Dream lover come rescue me Take me up, take me down Take me anywhere you want to baby
Though I'm not really in the mood, it was five years ago today that I started yearly posts on Valentine's Day, so I feel obliged to chime in on the day for a sixth time. Last year I penned a poem and the year before that and the year before that, etc., etc., etc....well, let's just say lots of pity parties, lol. Well this year I'm not going to do that. Yeah I'm still single, but I'm not bitter about it. I do think that if I had someone in my life, I'd be in a much better place all around, but ah well, here's to future possibilities.
So for what it's worth, whether you're in a loving relationship with someone special or if you are single, have an awesome Valentine's Day...and stay warm! In the meantime, I'll be spending it dreaming up a lover for next year...
It's a late, late post for me as I have not been able to get my hands on my pc all day. I just got back from a trip to Pennsylvania that was cut a wee bit short because it got so cold outside. Brrrr.... Great song, though!
In amusement parks around the country and across the globe. there are many other rides and attractions besides roller coasters. Though coasters are almost always the big draw for their thrill factor, there really aren't many, with the exception of maybe drop rides and Enterprises, Round-Ups and pirate ship rides, that are big on thrills. Many of these types of rides carry more of a flavor of fun than anything else, and many of them have been around for years, like the Tilt-a-Whirl, Music Express, Ferris wheels, The Whip, etc.
There is one traditional amusement ride that I find not only fun, but a little thrilling, as well. It's not too common amongst amusement parks, there are only three of them that I know of, and I'm lucky enough to have had access to two of them.
The Derby Racer at the U.K.'s Blackpool Pleasure Beach
At first glance, the Derby Racer looks a lot like an ordinary carousel, but it isn't. Whereas the traditional merry-go-round stands alone, the Derby Racer is actually a large turntable housed within a larger edifice. Rows of horses, four across, line the large disc, whose center dips slightly lower than its edges.
As the ride begins to move, the ride workers check that riders are seated upon their horses properly, with the left foot rested on the rung lowest and the right foot sitting on the highest. The body must be leaning inwards, towards the center of the turntable, as the speed of this ride is a lot less tame than your average merry-go-round. The horses move up and down, as if to simulate riding an actual horse, and in the past each horse would move to and fro along a small rectangular space where it's connected to the contraption beneath. This feature's been disabled, at least on two of the rides.
The Derby Racer is always as much fun to watch as it is to ride, especially how the workers jump on and off the moving turntable as they check passengers, or how they stand at the edge at a 45-degree angle with their back towards the center. Ever since I was a kid, going to Rye Playland, I've always wanted to do that job.
Anyway, the only three Derby Racers that exist on the planet are at Rye Playland, in Rye, NY, Cedar Point, in Sandusky, Ohio, and Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, England. If you're lucky enough to live anywhere near any of these parks, then you've probably already experienced the Derby Racer. If not, and you ever get a chance to visit, definitely check it out. It's a lot of fun! Check it out...
"D" Coaster of the Day - Dragon Coaster, Playland, Rye, NY
Rye Playland, located in Rye, NY, is a small traditional amusement park situated just about twenty minutes from New York City. As a child, my family would spend countless summer evenings at the playground, instilling me a love for the amusement industry that still stands today.
Here is a look at the Dragon Coaster, the iconic landmark that is the park's centerpiece. The ride is my very first coaster, pretty tame by today's standards, but at 14 years of age it was pretty intimidating. The classic woodie has an 80-foot first drop and plenty of twists, turns, and hills, but the coolest thing about the ride is the dragon itself, a tunnel into which the car enters at the mouth and comes out at the tail. This was a common feature for coasters back in the days this one was built (1929), and still a fun element.
The Dragon Coaster has been featured in Mariah Carey's video for Fantasy (see below) and in the film, Fatal Attraction, and the park itself was an integral part of the movie Big, with Tom Hanks. Take a ride...
Check out the first three entries of A-Z Blogging - Adventure Parks:
Happy Father's day to all of the dads out there. I know that this song can take on many meanings, but to me, a dad is one of those original heroes Mariah is talking about in it. Yeah, a lot of children growing up in the past, present or future get to enjoy that first hero in their life and that is their father. It's funny, but ever since my own dad passed away a few years ago, I admittedly feel a little jealous of those who have fathers on this special day. So if you're lucky enough to have a dad in your life, and you look at him as a hero in some capacity, tell him so and wish him a Happy Father's Day for me!
Music News Bytes is a collection of short news items that I follow on the Web. If you're into the same type of music I am, that is pop, dance, R&B, and such, check it out...
There hasn't been too much going on in the world of pop music this week, but here are a couple of stories that piqued my interest:
Mariah Carey has released a new song, which is the first single from the soundtrack to the upcoming film, Oz The Great and Powerful. The tune is called Almost Home and it's an inspirational mid-tempo track that I actually liked the very first time I heard it. The song was released this morning on iTunes and you can check out an audio preview of it at Neon Limelight. Carey is currently working on the video for the song, as well as her 11th studio album, which is due out later this year.
Gaga Cancels Remainder of Tour
As you've probably heard by now, Lady Gaga has cancelled the remaining dates on her Born This Way Ball Tour after announcing that she needs to have surgery to repair a damaged right hip. The injury was caused by some of the repetitive and rigorous movements the singer does in the show. The timing of this is ironic since I'd just penned a piece for Yahoo on the eccentric timing of Gaga's tours, noting that the album she had been currently promoting is now two years old and her next set, ARTPOP, is due out within months. She'd been scheduled to appear at Madison Square Garden this coming weekend and I was hoping to catch it, but what can you do? Here's to a speedy recovery and to hoping that the ARTPOP Ball will start out somewhere in this vicinity somewhat soon.
In the meantime, check out Gaga's Eccentric Timing as Born This Way Ball Draws to a Close. The timing of this story turned out to be perfect, as the singer's announcement, which was not included in my original piece, was made in time for me to update before publication. Phew!
Angela Weiss/Getty Images
R.I.P. Mindy McCready
The country music world is mourning the passing of troubled star Mindy McCready, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sunday. From initial reports, the incident seems to be related to the passing of her boyfriend David Wilson about a month ago. Though I do not follow country music, I have heard of the singer and am deeply saddened by her tragic passing. McCready was 37 years of age, and she and I shared the same birthday...Read more on the story at EOnline.
TGIF all! We're back with today's I Love the 90's Song of the Day, Mariah Carey's 1995 smash, Fantasy. This was a great song, which masterfully samples the music track of another classic song from earlier years, Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love. The video was shot in an amusement park located in Rye, NY, just north of the Bronx, and the coaster Mariah rides, the Dragon Coaster, was my very first roller coaster ever... Yeah! :-) Enjoy!
All this week, the music channel VH1 has been counting down its’ list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music, and the big winner is…you guessed it, Madonna! The five-hour miniseries is the latest in the popular Greatest countdowns aired on the network, and this one concludes tonight, Friday, February 17th at 10PM. This particular list only takes into account the past 20 years, during which time Madge has been at her most popular.
Here’s a list of the top ten greatest women, according to VH1:
#10 – P!nk #9 – Mary J. Blige #8 – Christina Aguilera #7 – Janet Jackson #6 – Whitney Houston #5 – Adele #4 – Lady Gaga #3 – Beyonce #2 – Mariah Carey #1 – Madonna
The list is pretty good, but not perfect in my eyes. I have no idea what VH1’s criteria was for choosing these ladies in this particular order, but if you’re going by the last 20 years, then I’d say there would be many on the list who’d be further atop the list than newer artists like Adele or Lady Gaga. Hmmm, I may just have to come up with my own list…
Other great ladies found on my iPod who made the list include Britney Spears (#11), Alannis Morissette (#15), Katy Perry (#17), Missy Elliott (#18), Kelly Clarkson (#19), Rihanna (#20), Sade (#30), Cher (#31), Shakira (#36), Nicki Minaj (#40), Kylie Minogue (#47), Nelly Furtado (#51), Macy Gray (#70), Natalie Merchant (#71), and Robyn (#87). Several girl groups also made the list, including the Salt n Pepa (#37), En Vogue (#52), Destiny’s Child (#59), and the Pussycat Dolls (#100).
For a complete listing of VH1’s 100 Greatest Women in Music, check out their website here, and tune in tonight at 10 for the top 20.
Madonna’s “Gimme All Your Luvin” becomes her 38th Top Ten Single
There’s been some hot action from the ladies on this week’s Billboard charts. Madonna’s new single, which she performed at the Super Bowl, has hit the #10 spot on the magazine’s Hot 100 charts this week. The achievement extends to 38 the number of times Madge has had a top ten song, the most in history, besting the Beatles by four and Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder by ten. Go Madge!
Whitney Love
It’s not too big of a surprise that there’s been a surge in interest in Whitney Houston’s music since her death last Saturday, but three of her best loved songs all made it back to the Hot 100 more than twenty years after they first hit big. The song, “I Will Always Love You,” the theme song to the 1992 film, “The Bodyguard,” climbed all the way back into the top ten at #7. Her 1987 dance hit, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” reached #35, and “Greatest Love of All” hit #41. I’m sure that Whitney is somewhere smiling down...
Also on the Hot 100 this week, Kelly Clarkson holds steady at #1 with “Stronger,” Adele at #2 with “Fire to the Rain,” and Rihanna’s “We Found Love” remains in the Top Ten at #6. Way to go ladies! Here's Whitney:
I've been saving this one for the end. Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" is THE modern, classic Christmas song. It's happy and it's fun, and it's already been covered about a million times, but of course nothing is as good as the original! Happy Christmas everyone!
It's been a long time since anyone's heard much from Mariah Carey, and I happened to stumble across this one yesterday and got to missing her brand of poppy/dance stuff. This one was off her 2005 "Emancipation of Mimi" set, In my opinion her last really good album. Happy Friday!
I'm not really sure exactly whatever happened to Mariah Carey. I had always been a fan of hers and I have all of her CD's up until her 2005 album "The Emancipation of Mimi." Though she followed that one up with two more since then, I'd hardly taken notice. I don't even think I know one song from her last one, 2009's "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel." I guess her star has faded much like that of another old favorite of mine, Janet Jackson.
Anyway, back in the day Mariah was hot, and she had a lot of great songs, both slow and fast. Her first, 'Vision of Love,' was a magnificent, soulful ballad that introduced the world to her powerful pipes. Of course, my favorites are the ones that are more up tempo, songs like 'Emotions,' 'Heartbreaker,' and 'Make it Happen.' Mariah always had a knack for making dance-friendly pop tunes that were always catchy and fun.
When I decided to honor Mariah Carey with a "Song of the Day," I couldn't choose between my two favorites, and so today's award is a double dose of my two favorite Mariah Carey songs.
The first, 'Fantasy,' is special in two ways. First off, its music track is sampled from the Tom Tom Club's classic, 'Genius of Love,' and so its got a great base to start with. Second, the video for 'Fantasy' was shot at one of my favorite places: Westchester County's Rye Playland. Much of the footage in the video was shot from the very first roller coaster I ever rode, the Dragon Coaster, which gives me two of my favorite things in the same video:music and coasters. They played this song at Splash last night and I got to relive the pleasure of 'Fantasy.' Now it's your turn:
The second Mariah song is my very favorite. This one's called 'Dreamlover,' and to me it just oozes sunshine. Take a look, a listen and enjoy:
.jpg)
