Friday, November 30, 2007

Things I'm gonna forget to bring to Mousefest


As any good travel agent knows, theres 2 things you always tell someone whose come to you for travel advice. First, tell them things they should pack for their trip and second, tell ‘em to stay away from Buford by the front door no matter how asleep he looks. Teeth or no teeth, that dog can get a hold of your arm something fierce.

So, since Buford ain’t coming to no Mousefest (he don’t chase no mice, that’s a job for our cat, Ole Miss Puddles.)… Anyway since, Buford ain’t coming; I thought I’d tell you what to bring to Mousefest. But since I is my own travel agent, I forgot to tell me what to brang so here, in advance, I got a list of things I forgot to bring next week.

First, theres the obvious stuff. The right clothes. In fact I recommend having clothing available almost year round. It can get cold out in public and you can get dirty looks. For Disney World, you may consider a couple changes of clothes for each day, you never know. Florida during that time of year can be hot almost all day and drop into the thirty’s later at night… Also, bring potential raingear. Since all my clothing is raingear, I didn’t forget this, but you big city folk may come without some. Everyday about 3 O’clock it rains a bit. And a hat will come in handy to keep out the constant sunrays.

Second, be sure to bring your tickets for any and all attractions you’ll be attending. If you don’t have any, consider taking care of them in advance as there sure is a lot of other stuff going on. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on a Dole Whip while you’re in line for entrance tickets.

Next, you’re gonna run into several authors and podcasters who write Disney themed books. You’ll be able to buy many of them while you are there, but if you have them already, be sure to pack them. I for one, know my Disney World Trivia book has not been signed by Lou Mongello and my Realityland by David Koenig, the same. Also, I got some gifts for some friends. Those gifts are back on my night table and my friends no longer talk to me.

Next, you got a lot of tech gadgets that are becoming part of everyday life that may slip aside if you take an extended weekend. This includes your cameras, ipods and SellYouLer phones. Even more likely forgotten? Your SellYouLer Phone Char Jer.

You’lls gonna be spending lots of money while at Walt Disney World, so hopefeully, you’ll avoid the extra expense of buying something that you have at home collecting dust.


Posted by Doc Terminus at 00:07:52 | Permanent Link | Comments (3) |

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Bookworm: Born Standing Up


While a review of a book by Steve Martin may seem off-topic in a blog dedicated to Disney, a quick glance at his past deems it appropriate.

Full disclosure, I have always been a great fan of Steve Martin. Not so much his vast film work, but rather his comic sensibilities apparent in his early stand-up days and his more recent forays into literature and theatre. A very private man, this auto-biography puts a spotlight on Martin’s stand-up comedy period. It is delicate and precise and when it is over, his early career is significant and well documented. At the end, Martin remains an enigma, his personal life a mystery. As a fan of his stand-up work, I found the work enlightening and it filled in holes I didn’t know were there when I listened to his comedy albums.

But what may be most interesting to all of us is Martin’s recollection of Disneyland. He worked in various capacities from 14 years old through college. His detailed stories fill a large segment of the book with a great description of working at Disneyland. His experiences have him selling guide maps in the mornings, spending his days traversing the park, occasionally going on a ride if he was lucky enough to find an “A” ticket on the ground. The Diamond Horseshoe, on the other hand, was always free so he spent most of his time there, learning his comedy from Wally Boag and others from the revue.

Martin hones his craft working in one of the two magic shops in Disneyland, and his recollection is one of much fondness. He easily creates a sense of nostalgia for me of a time I never experienced.

It’s a short read, and a good one, especially for fans of Martin’s early work. The story tapers off by the time he finishes the movie THE JERK. Maybe there will be a second part of his funny, poignant memoir in the near future.

At this writing, the book is available in hardcover, or for a few dollars more, you can get an audiobook version read by Steve Martin himself.


Many other book reviews are available by searching for "Bookworm" in the search engine in the right menu box.
Posted by Doc Terminus at 23:37:00 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Monday, November 26, 2007

Passamaquoddy Sign Permits: Toy Story Mania



Tindrina Wago has been on the prowl again.  This time she's checking on claims that some new signs that popped up around town are out of code for being to colorful, cheerful and childlike.  You be the judge:





(The following is from Tindrina's notepad)

I cain't tell what these is fer.  It looks like food stuff cept nobody round here eats dinosaur meat.  Maybe that's a big city thing.  And they misplelled Ham using 2 mm's.  Whatever it is fir, they'se within code.  From the look of it all, they'se advertising something old fashioned-like.  Kinda ironic if it turns out to be a cutting edge attraction rather than a quaint midway offering. 

Now who stole my hot chocolate?
Posted by Doc Terminus at 10:19:35 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday, November 23, 2007

Movie Night: Total Enchantment

Sometimes a movie title can be a dangerous omen. Names such as “Superbad“, “The Human Stain” and “Loser” were brought up by critics as prophetical titles. Likewise, overly optimistic titles were used against films as in “Some Kind of Wonderful - Not!”. So with a title such as Enchanted, the filmmakers opened themselves up to this kind of rebuke. Fortunately, this is one title that fit’s the film like a glass slipper on Cinderella’s - or Giselle’s - foot.

Enchanted is said to be Disney’s return back to what they do best. I’m going to take that a step further. Enchanted is what Disney does best at the perfect time. Not only does it feature great performances, a clever screenplay, beautiful music and clever lyrics, it also presents them in a form accessible to today’s audiences.

Disney took a symbolic shot to the chin with the success of Shrek, the ogre that rolled through Disney story-telling with a hip, modern sensibility. Since that time, Disney has not struck back. I believe that Enchanted not only does that, but it does it with a better film. In fact, early is Enchanted you see the animated Prince Edward bringing down a large, Shrek-like troll. Disney also acknowledges Enchanted with a huge compliment in the first moments of the film. We see the Walt Disney Pictures logo screen, a fly around of Cinderella castle, that usually results in a fade to black. But this time, we fly directly into one of the castles windows, inside finding the ‘fairy tale’ book of Enchanted.

Amy Adams is a one-time Academy Award nominee for Junebug who also did a several episode stint on the Office. Now she brings beautiful Princess Giselle to life, both in her Manhattan adventure, but also in the 2-D animated opening. Grey’s Anatomy’s Patrick Dempsey joins Adams as a single parent/attorney who has a couple things to learn from the innocence of true love. James Marsden of X-Men and the recent Superman Returns plays the perfect Prince Edward, singing his way to boastful perfection. Susan Sarandon chews up the scenery as the evil Stepmother.. And chews up even more when she transforms into a powerful dragon for the final battle high over the streets of the Big Apple. Other include Idina Menzel of Broadway’s original cast of “Wicked”, Little Mermaid's Jodi Benson and Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle in Disney’s animated masterwork, “Beauty and the Beast“.

It’s difficult to draw attention to the many high points in the film, its that well done. I’d love to see it receive an Academy Award Best Picture beyond its obvious best song and score nominations. Yes, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz return to top form with Enchanted. Even better, these new songs don’t suffer what others in his films did, they don’t seem overly familiar as there hasn’t been a new Menken musical every year for the past five years.

If there is anything missing in Enchanted, it is a connection for younger boys. But girls of all ages and a large chunk of men will find much to celebrate in the film. I myself was thoroughly enchanted.
Posted by Doc Terminus at 23:35:01 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |
1 2 3 4 5