You got last week's recap of my humor blog late, so here, have it exactly on time. But there's a special surprise lurking in the most recent pieces. Can you spot it? You'll see.
- MiSTed: Altered Destiny, Part 24
- Statistics January: How People Want Me To Explain Comic Strips To Them
- Statistics Saturday: Popular Songs of the 70s which was guest-written by
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bunnyhugger! I did the caption at the bottom of the picture. - Reviewing _Popeye and Son_, Episode 13: Olive's Day Off
- Reviewing _Popeye and Son_, Episode 13: Damsel in Distress
- What's Going On In Rex Morgan, M.D.? Is Rene Belluso gone now? November 2023 - February 2024
- I Apologize for Bragging About My Wealth
- MiSTed: Altered Destiny, Part 25
With that completed now let's take in a dozen pictures from KennyKon 2023:
Ah, there's a decent picture of Fire-Breathing Sausage, the stand that as it happens we got our Kennywood souvenir cup at.
Here's the Turtle, last of the tumble bugs, going at something like full speed. Thunderbolt's the roller coaster behind it.
And here's the entrance to Spinvasion, the new ride at the center of Area 412.
Spinvasion at rest. It's a sort of swings ride, although with rigid arms.
Like this, see? Although what makes it really stand out from other rigid-swing rides is when it gets fully up to speed ...
And the swings pitch upward --- so your feet are above your head --- and down again, so you get a wavy oscillating movement as you spin.
Here's the alien outside Spinvasion again, the one that's a fan of Thunderbolt.
And here's The Phantom's Revenge, a picture I'm going to have to use for one of my story strip recaps someday.
Picture from the preposterously long queue for The Phantom's Revenge, a spot where the ride comes down from the lift hill (right), for its first drop, which isn't its longest one. And then goes up the second hill, at the center, for the longest drop.
Nice, Skyhawk-class giant swing ride here. I think we were on this one once, with MWS and his partner K, but not since then.
And now ... gathering for the Informal Take-Over Time on The Exterminator, which didn't happen as the American Coaster Enthusiasts rep organizing it didn't seem to come in and the half-dozen or so of us who did gather didn't know what to do. Or we were all late enough to miss everything. The line ended up long enough we decided we'd rather do other things.
And over here's the lift hill and drop for the Pittsburg [sic] Plunge, their Shoot-the-Chutes style ride for the Lost Kennywood area, evoking the Chutes rides of the 1920s.
Trivia: In May 1863 the Confederate Congress finally settled on a design for the Confederacy's Great Seal, dominated by an equestrian portrait of George Washington. Source: The Confederate Nation, 1861 - 1865, Emory M Thomas. Wikipedia says the seal was first used publicly in 1864, and that a set of embossing dies ordered from London engraver Joseph Wyon reached Richmond before the end of the rebellion, though the accompanying embossing press only reached Bermuda, unable to pass the Union blockade.
Currently Reading: Around the World in Eighty Games: From Tarot to Tic-Tac-Toe, Catan to Chutes and Ladders, a Mathematician Unlocks the Secrets of the World's Greatest Games, Marcus Du Sautoy.
