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[John G.]

Four Royal Baby Dance!

[bk]

Back from teeth cleaning, then some bacon and eggs, then picking up a couple of packages, one of which contained the true first edition of The Cuckoo's Calling.

[elmore3003]

I've just seen the proposed artwork for DEAREST ENEMY. I was very disappointed in it: humorless and too somber.

That's too bad. Does it at least relate to the show or is it just a random image?

I feel the artist missed the boat. I loved his work for the Victor Herbert releases.

Damn.  That's too bad.  Maybe it can still change, or is this it?

Nope. Back to the proverbial drawing board!

[Druxy]

Sounds interesting DR DRUXY!  Interesting and sad....

Writing it was very cathartic.

It's been sitting in a drawer for many years, and it's only with her son's "blessing" that I am making it public.

[ChasSmith]

For your viewing pleasure...

Summer, 1956.  My mom, dad, me, my sister, uncle, and grandmother piled into a very early '50s car and drove from Columbus to New York to visit my great aunt who lived in Brooklyn.  With no air conditioning.  Such a trip, in those conditions, is unimaginable now.  Anyway, identified in Dad's handwriting, here are the two known-to-be-remaining snapshots from our afternoon at Coney Island.  (I just know there were at least a couple more.)  The parachute jump was still open then, before being closed for many years.  The first shot is just strangers, but in the second...

[John G.]

Cool photos, ChasSmith.

[bk]

I gotta tell you.  But I won't.  The two "reasonable" copies of The Cuckoo's Calling - both at around $1,000 - got snapped up - I'm just surprised at how long it took the dealers, and let me tell you they WERE dealers, to buy it.  But then again, every copy in the last two days has sold for over $1500.  It's only a little over a week since this all hit.  If there really were under 3000 printed, which is probably the case, while it will never be as rare as the first Harry Potter book, it could conceivably climb higher, probably to about two grand in the next few days, then beyond - the publisher is being very coy about not giving out a number for the first edition.  But given that the second and third printings hit four days ago, and that they sold less than 1500 of whatever the first edition was, well, there can't have been too many more printed.  And if they had, say, another 1000 or the original run, they're much better off just sitting on them while the madness continues.

[Ron Pulliam]

It's exactly who you think it might be....

Gosh!  I never knew you had been a blond!

[George]

I gotta tell you.  But I won't.  The two "reasonable" copies of The Cuckoo's Calling - both at around $1,000 - got snapped up - I'm just surprised at how long it took the dealers, and let me tell you they WERE dealers, to buy it.  But then again, every copy in the last two days has sold for over $1500.  It's only a little over a week since this all hit.  If there really were under 3000 printed, which is probably the case, while it will never be as rare as the first Harry Potter book, it could conceivably climb higher, probably to about two grand in the next few days, then beyond - the publisher is being very coy about not giving out a number for the first edition.  But given that the second and third printings hit four days ago, and that they sold less than 1500 of whatever the first edition was, well, there can't have been too many more printed.  And if they had, say, another 1000 or the original run, they're much better off just sitting on them while the madness continues.

Can we assume that you got your copy for much less than $1000?

[George]

And in other news, "The Missouri Breaks" has arrived in Tumwater!

[ArnoldMBrockman]

Really Funny-Greg Gutfeld On The Five- THE REAL BRITISH OPEN

[bk]

You can assume I got my copy for less and you can be close to the number by simply removing one zero from 1,000.

[George]

You can assume I got my copy for less and you can be close to the number by simply removing one zero from 1,000.

Nice!

[singdaw]

Five zeros... preceeded by a two... preceeded by a dollar sign..  [an On the Twentieth Century reference]

[singdaw]

For when you and two of your closest and dearest wish to hammock together...

[George]

Topic of the Day:
 
When I was in Kindergarten or maybe first grade, my dad was in the army and we lived in Germany.  I can remember going on a couple of field trips with my class to local German amusement parks.  One time, we were on the bus from the school and one of my friends, Richard (one of two Richards in my class) would draw on his teeth with crayons.  I don't know why, but that was his thing.  I can remember riding a train at the amusement park and when we went to the public bathrooms, you had to pay 5 or 10 pfennig (equivalent to the penny) to get into a stall.  That was so weird to us kids...that it was free to pee but you had to pay to poop. That's really all that I can remember of what was probably my first amusement park experience. 
 

[George]

Since we've moved back to the states, I've gone to Disneyland a few times, but no other Disney theme park.  I went on the Matterhorn, Space Mountain, the Indiana Jones ride, It's a Small World (of course!), Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted House, the Peter Pan ride and too many others to remember.  I've never gone on a roller coaster that went upside down.  I've also gone to the Puyallup Fair and the Thurston County Fair, but it's been years since I've gone to either of those.  Seattle Center used to have an amusement park but it's all gone.  And I've gone to travelling fairs that have come to town.  But that's about it.

[John G.]

Five zeros... preceeded by a two... preceeded by a dollar sign..  [an On the Twentieth Century reference]

... is two oh, oh, oh, oh, oh wonderful for words.

[Charles Pogue]

TOD: Earliest memories of a trip to an amusement park was to Coney Island near Cincinnati. It is now Kings Island and I believe that an episode of the Partridge Family was filmed there.

I am not a roller coaster person, and the horrible accident that occurred this weekend will likely prevent me from ever going on a roller coaster again. I also don't care for things that turn me upside down. That said, I love the Ferris wheel and the swings. And that tube you get in where they spin you around and then drop the floor out from under you.

I was never big on merry-go-rounds, with the exception of the one in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train.

The Cincinnati Coney Island was my first Amusement Park as well.  The most distinct memory I have of it was parking on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River and taking a ferryboat across the river to the park.

[John G.]

From long before our time, Mr. Pogue. But a beautiful photo:

[singdaw]

Loving all of these vintage photos!

[Jane]

I wouldn't go near any of the modern-day rollercoasters, but I enjoy the old wooden ones.

Those wooden ones really bother my neck and back.  I like the smooth metal ones.

[Jane]

I love rollercoasters of any and all sorts, but the DH does not, and so I rarely have an opportunity to go on them. And this weekend's accident notwithstanding, I still would, if I had a chance. But I'm funny that way.

Maybe because there are so many Six Flags but they do seem to have more deaths than other parks.

[Jane]

Anyhoo...

My first "big" amusement park might have been Cedar Point

I went on every roller coaster except the wooden one.  I let Bryan test them for me and he suggested I skip it.

[Jane]

In L.A. I went to Magic Mountain several times and liked it a lot, but way back in the mid-'70s.  However, with that exception, I haven't been drawn to the huge contemporary Six Flags type of parks. 

Compared to Disneyland, and later Cedars Point & Hershey Park, I found it ok.

[Jane]

I've just seen the proposed artwork for DEAREST ENEMY. I was very disappointed in it: humorless and too somber.

Sorry.

[Jane]

Sounds interesting DR DRUXY!  Interesting and sad....

What DR Jrand said.

[Jane]

Greetings, all!

TOD:  Growing up in the Philly area, once we moved into the suburbs, I used to frequent a place called Willow Grove Park, a small but wonderful place, about a 20 minute bike ride from my home.

I think Willow Grove is a mall now.  I wish it had been a park when we lived there.  We had Sesame Place which was wonderful, no rides but water slides and lots of fun things to go such as climbing on ropes and bouncing in tons of plastic balls, which Keith had to rescue me out of-lol.

I went to the website and it seems they have had some rides.  Bryan had a computer class there everyday for a week.  Craig & I would pick him up and then we all walked out the back way to enjoy the park for an hour or two before leaving.  I didn't feel guilty taking advantage of the situation for a free pass, plus we spent money on dinner before going home.

[Jane]

And for the big family trips, we would go to the famous Hershey Park, where the entire town of Hershey, PA smelled like one giant chocolate factory. I wonder now if people who lived there ever got contact diabetes. 

I was a roller coaster junkie as a kid, but no longer. I mean, with the way they twist turn and shake these days, who needs the extra chiropractor bills?   

We went a couple of times and enjoyed it very much.  For years I wore my shirt that said "I survived the Super Duper Looper". 

That was the first roller coaster I went on that went upside down.  I only went on it because Bryan & Craig went & I felt Craig was too young to go without me.  Keith wasn't going on it.  As we went down into the loop I yelled "Ooooooh Shit!"  The boys wanted to go right back on the ride only Craig, who was too young to use such bad language, told me I couldn't ride with him again if I swore.    By the 5th time I was waving my arms like everyone else. 

Our first trip there was over the 4th of July and we sat on the lawn watching fireworks.  It was a very nice weekend.

[bk]

Back from a three-mile jog.