In Doc's World - PC vs. Mac (The Age Old Question)

So, what do you do when the weather outside is frightful? Why, bundle up and take a walk with the dog. And that is just what Mrs. Doc and I did this morning. Where we live we do not experience a snow of consequence very often so we get out in it and enjoy. At least until we decide it is too cold and that puttering around the house, eating leftover Jet's Pizza and considering an afternoon nap are a better use of time.

I posted a few photographs via my Twitter account earlier today. One was the view from my office. That made me think about how I haven't posted an In Doc's World in quite sometime. I am actually working on something that fits that bill. But it isn't ready yet. So in the interim, here is a bit of Doc's World. This morning there was the picture looking out of one of the windows in my office. This afternoon, here is looking into my office.

First, the PC view...


And then, the Mac view.

As we go on (there is a song in there somewhere), we'll take a closer look at some of the things that make it difficult to walk and work in my office, but provide a great deal of enjoyment and give me cause to recall memories of wonderful trips, times with family, and the friends that I miss all too often.

More to follow...

A New Hope

I love tomorrow! Yes, I love today too. Because all we have is today and our memories of yesterday. But for me, and perhaps for you, today does hold some thoughts of tomorrow. Tomorrow is what we hope for and that is what I love about it – hope. Albert Einstein said, “Learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow.”

While pondering my tomorrow, today, I came across some quotes that encompass thoughts of tomorrow.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely." I also enjoyed this from Mark Twain, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.”

Tomorrow is also found in music. The Beatles wrote a song titled Tomorrow Never Knows that includes a favorite lyric, “But listen to the color of your dreams.” In the Broadway musical Annie, the title character encourages the orphans, and us, by singing, “The sun will come out tomorrow.” And in Disney, the Sherman Brothers gave us, “There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow.”

Live for today, but have hope for tomorrow.

My tomorrow begins a journey that I have dreamed of for years now. The family will begin our Labor Day weekend trip tomorrow afternoon with our destination being Walt Disney World. While I am enjoying the drive south, listening to Disney music, talking and laughing with my wife, and having the grandchildren take turns riding with Papa, I’ll be thinking of the tomorrow that I hope for. We will call Friday. That tomorrow will be filled with adventures outside the parks. I will most like be awake that night waiting for Saturday to begin. For on that tomorrow, the dream comes true!

Shakespeare wrote tragically of “tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” but I much prefer to look joyously on my tomorrow that lies three days away.

Yes, live for today. I do! For today is life! Have hope for tomorrow. I do! For tomorrow…well, tomorrow brings hope.

I love tomorrow!

Counting Down

A favorite thing to do with any trip to Walt Disney World, besides the trip itself, is the countdown. There are countdown clocks that we can add to computer desktops, widgets, and other methods that I am probably not familiar with. I am “old school” about this, in that, there is a calendar on my refrigerator that helps me countdown the days ‘til the magic.

There are other things I like to do that help build the anticipation. Last night for example, Mrs. Doc and I joined my daughter-in-law and three of our grandchildren, my sister and her family, and we spent the evening at the county fair. Is it Disney? No. But can it help build a little excitement? Yes. They had a ride that operated much like Primeval Whirl. Yeah, I didn’t ride here either. Once is enough.

Other anticipation builders? Disney Park music. Thanks to friends, my iPod is teeming with a wide variety of options that I can listen to. Film. In anticipation of Devon trying his hand at pulling the sword out of the stone, I thought a little primer in Arthurian legend may be helpful. And how best to introduction a nine year old to King Arthur then a leisurely read through Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur or Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain. But then, that may be a little much for Friday night. So maybe we’ll just watch The Sword in the Stone.

Other ways of preparing is in how we use language; meaning how certain words or phrases slip into the vernacular of Disney Geeks. Phrases such as “The Single Digit Dance” or one I may have coined this morning, “The One-Week Waltz.” Another one I use when I am flying into Orlando International is, “The MCO Shuffle.” And, of course, what shuffle is complete without a stroll through the Disney “Ear”port.

So, one week to go. I suppose I need to re-pack. Just to be sure, again, that I haven't forgotten anything.

How about you? What pre-trip traditions do you have? How do you build the anticipation (as if it needs any help)? How do you count down the days ‘til Disney?

More to follow...

One Hundred + 1

Whew, I just made it. I thought that the combination of my work schedule, celebrating my mother's birthday, and simply the general level of tiredness that I have just now would prevent me from settling down to write. Honestly, I would much rather be in bed allowing the background music loop from Innoventions lull me to sleep. But, that I can not do just yet.

Today has a small degree of significance. It is the 100th post on The Disney Obsession. It is also the one year anniversary of this experiment. It was a little over one year ago that Mrs. Doc recommended that I start blogging about my passion for Disney. And after having read a few blogs I felt that I may be able to add something to the general dialogue that takes place within the Disney online community. I fear though, that I may have been wrong in my thinking.

For you see, I have discovered that there are many in our circle of friends who know much more about the parks than I (not that I ever proclaimed a vast knowledge). Within the world of Disney there are many subject matters and these are discussed via a number of excellent blogs and podcasts. I appreciate each blog that I read and each podcast that I listen too. I feel both humbled and honored that I can count many of these writers and podcasters as my friends; both the ones I've met and those I have yet to meet.

But I must be honest here. I have struggled to find a voice for this experiment. I struggle with the notion of posting something that would be considered interesting to those few who visit this blog. I struggle with the idea that if I don't post daily or every other day, then somehow, what I have to say is not relevant. Perhaps I am not too far from the truth with these thoughts.

Then a friend of mine said to me recently that mine is one of most emotional Disney blogs that he has read. With that comment he confirmed something that I have been thinking of for sometime (while I struggle with content). And that is, for me, that Disney is an emotion! Yes, it is a place, a film, a passage of music, a book, a character and more. But most importantly (for me anyway), it is an emotion. It is the emotion that swells up inside of me whenever I set foot on Main Street U.S.A. or fly over the City of London. It is a memory of my grandmother whenever I emerge from clouds at the opening of Soarin'. It is knowing that no matter how difficult life gets, there is a happy thought just a second away whenever I think of Tinkerbell flying through the air as Wishes! begins or as my heart pounds during the finale of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. It is the dream of someday walking down Main Street U.S.A. with my grandchildren. Whatever it is, there is something there and it impacts my life in ways that can, at times, be difficult to explain and even harder to understand.

That is it! Disney is an emotion! It is what it does to each one of us that makes it special. And I feel that this will become the voice of The Disney Obsession. Yes, I want to continue to share my attempts at nighttime photography. And there will still be those challenges that some of you have come to enjoy in Where In The World. Who knows, I may even share the odd piece of riveting information about some subject or another (there are still a few ideas of this nature scribbled on paper in my office here). But moving forward I think I would like to share more about how Disney impacts our (my) emotions.

Is this okay?

So, let's recap. One hundred posts in 366 days. That is what, one post every 3.66 days. Is Doc going to posts more frequently? Probably not. Hey, I have five grandchildren and a four year old nephew that need their time with Papa. But I will continue to press on with this experiment, meeting and making new friends, taking pictures, visiting the parks (as often as possible), creating new memories, and sharing what Disney means to me.

Oh, and if Disney makes you emotional, that's okay. I know I am not alone in this; or at least I hope i'm not. It is okay to share. To me that is what makes it all real.

More to follow...
Doc

P.s. No pictures tonight. I am tired.

All In The Family: Part Two

I sat down this evening thinking I would update the running Where In The World photo series. But I don’t know, I am feeling a little nostalgic this evening and when I get nostalgic I think mostly about friends and family.

So, the photo can wait. Although, I do have a photograph of a hidden Spaceship Earth I want to share. I have more about that at a later date.

Now for nostalgia.

As many of you know I was in Passamaquoddy for the 4th of July Cookout. Had I not been there, I would have either been with some of family on a lake in Michigan, or in my mother’s backyard with other family. Notice the trend? Wherever Doc is, family and friends are there also.

But about my mom. Every year she has company during the 4th of July, and the 5th, 6th, 7th, and so on and so on. There are brothers, sisters, aunts, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and every now and then a niece or nephew will show up. I house is packed. I know; her house is right behind mine. And food? You could feed the whole neighborhood with what comes out of Mama Doc’s kitchen.

So, what does this have with Disney? Well, nothing really, I just want to honor my mother. It doesn’t have to be Mother’s Day for us to honor our moms.

I will say about a little about mom and Disney though. In a post some time ago I mentioned how my mom calls herself “my enabler.” And she is. She’ll call the house and ask, “Are you doing anything?” “Well, not right now mom.” “Well, walk over here a minute. I got something for you.” Nine times out of ten it will be something related to my Obsession. It may be a little figurine, or a magazine with a article or perhaps a recipe from Disneyland or Walt Disney World. But then sometimes there will be larger items, like once she had Buzz & Friends Pixar Characters Train.

Mama Doc is also my defender. Not everyone can appreciate the true magic of Disney like we geeks. My grandmother didn’t understand. Likewise for some friends of the family and so forth. I know you can relate to this. My mother (who by the way, doesn’t “get it”) will always defend my love for Disney. Her answer, “It is something he loves and there are a whole lot of other things he could be doing that you may wish he wouldn’t be doing.” That usually ends the conversation.

I could go on and on, but I read somewhere that posts should not be over-long.

But let me close by encouraging you in two areas. First, seek out the “enablers” and “defenders” in your life and give them a big hug and say “Thank you.” We, the B.P.O.M., are free to be who we are because of these wonderful people. Second, if you still have mom with you, call her up, say “Thanks, and I love you mom.” She doesn’t need to know why. You do, and that it all that matters for now.

More to follow…

Arrival for the Doc "Fifty In Disney" Celebration - April 2007

The Legends...

Today begins a new series on The Disney Obsession. I call it The Legends. These are the Disney Legends and this series will spotlight those people who have distinguished themselves among those who played a special part in bringing us the magic.

The Disney Legends program began in 1987 and so far it has honored 216 individuals. These are the animators, the vocal talents, the Imagineers, the film makers, musicians, and others who have worked to create the Disney experience for our enjoyment.

During 2008 I will focus on the Disney disciplines of Animation, Imagineering and Attractions, celebrating the birthdays of those people honored for their contributions in these areas. In future years we can explore other areas of creativity, and along the way we may celebrate a few birthdays of future Disney Legends.

Since I will offer only a brief sketch of the individuals celebrated I encourage you to visit the Disney Legends site and learn more about each person.

I can not think of a better way to begin a new series on The Legends than to begin with a Disney. To him, Uncle Walt was truly his father’s brother. Roy E. Disney was born in Los Angeles on January 10, 1930, the son Roy & Edna Disney. Young Roy enjoyed a life that most of us can only dream of and that was he had the opportunity to grow up around the studio.

Following his graduation from Pomona College he started his career as an assistant film editor and later joined the Walt Disney Studios in 1954 as an assistant editor on the True Life Adventure films.

Roy left the Studio in 1977 after 23 years to pursue other interests but returned in 1984 to serve as vice chair and head of animation. It was during his watch that Disney enjoyed what some call The 2nd Golden Age of Disney Animation with such current classics as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast and The Lion King. He also restored his uncle’s vision for Fantasia with the premier of Fantasia 2000 in December 1999.

Roy Edward Disney became a Disney Legend in 1998.

Photo: Wikipedia, Roy E. Disney article