Posts tagged spending
“Chernobyl Diaries” or, Attack of the Chernobyl Zombies
Jun 2nd
“Attack of the Chernobyl Zombies”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Chernobyl Diaries is a horror movie that takes place at the site of the 1985 Chernobyl disaster of the meltdown of the nuclear reactor.
And of all the horror movies that take place at the site of a nuclear meltdown, this is one of them.
Would you be surprised if I told you that there were six young people involved in the story?
Paul is an American living in Russia after having had some sort of falling out with his family.
Chris is Paul’s brother, who is traveling in Russia to visit Paul, and with him are Chris’s girlfriend Natalie and Natalie’s best friend, Amanda.
And then there are Michael and Zoe, who are tourists from Australia, and who join the group when Paul arranges an “extreme tour” for him and the others to take.
Paul knows a former Russian soldier named Uri, who is now an extreme tour guide, and Uri is going to take the six young people to visit the abandoned city of Pripyat, which used to be the home of the workers at Chernobyl and their families before the nuclear disaster.
Regarding the abandoned city, Uri tells his clients, “Nature has reclaimed its rightful home.”
Would you be surprised if I told you that the abandoned city is not totally abandoned?
After being turned back at the official checkpoint entrance to the city, Uri drives his van and its passengers around the back to his special entrance.
Uri says that the radiation levels are low enough to be safe now, and besides, they are going to spend only one day inside the city.
Would you be surprised if I told you that they end up spending more than one day there?
Okay, they hear a scary noise inside one of the abandoned buildings, and they see something that Uri says he has never seen before on his previous trips to Pripyat.
Now, would you be surprised if I told you that when they get back to Uri’s van to leave that it won’t start?
Would you be surprised if I told you that when darkness falls, bad things start to happen to seven people one by one?
Chernobyl Diaries could have been called “Attack of the Chernobyl Zombies,” and I’m not surprised that I didn’t find it scary and I didn’t like it, either.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Event Will Celebrate Tourism on Florida’s Historic Coast by St. Augustine Channel 1
May 20th
Located midway between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, Florida’s Historic Coast features historic St. Augustine, the outstanding golf and seaside elegance of Ponte Vedra and 42 miles of pristine Atlantic beaches – the same beaches that greeted Ponce de Leon in 1513 when he discovered and named La Florida.
“Tourism is truly the lifeblood of Florida’s Historic Coast,” said Richard Goldman, executive director of the Visitors and Convention Bureau. “Not only does the industry provide more than 11,000 jobs in St. Johns County, the 3.4 million overnight visitors who came here last year spent more than $660 million during their stay on Florida’s Historic Coast. Best of all, this essential economic activity is provided at no cost to local taxpayers. All of our tourism marketing activities are funded through the tourist development tax paid by visitors for overnight lodging. Last year, visitors paid $6.6 million in these ‘bed taxes’ – funds that were used to encourage millions of potential visitors to come here this year, help fund special events and to make improvements to beach and recreation facilities we all enjoy.”
This year’s review of local tourism will have lots of good news for the industry. Nearly every indicator shows impressive increases in the number of visitors and their spending while here. Clearly, the tourism industry has returned to the levels enjoyed prior to the economic downturn that began in 2008. In fact, recent data indicate tourism activity is nearing or exceeding monthly records.
As part of the event, the Visitors and Convention Bureau will review some of their major successes in placing Florida’s Historic Coast on the list of “must-sees” for millions of Americans. Much of this success has resulted from the Bureau’s contract and close working relationship with the Ypartnership advertising agency of Orlando which recently merged with MMG to form MMGY Global and stake their claim as the world’s unquestioned leaders in tourism marketing.
Once again, the centerpiece of the event will be a presentation by tourism visionary Peter Yesawich whose insights into tourism trends are followed closely by travel professionals worldwide. Formerly the chairman of Ypartnership and now the vice chairman of MMGY Global, Peter’s perspective on travel trends and changing consumer behavior, coupled with his intimate knowledge of Florida’s Historic Coast as a tourist destination will provide compelling information that can be successfully applied throughout the local tourism industry.
The State of the Tourism Industry event will also include the presentation of the coveted Tourism Employee of the Year Awards. The finalists represent the very best tourism employees on Florida’s Historic Coast and were selected on the basis of their exemplary service.
The event will take place at the Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, I-95 exit 323 in St. Augustine. Doors will open at 9 a.m. for coffee and pastries and the program will begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. and end by 11:30 a.m. The public is invited to attend. Admission is $10. To secure a reservation for what is expected be an extremely well-attended event, call Carey Cramer at 829.1711 or email ccramer@floridashistoriccoast.com
Source: Jay Humphreys, Communications Director, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors & Convention Bureau
Crazy, Stupid, Love – Movie Trailer
Aug 3rd
At fortysomething, straight-laced Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the dream-good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school sweetheart. But when Cal learns that his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his “perfect” life quickly unravels. Worse, in today’s single world, Cal, who hasn’t dated in decades, stands out as the epitome of un-smooth. Now spending his free evenings sulking alone at a local bar, the hapless Cal is taken on as wingman and protégé to handsome, thirtysomething player Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling).