Another great institution closing.

[woodchucker]

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey is closing down in May.
One of the factors .. animal rights groups.

Others declining sales. I group up being wowed by the menagerie before
the show. To me, that was the big part of the show. Getting to feed the
elephants, seeing bearded woman, the snake people, The smallest man on
earth.. The tigers...

When the elephant killed the kid years ago and that all stopped, I felt
that was going to be the end... In then end it might have been, just
took a long time.

--
Jeff

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 1/15/2017 12:42 PM, woodchucker wrote:
> Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey is closing down in May.
> One of the factors .. animal rights groups.
>
> Others declining sales. I group up being wowed by the menagerie before
> the show. To me, that was the big part of the show. Getting to feed the
> elephants, seeing bearded woman, the snake people, The smallest man on
> earth.. The tigers...
>
> When the elephant killed the kid years ago and that all stopped, I felt
> that was going to be the end... In then end it might have been, just
> took a long time.
>

While I hate to see a 160 year old business close, I never saw the
attraction. Went to the circus once about 60 years ago and never had a
desire to go back. Remember, it used to be two different circuses that
combined to survive. May have even been a third one swallowed up too,
Cole Bros.

[Leon]

I think the entertainment dynamic has changed. Kids are the target, for
the most part. Has any one seen a kid out doors lately? :~)

[dpb]

On 01/15/2017 11:42 AM, woodchucker wrote:
> Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey is closing down in May.

...

The NPR radio blurb heard this AM quoted RB-B&B spokesman as saying
ticket sales plummeted drastically when they quit touring with the
elephants as a major factor, indeed.

[Meanie]

Not without their smartphone shoved up to their face.

[DerbyDad03]

Yesterday morning I asked the kids next door to be careful not to drop anything
on SWMBO's car, which was parked next to the tree they were climbing. They
politely said OK.

[DerbyDad03]

Their face? I don't think so. It's the adults that talk on their phones. Kids
text, snap chat, Facebook, etc.

[Leon]

Not buying it.... Are you sure what you saw were kids? ;~)

There really are some well mannered and thoughtful kids out there. Good
to hear you live near some of them.

[DerbyDad03]

They're still young. Give them time. :-(

[Larry Blanchard]

On Sun, 15 Jan 2017 12:51:30 -0600, Leon wrote:

> While I hate to see a 160 year old business close, I never saw the
>> attraction. Went to the circus once about 60 years ago and never had a
>> desire to go back. Remember, it used to be two different circuses that
>> combined to survive. May have even been a third one swallowed up too,
>> Cole Bros.
>
>
> I think the entertainment dynamic has changed. Kids are the target, for
> the most part. Has any one seen a kid out doors lately? :~)

Like most, I loved the circus as a kid. I've gone twice as an adult,
once to B&B and once to Shriners. Even though those are at different
ends of the circus spectrum, my response to both was neutral - not bad,
but I wouldn't put out any great effort to go to either one.

So I guess you're right - you've gotta' be a kid to get blown away bu a
circus.

BTW, the fairgrounds near my childhood home had harness racing in the
summer. Could watch from outside without paying from a convenient
haystack. Had to dodge the occasional fairgrounds employee who was paid
to chase off the freeloaders, but I still enjoyed it more than the
circus. Maybe dodging the rent-a-cop was part of the fun:-).


--
What if a much of a which of a wind gives the truth to summer's lie?

[k...@notreal.com]

My wife will be happy to hear that she's a kid. ;-) I rarely talk on
my phone, even.

[J. Clarke]

In article <WImdnRHJFoLwKebFnZ2dnUU7-
cHN...@ptd.net>, nos...@nospam.com says...

>
> Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey is closing down in May.
> One of the factors .. animal rights groups.
>
> Others declining sales. I group up being wowed by the menagerie before
> the show. To me, that was the big part of the show. Getting to feed the
> elephants, seeing bearded woman, the snake people, The smallest man on
> earth.. The tigers...
>
> When the elephant killed the kid years ago and that all stopped, I felt
> that was going to be the end... In then end it might have been, just
> took a long time.

I'm debating whether I want to go this year. On
the one hand I'd like to see the Greatest Show
On Earth one more time before it closes. On the
other, I'm afraid that it will ruin my good
memories of earlier years.

[J. Clarke]

In article <GePeA.8670$PY....@fx08.iad>,
e...@snet.net says...

For certain values of "combined to survive".
The purchase happened in 1906 after the deaths
of Barnum and Bailey, and the two circuses
merged a few years later when due to declining
numbers in the Ringling family they decided that
running two separate circuses was more work than
they could handle. It was Ringling Brothers
Barnum & Bailey for not quite a century.

Cole Brothers was still operating under the Big
Top in 2014 but appears to be dead now, again
due to the animal rights loons. It certainly
has never been part of Barnum & Bailey.

[Dave in SoTex]

"Ed Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote in message
news:GePeA.8670$PY....@fx08.iad...

While it's probably been 25 years ago, my wife and I took our six year
old boy to the Summit to see Ringling Bros. I remember thinking then [as I
do to this day], "Stupid pet tricks." Might be fun to photograph it.

Dave in SoTex

[Leon]

Hard to believe, I can remember when the Summit was being built. About
1975 ish IIRC. It was a great concert venue.

[Scott Lurndal]

It can't have been a "great concert venue", given that it was also
a sports arena (and apparently now a mega church who spent NINETY FIVE MILLION
dollars to rennovate that (so much for charity) - then bought the entire kaboodle from the city
for 7.5 million. I'd say the taxpayers got screwed).

The Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, the Sydney opera house, the Met, the Warfield,
and the Fillmore are "great concert venues" :-)

[Dave in SoTex]

"Leon" <lcb11211@swbelldotnet> wrote in message
news:apGdnXHxDJoAcOHF...@giganews.com...

> Hard to believe, I can remember when the Summit was being built. About
> 1975 ish IIRC. It was a great concert venue.

I can't remember seeing a concert at the Summit [what does THAT say?],
saw many in the old Sam Houston Coliseum back in the 70s, Springsteen at the
adjoining Music Hall in the mid-70s and Clapton and Cream my senior year in
HS [67-68]. And a couple at Hofheinz Pavilion on the UH campus. Seems like
there was one in the Dome [Who? Rolling Stones?]. The Eagles at Jeppesen
Stadium [UH campus, 1975].
Last night my SYB and I attended the opening musical concert at the
brand spanking new Smart Financial Center in Sugarland, Don Henley. My
references are fuzzy anymore but I would say it's a superior venue [
http://smartfinancial.centresugarland.com/?gclid=CJXwm6_Bx9ECFYWVfgodQaoKfQ
]. And Henley was, well, Henley was Henley. At 69, he's grown a little
portly and it appeared as though he was straining his voice at times. All in
all, a good mix of old and new with a country tune or two thrown in. Good
band, too. Three or four guitars, five piece horn section, three female
backup singers who also shared some duets with Henley, multiple keyboards
[one also played fiddle]. "Not very profitable, but a lot more fun," said
Don.
A little over two hours after two two-song encores.

Dave in SoTex

[Leon]

On 1/16/2017 10:17 AM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
> Leon <lcb11211@swbelldotnet> writes:
>> On 1/16/2017 9:29 AM, Dave in SoTex wrote:
>>>
>>> "Ed Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote in message
>>> news:GePeA.8670$PY....@fx08.iad...
>>>> On 1/15/2017 12:42 PM, woodchucker wrote:
>>>
>>>> While I hate to see a 160 year old business close, I never saw the
>>>> attraction. Went to the circus once about 60 years ago and never had
>>>> a desire to go back. Remember, it used to be two different circuses
>>>> that combined to survive. May have even been a third one swallowed up
>>>> too, Cole Bros.
>>>
>>> While it's probably been 25 years ago, my wife and I took our six
>>> year old boy to the Summit to see Ringling Bros. I remember thinking
>>> then [as I do to this day], "Stupid pet tricks." Might be fun to
>>> photograph it.
>>>
>>> Dave in SoTex
>>
>>
>> Hard to believe, I can remember when the Summit was being built. About
>> 1975 ish IIRC. It was a great concert venue.
>
> It can't have been a "great concert venue", given that it was also
> a sports arena

Mostly a comparison to the alternatives in the Houston area, not the
pinnacles around the world.

There were better places but the sound for a rock concert was just fine.
The hard spaces/mostly the floor was covered with a material to
protect the floors.
A few that I saw, The Eagles, Super Tramp, twice, Cat Stevens,
Steve Miller Band, James Taylor, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, etc.

For James Taylor and Cat Stephens you could hear a quite well
unamplified guitars at the opposite end of the arena. They later went
added electricity but I recall them starting the concerts with no back
up and no electric amplification.

(and apparently now a mega church who spent NINETY FIVE MILLION
> dollars to rennovate that (so much for charity) - then bought the entire kaboodle from the city
> for 7.5 million. I'd say the taxpayers got screwed).

what else is new? ;~)

[Leon]

On 1/16/2017 3:01 PM, Dave in SoTex wrote:
>
> "Leon" <lcb11211@swbelldotnet> wrote in message
> news:apGdnXHxDJoAcOHF...@giganews.com...
>
>> Hard to believe, I can remember when the Summit was being built.
>> About 1975 ish IIRC. It was a great concert venue.
>
> I can't remember seeing a concert at the Summit [what does THAT
> say?], saw many in the old Sam Houston Coliseum back in the 70s,
> Springsteen at the adjoining Music Hall in the mid-70s and Clapton and
> Cream my senior year in HS [67-68]. And a couple at Hofheinz Pavilion
> on the UH campus. Seems like there was one in the Dome [Who? Rolling
> Stones?]. The Eagles at Jeppesen Stadium [UH campus, 1975].

Actually the Beatles played at the Astrodome too. Along with hundreds
of Rodeo performances

> Last night my SYB and I attended the opening musical concert at the
> brand spanking new Smart Financial Center in Sugarland, Don Henley. My
> references are fuzzy anymore but I would say it's a superior venue [
> http://smartfinancial.centresugarland.com/?gclid=CJXwm6_Bx9ECFYWVfgodQaoKfQ
> ]. And Henley was, well, Henley was Henley. At 69, he's grown a little
> portly and it appeared as though he was straining his voice at times.
> All in all, a good mix of old and new with a country tune or two thrown
> in. Good band, too. Three or four guitars, five piece horn section,
> three female backup singers who also shared some duets with Henley,
> multiple keyboards [one also played fiddle]. "Not very profitable, but a
> lot more fun," said Don.
> A little over two hours after two two-song encores.
>
> Dave in SoTex

I am relatively close to the Smart center and anxious to try it out. I
think the last big concert that I went to was about 8~10 years ago when
Simon and Garfunkel played at the Arena? Where the Rockets now play.

[G. Ross]

Dave in SoTex wrote:
>
> "Leon" <lcb11211@swbelldotnet> wrote in message
> news:apGdnXHxDJoAcOHF...@giganews.com...
>
>> Hard to believe, I can remember when the Summit was being built. About
>> 1975 ish IIRC. It was a great concert venue.
>
> I can't remember seeing a concert at the Summit [what does THAT say?],
> saw many in the old Sam Houston Coliseum back in the 70s, Springsteen at the
> adjoining Music Hall in the mid-70s and Clapton and Cream my senior year in
> HS [67-68]. And a couple at Hofheinz Pavilion on the UH campus. Seems like
> there was one in the Dome [Who? Rolling Stones?]. The Eagles at Jeppesen
> Stadium [UH campus, 1975].
> Last night my SYB and I attended the opening musical concert at the

Snip

Showing my age, but the SYB reference threw me. My first thought was
Senior YearBook, then Second Youngest Brother. Maybe Silly Young
Bride? ;>)


--
GW Ross

[Spalted Walt]

Or maybe Significantly Younger Bride ?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Syb

[G. Ross]

Oops. I meant to say Sweet Young Bride.

--
GW Ross

[Dave in SoTex]

"G. Ross" <gw...@comwest.net> wrote in message
news:BeSdnfoiZdajg-PF...@giganews.com...

Bingo.

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 1/17/2017 7:59 AM, G. Ross wrote:
> Dave in SoTex wrote:
>>

>> HS [67-68]. And a couple at Hofheinz Pavilion on the UH campus. Seems
>> like
>> there was one in the Dome [Who? Rolling Stones?]. The Eagles at Jeppesen
>> Stadium [UH campus, 1975].
>> Last night my SYB and I attended the opening musical concert at the
>
> Snip
>
> Showing my age, but the SYB reference threw me. My first thought was
> Senior YearBook, then Second Youngest Brother. Maybe Silly Young Bride?
> ;>)
>
>

He took a Short Yugoslavian Babe.

[Unknown]

Ed Pawlowski <e...@snet.net> wrote in

news:KutfA.14847$RF7....@fx18.iad:

>
> He took a Short Yugoslavian Babe.

Does she have nice RITS?

Puckdropper
--
http://www.puckdroppersplace.us/rec.woodworking
A mini archive of some of rec.woodworking's best and worst!