It's "Chimptastic!"

For weeks and weeks I've been (somewhat) jokingly spreading the word about the movie event of the season. No, not Dark Knight.

Space Chimps.

A couple of us added the surefire blockbuster to our fantasy movie teams, only to have it overshadowed on opening weekend by the newest Batman flick. But despite the countdown clock to opening night I had in my cube, courtesy of Y! pal KP, it is only today that I finally get to experience the phenomenon that is Space Chimps.

Here are some reviews. Read 'em and weep (the studio and producers surely did).

So tonight I get to see it for myself. I will attempt to blog the "event" -- we'll see how it goes. Or if I can get a mobile signal. So stay on the edge of your seats -- you know, all the empty seats that have been greeting this film ... though KP does point out that our friendly Chimps outdid Angelina Jolie this past weekend.



And check your grocery store. There are bananas out there with Space Chimps stickers on them. You should get them. Get them now. And eat those bananas. Support this film -- we want a straight-to-video sequel! Damnit.

Without further adieu

It all ended in Paris.

I arrived, they surrendered.

OK, I think I managed to go my entire trip w/o making a surrender joke. I couldn't wait any longer. So there.

Mainly due to Orsay, Louvre and Rodin, I took more pics in Paris than any other city. Included here are a couple hundred of the 750-plus I snapped. Just about every building in that city has a grand feel and presence, making it hard not to just constantly take random shots.

Oh, and there was this tower of which I took a few pics, too. Again, the pics from Paris are right here. User: ysports@mailinator.com -- pass: jeremystone. Enjoy.

One of my favorite (of my many favorites) Rodin sculptures can be seen below in a 360-degree video walkaround.



And here's a brief vid of the lovely Eiffel Tower doing it's hourly nightly light-up.



And finally, the pep band...



Possibly more videos to come. Possibly. But that's pretty much it for the pics.

I'd dub Lynn a hitter

People ask what the highlight of this trip was.

Hard not to say Dublin.

It wasn't even so much a touristy experience as it was about the music, friendly folk and cider. And a nice break from the continent, too.

So enjoy some pics of my all too brief stay in Ireland, along with several videos below. Included are two of the musical pub crawl, one of Jess Klein and one of this funky art-type thingy (there also was a female version).

Again, Dublin pics are here, snapfish username is ysports@mailinator.com and password is jeremystone, and the videos are below. And you are welcome for all this completely unnecessary explanation.

Can't get that at Starbucks

Ah, the space cake. If only they hadn't run out of vanilla shakes.

Here one can find some pics from Amsterdam. And they aren't as, well, juicy as one might expect. Bad things happen to people who take pictures of window (un)dressings, so y'all will have to settle for streets and alleyways that really did have red lights, though they didn't come out all that well in the pictures.

And as a reminder, snapfish username: ysports@mailinator.com -- password: jeremystone

I cut my leg yesterday. I have no idea how. Don't remember doing it. But it clearly was bleeding. Not the first time I've found some random bloody cut on me recently. My sister says she doesn't like that, that I shouldn't do that anymore. She's been telling us what to do since toddlerhood, so I'd better listen ...

Just thought I'd share. Again, the new pics are here.

Also, enjoy these terribly compelling clips. First was supposed to be a still shot; didn't realize vid setting was on. Second is, well, Dutch softball. As for my comment to the camera at the end ... for those who get it, ha! For the 96 percent of you who won't, let's just say it has to do with ColecoVision.

Ich bin ein Baum!

After Venice came Berlin.

I don't only mean on my trip, but rather in the universal scheme of things. Or evolutionary. Alphabetically, if you loop back around? I don't know. I'm tired. Anyway...

Photos of and from the Berlin portion of my adventure can be found here. And again, if you don't want to sign up for Snapfish, use the following...
user: ysports@mailinator.com -- pass: jeremystone

I didn't get very descriptive with these captions, so any wonderings on images, let's hear 'em.

Again, Berlin pics are here. See previous couple blog entries for Italy pics. And in case you are wondering/had forgotten, Berlin included a trip to the zoo. Hence the pic you see here. What, you wanted the Berlin Wall or something? Sheesh. For that you'll have to click on through.

Meanwhile, the video below is of the Fallen Leaves portion of the Jewish Museum. And yes, you're supposed to walk in/on the exhibit. I think it actually somewhat captures the solemn, haunting solitude you might experience in person.

You know, if you were there. In person. Ya dig?



And here's just a small snippet of the wacky parade that lasted something like 326 hours.

No drapes to be found

Another day, another set of pics.

And as you might guess, this set is of Venice, which was my final stop in Italy. The pics can be seen here. I did a couple of touristy/cultural-type things in Venice -- but being there only two days, I spend most of my time just exploring and taking it all in. Which was time very well spent.

And some of the pics, if I may be so bold (awful ... just awful), came out quite nifty. That's right, I went with nifty. Can't fall back on groovy all the time.

DON'T WANT TO SIGN UP FOR SNAPFISH? Shame shame. Use this logon ... user: ysports@mailinator.com
pass: jeremystone

(My god, blinking text is annoying.)

Still to come: Berlin, Amsterdam, Dublin and Paris. And more random videos. Below are two -- one of more animals in Berlin ...



... and one of some odd fashion show-type thing in Venice with kids a bit too young to be fashioning.

Back, back, back, back in the U.S. ... A.

Many of you have been asking, in person, for more details about the trip. I've got a few, maybe, but most of it was in the blog! Sorry to disappoint ... I'll try to think of some more stuff.

In the meantime, I'm finally uploading some photos. The one above, somewhat appropriately, was the sunset at JFK that greeted me upon my return to the States. Follow the link for the first batch of photos, which basically includes some wacky stuff: odd signs and pictures of food. Exciting, I know, but it's a start.

I took lots of pics. This could take a while. Oh, and Snapfish makes you sign up. Sorry. Deal with it.

Also just uploaded: some pics from Rome and some pics from Assisi.

The first photo link (MISC). Again.

And the second one (Rome). Again.

And the third one (Assisi). Again.

Oh, and Tony Stewart just wrecked at Dover. Poor Tony. Ha.

In the meantime, enjoy this random vid from the Berlin Zoo...