Happy Fourth of July!

The Great Carousel Hunt: Part the Second

My sister went with me yesterday to the Fashion Island Carousel.

I've seen it before--even taken a couple of pictures--but I've never really looked at it or ridden it.

It's a lovely little carousel, and I was amazed and amused by the number of animals: Not only were there horses, several in full armor, there was a hare, a zebra, a merhorse, an ostrich, a tiger, a pig. And, most likely, one or two others I forgot to mention.

This, of course, gave rise to a great dilemma: I knew I was going to ride, but which animal? They were all lovely; even the pig had quixotic sort of charm. Finally, my sister spoke up in favor of riding the armored horse, and I decided on the hare next to it (It's so much more fun to ride a carousel with someone), and we were off!

The music was rather softer and the motor rather louder than was ideal, but the weather was splendid, the company good, and I'd say the ride was a success.

Afterward, we paid a quick visit to the bookstore where my sister pounced on a Jan Karon book (A Continual Feast: Words of Comfort and Celebration, Collected by Father Tim, I think) which she proceeded to read while we shared gelato down in the food court.

She did surface long enough to help me navigate the roads on the way back--I went straight where I should have turned and turned where I should have gone straight, and ended up hopelessly turned around. Fortunately, she wasn't, so, although we took the long road home, we made it.

All in all, I'd call it a successful chapter of the quest.

Aaaand another lolcat

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Carousel Trivia

The earliest known image of a Carousel is a bas-relief from Byzantium in 500 AD.

From A Pictorial History of the Carousel



I am looking for a reproduction of this image. Apparently it involved baskets rather than horses.

The Great Carousel Hunt: Part the First

Let the record show that the Great Carousel Hunt has begun!

Place: The Balboa Fun Zone, a small amusement-park on the Balboa Peninsula, in place since 1936.

Time: Last Wednesday.

Note: Yes, I still have an appointment to ride it with my sister, but that is all right: The Quest Charter not only permits riding any given carousel more than once, it encourages it.

The Phantom Empire

I watched it again the other night, this time with friends.

It was as wonderfully silly as I remembered.

Note: it is possible to watch it all in one night by fast-forwarding through the songs and plot summaries. I don't really recommend doing so, however. Something is lost when the songs are gone, and it's still quite a marathon.

If possible, give yourself at least two nights, preferably more. It is a serial, after all (On the other hand, something is gained by watching it with other people; compromises are sometimes necessary).

There is a lovely article about it here. I particularly enjoyed the history of the robots--I had already fallen in love with them & decided that I simply must have one. Now, I may have to go find the other two movies they "star" in:

Despite all the time and effort that went into creating Murania, the filmmakers chose not to construct their own robots. In fact, the robots were purchased from the Western Costume Company, a Hollywood institution that began supplying wardrobes to the film industry as early as 1912. The robots, which were primarily made out of cardboard, had been used previously in the Joan Crawford and Clarke Gable musical Dancing Lady (1933), where they were shown infringing upon Crawford’s personal freedoms.

Unlike other films that used robots as menacing villains or easy cannon fodder, the robots in The Phantom Empire were shown helping the citizens of Murania: they operated machinery, forged iron, opened doors, stood guard, and did other manual labor. As Queen Tika asks in the film, “Is that not better than living on the surface; mechanical men doing all the labor?” (The robots survived The Phantom Empire shoot and made a third screen appearance years later in the Columbia serial Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (1951).)

Carousel Hunting

Ok, so going to Disneyland has reminded me of how much I love carousels.

And how few of them I've ridden, even of the ones in the area--it's always "later." So, my mission this summer is to ride as many as I can.

That, of course, means I have to find them, so I'm asking folks to "donate" carousel locations, though I'm sticking to S California & primarily to Orange County.

Carousels I'm aware of and plan on visiting are:

The Disneyland & CA Adventure Carousels (of course).

I'm told there is one at the Santa Ana Zoo

There is the one in the Balboa Fun Zone

Also, there are some at:
San Diego Zoo
Fashion Island
South Coast Plaza

I know there are others, but my googling skills are failing me here. Help?