World of Color

Last month Disney’s California Adventure opened it’s brand new night-time extravaganza, World of Color! This awesome hydro/pyrotechnic adventure launches it’s spectators into another dimension with it’s trippy special effects. The massive production utilizes 1200 fountains each shooting water 200 ft up into the air, fire nozzlers shooting flames 50 ft into the air and gigantic Disney characters dancing in front of your eyes all possible with the help of a 380 ft long mist-screen. Throw in Disney music and suddenly it’s a 27 minute kaleidoscope of  fantasy and imagination! Take a backstage look at what it takes to pull off a production of this magnitude in the video below, then watch the first 10 minutes of the actual show. As always here at Trippin’ with Rip, maximize the video for optimal viewing pleasure.

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Beauty Beneath The Booze

Shephard's Beach Resort Summer 2010 Clearwater, Florida

Seems I’m always bangin’ out a post with the word Booze in the title ~and why not? I enjoy using this word and I really don’t feel a bit guilty doing so.  I like to use the word booze because it’s a rare reference to alcohol these days. This seemingly outdated term has been replaced by more socially acceptable terms like liquor, spirits, and cocktails. It’s my opinion that people don’t use this word enough when speaking or writing ~and this is exactly why I do! 

 We already know that indulgence of  this magical elixir of any flavor represents happy times for most people throughout the world. I’ve learned that not only is booze fun to say and to drink but recently realized that it’s also an impressive visual. The video below puts our favorite booze under the microscope to reveal the beauty beneath the booze. 

 

Each image was created using a specific drink droplet on a slide. When the droplet has completely dried the slide is placed under the microscope and a picture taken.  In some instances, it can take up to four weeks for the alcohol to dry completely and the whole process can take up to three months. What you’re actually seeing is the magnified pictures of the crystallized carbohydrates that have become sugars and glucose via a 35mm camera.

 Whoa! I wonder if this is the magic we feel when we imbibe?

Thanks for the pic Jillian!

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I Write Like..

Pay attention blog-buddies! I’m going to tell you two things that you don’t already know about me. What’s that you say? You can’t wait to hear more about my boring life? Well read on… I ran across a cool website recently, one that will analyze your writing style as it compares to the styles of famous authors. Now I don’t know how accurate it is but it sounded kinda cool, and I tried it out. What you do is simply paste an example of your writing style into a text box, click “analyze” and the statistical analysis tool does the rest.

I copied the first paragraph of my About Us page and was surprised to find out that I write similar to Stephen King. The site also recommened that I read Stephen King’s “On Writing” to enhance my writing style. Geez, Stephen King huh? I think it’s strange that I write like him since I don’t watch or read ANY horror/mystery/suspense flick. Yep, it’s true.. especially chase scenes where there is a victim involved. So there ya go, two things about me that you didn’t already know; some obscure website says I write like Stephen King and I don’t watch any scary movies ~ever!

Okay, I’ll admit, curiosity got the best of me so a little later I decided to try again, using a different sampling. This time it said that I write like Cory Doctorow, the co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. *sigh*  Perhaps I’m spending too much time on that site.

In which author’s style do you most write like? Go to I Write Like to try it out.

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An Odorific Invention

Well it’s been a hectic week here at Trippin’ with Rip. First with an email about Rip being.. well a “fucking’ fucker”; then with our unfortunate friendship with fake friends ~or as my b-i-l says, “rude folk who obviously have no sense of style”. Since it’s now Friday, in an effort to overcome this drama-filled week I’ve decided to resort to adolescent humor ~farting!

“Can you please fart? I’d like to watch something different now.”

Today I give you, a creative invention bordering on the absurd. So check this out! Some disturbed man took an idea where a guy figured how to turn a tv on/off using a brainwave reading headset (found here,) added this technology to another creative idea where a guy made an office chair that twitters every time he farted (found here) to invent the very first Fart-Operated TV Remote Control! This fart-smelling apparatus has a methane sensor and yes, once the offensive odor has been sensed, this mysterious invention sends the light pulses to an infrared LED changing the channel. The detailed instructions for this flatulence sensing device can be found here. The instructions are a bit confusing to my nontechnical brain  but man, the possibilities for fun with this thing are limitless.

“Honey, I’ m puttin’on a big ol’ pot o’ beans and we’re gonna have some fun!”

On this note, I’ll say adios to a freakin’ weird week… enjoy your weekend! Oh but before you do, check out this old remote control by Zenith. It had a strange kla-klunk sound everytime a button was pushed and you could only scroll the the channels in one direction. I’ll bet that Crabby Old Fart Don Mills remembers this one!

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Mean People Suck!

First of all, I promise I will never ever write another post this long!

I’ve been really bummed out about something that happened yesterday. I got an email from a woman who I thought liked me. She invited me to go boating with her and some girl friends this week but also asked me to “brainstorm ideas” regarding some help she needed with her website. I happily accepted but when I told Rip where I was going he was adamant about my not going ~ which I thought was odd. He thought of every reason that it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to go but still, something was amiss in his tone. Finally, after some arguing he told me to sit down because he had something to tell me that he had hoped I would never find out.

A year ago I purchased a wedding gift for this couple. I’ll call them Barbi and Jeff because, well… those are their names. They always claim to be free-spirited, hippies who love funky artsy stuff. They say they hang-loose but the truth is, let one thing interrupt their mystical fun-loving vibe  and their up-tight asses are suddenly shittin’  diamonds!. …Ah yes, everyone knows that this couple, is all about Peace Love and Pie! They are constantly trying to cram this stupid phrase down our throats like it’s gonna catch on one day and make them famous.  I digress, I honestly didn’t feel this way about them until today.

Anyway the gift I chose was from an art show, a large two-piece patio wall sculpture by a local Florida artist;  3-D stylized  representations of the Moais figures found on Easter Island, South Pacific. The medium was a complex combination of fiberglass, acrylic paints and wood. It was designed as patio art since it is impervious to the elements. I honestly felt this was a fantastic gift  as everyone else seemed to be giving impersonal gift-cards to chain restaurants and chain retailers. I honestly thought the style went well with the many botanical/tiki items surrounding their pool area. In retrospect, and knowing what I now know I should have just given them a Home Depot gift card . (Ggrr)

Little did I know, they both hated our gift; not just a little.. ALOT!  So much in fact that Jeff went to great effort numerous times in the courtyard of their employer, (Jeff works with Rip) and in the company of other employees to let Rip know just how awful and hideous he thought they were! Not only did they hate them but also put one out in the yard in a lawnchair free to the first person who happened to drive by. ~then Jeff took the liberty of photographing it and emailing it to Rip. From what I understand only one of the pieces was given away (perhaps everyone else hated them too).

Holy crap! I was stunned almost to tears when Rip told me this. How can people be so freakin’ mean? Who does this kind of hateful thing and then emails a picture of it to the very one who gave it? I would never do something like this regardless of how bad I loathed a gift, it’s just not cool. To top it off, he asked Rip not to tell me. Rip was furious with Jeff but knew this infomation would break my heart so he thought it  best to spare me the details; no doubt stirring up a huge amount of stress that Rip could’ve done without.

ZZZ Rewind to last month… Jeff was in the hospital with a potentially serious problem but in the end it turned out to be a benign issue. When he was discharged from a 4 day hospital stay I drove 7 miles in the torrential rain (with no top on my jeep) to deliver an entire meal to this couple, salad to dessert.  Little did I know that I was already the butt of their cruel form of entertainment. At that time they managed to look me in the eye and pretend to be my friends. Of course, the joke was on me.

As recently as yesterday Barbi has the audacity to continually ask favors of Rip. She’s emailed numerous times and asked Rip to call Jeff  or stop over to visit him to offer moral support in his effort to stop smoking etc.. Basically it’s like she’s begging people to be his friend. In fact, when Jeff went into the hosptial she sent out a mass email asking everybody to stop by the hospital and visit. Rip laughed out-loud! It was about this time that I began to really get suspicious of Rip’s sour attitude everytime I mentioned their names. Until yesterday when the truth was finally revealed and yes, as Rip suspected~first it broke my heart but later I got pissed. These hypocrites are not my friends. There’s no way they can make this right at this point. I don’t expect to hear back from them again. I mean, what could they possibly say? Here’s a start Barbi and Jeff:

 “We are mean people and we suck!”

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