The Shows Went On!

Anyone that knows me knows that I hate haunted houses and scary movies.  I hate being startled and scared.  Can’t stand it.

But I simply LOVE Busch Garden’s Howl-o-Scream.  

Strange, isn’t it?  Not really.  I go to the park to soak in the lovely decorations.  To be outside when the park isn’t as hot (today withstanding).  And I LOVE the shows!

Seriously.  Summer has a few shows that I like, and a few that I could miss.  Same with Christmas Town.  But I love ALL the shows that How-o-Scream has to offer!

Today we did a sort of pub crawl, except it was going from one show to the other until we've seen them all!

And I have some thoughts!

The first show we saw was Fiends.  Fiends is rather adult.  It's got a Frankenstein meets Rocky Horror plot.  It also has naughty nurses.

from youtube

It's full of songs you know.  It's fun.  My favorite performers from last year are back. (I'm actually surprised the show is back.  Rumor was last year was the end of the run)  The show is campy and fun and I love it.  Last year I was astounded at the diversity in casting of the dancers.  This year, it's good, but not wonderful.

And someday I'll lose enough weight to fit into one of those nurse's uniforms! 

We then went to Night Beats (ReVamped).  This show is in the Festhaus, and that has got to be the worst place to perform!  The room is big and echo-y and people are going in and out with food!

from a previous year, also from BG's Audition site

They redid the show this year, removing what little plot that there was.  I could tell there was a bit of a storyline, but without ANY dialogue, it was hard to follow.  I also could NOT tell the two lead actresses apart!  But this show is one for all ages.  There's singing and dancing and it's a light, fun show.  With vampires!

One change that I did like was the costuming!  The old show had the poor dancers changing between every song.  And the costumes that they did use weren't awesome.  Now they have basic costumes with skirts and shrugs that they can change.  I also loved the overall design of the show!

Then we trekked to the front of the park to see Monster Stomp: on Ripper Row.  This show was my FAVORITE last year.  The female lead was sensational!  I saw the show every time we visited the park last year.

from BG's website

This year I was a tad let down.

That woman that I so loved wasn't back.  Her replacement was good, but she wasn't the powerhouse that I was looking forward to.

The thing that really ruined things for me was the sound mixing.  For years Busch Gardens would mix their shows with the backing track so loud that the singers couldn't be understood.  Funny enough, that changed when they got a new head of entertainment.  Today the mix in Monster Stomp was bad.  SO very bad.  I get that they have live percussion, but I'd like to understand the performers.  The guy that plays Jack the Ripper was from Britmania earlier in the summer and I would have liked to hear him sing!

Today was opening day for the season.  I've decided that I'm going to go back in a few weeks when it's cooler.  We'll see if my thoughts change.

Dust to Dust

A few years ago I got allergy tested.  It was a necessary, and expensive thing that had to be done after I went through 2 inhalers in a month.  It was bad.

It turns out I'm super allergic to dust mites.  So how do you deal with it?

• keep the humidity below 50%
• Wash bedding frequently
• Keeping the house dusted and clean
• Vacuuming often.

I've been keeping up with the first two.  The other two are a bit of a challenge!

I've been waking up every morning with swollen itchy eyes and a drippy, itchy nose.  Hell, the inside of my face itches!

Every. Morning.

Seriously.  This should be against the Geneva Convention.

I could take Benadryl before bed every night.  That's good and all, but I'm a hung over zombie for half the next day.

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to do something about it!

I was going to wage a battle against dust!!

And because I'm not supposed to be vacuuming, I had the Spousal Equivalent help!

I cleared the bedroom floor.  He vacuumed, while I cleaned off the coffee tabled and dusted the electronics.  I then put laundry away and washed all the blankets and throws.

We're not done, but it's a start.  He still has laundry to put away.  The knick knacks need to be dusted, and I need to get a broom out to dispatch any dust bunnies... but it's getting better.

I even woke up this morning and my eyes weren't burning.

Now if I could just find a new massage therapist to help me with my messed up neck!  Mine seems to have disappeared!

Inhumans (here that be spoilers)

(Note, I wrote this on Saturday)

Not having much to do today, we decided to experience the first two episodes of The Inhumans, which was presented in glorious IMAX.

The reviews for the show weren't good, so I wasn't expecting much.

And I left not really knowing how I feel.

Honestly, it left me thinking of the first season of Agents of Sheild.  Like there's promise.  I just hope that it lives up to it.

Here are my thoughts, as always, in bullet points:

• I don't know who did the set design for Atalan, but it's impressive!!
• The Terigen Crystal ceremony:  there was no cocoon!  Do the rules change on the moon?
• Is Tristan really dead?  He only lasted like 5 minutes!
• Maximums = Ramsay Bolton wth a but less psychosis.  Honestly, he plays it well.
• Medusa's hair wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Though, it didn't last long.  (side note:  ordinary clippers took care of the magic hair?)
• I LOVE Karnak!  The way they present his powers is really cool!!  But why did it misfire on earth?
• I actually like the guy they cast as Black Bolt.  I can see his sense of humor!
• But why not use ASL?  And don't give me the city on the moon excuse.  They speak English for crying out loud!
• Scott Buck did this show.  And he's responsible for Iron Fist.  Maybe without him we could get some good writing?

And most importantly:  There NEEDS to be a Lockjaw plushie!!!  And I NEED one!!

If you want someone with better thoughts than me, I agree with her SO much!