually made it a pleasure to blog.

That screen shot to the right, that's an actual view of my desktop while working in MarsEdit. I love, love, LOVE that I can customize the preview window so that it accurately represents what my post will look like when it's actually published to Blogger. That's a big time saver!

My wish list of improvements is quite short and by no means should be a reason to prevent you from buying this application:

1. Support for syncing of local drafts between multiple computers. For those of us who have both a desktop and laptop, this would be a dream and would allow us added flexibility in our writing practices.

2. A version for the iPhone/iPod touch. Now that's definitely easier said than done, but for anyone who's tried using Blogger's web interface for creating a post on one of these devices already know that an iPhone app would be a dream come true.

3. The ability to set a publication date/time using Blogger's new-ish future posting feature.

Like I said, MarsEdit's current features far out-weight my wish list. $30 might seem like a lot to spend on an app that helps you write blog posts, but if you use Blogger, I'm pretty sure that after 30-days (coincidently, exactly how long the free trial period lasts) you'll be sold on it. I can't imagine blogging using anything else!

---

On a side note, this application can't fix stupid…like when I changed the post status default to draft early last week and forgot to change it back. The last several days of posts have been stuck in draft on Blogger because I forgot change my setting and because the preview in MarsEdit is so awesome I rarely actually visit my own blog. Oops! Sorry for what seems like a flood of posts today!

Phinally...photos...

2008-11-08T23:50:00.000-08:00

Single Rider Tour 2008 — part ten in a series

It took nearly a week, but I've finally sorted through the several hundred photos I snapped on my trip, made my selects, color corrected, and finally posted to flickr.

Check them out here: Single Rider Tour 2008 collection

I live for comments so please let me know what you like, or what needs improvement, in the comments here or on flickr.

Where the boys are...

2008-11-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

Single Rider Tour 2008 — part nine in a series

Yesterday I rated the three theme parks I visited, but there was an interesting difference between them that I didn't mention, namely, which park had the hotter guys. Totally not important — which is why this didn't impact the park's scores — but it's at least a little interesting.

While the concept of "hot" is relative when it comes to appearance, there are certain aspects that tend to remain consistent over a wide audience; how fit a person is.

I'll be the first to admit that I tend to be attracted to guys that many other's wouldn't be, especially when it comes to facial features, but since this is my blog, this bias is totally acceptable. I didn't take any photos to backup my findings, as that seemed a little too creepy.

What I find the most interesting is that the male guests were most attractive at Magic Mountain and least eye-catching at Disneyland. I have no idea why that would be the case. I would have thought that Disney, having the highest ticket price, might have an advantage — though they did let me in — but that was clearly not the case.

Maybe the hot guys are attracted to the park with the highest number of thrill rides? No clue, as most of the hot guys at Magic Mountain were obviously straight and the mind of the straight guy is as mysterious to me as the mind of women is to straight guys. I did see a few gay couples at Magic Mountain, which was kind of cool, so maybe I should have asked them.

Not sure if my findings are consistent with others, I don't believe there's been a lot of research done on this. What about you? Have you noticed a trend in where attractive guys (or girls) tend to flock to? Any theories on why?

Finding Disappointment

2008-11-05T22:24:00.000-08:00

Single Rider Tour 2008 — part seven in a series

Now that my vacation is officially over, I can go back and review a few key things from my trip in a bit more detail. First up, the long awaited, much anticipated Finding Nemo-based ride at Disneyland.

It's easy to say that Pixar became Disney's saviour for animated films. Unfortunately it seems that scaled-back budgets will continue to make for flat ride experiences in the US parks. For proof of this, compare the Winnie the Pooh ride in Tokyo's Disneyland versus any of the US parks. I can't help but wonder how the Finding Nemo ride at Disneyland in Anaheim would have benefited if the Tokyo Land Management company (the actual owners of the Toyko park) running the project.

Starting off my list of disappointments, the wait. The wait for this ride was the longest I would find in the entire park on my visit. Part of this could be that they were only running two subs, which apparently can only travel in tandem, and with the show running as long as it does, the limited number of seats, and the slow load/unload process, it's easy to see why my wait was 40 minutes even though the line itself looked short.

Next up, the subs. Now I'm all for recycling, but here was a chance to make improvements to the original subs rather than just sprucing them up with a new paint job. Other than the difficult and slow load/unload process, the biggest issue with the subs is the size of the viewing portholes. The experience becomes completely compartmentalized, and one you experience by yourself rather than as a family or group. I found this to be very unsatisfying, and a little un-Disney when looking at Disney's modern thoughts on the ride experience. The portholes are so small that if you blink, you've probably missed something in the rich detail in the ride. I'm sure it came down to budget when they were refurbishing the subs. The subs would have benefited by having the tiny portholes replaced by larger viewing windows. Such windows allow the experience to be shared by several people at once, and make it that much more meaningful to them.

My other complaint was that the scenes had so many set breaks that again, if you blinked, you missed part of the story being told. Again, larger portholes would have made for a better storying telling experience.

The animatronics and animation were, more or less, successfully integrated into the ride, though the animatronics seemed a little under animated when compared to the animated elements of the ride and that created a noticeable separation between storytelling elements, and that took me out of the story. This again is a situation where Disney used to be top dog; their animatronics were second to none. Some of these animatronics looked like the belonged in Knotts Berry Farm or any other generic theme park.

I'm hoping that John Lassiter can help the penny-pinchers in the Anaheim park realize that their cost-cutting ways detract from the guest experience and hamper the story telling process&helli;and that's why Pixar has been so successful; to them, story is king.