January 18, 2008 - Sun Wheel

IMG_0489.JPG, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

"The variation from the standard Ferris Wheel is that the 16 orange and purple gondolas are able to ride on interior rails so that they slide inward and outward with the gravitational force during the wheel's rotational movement. This provides for a quite a disorienting and intense experience. Motion sickness bags are even provided in each of the gondolas due to the disorienting nature of the ride. The 8 red gondolas which are on the outside of the wheel remain stationary. Guests may choose to ride either the swinging gondolas or the stationary ones upon entering the queue."

-Wikipedia.org

January 17, 2008 - The Matterhorn

Matterhorn, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

" [Joe] Fowler had faced some construction challenges before, but building a mountain with five hundred tons of steel, with no two pieces the same length, proved particularly exasperating. Equally challenging, though, was the task put before Bill Evans's landscape group. For probably the first time in history, landscapers found themselves called upon to determine just what would constitute a "timberline" on a fourteen-story building. Evans finally concluded that it would be about halfway up the summit, between sixty-five and seventy-five feet up the Matterhorn's slopes. He then applied the same sense of forced perspective that Disney's architects had used in many parts of the Park. At the higher elevations, Evans's staff dangled precariously from cranes as they planted stunted spruce trees, while, at the base, full-grown trees rose above thousands of flowers."

-Disneyland: Inside Story

Media Consumed

Movies

Ghostbusters 2
The Bourne Ultimatum
Justice League: The New Frontier


TV Shows

Modern Marvels: Milk
The Family Guy 608
The Colbert Report 01/09/2008
The Colbert Report 01/10/2008
What the Romans Did For Us 102
Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles 101

January 16, 2008 - The Jungle Cruise

The Jungle Cruise, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

"[Walt} Disney himself spent a great deal of time on the attractions, not only checking them but also monitoring the performance levels of his own staff, a task he performed rigorously. Dick Nunis, who by now had become responsible for managing Adventureland, got a "battle scar" from Disney. "Walt came running down to the Jungle Cruise, got on a boat and took a trip, returning with both eyebrows raised." (His eyebrows were a Disney barometer-one raised was bad, two raised meant deep trouble.)
"What's the trip time supposed to be?" asked Disney.
"Well, sir, it's seven minutes," replied Nunis.
"I just had a four-and-a-half-minute trip and went through the hippo pool so fast, I couldn't tell if they were hippos or rhinos! How would you feel if you paid to go to the movies and they cut the center reel out of the picture?"
For the next three weeks, Nunis spent so much time on the jungle boats training the crew that he almost became seasick. Then Disney arrived again, riding the first boat, then the second, and so on, through the last available boat. He was determined that Nunis would not "stack the deck" with his best speaker on the first boat (a ploy that Nunis admits he had tried). On each ride, the timing of the trip was perfect. After this experience, everyone realized that Disney was very serious about giving the guests the best show possible."

-Disneyland: Inside Story

Justice League: The New Frontier: Early Review

I'm not planning on doing too many reviews here, but since I got an early look at this direct-to-video movie, and enjoyed it, I want to encourage others to get excited about the upcoming release. There are some mild spoilers, as in any review, so stop reading if you want to remain unspoiled.

The New Frontier (available in 2 soft cover volumes and a deluxe Absolute edition) is a six-issue mini-series, written and drawn by Darwyn Coooke, which overlays the genesis of the classic DC Universe heroes (focusing on Hal Jordan / Green Lantern) on top of the McCarthy era of distrust in the 1950s. The best description (which has been used plenty of times) is the creation of the Justice League meets the Right Stuff.

The movie (slightly retitled to include Justice League) is the second in the series of animated adaptations of DC Comic stories, and is worlds more accurate than the first movie, Superman / Doomsday. Basically, like Sin City, comic panels served as the direct inspiration for many of the scenes, and it is easy to freeze frame the movie to match the comic.

Pre-credit scene from The New Frontier

The movie runs an hour and twelve minutes, which meant subplots were removed, but not forgotten. Because these excised events are mentioned in the story, whether on a newspaper clipping, or a tombstone, it felt as the events still occurred, only off screen. Sticking to the source material was a welcome change to Superman / Doomsday, where all but the basic story was altered to make it a more standalone story.

Superman versus the End of the World

Nothing about the story was toned down from the source, nothing was altered to make this more palatable for a wider audience. Characters kill, blood is spilled, and the PG-13 rating is justly earned. The movie assumes its audience understands the basics of the heroes, and does not weigh down the story with unnecessary exposition. While there were slight moments I did not like, these take nothing away from a masterful adaptation of one of the best pure superhero books in the last ten years.

The voice work was good, the cast matched the characters well enough that no voice was distracting. The animation fit the comic art, while I prefer a more fluid style, I cannot fault them for the choice. The nicest part of the art style were the background scene paintings, which reminded me of concept art paintings done for Disney theme parks. I have high hopes for the high definition version to look flawless.

Villains to come...

The biggest disappoint with this movie is how excellent it is, because once it ends, you'll want more. With only one more title announced (Teen Titans: The Judas Contract), it would be a shame if these did not sell well enough to continue faithful adaptations in the future. Justice League: The New Frontier will be released on February 26 in standard definition and on Blu-ray disc, with a HD-DVD release following three weeks later on March 18. What ever format you prefer, I recommend this title to anyone who loves a pure superhero story.

The Justice League in action.

(All images copyright their respective owners. All rights reserved.)

January 15, 2008 - Buzz Lightyear (without a face)

Buzz Lightyear (without a face), originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

"Whenever Imagineering considers a new attraction for development, a good story is always the first piece of the puzzle. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, opened in 1998 in the space formerly occupied by If You Had Wings, takes us into the story-within-a-story from the two Toy Story films - the Gamma Quadrant as patrolled by the 'real' Buzz Lighyear. We join forces with Buzz as he battles Evil Emperor Zurg in his efforts to steal the batteries used to power the toys."

-The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom

January 14, 2008 - Animal Kingdom Signs

IMG_1087.JPG, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

"Environmental graphics and signage serve to establish the time and place while embellishing the visual landscape. "

-The Imagineering Field Guide to the Animal Kingdom.

January 13, 2008 - Animatronics

IMG_1192.JPG, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

" "In a ride system," sculptor Blaine Gibson says, "you only have a few seconds to say something about a figure through your art. So we exaggerate their features, especially the facial features, so they can be quickly and easily understood from a distance. If you examined them closely, you'd find the nose, the cheekbones, the ears, the eyes all somewhat exaggerated. The frowns and the grins are all exaggerated, too, because we have to instantly communicate 'good guy' or 'bad guy.' We try to provide the illusion of life." "

-Disneyland: Inside Story

January 12, 2008 - Port Orleans French Quarter

IMG_3628.JPG, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

"Decorative touches such as wrought iron lamp posts in the resort lobby recreate the romance of the French Quarter."

-Walt Disney World

A Pirate's Life For Me

At the Drive-In, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

A long-exposure shot at the Haars Drive-In. Worked better than I thought it would, even with the high level of grain.

January 11, 2008 - Tree of Life

Tree of Life, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

"The experience of viewing the tree of life can be likened to that of looking for animals in the clouds. The longer one looks, the more one sees - maybe even all 325 of them. This effect is the result of very careful planning during the design phase.."

-The Imagineering Field Guide to the Animal Kingdom

Media Consumed

Movies

• The Hunting Party
• Charlie Wilson's War

Audio Books

• First Among Sequels

TV

• The Colbert Report: 1/7/08
• The Colbert Report: 1/8/08
• The Simpons 1910
• King of the Hill 1210
• What the Romans Taught Us 101
  

January 10, 2008 - Wonders of Life

IMG_3389.JPG, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

"The idea of a pavilion devoted to health and fitness dates back to the original concept of the EPCOT Center theme park, but no corporate sponsor could be found to cover the costs. It was not until MetLife signed on that the attraction was finally constructed. On January 4, 2004, Disney made the decision to make the pavilion seasonal operation only. It reopened when the park was projected to hit near capacity during the high spring months and big holiday season. The pavilion's most recent operational phase was 11/26/06 through 1/1/07. While the pavilion is not operational to the public it is commonly used for private and corporate events. On August 5, 2007 the Wonders of Life sign and the 72 foot tall The Tower of Life Double helix DNA structure were removed."

-Wikipedia.org

January 9, 2008 - Splash Mountain

Splash Mountain, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

"Splash Mountain is the first log flume ever built for a Disney park. Log flumes, first cousin to the roller coaster, take guests on a thrilling journey through a twisting, turning trough filled with fast flowing water. As the finale nears, the boats climb to the top of the highest hill and plunge down into the water below. In the case of Splash Mountain, that plunge would be more that 54 feet down, as big as any that had ever been built."

-Disneyland: The Nickel Tour

Spending Less on Books

I spent two years working at Bookspan (now known as Yes Solutions...for some reason) doing soul-crushing data entry. The kind of job where you spend eight hours at an impersonal desk, keying in orders from people who want to join one of 35 different book clubs. The kind of job where you must make no errors, and work a little faster each day. After a year, you get a three percent pay raise. Two upsides to this mindless job: after a probationary period, iPod use is allowed, and the opportunity to purchase many books for dirt cheap.

Where I worked received returns for the said fourteen book clubs, and those returns (along with any books damaged in the warehouse) were sold to the employees for fifty cents each. For two years, I chose four books each day, from a wide variety of titles. This was great for feeding my buying addiction, and a great way to expand my library. Some days, I bought books I had no need for, just because I could. Now, many of those books have been donated to the local library.

(No joke: Dreams come some night where I still work at Bookspan, and keep finding better books)

I left the job because a much better one fell into my lap, and I had to switch my book buying to Amazon. There was no financial way I could keep buying so many books, and I had no need for them. This knowledge did little to help curb my impulsive buying.

Sales helped justify this (buy 2 get 1; free shipping) until I started a couple stop-gap methods to at least delay purchasing:

• When at [Insert Book Store], instead of quickly buying an interesting looking title, I'll note the book in my phone. That way I can look it up at the library or Amazon.
• On Amazon, I add books to either my shopping list or wish list, allowing a waiting period before ordering.
• I turned off one-click ordering, so at least I have to go through the steps of checking out before making the purchase.
• On the shopping list, it is easy to click on 'Select All' to give myself the quick shock about how much stuff I want to buy. Today's total comes in close to $1800, though that includes a DSLR camera, and other fun electronics I can easily convince myself I need.

These methods have not proved perfect, but it can help curb some impulses.

Media Consumed

Comics

The Killer: Volume 1
Kingdom Come (Hardcover)

Movies

Juno
No Country for Old Men

January 8, 2008 - Mexico Pavilion

Mexico Pavilion, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

"The pyramid you enter to visit Mexico is a composite of Mesoamerican motifs dating back to the 3rd century, emphasizing the Aztec style."

The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot

Spaceship Earth

Reflection of Spaceship Earth, originally uploaded by Jeremy ES.

"To avoid soaking Guests during a shower, Spaceship Earth is fitted with a gutter system at the belt line of the sphere that gathers the water and funnels it to World Showcase Lagoon."

-The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot

January 6, 2007 - Sonny Eclipse

Sonny Eclipse, originally uploaded by Captain Oblivious.

"The story behind Sonny is that he was discovered by restaurateurs Cosmic Ray while performing his 'Bossa Supernova' musical stylings at cosmic weddings and space mall openings all over the galaxy." -Walt Disney Imagineers.

-Another great example of the back story Imagineers give to all their creations.

(Photo credit to Captain Oblivious)

January 5, 2008 - Mickey's Toontown

"Of course, everyone knows that Mickey's Toontown existed long before Disneyland was built right next door. One happy day in 1952, while Walt Disney was in Toontown visiting his pal Mickey Mouse, his dream for a new park came up in conversation. Mickey knew whenever Walt got that sparkle in his eye, whatever he was dreaming up was bound to come true. So he was dismayed when Walt confided in him that he was having a difficult time finding a site large enough to accommodate all the wondeful things he had in mind.
"Oh boy, I've got a swell idea!" Mickey exclaimed as he grabbed Walt by the hand and led him over to the fence that seperated Toontown from the human world. "Take a look over this fence," continued Mickey. "There's a fine and dandy parcel of land just on the other side that would be wonderful place to build Disneyland." And it was.
Many years went by before it finally dawned on the toons that since it was so easy for them to go next door to visit all their non-toon friends at Disneyland, their non-toon friends could just as easily come visit them in Toontown! And that is exactly what happened when Mickey's Toontown was 'finally' opened to Disneyland visitors in February, 1993." -Page 43: Walt Disney Imagineers