The Incredibles

Another confession:

I was never a fan of having my picture made with characters. I considered the time spent waiting in line to have my photograph taken, to be time I could be riding a ride, seeing a show, taking a photograph, or perhaps, eating. But, that is changing, thanks to my grandchildren.

During our "Papa's Dream Come True" trip in September, I patiently waited in line in the Judge's Tent at Mickey's Toontown Fair, to have my photograph made with Mickey and Minnie and whole Doc fam. And, I confess, I had a little Doc only time with Mickey and Minnie (see my Facebook profile photo). I couldn't help myself. Then, during the "Papa and Devon Back to The World" October outing, Devon taught me that having your picture made with a few characters is not a bad thing. In fact, sometimes it can be quite fun and you may experience at times little to no wait. So, with my grandson leading the way, I dove in and have begun the quest of compiling my collection of character photo ops.

Now yes, I suppose since it was all started by a mouse, I should start my Character Connections with The Mouse himself, but I am going in a little different direction and beginning with The Incredibles. It is an example of how fun some photo ops can be.

It may be easier to seek out these Character Connections when I have a grandchild with me. But I am going to test the envelop in a few weeks when Mrs. Doc visit Walt Disney World for the Candlelight Processional. Then, it will be the ol' Doc, and perhaps Mrs. Doc, waiting in line without a grandchild in sight.

One must do what one must do.

More to follow...

Where In The World

If one were able to catch a glimpse of what hypersleep is considered to look like, then they would have looked out their window during Mission: Space. Congratulations to Craig Wheeler for correctly identifying the 11.30.09 photo challenge.

Now, for this week's challenge. Where In The World would you find this?

More to follow...

A Night At the Pop: The 50's

I was born in the first year of the second Eisenhower administration; born in the 50's, toddled and played through the 60's and came of age in the 70's.

During recent visits i have become a fan of the Disney's Pop Century Resort. I have a goal of staying in each decade over the course of the next few years. So far, I have stayed in the 60's twice and the 70's once. I have three decades to go. Each decade is celebrated by icons representative of the decade. In the next few weeks, TDO will explore these larger-than-life icons, visiting each decade during Disney World After Dark.

When the 50's arrived, Harry S. Truman was President. The average household income was $3,216 and a house would cost an average of $14,500. A postage stamp was 3 cents, milk cost 82 cents and bread was 14 cents. You could also buy a thing known as an LP (meaning long-play) record for $4.85.

Speaking of music, here are the Number 1 Hits of the 1950's:

1950 - The Fat Man - Fats Domino

1951 - Sixty Minute Man - The Dominoes

1952 - Lawdy Miss Clawdy - Lloyd Price

1953 - Money Honey - Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter

1954 - Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley and His Comets

1955 - Tutti-Frutti - Little Richard

1956 - Hound Dog - Elvis Presley

1957 - Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley

1958 - Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry

1959 - What'd I'd Say - Ray Charles

In Disney news, Cinderella opened on February 15, 1950. Following was Alice in Wonderland (wide release July 28, 1951), Peter Pan (February 5, 1953), Lady and the Tramp (wide release June 22, 1955) and Sleeping Beauty (January 29, 1959). Some where in all this studio activity, Uncle Walt also managed to develop some property in Orange County along Harbor Boulevard.

The Academy Awards for Best Picture went to All About Eve (1950), An American In Paris (1951), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), From Here to Eternity (1953), On the Waterfront (1954), Marty (1955), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Gigi (1958), and Ben-Hur (1959).

Oh, and football. Between 1950 and 1959, the Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship 3 times, the Detroit Lions 3 times, the Baltimore Colts 2 times, the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Giants 1 time each.

Next week, we'll groove into the 60's. Until then, hang loose.

More to follow...

IllumiNations: Act One

Some time ago, July 30th to be exact, I posted an article entitled IllumiNations: The Introduction. In the article we briefly explored the opening of the nighttime spectacular. Here now, is Act One.

The first act of IllumiNations is comprised of five pieces. They are Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven, Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the Zampa Overture by Ferdinand Herold, the Italian Concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach and the William Tell Overture by Giachhino Rossini. Let’s look first at the first two pieces.

The first movement of Beethoven’s (1770-1827) Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Opus 67, was composed over a period of four years beginning in 1804 and premiered in Vienna in 1808. It opens with perhaps one of the most recognizable four measures in music. Written in two-four time, the work opens with 3 eighth notes followed by a sustained half note. This then repeats with the addition of a second sustained half note. The four-note motif repeats at various times throughout the first movement and subsequent three movements.

Little is known about the origins, or purpose for the creation of the Fifth Symphony. Some maintain is stands as the composer’s musical exploration of fate. Others look to an aborted love affair or a sense of patriotism in the wake of Austria’s loss during the Napoleonic Wars as its inspiration. In his life, Beethoven composed nine symphonies. The Symphony No. 5 (along with the Ninth which will be discussed later) is a testament to a career that experienced extreme highs and devastating lows which were marked with periods of sheer genius.
Flight of the Bumblebee is from Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) 1900 opera, Tale of the Tsar Sultan. It appears in Act III of the opera. Like the Symphony No. 5, it is also written in two four time but uses a nearly continuous stream of sixteenth notes and instead of plodding along at a steady pace, it is rendered at an extremely rapid pace. The piece appears as an interlude in which the Swan-Bird magically transforms the Tsar’s son into an insect (a bumblebee) giving him the ability to fly so that he may visit his father. A lyric, sang by the Swan-Bird, accompany the interlude:

“Well, now, my bumblebee, go on a spree,catch up with the ship on the sea,go down secretly,get into a crack a little distance away.Good luck, Gvidon, fly,only do not stay long!”

The overture from the opera Zampa, was composed by Ferdinand Herold in 1831, two years prior to his death from tuberculosis. Zampa, is perhaps the most famous of his 22 operatic compositions.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) published his Italian Concerto, or Concerto after the Italian Taste, in 1735. Bach composed a great of number of works for harpsichord and clavichord. The concerto was composed in three movements for a two-manual harpsichord. The third movement is entitled “Presto” and as the title implies, is played at a fast tempo. Though not as well known as his Goldberg Variations or the Brandenburg Concertos, the Italian has been widely recorded as favorite of the Bach concertos.

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) composed 39 operas during his lifetime. The opera William Tell was premiered in Paris on August 3, 1929. The Overture to the opera was written in four parts which include the Prelude, the Storm, The Ranz des Vaches (which translates ‘call to the dairy cows’) and that part which we are most familiar with, the Finale, or Galop.
The Finale begins with a fanfare of trumpets signaling the beginning of a cavalry charge and is joined by full orchestra. This “charge” being presented in the Overture is a glimpse into Act IV of the opera where a rebel Swiss army, led by Tell, arrives and fights the battle that leads to the liberation of Switzerland.

Through the years the William Tell Overture has been interpreted and performed by a number of individuals and groups and has been featured in television and film. For a more whimsical musical interpretation, let me recommend Spike Jones and His City Slickers 1948 rendition. You’ll never listen the Overture the same way again.

The first act runs 2 minutes, 3 seconds long.

Next, we’ll look at the countries of the World Showcase through the music of Act II.

More to follow…

The photographs were taken by the author in 1994 using a Minolta 35mm camera.

Where In The World: Say Hello To A Long Lost Feature

As we try to move back into the process of posting semi-regularly, we thought it may be best to begin with a new Where In The World. This should be fairly easy.

In Response

This is a response to something I read this week on another blog; one of my favorites. It has to do with friendship and instead of simply commenting on the post, I chose to provide my comment here. In this way, those of you who read this blog and the other (which of course begs the question, "why aren't you?), can perhaps reflect on its meaning. It is this:

Life is busy. I think back to how simple life was when I lived in England. When I moved back to America I was astonished at how quickly life got incredibly busy again. So, while it is perhaps polite and proper to apologize for how busy we are, I do not believe it is always necessary. Busy is who we are; it is what we do. True, while we all aspire to a slower way of living in a simpler time, it more often than not escapes us. We strive to do best the we can inside our busy condition.

As to friendship (and this is my comment), true friendship can be measured in that, friends can be apart for long periods of time and have little time to talk, yet, when they are reunited, it is as if there was no separation at all. They pick up just where they left off, as though one had stepped away only for a moment. I am blessed to have friends like that and the author of the blog you should be reading is one.

While I am here...

I have not taken the time to post a Thanksgiving message. This doesn't mean I have little to be thankful for; quite the contrary. If you follow TDO then you know what 2009 has meant to me. It may not included as many trips to Walt Disney World as I would have liked to take, but I did enjoy an Alaskan cruise with my wife, my mother, my sister and my youngest nephew. You know I got to answer the question, "What will you celebrate?" by walking down Main Street U.S.A. my grandchildren (a dream come true) and being back in the parks with my son. Then last month I had the honor of presenting my daughter to be married.

All-in-all, not a bad year and great great deal to be thankful for. And all this without mentioning home, health, provision, and all the daily ways I am thankful.

More to follow...

This post carries no photographs, therefore, there are not photo credits.

But It Bears Repeating

It has been well over a month since I have posted, and before I proceed, I feel that there is something that I have written that bears repeating. That is, that while I believe that every father is proud of his children, there is no father who can be any prouder than I am of mine. Continuing from my last post, let me present a few moments of a father and his daughter.