The 123-Pound Hamburger!!!

This is just the 15-pound burger and it's scary all on its own.

Now check out Denny's Beer Barrel Pub's website and click on "Burgers" to see the Main Event Charity Burger. It weighs in at 123 pounds! That includes a pound EACH of lettuce, ketchup, relish, mustard, & mayonnaise. There's 160 slices of cheese, up to five onions, 33 pickles, and a 30-pound bun.

This is only at the Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, Pennsylvania (about three hours south of Buffalo).

Two & A Half Men and the Vanity Card...

If you've ever watched Two & A Half Men (which many have as it's the highest rated sitcom right now), you've probably noticed the lightning-fast screen of text at the end of the show. This was also featured at the end of Dharma & Greg episodes.

What that is - the producer's vanity card. Usually it's a quick clip of the producer's production company. But Chuck Lorre is too creative to let that space go to waste. Instead of showing us a company name that nobody cares about, he uses it as a blog.

Pausing on that spot is one way to see what it says. Or you can just check out his website and read all the vanity cards he's done over the years, including the most recent. Most of them are pretty funny.

Goodbye Enik...

Walker Edmiston, who played Enik (the good Sleestak) on the original Land Of The Lost, passed away earlier this week. Walker was both the actor in the costume and the voice of Enik on the series.

Walker also was the voice for a bunch of the characters on Sid & Marty Krofft's H.R. Pufnstuf along with many other shows throughout the years.

Check out this site (at the bottom of the page) to see Walker out of costume and with Kathy Coleman (Holly on Land Of The Lost) at a recent convention. And if you want to see Enik in action, all three seasons of the original Land Of The Lost are available on DVD.

American Idol's season 6 winner will be...

Before the girls even sing tonight, I've picked my two favorites for this season...

Melinda Doolittle. Easily the nicest and most down-to-earth contestant. And she can sing! I can't wait to hear what kinds of songs she picks this season.

Phil Stacey. Also seems down-to-earth and sings far better than the rest of the guys. Last night proved that.



Keep in mind, the show is usually a long, dragged-out ordeal. Tivo or tape it and watch later - there's about 25 minutes of filler in each hour of the show.

Plus, then you won't miss the "80's At 8" on Star 102.5 (yes, it's my nightmare being on opposite this ratings monster).

If the TV show isn't enough for you, check out these American Idol links...

• American Idol - The official website.

• BuddyTV.com - American Idol news.
  
  
• American Idol Rumors - More American Idol news.

• Television Without Pity - American Idol message boards.
  
  
• IdolMe.com - More American Idol message boards.
  
  
• Death By Camera - Located Myspace pages for many of the contestants.
  
  
• Dial Idol - Attempts to predict who's going home based on busy signals. This has been fairly accurate in the past, so much so that FOX unsuccessfully tried to shut down the website.

RIP Chaos (1996 - 2006)

Photo courtesy of coasterimage.com

Fantasy Island Chaos, age 10, of Grand Island, New York and proud native of Wichita, Kansas.

Child of Chance Morgan and survived by siblings Cedar Point Chaos and Indiana Beach Chaos, sister-in-law Las Vegas Adventuredome Chaos, nephew Belmont Park Chaos, aunt Keansburg Chaos and uncle Clementon Chaos of New Jersey, cousin Valleyfair Chaos, second cousin twice removed Calaway Park Chaos, and friend to many.

In lieu of flowers, think kindly of Chaos and rejoice at the many years of enjoyment Chaos has given us when visiting Fantasy Island.

May Chaos rest in piece.

Article reprinted with permission from The Buffalo Chronicle, February 15th, 2007 edition...

It spun, it flipped, it whirled, it was chaotic for eleven seasons. Sadly, as it neared its eleventh birthday, the Fantasy Island Chaos will spin no more.

It’s been a tragic year for Chaos. The parent, Chance Morgan, has disowned Chaos and no longer acknowledges its existence on the company’s website. And some of its relatives have been disappearing from parks around the country.

The closest surviving relative of Chaos can be found at Cedar Point in Ohio. Others are scattered around the world, many here in North America (New Jersey, Indiana, Minnesota, California, Alberta, and even an inside Chaos in Las Vegas).

As the Circle Of Life moves on and Fantasy Island Chaos ends its time on Earth, another ride will begin its journey - “Full Tilt” will make its debut this summer.

Unique to our area, the ride will produce a freefall sensation at varying angles. Going sixty feet into the air and tilting 25-degrees forward will certainly be fun (and a bit reminiscent of Chaos). And the press release promises that the combined tilting and varying speeds will result in a different ride experience each time.

Full Tilt is brand new and isn’t even featured on the manufacturer’s website yet. For now, keep checking Fantasy Island’s website for an update and hopefully some pictures soon.

While nothing can truly replace Chaos in our hearts, Full Tilt will definitely fill the gap that’s been left behind.

Police tickets on sale this Saturday (2/17)!

The Police are coming to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on July 22nd!

Tickets go on sale this Saturday morning (2/17/07) at 10am through Ticketmaster in Canada (toll free 800-265-5566).

Chances are, this will sell out quick. If you want tickets, be ready to buy them Saturday morning!

Lost & hidden clues...

If you haven't already seen this, check out this scene of Lost (from the 2/7/07 episode) played backwards here.

That scene was easily the highlight of Lost last week. Hopefully, the storyline moves along a little this week and more strange stuff like this happens again.

Without revealing who or what they're talking about, I've read reports that some of the original cast members are looking for other jobs. And I can't blame them - the focus of the first seven episodes this season has been on Jack, Sawyer, and Kate.

I'd love the stories to go back to the main island this week, so we could see some of the characters that haven't been around much lately - Claire, Sun, Jin, Hurley, Locke, Sayid, Charlie, Rose, Bernard, and Desmond.

And it wouldn't be a tragedy if the two new characters on the island disappeared (Nikki & Paulo - I couldn't even remember their names and had to look it up). It seems pointless that two new characters were introduced when so much of the other cast is left ignored.

ABC and the producers of Lost have promised a big surprise this season, something that will change the entire course of the show. I hope turning it into a romantic triangle soap opera of Jack, Sawyer, and Kate wasn't the big surprise.

Including tonight, 15 more episodes to go this season. And if you're happy with the no repeats thing (which I am), you'll be thrilled to know there's a good chance that next season will be even better. ABC is considering running all 22 episodes without repeats or breaks over the course of 22 weeks, probably beginning in January 2008. That's speculation for now, but could be confirmed in May when ABC announces next season's plans.

TV - The Good & The Awful

This weekend will go down in history - the worst thing to ever be broadcast on television will happen Sunday night when Saul Of The Mole Men premieres.

Programming more entertaining...

• Anything on those cable access channels
• The entire six-season run of "Webster"
• Any of the infomercial scam shows
• C-Span

I think you get where I'm headed - it's bad. And I actually looked forward to seeing it. Good thing it was streamed online before the actual television premiere. My TV would have exploded if it had to suffer through that.

I've learned a valuable lesson: never believe press releases because they're all lies. And to think it was inspired by Sid & Marty Krofft - the thought sickens me.

On the flip side, next weekend Amazing Race: All Stars debuts! I usually consider all-star seasons almost as bad as celebrity editions. But the Amazing Race producers know what they're doing and it looks like a fun bunch of teams. Especially reality show pros Rob & Amber, who are guaranteed to cause trouble. This is going to be a great season.

Since Rob & Amber have already won a million on a reality show, the team I'll be rooting for - Charla & Mirna! About one more week to wait...

Remember sleestak?

The original Land Of The Lost sleestak.

C.C., Susan & Barry with Wonderbug.

Sid & Marty Krofft are geniuses.

They're the ones who created Land Of The Lost, Wonderbug, Dr. Shrinker, Sigmund & The Sea Monsters, Bigfoot & Wildboy, The Lost Saucer, Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, Bugaloos, etc.

Unfortunately, after the 1991 remake of Land Of The Lost, they haven't done anything new. I'm still waiting on the Land Of the Lost movie that's been in the works for over fifteen years.

But this weekend, someone inspired by the Krofft brothers (Craig Lewis) has a new series on the Cartoon Network. Even though it's on Cartoon Network, it'll be live-action, just like the Krofft shows.

It's called Saul Of The Mole Men. There's a bit of a resemblance to the Krofft worlds and the acting reminds me of Magic Mongo or Far Out Space Nuts. This could be promising.

There is a brief gory moment in the preview on the Cartoon Network's website. And the midnight timeslot makes me think this might not be a show completely geared towards kids like all the Krofft shows were. But it doesn't look anywhere near as bad as South Park is.

We'll see soon as Saul Of The Mole Men airs Sunday nights at midnight starting this Sunday (2/11/07).

Amusement Park Road Trips...

I've already started planning for my summer 2007 road trips. Here’s some of my favorite amusement parks to go to when I have a day or two off. If released already, details on what the parks are getting for this year is also included...

Canada’s Wonderland: About two hours away if
Toronto traffic isn't bad. Aside from some new Cedar Fair season pass offers, I haven’t heard about anything new for this park yet. But the Shockwave, Sledge Hammer (pictured), Psyclone, Cliffhanger, and Tomb Raider alone are worth the trip and the season pass.

Seabreeze: About 90 minutes away in Rochester. The main news for this park right now is the removal of graffiti on the bumper cars building, parts of the waterslide complex, the park’s train, and various other areas of the park. The park is actually located in a nice area along the lake and has a great waterpark and lots of family rides. Hopefully, when this mess is cleaned up, something new will be announced for this year.

Conneaut Lake Park: About two hours away, just south of Erie, PA. It’ll be a miracle if this incredible park even opens this year. Every year, it’s in danger of going extinct. And this time, the money troubles are worse than ever. It was just a few weeks before the opening date last year when it was announced they could open. I expect the answer won’t be known this year until mid-May. The Blue Streak wooden coaster is something you definitely want to experience before it’s just a memory.

Waldemeer Park: About two hours away near Erie, PA. The Ravine Flyer II wooden roller coaster has been in the planning stages forever thanks to some ridiculous legal problems caused by one of the park’s neighbors. Now that those problems have been resolved, expect the ride sometime in 2008. XScream, a 140-foot drop tower, is the latest addition to the park.

Kennywood: About four hours away just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. I’m very excited about the Cosmic Chaos coming to Kennywood this year. It’s a Zamperla Mega Disk’O ride - the giant tub rolls back and forth along the U-shaped track while spinning. It's supposed to be UFO-themed as well! A new kiddie ride called USS Kenny (a kid version of the Disk’O ride) has also been announced for this classic park.

Geauga Lake: Three hours west in Aurora, OH. X-Flight (a “flying” roller coaster where you spend most of the ride on your stomach) has been removed from the park - its new home will be at Kings Island near Cincinnati as Firehawk. And it’s looking like Steel Venom (a twisting U-shaped roller coaster) will be leaving as well. Replacing these two rides will be lots and lots of empty space. Hopefully, something more exciting will be announced soon.

Cedar Point: About four hours west in Sandusky, OH. The new roller coaster this year will be Maverick and it’s planned to open in May. It’s a steel, sit-down roller coaster and will feature a 95-degree first drop, eight “airtime” hills, a dark tunnel, and three inversions. Check out the construction photos at the park's website.

Knoebels: About four hours southeast in Elysburg, PA. With free admission, free parking, and reasonably priced food, this is one of the nicest parks in the country (the new Darien Lake owners should look to this park for inspiration). Here’s what Knoebels is doing this year - combine a wooden roller coaster with the Olympic sport of Bobsledding and you’ve got the Flying Turns. Construction is still underway. In addition to the official website, see more construction pics here.

Fantasy Island & Darien Lake Rumors...

So far, Marineland is the only area park who’s 2007 plans are known. As for rumors about Buffalo's other two amusement parks...

Fantasy Island: Something new is definitely coming. Probably a spin ride, but that’s a complete guess on my part. I wouldn’t be surprised (or disappointed) to see a Zamperla Disk’O or something similar. The Disk’O is a perfect family ride and if the settings are turned up a bit, can also be an extreme thrill ride (personally, I believe thrill rides should never be run on anything less than ludicrous speed). Other possibilities from that same company are Power Surge or Windshear - the names alone sound exciting, don't they? Check out Zamperla's website for pictures of their rides and keep watching Fantasy Island's website for an update...


Darien Lake: When Six Flags closed Astroworld in Texas, that park’s stand-up roller coaster (Batman: The Escape) was moved to Darien Lake. And there it sat in pieces for the last year (at one point, the track was sitting just across the street from the park). Does that now belong to Darien Lake or will it move to a Six Flags park? We’ll see soon. Regardless, this will be a great year for Darien Lake. Good riddance, Six Flags.

Marineland & The Topple Tower

2007 is going to be a very confusing year. When a Buffalonian mentions living near one of the Seven Wonders, I’m not going to be sure if they’re referring to the falls or this masterpiece at Marineland from Huss Rides.

(My friends are reading this and shaking their heads right now because they know I’m serious.)

The Topple Tower is Marineland’s “New For 2006” ride! Yeah, Marineland tends to move at glacial speed when it comes to new rides and attractions. But they’ve never disappointed me. And to be fair, Marineland hasn’t actually announced the ride yet - the company that makes it did.

See video of a Topple Tower in action here. And expect the ride (hopefully with a marine theme) to open late in the 2007 season.