Jul. 12th, 2016

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And the Bea(s)t Goes On.



In downtown Minneapolis, some off-duty police walked off their part-time jobs with the Minnesota Lynx since some players wore Black Lives Matter t-shirts. Which the cops are entitled to do. It's their right. Minnesota's an at-will employment state. But then the Minneapolis Police Union president made some comments, too. And those made my head spin. Butcha know what? I might wanna head to Target Center for some girlsketball. Anybody wanna join me...? Should be plenty of seats! It's a terrible draw, ya know.

KARE 11 reports receipt of police scanner audio from a viewer. If the audio is authentic, it discloses Philando was pulled over because of his 'wide nosed' resemblance to someone who'd robbed a gas station. Again, there's no proof this is uncut audio from the incident. If it is, welll...


But that's nowhere near as surprising as the Kansas City Area Cop who threatened the life of a 5 year-old girl.
Kudos to Overland Park PD for decisive action, immediate investigation/termination and possible criminal charges.
That's how these situations should be handled.

There's some bad seeds in the bunch. Always have been.
But when we stoop from bullying black MEN to threatening the lives of little children?
This is a new low.



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Why B Hates ValleyFair



The simplest reason could have been that We Visit Better Parks. Not Parks with More Coasters--mind you, that's also true--but Better Parks. Parks that are labors of love, even if they're corporate-owned. Parks that aren't mules, servicing the debt of larger parks. Parks that aren't so damned hog-tied to ROI, it's more important than their guests having a great time when they visit.

But there's more to it. Sure, it's a letdown when we return from visiting Six Flags Great America for days on end (every other year) or Dollywood (few weeks ago) or Magic Springs (me, a few days before Dollywood) or Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Wet 'n Wild Splashtown (me again, two weeks before Dollywood). Problem is, VF takes what little they have and run things the Cedar Fair way. And she's had more than enough of THAT shit.

At this time of year, ValleyFair's mostly an excuse to enjoy weekend brunch at Mystic Lake. I might ride a thing or two before we hit the waterpark. B wouldn't mind doing three things:

1) Cooling off in the wavepool
2) Floating in the lazy river for a bit
3) Dozing off under an umbrella

Number Three's out of the question, as ValleyFair simply won't buy lounge chairs for guests. Guess they're afraid that folks won't spend hundreds on rental cabanas if they can find a place to comfortably sit.







What really truly grinds Brenda's goose? The sight of guests simply trying to sit where they can. Look at the folks trying to find shade under the tree. What's behind that tree? A 'sand' volleyball court. Sixty feet by thirty feet of gritty dirt that NO ONE uses that could be covered with chairs and umbrellas.

By the way? There's a second volleyball court nearby. No one uses that either.








More guests, no chairs. This is worse than it looks. You see, there's a area to the left of these slides that COULD have been used for a couple-three rows of loungers extending as far back as the stairs for those slides. Instead? They've fenced it entirely out of the waterpark. There's maybe six or seven round tables for parkgoers instead. Almost no one uses them. Even on peak days.








You could argue those towel-laying guests might prefer sunning. Maybe. Maybe not.
But how do you explain THIS? No shade. No seats. Families trying to get by where they can.
I'm not going to zoom in on the two mothers with infants on the ground in this shot.
But they're in there. Is THAT what you call 'Best Day Ever?'








Here's the line for the Lazy River. It's not an exceptionally good Lazy River.
One entrance. One exit. No appreciable shade. No refreshing water features.
Nevertheless, there isn't much else to do.
Lest you're that seated guy; then it's a Spank Bank Buffet. But I digress.










See all those tubes? At this point in time, there are literally more empty tubes in the water than people waiting for them. I kid you not. We counted. SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH THIS. Terribly wrong.


And this is why our visits get shorter and shorter. Cuz B reaches that point where she slips from hating it again to utterly despising it. Then she has go, cuz it's no longer fun.






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