Seattle: Fraiser Is Leaving The Building

So despite my distinct lack of posts during our visit to this fine city, after a packed ten days of fun and games, including an incredible weekend at PAX, tomorrow morning around noon we're leaving on a jet plane, not knowing when we'll be back again... hey. That's catchy. I should use it as the basis for a song or something....

Seattle has been incredible. We have so much to post about when we get home and have nothing to do in the evening. I'll be writing blog posts about our Epic Holiday for the next year!! Well, hopefully not.

But we did get to eat in the revolving restaurant at the top of the Space Needle. We got to see the Sci-Fi Museum and the Experience Music Center. We shopped in the Pike Place Markets and Pioneer Square. We ate in tonnes of great places, with a world of different styles, from French baguettes, to Thai noodles, to Italian pizza.

And we got countless amounts of free swag at PAX.

However, after six whole weeks in the US, filled to bursting with stunning experiences that just "couldn't get any better", and then did, we are coming home. I'll miss this crazy, messed up, amazing, sunny, warm place.

More Muppet Madness

I just found a few muppet videos that are worth sharing with all of you! It seems that the Henson Company very recently (July '08) went and did a few videos featuring the muppets for YouTube! Nice.


"The Blue Danube Waltz" by Gonzo and the Perfectly Pitched Poultry
"Ode To Joy" by Beaker
"Habanera" by Swedish Chef and Beaker, with the assistance of Animal
"Stars & Stripes FOREVER!" by Sam The Eagle and Company
All of the above have a short piece with Statler and Waldorf at the end, but everyones favourite hecklers get four of their own short videos as well, including the one embedded above.

And of course, no Muppet show would be complete without some bloopers, so here's one of the best.

Seattle: Helping Me Ease Back To Ireland

Our first day in Seattle went well. Cian brought Claire and myself down into the heart of the city and through the market area. We wandered and shopped, bought more trinkets, more junk, more stuff.

But we stayed indoors as much as possible. This is because it was raining. Lots.

And lots.

And lots.

When we did decide to wander home, we got soaked. As soon as we hit the apartment, we changed clothes and made a fresh pot of tea. Just like being home.

So, in closing; thank you Seattle.

Thattle.

Seattle: Race For Home

We arrived late last night into the city of Seattle. Getting here was a bit of an adventure. Originally we planned on booking the train, but that turned out to be rather expensive, at $360 for the both of us. Plus, the trip was going to be 22 hours long! Not something either of us really wanted to look forward to. So we tried some alternatives. Renting a car in San Francisco and dropping it back in Seattle was going to be $360 as well, plus the cost of gas on top of that. And it would mean driving for 12 hours for Claire, again, not an ideal situation. The bus was a 20 hour journey, was cheaper, but we'd be stuck in our seat for the whole time.

And then Claire, being the genius that she is, checked out the obvious alternative.

Thanks to the simply wonderful Alaska Airlines, we flew San Francisco to Seattle in under three hours, had comfy seating, loads of leg room, free beverages and snacks, excellent staff, spectacular views and an all-round pleasant and relaxing trip north.

Leaving San Francisco was tough. Leaving San Diego was tough, but we were heading to Vegas in a Corvette, so that lessened the impact some-what! Leaving Vegas wasn't too bad. It had been fun, but we had another long drive in the Corvette to look forward to, and far more importantly, we were on our way to Karen's! But leaving San Francisco... leaving Karen and her friends that we met. Leaving a great city, packed with places we had yet to see. That was tough.

But now we're with Cian in Seattle! We have time to explore yet another new city, and have PAX to look forward to! We have a good length of time left in our Epic Holiday(TM). But we are also in the closing stretch, heading for home.

And even with six weeks here, home has come too early.

Nutshell Review: Death Race

Here's the problem. Most of my regular readers, of which there are but a handful to begin with, are Irish. This movie will not be getting an Irish cinema general release. It's a straight-to-DVD-er. How do I guess as much?? Because I've seen it. It was in a tiny cinema on it's opening night because no-one else was screening it, but I've seen it. And, boy! Are you gonna be missing something special!!

The trailer has everything you need to know about this movie. Big guns, ridiculous explosions between cars, a threadbare plot (at best), and Jason Statham. That's it. Expect more, and be bitterly disappointed. Expect this, and it's awesome. Even more awesome is the trailer for yet another Statham movie right at the start! You can't get enough of that wonderful actor.

Death Race, for those who do not know, is a remake of a 1975 movie, Death Race 2000 produced by Roger Corman. The Roger Corman. Which Roger Corman?? This one. Unbelievably, he serves as producer on the remake as well!!

All that aside, Death Race is awesome. I can't stop saying that. Because it is! It just is. So much violence. So much death. So much fun.

Edit: Oh boy!! Not only do I suspect that this might have a slim chance of getting into Irish cinemas (if it shows up near you, go see it!), but I just discovered Tom Cruise was a producer as well! Tom and Roger. Nice.

San Francisco: Zombie Mob

One of the very, very cool things that was happening during our trip to San Francisco was a zombie mob. Karen asked if we were interested in going, and of course, we jumped at the chance. This is one of those things that we've heard about before, but never thought we'd get to see ourselves. Things like this don't happen in Ireland.

Unfortunately, we had no idea just how awesome it was going to be, and being cautious, when Karen asked if we wanted to dress up for it, we decided not to, instead just going along to observe. Knowing what I know now, I really wish I'd worn old clothes and duct tape.

Instead, realising how much fun this was, I started to make my own fun, and ensure I stayed in the middle of the mob. I began to film little reports using my digital camera, along with taking a bunch of photographs. These can be now found on my YouTube page and Flickr page, respectively. The videos need editing together and cleaning up somewhat, but for now, they are available raw. Better than nothing, right?

Check out EatBrains.Com for more about this extraordinary event.

Las Vegas- A Special Guest Post

Driving the Space Shuttle, by Claire Ryan
I expect the first thing I'll be asked when we get home is "What was it like to drive the Corvette?" Well, as I am ever ready to anticipate the needs of my fans, I've asked Denis to let me do a guest post all about it.

The Corvette is about 12 feet long and barely comes up to my waist. It has only two bucket seats and a small, limited space just behind that serves as the boot - this is not a vehicle for serious touring, unless you fancy doing it at 200mph and you're traveling light. It's an automatic, naturally, and has a sport mode for extra acceleration. The air conditioning and satnav are essentials in America, this being the land of blistering heat and an Escher-esque road system. Everything in this car is either adjustable or motorised, which was pretty cool; I especially liked the little switch that moved the seats forward and back. On the outside, it's yellow with a black racing stripe, has four exhausts, and looks like it's about to take off at any moment.

So - there is a single button to start the engine. Press it, and you are rewarded with a growl like a mildly annoyed Siberian tiger.

I am not kidding. Go annoy a Siberian tiger, record the sound, and compare it to a Corvette.

But what is it like to drive? The answer is simple - it's like driving a $60,000 sports car that can get from zero to sixty in the time it takes me to blow my nose. All comparisons break down. You might as well ask what it's like to drive the Space Shuttle - there's nothing like them and we don't have any in Ireland anyway. But if I must try to describe it... it's an amazingly smooth ride, more like you're flying instead of driving. In sport mode, the acceleration and response is nothing short of terrifying - I haven't tested it, but I'm sure I could make it turn on a dime. Even when you're just cruising along a street, the power of the V8 engine is scary. It feels like it's just waiting to take off like a rocket, and only your foot on the pedals are holding it back. I did not once put my foot all the way down; this car is a beast, and you do not want to just let it go.

That said, I did get up to some serious speed on the freeway - and that's when you can really appreciate the price tag of this thing. Get to sixty, seventy miles an hour and it just purrs away, but push it up over a hundred... You'll feel the big V8 suddenly shift to sixth, and be rewarded with a sudden surge of acceleration that'll carry you up to a hundred and twenty and beyond. The first time I did it was just pure gold - I remember laughing like an idiot, it was so incredible. And it roars like nothing on earth.

Having the opportunity to drive this car has been one of the best and easily the most terrifying experience of this trip. By this stage, I expect that Denis has put up that video of the first few moments of my driving the Corvette (I haven't, but it's coming- Ed.), which should give you some insight of how it feels to sit behind the wheel of such a car. The power and style of this machine is beyond anything I have ever driven; no car in Ireland will ever measure up to it, which leaves me in the unfortunate position of having to save all my pennies and possibly changing the motor laws so I can get one imported.

If you're planning to rent a vehicle in America anytime soon, go to the nearest Hertz place and just pay whatever they ask for this car. It's worth every second of pure awesomeness that you will spend behind the wheel.