Obama’s blockhead double takes oath in CA

While President Barack Obama took the oath of office in Washington, D.C., his counterpart did the same in Carlsbad, CA. While the west coast ceremony was a bit rough around the edges, the blockhead appears to have done just fine.

LEGOLAND® California is celebrating our new president with a new display, running until Memorial Day, May 25, 2009. Visitors to this theme park can enjoy the ascension of the 44th president of the United States on the steps of the Capitol in Miniland U.S.A.

The entire effort includes block depictions of Obama and his family, Vice President Joseph Biden and his wife Jill and former presidents and vice presidents George Bush (senior and junior), Dick Cheney and their spouses. In all, more than a thousand “people” were erected to show the inauguration. Most of the figures stand four inches high. In the audience, you’ll find some famous spectators, including Senator Dianne Feinstein, Aretha Franklin and Yo Yo Ma. The U.S. Marine Corps Band and San Francisco Boys Chorus are in attendance as well.

The LEGOLAND inauguration is part of a larger exhibition comprised of more than 22 million LEGO bricks that renders major cities such as New York, Las Vegas and San Francisco in this unique art form.

Czech Spa Vacation: Shaken, Not Stirred

Bond movie junkies will probably know that a large portion of the last Bond film, Casino Royale, was filmed in the Czech Republic. Actually, most of the scenes which are supposed to be in Montenegro are filmed in the Czech spa town Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), about 2 hours east of Prague.

The hotel, where Bond and his femme fatale are staying, is Karlovy Vary’s 5-star Hotel Pupp (yes, it is pronounced “poop” but it is a nice hotel, really). The hotel was built in 1701 and has been famous for its spa treatments ever since.

The hotel is now offering special 3-day packages called “In the Track of Agent 007“, including visit to a castle, beer spa, and a shooting range. Casino is also a part of the hotel and one of Czech Republic’s best golf courses is located just a few miles away. And, I hear they can make a mean martini. Not that the new Bond cares.