Kirby Bartlett-Sloan's irregularly updated photo blog.
(Brother Monkey is better known as - The Monkey King - one of my favorite literary characters) -- Remember you can click on any of the images below for a larger image --
Got my Roku Netflix box today. Pulled it out of the box and set it up very quickly.
Longest part was finding my old video distribution box so I could convert the video to old fashioned coax.
Unboxing the device
Mary and Mao helping out
My "wiring closet". Router (white). Network Storage (640GB) behind it. My old video distributor is under the Roku box. It feeds me the signal on Ch. 79
Imagine what I am watching first!
Screen for my main Kubuntu box on the left and TV to the right. I couldn't get a good Netflix stream going on the Kubuntu Box (running XP in VirtualBox) so pulling it off onto its own platform made sense.
50 sites are awarding an incredible selection of HP equipment to lucky winners. Jake adds "Most of us don’t really need 4 computers at home, but we all know a person or an organization who could really use some help. For my giveaway, I’m asking you to tell me about who you would share some of this great hardware and software with and why."
(Ha! I HAVE more than 4 computers at home, but they are getting pretty old. The Dell Mini I am writing this on is more powerful than most of the other boxes I have. Those machines are mostly single purpose machines - i.e. podcast aggregator, DVD burner, Pop email for those mailing lists I subscribe to but don't have time to read. It would be nice to join the 21st Century with more than my netbook.)
I've been so busy at work lately that I have not been keeping up with Disneyland Resort Mystery Photos. Tonite was the first time in weeks I have had a chance to look at the page to see what I have missed.
When looking at the clock picture, the first thing I recognized was that it was from Peter Pan.
The second thing I noticed was that there was a comment on the page from someone who did not know what the picture was, but who said "I have no idea, but is 8:15 significant?". The site owner of Disneyland Resort Mystery Photos responded "I have no idea if there's a significance other than it wasn't the current time. I took that photo at 4:23pm."
"Hmm", I thought. Could this be the actual time that was showing on Big Ben in the 1953 Disney movie? Out came my DVD, where I discovered that indeed that is the time - after Peter, Wendy, John and Michael land on the minute hand! (The screen grab at the top of this post is straight off the DVD)
The girls are beginning to grow out of Trick or Treating. We only hit a few houses this year and then visited an elaborate Haunted House that a coworker told me about. The older girls (and their best friend) loved the Haunted House, but 11 year old Mary hated it
We are getting rid of some trees in the back yard that have the potential of falling into the house and a stand of pines in the front to allow the dogwood trees to grow.
I started hearing a rattling today as I was driving my beater - a 1989 Oldsmobile Royale 88. (yeah, I put the wrong year in the title above and I can't change it now)
When I got home, I found this thing hanging from underneath the right front part of the engine.
I will call my mechanic on Monday, but if anyone has any idea what this thing is, let me know kirbysloan@gmail.com
Click on the pictures to get a larger view.
The bottom picture is sideways, but you can see the connection where this sucker broke off.
I was up in the attic today and happened to look behind a shelf at one of the vents at one end of the house.
Wow! A Bat was hanging on the outside of the screen. Coolness! I made enough noise to make it move a little (to make sure it was actually alive), took a quick picture with my cel phone and will leave it alone.
Had to share this picture taken by another person in our van pool.
On our way home on Wednesday afternoon 5/21/08, we noticed traffic slowing down as they passed a particular motorcyclist on I-575 N heading out of Atlanta.
As we got closer, we could see why. He had his dog riding in front of him - complete with goggles.
Meeting BlackJack Joe and Keymo Nemo Subs Fantasyland The DPN Meet and Greet Greg's "What's Behind that door" meet The photo session in front of the castle Being pulled off of Space Mountain for "audio problems" Misc DCA
In 1962, Universal (imagine that) filmed a Tony Curtis comedy that had an extended sequence filmed at Disneyland. The film - "40 Pounds of Trouble" http://imdb.com/title/tt0057069/ is an updated version of the classic Runyon tale "Little Miss Marker".
That entire 16 min sequence has landed in YouTube (with no tags indicating what it really is) and is linked to from the isntlifeterrible blog in a tribute to the late Suzanne Pleshette.
What a fascinating find and an amazing view of 1962 Disneyland. Many shots of extinct attractions and unusual views.
But it is a Disneyland with some even more warped and amazing geographical anomalies and strange rule breaking as I indicate in my screen shot descriptions below.
The clip begins as Tony and Suzanne and the little girl arrive at Disneyland via Helicopter (Helicopter service was discontinued a few years later after 2 devastating Helicopter crashes).
After a few aerial views of the park, the trio finds itself in the nose cone of the Disneyland-Alweg Mark II Monorail admiring more views of the park (theoretically possible chronologically, as the Mark II was part of the extension to the Disneyland Hotel so the trio could have embarked there.) They arrive at the Tomorrowland station and step over to the rail to look over the park.
cut to - a shot of Main Street U.S.A. from the Santa Fe-Disneyland Railroad Main Street Station.
What the Heck?! That's not right. Or did they find their way there and this is later?
No! Cut back to the trio Goshwowing over the view as they are obviously in the Tomorrowland Monorail station.
Next, they take a Surrey ride in Town Square as Alice and the Mad Hatter pass by in the background. The little girl cries out "There's Mickey Mouse" as the Surrey passes a very weird version of Mickey and Minnie. These are obviously better than the Ice Capades costumes used 7 years before when the park opened, though.
Suzanne points out "The Keystone Cops playing the saxophone" as the little girls sez "Hi, Policemen".
In a view down Tomorrowland Way, we see the little girl chasing the Three Little Pigs (What are the Pigs doing in Tomorrowland?)
The YouTube video goes dark for a few seconds at the 2 minute mark.
When it resumes, we are riding a Canal Boat through Storybookland. This features what is probably an actual cast member spieling as we go through Monstro and see Pinocchio's village, Toad Hall, and Cinderella's Castle.
A couple of seconds in a Teacup is followed by a ride in the original Astro-Jets as we watch as Tony simultaneously tries to hide from the people chasing him and is turning green from a fear of heights.
Across the park, we see the trio arriving from a trip on the Mine Train through Nature's Wonderland. (Many of the buildings behind them are still visible in the queue of Big Thunder.) The little girl is wearing Mickey ears in this scene only for some reason.
A cigar chomping cop is seen looking for Steve (Tony Curtis' character) in the courtyard of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.
Next - we have just passed through the Matterhorn while riding the Skyway toward Fantasyland. Suzanne and the little girl are in one gondola while Tony is in another. An older lady seated next to him proclaims "Isn't this exciting" and he tells her of his fear of heights.
The Dark Ride sequence that follows is very, very strange, as it combines elements of all the Dark Rides as if they are one. We see the trio start out in a Peter Pan pirate ship. The next few quick cuts shift between Snow White and Mr. Toad and reaction shots of the trio (obviously no longer in a pirate ship). The little girl cowers as the Mr. Toad locomotive bears down on their car.
A lovely view of the Matterhorn (with Monorail passing as a rappeller comes down the mountain), is followed by a ride on the Matterhorn Bobsleds (point of view AND reaction shots of the riders obviously filmed on the attraction).
The plot starts kicking in as the believability drops. Tony spots his pursuer as they go through the Bobsled exit turnstile. He jumps the exit and they get back into the Bobsled for another ride.
Pausing for a meal in front of the Chicken of the Sea restaurant in Fantasyland, the trio disguises themselves with full face masks of Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro (I doubt the park sold these!). Tony wants to leave, but the little girl wants to visit Tom Sawyer Island.
On the Island, they pass Harper's Mill and go to the Treehouse, where their pursuer catches up with them - temporarily.
Part 1 ends with the trio crossing the barrel bridge.
Continuing across the barrel bridge, the trio and their pursuer have a run in with a heavyset lady who wields her purse at the cigar chomper.
Everyone then crosses the suspension bridge and gets tangled up with a troupe of German Boy Scouts.
Inside Fort Wilderness, the chase is suspended while the United States Flag is raised and saluted.
Fort Wilderness experiences an Indian attack. Our intrepid trio ducks out through the escape tunnel. They board a raft back to the park but are stopped by a cast member asking for a ticket. (I don't think tickets were required to LEAVE the island!). Tony pays and makes a spectacular leap from the dock to the raft. Mr. Cigar is left at the dock and assured that another raft will be along in a few minutes. He high tails it to the fishing dock where he flashes his cop badge at a cast member in a conveniently placed motorboat.
Tony and company exit the Tom Sawyer raft at the Mark Twain dock instead of the raft dock and run past an amused crowd that obviously knows a movie is being filmed. The cop also goes to the Mark Twain dock. His boat driver gets out of there just ahead of the massive Mark Twain.
Tony dons a Fantasia Mushroom costume and runs into the middle of the street in Frontierland (I thought Walt was a stickler for out of place characters!). He sheds the costume in the queue area of the Mine Train (which is not only devoid of guests, it is also 180 degrees away from the direction we last saw him running.)
Tony runs into the tunnel leading to Nature's Wonderland and into the painted desert scene. The cop soon follows.
From there, they both run through the animatronic Indian village and interact with the scenery and an unexpected cast member.
Tony ends up running down the Disneyland Railroad tracks and into a tunnel. A few seconds later he runs out of the tunnel in front of the C.K. Holliday Engine Number 1.
Suddenly he is in Fantasyland again, vaulting over a worker in front of the Pirate Ship and bouncing through the Three Little Pigs. Things get fast and furious in the chase as he and the cop pass by, over, and through King Arthur's Carrousel (with the Disneyland band on the horses), Sleeping Beauty Castle (where the portcullis gate is lowered suddenly to trap the cop), and past a group of Japanese Sailors who get Tony to take their picture.
Into the Hub, where Keystone Cop costumed cast members enter the chase as... Keystone Cops! (The center of the Hub is a grassy circle. The Partners stature of Walt and Mickey stands there now.)
Tony runs into Tomorrowland and leaps over the fence to board an Autopia car (Probably Mark V cars - Bob Gurr article at http://www.laughingplace.com/News-ID108100.asp ) The cop commandeers another car - "Hey Kid! Follow that car!" and pops a kid's balloon with his cigar. There is a quick shot of the keystone cops racing down Main Street in the Antique Car.
Tony and the cop both abandon their cars mid course. Tony leaps aboard a passing caboose on the Railroad.
The train (pulled by Number 3 - the Fred Gurley) pulls into Main Street Station where Suzanne and the kid are waiting. Another cop is waiting nearby and confronts them. Suzanne creates a diversion by leaping into the cop's arms and pretending he is a long lost relative while Tony and the kid leave the park. The kid stops to hug the White Rabbit, Goofy, and the Big Bad Wolf while they run. The kid also gets Tony to buy a large bunch of balloons and they race out the exit.
On Saturday Feb 9, 2008 We visited FDR's Little White House, met some of the Tuskegee Airmen (as they were honored by the Patriot Guard Riders), ate lunch at Bulloch House restaurant, visited the old Rehabilitation Institute swimming pool, and went to FDR's favorite spot on Pine Mountain.
Being the Crazed Disney Parks fan that I am, Marie agreed to my cashing in some of our United miles (from the China trips) to go to Westfest in Disneyland in May.
Money is tight, so I am making the trip solo. I actually have paid vacation for the first time in 3 years and I can definitely keep within budget of my vacation pay as a solo traveler.
The girls know of my Disney hobby and haven't really complained about their not being included in the trip. As this is my second solo trip to a Disney Park, they have seen me do this before. I hope we get a chance to take them down to Walt Disney World sometime in the next couple of years to make up for my solo Disneyland trips.
My trip is partially sponsored by my favorite Disney podcast - Paul Barrie's Window to the Magic Podcast. WTTM has been my weekly escape to the sound experience of being in the parks for several years now. Thanks, Paul.
Westfest started as an informal gathering of podcasters and their listeners that were part of the Disney Podcast Network http://www.thedpn.com that got together in the fall of 2006 as kind of a West Coast version of the huge gathering of the Disney Online Community that happens in December at Walt Disney World - Mousefest. Westfest was formalized in 2007 with official meets and a banquet.
I've been researching the trip for several days now. Digging out old park guide books and maps. I've put together a list of what I know of that has been added or changed since my trip in Nov 2002. I hope to see most of them.
Disneyland Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters Space Mountain - completely rebuilt Matterhorn Bobsleds (was in refurb in 2002) Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage The Pile of Pooh Jungle Cruise - has been Refurbed by adding piranha and other effects King Arthur Carrousel - completely rebuilt Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island Innoventions - Asimo robot was added "Remember... Dreams Come True" - fireworks Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams
Disney's California Adventure Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! Turtle Talk with Crush in Animation (was "One Man's Dream" when I was there) The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (was being built in 2002) Redwood Creek Challenge Trail - "The Magic of Brother Bear" additions Aladdin - the Musical Block Party Bash (which will be gone during Westfest, as it is moving to Walt Disney World) High School Musical 2 show (I can skip this ) Playhouse Disney (I can skip this. This was the closed Soap Opera Bistro when I was there )
Be prepared for a lot of Disney on this blog for the next few months.
Unboxing the device
Mary and Mao helping out
My "wiring closet". Router (white). Network Storage (640GB) behind it.
Imagine what I am watching first!
Screen for my main Kubuntu box on the left and TV to the right.
