This Off the Beaten Path is about stuff from the past. Whether it’s a former amusement park left abandoned or a piece of history as it is today.
For Sale
Most people know of the famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. His style was unique and his buildings today are prized. Some of his facilities are on public display as tourism attractions or commercial buildings. But have you ever wondered what it might be to actually own one or live in one? Well now you can! In Minnesota sits an original Frank Lloyd Wright home, and it’s for sale!
Dreamland … Abandoned
Sometimes amusement parks abandon portions of the park. Yes, I know that’s hard to believe. Even Disney World has two or three areas, from an island to a water park, they just stopped using and “left to rot.” This may be the biggest one I’ve seen. From Japan sat Nara Dreamland. CNN reported on this park including some incredible pictures of how nature took over after it was closed. I understand it was demolished last year, but here’s the link and pictures from photographer Romain Veillon.
And if you were curious about the Disney properties, here are the links for Discovery Island and River Country — both abandoned.
Your Record Collection
Remember when we all collected records? Maybe hitting the local drug store or music shop for that copy of “Shaving Cream” by Benny Bell. Or the latest album from Styx or ABBA? Well albums or vinyl never really quite died. Oh sure, they might have been on oxygen and ready to kick the bucket, but then something happened: people decided that the analog sound of vinyl (and those pops and clicks) STILL had something really appealing about them. The purists even say that it’s simply “more real.” Though not many “slip cue” a 45 rpm on the radio any more, vinyl is alive and doing well. Here’s a neat story about a new pressing plant in Detroit.
MS-DOS Demise, Not!
So the demise of DOS a few months ago was premature. From reader Pete Challenger comes this … MS-DOS lives on!
Lost Cleveland
Cleveland is sometimes considered the birth place of Rock’n Roll. As the story goes, this is because this was the location where Alan Freed coined the term as a DJ. Cleveland has a great history of rock, and this link reflect that.
And finally …
Sometimes we get “down” on all the bad news we hear. The Ohio University Scripps School of Journalism teaches that NEWS can be seen as an acronym — Noteworthy Events Without Speculation — so it should be remembered that news doesn’t necessarily have to be all bad. Here’s 10 good news stories to brighten your day.
If you stumble across a good or unusual website that might be of interest, please don’t hesitate to send me the link and any info you might have about it. My email address is dan_slentz@yahoo.com.