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Lost Duffer Miniature Golf, Charlotte, NC
The Lost Duffer Miniature Golf Course is one of the most unique facilities you will EVER visit! Did you know that at one time there were over 80 actual operating gold mines in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area? It's true… and you can get a taste of the first U.S. gold rush just by visiting this fun, family-friendly golf course. The course meanders through a replica of a 19th century mining camp complete with water wheel, and finishes up in the abandoned shafts of an old gold mine.
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Unknown
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An exhibition called Adventureland Golf that has just opened at the Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool features crazy golf course obstacles created by artists who include David Shrigley, Gary Webb, and Jake and Dinos Chapman. Can you guess which of them is responsible for a lifelike statue of Hitler's head and torso, its arm poised to rise in a Nazi salute every time the ball goes through a hole between its legs? Take a bow, Chapmans. In a bit of national publicity that must be welcome to any exhibition opening in the middle of August, Michael Samuels of the Board of Deputies of British Jews has condemned the Chapman brothers' piece, calling it "tasteless" and declaring that it has "absolutely no artistic value whatsoever".
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Smash Putt Miniature Golf Course, Seattle
Smash Putt is the brainchild of two ex-Burners who took over an old warehouse in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood for a month and turn it into a 21-years-and-older indoor miniature golf course with some twists.
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Shooting a golf ball at high velocity down the firing range. By using an air compressor-powered golf ball bazooka, we aimed for one of the three “holes in one”: either embed your ball in the far wall, clang off one of the hanging saw blades, or knock over 2X4s without ricocheting off the piano below. The plywood and green VW Bug front hood is for some protection from the ricocheting balls.
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This ferris wheel revolved while we tried to get the ball into one of the hooked “seats” by either rolling the ball up a ramp or else landing on a small hole that then levitated the ball into the air through the wonders of an air blast. The ball would then circle around the wheel and be dumped onto a metal track (on the left) which wound around and down into the final hole.
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This one was a challenge: hit the ball across the upper level while traversing two astro turf-covered record players that were spinning at 33 1/3 that also had either a crushed beer can or a microphone on the turntable to knock your ball into the “moat” below.
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The “hole” here is the castle in the background. We putted our golf ball a certain distance up onto the catapult and then – in a team effort – someone else tapped a pedal with their foot and launched the catapult. If you made it over the ramparts, you were in the hole.
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After arcing the ball along a curved alley, the ball then bounced randomly down an inclined pachinko peg board. Each of the three holes led to a separate power tool that ate away at the ball with its own unique style… Your random pachinko run resulted in being funneled through either the grinder, the router, or the circular saw. The balls would fling out at high speed, all chewed up around the edges.
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And then to ensure the ball was truly “Smash Putted”, on the final hole 18 the ball was funneled down into a drill press, where the ball was held in place as a drill came down and cored the ball to destruction before flinging the ball out so we had a mangled souvenir to take home.
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Art Deco Mini Golf, Wilshire Blvd. and La Cienega Blvd. c. 1922, Los Angeles
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Subpar Miniature Golf, Alameda, CA
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Molten Mountain Mini Golf, Myrtle Beach, SC
Follow Lava Louie through the heart of the special effects filled Volcano, playing the most unique and challenging holes ever designed. Enjoy 2 levels of play while Lava Louie guides you along the path inside the active Volcano. Journey through the volcanic villages, lava pools, smoke stacks and ancient tribal artifacts.
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Big Stone Mini Golf, Minnetrista, MN
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Lost City Adventure Golf, Nottingham, UK
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Swingers, London
Set in an old warehouse near Old Street, Swingers London pop up concept brings with it two cocktail bars, mobile pizza making vans, macaroni and cheese, and 9 holes of golfing fun.
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Our hole, “Take Out the Clowns”, is comprised of space brain monsters who are harvesting the funny fluid of human clowns. And the effect this has on the gravity of circus peanuts. Amidst all of the chaos, the albino shouting gorilla is running amok, throwing banana peels at everything! Below the fairgrounds looms the space brain’s crystal cave, a kind of wine cellar of funny fluid. There are 3 ways to navigate this chaos. The first option is to go up the quarter-pipe and into the mother-ship to defeat the brains. and return to earth via a spiraling space beam. Or perhaps you’d rather take the secret passage through the quarter-pipe, and through the geo-dome. in pursuit of the escape albino gorilla. Or finally, you could take the ramp through the crystal cave. for a quick meal of moon-shine and circus peanuts with the hobo.
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Lexington Ice Center & Miniature Golf, Lexington, KT
The Lexington Ice Center & Miniature Golf features 54 holes of bible themed golf created in 1988. First 18 are Old Testament: first seven holes recall the seven days of creation (Seventh is easy, because on the 7th day God rested), then the Garden of Eden, Pharoah's Frogs, and Noah's Ark. Rugged Mt. Sinai is the toughest Old Testament hole. Next 18 are New Testament, starting at the Star of Bethlehem, and moving through the Last Supper's Upper Room. 16, 17 and 18 are Faith, Hope and Love. The last 18 are the toughest -- miracles, including Jesus feeding the multitudes, parting of the Red Sea, the pillar of smoke and fire, and the burning bush.
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Novelty Golf, Chicago
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Eindhoven collective La Bolleur will construct a mini golf course in Zona Tortona in Milan this April. The nine-hole course will be constructed from wood and include a clubhouse with bar.
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Cancun Lagoon Mayan Adventure Golf, Myrtle Beach, SC
The biggest mini-golf eye-popper in Myrtle Beach is the 50-foot-tall Mayan pyramid at Cancun Lagoon. It's topped with frescoes of feathered priests hoisting putters over their heads. Unnaturally blue water spills from terraces amidst palm trees and stone heads. The structure is supposed to be the ancient Mayan Temple of Ek'-Wayeb-Chak (or Chak), the god of lightning and thunder. This hot-tempered god who can only be appeased by playing the ritual Mayan game -- of miniature golf. Twin courses weave in- and out-of-doors, and every half-hour a thunderstorm erupts inside the pyramid, a manifestation of the god's impatient wrath, which drenches the golf course and the players.
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A mini-golf course atop a Tianjin, China train station.
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Coal Country Miniature Golf, Fairmont, WV
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Indoor miniature golf course c. 1935, YMCA, Warren, PA
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Various holes designed by visual artists
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Lake George Mini Golf, NY
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Unknown
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Goofy Golf, Panama City Beach, Florida
Lee Koplin built his masterpiece, Goofy Golf, in Florida; it opened in the summer of 1959. It was miniature golf, but it was also a crazy visionary art theme park. Lee advertised Goofy Golf as "A World of Magic."
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Mayday Golf, North Myrtle Beach, SC
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Fantasia Gardens, Orlando, FLA
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Turda Saltmine Miniature Golf, Romania
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KISS Monster Mini-Golf, Las Vegas
In addition to 18 holes of rock-’n’-roll-themed madness, the venue boasts scarily accurate animatronic versions of the band, the world’s largest KISS memorabilia store and a wedding chapel.
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Rosies Diner Mini Putt, Michigan
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Par-King Skill Golf, Lincolnshire, Illinois
Par-King comes off as a Disney World attraction that somehow landed in the Midwest. Beautifully rendered hole features include a looping rollercoaster that gives balls a crazy ride, a replica Willis Tower inside of which balls ride an elevator to the top, and two giant, nonstop spinning roulette wheels.
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Unknown c. 1924, West Palm Beach, FLA
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Dino Park Mini Golf Phuket, Thailand
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Bompas and Parr Crazy Golf, London
Each hole is a London landmark made out of a cake or jelly looking material. Sadly you won’t be able to take a bite of the gherkin or munch on Big Ben but you might just get a hole in one. You can book ahead for the golf (£6 a pop) or just turn up during the day.
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I ran a quick workshop with some folks to integrate the PicoCricket robotics kit into a cardboard putt putt course. We built some creative holes that brought in the audience via interactive robotic additions.
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Ahlgrim Acres, Chicago
It’s the secretly infamous, miniature golf course Ahlgrim Acres, in the basement of Ahlgrim Funeral Home. Originally built for their kids back in the 60s, the 9 haunted holes (complete with spooky music) are open to the public; when they’re not conducting services, that is.
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*
p.s. Hey. 'Dedications' Answer Key: (top to bottom) Dennis Cooper – The Tenderness of the Wolves, Dennis Cooper –My Mark, Dennis Cooper –Period, Dennis Cooper –Idols, Dennis Cooper –Guide, Dennis Cooper –The Marbled Swarm, Dennis Cooper –Closer, Bruce Benderson – The Romanian, Laurence Braithwaite – Wigger, Kenzuburo Oe – A Personal Matter, David Foster Wallace – Infinite Jest, William T. Vollmann – You Bright and Risen Angels, Abdullah Taia – Salvation Army, William T. Vollmann –Whores for Gloria, Ann Sterzinger – Nowhere, Jerzy Kosinski – The Painted Bird, Charles Mingus – Underdog, Ishmael Reed – Yellowback Radio Broke Down, Glenway Wescott – The Pilgrim Hawk, Amina Cain – Creature, Sean Doyle – This Must Be the Place, Kevin Maloney – Cult of Loretta, Steven Weiner – The Museum of Love, Leanne Shapton – Was She Pretty?, Elizabeth Smart – By Grand Central Station I sat down and Wept, Eldon Garnet – Reading Brooke Shields, Joan Didion – Play it as it Lays, Roger Ebert – Two weeks in the Midday Sun, Bret Easton Ellis – Lunar Park, Rosalyn Drexler – One or Another, Lorrie Moore – Birds of America, Katherine Dunn – Attic, Scott Bradfield – The History of Luminous Motion, James Nulick – Valencia, Don DeLillo – White Noise, Andre Gide – The Counterfeiters, Michael Gira – The Consumer, Elizabeth Hardwick – Sleepless Nights, Camille Paglia – Sexual Personae, Susan Sontag – Under the Sign of Saturn, Marilyn Manson – The Long Hard Road out of Hell, Richard Brautigan – Trout Fishing in America, Chris Abani – The Virgin of Flames, Denis Johnson – Jesus’ Son, Randall Jarrell – Pictures from an Institution, David Wiesner – Tuesday, Christopher Alexander – The Timeless Way of Building, Ta-Nahesi Coates – Between the World and Me, Steven Millhauser – Edwin Mulhouse, Andrea Dworkin – Mercy, Shulamith Firestone – Airless Spaces, Mary McCarthy – Birds of America, Miranda July – It Chooses You, Yuri Herrera – Signs Preceding the end of the World, Joan Didion – The Year of Magical Thinking, Caitlin Doughty – Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Grégoire Bouillier – The Mystery Guest, Salah J. Bachir – The Paintings of Attila Richard Lukas ** Dóra Grőber, Hi! Exactly: your description of what being a human machine is like. I'm still one this morning, and I think I need to go to the human machine repair shop, ha ha. I hadn't traveled much at all for a long time. It's only in the last few years after I met the wanderlust Zac that I've been traveling a ton. Copenhagen, Paris, NYC is a really 1-2-3 punch. Okay, recommendations. Well, absolutely for sure Tokyo. I can't say enough good things about that city. I love LA, so, there, but only if you have someone there to show you around because otherwise I think it's too huge and confusing. There are a lot of places I've really liked being: Oslo, Buenos Aires, Iceland in general, ... My weekend was basically me sitting in a work cave, and that was it. I feel like I have brain damage, but probably not. Thank you, though. How was yours and Monday too? ** David Ehrenstein, The Shirelles were pretty smart about stuff. ** Steevee, It already has. Well, very nice news and a relief that it went with the theater guy. Weird how insecurity and stress can be so convincing, isn't it? I think Paris could elect a mayor who is Muslim, yes. And I'm sure that'll happen, but probably not until there are more people of the Muslim faith in French politics in general. The percentage is growing, but it's still very strangely low considering the makeup of the populace here. But, no, I don't think a potential mayor being Muslim would be a problem for a majority of the citizens of Paris. ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. Yeah, I'm sure it is, I just can't get it up enough to care enough to read it. I started 'Just Kids' and stopped because I just wasn't into it. ** Raymond, Hi, R. It was, wasn't it? All cred to the big J. I was as lost re: the contest as you. I didn't even guess some of my book dedications. Ah, okay, about the Smith thing. I do like Penman's writing. Feeding frenzy, yeah, good. And, yeah, all those names you mention seem to accrue the same feeders at basically the same volume. I can't remember how people filled their voids before the internet. Or, I guess, more how they filled and fraternized at the same time. There used to be mail- and zine-based 'fan clubs', but the pace was so slow. I don't know. I really have to read Hegel someday. He really affects people who read him, or he has the ones I know who do. Which of course makes reading him intimidating. Your rambling wasn't rambling, sir, it was percolative, which I guess isn't a real word. You take care too, and I hope Monday respects you. ** Bear, Hi, Bear! Oops, about the dance piece. Maybe it's just me, but actually really exciting dance pieces are fairly few and far between. At least in France. And I say that as someone who collaborates on dance pieces. One of Gisele's and my pieces has a live band onstage, 'Kindertotenlieder', but we worked hard to integrate them into the piece so they were no more important or visible than the other performers and the set and the effects, etc. It wasn't easy. I want to see her mandalas. Does instagram let non-registered visitors look at stuff? I'll try. Beautiful thoughts and spin-off re: 'A Lover's Discourse'. That's a goodie. It's really nice to feel the excitement in your words, man! ** Bernard Welt, Hi, B. Thank you for encouraging people to send guest-posts, and yes. Good timing. Everyone gets stuck with a rerun tomorrow because I've been kidnapped and am being used as a workaholic text slave at the moment. Cool that you're reading at Donald's event. Did Philip or whoever ask people like Brad, Eileen, Kenward, ... ? A message to the throng. I want to. Let me try to find a minute and some unused brain cells today, and I'll email you. I'm going to post the post about Donald's book on this coming Wednesday, a little early, but I'm getting ready to leave town, so I hope/think earlyish by a few days will be okay? Sure, Jeff Weinstein. I knew him a little. I loved his food column, and I think I remember a really good book of short stories by him too. He is a great guy, a real pip. Thanks, Bernard. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. I want to hear that new Anohni album. Honestly, I had gotten a little tired of her voice and her stuff, but her working with Oneohtrix Point Never is a very exciting idea. ** Sypha, Hi, James. Nope, the Tim Miller was mine. That was one of the few of mine that I actually recognized, ha ha. ** James, Hi. Thank you again so greatly, buddy! It was supreme, and a ton of fun for everyone, obviously, even if your challenge proved to be a bit tough. Jesse Hudson cut off contact with a lot of people, including me, a couple of years ago now, and I haven't heard anything from or about him since. Someone just told me he's fine and doing well, but that's all I know. Blessings on you, sir! ** Jamie McMorrow, Hi, bon courage, bonne journee, and more French-isms where those came from. Dude, when you finally get to Paris, there's this ancient patisserie in the 10th, Du Pain et des Idees, that famously has the best pain chocolat in France, which means in the world, and I'm going to guide you there within minutes of your touch down. Your weekend sounds packed. Oh, you'd be amazed how small and homely a theme park can be without losing my utter fascination and love. Favorite ABBA songs? Whoa, that's a question. Hm. Off the top of my head: 'Knowing Me, Knowing you', '(I am the) Tiger', 'Lovelight', 'Happy New Year', 'Under Attack', ... I could go on and on. My weekend was just solid, brain emptying work from start to finish. Totally uninteresting to anyone not involved in the assigned projects. I think maybe, I hope, I pray, thatI will start to be free or somewhat free again starting tomorrow. Rock Monday! Big love, Dennis. ** Liquoredgoat, Hey, buddy! Excellent to see you! 'The Dream Police' is the title of a sublime song and equally sublime album by the sublime band Cheap Trick. That's where I swiped it. I'm well, swamped, but well. And you? ** Bill, Hi. Me too. I tried but gave up quite quickly. Cool, I'm glad the Jaffe rec paid off. ** Misanthrope, Hi. I feel like that 15% number is quite low. I wonder what the poller considered to be the parameters of Paris. Obviously happy that my attempt at wit won your love. Even I wouldn't have said that to you while we were eating dinner, though. As I said to Steevee, Jesse Hudson has disappeared himself. Someone told me that he rejoined Facebook very briefly a few months ago and then quickly deleted himself from there. I'll check out LPS's profile pic. Yep. ** Jonathan Bryant, Hi, Jonathan! Oh, negligence is okay, and, anyway, it's not negligence. This place is just a drop in the exciting ocean. Or something. (I'm kind of brain dead.) Ha ha, cool, yeah, about the fireworks thing. Me too. I've never seen '47 Ronin', I guess 'cos of the bad press, but fuck the press. I think 'Rivers Edge' is still my favorite Keanu thing. Yeah, I hoped putting that guide at the end of the escorts post might be useful. Cool. Thank you ever so much for reading my Cycle. Yeah, 'Period' is pretty strange, probably even more so out of order. 'Heavier, more substantial': That's good, right? I mean I actually like frothy writing as long as it's really nailed. Reading other writers does that to me too. Still. That's one reason why I try not to read when I'm working on a novel. But in-between-times, I even actively look to other writings to learn things I can use. You know what? Everybody has their own voice inherently. You don't even need worry about that. The thing is to identify what's yours, which is very hard to do and can take time. My guess, my belief, is that if you work with what is the actually most exciting thing to you in your writing, you're both working with what constitutes your own voice and developing it. As long as you write exactly what you most want to write, everything that's overtly an influence will be worn away with time. If that makes any sense. Glad to hear about the cooperative project going well. Finances, ugh, god, ugh. Boyfriends can have a good side effect on the writing as long as they don't play time- and emotion-consuming games with you, or unless those games are exciting rather than restricting. Or something. It's always juggling, basically, I think, forever and forever. You have a great week too! ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T. Thank you! ** Armando, Glad you made it home okay even if home its not the preferred location. Oh, I don't know why George loved Disneyland. I don't know for sure if those particular movies were faves of his. I think he mostly loved Disneyland. I did too, so I guess I just assumed he loved it for same mysterious reasons that I loved it. George was very complex because of his severe bipolar condition and not always easy to figure out. My LA apartment is just down at the bottom of that little mountain that Griffith Observatory sits upon. I'm overwhelmed with work, but I'm good. Thanks! Love and hugs back. ** Right. I got off on a jag of fascination with miniature golf courses one day, and, thus, ... See you tomorrow.
Lost Duffer Miniature Golf, Charlotte, NC
The Lost Duffer Miniature Golf Course is one of the most unique facilities you will EVER visit! Did you know that at one time there were over 80 actual operating gold mines in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area? It's true… and you can get a taste of the first U.S. gold rush just by visiting this fun, family-friendly golf course. The course meanders through a replica of a 19th century mining camp complete with water wheel, and finishes up in the abandoned shafts of an old gold mine.
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Unknown
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An exhibition called Adventureland Golf that has just opened at the Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool features crazy golf course obstacles created by artists who include David Shrigley, Gary Webb, and Jake and Dinos Chapman. Can you guess which of them is responsible for a lifelike statue of Hitler's head and torso, its arm poised to rise in a Nazi salute every time the ball goes through a hole between its legs? Take a bow, Chapmans. In a bit of national publicity that must be welcome to any exhibition opening in the middle of August, Michael Samuels of the Board of Deputies of British Jews has condemned the Chapman brothers' piece, calling it "tasteless" and declaring that it has "absolutely no artistic value whatsoever".
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Smash Putt Miniature Golf Course, Seattle
Smash Putt is the brainchild of two ex-Burners who took over an old warehouse in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood for a month and turn it into a 21-years-and-older indoor miniature golf course with some twists.
Shooting a golf ball at high velocity down the firing range. By using an air compressor-powered golf ball bazooka, we aimed for one of the three “holes in one”: either embed your ball in the far wall, clang off one of the hanging saw blades, or knock over 2X4s without ricocheting off the piano below. The plywood and green VW Bug front hood is for some protection from the ricocheting balls.
This ferris wheel revolved while we tried to get the ball into one of the hooked “seats” by either rolling the ball up a ramp or else landing on a small hole that then levitated the ball into the air through the wonders of an air blast. The ball would then circle around the wheel and be dumped onto a metal track (on the left) which wound around and down into the final hole.
This one was a challenge: hit the ball across the upper level while traversing two astro turf-covered record players that were spinning at 33 1/3 that also had either a crushed beer can or a microphone on the turntable to knock your ball into the “moat” below.
The “hole” here is the castle in the background. We putted our golf ball a certain distance up onto the catapult and then – in a team effort – someone else tapped a pedal with their foot and launched the catapult. If you made it over the ramparts, you were in the hole.
After arcing the ball along a curved alley, the ball then bounced randomly down an inclined pachinko peg board. Each of the three holes led to a separate power tool that ate away at the ball with its own unique style… Your random pachinko run resulted in being funneled through either the grinder, the router, or the circular saw. The balls would fling out at high speed, all chewed up around the edges.
And then to ensure the ball was truly “Smash Putted”, on the final hole 18 the ball was funneled down into a drill press, where the ball was held in place as a drill came down and cored the ball to destruction before flinging the ball out so we had a mangled souvenir to take home.
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Art Deco Mini Golf, Wilshire Blvd. and La Cienega Blvd. c. 1922, Los Angeles
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Subpar Miniature Golf, Alameda, CA
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Molten Mountain Mini Golf, Myrtle Beach, SC
Follow Lava Louie through the heart of the special effects filled Volcano, playing the most unique and challenging holes ever designed. Enjoy 2 levels of play while Lava Louie guides you along the path inside the active Volcano. Journey through the volcanic villages, lava pools, smoke stacks and ancient tribal artifacts.
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Big Stone Mini Golf, Minnetrista, MN
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Lost City Adventure Golf, Nottingham, UK
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Swingers, London
Set in an old warehouse near Old Street, Swingers London pop up concept brings with it two cocktail bars, mobile pizza making vans, macaroni and cheese, and 9 holes of golfing fun.
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Our hole, “Take Out the Clowns”, is comprised of space brain monsters who are harvesting the funny fluid of human clowns. And the effect this has on the gravity of circus peanuts. Amidst all of the chaos, the albino shouting gorilla is running amok, throwing banana peels at everything! Below the fairgrounds looms the space brain’s crystal cave, a kind of wine cellar of funny fluid. There are 3 ways to navigate this chaos. The first option is to go up the quarter-pipe and into the mother-ship to defeat the brains. and return to earth via a spiraling space beam. Or perhaps you’d rather take the secret passage through the quarter-pipe, and through the geo-dome. in pursuit of the escape albino gorilla. Or finally, you could take the ramp through the crystal cave. for a quick meal of moon-shine and circus peanuts with the hobo.
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Lexington Ice Center & Miniature Golf, Lexington, KT
The Lexington Ice Center & Miniature Golf features 54 holes of bible themed golf created in 1988. First 18 are Old Testament: first seven holes recall the seven days of creation (Seventh is easy, because on the 7th day God rested), then the Garden of Eden, Pharoah's Frogs, and Noah's Ark. Rugged Mt. Sinai is the toughest Old Testament hole. Next 18 are New Testament, starting at the Star of Bethlehem, and moving through the Last Supper's Upper Room. 16, 17 and 18 are Faith, Hope and Love. The last 18 are the toughest -- miracles, including Jesus feeding the multitudes, parting of the Red Sea, the pillar of smoke and fire, and the burning bush.
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Novelty Golf, Chicago
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Eindhoven collective La Bolleur will construct a mini golf course in Zona Tortona in Milan this April. The nine-hole course will be constructed from wood and include a clubhouse with bar.
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Cancun Lagoon Mayan Adventure Golf, Myrtle Beach, SC
The biggest mini-golf eye-popper in Myrtle Beach is the 50-foot-tall Mayan pyramid at Cancun Lagoon. It's topped with frescoes of feathered priests hoisting putters over their heads. Unnaturally blue water spills from terraces amidst palm trees and stone heads. The structure is supposed to be the ancient Mayan Temple of Ek'-Wayeb-Chak (or Chak), the god of lightning and thunder. This hot-tempered god who can only be appeased by playing the ritual Mayan game -- of miniature golf. Twin courses weave in- and out-of-doors, and every half-hour a thunderstorm erupts inside the pyramid, a manifestation of the god's impatient wrath, which drenches the golf course and the players.
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A mini-golf course atop a Tianjin, China train station.
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Coal Country Miniature Golf, Fairmont, WV
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Indoor miniature golf course c. 1935, YMCA, Warren, PA
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Various holes designed by visual artists
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Lake George Mini Golf, NY
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Unknown
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Goofy Golf, Panama City Beach, Florida
Lee Koplin built his masterpiece, Goofy Golf, in Florida; it opened in the summer of 1959. It was miniature golf, but it was also a crazy visionary art theme park. Lee advertised Goofy Golf as "A World of Magic."
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Mayday Golf, North Myrtle Beach, SC
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Fantasia Gardens, Orlando, FLA
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Turda Saltmine Miniature Golf, Romania
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KISS Monster Mini-Golf, Las Vegas
In addition to 18 holes of rock-’n’-roll-themed madness, the venue boasts scarily accurate animatronic versions of the band, the world’s largest KISS memorabilia store and a wedding chapel.
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Rosies Diner Mini Putt, Michigan
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Par-King Skill Golf, Lincolnshire, Illinois
Par-King comes off as a Disney World attraction that somehow landed in the Midwest. Beautifully rendered hole features include a looping rollercoaster that gives balls a crazy ride, a replica Willis Tower inside of which balls ride an elevator to the top, and two giant, nonstop spinning roulette wheels.
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Unknown c. 1924, West Palm Beach, FLA
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Dino Park Mini Golf Phuket, Thailand
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Bompas and Parr Crazy Golf, London
Each hole is a London landmark made out of a cake or jelly looking material. Sadly you won’t be able to take a bite of the gherkin or munch on Big Ben but you might just get a hole in one. You can book ahead for the golf (£6 a pop) or just turn up during the day.
_____________
I ran a quick workshop with some folks to integrate the PicoCricket robotics kit into a cardboard putt putt course. We built some creative holes that brought in the audience via interactive robotic additions.
_______________
______________
Ahlgrim Acres, Chicago
It’s the secretly infamous, miniature golf course Ahlgrim Acres, in the basement of Ahlgrim Funeral Home. Originally built for their kids back in the 60s, the 9 haunted holes (complete with spooky music) are open to the public; when they’re not conducting services, that is.
*
p.s. Hey. 'Dedications' Answer Key: (top to bottom) Dennis Cooper – The Tenderness of the Wolves, Dennis Cooper –My Mark, Dennis Cooper –Period, Dennis Cooper –Idols, Dennis Cooper –Guide, Dennis Cooper –The Marbled Swarm, Dennis Cooper –Closer, Bruce Benderson – The Romanian, Laurence Braithwaite – Wigger, Kenzuburo Oe – A Personal Matter, David Foster Wallace – Infinite Jest, William T. Vollmann – You Bright and Risen Angels, Abdullah Taia – Salvation Army, William T. Vollmann –Whores for Gloria, Ann Sterzinger – Nowhere, Jerzy Kosinski – The Painted Bird, Charles Mingus – Underdog, Ishmael Reed – Yellowback Radio Broke Down, Glenway Wescott – The Pilgrim Hawk, Amina Cain – Creature, Sean Doyle – This Must Be the Place, Kevin Maloney – Cult of Loretta, Steven Weiner – The Museum of Love, Leanne Shapton – Was She Pretty?, Elizabeth Smart – By Grand Central Station I sat down and Wept, Eldon Garnet – Reading Brooke Shields, Joan Didion – Play it as it Lays, Roger Ebert – Two weeks in the Midday Sun, Bret Easton Ellis – Lunar Park, Rosalyn Drexler – One or Another, Lorrie Moore – Birds of America, Katherine Dunn – Attic, Scott Bradfield – The History of Luminous Motion, James Nulick – Valencia, Don DeLillo – White Noise, Andre Gide – The Counterfeiters, Michael Gira – The Consumer, Elizabeth Hardwick – Sleepless Nights, Camille Paglia – Sexual Personae, Susan Sontag – Under the Sign of Saturn, Marilyn Manson – The Long Hard Road out of Hell, Richard Brautigan – Trout Fishing in America, Chris Abani – The Virgin of Flames, Denis Johnson – Jesus’ Son, Randall Jarrell – Pictures from an Institution, David Wiesner – Tuesday, Christopher Alexander – The Timeless Way of Building, Ta-Nahesi Coates – Between the World and Me, Steven Millhauser – Edwin Mulhouse, Andrea Dworkin – Mercy, Shulamith Firestone – Airless Spaces, Mary McCarthy – Birds of America, Miranda July – It Chooses You, Yuri Herrera – Signs Preceding the end of the World, Joan Didion – The Year of Magical Thinking, Caitlin Doughty – Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Grégoire Bouillier – The Mystery Guest, Salah J. Bachir – The Paintings of Attila Richard Lukas ** Dóra Grőber, Hi! Exactly: your description of what being a human machine is like. I'm still one this morning, and I think I need to go to the human machine repair shop, ha ha. I hadn't traveled much at all for a long time. It's only in the last few years after I met the wanderlust Zac that I've been traveling a ton. Copenhagen, Paris, NYC is a really 1-2-3 punch. Okay, recommendations. Well, absolutely for sure Tokyo. I can't say enough good things about that city. I love LA, so, there, but only if you have someone there to show you around because otherwise I think it's too huge and confusing. There are a lot of places I've really liked being: Oslo, Buenos Aires, Iceland in general, ... My weekend was basically me sitting in a work cave, and that was it. I feel like I have brain damage, but probably not. Thank you, though. How was yours and Monday too? ** David Ehrenstein, The Shirelles were pretty smart about stuff. ** Steevee, It already has. Well, very nice news and a relief that it went with the theater guy. Weird how insecurity and stress can be so convincing, isn't it? I think Paris could elect a mayor who is Muslim, yes. And I'm sure that'll happen, but probably not until there are more people of the Muslim faith in French politics in general. The percentage is growing, but it's still very strangely low considering the makeup of the populace here. But, no, I don't think a potential mayor being Muslim would be a problem for a majority of the citizens of Paris. ** Tosh Berman, Hi, Tosh. Yeah, I'm sure it is, I just can't get it up enough to care enough to read it. I started 'Just Kids' and stopped because I just wasn't into it. ** Raymond, Hi, R. It was, wasn't it? All cred to the big J. I was as lost re: the contest as you. I didn't even guess some of my book dedications. Ah, okay, about the Smith thing. I do like Penman's writing. Feeding frenzy, yeah, good. And, yeah, all those names you mention seem to accrue the same feeders at basically the same volume. I can't remember how people filled their voids before the internet. Or, I guess, more how they filled and fraternized at the same time. There used to be mail- and zine-based 'fan clubs', but the pace was so slow. I don't know. I really have to read Hegel someday. He really affects people who read him, or he has the ones I know who do. Which of course makes reading him intimidating. Your rambling wasn't rambling, sir, it was percolative, which I guess isn't a real word. You take care too, and I hope Monday respects you. ** Bear, Hi, Bear! Oops, about the dance piece. Maybe it's just me, but actually really exciting dance pieces are fairly few and far between. At least in France. And I say that as someone who collaborates on dance pieces. One of Gisele's and my pieces has a live band onstage, 'Kindertotenlieder', but we worked hard to integrate them into the piece so they were no more important or visible than the other performers and the set and the effects, etc. It wasn't easy. I want to see her mandalas. Does instagram let non-registered visitors look at stuff? I'll try. Beautiful thoughts and spin-off re: 'A Lover's Discourse'. That's a goodie. It's really nice to feel the excitement in your words, man! ** Bernard Welt, Hi, B. Thank you for encouraging people to send guest-posts, and yes. Good timing. Everyone gets stuck with a rerun tomorrow because I've been kidnapped and am being used as a workaholic text slave at the moment. Cool that you're reading at Donald's event. Did Philip or whoever ask people like Brad, Eileen, Kenward, ... ? A message to the throng. I want to. Let me try to find a minute and some unused brain cells today, and I'll email you. I'm going to post the post about Donald's book on this coming Wednesday, a little early, but I'm getting ready to leave town, so I hope/think earlyish by a few days will be okay? Sure, Jeff Weinstein. I knew him a little. I loved his food column, and I think I remember a really good book of short stories by him too. He is a great guy, a real pip. Thanks, Bernard. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. I want to hear that new Anohni album. Honestly, I had gotten a little tired of her voice and her stuff, but her working with Oneohtrix Point Never is a very exciting idea. ** Sypha, Hi, James. Nope, the Tim Miller was mine. That was one of the few of mine that I actually recognized, ha ha. ** James, Hi. Thank you again so greatly, buddy! It was supreme, and a ton of fun for everyone, obviously, even if your challenge proved to be a bit tough. Jesse Hudson cut off contact with a lot of people, including me, a couple of years ago now, and I haven't heard anything from or about him since. Someone just told me he's fine and doing well, but that's all I know. Blessings on you, sir! ** Jamie McMorrow, Hi, bon courage, bonne journee, and more French-isms where those came from. Dude, when you finally get to Paris, there's this ancient patisserie in the 10th, Du Pain et des Idees, that famously has the best pain chocolat in France, which means in the world, and I'm going to guide you there within minutes of your touch down. Your weekend sounds packed. Oh, you'd be amazed how small and homely a theme park can be without losing my utter fascination and love. Favorite ABBA songs? Whoa, that's a question. Hm. Off the top of my head: 'Knowing Me, Knowing you', '(I am the) Tiger', 'Lovelight', 'Happy New Year', 'Under Attack', ... I could go on and on. My weekend was just solid, brain emptying work from start to finish. Totally uninteresting to anyone not involved in the assigned projects. I think maybe, I hope, I pray, thatI will start to be free or somewhat free again starting tomorrow. Rock Monday! Big love, Dennis. ** Liquoredgoat, Hey, buddy! Excellent to see you! 'The Dream Police' is the title of a sublime song and equally sublime album by the sublime band Cheap Trick. That's where I swiped it. I'm well, swamped, but well. And you? ** Bill, Hi. Me too. I tried but gave up quite quickly. Cool, I'm glad the Jaffe rec paid off. ** Misanthrope, Hi. I feel like that 15% number is quite low. I wonder what the poller considered to be the parameters of Paris. Obviously happy that my attempt at wit won your love. Even I wouldn't have said that to you while we were eating dinner, though. As I said to Steevee, Jesse Hudson has disappeared himself. Someone told me that he rejoined Facebook very briefly a few months ago and then quickly deleted himself from there. I'll check out LPS's profile pic. Yep. ** Jonathan Bryant, Hi, Jonathan! Oh, negligence is okay, and, anyway, it's not negligence. This place is just a drop in the exciting ocean. Or something. (I'm kind of brain dead.) Ha ha, cool, yeah, about the fireworks thing. Me too. I've never seen '47 Ronin', I guess 'cos of the bad press, but fuck the press. I think 'Rivers Edge' is still my favorite Keanu thing. Yeah, I hoped putting that guide at the end of the escorts post might be useful. Cool. Thank you ever so much for reading my Cycle. Yeah, 'Period' is pretty strange, probably even more so out of order. 'Heavier, more substantial': That's good, right? I mean I actually like frothy writing as long as it's really nailed. Reading other writers does that to me too. Still. That's one reason why I try not to read when I'm working on a novel. But in-between-times, I even actively look to other writings to learn things I can use. You know what? Everybody has their own voice inherently. You don't even need worry about that. The thing is to identify what's yours, which is very hard to do and can take time. My guess, my belief, is that if you work with what is the actually most exciting thing to you in your writing, you're both working with what constitutes your own voice and developing it. As long as you write exactly what you most want to write, everything that's overtly an influence will be worn away with time. If that makes any sense. Glad to hear about the cooperative project going well. Finances, ugh, god, ugh. Boyfriends can have a good side effect on the writing as long as they don't play time- and emotion-consuming games with you, or unless those games are exciting rather than restricting. Or something. It's always juggling, basically, I think, forever and forever. You have a great week too! ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T. Thank you! ** Armando, Glad you made it home okay even if home its not the preferred location. Oh, I don't know why George loved Disneyland. I don't know for sure if those particular movies were faves of his. I think he mostly loved Disneyland. I did too, so I guess I just assumed he loved it for same mysterious reasons that I loved it. George was very complex because of his severe bipolar condition and not always easy to figure out. My LA apartment is just down at the bottom of that little mountain that Griffith Observatory sits upon. I'm overwhelmed with work, but I'm good. Thanks! Love and hugs back. ** Right. I got off on a jag of fascination with miniature golf courses one day, and, thus, ... See you tomorrow.