Jump to content

mchookem

Certifiably Surly
  • Posts

    7388
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by mchookem

  1. three weeks ago now...Florence was crowded but it wasn't prohibitive, Rome was much more packed and hectic in our experience. Florence was our favorite stop! we would definitely consider returning...it was just so small and condensed, so easy to get around and see so much incredible art literally everywhere you look. we found it magical! 😊

    Rome was incredible in a wholly different way. several times i'd get this feeling in particular, like 'holy crap this is the oldest manmade thing i've ever laid eyes on!' i felt a bit overwhelmed in spots. it's incredible, and a lot to take in! 😮 but...well...the trash was a thing. pretty offputting and i didn't understand it 😕 all over the streets, the gutters, dog shit on sidewalks, trash cans in all the parks were overflowing and not emptied in the three days we were there. twice i'd identified a park where we were going to just sit a bit and cool off in shade...and both times it was literally just overflowing with trash, to the point we kept moving. it was like every street was Bourbon street at the end of the night...but they at least come thru the FQ with street sweepers and such nightly! it didn't ruin anything, it was just an unattractive backdrop in a lot of spots, unfortunate. thought 'eh, big tourist city' initially, but when we met up with our friends in Dublin who had just spent a month in Sicily... they said the same thing about some places there. weird.

    i was thinking about it...one, with that many tourists, there really needs to be a robust public works system to clean/clear nightly (like the aforementioned NOLA, or Vegas). or just more receptacles in general. Paris arguably has as many visitors and its gardens/parks were pretty pristine from what we saw. also, between the cigarette butts and the dog shit... that's got to be mostly locals? maybe some sort of public awareness campaign might help (like a 'Don't Mess With Texas' equivalent?) 🤔 also, in high tourist areas, maybe fine people on the spot for littering... seems to work for the RATP enforcers in Paris! 😄

    i dunno...we just really marveled at how one could live in such an incredible place ('my apartment is just passed the 200 BC Roman ruins, the ones on the left' 😮😆) and let it get like that regularly. i'm sure there's lots of variables, from public funding/taxes to local corruption, hell maybe even organized crime racket lol. 

    1e721696-044f-4e8c-b15f-bc7913cf0e84_text.gif.b9ba9c65ebeb7bdc9f55324e8ed744a4.gif

  2. fuckin Black Pumas at Mission Ballroom tonight, man were they great! better than GCJr a few weeks ago. that is a great venue, literally not a bad seat, felt super intimate. reminded me of ACL Live. they put on an outstanding show, that dude can sing! lots of shoutouts to Austin which was cool since, you know, Denver 🤘 based on crowd reactions there were a lot of Texans there, i wonder if they were visitors or Texpats like us...🤔

    anyway...great show!

    20240614_213130.jpg

    20240614_215700.jpg

    • Hook 'Em 2
  3. there are a couple of Alamos here in Denver but they're pretty far from us, and compared to the super swanky theaters near us they don't measure up.

    we've probably seen more movies living here the past two years than we had the five years prior to moving. one is an AMC with a full bar, some not bad food and great popcorn which is my mate's jam. the seats are all recline, heated (who knew that would be nice here 😄) and very comfortable.

    the other is a Harkins theater which is badass - they have a CineXL theater that is basically a more comfortable IMAX, it's huge but the seats are super spaced out (kinda like what Kevin Smith describes above), the sound system is just stupid crisp (we had no problem with Oppenheimer like so many people reported). it's one of those with a big curtain that opens, makes it really feel like an event. also full bar, comfy recline seats and good popcorn. we love catching big movies in this theater...and a matinee ticket is only about $11!

    it's moderately busy at times, but certainly not anywhere near full (well Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Dune2 were pretty full)...i just really, really hope it sticks around, as we love movies in theater and really enjoy these!

    • Hook 'Em 2
  4. she seems to have gotten angrier and more strident lately, raising her voice a lot more, using actual profanity with the press...her rage is ramping up.

    i don't think it's an act with her, i think she is a legitimate loony-tunes true believer, which makes her more dangerous than someone like Boebert or Cruz. i wouldn't be shocked if she flips out for real at some point and physically attacks AOC or Crockett or somebody. she's nuts.

    • Hook 'Em 2
    • Like 1
    • Rage+1 1
    • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
  5. it was interesting, spending almost four weeks in various European countries (we just got back a few days ago)...after about ten days, even though we had to keep an eye out for pickpockets and scammers in various locations, i slowly realized that i was in general feeling a much more relaxed state of mind wandering around unknown areas of these cities, both crowded and deserted (evenings), specifically bc in the back of my mind i was literally thinking 'none of these people have guns'. it was such a weird feeling...i mentioned it several times in different places once i realized i was feeling it.

    i don't think we consciously realize how much of that is ingrained in our psyche - finding nearest exits every time you enter a public space, staying alert for any commotion in crowded settings, hell i frequently play the 'where will i run in this restaurant if someone comes in that door blasting? what about that door?' i mean it's not even disruptive or particularly disturbing anymore, it's just part of living in America. 

    • Hook 'Em 4
    • Rage+1 1
×
×
  • Create New...