Strider Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Considering I spent the previous Christmas and New Year's holidays in the hospital, I decided this year to do something I hadn't done in a while: see the Rose Parade in person. Also giving me a good reason to go was the fact that Ledzepfvr (Margie to her friends) worked on one of the floats. Paramount Studios, to honour their 100th anniversary, entered a float that featured their iconic Melrose Ave. Entry gate and the Enterprise from Star Trek. Ledzepfvr got to put flowers on the Enterprise. I snapped some photos with my phone as the parade passed by...I was at the Colorado and Lake intersection. It was an all-night party as most people arrived the night before to stake out prime viewing locations. Actually, with the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game moved to Monday because the 1st fell on a Sunday this year, it was more like a 2-day New Year's Eve party. Anyway, here's some photos...I'll start with the float Ledzepfvr worked on. The first three pics are of the Paramount Studios 100th anniversary float. Then, two photos of a float with surfin' dogs that Ledzepfvr mentioned. Last photo is of the Girl Scouts anniversary float. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzepfvr Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thanks for posting those Strider. The photos look great but to see them up close is a totally different experience as well as seeing how it all is created. I actually put up lots and lots and lots of rice on the engine section of the Enterprise and the section that goes up to the nacelles. There were no fresh flowers on it yet, but they had started putting birds of paradise on the back fireworks section. The star bursts were just sitting on the floor still so it is great to see the finished product. The girl scout float was neat to see. I was a girl scout leader for my girls for 11 years and still have contact with some of my scouts and my daughters still have friendships with some the their fellow scouts. We all had some fun memories and to see the troops coming together and build the 100th anniversary float was nice. I would recommend the float building experience to anyone if they have the chance. At least once. It was a blast for me and my daughter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planted Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Wow, Strider, you were close! Fabulous pics, thanks so much for posting them. Because of you, I was drawn a little closer to this parade, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. New Years Day has been just another day for football in my home, so anything associated with it simply went unnoticed. What an accomplishment this parade is, I had little idea. ledzepfvr, I announced to my own daughter that I had thought about adding this effort to my Bucket List. Typical teenager response? "Have fun with that!" Happy New Year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fool In The Rain 60 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Looks fantastic, comes in handy being tall then 'Strider'... ledzepfvr, how long did it take to decorate the Enterprise? Must have been awesome to get to take part... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah J Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 I watched this to see ledzepfvr's float that she worked on:-) Great photo's Strider!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZeppfan77 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 When I turned on my television and I have Direct T V it said Hollywood Parade on New Years day morning. So this was not the same parade? I tried to find the Rose Bowl parade and could not. Very strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZeppfan77 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 It is a seperate event from the game itself obviously but the game is in Pasadena like the parade. Long standing tradition the parade and the game. Usually west coast teams in this game, USC and UCLA and Stanford have played in it many times and their opponent comes from another conference that includes Michigan, Ohio State and the likes. But it is not for the national championship. The Bowl games have changed a bit over the years. But the Rose, Cotton, Orange, were some of the big named ones over the years. Now you have the Fiesta bowl and so many I cant keep track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZeppfan77 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 You've completely lost me now. Those names mean nothing to me. What happened to the NY Giants, Jets, Washington Redskins? Are they no good anymore - like Liverpool and Arsenal, in our football league? Those are professional teams. Giants, Redskins, Cowboys, Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Raiders, etc. There are far more college teams than pro. Bowl games are only college games with the exception of the Super Bowl which is the championship game of pro football. Our type of football. A sport that demands a bit of thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZeppfan77 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 ^ So are people really interested in college games over there? Here, only the parents of the players would give a damn. And does that mean you have to go to college first, to become a pro footballer? That seems a bit elitist. And pretty hard on kids who are good at sports, but not too bright...? There are rare occasions where pro football players did not go to college but its very very rare. You must prove yourself to get to that level. So you are way off base in your assumptions. Of course they are interested. Have you never seen a stadium with thousands of people in it every blasted Saturday or whenever the games are played? There are great traditional matchups like Notre Dame vs USC or Michigan. Have you ever heard of Notre Dame? I have heard of Oxford for cryiing out loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZeppfan77 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 No, never heard of it - why would I?. Well, I've heard of Notre Dame in Paris - I've even been there, several times. The whole world knows about Oxford, and Cambridge. They are the most prestigious universities in the world, after all. So then, do you mean these are sports colleges? Where you go to study and play just sport, not academic stuff? So you are trying to say a college like Notre Dame is not known world wide? Quit busting my balls. You damn well have heard of Notre Dame haviing been state side and even if hadnt you have heard of it. For God's sake man. Have you ever heard of Harvard or MIT? John Hopkins University? You have heard of them. You just want to get me going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Melanie Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Great photos Strider. So much time and effort goes into making the floats, only to have them torn down. Oh well... And Major Major, college football is popular here in large part because of alumni. Once a fan and supporter of your school, always a fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Thanks everyone. It had been so long, I had forgotten how different seeing the parade in person is to watching on tv. The colours, textures and aromas of all the flowers are right in your face. Hearing and watching all the different marching bands is quite a treat, too. Besides the bands and spirit squads of the two universities that would be playing in the Rose Bowl later that day(Wisconsin and Oregon), there were also marching bands from Sweden, Texas, Raleigh, North Carolina, Utah, Calgary, and local LA High Schools. Then, there are the pooper-scoopers, the people that tag along behind the animals to pick up any poop along the way. The pooper-scoppers get some of the biggest cheers of the parade. In fact, right before the Paramount Studios float reached our location, the parade was halted to allow segments to catch up. While the parade was stopped, one of the horses in front of us took that moment to unleash a torrent of piss. It was so forceful, it splattered some of the people sitting down in front. By the time I thought to take a photo, it was still peeing...just not as strong as before. So here are the peeing horse, the pooper-scoopers, and a few more floats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzepfvr Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Looks fantastic, comes in handy being tall then 'Strider'... ledzepfvr, how long did it take to decorate the Enterprise? Must have been awesome to get to take part... The shift I worked was 8 am to 4 pm and we only got the engine section and one of the sections leading up to the nacelles. There were 4 of us. You kind tag team it. One slaps on the glue and one applies the rice while the other holds the carton to catch the stuff that doesn't stick. Can't just let it all fall to the ground. There are other shifts that work from 4 pm to 11 pm. Here is a video a fellow took that shows a pretty good representation of what it was like. It was the day before I was there. Just imagine twice as many people scurring around doing their assigned tasks in a frenzy. The Paramount float is around 6:15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Very cool Margie . All the different trades and other folk doing their stuff reminds me of my day's working the conventions in Vancouver. Hard work but fun times Great photo's Strider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Besides all the different skills and craft disciplines that go into the making of a float, one of the other fascinating things is how they drive them. One of the first things I did when each new float approached was to try to figure out where the driver was. Ledzepfvr, that float with the cat clock that's in your YouTube clip was one of my favourites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fool In The Rain 60 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 The shift I worked was 8 am to 4 pm and we only got the engine section and one of the sections leading up to the nacelles. There were 4 of us. You kind tag team it. One slaps on the glue and one applies the rice while the other holds the carton to catch the stuff that doesn't stick. Can't just let it all fall to the ground. There are other shifts that work from 4 pm to 11 pm. Here is a video a fellow took that shows a pretty good representation of what it was like. It was the day before I was there. Just imagine twice as many people scurring around doing their assigned tasks in a frenzy. The Paramount float is around 6:15. That was amazing thanks for that.. It must be organised choas...I loved the Girl Scouts car all those beans, did the float at the begining get the world record for the biggest float? When you think that you only have 5 days to get such a mammoth task done, it is wonderful to see young and old working side by side. It sounds like you had fun, not easy catching fall rice... Loving the photos as well.. In the UK we have the Notting Hill Carnival that has Floats, but have never attended as there always ends up with too much trouble.. Which is sad... But nothing on your scale... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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