70’s Rock Instrumentals, Baby!

I grew up near an amusement park, Seabreeze, that had a ride called the Gyrosphere, which was really the “scramber” under a dome. First you had to wait in this weird, five sided room (not an octagon.. a.. oh hell) until the ride operator let you into the ride area. When the ride started, the lights went off and this blaring rock music would come on with freaky pictures appearing on the sides of the tent dome. It was pretty scary for a young kid who didn’t know what to expect. The music really set the mood. I found out today that it was the song “Fire On High” by The Electric Light Orchestra. I think now they play “Twilight Zone” by 2Unlimited, unless something has changed.

Now, I had heard “Fire On High” on the radio before, but I never knew who it was by. My first memory of hearing it on the radio was on the way home from a Girl Scout meeting (Yes, I was a Girl Scout for 10 years thank you very much). My friend, Anne, was in the backseat with me and we started freaking out, “Hey, that’s the song they play in the Gyrosphere! Cool!” My dad thought it sounded familiar, but couldn’t remember the name of the song.

I was lucky enough to catch the name of the song this morning after I heard it on an Erie, PA rock station. The folks in the Legislative office helped me figure out who the artist was. I must own this song. I can’t believe I have to buy an ELO album to do it. And don’t say I can download it, because I’m just all thumbs when it comes to the various download programs out there.

Figure Skating Debacle

The controversy about the judging of the figure skating pairs competition at the Olympics has been making the rounds in County Government. The Law Department got into it the other day and was very upset about the whole thing. They all agree that the Canadian pair was robbed and the Russians are not really doing themselves any favours. In fact, they’re of the opinion that this sets Russia back miles when it comes to shedding their Cold War image. I think the phrase, “Your mother wears combat boots!” was shouted at one point. Hm. I’m of the opinion that something very fishy is going on indeed. And it’s also the first time I even knew the names of any skating pair. But I really only know their last names: Sale and Pelletier. I saw both of them on Larry King’s talk show. Pelletier has a sexy Canadian accent. You just kind of want to roll around in it. I don’t mean literally! It’s just fun to listen to.

Monday Night Trivia Update

I found out today that The Old Toad still holds a trivia night. You can go read the questions from this past Monday’s frivolities at the trivia site. Cool.