The History of The Muisc Express

The origins of the Music Express is not clear.What we do know is that it is an amusement park and carnival ride designed by Moser Rides of Germany. Several near-identical ride designs are also produced by other companies; Musik Express by American companies Bertazzon and Majestic Rides, Himalaya by American company Wisdom Rides, German company Mack, and French company Reverchon, and Silver Streak by Wisdom Rides. This ride is a modern adaption of the famous Harry Traver Caterpillar rides.

The ride features twenty 3-passenger cars connected in a circle. These cars rotate on a track with alternating sloped and flat sections. Rotation is possible in both a backwards and forwards direction, as the ride is manually operated. The ride is powered by 4 DC motors, and can reach a maximum speed of 12 rotations per minute.

The riders in each car are restrained by a single solid lap bar that is locked across the body of the car; making the ride unsuitable for young children or people of short stature. The bar must be manually locked or unlocked, and only locks in one position. Lights and music are also controlled by the operator, which (as the name suggests) contribute heavily to the ride experience. Most parks and carnivals require all riders to be at least 42 inches or even taller, depending on circumstances and ride design.

Most Music Expresses are built with a backdrop dividing the rear third of the ride from the front two-thirds. This backdrop, normally covered in artwork and lights, and providing a mild headchopper-like effect as the riders enter and exit the rear section. As this blocks lines of sight, additional staff are required to safely supervise this ride in operation.

At at least Dorney Park's Musik Express, written above are the words "Mit Musik Alles Gesse Besser", which, loosely translated, is German for "With music, all go better." Find out more about this popular ride at: www.bertazzon-america.com/musik-express.php

Research info gathered at: www.wikipedia.org

Now, here's a poem that's an amusement ride too:


Hairnet & Underwear

Perhaps merely listening

Morning doves hidden in the honeysuckle

Bacon unwrapped from butcher's paper

Zippered compartments of fresh underwear

Two tin cans of ladyfingers

Shelved mason jars of glass eyes

The snap in an archer's bow

Wooden oars that riddle the water

Waitresses chattering in hairnets

Apple pie & fireworks & gnats

Fiddle contest rain or shine

Especially in this one stop-light town


Poem first published at: http://www.dreamvirus.com/
Visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and personal blog: http://www.copyat5.blogspot.com/
Copyright 2007 by Maurice Oliver. All Rights Reserved.

The History of Chair-O-Planes

The Chair-O-Planes, sometimes called a swing carousel or wave swinger, is a fairground ride that is a variation on the carousel in which the chairs are suspended on chains from the rotating top of the carousel. As the rotation speed of the Chair-O-Planes increases, the chairs are thrown outwards by centrifugal force. On some versions, particularly on the Wave Swingers the rotating top of the carousel also tilts for additional variations of motion.

Having made peace with Germany, it was from here as well as America that many of the new rides of the 1920s were to come from. Possibly the precursor of modern thrill rides was the "The Whip" built in the United States by W.F. Mangels Co of Coney Island. A few examples found their way to Britain, but much more numerous in the early days were Chair-o- Planes. Although a small number of these were built in England, most of them were imported from Germany where they were built by several companies, including Bothmann of Gotha, Saxony. The origin of the ride is not clear. But it is known that this type of swings ride was present at even the earliest amusement parks. At Idora Park in Oakland, California, in 1908, the ride was called Flying Swing, but appears to be the same principle.

Loudoun Castle Theme Park in Scotland claims that its moon shaped ride, "The Plough", is the largest Chair-O-Plane in the world. The Plough was originally called Apollo 14 and was owned by the Bembom family, operating in their Ponypark Slagharen in Holland during the late seventies. It had gondolas travelling around the outside of the ride. When moved to Dreamland in England (then called "Bembom Brothers"), it was reconstructed into a Chair-O-Plane and named Heatwave. Later on, Henk Bembom moved Heatwave to his new park, Loudoun Castle, where it was renamed "The Plough" and painted green.

Most of the swing carousel rides in North America are located at amusement parks. They are usually made by Zierer (which calls the ride Wave swinger), although some are made by Bertazzon (which calls the ride Swing Carousel) or Zamperla (which calls the ride Flying Carousel). Find out more at: http://www.bertazzon-america.com/

Research info gathered at: www.wikipedia.org

Now, here's a poem you can swing on:


Erodots

Unfortunately, in

the original version

no mention is made

of sensitive passages,

but later, in a fax of

memory red lights

blink, thrills are

misquoted, and a

kettle boils as goose

steps march pass

predestination to

a place where every

face is a gesture

and a small crowd

of accusing fingers

point at the parade.


Poem first published at: www.ravenpress.com/alba
Visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and music blog: http://www.medleymakersant.blogspot.com/
Copyright 2007 by Maurice Oliver. All Rights Reserved.

The History of the Carousel

Back in the 1100's, Arabian and Turkish horsemen played a game on horseback. They took it very seriously... so seriously that Italian and Spanish crusaders who watched, described the contest as a "little war" or garosello and carosella respectively. The crusaders brought the game back to Europe where it became, in time, an extravagant display of horsemanship and finery that the French called carrousel.

About 300 years ago, some frenchman got the idea to build a device to train young noblemen in the art of ring-spearing. His device consisted of carved horses and chariots suspended by chains from arms radiating from a centerpole. This was probably the beginning of the carousel as we have come to know it.

By the late 1700's, there were numerous carousels built solely for amusement scattered throughout Europe. They were small and light.. . their size and weight limited by what could readily be move by man, mule, or horsepower. These limitations were removed with the invention of the steam engine.

Gustav Dentzel was the man who pioneered the modern carousel in America ... in the 1860's. Many talented men followed his lead and their creations became the centerpiece of hundreds of amusement parks that sprung up in the cities and resorts of the United States.

None of the old carousels of Europe could match the product of this group of American craftsmen. Ingenious men all, they set their own precedents. Their carousels were bigger and more elaborately housed. Their animals and chariots were more beautifully carved and in a richer variety of styles. There were war horses, parade horses, Indian ponies, and horses straight out of a child's dream. There were animals of the jungle, the plains, the farm and the forest. There were even dogs, cats, teddy bears, and mythical beasts. Any creature remotely rideable could be found on our carousels.

The golden age of the American carousel lasted until the great depression of the 1930's. With the decline of amusement parks and the economy in general, used carousels satisfied the small market. The few remaining companies closed or moved on to other products. Many carousels were abandoned or destroyed.

As the economy improved, so did the technology for producing carousels. No longer would the labor-intensive carving be done. Now, cast alluminum and later fiberglass would produce the animals. Technology also was creating larger and more exciting amusement rides. The carousel was no longer the centerpiece, but now a "childrens ride"

In the 1970's, interest was renewed in carousel animals as a beautiful collector items. Respected as fine woodcarving and the ultimate decorator item, the value of surviving animals went from a few hundred to several thousand dollars in a decade. Antique dealers purchased and dismantled many carousels for the profit that could be made. This trend continues to this day.

Of the more than 4,000 carousels built in America during the "golden age", fewer than 150 exist intact today. The IMCA is working to make sure this number does not go down, but actually increases as more carousels are taken out of storage, restored, and placed back in public operation. Find out more about them at: http://www.carousels.com/

Research info gathered at: www.wikipedia.org

Now, a poem you can ride on:


The Into Or On

She thinks she's Harry Houdini's bathrobe.

Waves lapping at the hem. Her wrists. Women
who. Cannes in June, asleep on the cot. Or
Sunday strollers in the park. Stop. Rewind.
A room hushed or hovering into darkness. Time
written on a doorknob. We bolt upright with
7 AM coating our ears. Maybe to eavesdrop on
the couple in the aisle seat. Flowerpots on
the patio. The murky summer afternoons of sweat
beads or sky puddles. A cocktail lounge where everyone
is subtle red. The spectacle of watching
animals mark off their territory. A children's
choir singing in the courtyard. Suitcases full
of polyester. Landscape is like resembling mirrors.
Perhaps micro dung. Or fruit imported from one
hand to another. His palm. A train pulling out
of the station. From someplace myself. Oily
gears rotating a tiny box. Then other times,
just bending an elbow could be considered global.


Poem first published at: http://42opus.com
Visit my ezine at: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and music blog: http://www.copyat5.blogspot.com/
Copyright 2007 by Maurice Oliver. All Rights Reserved.

The History Of The Roller Coaster

Way back in the 18th century Russia's Catherine the Great was sitting around one summer wishing it were cold. She missed those days when Slavs could hop into small carts and ride down a 70-foot hill of ice. What was an empress to do when the snow melted? After much thought she had an answer: add wheels.

Fast forward to the heat of today. Somewhere out there people are waiting to ride the descendants of Catherine's coasters. But now those wooden carts are made of steel and carry names like Goliath, Millennium Force, and Alpengeist. People still seek speed but also modern thrills like loops, turns, and drops that make them question that chili dog/cotton candy lunch combo.

From Disneyland to Disneyworld, people are screaming through the loops of old favorites and dropping fast from the even higher hills. In recent years, park owners have spent up to $15 million on new roller coasters that boast the titles of biggest, longest, or fastest.

Coney Island
In 1884 preacher LaMarcus A. Thompson decided to build a new ride at New York's Coney Island to divert attention from the local beer gardens. He built two parallel tracks, with individual cars that climbed 15 feet and zoomed by at 4 miles per hour.

The plan worked. People swarmed to Coney Island to both ride and watch Thompson's "inclined-plane railway." Charging a nickel a ride, Thompson paid for the entire project in just three weeks. And by 1888 he had built nearly 50 roller coasters in the United States and Europe.

The Feel of the Industrial Revolution
"Thompson recognized and exploited all the ingredients of a successful amusement ride," writes Judith A. Adams in The American Amusement Park Industry. "His coasters combined an appearance of danger with actual safety, thrilled riders with exhilarating speed, and allowed the public to intimately experience the Industrial Rovolution's new technologies of gears, steel, and dazzling electric lights."

Thompson's ride also caught the attention of other entrepreneurs. To draw crowds they advertised improvements like larger hills, chain lifts, and oval tracks. By 1900 there were hundreds of roller coasters across the country.

The roller coaster continued to flourish through the 1920s. As speeds increased so did the need for safety features like under-track wheels, lap bars, and "no standing" signs. But the
Great Depression and WWII diverted the public's attention from amusement parks. Money for entertainment was scarce, and wood and rubber were needed for the war effort.

The Real Coaster Boom
Unlike its cousin the carousel, the roller coaster experienced a rebirth when Walt Disney opened the nation's first theme park, Disneyland. In addition to increased speed and new heights, Disney's roller coaster provided a smooth ride using a new tubular steel. It attracted entire families, not just eccentric thrill seekers. Other theme parks would follow Disney's lead, each including new rides with broad appeal. And by the 1970s a "coaster boom" was underway as teams of engineers designed and constructed new rides. Find out more about them at: http://coasterville.com/history.htm

Research info gathered from: www.wikipedia.org

Now, here's a poem for thrill seekers:


Or A Definition, Beyond Rescue

Almost anything on the horizon.

Smells from a bakery shop. Leaves

that shade us. Wild deer bedding

down for the night. Dust on a window

sill. Vegetable stands on the roadside.

Sunday afternoons in the garden.

Rowing on a lake in the woods. Grass

growing to the waters edge. A car

speeding by in the diamond lane. A

Rococo boulevard. Sewage plants.

Green stems. Slaughter houses.

Boards for roof or floor. Under an ad
on the subway. Iron locomotives. Tin

boxes. Scattering earth with a plow.

Idle cylinders. A plume of steam. The

red green blue of lips laughing. Or

perhaps several harbors that pierce

all that. Patiently waiting in his raincoat.


Poem first published at: http://www.arbutus.net/
Visit my ezine at: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and music blog: http://www.medleymakersant.blogspot.com/
Copyright 2007 by Maurice Oliver. All Rights Reserved.

The History Of The Ferris Wheel

Everyone likes to ride on a Ferris Wheel (unless you happen to be afraid of heights). But how many people actually know the history behind perhaps one of the greatest carnival rides ever. Well, here's a little bit of how the idea got started:

The Ferris Wheel was introduced to the world at the World's Colombian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. It was built to surpass the novelty of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, a landmark exhibition in 1889 in France. The first Ferris Wheel was built by Pittsburgh bridgemaker George Ferris. His knowledge of struts, beams and supports, as well as a skilled mastery of foundation and balance of larger constructions made him the man for the job.

Ferris conceived of the idea of the Wheel by looking the a structure of the Merry-go-Round. A popular part of the carnival, it seemed to generate large revenue, with a relatively simple structure. In response to the Eiffel Tower, Ferris knew that his invention had to be very large. Ferris concluded that a vertical wheel would make the same splash as a horizontal one, and he set about drawing up plans for a wheel that would make every wheel known to man look small.

The Ferris Wheel cost $380,000.00 to make and stood at 264 feet. After its execution, however, it grossed twice as much in ride sales, making it a very profitable member of the exhibition. The diameter of the wheel was 250 feet, making it the largest known wheel in American at the time. It also contained an axle of 45 feet, which was unheard of. The Ferris Wheel was powered by 2,000 engine worth of horsepower, and it contained 36 wooden cars that were suspended by iron clamps to the structure of the Wheel and axle. It held 2160 passengers and stopped on every second revolution to let a new group of people in its cars.

It was built by the Detroit Bridge and Iron works, and it ran at .50 a ride. It was transferred to St. Louis for another Exposition in 1904, and after that, the world's first Ferris Wheel was taken down and sold to various metal dealers.Stories of the Chicago unveiling of the Wheel are tinged with nostalgia. Many reporters were present for the first execution of the wheel, to see George Ferris and his wife christening their creation. A company of reporters and the inventor entered the cars at 6:30 on June 16th, the date of the first unveiling. Dressed in ball gowns and carrying champagne and cigars, they toasted each revolution of the cars and gave several rounds of applause for the inventor. Ferris himself made a quiet speech, then sat in the car with his wife for about five revolutions.

Ferris wheels are still very popular today. In fact, a carnival is not considered a carnival without the Ferris Wheel. Because this invention was an American contribution to the World's Fair, it has become a staple of the fairground. The Wheels that exist today are model replicas of the original Ferris Wheel. The largest Ferris Wheel ever is being built in Beijing, China for the Summer Olympic Games in 2008. It will stand 208m high (see digital design insert). My favorite Ferris Wheel is London Eye in London, England (see large image above). To find out more go to: http://www.londoneye.com/

Research info gathered at: www.wikipedia.org

Now, here's a poem that offers a splendid view:

Paranomia, Reclining In A Hammock

Notice the wading stork as it dips for crayfish-

or the sound of a bamboo flute hitting a high note that sails on
the wind or imagine the feel of a kimono draped over a silk
screen panel that depicts water lilies with rays of sun reflecting
off it or maybe a whole life etched in the eye of a moth's wing
before it turns to powder or the whole world threaded into the
silver web of a spider then detached from any real life or soil sea
sand shore with hardy tubers deep in red clay or packed with
demons or picture a dingy with legs dangling over the side or
leaping sardines glinting without hearts and continue this image
indefinitely or at least until the place becomes somewhere else in
a passing fog that dims any brighter lightor a half-moon after the
avalanche on horseback with a map and compass wearing white
gloves to the opera where you wait for the applause to stop then
elegantly walk towards the exit sign leaving your fancy program
under the seat.

Poem first published at: http://www.niederngasse.com/

Visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/

and music blog: http://www.copyat5.blogspot.com/
Copyright 2007 by Maurice Oliver. All Rights Reserved.

Is Germany Still Divided?

Today's article in the International Spiegel online caught my eye, mainly because I happen to be living in Germany when the Wall that divided East and West fall 18 years ago today, Friday November 9th. Here's some of the things the article said:

For the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, SPIEGEL polled over 1,000 Germans who had grown up on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The anniversary also marks the day on which children born on Nov. 9, 1989 will become legal adults -- the first generation to have grown up in the country following the collapse of communist East Germany and its reunification with West Germany and the disturbing conclusion is that, 18 years after the Wall came down, Germany remains as divided as ever.

Together with pollster TNS Forschung, SPIEGEL recently conducted a poll of two generations of eastern and western Germans in order to provide a progress report on the extent to which unification has taken place within the national psyche. Does the proverbial Wall still stand in Germans' heads nearly two decades after reunification?

Poll respondents included 500 people from the 14-24 age group. When the Wall fell, the oldest people in this group were just six years old -- too young to get any serious notion of what life was like in a country divided by the Cold War.

In addition, SPIEGEL polled 500 representatives of the generation that were the parents of the post-reunification youth. This enabled SPIEGEL to determine differences between the younger and older generations and their thinking about reunification. The results show that, even 18 years after the fall of the Wall, there is still no such thing as a truly unified Germany.

The poll found:

1. Eastern Germans are less satisfied with and less optimistic about their situation than those living in the states that made up the former West Germany.

2. They are also less convinced about the virtues of democracy than their western counterparts -- with many believing that socialism is a good idea that just hasn't been implemented well in the past.

3. A full 92 percent of 35- to 50-year-old eastern Germans believe that one of the greatest attributes of the former East Germany was its social safety net, with 47 percent of their children in the east believing the same thing. By contrast, only 26 percent of western youth and 48 percent of their parents expressed the view that East Germany had a strong social welfare system compared to today's.

Part of the problem is identity. The study found that 67 percent of both eastern and western Germans felt they had different identities from their counterparts. When their parents' generation was asked the same question, 82 percent said eastern Germans were different from western Germans. Nevertheless, differences between eastern and western German youth are no longer as dramatic as they were within their parents' generation.

Many younger eastern Germans see the reunited country as a place where their parents are having trouble finding their way. And although they for the most part never experienced life under socialism, their thinking appears to have been partly molded by their parents' situations and the stories they have shared with them about life in East Germany. Of course, that generation was not exposed to the negative aspects of life under communist rule -- like long food lines or harrassment by the police state.

Still, positive sentiment towards certain aspects of the former East German remains high. A full 60 percent of eastern German youth surveyed said they felt it was "bad that nothing has remained of the things one could be proud of in East Germany." Find out more about the nation with the world's third largest economy at: http://www.germanplaces.com/

Research info gathered at: www.spiegel.de

Now, here's a poem that has been reunited too:


Mingled is Wild

I dream a white tornado in tails.

Trees wave us past. Candle wax becomes a

minefield. Rain yourself on a leaf. We scratch

out our names with birch bark. Lopsided moon.

Brought to you by the markers of Geritol...

The wine of sparkling stars.

A morning packed in cardboard boxes...

giraffe necks periscope to view

redwinged blackbirds be-bop through

(as ripples move across a stream)

Melting snow grows up to be a river.


Poem first published at: http://www.megaera.org/
Visit my ezine at: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and music blog: http://www.copyat5.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2007 by Maurice Oliver. All Rights Reserved.

Moive Tip: Twin Falls Idaho

I try to watch one DVD every night. There's normally not a night that I miss and I can do it for free, thanks to the great selection to be found at the main public library in Portland. The one I watched last night was exceptional. The 1999 movie was written and produced by the Polish Brothers, Mark and Michael. The identical twins were born in El Centro, CA in 1970 and are both writers, producers and actors.

They play Siamese twins who live in a neat little room in a rundown hotel. They have left the circus because Francis, the weaker of the two is about to die. Blake called a hooker who comes over and spends the night, sleeping in the chair (she is about to be kicked out of her apartment) and wakes to find Francis (the one with the fewer organs) sick. She calls one of her clients, a doctor, who comes over and examines the young men then writes a prescription which only delays the enividable.

Throughout the movie I kept holding my breath. Not like being underwater or anything like that but more like kissing the love of your life or holding your own child in your arms for the first time. Like that. I had to remind myself to breathe. I had to remind myself that the two young men were not actually joined together.

Twin Falls is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. Finely crafted to the extreme, delicately directed, with performances that absolutely broke my heart. The Polish brothers have created something truly remarkable here, and Michele Hicks, in her first film performance, is amazingly stunning and talented. For someone to come come up with this plot is astounding, but for someone to have played it off so convincingly is tremendous.

Twin Falls is definitely a work of art and a "must see" movie for anyone looking for a different yet truely tender love story! Find out more about the movie at http://www.imdb.com/

Research info gathered at: www.imdb.com

Now, here's a poem with twice the flavor:


Blatant Truths. Succulent Infrequencies.

Okay class. Listen up. Here’s a list of inbred

contractions that absolutely must be included:

-A camera walking into the picture frame.

-A series of thoughts that arrive on a conveyor belt.

-Rusty nails absorbed in steely concentration.

-Banjo lessons held inside a Trojan horse.

-A pocket handkerchief with a wrinkled brow.

-A vase wearing a double-breasted suit.

-Algeria being put into the cargo of a plane.

-Omaha being denied a life insurance policy.

-A lovely sonnet you can fold in half.

-A bullet about to break-dance on a snowflake.

-Glass used in a slipper with no real consequences.

-Someone else’s face staring from your autobiography.


First published online at: http://www.defenestrationmag.net/
visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and music blog: http://www.medelymakersant.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2007 by Maurice Oliver. All Rights Reserved.