Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

Sara and I are becoming addicted to the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters attraction at Disneyland. Think of it as a combination of a Fantasyland dark ride and an arcade shoot-em-up game. You ride around in a little ship and shoot at targets located in the ride. A computer keeps track of your points and displays your score at the end. Kiosks at the end of the attraction allow you to save pictures which also list your score.

Sara and I thought we would keep track of each of our high scores. Sara's current high score is 88,700 and mine is 105,200. We're new at this, but will keep trying to improve our scores at each visit. I'll keep posting our photos in the future.


Sara totally kicked my butt on this one, and got her new high score in the process.

I finally figured out that trying to aim my gun could dramatically improve my score.

Man of the Century

Sara and I watched Man of the Century last night. It's a cute little independent film about Johnny Twennies, a 1920s newspaper reporter who is somehow transplanted into the 1990s and doesn't seem to know or to care. As a result, the movie is filled with a lot of hilarious slang, styles, and mannerisms from that bygone age. It's not the best film ever, but it's definitely worth a rental.

The movie also stars Susan Egan as Johnny's modern girlfriend Samantha who is suffering through all of Johnny's out-of-date ideals regarding courtship. Disney fans will recognize Egan as the voice of Megara from Disney's Hercules, as well as originating the role of Belle in the stage production of Beauty and the Beast.

Astro Orbitor

Take a ride with Sara and Tim on Disneyland's Astro Orbitor.

More Flag Retreat

A complete Disneyland Flag Retreat Ceremony, from July 7, 2007.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4

Farewell Beauty and the Beast

Disney's long-running stage musical of Beauty and the Beast is closing after 5,464 regular performances.

Disneyland College Band

Check out the 2007 Disneyland College Band, filmed in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle on July 7, 2007 playing a Disneyland Attraction Medley. These guys are good!

Above The Law

By commuting Scooter Libby's sentence, the Republicans show once again that if you're a good buddy of the President, then you are above the law.

Duel

Sara and I are really enjoying our Netflix account. Last night, we watched Steven Spielberg's 1971 movie, Duel. The movie stars Dennis Weaver as a solitary motorist who is being terrorized by an unseen trucker. It's pretty suspenseful and definitely worth watching if you haven't already seen it.

iPhone

Apple's new iPhone will be released today. Will it be a boom or bust? We'll find out soon. I personally would not want to hand Apple $500 for the "privilege" of providing them free beta testing.

Clever of Steve Jobs to release the phone on a Friday night at 6pm. That way, in case there are major problems, Apple has a few hours to push out firmware fixes before Wall Street opens again on Monday.

Wicked

On Saturday night, Sara and I went to see the musical Wicked at the beautiful Pantages Theater in Hollywood. Sara had been wanting to see this for awhile, so we decided to get tickets for the Saturday after her last day of school. It was a lot of fun, however I do feel that it had been hyped up quite a bit. There were some places where the story dragged, but all in all, it was a great show.

Great performance by Eden Espinosa as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. She really made this show for me. Also, Espinosa used to be a featured performer at the Disneyland Resort. So it's nice to see her hit the "big time".

We're Going to Disney World

Sara and I just made the final payment on our Walt Disney World vacation. We're heading to Florida in August. Yeah!!!

Obama Girl

I'm not sure which Democrat I'll be supporting in the 2008 Presidential election, but it's nice to see the race is off to a good start.

George Bush, the Saint

A co-worker forwarded this to me:

THE SAINT
President George W. Bush was scheduled to visit the Episcopal Church outside Washington as part of his campaign to restore his pathetic poll standings.

His image handler made a visit to the Bishop and said, "We've been getting a lot of bad publicity because of the president's position on stem cell research, the Iraq war, hurricane Katrina, and the Veterans Administration. We'll make a $100,000 contribution to your church if during your sermon you will say that the President is a saint.

The Bishop thought it over for a few moments and finally said, "The Church is desperate for funding - I'll do it."

Bush showed up for the sermon and the Bishop began:

"I'd like to speak to you all this morning about our President George Bush who is a liar, a cheat, and a low-intelligence weasel. He took the tragedy of September 11 and used it to frighten and manipulate the American people.

"He lied about weapons of mass destruction and invaded Iraq for oil and money, causing the deaths of tens of thousands and making the United States the most hated country on earth.

"He appointed cronies to positions of power and influence, leading to widespread death and destruction during Hurricane Katrina. He awarded contracts and tax cuts to his rich friends so that we now have more poverty in this country and a greater gap between rich and poor than we've had since the Depression of 1929.

"He has headed the most corrupt, bribe-inducing political party since Teapot Dome.

"The national surplus has turned into a staggering national debt of 7.6 trillion Dollars, gas prices are up 85%, which the people of America cannot afford, and vital research into global warming and stem cells is stopped cold because he's afraid to lose votes from religious kooks.

"He is the worst example of a true Christian I've ever known.

"But compared to Dick Cheney, George W. Bush is a saint."

War On Terror

According to the Associated Press, Osama bin Laden was behind the attack on the U.S. military base in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney.

So remind me again, why is our military bogged down in Iraq while bin Laden is still free?

You're doing a heckuva job on the War on Terror, George Bush.

Dumb, Dumber, and Dumberer

Rush Limbaugh, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rudolph Giuliani pose at the annual Cigar Afcionado's Fat-Cat Meet-And-Greet Dinner. The stogie-suckers raised $1.2 million for prostate cancer.

Perhaps someone should tell these clowns they might be better served raising money for throat and lung cancer.

... Nah!

Reasonable Gun Control

The person in this photograph:

1. Spent time in a mental health facility.
   
2. Was referred to mental health professionals/counselors by his college professor.
3. Was referred to mental health professionals/counselors by the local police.
4. Stalked and physically threatened other students.
5. Had a history of violent behavior on file with the local police department.
   

So then, can someone please explain to me how in the hell was this guy allowed to legally purchase a handgun and ammunition just days before he killed 32 people at Virginia Tech??? According to the guy who sold him the gun at a gun show, Cho Seung-Hui's came up clean when his name was run through a "Quick Check".

It boggles the mind.


There are those in the NRA who would have you believe that the left is using this tragic event to take their guns away. No, we're not. All we want is reasonable gun control. And I would hope (pray?) that any reasonable person would not have sold Seung-Hui a gun. Don't you think?

And for those who say that now is not the time for a national debate on gun control; that it is not fair to talk about this subject so soon after the Virginia Tech massacre; I say: when your dog craps on your floor, do you wait three weeks before you stick his nose in it and tell him "NO"???? Hell No. You handle the problem right away.

It's time to handle this dog crap.

Star Wars

Don Imus

Things just keep getting worse for radio talk show host Don Imus. After making racially inflammatory comments about the Rutgers University Women’s Basketball Team, Imus was placed on a two-week suspension, MSNBC dropped its simulcast of his show, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are calling for his dismissal, and advertisers are pulling out.

While some would have you believe that this is an issue of free speech, I would disagree. Imus is free to go to any street corner and yell whatever he wants at the top of his lungs. But when it comes to the public airwaves, then things are a little different. While I’m not really bothered by anything that comes out of the mouth of any “shock jock”, I think Imus definitely crossed the line in this particular situation and should be held accountable for his actions.

However, all the chest beating about this incident raises a concern. While there is no doubt that what Imus said on his show is offensive, it really isn’t much worse than anything you would hear on a typical “gangsta rap” record, or in an Eminem song. That type of music is known for glorifying racism, misogyny, and homophobia. So, why is that kind of material okay for the airwaves while Imus is not? Why isn’t Al Sharpton having these people on his show telling them to stop recording such material? Why isn’t Jesse Jackson leading a march calling for an end to such music? Why are we not seeing the same level of mass outrage as we are for Imus?

I honestly don’t know, but it just seems hypocritical to me.

What do you think?

Casey Jr. Circus Train

Take a ride on Disneyland's Casey Jr. Circus Train. April 7, 2007.

Disneyland Flag Retreat

Every afternoon in Town Square on Disneyland's Main Street, the U.S. Flag is lowered for the day in a small but patriotic ceremony. A regiment of Disneyland Security Personnel is charged with bringing down the colors, while live music is provided by the Disneyland Band and The Dapper Dans. Here is a short segment of the ceremony from March 30, 2007.