Swine Flu Scare Escalates

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Lex Luthor Visits Magic Kingdom!

Sunday morning I had the pleasure of getting my brother, sister-in-law, niece and her fiance into the Disney Magic Kingdom park. It's been more than a year since I have seen my brother, so I was excited to get the chance to spend some time with him. Everyone else was a bonus.

So it turns out that about a week ago my brother shaved his head bald and also shaved off his beard, something he'd never done in the past and thus caught me completely off-guard. My first thought was "Holy $h!7!!" because I was so surprised and it was such a different look for him, but I didn't verbalize that. I remember many years ago when my parents hadn't seen me for a while and came to visit. I had been letting my hair grow out for quite some time. When they arrived on my front porch and I opened the door the first thing my mom said wasn't "How have you been?" or "I've missed you" but rather, "Good God, you look like a woolybooger!" It scarred me for life and I could not be responsible for affecting my brother in a similar manner. So I bit my tongue and enjoyed just getting to see my brother, hug him and spend a small amount of time with him. However, brothers being brothers, I could not resist the urge, later when I was taking photos, to say, "I'm going to name this picture 'Lex Luthor Visits Magic Kingdom!'" and everyone laughed.

Here are some of the photos I took and one I'm in with my brother. It WAS good to see him!

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Congratulations Cindy! 35 Years With The Mouse

Today marks Cindy's 35th anniversary of working for the Walt Disney Company. I am just in awe of someone who can stay with the same employer for all those years. Cindy began working for Disney, shortly after the Magic Kingdom opened, as a ride attendant. Today she works in the corporate offices in Celebration. She is the greatest!

When she got to work today her co-workers had her work area all decorated with balloons, streamers, signs, etc. Here she is holding a sign they had placed by the elevators so that everyone would know it was her anniversary.



And here is a photo of the statue/plaque she was awarded. Disney marks certain milestone years of work with character statues. The one for 35 years is Pinocchio. Cindy already has Tinkerbell, Jiminy Cricket and the Magic Kingdom Castle adorning our wall book shelf.



I am so proud of my wife! She works hard and does her best at work to embody the philosophy that the late Walt Disney started the Disney Parks with; "My business is making people, especially children, happy." She richly deserves the recognition of the Walt Disney Company and her co-workers.

Congratulations my love!!

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Characters In Flight Balloon Ride

During my photowalk the other morning at Disney's Marketplace and Pleasure Island, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to indulge in a photoflight via the Characters in Flight Helium Balloon ride. The balloon, anchored lakeside in Pleasure Island, rises to a height of 400 feet and the $16 ride typically lasts 8-10 minutes, but since I was the only one on this flight and no one else was waiting below, the pilot said we'd stay up a little longer to "advertise."



This balloon is the largest helium-filled balloon in the world, with a volume of 210,000 cubic feet of the lighter-than-air-gas contained in the balloon that, the pilot told me, is made of a material of secret composition. Unlike those cute novelty balloons you buy in grocery stores or florist shops that deflate and sink to the ground after a few days, this balloon only has to be filled with helium once a year. Day, night and seasonal temperature changes necessitate the addition of oxygen to the balloon, but the helium itself lasts a year. The balloon, which is 105 feet high, 72 feet in diameter and has a circumference of 240 feet, and the attached gondola which is 19 feet in diameter and holds up to 29 guests, are tethered by a steel cable that is attached to a motorized pulley system that reels in the balloon at the end of the ride to a landing pier in the lake.

I enjoyed myself immensely and took SO many photos. But I put only the best of them on my Flickr page for you to see.

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Disney Marketplace/Pleasure Island Photowalk

Did a photowalk at Disney's Marketplace and Pleasure Island the other morning.



My Flickr page has the best of the shots.

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EMPTY Prototype Community Of Tomorrow

My step-son and his fiance are tying the knot in about 6 weeks and they asked if Cindy and I would get their photographers into EPCOT this past Saturday so they could take some pre-wedding photos. It has been quite a while since Cindy and I have had the opportunity to enjoy EPCOT (or ANY of the parks, for that matter) alone so we decided to stay and tour the World Showcase and enjoy a light lunch.

But we really had no idea HOW alone we would be. We have never seen so few people in EPCOT on a Saturday, not even after 9/11. I told Cindy instead of Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow it was EMPTY Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. Look at this sparse street scene in the normally crowded and bustling United Kingdom pavilion.



That was at 2pm in the afternoon, and it was almost like having the park to yourself. I'm NOT complaining as it made the visit much more enjoyable, but I AM stunned at just how few visitors there were that day, not only in the World Showcase but in the Future World area as well.

Here are a few more photos. First up are two picture I took with my BlackBerry and uploaded to TwitPic to share with my Twits who follow me on Twitter; here is Cindy at EPCOT and then me at EPCOT.

Then here is one I shot of Wendy, Jeremy and Cindy when we first arrived at the park before we went our separate ways.



Cindy with Spaceship Earth in the background across the lake.



Finally, just one of my "art" shots, lol.



I was not happy with almost all of my shots because a camera setting was wrong, but I may try to work on them in Photoshop and possibly upload the salvageable ones up to Flickr in the next few days.

We enjoyed a light lunch at Boulangerie Patisserie in the France Pavilion, a quick-service restaurant that dishes up a small assortment of sandwiches, quiches, French pastries and beverages. I had a turkey and cheese on baguette with an apple tart for dessert and Cindy had a ham and cheese croissant with a chocolate eclair for dessert. We sat on the stone planter in the courtyard and watched people (the few there were) walk past us.

It was while watching those people that I observed something I had not seen before and it left me somewhat confused. If you've ever seen what I'm about to describe, I'd be interested in hearing about it. A very attractive young woman and her, I assume, boyfriend, walked past. I could tell she was attractive because she was wearing tight jeans and a form-fitting, low-cut top. The confusing part was she was also wearing the traditional Muslim hijab, but with the front lower portion that would cover her chest thrown back across her shoulder which exposed her cleavage. It was a true clash of values or views or however you'd like to phrase it. The casualness of most Western attire with the symbol of modesty (in this case, almost modesty since the front was thrown back) required of Middle Eastern females appearing in public. Very difficult to reconcile, for me.

Anyone else ever witnessed this or something similar?

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Fun With The Grandkids

On Wednesday, May 14th Cindy and I picked up Mikey and Heather and took them to lunch and then over to Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure. Our original plan was to spend the afternoon in the park, but just as we stepped through the entrance we got a call regarding a family emergency. We took a few minutes to run over to where Spider-Man normally appears in the hopes of giving Mikey a quick visit with the Webslinger, since he had been looking forward to this outing for several days. We were fortunate that we arrived during one the scheduled appearances, so we were able to get several photos of both Mikey and Heather with Spider-Man before leaving.

Mikey and Heather spent the night with us (lots of wrestling on the bed and granddad being a "monster" kept them laughing and screaming, but wore granddad out long before they got tired) and we got up Thursday and went to Walt Disney World for a day of fun.

We started out in Animal Kingdom, going on the safari ride and encountering 2 baby giraffes that wanted to "play" by running around and between the jeeps while out on the savannah. That was a real kick for everyone. Afterward, we tried to see the gorillas, but they were all hiding. We stopped for a few minutes to enjoy some popcorn and cool liquid refreshment, only to be harassed by an experienced duck who did his/her best to beg every piece of popcorn we had. I took Heather to see the interactive "It's Tough to be a Bug" show (I took Mikey a couple of years back but the sensory overload nature of the show was not something he enjoyed) while Cindy took Mikey around a couple of exhibits. Heather laughed and cried, so it was a toss-up as to whether she liked all of the show.

Then we drove over to the "new" Disney Hollywood Studios (formerly Disney-MGM Studios) so Mikey could see the Power Rangers. We got there early and a street performance of "High School Musical" had Heather dancing around. As her mom is fond of saying, she's such a girl, lol. Mikey, on the other hand, just sat there looking bored waiting for the Rangers to appear. When they did appear we got in line for an autograph and photos with his favorite (at the moment) the White Ranger. We tried to get the same from the Red Power Ranger, but the lines were too long and all the rangers left before he could see the Red one. Next time, we'll get in the Red Power Ranger's line first. Pictures of the Disney visit are here.

We had a lot of fun with Mikey and Heather and hope that over the Summer I'll be home some and we can do it again.

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Family Day At Disney

Today is our annual "Family Day at Disney" gathering. It's usually Cindy and I, her mom and dad, Ann, Jason, Mikey and Heather, Amber, Jeremy, Ed and Pam. This year, we get to add Wendy, Jeremy's significant other, and take away....ME.

Yes, since I'm still in Lake Charles, LA I did not get to participate in one of the most enjoyable things we do each year; meet at one of the Disney parks, usually (...hmmm now that I think about it, always) at Disney-MGM, enjoy a few shows or rides, have lunch at one of the nice-sit-down restaurants, have our family portrait made, spend a bunch of money on Disney merchandise and stay until it gets dark so we can walk through the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights display on the Disney-MGM (soon to be Disney's Hollywood Studios) Streets of America backlot, which my mother-in-law and I love to see.

I've talked to Cindy several times today and to Mikey, Heather and Ann once each, so far. Plus, Ann has been sending me cameraphone pics all afternoon so I could see what the grandkids are doing. Thanks Princess.





Here's a photo I took last year when we were there. My, Heather has grown. I love the look on her face as she stares at her older brother.



I miss being there.

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Photowalking Disney World's Animal Kingdom

Monday morning I met Kelley and Dennis at Animal Kingdom so they could visit the parks during the day. Since I was there anyway, I decided to do a Photowalk and to visit the new "Finding Nemo, The Musical" show.

"Finding Nemo, The Musical" is a different style of show, using puppets of varying sizes that are operated by people in full view of the audience. I've always thought of puppet shows as the kind where the puppeteer is hidden from view and only the puppets are in sight. When the show first started, I thought "Well, this is crap!" but I have to admit after a few minutes of watching it, I was genuinely drawn in and actually enjoying the production. As I told Cindy later, "It was sort of avant-garde and Cirque du Soleil-esque in nature." The skill and talent of the various actors (and I call them actors rather than puppeteers because of their skill and talent) made this so much more than a simple puppet show set to music. Their singing abilities, body language and skill at manipulating their respective puppets are pretty astounding to witness when they are performing and using all of those techniques at once. It's a great show and I recommend it. Get there early if you want a middle (best) seat and of course be prepared to share the show with lots and lots of kids.



Here's on of my favorite pictures from the Photowalk. It is a shot of the Forbidden Mountain, which houses the Expedition Everest ride, as seen from one of the bridges with trees, the river and some structures framing it. The entire "feel", with the slightly washed out look, somewhat abstract sense and framing of the elements, reminds me of the paintings of the late Bob "The Joy of Painting" Ross ("They're happy trees!") who used to be, and probably still is in some markets, a staple of PBS programming when I was growing up. It just really looks more like a painting than a photograph to me. What do you think?



If you're interested, there are 69 other photos of Animal Kingdom and "Finding Nemo, The Musical." Just click on the Flickr badge in the right column and look for the Animal Kingdom set.

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