When you are in the LA area, it's kind of a rule that you've gotta do something Hollywood-y. If you're in town to do a taping of Wheel of Fortune, it only makes sense to have your Hollywood-y thing be a tour of the Sony Picture Studios in beautiful(?) Culver City.
While the price tag on the tour was a little steep, I justified it as a way to get a little more comfortable with all things Lights Camera Action, before I had my big day. But it was really just an excuse to do something that I knew would be really cool, and it totally was. The coolness fell into two different categories. First, there was the "I've always wondered how they did that". One example of that was the sound effects room, a room filled with all sorts of crap with piecemeal flooring, where they record everything but the dialog. Super interesting. Or the sound mixing room. Or sound stages with sets*, green rooms, etc. The other coolness category was the "I know that thing/place from TV/movies!". There were old movie props, building facades, and more. It was neat to see how often a certain building would be reused for different shows, scenes, etc. But really, the crowning glory of the tour was being able to see the sound stage where the Jeopardy! set was set up. There was a neat museum documenting memorable moments, history, etc. There were replica lecterns*, rows and rows of Emmys, and a life size reproduction of the Man himself. I was in hog heaven. Someday I will be back here as a contestant. But until that day, this tour was good times! Seeing how movies and TV are made is fun! Rubbing elbows with the stars...' assistants' valets, so much history, and lots of behind the scenes anecdotes made the Sony Picture Studios tour a great way to spend an afternoon! Plus it took my mind ever so slightly off my big day of taping the following day. Yikes! I mean, Yeehaw! |
Monday July 14 2014 | File under: travel, USA |
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The happy coincidence of having family in the same city as a well known juggling festival led me to hop on a plane and bounce on over to Madison WI for the weekend, a place I've always wanted to check out anyway. The verdict: pretty dang neat.
Seeing the midwestern version of a juggling festival was interesting. Madfest, now in it's 47th year is pretty big as far as juggling festivals go. Lots of people, lots of talent, and lots of age diversity, which was really nice to see*. And while between the awesome show and all the happenings in the gym, there was plenty of great stuff to watch, the overall vibe was a bit cliquey. I mostly juggled by myself* and am looking forward to getting back to the awesome Bellingham club meeting to get my fill of high level passing. Aside from the juggling festival, there was lots to do and see in Madison, and I had a great tour guide and host. We walked the city in freshly falling snow, sampled a bit of the local cuisine, got a geocache(!), saw Cora's school, and much much more. It was the perfect taste of the place and it has me looking forward to coming back someday. In short, my time in Madison was awesome. Getting there and back, however, there were a few more ins and outs. But that'll have to wait for another post. |
Monday January 20 2014 | File under: travel, USA |
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Wednesday June 6 2012 | File under: travel, USA |
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It feels like I've passed through New York City quite a few times in the last couple years. If I had to guess, it'd be about 5. In that time, I've slowly ticked items off the list of NYC activities. But it's a big city and it seems like my to do list grows despite my slow whittling.
While visiting wonderful friends is always highest my highest priority, I always seem to have enough time to throw a few other activities in the mix. This time around, I found a spare hour to ride the oft-touted Staten Island Ferry*. The highlight was a closer than expected view of the Statue of Liberty. Another activity that was on my list for quite a while and am so glad to finally check off was a visit to Dube, Inc. juggling store. Over the years, I've bought more than a few props from them, all by mail order, and it was neat to simply be surrounded by props. It was a low-key couple days in the big city, but wonderful nonetheless. Thanks to the friends that made it great, and thanks to the city itself for continually showing me something new (like these yummy donuts made with mashed potato dough from Wonder City Donuts!). |
Sunday March 20 2011 | File under: travel, USA |
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Monday January 3 2011 | File under: travel, USA |
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Friday November 5 2010 | File under: travel, USA |
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Friday October 29 2010 | File under: travel, USA |
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Wednesday October 27 2010 | File under: travel, USA |
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Alas, 2010's New Old Time Chautauqua is over. But instead of returning to the real world, I've opted to let the fun and magic continue, albeit in a slightly different form. I'm currently enjoying all that the Oregon Coast has to offer, and believe me, it has lots.
The past 2 nights have been spent at Nehalem Falls campground, a small county park up Nehalem River that is exactly what we were looking for (after being hugely disappointed by the commercialness of Oregon State Park campgrounds). During the day, entertainment has been found in the form of playing on the beach, exploring the quaint little towns, and visiting the Tillamook cheese factory....twice*. On the possible agenda for the rest of the time is sea lion caves, more beach time, and maybe, just maybe, another visit to the cheese factory. This little vacay to the coast has been just what I needed to buffer re-entry into the real world. Back to back vacations is really the way to go. Dare I try back to back to back? Stay tuned to see. |
Thursday July 8 2010 | File under: travel, USA |
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Familiar giant (remember?) with a familiar goober in front. |
Friday June 18 2010 | File under: travel, USA |
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