Lest We Forget.
Today we must recall that the freedoms we all enjoy today in the country came at a price.
A high one, paid by men and women, through the ultimate sacrifice.
Without their actions, there would be no Independence Day; no United States of America; no Constitution; and so much more.
As you enjoy this holiday, take time to reflect upon the gifts you have been given and give thanks in return.
Why The Blue Parrot?
Way back when, I had been online in various forms and decided it was time to strike out on my own as it were. Having been about during the Stone Age of the Internet on GEnie and America OnLine, it was inevitable that I would find a place to share stories of my own, while bringing my interests into the light.
Enter 2009…
But finding the good domain name was a challenge. I had last done a series of columns over on Jim Hill Media under the heading of Ruminations. Fun those were, yet inspiration for a name was fleeting; no lead in any direction worth noting. Not to mention designing a web page that wasn’t covered in flashing GIF’s or playing sound clips (as seemed to be the norm at the time) wasn’t as time consuming as it could have been.
I’ve always been a fan of classic films. The Warner Brothers motion pictures of the 30’s and 40’s are particular favorites. Something about how the same sets redressed could represent such diverse locations. As with many folks, “Casablanca” is a favorite. After one too many late night viewings, taking note of Señor Ferrare’s “Blue Parrot Cafe”, it became the perfect name for this space. Yes, a star was born.
Friend and Warner studio denizen Ken Mitchroney helped out by creating the artwork that reproduced the view above. Writing my own content was never such fun. Some 9 years later it still is.
More still to come!
Disney and change
Oh, the cries of panic from the Disney fan faithful…
Yes, changes are afoot at the Disney company.
So, what else is new? Really.
Okay, I can give some credit to the changes related to the departure of John Lasseter later this year. It is a newsworthy item as John has been at the helm of Pixar, Disney animation and even theme parks at Imagineering.
Yet, Disney as a company has been about change long before Walt Disney passed away in 1966. Anyone recall this quote from Walt?
“I just want to leave you with this thought, that it’s just been sort of a dress rehearsal, and we’re just getting started. So if any of you start resting on your laurels, I mean just forget it, because…we are just getting started.”
If you really go all the way back to the start of the company, it was all about change. The whole art form of animation was changing as it went along. First came short subjects. Then feature length films. Then television. Then theme parks. And on and on…
And yes, some of the changes along the way included more than a few stumbles and failures. But if you don’t take those steps, you never find out what works, and perhaps more importantly, what the audience likes. And what keeps them coming back for more.
Take for example the recent “fiasco” of the Han Solo film. It’s easy to sit back at home and call out what you perceive as flaws in the final product. Yet at the studio, decisions were made which impacted that final product. And added to the cost of that final product. Maybe it did not meet the expectations of some folks in many respects. Yes, it was indeed an expensive lesson. But one that was inevitable as the studio branches out from the Star Wars franchise. A quick remembrance? Not every Marvel film has rocked the box office either. Lessons are always being learned.
Bottom line? Disney stockholders continue to like what they see. The Theme Parks division continues to be robust and profitable. People are still making pilgrimages to the wilds of Orange County – east and west. The international parks are also doing well.
Are changes coming? Yes. They have to. When Disneyland opened in 1955, it may have had the marketplace all to it’s self. But that did not last long. And it doesn’t take much of a look to see how changes came along soon.
So, the sky isn’t falling. Despite what some of the faithful may cry, it is a good time at the moment at the Walt Disney Company.
Enjoy it!
Deja vu all over again.
July 1, 2018.
Been away from the blog for a while for a variety of reasons. So in an attempt to kick start this old thing, I decided to take up the task again by blogging each day of this month.
I will cheat a bit, slipping in a few golden oldies, now and then, however.
Funny as it seems, I have been around the online world for more than some of the current denizens have been adding their marks to this amusing little spot in the universe. And much like the instrument of news and entertainment seen above. I am indeed an antique and somewhat proud of it. Bonus points if you can identify the item and its significance.
When it comes to the blog, I tend to shy away from political shenanigans as there are enough others covering those topics, comical as they may be.
So prepare for some good old fashioned infotainment. A little bit of everything from my way through the various orbits around the Solar System.
Hope you will enjoy reading these posts as much as I will enjoy sharing them with you.
A special thanks to Tim McKenny and he knows why.
Why, it’s baseball season, my boy!
San Jose’s Giants at home at Municipal Stadium, on Father’s Day in 2007.
And another baseball season is underway.
When it comes to the nation’s pastime, I count my self among the lucky. Fortunate in many ways. Grew up a fan one a storied franchise that moved west and became a fan of another underdog team that came west once and again, to take three world championships in back to back to back fashion, long before the term “three-peat” became the darling of sportscasters.
Along the way, I have enjoyed some wonderful experiences. In the late 60’s, I saw several games from the third deck, third base side at Candlestick Park as the fog rolled in; long before a marketing genius came up with the Croix de Candlestick. And in those years saw Hall of Fame players in their prime doing the San Francisco name proud. Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Perry and more. Games with my father and grandfather. And later, during a memorable summer of 1976, watched a game from the radio broadcast booth with Lon Simmons and Al Michaels doing the call and Rich Schmale as the engineer. Even though I now favor another team across the Bay, I still have memories of good times at AT&T Park as well.
But when the Athletics came to Oakland 50 years ago, there was something about this team that got my attention. Yes, there were the green and gold uniforms and all of Charlie Finley’s attempts to get folks into seats at the Coliseum. While I don’t recall my first game there, there have been plenty of memorable moments since. Such as taking in a game with my dad and his mother from box seats that the Western Pacific Railroad had given to my dad’s company as a good customer on the subsidiary railroad (Sacramento Northern) getting shipments of steel at their West Pittsburg plant. Or a set of three games on a homestead where I took in a full Friday, Saturday and Sunday of baseball. And then there was a memorable home game in 1973, last of the season, before another World Series championship.
Watched some great players here too, but the memory of winning the games that lead up to the streak of 20 in 2002, including watching the 20th win from the A’s corporate box. Ironic that I also was among the extras in that appeared in 2011’s “Moneyball”, sitting in a whole bunch of places during a night of shooting. I even have my big on-screen moment for all of 20 seconds, appearing next to Jonah Hill in one shot of the 20th win game.
My moment of on-screen fame, just to the right of Jonah Hill, with my wife Michele on my right.
I’ve sat all around the Oakland Coliseum. Diamond Level seats right behind home plate on a Easter Sunday night as the A’s played the Baltimore Orioles and Cal Ripken. The field seat boxes on both the first and third base sides of the field, the open box suites at the end of the suites in both right and left field, the bleachers before and after Mount Davis, and in both the Eastside and Westside Clubs. Many of those games thanks to a generous friend.
But over the years, I count myself fortunate to have enjoyed Major League Baseball in a variety of locations. Baltimore’s Camden Yard (with fantastic crab cake sandwiches), Seattle’s Safeco Field (complete with an Ichiro walk-off home run against the Yankees) and a few games at Edison Field in Anaheim.
Crab cakes and beer in Baltimore. Who knew?
But it doesn’t stop there. Out here in the west, we have the California League as the Class A teams of MLB franchises. Seen a few games at most of the Northern and Southern California fields, and have visited a few when there was no game being played. San Jose’s Giants win the culinary title with Turkey Mike’s BBQ. And when baseball came back to Sacramento as the Rivercats of the Pacific Coast League Class AAA teams of both the A’s and Giants, see a few games there, too!
Yes, I even played on a few teams in my younger years including one that could have been the team of Charles Schulz’s crew as we won one game all season long, on a walkout walk of all things. I was good at pulling the ball for long hits but never amounted to much overall. But I did go pro in a sense, with the 2006 season. I was actually employed by Major League Baseball, doing tech support for the early days of their MLB.com products.
You can see why it’s more than just a game to me. Plenty of good times with family and friends to recall.
Sure, give me a cold beer and a hotdog (or more of those crab cake sandwiches from Baltimore) at the ball park any day or night and I’m all set.
This guy knows what he’s talking about!
“Play ball!”