Treetops Hotel
Treetops Hotel is a hotel in Aberdare National Park in Kenya near the township of Nyeri, 1,966 m (6,450 ft) above sea level on the Aberdare Range and in sight of Mount Kenya. First opened in 1932 by Eric Sherbrooke Walker, it was literally built into the tops of the trees of Aberdare National Park as a treehouse, offering the guests a close view of the local wildlife in complete safety. The idea was to provide a machan (hunting platform on a tree during shikar in India) experience in relative safety and comfort. From the original modest two-room tree house, it has grown into 50 rooms. The original structure was burned down by African guerrillas during the 1954 Mau Mau Uprising, but the hotel was rebuilt near the same waterhole and has become fashionable for many of the rich and famous. It includes observation lounges and ground-level photographic hides from which guests can observe the local wildlife which comes to the nearby waterholes.
The hotel is known as the location where Princess Elizabeth acceded to the thrones of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms upon the death of her father, King George VI, while she was staying there in 1952.
Treetops (state park)
Treetops is the former estate of torch singer and actress Libby Holman. It forms the southernmost part of Mianus River Park and is overseen by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection as the Mianus River State Park. The larger Mianus River Park, which straddles the border of Stamford and Greenwich, is composed of Treetops (94 acres), Mianus River and Natural Park (110 acres owned by the Town of Greenwich), and Mianus River Park (187 acres owned by the City of Stamford).
In 2001, a successful effort was made by local citizens to save the estate from development. As a result, 94 acres of pristine grounds were preserved as a state park, with a further 11 acres around the Treetops mansion covered by a conservation easement. Many rooms in Holman's mansion have been restored by its current owners. These include the studio of Holman's third husband Louis Schanker, a renowned abstract artist.
In 2006, the Treetops Chamber Music Society’s annual concert series made Louis Schanker's studio its home.
Roadkill (wrestler)
Michael DePoli (born August 10, 1976) is a retired professional wrestler best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling. He worked for World Wrestling Entertainment in its Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental territory. He is best known as Roadkill, where his wrestling gear was traditional Amish dress and he was billed as being from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, an area of large Amish population.
Professional wrestling career
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996-2001)
Roadkill was trained by Taz and Perry Saturn at the ECW House of Hardcore in 1996. Once his training was complete, he joined the ECW roster, and had his first professional match on October 18, 1996 in LuLu Temple in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania against Taz.
In December 1997, Roadkill formed an unlikely tag team with his fellow House of Hardcore graduate, Danny Doring. They were managed by Miss Congeniality until she left ECW in 1999 to join the World Wrestling Federation, and then by Elektra until she turned on them in 2000.
Joy Ride (2001 film)
Joy Ride, also known as Roadkill, is a 2001 American mystery thriller horror road film. The film was written by J. J. Abrams and Clay Tarver and directed by John Dahl and starring Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, and Leelee Sobieski.
Although not a strong commercial hit, the film received enthusiastic reviews by critics and it was followed by two direct-to-video sequels, Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead and Joy Ride 3.
Plot
University students Lewis Thomas (Paul Walker) and Venna Wilcox (Leelee Sobieski), Lewis' childhood friend and crush, prepare to go home for the summer holiday. Lewis offers to come by Venna's campus (they go to different universities) to drive her home instead of both of them flying back; Venna happily agrees. Lewis calls his parents to announce the change of plan and learns that his older brother Fuller (Steve Zahn), the family's black sheep, has been arrested once again. Lewis drives to Salt Lake city and bails out Fuller, who then tags along for the trip.
At a gas station, Fuller has a CB radio installed on Lewis' car, and the two begin listening on truckers' chatters. Fuller coaxes Lewis into playing a prank on a truck driver nicknamed 'Rusty Nail' (voiced by Ted Levine (uncredited)). Lewis pretends to be a woman named Candy Cane and sets up a meeting with Rusty Nail in the motel where Lewis and Fuller will be spending the night. Lewis gives him the number of the room next door. The room's occupant is an irritable businessman. When Rusty Nail arrives at the man's room, arguments and sounds of a scuffle are briefly heard. The next morning, Sheriff Ritter announces to Lewis and Fuller that they found the businessman on the highway, still alive with his lower jaw ripped off. Ritter figures out the two are involved in the incident, but lets them go as he's already had his hands full and they don't know anything other than the man's nickname.
Roadkill (1989 film)
Roadkill is a film by Canadian director Bruce McDonald, filmed and released in 1989. In a review of the film's soundtrack album, the website Allmusic calls the film "an increasingly weird mix of Heart of Darkness and The Wizard of Oz".
Background
The film was inspired by the Toronto rock band A Neon Rome. McDonald's original idea was to make a concert film following that band on tour; however, the band's lead singer, Neal Arbik, became disillusioned with the demands of touring to promote the band's debut album. His behaviour became increasingly erratic and rebellious over the course of the tour, and he ultimately quit the music industry before the film — or the band's second album — could be made.
Instead, the film became a fictionalized portrayal of A Neon Rome, depicting a band on the verge of collapsing in a similar manner.
Synopsis
The film stars Valerie Buhagiar as Ramona, an intern at a Toronto record label who is sent to Sudbury by promoter Roy Seth (Gerry Quigley) to track down the label's star band, Children of Paradise, after they disappear on tour. Because she doesn't know how to drive, however, she takes a taxi driven by Buddy (Larry Hudson) for the entire 400-km route.
