Saturday, January 3
From the BBC:
THE FAIRGROUND IN ART
Two recently opened exhibitions in Sheffield, Carousel, the Fairground and Circus in Art and Pleasurelands, explore the representation of the funfair in art. Bob Dickinson investigates the eternal attraction of the fairground.
BBC RealAudio review of the exhibits here, and a link to the National Fairground Archives' Pleasurelands exhibit here.
Among the paintings on exhibit are Mark Gertler's 1916 Merry-Go-Round and Stanley Spencer's 1937 Helter Skelter.
THE FAIRGROUND IN ART
Two recently opened exhibitions in Sheffield, Carousel, the Fairground and Circus in Art and Pleasurelands, explore the representation of the funfair in art. Bob Dickinson investigates the eternal attraction of the fairground.
BBC RealAudio review of the exhibits here, and a link to the National Fairground Archives' Pleasurelands exhibit here.
Among the paintings on exhibit are Mark Gertler's 1916 Merry-Go-Round and Stanley Spencer's 1937 Helter Skelter.
Monday, December 29
Kenji Yanobi is an artist concerned with your transportation safety in the radioactive age. See his Yellow Suit, Surival System Train, Radiation Car Cobalt, Survival Racing Car, E. E. Pod, and Atom Car. With thanks to gmtPlus9 for the initial link.
Sunday, December 28
How to Drive a Bumper Car
There's more nuance in bumper car driving than you'd think, says Andretti. "The thing you want to avoid most is exactly what you want to avoid in any car—a head-on crash," he adds. "In such collisions there's a tendency to find your teeth on the wheel."
Go with the flow
To avoid the head-on crash, never drive against traffic.
Step on it
Drive faster. It makes you a harder target.
Stay wide
Drive near the outside of the ring. You're less likely to get boxed in.
Find the fool
Check out the other drivers. Look for the confused face, the driver looking all over the place and not knowing what to do. That's the one you nail.
The photograph above is from my home park, The Oaks. By the way, that third rule of "Stay Wide" is almost impossible at the Oaks, because the outside is where they park the cars that aren't in use, and where the bad drivers all get stuck.
"The FD-3801 intelligent type child electric bump car is the new type children toy car of the 21st century. It can be ridden indoors in living room, hallway, rooms, and outdoor flat, non-ravine, area."
From Planet Proctor
NOT EVEN A MOUSE...
In a copyrighted article from the Watley Review, we have learned that fabled cartoon icon, Mickey Mouse, who recently celebrated a big birthday, is going to follow Roy E. Disney and leave the company. Below are excerpts:
Mickey's departure comes after years of hotly contested battles with the Disney public relations machine, which has been both relentlessly marketing Mickey's image and pushing him to become "edgier" in order to broaden his appeal. "It has gotten completely out of hand. They wanted me to start a fight outside a nightclub to bolster my "street cred,"" said Mickey.
Mickey has allied with ousted board member Roy Disney to call for Eisner's resignation in the past, but the pair was never able to sway a majority of the board. "It's the bears," confessed Disney insider Ken Miradi in an anonymous interview. "They round out Eisner's majority, and they are completely in thrall to their stomachs. Eisner always brings lots of candy bars to meetings."
Detractors also accuse him of presiding over a "brain drain" that saw top executives leave the company over the past 10 years, including former studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg; Donald Duck, who now heads the Hilton Corp.; and most recently Goofy, who left last year to head Gap, Inc.
"I've tried for a long time to make this work," said Mickey. "But the truth is, I haven't had a decent movie role since 1940. It's time to move on."
NOT EVEN A MOUSE...
In a copyrighted article from the Watley Review, we have learned that fabled cartoon icon, Mickey Mouse, who recently celebrated a big birthday, is going to follow Roy E. Disney and leave the company. Below are excerpts:
Mickey's departure comes after years of hotly contested battles with the Disney public relations machine, which has been both relentlessly marketing Mickey's image and pushing him to become "edgier" in order to broaden his appeal. "It has gotten completely out of hand. They wanted me to start a fight outside a nightclub to bolster my "street cred,"" said Mickey.
Mickey has allied with ousted board member Roy Disney to call for Eisner's resignation in the past, but the pair was never able to sway a majority of the board. "It's the bears," confessed Disney insider Ken Miradi in an anonymous interview. "They round out Eisner's majority, and they are completely in thrall to their stomachs. Eisner always brings lots of candy bars to meetings."
Detractors also accuse him of presiding over a "brain drain" that saw top executives leave the company over the past 10 years, including former studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg; Donald Duck, who now heads the Hilton Corp.; and most recently Goofy, who left last year to head Gap, Inc.
"I've tried for a long time to make this work," said Mickey. "But the truth is, I haven't had a decent movie role since 1940. It's time to move on."
Disneyland employee held for VIP fraud
PARIS, Dec 4 (AFP) - An employee at the Disneyland Paris themepark in France has been arrested for allegedly using the credit card numbers of VIP clients he came in contact with to buy himself thousands of euros worth of goods, police said Thursday.
The man, identified in media reports only as Jean-Pierre S., 39, was believed to have defrauded stars such as former France international footballer David Ginola, French singer Eddie Barclay, and a number of wealthy Gulf Arab businessmen.
Police said the employee was put under criminal investigation Wednesday and released under police supervision.
He was suspected of using his position in a special VIP welcome centre at the park over the past two years to note the credit card details of the rich and famous as they checked in to get priviliged access to rides and hotels.
He then allegedly used the information to buy himself DVD players, concert tickets and holidays to the tune of at least EUR 53,000 (USD 64,000) on the Internet or by telephone.
One card provider, American Express, which first noticed the discrepancies in client bills, contacted French police, who traced the fraud back to Disneyland Paris.
PARIS, Dec 4 (AFP) - An employee at the Disneyland Paris themepark in France has been arrested for allegedly using the credit card numbers of VIP clients he came in contact with to buy himself thousands of euros worth of goods, police said Thursday.
The man, identified in media reports only as Jean-Pierre S., 39, was believed to have defrauded stars such as former France international footballer David Ginola, French singer Eddie Barclay, and a number of wealthy Gulf Arab businessmen.
Police said the employee was put under criminal investigation Wednesday and released under police supervision.
He was suspected of using his position in a special VIP welcome centre at the park over the past two years to note the credit card details of the rich and famous as they checked in to get priviliged access to rides and hotels.
He then allegedly used the information to buy himself DVD players, concert tickets and holidays to the tune of at least EUR 53,000 (USD 64,000) on the Internet or by telephone.
One card provider, American Express, which first noticed the discrepancies in client bills, contacted French police, who traced the fraud back to Disneyland Paris.
Disneyland hoax `bomber' is dead
BY JOHN MCDONALD
The Orange County Register
SANTA ANA, Calif. - (KRT) - A man who died in a car explosion at a Santa Ana mobile home park was identified Tuesday as Liyanase Fernando, 37, who posed as a suicide bomber in an August 2002 Disneyland attack hoax.
Fernando had dressed as a Middle Eastern suicide bomber in video later shown to the FBI. Agents evacuated the Stoneridge Mobile Home Park before the Disneyland plot was determined to be a hoax. Fernando was never charged, and a friend served a short prison sentence for making false statements.
Fernando died Sunday in an apparent suicide outside his family trailer. He poured flammable liquid into the car, and the liquid ignited. He was identified from dental records.
BY JOHN MCDONALD
The Orange County Register
SANTA ANA, Calif. - (KRT) - A man who died in a car explosion at a Santa Ana mobile home park was identified Tuesday as Liyanase Fernando, 37, who posed as a suicide bomber in an August 2002 Disneyland attack hoax.
Fernando had dressed as a Middle Eastern suicide bomber in video later shown to the FBI. Agents evacuated the Stoneridge Mobile Home Park before the Disneyland plot was determined to be a hoax. Fernando was never charged, and a friend served a short prison sentence for making false statements.
Fernando died Sunday in an apparent suicide outside his family trailer. He poured flammable liquid into the car, and the liquid ignited. He was identified from dental records.
