An Inevitable Attraction
By Brian | January 21, 2008
This is a couple of weeks old already, but I still find it fascinating:
A pair of twins who were adopted by separate families as babies got married without knowing they were brother and sister, a peer told the House of Lords.
“They were never told that they were twins,” he told the Lords. “They met later in life and felt an inevitable attraction, and the judge had to deal with the consequences of the marriage that they entered into and all the issues of their separation.”
Here’s the most surprising part: I didn’t even know Mark Hamil and Carrie Fisher were dating, nor did I know they were British.
Go figure…
Categories: The World Wide Weird | Comments Off on An Inevitable Attraction
A Weird Dream…
By Brian | January 21, 2008
If you commute on New Jersey Transit as I do, it’s not unusual to find more than half the train sleeping on their way to work. Or so I’ve heard, anyway, because I’m typically part of that crowd.
Anyway, the other day I got on the train and fell asleep and had a strange dream. I dreamt that I was on the train and couldn’t fall asleep, despite being exhausted.
The strangest part of a dream like that is waking up when the train reaches the city, and sorting out in my foggy state of mind that my inability to sleep was just a dream, which meant I not only could fall asleep but had done so quite successfully.
You know, now that I think about it, I better go get some sleep right now as well. Unless, of course, this blog post is just a dream I’m having…
Categories: Random Acts of Blogging | Comments Off on A Weird Dream…
Seeing The Magic Kingdom – The Greenberg Method
By Brian | January 21, 2008
The family and I have just returned from our third trip to Disneyworld in three years, which I guess earns us some points on the Disney expert meter. To be sure, our family’s approach to The Magic Kingdom is much like the U.S. Army – we do more before 10AM than most people do all day.
This time around, though, we travelled with the University of Pennsylvania Band on a performance trip, which meant we got to hang out with some folks who were not as obsessed experienced with Disneyworld as we were. Their reaction to how we approached the park made me think, hey – maybe this information could be useful to the public at large.
And so a blog post was born. And so: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, presenting your guide to getting around the Magic Kingdom, Greenberg style!
1) Get there before the park opens
There’s a cute show when the park opens that involves Mickey and all his pals riding the steam train from Toontown to sprinkle magic pixie dust on the crowd, which opens the Magic Kingdom for the day. I believe it’s worth seeing (both for kids and adults) and besides, if you want to conquer the park quickly, you’re going to need all the time you can get.
2) Don’t Follow the Crowd
When the pixie dust flies and the doors open, just about everyone is going to run for the stroller rental or to Main Street USA for pictures of the castle, etc. This path leads to the dark side, my young apprentice. Instead, proceed directly to It’s a Small World, which is in Fantasyland, directly behind Cinderella’s castle. Important point here: you’ll need to walk down Main Street USA and around the castle itself to get there. Resist the urge to stop and take pictures of all the cool sights, even though everyone around you is doing it. You’ll have time for that later, and trust me – they’ll all look the same when you do.
3) Ride the Big Rides
If you make it through the gauntlet that is Main Street USA, you will likely be the first ones to reach It’s a Small World. Run through the empty, snake-line gates, reveling in your cleverness, and get in the first boat. Enjoy the ride! When you get out, proceed directly to Peter Pan’s Flight, which is right across the path from Small World. Again, there will be no line at all. Enjoy Peter and the gang as well.
Now you’re on a roll. Hang a left out of Peter Pan and follow the path around to the Haunted Mansion. By now, there may be a couple of families on line with you. Chuckle at what is the longest line you’ve seen so far today, and proceed directly into the mansion (recently redone and beautiful, by the way). After that, it’s a bit of a walk to the Pirates of the Caribbean (also recently redone – now with extra Jack Sparrow!). At Pirates, there will certainly be other people, but no line big enough to make you wait. Once again, enjoy the ride! When you get out, proceed rapidly through the gift shop and marvel at how they place the merchandise in precisely the right place to make the kids scream, “I want one! I want one!” Deflect their cries with talk of the Jungle Cruise (the “punniest” cruise on earth). This isn’t as big a ride as the others, but the line can get long if you wait to do it, so best to get it done early.
4) Pick Your Tier-2 Selection
By now, you’ve been in the park about an hour, and you’ve already experienced most of what people can wait hours in line to see. Take a minute to pat yourself on the back. Then, put on your thinking ears, because you’ve got some choices to make. There are two more sets of rides that can get crowded, and you have to decide which you want to approach first.
The first set is back in Fantasyland, and includes Dumbo the Flying Elephant, The Mad Tea Party (a.k.a., the Teacups), Mickey’s PhilharMagic (the best 3-D show in the park), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Ariel’s Grotto (autograph opportunity with Ariel and a fun jumping fountain for the kids – but no ride), and while you’re there, Cinderella’s Carousel (this one’s a fast moving line at any time of the day, so no big rush).
The second set is in Tomorrowland, and includes Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (a shoot-em-up video game incorporated into a ride – see who in your family gets the high score!), the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, and the Astro Orbiter.
Pick the set you like best and cover those rides, and then move on to the other set. You’ll probably have to break for lunch at some point during the second set, but at least you had a productive morning!
5) Mop Up the Remaining Rides
After that, you have just a few more things to do, which you can spend the afternoon on. The biggest items on the list are in Frontierland – Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This might be the first time during the day you’ll need to use your Fast Pass (get a pass for one and wait on the line for the other).
After that, you’ve basically got the smaller rides left, so you can pick and choose to your own taste. None of them should have super long lines, so despite the crowds, you should find yourself moving at a pretty good pace throughout the day.
So, there you go. The Magic Kingdom in one, whirlwind day (OK, maybe two – it depends how much time you spend in each place). Pass the word along, but not to too many people – we don’t want them ruining our method, after all.
And remember, have a magical day!
Categories: The Disneyverse | 3 Comments »
My first blog widget
By Brian | January 21, 2008
Hey…check out the cool web gadget just below the Previous Posts section in the left nav bar. It displays the last five blog posts that link to familygreenberg.com, including screen shots of the posts themselves. Kind of a trackback system for the entire site, but with pictures!
If you want to add it to your blog, click on the Add This to Your Blog link on the top of the widget, or just click here.
Categories: Blogging about Blogs | 1 Comment »
Mysteries of the Universe – Solved.
By Brian | January 16, 2008
Both of these stories seem like they should be bigger news:
1) Scientists have discovered the source of antimatter. No word yet on what this means for Star Trek-inspired inventions.
2) Experts at Germany’s Heidelberg University have discovered the true identity of the Mona Lisa. The painting, which is also known as “La Gioconda” (Italian for “joyful woman”), is a portrait of a woman named Lisa del Giocondo. Lisa? Giocondo? Go figure…
Categories: The Future is Now | Comments Off on Mysteries of the Universe – Solved.
Historical Primary/Caucus Results
By Brian | January 16, 2008
If you’re like me, you’re wondering whether these caucuses and primaries really matter, or whether it’s just something to occupy the news media until the nominating conventions. Here’s some data that may help:
| Iowa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Democrat | Nomination? | Republican | Nomination? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | John Kerry | Yes | George W. Bush(*) | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Al Gore | Yes | George W. Bush | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Bill Clinton(*) | Yes | Bob Dole | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Tom Harkin | No | George H.W. Bush(*) | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988 | Dick Gephardt | No | Bob Dole | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | Walter Mondale | Yes | Ronald Reagan(*) | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 | Jimmy Carter | Yes | George H.W. Bush | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1976 | Uncommitted | No | Gerald Ford | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Categories: Political Rantings | Comments Off on Historical Primary/Caucus Results What am I doing here? What are YOU doing here?By Brian | January 9, 2008 You can’t help but chuckle at a story like this:
Categories: The World Wide Weird | 1 Comment » Familygreenberg.com – 2007 StatisticsBy Brian | January 9, 2008 In lieu of a “How People Found Me” post in December, I thought I’d tip my hat to the New Year by summarizing my site stats for all of 2007. I know, I know – it’s too much excitement to bear all at once. Go ahead, take a minute. I’ll wait… Better? OK, on to the fun: Summary Stats
Well, it’s not quite USA Today. But on an average day, fifty people around the world click over to my website and look at an average of 78 web pages. Frankly, that’s a larger readership than I ever thought I’d have in any medium, let alone one that costs me nothing and offers me completely creative control. Thanks to all who stopped by last year – I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. The Top 10 Pages
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
