Rock of Ages quarry, located in Graniteville, Vermont, is a popular maker of tombstones and monuments, and a great stop if you are driving thru Vermont.
The quarry has a few different things to see:
Quarry – The main part of this facility is the tour that takes you up into the mountain, to overlook the quarry, where they work on extracting the rock from the mountain. They use diamond saws and water jets to cut thru it, taking out large squares to take away by truck.
If you look at the picture below, you can see three bodies of water, all in different states of use. On the bottom left you have a fully used and dirtied body of water. On the right side, you have bright white water, which is where they are currently working out of. And finally, in the back, you have a fresh pond that they haven’t tapped into yet.
Plant – The plant is where you can take the self-guided factory tour, and this is the area where they work on the materials, doing everything from sawing and sandblasting, to polishing and precision cutting.
Bowling Alley – Nestled in the bushes outside the factory and gift shop is quartz bowling alley, with rubber bowling balls. You’ve never seen a ball roll so smoothly over a surface, as it heads down towards the pins at the end.
The end of the world is near, and 1,600 years after King Arthur, Lancelot, and Merlin, the last knight of the round table has been crowned, in the form of Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), and Optimus Prime has gone rogue while trying to fix his home planet of Cybertron, with Quintessa.
I’m gonna rely on physics and mathematics to save the planet, not mysticism, fairies, and some hobgoblins.
This movie is definitely not as bad as a lot of people made it out to be. Action packed, and not a lot else, at times during Transformers fight scenes it feels like a video game.
A decent story, and the typical male/female flirt dynamic that you see in every movie these days, between Cade and Viviane (Laura Haddock).
Like all these series’, they introduce the really annoying character, this time in the form of Cogman (Jim Carter), who is equally funny and annoying, and a butler to Sir Edmund Burton (Anthony Hopkins). Meanwhile, Izabella (Isabela Moner) and Sqweeks are an interesting add.
You’re small, and you are ugly. No one’s gonna see you coming. — Story of my life.
Other big names showing up in this movie, in person or in voice, are Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Stanley Tucci, Tony Hale, Josh Duhamel, and John Turturro.
I do find it a bit funny that they give some background to Bumblebee in this movie, as they prepare for his solo movie with Hailee Steinfeld, at the end of this year.
This movie is solid for an action movie, getting a 7 out of 10.
The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory, located in Shelburne, VT is the home to one of the more famous Teddy Bears, and this walkthrough gives you a brief history of the bear, and the making of each one.
The original one made by John Sortino was stiff, and not cuddly. But he wanted to make them movable, so he added in joints.
They show the full swatch of fur, which they then lay down the stencils on, and cut out all their little parts. With all the extra space, they make tiny bear buttons, that go over your pin for the tour.
The factory makes approximately 750 bears a day, each sewn shut by hand after they are jointed and stuffed.
When you get ideas of what you want your bear to look like, with custom clothing or writing on their paws, all you gotta do is contact them, and they can work to make anything happen.
All their bears have a lifetime guarantee, regardless if they were run over by a lawnmower or eaten by a dog, and when they get sent into the hospital, they get put on an appropriate honey IV drip.
This tour is geared for kids, but fun for adults too!
I recently signed up for SiriusXM Radio, and it really does change the way I listen to radio…and it’s given me a lot of great laughs with their comedy lineups.
While my vehicle doesn’t have a physical XM Radio, I was able to sign up for it as a “Streaming Only” version, which works on a computer or mobile device.
Because I don’t have an actual radio, the plan is missing some of the channel options, but here are some features (as per my plan):
Channel selection is fantastic, including (but not limited to):
Music – Top songs in all genres and from all decades…and channels that are specific to artists (or songs similar to them), such as Garth Brooks, Dave Matthews, and U2
Comedy – Comedy Central, Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy, Kevin Hart, all have their own themed channels, as well as some random standup channels
Sports – Designated Channels just for ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Soccer, PGA, and home play-by-play for most sports…other plans have ones for NASCAR and MLB
News – Full news coverage from Fox News/CNN/MSNBC, business from Fox Business/CNBC/Bloomberg, World News from the BBC, and even a Fox News Specific Channel just for SiriusXM “Headlines 24/7”
Howard Stern – Not my cup of tea, but channels dedicated just for him
It runs on 4G, so if you are in the mountains and lose signal…
Random invitations to exclusive events, such as U2 at The Apollo, or a private Shawn Mendes event!
I got a great deal for my first six months, well worth the trial!
Downtown Montreal is a flash to an old French city, as you walk the cobblestone streets and explore the markets.
Some of the highlights of the downtown area include City Hall and the famous Notre-Dame Basilica.
Meanwhile, you can wander down to the old port, where things really start to get fun. At the edge of it all is a clock tower, with a little door in the side, and 192 steps to the top. Once ships pass this tower, they have officially entered the Port of Montreal.
Among the things you can see out there (if you peak just under the bridge) is a Six Flags, and just a great view of the Saint Lawrence river.
As for the entertainment in the port, there’s a slew of things to do, from ziplines to an aerial course, and a giant Ferris Wheel that creates a great view.
And finally, there is a Montreal Science Centre, which until the middle of September has a DreamWorks Animation exhibit, showing an adventure from sketch to screen.
Elle Evans (Joey King), a cute Selena Gomez looking girl, and Lee Flynn (Joel Courtney) were friends from the minute that they were born together in the same hospital at the same minute. But she’s had a crush on his brother Noah (Jacob Elordi) since she first learned what that was…except not hitting on relatives is Rule #9 of their friendship.
But not only can she not date him, it seems like Noah is what’s always standing in the way of her other dates, threatening them off from what he sees as his “little sister”.
But when Lee and Elle propose a Kissing Booth for the school carnival fundraiser, can she convince Noah to be one of the kissers? And will Elle finally get her first kiss? Or will she mess up and lose both Lee and Noah in the process?
Netflix has been on a roll with these romantic-comedies, doing really well with them, as I’ve previously talked about with When We First Met and Set It Up, and this one will get an 8 out of 10.
Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Home of the 1976 Olympics, the former home of the Montreal Expos, the current home of some Blue Jays preseason games, and host to many events including the CFL, 2015 Women’s World Cup, and future proposed site of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Olympic pool and gym is still in use, open to the public at an incredible rate of $50(CAD)/year for membership. The pool is regulation 50m in length, but is used the wide way for regular people, to create more swimmable laps for us plebs.
The pool floor is movable so they can make it shallower/deeper as needed.
There are also designated areas with a diving pool, a polo pool, as well as weights and a judo section.
And then you get to the Stadium itself, which was setting up for an Expo while I was there. It is a huge space, much larger than MSG and Barclays that we have here in NY, and features a closed roof that amazingly has no beams on it.
As for how that roof is held up? They built the Montreal Tower, the world’s tallest inclined building in the world, measuring at 500+ feet, and attached strings/ropes to the end of it, to hold the weight of the roof.
You can take an elevator to the top of the tower, which provides great views in all directions. From the Old Port to the Mountain, and as seen in the picture below, an overview of Saputo Stadium, home of MLS’s Montreal Impact, and the Olympic Villiage, the pyramid looking building.
Once done with these buildings, make sure to walk thru Olympic Park. This includes the biodome (used as the Velodrome for the games), the Maurice Richard Arena (home of boxing and wrestling), and on the far side of the park is the current home of the 1976 Olympic Torch.
The torch provides a podium to stand on, and a great photo op with the stadium and tower behind you.
As for the Olympics Logo from 1976 (seen below), it is multi-layered.
There is a podium at the top for the three medal winners
8 Comedians. 15-minute sets. An opportunity to show their wares before the Netflix crowd, in hopes of getting some national exposure, and possibly a bigger Netflix deal.
This season is pretty good, and overall better than the two seasons of The Standups (One and Two), although those offered some great acts.
Each of the eight people gave us a little taste of what they are about, and Part 2 at a later date will include: Aisling Bea, JR De Guzman, Janelle James, Josh Johnson, Matteo Lane, Max Silvestri, Emma Willmann, and Kate Willett.
Below I mention some of their topics and a quote (or two) from their act. Give them a watch and enjoy a laugh!
I’ve put them in order of how funny I think they are:
Phil Wang He makes fun of his own name, looks, and accent, passing gas, and scary movies.
Apparently, if you look at me, and like squint really hard…that’s racist.
I’ve gotten to that age where all of my friends start having podcasts. It’s horrible.
Tim Dillon Talks about Instagram, gay runaways, and how he was a tour guide on a double-decker bus in NYC.
I like this city. Everything is on a biscuit, it’s kinda my speed.
Ian Karmel Ian focusing on being Jewish, not Italian (like a chubby Jack Black), dating and breakups, and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Tinder will introduce you to brand new ways to get your feelings hurt, that did not exist before.
Sabrina Jalees Her set focuses on having a new baby, being Sporty Spice, and gender fluidity.
In gay currency and Muslin currency, a baby is ****ing bitcoin.
Michelle Buteau Michelle talks about turning 40, the predators of the #MeToo movement, and getting married.
It’s been an interesting year for me because a lot of my guy friends have just come out…as predators.
Jak Knight Jay jokes about being a father for three hours, the female revolution, and heading home for the holidays.
Remember how fun the Internet was? Remember how silly everyone was? Now everybody needs a political opinion.
Taylor Tomlinson She was a fat kid, discusses basic white girls, and being a woman.
I was an old soul, which is what adults call you when they don’t want to say ‘loser’ in front of your parents.
Sam Jay What she’s learned from Atlanta and New York, Donald Trump and why white people are confusing.
New York is confusing at every turn. Like a bad Sims project…who built this place?
Glow is back for Season 2, and now that the pilot episode is in the bag, the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling are coming in for 20 weeks of their new hit show.
But these girls are in for a rough time as Sam (Marc Maron) wants things his way, all the time, all while trying to figure out how to be a father, as Justine (Britt Baron) takes on a larger role.
Honey, I don’t need your help. I need you to be a f**king actress.
Debbie/Liberty Bell (Betty Gilpin) is taking on a producer role, despite not being a male, and quickly discovering that no one cares. She has to juggle that with her divorce and a personal life that’s slowly falling apart.
Meanwhile, our lead character of Ruth/Zoya the Destroya (Alison Brie) is on Sam’s bad side, after stepping over the line one too many times, and she’s struggling with the network heads as well.
I’m an insecure old man, I get defensive. Sue me.
And if the show these ladies are putting on is doomed to fail anyway, then anything goes with the show…from music videos to makeovers and laboratories to brain loss, as the stories go off the rails…and that’s what makes Episode 8, The Good Twin, one of the tops of the season, as its an actual episode that would’ve aired on K-DTV!
The storyline within the wrestling world is just an added fun part to the great storyline going on in the real world with our gorgeous ladies.
What they brought to the table the first time around holds up, and it’ll get an 8 out of 10.
Mount Royal. The center of Montreal, and a bit like Central Park once you start wandering the paths.
A lot of people make the mistake of walking all the way from the bottom, but the trick is to park up near the Smith House, in the Mount Royal Parking Lot (duh), and save your walking/hiking for Mount Royal Park.
At the top of the mountain is the Mount Royal Chalet, build over 85 years ago, and is a great point to launch your hike. Behind the Chalet is a great viewpoint, overlooking the entire city.
Once you are done gazing, head out into the woods, and seek out the Mount Royal Cross, which is lit by LEDs, and can be changed colors depending what’s happening in the world (consider what’s done at the Empire State Building on a nightly basis).
One thing that helped me on my forest stroll was my phone’s map, and/or a compass. There are very few signs in the paths, and it’s easy to start heading in circles without realizing it.
Aviously 