Bryan Thompson: The Drive -In

October 26, 2007

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My popcorn was fresh and my convertible was fly. Under twinkling stars fog gently rolled in and I got all snuggly on red leather waiting for the movie to start. Ahhhhh! This old fashioned Drive-In experience could only be happening in.... Manhattan's Lower East Side. You read right. The jam-packed city finally made room for a genuine Drive-In Theater. Well, sort of. There is one screen, one car and technically the whole thing's indoors. It is arty, it is kooky and I love it!

Readers of my Bravo! Design Blog know how much I adore rooting out mind-blowing designs and awesome ideas. This one is Genius. You just gotta see the little Drive-In hiding in plain sight on Norfolk Street.

I got a big kick out of watching people walk by the giant windows of this gallery space and then do double takes when the saw the red taillights. The crazy glowing orbs are on a 1960's-era Ford Falcon.
Roomy and comfy, it is the perfect car for this! It is surrounded by real trees, artificial stars and a vintage popcorn popper that still works.

The soft blue glow of the the dash lights and sprawling bench seat will make you want to snuggle up with someone in leather jacket (John Travolta in "Grease" anyone?) Or someone with a beehive hairdo (John Travolta in "Hairspray" maybe?). I love REAL vintage drive-in theaters. I wrote about them before. (see previous entry here)

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Bryan Thompson: You Need A Tattoo

October 18, 2007

My first and only experience with body art was back when I was a hyper six years old. At the time Patti LaBelle had a hit song about her "New Attitude."

I guess I wanted one too. So I got me a new "tatto-tude." I decided on polka-dots, so I could look just like a lady bug. I went in to my mom's purse, found a black marker and for the next hour and a half covered my entire body in little black specks.

When I was done I proudly marched out to the living room, stark naked and speckled from head to toe. By this point my poor mom had already been through a lot with my subversive creativity, but this prank was the last straw. She was not impressed with the art work. She screamed and then she scrubbed.

Boy, was I miserable in that bathtub, all pruny and raw and red. It took hours but the dots were finally gone and so was my desire to ever get a tattoo. All these years later, my cool and handsome younger brother Michael LOVES them. We are so different, me and him.

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Bryan Thompson: Amusement Park Design

October 08, 2007

Kids are adrenaline junkies. That's why I get along so well with them. I love the fact that my 5 year old niece Bailey adores amusement parks.

She's just like her Uncle that way. When she was a teensy 3 year old she climbed onto the Legoland Water Trampoline. She jumps up and down, she wipes out, then she just laughs, dusts herself off and did it all over again.

Now she wants the fastest and craziest rides they'll let her on. No Disneyland "Teacups" or "It's a Small World" For Her." We'll be on an honest to goodness rollercoaster and she'll wind up comforting me. It happened on Seaworld on the Atlantis Roller Coaster. When the ride broke mid-cycle leaving us hanging mid-air. Bailey just giggled as we held on and made up songs to pass the time. It was what my Mommalou did with me when she needed to distract me. It worked. Bailey never knew something was wrong with the ride. As soon as we got ourselves free she wanted to do it all over again. No way.

I wish she could have been with me when I went on my most recent trip to an Amusement Park. It was to Universal Studios. I went there solo and it was awesome. The "Back to the Future" ride was closing. But before it rode off into the sunset there was a special tour.

I made sure I got a ticket that allowed me unlimited front-of-the line access to the ride and a close-up look at all the movie sets from the "Back to the Future" movies parts one, two and three. I convinced the tour guide to let me "hang" from the clock tower just like Doc Brown did in the movie. By the time the park closed I had a stomach-ache from all the herky-jerky time travel in the flying Deloreans. I didn't care.

For kid friendly parks there are a lot more choices than Disney and Six Flags. Check out the amazing "Wannnado Land" in Florida.

It's a super well designed amusement park that lets kids pretend they're anything from astronauts to Broadway actors to Pizza Chefs. The rooms and sets are incredible. Someday, I want to design a "How to be a car designer"
ride for this park.

In my fantasy world as a renewed 6 year old, I'd stay at the Ramada Resort Karon Beach Phuket.

The fantasy rooms might be designed for kids, but I'd like to replicate the Space Room in my own house! Too bad it's on the other side of the globe in Thailand or I'd take Bailey this weekend. So here's to little kids like Bailey and big kids like my Mommalou who know how to keep a girl having fun!

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