Alice Cooper’s Nightmare and Tea Smokers

Many moons ago when my children were very young I had the pleasure of going to Disney World in Orlando Florida. The kids loved pretty much all of it. I myself had two favorites; the Epcot Center, which is now called Epcot Theme Park, and Universal Studios. Being a huge I Love Lucy fan her shop/museum was the best treat. Original Dresses, scripts with Lucy’s notes in her handwriting and of course huge amounts of Lucy merchandise. 

Universal Studios Hollywood has announced an Alice Cooper attraction based on his Albums, Welcome to My Nightmare and Welcome 2 My Nightmare. Universal Studios Hollywood is not very far from Disney Land.

They plan to have the attraction up and going in time for the Halloween season. The creation of a living horror movie they boast will leave people scared long after they leave. Ironically the attraction is set just a short distance from the studios where many horror movies were filmed.

Of course Cooper’s music will be through out the themed attraction along with guillotine decapitations, electric chairs, a sadistic insane asylum, predatory snakes and giant black widow spiders. 

Cooper sent out a tease about this new adventure telling those watching his video that “we will be lucky to make it out alive”. This attraction will be a horror theme park you walk through. Universal Studios Hollywood has a yearly Halloween Horror Nights theme starting September 23 this year through October 31. Other horror attractions are a maze based on the chiller Hostel and one also based on the upcoming remake of John Carpenters The Thing. 

Cooper is known for sowing the seeds of theatrical concerts with intention to shock. They sure left you with a memory of Alice Cooper. Cooper also co-designed the attraction.  This attraction comes on the heels of Cooper being inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame last year.

This is my kind of fun. I love anything scary or anything that entertains with the attempt to be scary. I tried to find information concerning limits on age or size, but I was unable to find any information. 

Ok, this will make some of us feel old, The Michigan native rocker is 63 years old and he is still rocking. His successful career spans four decades. I personally never got into his music. However, I had several old boyfriends when I was much younger who did, a lot. If you are interested and have the opportunity to visit the attraction here is a link to directions.

http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/visitor_info_directions_parking.html

On another note, Obama told us that regardless of what any agency has to say, we are an AAA country and always will be.  Of course his remarks did nothing to help the market following our first downgrade in U.S. history. 

Even while he was speaking the Dow Jones dropped to the 11,000 mark and continued to fall. The president tells us market upheaval is due to a “string of economic disruptions around the world”.  He also tells us the downgrade, right or wrong would instill a new sense of urgency in our Republican and Democratic leaders. They are extremely busy right now pointing fingers at each other stating the others should have done more. 

Does anything look promising to you? Do you feel that a sense of urgency will makes its way into our folks who are under a deadline to reach a $1.5 trillion deficit reduction plan by the end of the year? I will wait for you to stop laughing. 

But there is still something to maybe make us smile, David Axelrod an Obama advisor, was on Face The Nation this Sunday and he said this is essentially a Tea Party downgrade. Howard Dean, the former Vermont Democratic Governor, was also on the show and he tells us the house Republicans are: and I quote: “They are totally unreasonable and doctrinaire and not founded in reality. I think they have been smoking some of the tea and not just drinking it.”

I am one who wishes they would legalize the tea. There may be a day where you find me on the evening news wearing flowers in my hair and carrying signs to legalize the tea!

Take care, and stay safe,

KJ

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Is that what smokers want?

Our news item for today is from Arkansas and is being reported in by the AP/Forbes – “Gov. Mike Beebe will attempt to repeal a sales tax break for truckers if a proposed diesel tax increase meant to pay for the break isn’t approved. The tax break and diesel tax hike were parts of a deal reached by the Arkansas trucking lobby and state lawmakers earlier this year. Lawmakers approved the tax break in exchange for the Arkansas Trucking Association’s promise to lobby for a 5-cent diesel tax hike to pay for highway repairs.” For complete details go to: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/06/22/general-ar-arkansas-highways_8529147.html

Let’s talk about cigarette smoking. I think we’ve all seen the yellow flag with the alert coiled snake with the words – Don’t Tread On Me. I even thought of getting a tattoo of that on my arm. Many Tea Party members display the flag. I firmly believe “our” government has gone too far in their quest to control how we live our lives. Being off the road for a couple of months, this “control” is worse than I thought – we all feel like we’re walking around with a steel ball and chain locked onto one leg. It represents what “our” government will “allow” us to do and not do. I love my country and our democracy, but I will fight every and all attempts by anyone who tells me how I should live my life. Many say read the Constitution for evidence of the “overreach” of “our” government. As long as you’re not hurting anyone else, you should do what you want, right?

BUT, I am very “conflicted” when it comes to the issue of smoking. I want folks to have the right to smoke. BUT, quite honestly, I don’t want smoking anywhere around or near me. This is an emotional issue for the entire country. I thought truckers smoke more than everybody else. They don’t. It seems there are more people smoking than ever before. I know we’re all under a great deal of stress, but despite the $45 cost of a carton of cigarettes, I see no less sales of this very dangerous product.

There is this other corporate blog that I read. Via social media, the company announced a significant change in their smoking policy. The blog typically receives 15-35 comments per post. The smoking issue garnered over 350+ responses from readers. Their Facebook page got 14,000 hits. Basically, smokers want to smoke whenever and wherever they want and non-smokers don’t want to put up with any of it. I find smokers arrogant, selfish and unfortunate to say, ignorant.

The bans on smoking are growing worldwide. It exists in NYC and now even Texas is trying to stop it in public places. Yesterday, as reported in The New York Times, “Federal health officials released their final selection of nine graphic warning labels to cover the top half of cigarette packages beginning next year, over the opposition of tobacco manufacturers. Health advocacy groups praised the government plan in the hope that images would shock and deter new smokers and motivate existing smokers to quit. The images are to cover the upper half of the front and back of cigarette packages produced after September 2012, as well as 20 percent of the space in cigarette advertisements.”

I don’t think this will stop smoking anymore than the large bold warnings that have been on the boxes for decades. This is an addiction. As I just said, this is an arrogance, a selfishness and an ignorance that perhaps is a sign of our times, where people respecting each other is at an all time low point. As I also said, I personally am conflicted over the issue. You should be able to do what you want to do. Perhaps the difference here is that when you stand next to me and light up, you then interfere with my rights to enjoy clean air. I say smoke in your house, in your truck, without your kids around to breathe in the smoke and keep doing it as long  as it doesn’t bother anyone else.

What more can be said on the subject? You either want to smoke or you don’t. You either want it in your face or you don’t. You want to go to  bar or a casino and smoke or want to drink and gamble without the distraction of cigarettes. You want to go the beach and smoke – but what about the people next to you? Do smokers realize that a non-smoker can smell the odor when two trucks are parked next to each other in a truck stop, sorry, travel plaza? A neighbor of mine just went on a cruise. She was upgraded to a balcony. When she went out to enjoy the fresh sea air, the people on the balcony next store, constantly smoked. That part of the her vacation was ruined for her. Is that what smokers want?

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