A “Black and White” Day at Disneyland
With the great retro images online of the filming of “Saving Mr. Banks” at Disneyland this week, I was reminded of my adventures during the Park’s 50th. Rather than concentrate on images taken with the digital camera, I stepped back in my own way. Using film and the Brownie Hawkeye, just as my mother had on our first visit so many years ago.
It was a great experience. Plenty of people stopped and commented that they, their parents or grandparents used similar box cameras way back when.
This story first appeared on Jim Hill Media back on July 28, 2005.
One of the goals I set for myself was to try and capture images that might reflect what a typical guest day at Disneyland would have been like using the trusty Brownie Hawkeye. That meant looking for scenes that would fill the bill, out and about the Park.
Unlike other point and shoot cameras of today, getting your photo framed just right with the Hawkeye can be a real challenge. You don’t hold it up to one eye and look through the viewfinder. Instead you look down on to the top of the camera and through what is best described as a “cube” to frame the image. The image is the reverse of what you will capture thanks to the simple optics of the viewfinder. That took a bit of getting used to.
Thanks to all those years of photographing trains, a good deal of patience came in handy. There were many times I had to wait for the right moment to push the shutter button. But in the end, the results were well worth the wait.
Starting off at Main Street, we’ll head off into Disneyland!
We are indeed “Walking Right Down The Middle of Main Street U.S.A.”
Mickey is at the ready greeting guests and signing plenty of autographs today!
The view from Christmas Tree Point looking down Main Street toward the Castle.
The proud sailing ship “Columbia” has the right-of way passing the rafts to and from Tom Sawyer’s Island.
It is the true icon of Disneyland – The Sleeping Beauty Castle, as seen from the Plaza Gardens.
Attention Autopia Drivers!
Now what would a day at Disneyland be without at least one visit to a candy shop!
Happy guests? You bet! Lot’s of fun here in Fantasyland!
Hope you enjoyed more of these great views of Disneyland with a retro flair.
Obscurity Calling
No, that is not a reference to the recent elections.
Used to be, I posted a lot on Live Journal and that was the title of my blog there.
Found a good post there, one worth sharing here. Enjoy!
Got this from here:
http://trippytrivy.livejournal.com/53447.h
Rules:
– Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
– Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
– Post them here for everyone to guess.
– Strike it out when someone guesses correctly and put who guessed it and the movie.
– NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.
So here’s my take on it. Have fun!
1. “This is glue. Strong stuff.”
2. “Can you help out a fellow American who’s down on his luck?”
3. “Any world that can produce the Taj Mahal, William Shakespeare, and striped toothpaste can’t be all bad.”
4. “Now, sir. We’ll talk, if you like. I’ll tell you right out, I am a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk.”
5. “I haven’t had so much fun since the day we put glue on Fräulein Josephine’s toothbrush.”
6. “All right, you win. You win. I give. I’ll say it. I’ll say it. I’ll say it. DESTINY! DESTINY! NO ESCAPING THAT FOR ME! DESTINY! DESTINY! NO ESCAPING THAT FOR ME! ”
7. “You ain’t stopping at this hotel, kid. My hotel! The stars at night, I put ’em there. And I know the presidents, all of them. And I go where I damn well please. Even the chairman of the New York Central can’t do it better. My road, kid, and I don’t give lessons and I don’t take partners. Your ass don’t ride this train! ”
8. “Will you look at that! Look how she moves! It’s like Jell-O on springs. Must have some sort of built-in motor or something. I tell you, it’s a whole different sex! ”
9. “Listen here Birdie, it may be a good day for you, but it ain’t for Pa. All the poor man wanted was a new tobacco pouch and instead he won a house he didn’t want and he got a bad sunburn. ”
10. “What have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully? If you’d come to me in friendship, then this scum that ruined your daughter would be suffering this very day. And if by chance an honest man like yourself should make enemies, then they would become my enemies. And then they would fear you.”
11. “There’s many a man alive of no more value than a dead dog.”
12. “Come on, let’s get something to eat. I’m thirsty.”
13. “Anyone who isn’t dead or from another plane of existence would do well to cover their ears right about now. ”
14. “That’s it then. Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas. ”
15. “Ah, white men! Welcome to Hulahulanukanukaakoi-a-a-a-a Island.”
Vote!
Usually, you will not find political commentary among the posts here.
But on the day before the national elections, I find it hard not to add my two cents.
I do not intend on giving you my choices for the various races or ballot issues. For that you can head elsewhere. Plenty of places and opinions everywhere one turns.
What you will hear from me is this. Simple but to the point.
Vote.
Get out and exercise the franchise. Let your voice be heard.
If you think that your vote does not matter, you are wrong. Every vote matters. Not just on the big races, either.
In many cases, that single vote makes the difference. A few hundred votes one way or the other have decided issues. Important issues.
Too many people have given their all, made the ultimate sacrifice to keep that right ready for you. If for nothing else, you owe them this. Your freedom to express your feelings on an issue at the ballot box is too precious to waste.
I say again – Vote!
A galaxy far, far, away… Modesto?
So, George Lucas decides to sell Lucasfilm and all the associated companies to Disney. For over $4 billion.
As Yoda said, “Always in motion, the future is.”
Personally, I think Disney got a bargain. They paid almost half again as much for Pixar. And they got Lucasfilm (and all the rights to films produced by that company including Indiana Jones and the Star Wars franchise), Industrial Light and Magic, Skywalker Sound and Lucasarts, to name a few. And they get property rights to a lot of ground, too. Figure in all of the merchandise sold by various franchises and it comes to a pretty penny.
$4 billion ought to keep George happy and busy for a while. A nice little retirement.
But if you look back to why George was in Northern California and compare his own rise with that of Walt Disney, the tale has some interesting parallels.
Both spent time in a small town. Much so that they both call upon that experience for inspiration later on in life. With Walt, it was Marceline. With George, it was Modesto. With Walt, it was Disneyland. With George, “American Graffiti”.
Walt Disney did things the way he wanted. Making the pictures that appealed to him and the audiences he felt important. Not the ones that other studios made. George? Can one guess how this turns out.
You don’t need to know a great deal about the history of film to know that Lucas was one of the “Hollywood Mavericks” who did what they could to work outside of Hollywood. Gravitating to the San Francisco Bay Area, he and others with a passion for film found a home. One outside of the usual Hollywood that allowed them the freedom they sought. The kind of place that let Pixar and Lucasfilm become what they are today. They never would have done the same back in Southern California.
I have always wondered if Walt would have walked away in a similar fashion at some point. Had he lived to see Mineral King and the first phase of the Florida project completed, I think he might have looked forward to enjoying time with his family. Taking more the role of grandfather than studio boss and company chairman. He knew that he had good people in place and that they could have handled things without his direct control. With a timely transition, the company could have undergone a less tense change. Less bound by confusion and stymied as it wondered what Walt would do. Given a clearer goal, I think that things would have indeed been different.
In the now, one certainly gives Bob Iger credit. He first brought Pixar into the fold and now with Lucasfilm sets a course that should be clear enough to follow. Still the mystery of who will succeed him awaits, but safe to say, someone who shares the vision and is willing to stand his or her ground to get there.
Another good bet is that somewhere, fans can expect Disney to cash in with a theme park that places guests in the world of Star Wars. With so much to draw from, with such worlds awaiting, an all immersive experience can’t be overlooked. When it comes to theme parks, you have to imagine that there are people already hard at work coming up with ideas to make it the experience for the hardcore and casual fans, too.
Exciting times ahead, no doubt about it. At theme parks, in theaters and who knows what else?
And the fun never stops.
Where to start?
I’ve been bouncing around online for quite a while now. All the fault of a good friend who introduced me to the online community way back when on AOL. After an evening in a chat room – The Best Little Chathouse – I was well and truly hooked. Being able to communicate around the world from my keyboard was addicting.
I went from there to being a volunteer at AOL and was on GEnie as well. When the Internet opened up, I was one of those folks way back when on Usenet, too. Eventually, it all became a paid gig (royalties) with AOL and a title. Manager of the Television Viewers Community. Chat rooms, message boards, file archives and a whole lot of fun. The years were good but it eventually ended as AOL’s business model matured.
In 2002, I joined the staff at Jim Hill Media. On a somewhat regular basis, I offered stories that usually were different than the usual Disney stuff. Trying to show that there was more than just that fandom out there. In 2007, I struck out on my own with The Blue Parrot. That name came after one too many late night viewings of Casablanca. Good pal Ken Mitchroney provided the classic art that recreates a painting on the wall outside the cafe, owned by Senor Ferrare.
My weapon of choice in being online has been the products from Cupertino. Started way back on a second hand Apple ][e, and graduated to a Mac SE. Went mobile with a Powerbook Duo 230 and haven’t looked back since. Today it’s the Mac Mini and and iPhone 4s. Thank you, Steve Jobs for making it all possible. (That’s not to say that I have not dabbled with the Dark side along the way. I can and do use Windows in a pinch.)
It has been fun along the way. More things and places I never would have visited than you can shake a stick at. Looking back offers great memories, but looking ahead has some fun in store, too. You just never know what life has in store.
If I were to guess, I have been online more than 20 years. Hard to imagine where it all would lead if I thought about it then.
So, loyal readers, thanks for being here with me. And if you’re just joining the fun here, check out some of the posts from those years. The scary thing is that somewhere I do have some transcripts from those early days on AOL. Maybe I’ll share one sometime.
It’s deja vu all over again.