An Anniversary

... just sayin'

And closing in on 500 posts.

More to follow...

In Doc's World - A Door

I was sharing with a friend last week saying that "Life would be a lot more fun if it wouldn't get in the way so often." This week has been one of those times. It has been a good week, but a busy week and I didn't have time to get something ready to post on Wednesday. Sorry.

I was puttering around (one of my favorite pastimes) in my office earlier this month and was taking a few photographs, all the while thinking that we haven't paid a visit to Doc's World lately. So here goes. A visit to Doc's World.

This is board I have hanging on the closet door of my home office. When we built our house my wife said I could have one room to fill with all of my Disney things. And, for the most part, I have kept things confined here. Though it has spread a bit; we both believe that every room needs a little Disney. For example, the Galleries of Light live in the living room and dining room. But most of my collection resides upstairs in my little haven, my laughing place, my "Li'l Disney".

The board holds a selection of pins, old wristbands from past events (and PI), a couple of now tarnished jingle bells with a pin saying "Believe" that I picked up at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party a few years ago, some notes to myself and doodles, and a few photos. You may see my son posing by a Photo Spot and then a little further down is a picture of me in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle in Paris Disneyland. Just below that is a picture of my daughter when she was a bit younger and my dear grandmother, Nannie. We lost her a few years ago. If fact, I was just coming off of Expedition Everest when I got the call that she went home to be with the Lord.

Then about the pins; one of my many goals is to have a pin for every attraction in the Magic Kingdom. So, I have a park map on the board and I place an attraction pin on or near the spot on the map. I still have a few pins to go.

Some day, very soon in fact, I'll show you behind that door. I am in the process of clearing it and then I'll re-purpose the space into a small studio for my drawing. I like to doodle and I like to work on pen and ink renderings. Hoping to get back to it soon.

So there you are. Just a little bit more about life In Doc's World.

Something On A Sunday

Hall House 07.06.08

I appreciate interesting interior design. I don't think I am that good at it, but I have an appreciation for those who are. I tend to alternate between a nicely cluttered home or one that is ordered, much in the style of Feng Shui.

One goal I have set for myself in this new year is to downsize and simplify. But in doing so I don't want to lose the essential essence of how I live and how I interact with my family. What am I getting at? I had a conversation with a good friend a few weeks back and the subject of downsizing and simplifying came up. He asked me about my memories of growing up with my parents and grandparents and the feelings I had for their homes. I recall that they had the feeling of being lived in and not museum pieces. Then he asked, "What do you think your grandchildren will remember best, a home that is cluttered with all the things that reflect who you are and make your life what it is, or a home that is Feng Shui?"

He made a good point.

I still will strive to downsize and to simplify, simple because it is needed. But in doing so, I will be mindful not to give up what makes our house a home; not to lose who we are.

Light

Years ago my wife made a suggestion that basically said this, "If you're going to collect Disney, why not spend some money and get some really good items?" What she was referring to was penchant for collecting coffee mugs, plastic character figures, and a myriad of other rather inexpensive things. Sure, there was the occasional collectible thrown in, like Grolier figurines or a signed and numbered plate. I felt that if I concentrated on inexpensive items, my money would go further and I would enlarge my collection quickly.

But my wife's words kept coming back to me, and she was right. "If you're going to collect...money...really good items." Words of wisdom, don't you think? Words I have taken to heart.

Now granted, I am not one of those who can walk into a store, point to just any item, say I want it, and then get it. True, I can say I want it all day, but the actual getting it can be problematic. Depending on the item.

For example, take Robert Olszewski. I have made several trips to Walt Disney World over the past few years and each time I will walk into an Art of Disney store and look longingly at the Cinderella Castle miniature. Yes, I could put down the money for the item. It would mean foregoing a table service or two perhaps. But the issue comes from not actually purchasing the Castle; it comes from the felt need that will arise that I must purchase all the other items that make up the miniature collection and then the next thing you know, I am taking out a second mortgage, adding onto my house, and I just can't be bothered with that.

Remember, I have a few dreams I am working on.

But, I have found some things that I can look at, consider, and then actually purchase to add to my "little bit of Disney" at home. They are the Gallery of Light creations by Olszewski. These are illuminated shadowboxes of Disney scenes or characters and I am becoming a huge fan.

The Pinnocchio Workshop of Wonder was the first item to find its way home. This was followed by Peter Pan's Pixie Laughter and A Starlit Bella Notte from Lady and the Tramp.

This past February I had Alice in Wonderland's Mad Tea Party added to the collection.

My last few trips have also found me searching for Peter Pan and the Darling Family Over London and Mary Poppins Over London. This may be something that I'll have to secure from the Olszewski Studios directly, as I have yet to find them in The Art of Disney.

I appreciate the detail and artistic merit of each of these works. So much so that they are part of the LBODIER project here. That would be the Little Bit Of Disney In Every Room project. Yes, the home office carries most of the memoribilia load, but some things find their way out and about, and the Olszewski Gallery of Light collection are some of those things.

I know I have promised a lot of other topics in the future. But let's go ahead and add a bit about the Gallery of Light items in the future shall we. Not about what has been added, but more about how they are made. I am sure there is something out there about that.

Until then, more to follow...

In Doc's World - The Nightstand

Earlier in the year I wrote of the things I would like to accomplish this year. Like most resolutions, some are on the way to fulfillment while others have slipped to the wayside; either through disinterest or by circumstances. One resolution that is still being pursued is number six on my 01.01.10 list, which was to begin working my way through the Everyman's Library "Essential 100". I completed Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and have begun Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. I must admit that the going's on of the Dashwood women has been placed on hold to read a 1975 edition of Christopher Finch's The Art of Walt Disney.

What does this have to do with a nightstand? Well, in addition to bookcases, coffee tables, and in some cases, corners of rooms, nightstands are a place to find books. My nightstand currently includes: the Peter and the Starcatchers quartet, the two volumes of the Kingdom Keepers, J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, and P.L. Travers Mary Poppins.

Thinking of books conjures up a lot of memories. I think of family vacations spent on the beach with my mom and dad reading while my sister and I played on the beach or jumped waves in the Gulf. I remember how books offered an escape that allowed me to get away from whatever it was I was going through at the moment. They were also the portal to people and the course of history that I want to understand, or at the very least be familiar with.

And in a odd way, perhaps, a nightstand reminds me of something I once read in Melvyn Bragg's, Richard Burton: A Life. Burton has long been one of my favorite actors. In my opinion, he was a powerful screen presence hampered by inconsistent choices of film projects to be involved with. Yet, regardless of the quality of the final product, the voice was always superb. It was, and perhaps still is, one of the great voices of the 20th century. Burton was also a ferocious reader. He once said, "Home is where the books are." When travelling, part of his luggage was one suitcase full of books. He was never without them.

Richard Burton died at his home in Celigny, Switzerland on August 5, 1984. He was 58 years old. Bragg writes, "When the guests had gone from that funeral at Celigny and Sally had her first few hours of quiet and her first intimation of the encroaching loneliness, she began to tidy up. On Richard's beside table, she came across his scribble pad. He used a red pen to write on it, often waking in the middle of the night to jot down a thought. These lines had been jotted down on that last night.

"The multitudinous seas incarnadine,

Making the green one red.

"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...

"Our revels now are ended...

"Cap a pi...

"The last line is unfinished.

"The blood vessels burst and flooded into the brain and there were no more words."

Thank you for your indulgence. Books play an important part in my life and they may do the same in yours. I will have more to say about books in the weeks and months to come. But for now, I wanted to share a little more of my world and reflect just a moment on a life that had some amount of influence on me.

More to follow...

Richard Burton: A Life, Melvyn Bragg, Little Brown, 1988, pg. 486-487

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...

In Doc's World - Chapter One

I am a member of the Music City NFFC; the local chapter of the National Fantasy Fan Club. At this time our group is small enough that we can meet in various members’ homes – which is good since Mr. & Mrs. Doc occupy a rather small home. I enjoy offering our address as a meeting place as it gives me an opportunity to share my Disney collection with others who either collect or have an appreciation of things Disney.

The majority of my collection occupies my office upstairs. This is due mostly to a promise I made to my wife to try and contain the majority of what I have in one room. This is hard to do since every trip brings new additions and friends and family help add to the assortment of treasures from time to time. Consequently, some things have found other areas of the house to be displayed. It is part of the A.L.D.I.E.R. Initiative that is under way In Doc’s World. The A.L.D.I.E.R. Initiative proposes to place A Little Disney In Every Room.

Chapter One has is roots in a 1992 (or was it 1994) trip to Walt Disney World. Tucked away in a small corner, just off of our living room, is homage to one of our favorite cities, Paris. There you’ll find a paper model of the Eiffel Tower that I found in Galerie Des Halles. For a time there were several models you could choose from. I purchased the Eiffel Tower and Mont St. Michel. To date, only the Eiffel Tower has been constructed. The Mont St. Michel model resides on a shelf along with models of the Opera and Notre Dame that I picked up while on a visit to Paris. The small resin buildings could be found in La Signature. The sculptor is J. Carlton working in association with Dominique Gault.

Over the next few weeks I hope to share more chapters from Doc’s World. I hope, too, that some may provide an interesting anecdote here and there.

More to follow…