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About marknyc

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  1. I'd like to replate this great Trylon and Perisphere I have. Mine is much more beat up than the one in the picture. Anyone have any idea what the original plating was? Anyone ever tried home plating? Thanks, Mark
  2. EXPO 2010

    The GM exhibit fumbles a great opportunity. Here's the film you see (in Chinese with no subtitles, as it is shown at the Expo): http://www.productionhub.com/video/view.aspx?item=4899 (Caution - spoilers below.) ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' The narrowness of the image shows you how wide the screen is, since it is quite tall. Once the film finishes, there is a truly breathtaking moment: the huge curved screen descends into the floor to reveal that there are not one, but four duplicate theaters facing each other! Since you think you're in the only theater, this is a real shock as a massive auditorium is revealed with four audiences (of hundreds each) face each other. But then, they just do what you see in the video linked in earlier posts - dance around the cars! It's an incredibly wasted opportunity. If they had had some performance that even came close to the grand ideas presented in the film (maybe some flying?), it would have been very impressive. Instead, we get these silly dancers, who actually seem to worship one of the cars at one point, when it's raised up on a pedestal. What a lost opportunity. Still, the reveal was great.
  3. Just got back from Shanghai, and while my first World's Fair was great, it was also frustrating. As others have said, the Expo is huge and you have to make important decisions on how to spend your time, unless you are there for more than a week and have lots of stamina. I had three days - but without a guidebook (the Expo only provides a map) you're really flying blind. There are basically two kinds of pavilions: those that are walkthroughs (little or no wait) and those that offer some kind of movie or performance (waits of 30 minutes to 6 hours). The problem is deciding which pavilions are worth the wait. I tried to check this board before I left, but got only a few pieces of advice. I also visited the Expo site, but it wasn't helpful in making choices (e.g. the Coke pavilion looked cool, but was not worth the wait - read below for more details). So let's do this - everyone who has been to the Expo please post reveiws of the pavilions you saw and if you feel those with waits were worth. This may include spoilers, so be sure and mark those in case people want to be surprised. I'll start with overall tips: 1. The fair takes place on two sides of the river - if you try to travel from one to the other, you'll waste 30 minutes to an hour, since the ferry is very slow and can have long lines. So, see only one of the two parks on any given day. 2. When you arrive, spend time just looking at the Expo and going into paviliions with no lines (there are a number of those). Later, you can decide which ones you want to wait for. Bring a book and perhaps a stool, as you will be waiting in line for a while if you want to get into some exhibits. 3. Wait times are less than what is posted. If a sign said, "Waiting time is 2 hours from this point," I generally found it to be about half that. 4. Don't despair over the long lines - they're definitely shorter in the evening. They can go from 3 hours to an hour or less. 5. The fair is really designed for the Chinese - I was one of only a handful of whites there. Be prepared to be stared at if you're not Asian (especially by toddlers) and photographed! Most exhibits are subtitled in English, but some are only in Chinese. I saw no other languages. 6. The Chinese have different customs about lines than other countries. People will try to cut in line and there can be some pushing and shoving. Nothing terrible, but different. I didn't tolerate it and even called a security guard when one woman tried to cut in - he stopped her. 7. Most of the visitors seemed more concerned with getting their Passport stamped and with taking photos than with actually learning anything from any of the exhibits. 8. The Expo is open until 11, but most Pavilions cut off their lines around 9, so make plans accordingly. I was able to walk into some Pavilions after 10, though. Now for my reviews: Philippines This is the first one we entered, since my boyfriend is Filipino and there was no wait. It's pretty much a waste (apparently most of the money went to graft). It's supposed to feature Filipino performers, but they were just playing 1980s disco when we went. Later I went back and saw some dancers who were only okay. I'd say skip it. Indonesia A nice walkthrough exhibit with no wait. Some interesting historical and cultural artifacts. Cambodia Walkthrough with no wait. There were some great full-size reconstructions of Camboidan temples, so this was worth seeing. Malaysia Walkthrough with no wait. Great exterior, but the interior was somewhat lacking, I thought. New Zealand Walkthrough with no wait. Interesting, but there were suprisingly few aboriginals featured in the exhibit. It was mainly smiling white people. United States Ugly exterior, but I enjoyed the exhibit. Fun to see very American young guides speaking Chinese (sometimes with bad accents) and the opening video was fun. (SPOILER - select text to view) After messages from Hillary and Barack, you saw an okay 2D video that had some 4D effects. I enjoyed it, and the wait in the evening was only about 15 minutes. Netherlands Walkthrough with no wait. It featured "Happy Street" - a winding multi-level tour of 26 small houses. Fun. World Expo Museum This was only okay, but the wait was short - about 20 minutes. There's a video with some kinda bad models of former Word's Fair theme buidings (why doesn't the 2010 Expo have one?), which you can see pretty clearly in the Virtual Tour. Thailand Waited about an hour to get it. Loved it - "Captain Tai" is your mascot/guide for this shameless tourist sales pitch. There's a 3D movie, but the real treat for me was (SPOILER - select text to view) the 10-foot-high audioanimatronic Thai warrior that wakes up during the movie. Cool! Coca-Cola Okay, so this had waits of over 4 hours during the day, so I thought it must be great. I expected Coke to be a master at this sort of thing, and someone had posted that the souvenir Coke bottle was a "keeper" so I came back at night and waited in line for 90 minutes (meaning I missed the Oil exhibit next door). Big mistake! It is only a 10 minute animated film, and a pretty silly one at that. The Coke bottle is plastic, and the only Expo branding is a hard to see embossed logo. DO NOT WAIT IN LINE FOR THIS EXHIBIT - USE YOUR TIME WISELY. Information and Communications Pavilion Waited about an hour. This was neat because you got a little iPod-like device to "catch your dreams" with. You need to pick up headphones if you want to hear a language other than Chinese (my boyfriend's worked but mine did not, so I had to use his). Worth the wait for me. State Grid Pavilion No wait, but I entered just before the Park closed. This was in Chinese, so I was never quite sure what it was - I guess it was about the State power grid. But they gave me a solar-powered key chain flashlight, so I was happy (no Expo branding, though). The main thing was a big cube you enter that had various abstract images projected an all the walls. It was neat, but not worth waiting more than a 20 minutes for. Try to be in the center waiting line so you can stand in the middle of the cube. SAIC-GM Waited for an hour. Very cool - it's a motion controlled 2D movie about the car of the future (Futurama, anyone?) in Chinese with no English subtitles. But the coolest thing was (SPOILER - select text to view)what happened after the movie - it was breathtaking, even if somewhat anticlimactic after the reveal. I'm glad I saw this, as it was most like the "World of the Future" stuff from old fairs. Space Home Pavilion Long wait, but I snuck in with a Chinesse family that forced their way in (I guess they didn't notice that the tall white guy was not related). I was hoping for a "Home in Outer Space" exhibit, as the women guides were dressed in 2001-like space stewardess outfits, but no luck. I honestly can't recall what it was - I believe a 3D movie. Anyone else remember? Pavilion of Future (love that name!) Waited about a half-hour for this. It featured a futuristic cartoon of children at play and some displays had overly-technical write ups - one on how alternative energy could be generated read like a thesis! I enjoyed it, tho, as I always like "World of Tomorrow" stuff. Urban Footprint No waiting, as I recall. This was worth seeing for a great diorama (why have those disappeared?) that showed a a Sumerian city being created, kinda like GM's "Motorama" diorama from Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. Luxembourg Walkthrugh with no wait. Can't have been too memorable as I can't recall what was inside! Belgium/EU Walkthrugh with no wait. The Virtual tour gives you a good idea of what to expect. Egypt Walkthrough with no wait. It's not as impressive as the pics online, and some of the antiquities had been removed when we were there. Anyone else care to add reviews of pavilions I missed? Would love to get a long list up! Mark Milano
  4. Is it possible to buy a guidebook in NYC before I leave for the Expo? I've taken the virtual tour but would love a book to help plan my visit. Thanks, Mark
  5. I'm leaving for the Fair on July 7 - we have three days to see it. What would people recommend as the top 10 pavilions to see? I should add that I love corporate exhibits - things like "The Wonderful World of Chemistry" and Futurama. Any blatant commercial stuff like that? =) Mark
  6. The Wonderful World of Chemistry

    Thanks for the info - I don't see it at their website: http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/store.html Is it possible to get a copy? Mark
  7. Just put up some clips from this great DuPont show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aTqss6maS8 I never saw this exhibit, but I found the record years later in a resale shop and fell in love with the lyrics: "That's why we can tell you we are all enthusiastics about the very significant, truly magnificent Happy Plastics Family!" "You know we all have a smile on that started with nylon and stretches across each happy face!" "Every day that we are living is such a thrill that we can't stay nonchalant! Better Things For Better Living are coming still - that's the promise of DuPont!" What could be better? If you're curious about whatever happened to Corfam: The Wonderful World of Chemistry was actually about all sorts of DuPont products. As smiley actors and actresses sang "The Happy Plastic Family," audience members sat in Antron-Fabrilite chairs on Nylon carpets, watching the performers in front of a Mylar curtain. But Corfam, a new synthetic leather, was the star of the show. Promoted as having the feel and durability of leather, Corfam shoes also were water-repellent and were supposed to never need shining - attributes that inspired DuPont to proclaim that soon 25 percent of America's footwear would be made of Corfam. But then the other shoe dropped: The plastic was so unyielding that you could never, ever, break in a pair of Corfam shoes. People hated 'em. After seven years, DuPont told its wonder shoe to take a walk, at a cost of $100 million.
  8. e-bay offerings

    Wos - I guess you wanted a lot for this! I've seen them go for much less.