Orlando Christmas 2011

When it comes to putting on holiday spectacles, Disney sets a very high bar, and is the best at showmanship. This year Deb and I hit Hollywood Studios with some friends of ours, and finished the evening with the Osborne Family Light Spectacular, a holiday light display that has to be seen to be believed.

But, if you can't see it, I've got you covered. I took pictures and video.

If you've been following this blog, you're aware that it's been an interesting year, particularly with the whole Found Slides, A Life Remembered adventure (which will soon be a graphic novel). Thanks to everyone who has written me, followed the blog, and told their friends about it. A very happy and safe holiday season to you and your loved ones. Thanks for reading!

Now enjoy the pics and video!

Waiting in line for Star Tours, the recently re-designed Star Wars ride

My friend Sarah feeds the dinosaur

A French street performer, they are always entertaining

A tired visitor

The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular is the longest running live show at any of the Disney parks. After all these years, it still packs the house, show after show!

Above and below: the back lot turn includes a disaster sequence

The auto stunt show has been updated; no longer does Herbie the Love Big split in two; a new mini skit involves Lightning McQueen and one of the villain cars from Cars 2 (in this case a 1974 AMC Gremlin)

                                                                                                                                                                      
The Fantasmic show is one of the best shows Disney puts on, with pyrotechnics, flames, fans of water used a s projection screens and of course, lots of costumes. 

If you go, my suggestion is to go to the first show, and get there early, because it is a packed arena every time. The line for the second show stretched down the street.

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Moving Lights is something to be seen if you can. Check out the video below:

Here's another video of the spectacle. There was actually snow falling, generated by ice machines on the rooftops to enhance the Christmas atmosphere

 

The Art of Mordillo

When I was backpacking through Europe in 1992, I kept finding postcards from an artist called Mordillo. Every city I visited I found more of them, and I bought every one I could find. Mordillo's work is beautifully rendered, humorous and fun to look at. Here are the postcards I found, a few of which have been damaged in the passage of time. 

Guillermo Mordillo, known simply by his last name, was the most widely published cartoonist in the 1970s, and a series of animations based on Mordillo's work was created by Slovenian artist Miki Muster from 1976 to 1981. 

LINK to the official Mordillo website

Below is some of those animations:

 



There's even a Mordillio video game. In this video a German player narrates the game play. This is a game I would totally play.

501st Legion Marches in Holiday Parade

Once again this year, the Tampa Bay Squad of the 501st Legion marched in the Pinellas Park Christmas parade, one of the biggest in the area, at just over two miles. I shot some video of members gathering at a friend's to get ready, and during the parade itself, complete with soundtrack. Enjoy and happy holidays!

Universal Music Illegally Censors Song

This story has had some twists and turns, and has been UPDATED!


Not all music artists regard file sharing as a crime; in fact, some artists view file sharing as a valuable way to gain exposure to new fans and audiences, especially musicians just starting out.

A group of mainstream artists who disagree with the music labels' steadfast opposition to any sharing at all decided to create a song dedicated to one file sharing service, MegaUpload. The artists gave MegaUpload all the rights and permissions to the song they created. There was no illegal content whatsoever. The point was to make a statement to music labels that artists did not view file sharing as universally evil.

Universal Music's response? Illegal censorship.

Universal filed an illegal takedown notice with YouTube to stop distribution of the song, even though it had no legal right to do so. After a takedown dispute was filed with YouTube, the video was back up - but only for a short time. Now the legal owner of the video, MegaUpload, is being threatened by YouTube with a permanent ban as a repeat infringer. Keep in mind, Universal Music has no legal claim to any content in this video. Their actions are clearly, without question, illegal.

This is what we can expect if content companies are given free reign to silence and censor the Internet with no due process, and why defeating Internet censorship bills is so important.

LINK to full story

UPDATE #1: MegaUpload has sued Universal Music for censorship, turning the tables on the huge music label. LINK


UPDATE #2: Universal, in its response to the lawsuit, now claims that it has a private arrangement with Google (which owns YouTube) to take down any video it doesn't like...regardless of whether it has the right or not. LINK

Schools Kill Creativity

This is a fantastic and very entertaining lecture by Ken Robinson who makes a compelling case that schools kill creativity by discouraging mistakes and stifling innovative thinking. By the time kids grow up they are afraid to make mistakes, and this terror of mistakes is damaging the way companies, and the country is run. Robinson is funny and uses humor to make his lecture very entertaining.


The second video is Robinson's follow-up video to his first one, which had gained a lot of attention.

Transcripts From September 11, 2001

This is riveting, haunting stuff. These are actual transcripts from recordings of the various air traffic controllers and military personnel reacting to the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11, as well as the two other planes that were hijacked, on September 11, 2001. 

At the beginning of the transcripts, the flight controllers are trying to contact the plane, with no response. Later, a flight attendant aboard the plane calls American Airlines to describe the carnage aboard; the person at American Airlines calls the flight controllers.

The "Atta" in the transcripts is Mohammed Atta, one of the hijackers.

When the military gets involved, there is confusion about where the plane is, and if it is responsible for the fire emanating from the Word Trade Center. Fighter jets are scrambled, and orders are given to shoot down any aircraft that does not respond to the direction of air traffic controllers.


These are the actual recordings of actual people trying to figure out what is going on, and to react in time.


Below is the combined recordings in sequential order, beginning with Boston air traffic control's attempts to raise American Airlines Flight 11, ending with an unknown military controller asking if this is national terrorist day. The recording runs just over an hour and a half long. This is history in its rawest, purest form.

LINK to written transcript

After listening to the recordings, I watched United 93, a movie about the passengers who stormed the cockpit of the hijacked plane which crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on 9/11. It is one of the most riveting films I have ever seen. I had tears in my eyes watching it.


The film is powerful for several reasons, one of which is the use of relatively unknown actors, and actual pilots and flight attendants as members of the cast (FAA operations manager Ben Sliney played himself in the film). There are no flashy, A-list actors, and no 1970s-era disaster film cliches such as passengers getting to know each other. The passengers remain mostly anonymous, giving weight to the drama; they are ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. The majority of family members gave their approval for the film, and several actors met the family members (in reunions which were understandably emotional).


This is not a feel good movie by any stretch of the imagination. It is incredibly, viscerally, powerful, and handled the subject with tact, honoring the passengers who chose to take control of their destiny and in turn, saved the lives of untold numbers of innocent people. They represent the best of America.


LINK to United Flight 93 Tribute Page (there is music that plays automatically when the page loads, at the bottom of the page)