Pulled minutes ago, from everyone’s favorite site.
Good to know I’m living in a building “currently under construction”. And that I lived in one all last year.
Technorati Tags: Olin College
Filed by Adam College at 1:54 pm under Olin
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As a few of you might know, I’ve been on a Disney kick lately, listening to music from around the theme parks in Florida. Yes, such things exist. Call it what you want (weird, sappy, an attempt at seeking escape to a dreamworld of fantasy that’s enabling me to rationalize working in a cubicle) but for me, this is the music I more or less grew up on.
Living in Florida has a few perks, hurricanes, poor drivers, and poorer voters be damned. One of them is great discounts at theme parks. Another is proximity to aforementioned parks. I’d estimate that my family probably went to Disney World somewhere between 30-40 times between first grade (1991) and 2001. Throw in another 8-10 times for school related stuff, and maybe another handful of times post 9/11, and I would say it’s not unrealistic to guess I’ve been to Disney World on the order of 50-60 times.
That may seem like a lot, but you have to remember a few things. That’s 50-60 over the course of a decade and a half, which is only 3-4 times a year. And none of those trips was longer than four or five days, and most were a pattern like this: leave after school Friday afternoon, hit Epcot Friday night, go to Magic Kingdom Saturday, go to MGM Sunday Morning, and leave no later than Two PM Sunday afternoon. (That’s essentially the perfect 3 park schedule by the way.)
Still, I agree, that’s a tremendous amount of Disney for one kid to ingest, regardless of timespan length. And when you consider my family also owned every Disney animated movie (except Pete’s Dragon) in their gigantic clamshell cases, owned Disney stuffed characters, read books about those characters, and so on, you see that we’ve got a pretty Disnified house.
I am lucky to know that this same time was a sort of golden age for theme parks, especially Disney World. The growth that the Orlando resort has experienced in my lifetime is astounding: adding two new theme parks, opening a dozen hotels, adding shopping centers, attractions, water parks. I know that this unparalleled expansion was offset by the loss of attractions I loved. I realize that change is, for the most part, good.
Why? That’s an excellent question. Part of it was the escape that WDW provided then (and we’ll get to why it doesn’t now in a second). Part of it was the physical location: just 90 minutes up I-4 from my house. Part of it was the cost, which didn’t hurt so badly back then. But I think most of it was my grandfather (my mom will inevitably read and correct this if I’m wrong) also liked Disney and took his family often. There’s a whole back story here that involves this company, my grandfather, the opening of Space Mountain, and the oil crisis of the 70s. I might write that book some day.
I know there’s a term for people further down the scale than me: DisneyFreak. I know there are people who travel to all eleven theme parks around the world, post trivia online, compare rides in Anaheim and Orlando. I know that I am not quite one of these people: I only read the trivia posted online.
But I also know that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or anyone from Tomorrowland) to figure out that Disney World has lost its way. I’m listening to this music from dismantled attractions now sold on eBay, stories once told in the half-light that will never entertain again.
Maybe the magic is gone for me: maybe time, that evil villian, has robbed me of my innocence. But when I listen to the in-ride audio and music (and yes, such things are easily had online) only some of what I feel is my own personal nostalgia: the memories of trips past. The other part of what I feel is confusion, from an engineering and business perspective, wondering *why* Disney’s made some of the decisions they have, especially at the parks.
Of course, this problem is multi-faceted. Universal, just up I-4 even farther, is directly competing for the same market. The overall travel market suffered, perhaps irrecoverably, after 9/11. Gas prices are soaring. But my personal opinion is people will still pay, and pay handsomely, for happiness, for peace of mind and pieces of future nostalgia. People will always pay if you can simultaneously take their cares away and give them happy memories at the same time. Why else would movies be so popular?
Disney’s problems lie somewhere else then, beyond competition, rising costs and prices. I think the Disney problem is they’re just not as good as they used to be at manufacturing the product. I know that it’s always been about making money from the Disney side, but I feel like what they’re selling is no longer what it once was. The Disney empire has gotten so large and expansive, WDW has simply become a grand Disney store: an outdoor arena for advertising and selling.
Back in my high school days, when I was involved in television production, we had a oft-repeated motto: “All we do here is tell stories. Your success is determined by how well you share them.” So too, should this be the motto of the company founded by Walt Disney.
Technorati Tags: Disney, Walt Disney World, Nostalgia
Filed by Adam College at 10:45 am under Life
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For those not in the know, Washington DC has a fantastic subway system. It’s so top notch for a variety of reasons: A) It’s illegal to eat, drink or smoke (and this law is strictly enforced), which keeps the cars *very* clean, and B) The trains run at regular intervals, unlike the T. The trains also run late when they should, until 3 on Friday and Saturday nights.
Still, taking the Metro in and out of town everyday can be boring at times: There’s not a lot of scenery, and a boring book can cause a wasted 20 minutes. So ocassionally, I take a look around at fellow passengers.
Firstly, there is a mathematical formula for when it’s OK to take the seat next to me. That formula is: never. And it is especially never if there are other open seats in the train. And it is unequivally never if there is an open *row* of seats elsewhere in the train. This has happened to me more than a few times: I’ll be in a mostly-empty train, and some random person will hop on and take the seat right next to me, even though there are seven empty rows of seats. And it’s not just subways! I’ve parked my car in the middle of an open lot with *at least* 15 spaces on either side in one direction, and three empty rows in the other, and some person will have still come park their car way too close to my driver-side door, and there are still 15 open spots, three open rows, etc. Why?? Cars don’t benefit from strength of numbers. They don’t keep each other warm, they don’t befriend each other. All you, sir or madam who likes to park close to other cars, have done is earn yourself a nice passenger-side dent. Enjoy. But I digress…
Another quirky habit: Last week, I boarded at Dupont Circle to head out to Grosvenor. That’s about a 15-20 minute ride. Two minutes in, I’m minding my own business, ocassionally checking out the other passengers for interesting quirks (yes, among other things…) when I notice a not-unattractive Asian woman sitting a few rows ahead of me, and facing the opposite direction. She’s combing her hair, using a small vanity mirror to check it out.
I head back to my book for a page or so, until the train arrives at the next station (National Zoo/Adams Morgan). Quite a few passengers board/deboard the train, so I’m bumped in the elbow, and I look up and around again. Hmm… the woman is combing her hair still. You know, I’m not really sure how long it takes, but that’s a long time. And her hair is pretty straight….
I go back to the book for another stop… and when I look up again, she’s *still* combing her hair. In fact, she’s re-combing portions of it I saw her comb before. The passenger sitting behind her (from my POV) looks as confused as I probably do: Has she stopped? Why did she start again? And so on. Realize that by now, I’m halfway to Grosvenor, I’ve been on the train 10 minutes, and I’m pretty sure she hasn’t stopped yet.
By now, of course, I can’t concentrate on my book, so I close it, just looking at Hair-Comb Girl, Confused-Woman-Behind-Hair-Comb-Girl, and a few other passengers. Also of note is Clearly-Upset-Stomach-Guy, who’s turning various shades of red intermittently whie grinding his teeth and holding his abdomen.
To make a long and crazy story short, I get to Grosvenor and the woman is *still* combing her hair. About half the train has realized this, but Comb-Girl is too entranced with herself (she also hasn’t put down the little vanity mirror) to notice other passengers awed by this performance.By the time I alight from the train, 20 minutes have passed and she’s recombed her hair about six or seven times. Note that she was on the train before me, and was on the train after me, so it’s entirely possible that this could have been going on for over 30, even 40 minutes.
This could be the OCD award winner for best performance, 2006.
Technorati Tags: Metro, Subway
Filed by Adam College at 9:53 am under Washington DC
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Passing by the Treasury Building.
Mother: “Look kids (points to plaque), it says on this spot, Canada and the US became friends!”
Grandmother: “You know, just once, I’d like to pass by one of these damn buildings and see a sign that says ‘In 1870, absolutely nothing happened here.’ “
Filed by Adam College at 2:30 pm under Washington DC
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The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Courtesy of the AP.
Filed by Adam College at 11:57 pm under Washington DC, Web
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Two pieces of audio today that may make you cry, but for entirely different reasons. The first is a fantastically beautiful cover of The Talking Heads’ This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) by the Arcade Fire from CBC radio up North. Let me be the latest to join the loooong list of Arcade Fire fans. (Time Magazine featured the band on it’s Canadian edition cover back in April 2005. They’ve been at the forefront of the Canadian rock/indie scene since.) Their first company release, Funeral, is an excellent example of good things brewing for the future of rock.
The other audio is a terrfying piece of Senate debate from Ted Stevens, Republican from Alaska and chair of Senate Commerce Committee. Ol’ Ted (emphasis on Ol’) moves into a solid first place on the “I don’t know shit ’bout technology” leader board with his thoughts on net neutrality, replacing Orrin “Let’s literally blow up the computers of internet pirates remotely” Hatch of Utah.
Stevens was poked fun at on The Daily Show, but the sad part is, very few people have the ability to get to this guy to talk common sense into him. He’s also president pro tempore of the Senate (which means, for once, I’m almost praying Bush, Cheney and Hastert don’t meet their untimely demise simultaneously.) Stevens is the longest serving Republican in the Senate… and he’s from fucking Alaska. Since most people on the Hill refuse (albeit politely) to communicate with members of the public unless they think they can get a vote out of it, it’s going to take an able Alaskan to get through to this guy. Good luck finding that. Not surprisingly, though, lobbyists and members of the media get a FastPass to Congressional members. Hmmm… who do politicans work for again?
Audio courtesy of the CBC and Public Knowledge.org (via ThrowAwayyourTv.com)
Technorati Tags: Ted Stevens, Net Neutrality
Filed by Adam College at 11:02 am under Media, Technology, Washington DC, Web
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Folgers Coffee, long been the best part of waking up, is taking a different approach to its advertising. And it is wacky McScary.
I’m sorry, but if overly happy shiny bright people came and bothered me while asleep, I’d kill them. Then I’d go to Starbucks.
Technorati Tags: YouTube, Folgers, Advertising
Filed by Adam College at 2:22 pm under Everything Else
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One of the perks of the summer is how much downtime I have. Removed from midnight meetings and 2 AM problem sets, I’m finding there’s a fantastic world of goodness on TV.
Now, I’ve long said that TV is a slippery slope to stupidity, and I stand by that. 90% of television is still garbage. But that’s down from 95-97%. And, I figure, if I still read books, that balances out. Here’s a few worthy shows edged into the traditionally-weak summer lineup.
1) World Series of Pop Culture (varies, VH1): Yes, I’m a trivia geek, as evidenced by the tons of trivia questions I lugged with me from Boston to DC. But the format of this show is pretty cool, with teams and brackets. Somewhere in America, a bracket pool is starting for this, especially since the World Cup is over. The questions on the show are a tad lame; I didn’t have much trouble shouting at the TV. But there’s a fair bit of drama? Can the lone survivor of a three-man team get a Sportscenteresque moment and knock off three people in succession in categories like 1980s lyrics, Nicholas Cage Movies, and Cancelled TV. Could someone do commentary and play-by-play for these moments (even Vin Scully outtakes or loops: I don’t believe it! The impossible has happened!) Please?
2) Psych (Fridays 10 PM, USA): USA plugged the crap out of this show, starting at least a month before last Friday’s debut. But it’s smartly-written, and the premise is great. I’m not a huge fan of the show that leads into it, Monk (again, cool idea, but last Friday’s season opener, with Stanley Tucci’s actor character going crazy and becoming Monk is a classic shark-jumping moment). Psych’s premise will probably go the same way, of course (when the lead character, a “psychic” detective who in reality just has perfect memory recall starts *really* seeing things before they happen, or his memory starts to fade, yada yada yada), but until then, it’s good. Think House, minus medical and pithy, plus murder and comedy.
3) Eureka (Tuesdays 9 PM, Sci-Fi): Yet to air an episode, but again getting plugged like crazy, Eureka looks fun, but may not pan out. The idea is explained here: basically, small Northwest town is actually super-secret small Northwest town FOR SMART PEOPLE! Eureka makes the list for no other reason except this promo site.
4) Hell’s Kitchen: (Mondays 10 PM, Fox): Yes, it’s a guilty pleasure. Yes, it’s trashy TV. But it’s so unintentionally hilarious, it’s worth the hour after when I cry for watching yet another episode of Chef Gordon Ramsey curse for 44 minutes. Ramsey’s not even that bad of a person: he routinely pulls people aside and gives them encouragment (in various forms). But the people picked as contestants are so terrible, so stupid, and so ugly (on the inside), it’s tough to cheer for any of them. (Same rule applies for The Apprentice.) Case in point: Blue team has 3 people. Red Team has 4. Red Team sucks hardcore at the main event, blue team only sucks slightly less. In any event, everyone can tell the Red Team is the loser, and thus, up for elimination. Heather on the Blue Team says (verbatim): Chef, I think we [the Blue team] should be up for elimination because we didn’t live up to our potential.
Esqueeze me? You just won the freaking challenge. I’m sure there’s a DV Tape somewhere in the Fox production room entitled: Blue team bitches out Heather for 45 minutes. I would pay good money to get that tape unedited. (In the end, Ramsey still picked someone from the Red Team.)
There. A TV overview. Lord willing, I’ll never do one of these again.
Filed by Adam College at 10:25 am under Media
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Solve this expression. Once cool, but now mostly annoying flash video/internet meme/gamer culture line PLUS one totally ridiculous motherf****in movie (WITH SNAKES) = ?
My answer: this.
Technorati Tags: snakes on a plane, soap
Filed by Adam College at 3:33 pm under Movies
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No, this isn’t about the problems a now ex-AOL subscriber had in cancelling his account, or the ensuing mini-chaos in the media. But that incident may be helping AOL execs what most of us have long known: AOL dial-up service is a pretty ugly thing. The New York Times is reporting today (registration required, those bitches.) that AOL Chief Exec Jonathan Miller will introduce a plan to the Time Warner board to halt marketing for the AOL dial-up service and devote more - essentially all - resources to the free AOL.com web content. It’s a risky idea, of course, since subscribers pay in a very hefty portion to AOL (and parent company Time Warner) coffers.
But it may be a smart move in the long run. Fewer consumers are choosing or sticking with their dial-up accounts and moving to broadband access. There’s little for AOL in that market, since they can’t provide the bandwidth people need (having no access themselves to cable or DSL entry points, like phone or cable companies. Former AOL bigwig Steve Case kinda messed them up there.) Alternatively, AOL finds itself competing with Google and Yahoo! for ad revenues.
Unfortunately for AOL, there’s no hybrid version. And AOL’s biggest problem in moving to a free-web/advertising revenue base is so many people have been turned off (no pun intended) to AOL in the past. There’s a tremendous amount of branding in the current web business model. People inherently support one company over another when they select a default search engine. Nobody really goes to Yahoo when they can’t find what they want with a Google search query: People simply edit their search terms and try again on Google.
Of course, AOL would suffer another problem: losing the built-in page views. This is how MSN and Yahoo! get so many hits: People don’t change their default home page when they purchase a new computer. Simply put, very few non-AOL subscribers have AOL.com as their homepage. If AOL loses subscribers, it also loses people who view their pages.
Bad move, short term. But the CEO realizes this. The only problem is: how good of of a move will it be in the long term?
Technorati Tags: Business, AOL, dial-up
Filed by Adam College at 12:18 pm under Technology
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