May 28, 2006

Naptime at Knoebels


I have no idea who this is or why he is laying in this position with his foot in a bag, his hand in his pocket and a hat over his face, but this is one of my favorite photos that I've ever taken.

1001 Nacht

Click here to enlarge
Artwork from the 1001 Nacht ride at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, PA.  The ride was produced by Weber Maschinenbau in Bremen, West Germany in the early 80's.

Several of these rides are still in operation across the United States and Europe, including one in Hagen, Germany.

According to ThemeParkCritic.com: "The ride is named after the story of the 1001 Arabian Nights, a Sultan named Shahryar, and his forty wives. Shahryar had one of his headsman servants behead one of his forty wives. In searching for another to replace her, many more women lost their heads. Then Shahryar decided to select the headsmans' daughter, Shahrazad. In an attempt to keep her head Shahrazad told continuing stories to the Sultan for 1001 Nights. He was very pleased with her in the end because of her cleverness and intelligence. He spared her life and took her as his 40th wife. When you look at the ride you will notice some things. There are two statues on either end of the gondola: Shahrazad and her sister Dunyazad.  Also, the ride has 40 seats, each representing one of Shahryars 40 wives."

Since You Said Please...

Knoebels Amusement Resort - May 2006

May 27, 2006

Every Sign Has A Story Behind It


Roaring Creek Arcade
Knoebels Amusement Resort - Elysburg, PA

May 14, 2006

The Night That Honor Went Extreme


ROH: May 13, 2006
Inman Sports Club - Edison, NJ
I was stuck in traffic, so I missed the pre-show and just made it to my seat a few minutes before the end of the opening match between Colt Cabana and Kikutaro.  I felt even worse about being late when the show was over because I met Kikutaro and he was a hell of a nice guy.


The story of the show began after the second match on the card.  Throughout the ROH vs CZW war, Homicide has remained neutral and refused to get involved.  After The Rottweilers defeated The Ring Crew Express, Adam Pearce came to the ring to ask for Homicide to join Team ROH in their battle with CZW.  Homicide dropped the mic without giving an answer.  Later in the night, the six man tag team match between Team ROH and Team CZW didn't even get started.  Necro Butcher and Samoa Joe each brought out a referee.  Necro knocked out the ROH ref, and Joe knocked out the CZW ref, and it turned into a six man brawl all over the building.  After about ten minutes of ECW level brawling, Homicide ran out to the ring to take on CZW.  The last two men standing were Homicide and Necro Butcher, which led to an unscheduled match between the two that ended with Homicide telling the crowd to throw their chairs into the ring on top of Necro Butcher.  I was in the second row, so I spent a lot of that time ducking and covering from getting smacked in the head by a chair that didn't make it all the way to the ring, but it looked to me like at least 50 chairs landed on top of Necro Butcher, with dozens of others landing around the ringside area (and in the first few rows around the area where my chair once sat).  Homicide dug Necro out from underneath the pile, hit a lariat and won the match via pinfall.  It was hands down the craziest thing I have ever witnessed at a live wrestling event.

In between Homicide's two appearances was an incredibly strong card that included a hard hitting Pure Title match between Nigel McGuinness and Jay Lethal (stepping in for Alex Shelley, who was scheduled for the match), an incredible rematch between Bryan Danielson and Delirious for the ROH World Title, and a solid 20 minute tag team title match between Generation Next and The Briscoe Brothers.  All together, this may be the best professional wrestling show I have ever seen.


Results:
Julius Smokes and Homicide
BJ Whitmer and "Scrap Iron" Adam Pearce
Kikutaro

After the show I bumped into some of the wrestlers, and they were all kind enough to take a photo with me.  I felt genuinely honored to meet Homicide after this show and take a photo with him.  He was definitely a star when he walked into the building that day, but he was a legend when he walked out.  That was a career-defining performance!


Update: This show was released on DVD under the title "Ring Of Homicide", which is a very appropriate name.  It's available for sale on ROHWrestling.com.  If you're interested in checking out an ROH show and you want to buy just one DVD to see what they're all about, I highly recommend this one.

May 11, 2006

The Perfect Pair


Bucket And The Butter
Hollywood Video
In addition to having an excellent selection of videos, they've got some pretty adorable microwave popcorn buckets.

May 10, 2006

My Favorite Video Store



Hollywood Video
West Hazleton, PA
The selection of vintage horror movies and anime here is really pretty incredible.

May 8, 2006

Bonds Gets Needled By The Fans



Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster, PA  (May 8, 2006)
The sign says it all.  Stay out of Philly if you don't want to hear the truth.

May 7, 2006

Signed Hitchhiker's Guide


A gym in town had closed.  They took the opportunity to have a book sale as they were selling off all of their mats and equipment.  For $1, you could take all of the paperback books that you could fit into a plastic grocery bag.

We found a lot of classic sci-fi and movie novels, but the cream of the crop was a signed copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Apr 26, 2006

The Superheroes Of Chikara






I got to meet a few Chikara wrestlers during the show on Sunday, including Eddie Kingston, Jigsaw, Shane Storm and Daizee Haze, and they were cool enough to take a photo with a nerdy mark like me.

Seriously, if you're a wrestling fan and you live in Pennsylvania, you really should check out a Chikara show.  Tickets are only $15 and it's a bargain for a few hours of the most creative and fun professional wrestling you're ever going to find.

Apr 25, 2006

Discovering Chikara


Chikara
Ryan Township Fire Hall - Barnesville, PA
I went to my first Chikara show on Sunday afternoon and I can't say enough good things about this company.  It's like watching a comic book come to life, with fan interaction, fun characters, and storylines that you won't find anywhere else.



To give you an example of what I mean, here is the origin story for one of the tag teams that wrestled on this show.  Two years ago, a knight from the middle ages named Lance Steel was transported to the present through the Galactica 3000 time machine.  Shortly thereafter, Lance's younger self made the same journey.  The older Lance Steel met the younger Lance Steel the present and decided to form a tag team called... Lancelot.  On Sunday they wrestled against two luchador ants, Fire Ant and Soldier Ant, whose team is called The Colony.

 It's bizarre and amazing, and I absolutely loved every second of it.  This definitely won't be my last show.

Results:
Update: This show was released on DVD under the name "Apocalypso".  It is available on ChikaraPro.com.

Update #2: Both members of The Colony who wrestled on this show went on to achieve mainstream success following the closure of Chikara.  Fire Ant signed with AEW and is now wrestling as Orange Cassidy, and Soldier Ant signed with WWE and won the Cruiserweight Title under his current name, Drew Gulak.

Apr 24, 2006

After Show #100





After the ROH show on Saturday, I met Delirious, Allison Danger and Pelle Primeau, all three of whom are genuinely good folks.  Delirious wrestled twice that night, so it was especially cool of him to take some time to meet a nerdy fan like me.

Apr 23, 2006

The CZW War Continues At Show #100


Ring of Honor started just over four years ago at ECW Arena in South Philadelphia.  Their first show on February 23, 2002 was headlined by a triple threat match between Low Ki, "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson and "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels.  Low Ki would go on to become the first ROH Champion a few months later - a belt that is currently held by Bryan Danielson as the company goes into its 100th show.

The title match was in the middle of the card last night at the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory as the war between ROH and CZW took center stage.

Update: This show was released on DVD under the name "The 100th Show".  It is available on ROHWrestling.com.

Update #2: Apocalypse, who wrestled in the opening match at this show, signed with NXT in 2012 where he wrestled as Viktor, one half of The Ascension tag team.

Apr 17, 2006

Once You Go Blak...



Coca-Cola Blak
Coca-Cola (2006)
This may be my favorite soda of all time.  The package calls it a "carbonated fusion beverage", which is a fancy way to say that they've blended the flavors of coffee and cola.  It may not sound like it would taste good, but it's smooth and delicious, and it's definitely better tasting than an energy drink.



Another reason that I love Coke Blak is the fact that it has only 45 calories per bottle.  My weight has gotten out of control, and for the first time in my life, I reached over 300 pounds in December.  I've been watching what I eat and drink this year and cutting back or cutting out a lot of the things that I used to enjoy, and beverages are at the top of that list.  I've gotten myself back under 300 pounds, but there's still a long way to go.  I'm allowing myself a bottle of Coke Blak as an occasional treat, but it's not going to be something that I have every day, and I'm not going to drink any more than one a day.

Apr 13, 2006

Trump Plaza


Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ
We're staying at Trump Plaza tonight for two reasons: it's the least expensive hotel on the boardwalk, and it feels like time traveling back to the 80's.  It feels like they haven't remodeled this place since they held Wrestlemania IV next door.

Apr 10, 2006

Caesar's Palace



Caesar's Palace
Atlantic City, NJ
I have an odd appreciation for indoor settings  that are designed to feel like they're outdoors.  This is something I typically found in old malls that have a center court with a skylight, trees, park-style benches and faux roof awning that hangs over the entrances to some of the stores.

The best example that I ever found of what I'm talking about was at Epcot Center.  It was in one of the countries; Italy, I think, but it was fifteen years ago so I could be wrong.  I remember that it was so realistic that I actually forgot I was inside of a building until my stepmother mentioned it.

This section of Caesar's Palace isn't quite that realistic, but it had the same vibe.  It's a restaurant hub surrounded in Roman decor with trees and stone floors that give this area a feel of an outdoor cafe.



There's a large statue of Caesar Augustus near one of the entrances of this area.
 


The center has a large restaurant called Mia.  The main portion is through a set of pillars surrounded by a curtain, but there are tables with umbrellas on the outside as well.  The picture came out a little dark, but it really is very pretty.

Apr 9, 2006

Damn You, JohnnyBens



Allentown Service Plaza
Pennsylvania Turnpike - Allentown, PA
Unless I'm in a big hurry, I always make it a point to stop at the Allentown Rest Stop every time I'm headed down the Turnpike to Philly or Atlantic City, even if I'm good on fuel.  Part of that is the fact that it has the only Roy Rogers restaurant in the area.  However, my motivation recently has been the trivia game on the Megatouch machine.



This is the Megatouch Maxx Emerald 2.  It's a touchscreen arcade-style game that you usually find in bars, restaurants and truck stops.  One day, I stumbled onto a trivia game called Quiz Show and I managed to get the top score at 47,000.  Since that time, JohnnyBens swooped in and knocked me out, and I've been trying to get it back ever since.

Teriyaki is my dog's name, by the way.  We just call him Terry.

Apr 3, 2006

Believe It Or Not



Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum
Atlantic City, NJ
Well, that's definitely a building that draws your attention.  This is a museum that features artifacts and objects collected by Robert Ripley and the things that appeared in his syndicated newspaper feature, Ripley's Believe It Or Not.

Vampire killing kit
Shrunken head
Haitian voodoo statue
Coal from the wreckage of the Titanic

Vlad The Impaler (the statue, not the nerd standing in front of it)

Apr 2, 2006

Hi Jimmy




Made a new friend on the Atlantic City boardwalk.

Apr 1, 2006

La Dolce Casa



La Dolce Casa
Tamaqua, PA
This is one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever been to.  Everything I've ever had here has been absolutely delicious!  It's not often that I have an opportunity to get dressed up, but my family and I attended a wedding reception here and took a few photos.




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