University of New Hamphsire Stops Selling Energy Drinks

 Photo courtesy of Google Images.

As Acossiated Press reports, the University of New Hampshire no longer permits the sale of energy drinks on the campus. The whole purpose of this movement is to "...be sure (that) we respect our students' ability to make informed choices about what they consume," says the president of the college in the article.

Just like how elementary schools have banned chocolate milk and usually only serve fruits and vegetables, I think it's ridiculous how now a college is forcing healthy "options" down their throats. If students are feeling tired and need a boost to get through class or homework, how will others manage to stay awake during classes? How should it be the job of the president of the school to tell them what to eat or drink? Since this is a free country, shouldn't we have the freedom to drink something that we like and keep us awake for other classes? This doesn't sound like "respecting the students' ability to make 'informed' choices" to me.

As mentioned in the article, the main root of this ban of energy drinks can be traced back to one student who drank too much of it and was landed in the hospital. If another student happens to do what that undiscerning student just did, at least he will most likely never do it again. Maybe after that, he'll learn to be a bit more conservative when it comes to energy drinks.


I wonder what's next? The ban of the sale of green tea because it caused one student to have diarrhea? With that sort of reasoning, we might as well ban everything. After all, too much of anything is bad for you.

What on Earth is the Point of Planking?

Fairly recently, a wide-spread fad had started just a few months ago known as "planking".  It is where some one lies down flat on his belly and acts out as a plank, then having the person's friend take a picture of him and post it on his Twitter or Facebook. 

I have absolutely no idea why anybody would even think to do this, let alone think it's actually cool to do such a thing. What's the point of it, really? If one of your friends came up to you and said, "Hey Bubba, I'll give you $20 if you plank on top of those pool railings", then that would be the only good modivation I could think of on why anybody would want to plank. If you're just doing it to look cool, then I pity your soul.

There's one big factor here on why I don't think it's the best idea to plank. What if you applied for a job, and after the interview, they do a background check on your media and find several pictures of you "planking" on everything? Now that employers are more picky on who they hire in this economy, it probably wouldn't be such a good idea to post those pictures on your Facebook or Twitter feed.

The moral of this article: If you're only planking just because your friends think it's cool, then don't do it. It looks stupid and it's just not cool at all. It could even effect your future. No, really. It actually could.

Photo from Six Flags

Six Flags had just announced that they are adding a new ride to their Magic Mountain park. According to the L.A. Times, "Six Flags Magic Mountain will add a new 40-story thrill ride in spring 2012 themed to DC Comics villain Lex Luthor that will rank as the world’s tallest and fastest drop tower. The 400-foot-tall Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom will be attached to both sides of the Valencia amusement park's 415-foot-tall Superman: Escape from Krypton coaster tower."

Whenever I have gone to Magic Mountain, I have always enjoyed their coasters, but I felt like there was an empty void to fill when the Freefall ride was taken out a few years ago.  The park was lacking a solid drop ride that would be a nice break from the traditional coaster; now that void has finally been filled.

When I first heard the rumor that Six Flags would finally be adding a drop ride to the park a few months ago, I figured that they would build their own tower to accommodate the ride. I have no idea why, but I never figured that they would attach a drop ride onto the Superman tower. I think this move is genius on Six Flags' part. Not only would it really save money from the expense of building a separate tower, but it will be good for marketing purposes to be able to say, "We are opening the world's tallest drop ride!"

As thrilled as I am about this, I can't help but think of how loud it's going to be knowing that the Superman ride vehicles will be right behind riders' ears. I'm sure all they would have to do is cover their ears but still, it would be a serious nuisance. What I'm worried about is having to hear that while waiting in line. Hopefully they'll utilize an indoor queue or something. Lastly, the ride looks like it'll be pretty low-capacity, meaning long lines....just like almost every ride at Six Flags.

Whatever the case, I'm pretty excited for 2012. Universal will finally get their long-awaited West Coast version of the "Amazing Adventures of Spider-man" with their upcoming "Transformers: The Ride 3D"; Disney will have their highly-detailed Carsland with their highly anticipated "Radiator Springs Racers"; Sea World will be adding their first true coaster with Manta and Magic Mountain will finally be adding the world's tallest drop ride. 2012 is going to be a very good year for theme park freaks. 

California Starts the First Pot Street Fair in the Entire Country

 Photo from Inquisitor.com

According to NBC News, Californians will now have something else to boast about their state. Besides earthquakes, overwhelming bureaucracy, gang members, the gay pride parade, and state bankruptcy, we may now take pride in the fact that our state has hosted the country's first Pot Street Fair now that the state's government has legalized the drug.

According to the article, "People inside the so-called '215 area'...will be able to smoke, vaporize or otherwise ingest cannabis to their heart's delight. Though no marijuana will be for sale." I don't know about you, but that sounds like the perfect place to spend the day with a family and meet some interesting new people.

Not surprisingly, the fair happens to take place in Oakland...just a fairly short distance from San Francisco, which happens to be possibly the most left-wing city in the entire country. What really gave me a good chuckle was one sentence in the article that mentioned, "The festival will also feature an eclectic mix of speakers, music and info booths, but it's the medical cannabis patient smoking area in front of City Hall that's bound to draw the most attention." You know your city is in trouble when you have several civilized tax-payers (or most likely welfare recipients) smoking pot in front of the city hall.

As bad as this is for the Bay area, the very few sane people that live in San Francisco can have a breath of fresh air for one day. Why? Because all of the crazy people that live in San Francisco will all be out of town to have a breath of fresh pot. 

La Llorona Returning to Halloween Horror Nights

The "announcement" was not a surprise by several HHN fans, but Universal has apparently made a major leak on their website saying that the final maze is "La Llorona: Villa de Almas Perdidas" (That's translated, "Village of Lost Souls" in case you didn't pay attention in Spanish class). The maze will take place in the Shrek queue and will feature probably the tallest facade that HHN has done.

I am a tad surprised that they decided to bring La Llorona back but in maze form. When her scarezone was featured last year, it received quite a bit of negative feedback on the internet from how "un-scary" it was. The scarezone had a nice, creepy tone to it, but it just wasn't executed properly.  Since her scarezone will most likely come back because of the maze, I hope they make some improvements like put in hiding places or "boo holes" for La Llorona and her children to hide to scare the guests. It'll be interesting to see what they do with that Western area that it was  in last year (If they do bring the scarezone back) knowing that the left half of the street is completely gone.

Despite the negative feedback, I think Universal made a wise choice overall to bring back La Llorona and do a maze based off of her. She's a perfect marketing icon to use since she was a legend that has haunted many generations of Hispanics, who happen to occupy the majority of LA's population.

Personally, I am very excited to see how this maze will be done. This maze will have a lot of great environment involved in it, making it stand out among the maze variety in the event. We know that the maze will start off in a church (Probably holding La Llorona's funeral) and then go on through a forest, a tomb, and possibly other places. Being that this is one of the first true original mazes since the Asylum in 2006, this will give John Murdy the ability to flex his creative muscles, do what he creatively wants in the maze, and not be restrained by what scenes or kills are in a movie.

For those of you worried that it will suck who are judging this by the inferior scarezone last year, I don't think you all need to worry. It's not going to be just a bunch of La Lloronas jumping out at you and babies vomiting in our faces. It will most likely feature her children and other lost souls that have died in the village; hence why the subtitle is, "Village of Lost Souls" in Spanish translation. I think this maze will be a pleasant surprise for those who have low expectations. 

I look forward to see what John and his creative team have in store for us in the Village of Lost Souls. I'm positive the maze will be so detailed and so scary that guests will weep in terror when they hear the sorrowful weeping of La Llorona fade away as they exit the maze.

The Wolfman tears his way into Halloween Horror Nights this year!

As some of you have known, I have been chomping at the bit (No pun intended) for a Wolfman maze ever since 2009's event. Finally, after two years, my wish has been fulfilled to bring one of the legends of classic horror to Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood.

The Wolfman: The Curse of Talbot Hall will be the overlay for the year-round House of Horrors attraction. Though I would have preferred that the fuzzy fellow get his own maze in a legit venue (i.e. the Shrek queue or the Wild West arena), I think it will fit very well in the House of Horrors if Murdy and his team play their cards right.

Making the theme work for House of Horrors is going to be a bit of a challenge for Murdy and his team. They won't have to worry about the graveyard and tomb scenes since they can be easily replicated from the Wolfman movie with some minor additions; however, the second floor of the attraction is going to be a bit of a challenge to make it fit. I'm curious what they're going to do with the Mummy's tomb, Chucky's doll room, the Psycho mirrors, body bag room, Frankenstein's Lab, and the slaughterhouse room.

For those of you that are worried that this maze will suck just because it's the House of Horrors overlay don't need to be afraid. It doesn't sound like they're going to pull another Vampyre here (Meaning replace the daytime cast with the overlay actors, change the name and call it a new maze without changing anything). John Murdy has said from his Twitter that some additions will be made for the House of Horrors to make the theme work. He even said that he has plans for the empty room.

I don't think I've ever been this excited for the House of Horrors overlay at any HHN event for the past two years that I have been going. I'm very much looking forward to seeing my long-awaited Wolfman maze and how they're going to pull this off in the House of Horrors and see what the costumes/make-up will look like. I anticipate this being our best overlay for House of Horrors yet!

Three thugs mug a Bible from a man.

Courtesy of CBS News

According to the article, a trio of African-American teenage thugs have mugged a guy of his wallet, cell phone, and his Bible. Yes, that's right, his Bible. They were even rude and inconsiderate enough to tear the guy's pants pocket pretty good to get the possesions out for themselves.

It's quite odd that this had happened since I have been wondering lately if someone would actually be so hell-bent on just "taking things" that they would actually steal the Word of God from someone. The article I just linked to had answered my question.

This definitely shows the true depravity of mankind. These guys were so determined to take what they could for themselves, they didn't even care what it was that they would steal. To quote Genesis 8:21: "...the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth...".