Shrek the Halls

I went out to Gaylord Palms ICE! on Tuesday. It’s best for me to hit this thing early before it gets too crowded.  Not only do the prices go up for peak times, but so does the hassle factor. I like to take pictures and it’s pretty dark in there for photography; not to mention cold at 9 degrees. Dim light means you have to do one of three things:

1. Raise your ISO (creates noisy pictures)
2. Use flash (ruins the atmosphere of the place)
3. Use a tripod (winner)

That’s right, a lugged a tripod out there to get my pictures. Everyone else walked around with a cell phone camera or a small point & shoot with a flash.  Most folks just wanted to pose in front of the ice carvings, snap a shot (which it seems to take them far too long to do), and then move along. Not me.  I’m the only dude out there setting up a DSLR on a tripod with a shutter release, taking brackets of 5 different exposures.  One of them has to turn out, right? At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

The nice thing about a tripod is that you get a clean shot with the ambient light.  The downside is that it takes time to make that shot; time spent waiting on a seemingly endless crowd meandering through popping their little cell phone flashes about, generally right in front of my camera which somehow seems invisible.

That’s OK, though.  They have just as much right to be there as I do.  I run into this kind of thing all the time and I know how to handle it – with patience.  I have it, they don’t.  That means they’ll scurry along to the next scene soon enough.  I just have to watch the ebb & flow between crowds and take my shots when the place is empty.  Like I said, I do it all the time.  The difference here is that it’s 9 DEGREES!  Patience is much more difficult in the cold. Especially when one of those groups decides to stop in that archway and have a conversion while my big ass is sitting on the floor with a camera and a tripod waiting for them to get out of the way.

In any case, I eventually got my shots because they eventually moved. My ass was numb, but I’ve heard that we must suffer for our art.  I’ve suffered to bring you this photo, and many more than I’m not posting yet.

Speaking of suffering, they have sound clips from the movie playing repeatedly in the different rooms.  Most folks only hear them once, because they move along before it replays.  I heard them about a dozen times.  They haunt me in my sleep now, especially that creepy exclamation of “SEASON’S GREETINGS!”  Did I mention that I suffered for my art?

No doubt, the people who are in control are greedy and will step on anyone else to maintain their power and comfortable lifestyle. Do you think that anyone attending the protest would do differently if their roles were reversed?  The history of humanity has shown us the answer.  It even gives us trite sayings to remind us of these little power struggles – absolute power corrupts absolutely. So the protest has little to do with ending corporate greed, but rather, whining that they’re on the shitty end of the stick.

Meanwhile, the folks who engage in protests tend to be consumers of corporate products. Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream pronounced its solidarity with the Occupy[Insert City Name Here] folks. Yes, why shouldn’t they? This is an outstanding marketing opportunity! They’re siding with the people who buy ice cream in a campaign that I’m sure has the approval of their Corporate Board of Directors.

Look, I have no problems with protests. In fact, I’m glad that there are people who will give up part of their weekend to go yell and scream on a day when no one from the corporate office will be around to see the protest. I have no doubt that the organizers picked this date and time so it wouldn’t conflict with the work schedules of the protestors who work for greedy corporations, because you know that it’s mostly non-corporate businesses that work weekends to sell & serve these folks at small businesses.

However, I wish these protestors would be honest with themselves and target the corporations they know most.  Instead of passing out flyers at the Chamber of Commerce on a day when no one is around, why not protest Target? Why not protest the Orlando Magic on a game night?  Why?  Because these same people are supporting those corporations all the time. You won’t see this protest at Bright House headquarters, because they want to go home and watch a football game on cable after stuffing flyers under windshield wipers.

There’s only one way to protest against corporate greed. Stop giving them your money. That’s why we have another trite saying, “Money talks.”

Join the fun! Book signing event – meet author Aya Knight!

Purchase The Chronicles of Kale: A Dragon’s Awakening at a discounted price – or, bring your own copy!  There will be T-Shirt giveaways and free character art prints available to be signed by Aya Knight at no cost.

Stop by and say “Hello!” – Saturday only on Father’s Day weekend! (June 18, 2011)

TIME: 12pm – 4pm

LOCATION:

Sci-Fi City
6006 E Colonial Drive
Orlando, Florida

—-

The Chronicles of Kale: A Dragon’s Awakening is book 1 in a young adult fantasy series.

For more information, please visit the official website of Aya Knight (www.ayaknight.com).
To confirm event details, please contact Sci-Fi City.

Winter Park Fish Co. Food Truck - © Copyright 2011 by Orlando Local

Another Food Truck Bazaar popped up last Sunday by the Fashion Square Mall.  I missed the first one.  Truth be told, I’ve been missing the entire food truck craze happening around town lately. I’m not even sure why the concept is so popular, so I wrote it off as a fad. My idea of eating out is not being the one outside of the venue, peering in through a window wonder just what the hell is happening to my potential meal in there. I like going to a restaurant, sitting down in some air conditioning while an attentive server places my order with an unseen kitchen staff and then brings me an excellent meal on a plate. I still haven’t been to Four Rivers for BBQ.  Inadequate parking, standing outside in a line, ordering at a counter and then hoping I get a seat at some uncomfortable table just doesn’t appeal to me. The food may damn well be excellent, but the experience isn’t one for me.

However, sometimes fads make for interesting subjects and I had some free time late Sunday.  Not enough free time to really get into the whole experience, though. Rather than planning on visiting for some food, I planned it as a photo exercise and to satisfy a bit of my curiosity, too. That said, I only managed to order something from one of the trucks.

Red Eye BBQ - © Copyright 2011 by Orlando Local

Having never seen these trucks before, I was hoping for some colorful vehicles.  Also, I kind of wanted to see a few of them together. My idea was more visual than practical, but I’m selfish like that. The trucks were scattered around the parking lot.  It wasn’t visually attractive, but the idea was practical – make room so the line from one truck doesn’t screw up the line from another one.  My own sensibility would be to have them park in a circle – sort of like covered wagons fending off an attack. It would give the operators a bit of a safety zone in the middle, and the lines for each truck could extend out like spokes on a bicycle wheel. Practical, sensible, and far more photogenic.  Since I wasn’t consulted, they went with the scattered approach and it worked.

Yum Yum Cupcake Truck - © Copyright 2011 by Orlando Local

The only truck that I really knew I had to try was the Yum Yum Cupcake Truck.  I have this cupcake fetish lately.  Having recently come back from Las Vegas, I was in need of a great cupcake.  While there, I tried a place called Sugar.  Very over the top and impressed with themselves, the cupcakes at Sugar taste like dried dog-shit.  Seriously, it was dry and almost crunchy cake.  By far and away, it was the most pathetic dessert I’ve ever eaten, and that includes anything made by a child with an Easy Bake Oven. With that disaster on my mind, I eagerly approached the Yum Yum truck and tried the Carrot and Red Velvet cupcakes.

Meh.  It wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination.  It just didn’t blow me away. The cake was good, but the icing seemed to have a consistency more like whipped cream than what I expected.  Good flavor in the cake, but not so much in the icing. I’m glad that I finally tried it, but I’ll stick with Sweet! by Miss Holly for my cupcakes in the future.  Everyone has their own tastes and these guys appear to have a lot of fans.  They brought out 1400 cupcakes and sold out.  That wouldn’t happen if the cupcakes sucked, so please don’t misinterpret me.  It’s a good product.  It’s just my own preferences are a little different.

Tree House Truck - © Copyright 2011 by Orlando Local

I pretty much keep to myself when I go out.  One of the guys from Tree House Truck saw me shooting and asked if I was shooting for a newspaper.  I told him it was just for my little blog.  He asked which one and I reluctantly told him.  Surprisingly, he’d heard of it and didn’t call me an asshole. Now that’s a nice touch! Of course, that was when it dawned on me that one of the big attractions of this event is the social gathering. Even though I had to leave fairly early into the event, I was watching things go back & forth about it on Twitter. One person mentioned that it reminded him of Block Parties in Brooklyn. That aspect seems pretty cool. On my way back to my car, I noticed a few couples sitting on their bumper eating food on little tray tables they setup – very smart. I was walking around trying to juggle a camera, tripod, a pair of cupcakes and a bottle of Orange Crush while my pants were falling off my ass. Smooth, I know.

From everything I could tell, this event was a great success.   People were happy and trucks were selling out. I’m following a few of them that have Twitter and Facebook accounts, so maybe one day I’ll try this for a meal.  Just remind me to bring my own chair and table.  If someone wants to act as my server, I tip well.

I’m debating whether to go tomorrow or not. On the one hand, Bill Shatner is speaking and I’d actually like to hear what he has to say about his career and experiences. On the other hand, I hate crowds and this place is going to be packed. I already have to attend a conference there next week and another one near the end of April, so I’ll have my fill of crowds. On top of that, add in the overpriced parking rates of the convention center and the appeal starts waning rapidly.

Even more than the crowd, though, was something that really turned me off last year – the smell. Not the smell of the convention center, mind you, but the smell of the attendees. In other words, they needed to bathe with soap and water.  Seriously, most of the people there just stunk. Well, it seemed like most people.  Maybe there were just some über-stinkers there that permeated the air and influenced others with their bodily funk. Whatever, I don’t get why having an interest in comics or science-fiction is mutually exclusive of good hygiene. For the love of your fellow man, take a bath before you go out in public!

Now if it seems like I’m just complaining (I am), there’s something I do like about this event. The people who attend are passionate about this stuff. They dress up for it, some wearing multiple outfits or costumes per day. They spend time making their own costumes – some more impressive than others. How often do you run across people who care this much about anything? It takes a certain amount of confidence to walk out in public dressed in brightly colored tights without worrying what anyone else will think.

Buns of Steel - © Copyright 2011 by Orlando Local

Supergirl seems to be using her X-Ray vision to admire Superman’s buns of steel. These folks are interesting. Trying to take photos in a convention center is an exercise in frustration due to the wretched lighting and cluttered backgrounds, but you can get some snapshots.

As you would expect, there are vendors selling all sorts of stuff that I would consider junk. To the faithful, they’re collector’s items or useful for creating their next costume. I think most folks just go to let it all hang out for a day with some like-minded people, and they tolerate skeptics like me. I can appreciate that and it’s interesting to see what they’ll wear.

MegaCon tickets are no longer available online, but you can pay $25 at the door per day. A 3-day ticket is available for $60.

http://www.megaconvention.com/

Onsite Ticket Sale Schedule:
Friday, March 25th from 11:00am – 7:00pm
Saturday, March 26th from 8:00am – 6:00pm
Sunday, March 27th from 8:30am – 5:00pm

Showroom Hours:
Friday, March 25th from 1:00pm* – 7:00pm
Saturday, March 26th from 10:00am – 6:00pm
Sunday, March 27th from 10:00am – 5:00pm

[quote]

We regret to tell you your registration was not selected for the NASA Tweetup nor the wait list. Thank you for your interest in attending the NASA Tweetup in conjunction with the launch of space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-134 mission. We value your interest in space and wish we had room to invite all 4,100+ who applied! Thank you for your ongoing support of our nation’s space program and the men and women — including astronauts living in orbit — who work at NASA.

The launch is scheduled for Tuesday, April 19, at 7:48 p.m. EDT.

If you have any interest in seeing the space shuttle launch, we strongly encourage you to make your own arrangements to view from one of the off-site locations. Remember, you are not alone, and you can still have a great experience at the launch. Check out http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/view/view_shuttle.html for more information about locations.

In addition, there are multiple ways you can follow the Tweetup and the launch:

• Follow the launch and the Tweetup on Twitter at @NASA and @NASATweetup. We have created a Twitter list of those who are confirmed to attend. You can view the list and follow them at http://twitter.com/nasatweetup/sts-134-launch. We encourage you to participate in the conversation using the hashtag #NASATweetup.

Don’t forget to follow STS-134 commander and crew member Mark Kelly! Learn more about the STS-134 mission at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts134/index.html.

On April 18, NASA will use UStream to broadcast the first two hours of the Tweetup at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-hd-tv. We will announce the start time of the broadcast on @NASATweetup.

• Launch coverage will be provided on NASA Television and online at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

• Photos will be posted online during and/or after the event at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto.

For your reference, the registration information you submitted was: [Redacted:  Means I removed it.]

Thank you for applying and for following us on @NASA. If you have any questions or concerns, e-mail us at HQ-Twitter@mail.nasa.gov.

[/quote]

Let’s be fair, I knew that plenty of people would apply and most of us wouldn’t get invited. Still, it would’ve been pretty cool to attend. I grew up here in the Apollo era and remember when you could drive to see a launch without being caught in hours of traffic, and that was when the Beeline was only a couple of lanes. I remember bringing along my tape recorder (about the size of today’s laptop computers and heavier) so I could record the launch and have something for my 3rd Grade show & tell session.

As a lifelong resident and NASA observer, there was a part of me that just really hoped I’d have a chance to get an inside look, but that’s clearly not going to happen. Sometimes you just have to let go of your dreams.

From Orlando (Waterford Lakes Store in East Orlando), Jessica Moody:

Jessica Moody - photo courtesy of Hooters Magazine

From Lakeland, Janet Layug:

Janet Layug - photo courtesy of Hooters Magazine

Here’s the detail information I received from Hooters.

[quote]

16 Hooters Girls Vying for Votes to Become the Next Hooters Dream Girl

(Atlanta, GA)  16 of the most gorgeous Hooters Girls from around the country will be featured in the Hooters Dream Girl television show.  Each Hooters Girl was selected to compete in the Hooters Dream Girl Bikini Bracket Challenge and is hoping to get the most online votes and ultimately be named 2011 Hooters Dream Girl.  The show airs on February 19th at 11 PM on FX, followed by a re-air on February 21st on FSN.

The following Hooters Girls were selected to film the TV show in Cancun, Mexico for 1 week to stake her claim in the competition through photo shoots, interviews and beach challenges.  The Hooters Girl that receives the most votes and makes it through all 4 weeks of the Bikini Bracket will be featured on the cover of Hooters Magazine and be named 2011 Hooters Dream Girl.

2011 Hooters Dream Girls

•             Ashleigh Dunn, Hooters of Newnan, GA

•             Juliette Cabrere, Hooters of Doral, Miami, FL

•             Tia Jackson, Hooters of Saugus, MA

•             Chelsie Hurst, Hooters of Saginaw, MI

•             Theresa Trujillo, Hooters of Campbell, CA

•             Lindsey Way, Hooters of Fort Lauderdale, FL

•             Sam Arena, Hooters of Cumberland, Atlanta, GA

•             Megan Dedousis, Hooters of East Brunswick, NJ

•             Victoria Brown, Hooters of Baltimore, MD

•             Susan Murray, Hooters of Katy, TX

•             Brooke Borso, Hooters of Channelside, Tampa, FL

•             Janet Layug, Hooters of Lakeland, FL

•             Rachel Mortenson, Hooters of Phoenix, AZ

•             Jessica Moody, Hooters of Waterford Lakes – Orlando, FL

•             Allison Baker, Hooters of Pensacola, FL

•             Stephanie Haney, Hooters of Santa Monica, CA

The top Hooters Girls with the most votes will move on the next round during the 3 elimination periods.   You can view the photos and vote for your favorite at www.Foxsports.com/Hooters.  Voting begins after the show airs Saturday night.[/quote]

You may remember Jessica as the winner of the Hooters Swimsuit Regional Finals that I previously covered on the blog. I apologize that the show has already aired, but I just heard about this last night and decided to pass it along because I like to see local folks have support from their community.

To make-up for the late notice, I’ll toss in something else. Go get yourself a free treat from Hooters – today only.

Hooters Free Offer - Feb. 22nd.

For Orlando, another year of Nude Nite has come and gone. I almost missed it myself, but found my way to a warehouse in south Orlando on Saturday, February 12th to catch the end of the show.

Lest you think that Nude Nite is little more than a bunch of drunken leaping gnomes, there’s a bit more to it. Yes, there’s a bar. I also saw some leaping there, but I don’t recall any gnomes. In its essence, Nude Nite is a combination of art exhibition, modeling and live performance.

It’s a popular event. One of the mistakes I made was to just show up without having purchased a ticket. That was a very common mistake, which lead to standing in a line that wrapped around a block for roughly 40 minutes, slowly working my way toward an entrance that I couldn’t even see when I first arrived. Two women in front of me questioned me as to how long it would take and if it was worth the wait.  I honestly didn’t know. After going around the block, one of the women came back and told her friend, “Come on, let’s go home and I’ll show you my boobs.” With that, I ended up two positions closer than I was when I got there.

For those who were smart enough to buy a ticket online, there was a separate, much shorter line for Will Call and printed tickets. The line wasn’t actually terrible, but I would’ve enjoyed the smug feeling of walking past everyone else to get in sooner. Maybe next time.

The Art

Drawings, paintings, collages, photographs, sculpture, and something that looks like a dress made out of chicken-wire awaited me inside. The walls were lined with art, along with some temporary displays in the middle of the warehouse floor. I understand this was a juried art show, but I don’t have a background to make distinctions about the entries. All I know is if I like something or not. With that in mind, there was art that I liked and art that did nothing for me. I didn’t find anything to dislike or offend, though some of it was clearly intended to be provocative. I took a few snapshots, so decide for yourself.

Orlando Nude Nite - 1

Orlando Nude Nite - 2

Orlando Nude Nite - 3

Orlando Nude Nite - 4

Orlando Nude Nite - 5

Orlando Nude Nite - 7

The Performances

Now I enjoy art as much as the next person, but I was feeling a bit constricted. As I mentioned before, this place was packed with people, making it difficult to get around from one place to another. Also, perhaps I was naive, but I expected to find more models inside than I initially saw. My initial impression was one of disappointment, but that changed. After walking a little further, I came across the body painter shown above, and a couple of other models on the floor.

Orlando Nude Nite - 6

Orlando Nude Nite - 9

However, I soon learned that I was missing out on what I considered to be the best part of the show – the stage performances. The crowd was packed and I simply couldn’t get to the opposite end of the warehouse to see anything until after the shows were over. Fortunately, there was one more show scheduled for the top of the next hour, and that was it for the night (and the event). I staked out my spot and watched each performance, finding myself continuously impressed with the performers. My own words to describe them would be insufficient, so I’ll show the crappy videos that I captured.

Overall

I was a little “iffy” when I first arrived, but I had a great time. It’s no wonder that Nude Nite packs a large crowd.  I’m impressed that we have so much talent in Central Florida, from the artists to the performers. If you missed Nude Nite in Orlando, you still have a chance to see it this year in Tampa from March 3-5.  Check the Nude Nite website for details, and be sure to get your tickets online to avoid the line.

Dare to be Dinner

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Enjoy your holiday and be safe.

I’m still going to vote, though. Not so much because I like my choices of candidates, but because there’s more on the table than the next Governor or Senator. Amendments are also at stake. Some I like, some I don’t. It seems a waste to lose my chance to vote on those issues just because of the candidates elsewhere on the ballot.

My point here isn’t to try and sway you to my perspective. It doesn’t matter so much to me if you’re a Democrat, Republican or a Jedi Knight.  I think it’s more important that we actually show up every couple of years to let the elected folks know that we’re still watching, paying attention, and expecting them to answer to us. So go vote before the day is over. There has to be at least one item on the ballot where you have an opinion. Why not express it?