Monthly Archives: April 2019

Preorder ‘Penguinate! The Disney Company’

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On April 14, 2019, my 8th book “Penguinate! The Disney Company” will be released on Amazon Kindle. (That’s just in time for my birthday!) “Penguinate! The Disney Company” looks at aspects of the company that Walt Disney would recognize. It includes thoughts on Disney Parks, Disney creativity, and Disney movies, including “Frozen 2” plots Disney probably never considered.

This wholly unauthorized look at the Disney Company is designed to help you think deeply and share your thoughts. The more you practice deep thinking, the more creative you’ll become. Preorder the Kindle version today at Amazon, or preorder the paperback here.

The Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements    iv
 About This Book    1
 The Disney Family    3
 Walt Disney’s Road to Creativity    4
 Diane Disney Miller, Grandma and Disneyland    6
 The Disney Parks    8
 Standing in Line Is Part of the Appeal    9
 FASTPASS Is too Fast    10
 FASTPASS, Reservations and Time    11
 Why the Characters at the Parks Matter    12
 Disney Parks Don’t Need New Rides to Increase Attendance    14
 How Disney Can Save Itself and the World    16
 The Disneyland Resort    19
 The Birth of Disneyland    20
 The Submarine Voyage (1959 to 1998)    22
 Star Wars Land Vs. Tomorrowland    23
 Put the ‘Tomorrow’ Back in Tomorrowland    26
 Investing in Parks Is the Best Way to Deal with Crowds    28
 Mickey Mouse Foods and Happiness    30
 Disney California Adventure Is still No Disneyland    31
 World of Color – Winter Dreams 2013    33
 Eulogy for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror    34
 Walt Disney World    35
 Reflections on the College Program 2012    36
 Why Would Walt Want to Build a City?  A panel with Paul Anderson at Salt Lake Comic Con 2013    38
 Walt Disney World’s Internal Communication    40
 Walt Disney World’s External Communication    41
 Walt Disney World and Change    42
 Why MyMagic+ is Genius    43
 Crew Spaceship Earth with Aaron Wallace and the Rest of Humanity    45
 Critique of Epcot Misses Context    47
 The American Idol Experience Will Suck You in like the TV Show    49
 Disneyland Paris    51
 Disneyland Paris 2015 Is Like Disneyland 2000    52
 La Taniere du Dragon: Magic at Disneyland Paris    54
 Disney’s Synergy    55
 Disney Does the Dumb: No Longer Going to Infinity and Beyond    56
 Disney/Fox Merger Sounds Death Knell for Small-Time Writers and Creatives    58
 Did Disney Cut the Cord?    60
 ‘Agent Carter’ sets stage for Captain America vs. Batman and Superman    62
 Let’s Get Dangerous: Disney Dominates Movies and Music    64
 Why Fox’s Fantastic Four Flop Is Good News for Disney    65
 Disney Jumps to Light Speed with Creative Properties    66
 ESPN Fishes for Its ‘Little Mermaid’    68
 The Disney Princess Stories    72
 The Saving of Snow White: Rethinking Criticisms of Disney Films    73
 Dying Ugly: The Misguided Actions of the Evil Queen    75
 Cinderella’s Choice: Rethinking Criticisms of Disney Films    76
 ‘Frozen’    78
 ‘Frozen’ Warms the Heart    79
 Hans: Clever Schemer, Opportunist, or Love Corrupted by Power    81
 Scarcity Fuels ‘Frozen’s’ Fire    83
 Possible ‘Frozen 2’ Plots    85
 ‘You Can’t Top Pigs with Pigs’: ‘Frozen 2’ on Thin Ice    89
 ‘Frozen’ vs. the Super Bowl    92
 ‘Frozen Fever’ opens for ‘Cinderella’: What’s at Stake?    94
 The Rise of Olaf and Baymax    96
 Disneyland’s Frozen Paradise 2015    97
 How Disney Changed the Princess Story for Success in the Modern Age    100
 ‘Maleficent’: Visually Stunning, Epic Fantasy    111
 ‘Frozen’ and ‘Maleficent’ Create Instant Cliché    113
 Evil Isn’t Complicated; It’s Easy    115
 Maleficent Changes Her Character    117
 ‘Maleficent,’ Misogyny and Metaphor: Disney Hits a Cultural Nerve    118
 An Alternate Ending for ‘Maleficent’?    119
 Other Disney Films    121
 ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Explores Ways to Fix It    122
 Why Maui is the bad guy in ‘Moana’    124
 Disney Stuck in a Rut: Sequels Rule the Box Office    126
 Keep Moving Forward with ‘Tomorrowland’    128
 ‘Tomorrowland’ Brings to Screen What Theme Park Lacks    129
 Society Needs Its Dreamers    131
 What Kid’s See in Disney Films May Not Be What Adults See    133
 Disney Products    135
 Disney Products: D23Expo 2017 Explores Past and Future    136
 Appendix 1: Other Disney Books to Consider    139
 Appendix 2: Disney Vocabulary    141
 About the Author    143

Thinking Deeply with the Nostalgia Critic Exposes American Culture and Identity

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The Speakers’ Club at Satori School where I lead English Speaking sessions first introduced me, figuratively speaking, to the Nostalgia Critic. When I asked which topics they would like to cover before the Speakers’ Club ended for the season, the Nostalgia Critic was one of the right topics they chose. So, I started doing some research.

First, I filled out the contact form on Channel Awesome. I thought if the kids could actually talk with Doug Walker they would get more out of the session and enjoy it 11 times more (because Doug likes to go one step beyond) than if I conducted the session myself. I didn’t expect a response, but Doug did get back to me to tell me he was too busy to Skype, but he would be doing something special for the kids. And he did.

Then I started looking at the 12 seasons of videos he has done. I had to cull them by length and relevance. Speakers’ Club is only 90 minutes long, so I tried to find videos that were in the 20-minute range or less. Relevance was a little more problematic. I tried to stay away from videos that would most interest my class – the Batman ones – and find videos that would speak to the American culture.

The tribute to Roger Ebert, the video on originality, and Is Charlie Brown Christmas overrated? are the ones that caught my eye and ear. In these three videos, Doug Walker breaks down the reason why things are the way they are and how it affects the culture at large. His commentary shows that he has thought deeply about these subjects. He didn’t just dismiss them out of hand or accept them as they are, he went beyond to understand what it is that appeals to him, others and how they have altered America in their way. His M&M characters video shows the same amount of thought and research but was too long for inclusion in the Speakers’ Club.

The Nostalgia Critic is loud, brash and swears. Sometimes, he makes not safe for work jokes that are inappropriate for a younger crowd. However, he doesn’t just rip things apart – something that would be easy to do and possibly garner more video views. Instead, he applies his knowledge and research to whatever subject he’s discussing.

And what he’s discussing is the very essence of American Culture. He’s discussing the very things that made our childhoods and have thus made us Americans. He is discussing how we came to be who we are through our media consumption and what it means to us today. In short, his discussions touch the very core of our identities, and as such, his show is worthy of our attention. Dig into the Nostalgia Critic and find out who you are.

Books to help you think deeply: “Penguinate! Essays and Short Stories: Improve your Creativity for a Better Life and World” and “Penguinate! The Disney Company.”

Speakers’ Club April 5, 2019: Music Groups

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Speakers’ Club April 5, 2019: Music Groups

Rules:

Practice “Word Crimes”

Groups not singers; 1950s to 1980s.

Top Music groups of the 1950s – The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, The Platters, The Drifters, The Coasters…

Bill Haley & The Comets:

The Penguins:

Top Music Groups of the 1960s – The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Byrds, The Four Seasons, The Who, The Kinks, The Shirelles, The Drifters, The Four Tops, Martha & The Vandellas, Sam & Dave, Sly & The Family Stone, The Yardbirds, The Marvelettes, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Ventures, Jan & Dean, The Ronettes, The Band, The Velvet Underground, Junior Walker & The All-Stars, The (Young) Rascals, The Animals, The Dave Clark Five, The Righteous Brothers, Buffalo Springfield, The Chiffons, The Isley Brothers, Tommy James & The Shondells, The Turtles, The Shangri-Las, Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas & The Papas, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Simon & Garfunkel, Janis Joplin/Big Brother & Holding Company, Ike & Tina Turner, The Jackson Five, Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention, Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs, Sonny & Cher, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Van Morrison/Them, The Hollies, Steppenwolf, Herman’s Hermits, The Grateful Dead, The Beatles…

The Beach Boys: American Alternative to the Beatles; surfer rock:

The Rolling Stones: The Beatles alternative;

The Supremes: Diana Ross

The Doors: Jim Morrison, great for biking.

The Monkees: A TV Group that became a band. I got to meet Micky Dolenz at Salt Lake Comic Con!

Top Music Groups of the 1970s – Black Sabbath, Paul McCartney/Wings, Fleetwood Mac, Bee Gees, Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, KISS, The Clash, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, Aerosmith, The Ramones, Steve Miller Band, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, Deep Purple, Three Dog Night, Temptations, AC/DC, Kool & The Gang. Doobie Brothers, Yes, War, The Guess Who, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Bad Company, Steely Dan, Electric Light Orchestra, Sex Pistols, Grand Funk Railroad, Kinks, Kansas, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, The Chi-Lites, America, Styx, Blondie, Jethro Tull, Foreigner, Moody Blues, ZZ Top…

Pink Floyd: Play “Dark Side of the Moon as an alternate soundtrack to “The Wizard of Oz”

The Eagles: Hotel California;

Queen: Legendary Freddie Mercury; great songs, terrible to bike to. Bohemian Rhapsody. https://youtu.be/fJ9rUzIMcZQ

Journey: Don’t Stop Believin’:

Heart: Two sisters, all heart!:

Van Halen: Not Van Hagar:

Top Music Groups of the 1980s – U2, Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, George Michael/Wham, Metallica, N.W.A, Rush, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motley Crue, The Cure, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, REO Speedwagon, Kool and the Gang, The Smiths, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Eurythmics, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Salt-N-Pepa, The Go-Go’s, Depeche Mode, Sonic Youth, Culture Club, Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine, De La Soul, Chicago, Pixies, Simply Red, Thompson Twins, Dire Straits, R.E.M, The Pet Shop Boys, Whitesnake…

Duran Duran: The Reflex;

The Police: Sting;

Genesis: Phil Collins;

Beastie Boys:

Hall & Oates: Maneater;

The Cars: You Might think I’m crazy, Rick Ocasek;

Toto:

The Pointer Sisters:

The Bangles:

Men at Work:

Tears for Fears:

INXS

Scorpions:

The Talking Heads: David Byrne;

Huey Lewis and the News: Greatest band of the ‘80s;

Bon Jovi: Hair band; Livin’ on a Prayer:

B-52s: Rock Lobster:

Flight of the Conchords: Comedy group with multiple sounds

David Bowie Changes

and Major Tom

(Bowie’s in Space)

Pet Shop Boys: West End Girls

(Inner City Pressure)

Jemaine Clement MIB3, Tamatoa in Moana; Bret McKenzie

Minister’s Cat J

‘Shazam!’ bring the popcorn and have some fun

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“Shazam!” is a fun DC romp that shows DC can use humor on its superhero films. Sure, there are some scary parts (The monsters are U-G-L-Y; THEY AIN’T GOT NO ALIBI; THEY UGLY!), and 14-year-old Billy Batson uses his newfound adulthood for some nefarious purposes, one of which he rejects outright. Another he indulges in and commits a crime to go back for more. It’s played for comedy, so it works if you don’t think about it too much.

Zachary Levi is at his goofy, charming best, and “Shazam!” is a fun popcorn movie. If you remember “The Greatest American Hero,” you’ll recognize elements of the TV superhero comedy as Shazam tries to learn about his superpowers.

I saw this in Russian with my wife, who laughed far more than I did, and after discussing with her some of the things I didn’t catch, “Shazam!” may be a little deeper than a popcorn movie. That being said, it was fun, even if it has a deeper message about envy and family.

Apparently, there are some people, aka trolls, causing a ruckus pitting “Shazam!” against “Captain Marvel.” A small part of this stems from the DC vs. Marvel rivalry. Small minds have an issue with holding two competing theories in them, and it’s the same with this rivalry. You can like DC AND Marvel. It’s not either/or; don’t fall for the false dichotomy. In fact, if you like Indie comics and want to see more of them on the big screen, going to see films that are like the Indie comics you love will cause the studios to scour the nation looking for stories they can adapt, thus creating a larger market for the smaller IP.

A larger part of this trollduggery is the unfounded fear that males, and usually white males, have at being rendered irrelevant as the world changes. They lose a power that has been a birthright since before the U.S. was founded, and the act of taking that power away and distributing it so that all people have the same equality of opportunity feels like discrimination. What good are the movies if you don’t share them? While we could delve deeper into the psychology of this issue, I’m just going to let Zachary Levi take it from here:

Of course, if you still want to ring in on the Marvel vs. DC question, you can take our poll.

Instinctive Archery and What It Can Teach about Creativity

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When I was learning instinctual archery, it seemed pretty straight forward. Use the correct form and the arrow goes where you look. So, I worked on it:

  • Feet shoulder width apart.
  • Knees slightly bent.
  • Look at your target; both eyes open.
  • Raise your arms; bow slightly canted.
  • Three fingers on the string; index finger above, middle and ring finger below.
  • Pull the string using your back muscles by bring the shoulder blades together; bring the middle finger to the corner of the mouth.
  • Release.

“You dropped your elbow.”

“What?”

“You dropped your elbow. Everything should be in a straight line.”

Again, the elbow dropped. Again and again and again and again. I took video (and posted it on my YouTube channel), so I could see what I was doing. I practiced in the mirror at home without a bow. I practiced on the range. I practiced concentrating on the elbow, then something else would go wrong. My arrows generally made it to the target, some hit the bull’s eye. But it took me a long time to get my form correct, even with Armin Hirmer and Andy Hillsden at Malta Archery coaching me and reminding me about smaller form issues.

It took a lot of practice and patience, and at some point, I learned from my failure and got better at archery. Creativity takes practice, patience and the willingness to continue even after mistakes and failures.

Trust Yourself

As an instructor, I found that most people were afraid to trust that their minds and eyes will work together to get the arrow on the target. There’s no aiming. You simply point and trust yourself that your body knows where to send the arrow. Most people wanted to look at the arrow, but you don’t look at a ball when you throw it. You look at the target.

With instinctual archery, you have trust yourself. You have to trust that your body will do what you want it to do. In creativity, you have to trust your judgement. You have to understand that you know what you want to accomplish and experimenting will get you there as long as you have knowledge in the field or domain. You are creative.

Keep Learning

Sometimes, beginners would come in and just want to shoot the bow the way they wanted to shoot the bow. They saw it on TV or had made their own bow when they were much younger. Some thought the bows were toys, so they didn’t need instruction. Whatever the reason, they didn’t want to learn how to shoot the bow with any form.

People who shot guns also would not want to learn how to shoot a bow. They thought their gun shooting skills would transfer to the bow. Either they shot too high or didn’t get the power out of the bow they should have.

Olympic style archers don’t want to learn instinctive archery. They would come in and shoot in the Olympic style even though the equipment wasn’t made for it. Bows would crash to the floor. Even good archers would miss one out of three arrows. Some were stubborn; some didn’t want to ruin their form.

Instinctive archers using the Mediterranean draw wouldn’t want to learn thumb draw, even when the bow was clearly made for thumb draw. Getting a full pull out of one of these bows required more pull. Instead, the archer was content with getting half as much power and beauty as he or she could have out of the bow. Thumb draw hurts when your thumb isn’t used to it.

The people who enjoyed archery the most were the ones who went in for learning everything and it made them better archers because they could adapt their style to their equipment. That’s true of creativity, too. You need to use the tools you have, and many of your tools will come from what you have learned before. Keep learning and get the most out of your creativity.

For more on creativity, order “Penguinate! Essays and Short Stories: Improve Your Creativity for a Better Life and World.” Get “Disneyland Is Creativity.” Preorder “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity.”

Two Causes of Creative Blocks and How to Break Them

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The most common cause of creative blocks is fear. Fear of failure, fear of not living up to the hype of a previous success, fear of doing something wrong, fear of not being accepted, fear of rejection, fear of disappointing someone – yourself, your families, you friends… There are a thousand fears that can stymie creativity.

While you will never be able to eliminate fear, you can face it and break through it. Sit down in your creative space and get to work. It doesn’t matter what you create, just start the work. Once you get started, the fear will go away. You don’t even have to work on your next project. Give yourself 20 minutes of freestyle creativity to get the juices flowing and then start on the project that has you scared. And it is always the project that scares you the most that you should work on. It will be the most truthful, the most artistic and lead you to the most happiness and success. Facing your fear and working on that which you fear is the only way to overcome a fear-based creative block.

Another cause is the exhaustion of the creative well. If you’re a full-time creator, chances are you’re on the treadmill of having to produce content or something creative every day. Day after day, you have to have new ideas, make new art, and do everything that comes with marketing because if you don’t you may not eat next month. If you have a job and are creating on the side, just the job can be taxing enough that it makes it hard to come home and spend time on doing what’s really important, being with your family, creating, and not succumbing to (insert addictive entertainment of choice here).

Creators will tell you that ideas come from nowhere or everywhere. But the truth of the matter is, ideas can only come to you when you have a well full of information, experiences and emotion. Being numb is the artist’s worst affliction. Hopefully, you have some tricks that will help you be creative even when you feel like you’re out of ideas.

Keeping a journal, going for a walk, and faking it ‘til you make it are among tried and true strategies. Read a magazine or a book that’s outside your normal reading material. Travel to someplace new, even if it’s a nearby park. Contact your inner child and explore the edges of your yard. Observe, observe closer, observe again; too much of life is spent on auto-pilot engage with your surroundings, ignore your phone and see what you’ve been missing.

For more on creativity, order “Disneyland Is Creativity.” Get “Penguinate! Essays and Short Stories: Improving Your Creativity for a Better Life and World.” Preorder “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity.”

ABCs of Creativity: Mistakes

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If you’re doing something that you know how to do, you might make a mistake. It doesn’t matter what the task is or how many times you’ve done it before, being human means that you make mistakes sometimes, even when you’re doing something you’re good at. Professional basketball player J.R. Smith dribbled out a clock when his team needed a score in the playoffs; he’s on a team with Lebron James. Smith made the mistake in spite of being an NBA player who was probably told by his teammates what was going to happen.

Creativity means you’re doing something new to you. If a pro player can make a mistake when he is doing something he’s been doing for years, imagine how much more likely it is that you’ll make a mistake doing something new. It’s going to happen. Accept it and then do something that will set you apart from others, learn from your mistake.

In creativity, mistakes are the stepping stones to better products, better hypotheses, and better results. As long as the mistake leads to learning something, it’s okay. You don’t have to make the same mistake twice, you can make new ones every day! Go try something new, and make your mistake so you can learn.

For more on creativity, order “Disneyland Is Creativity.” Get “Penguinate: Essays and Short Stories: Improve Your Creativity for a Better Life and World.” Pre-order “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity.”

The Secret to Having More Fun at Lilac City Comicon, Ogden UnCon and Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con

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In case you missed it, we only have two months before we begin or first convention: Lilac City Comicon in Spokane, WA on June 1, 2019! We will then hit up City Cakes and Café for an author signing, Ogden UnCon where I am scheduled to present the Haunted Mansion Is Creativity, and Amazing Las Vegas Con.

Preordering is the best way to make sure you get the penguin or book that you want. And if you want to rake in a discount at any of our booths at these conventions and author signing, all you have to do is join our Patreon!

EVERY Patreon member gets $1 of for every $10 he or she spends at our booth. It doesn’t matter which level you choose, you still get the same discount! What could be better?

We look forward to seeing you at one or more of these venues. Make sure when you buy your tickets, you tell the person that penguinate.com sent you!

My Niece, the Haunted Mansion and Fear

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When my oldest niece was about five, my mom and I took her on the Haunted Mansion. We went through the Stretching Room, down the Portrait Gallery and boarded the same Doom Buggy. As we rolled up the stairs and into the mansion, I was getting into it. The Haunted Mansion isn’t scary, but it’s fun to pretend it is.

So, I was taking everything seriously. The armor, the endless hallway with the floating candelabra, the chair that seems to be staring at you. Each new “horror” made me look more fearful. As we rotated to see the body trying to get out of the coffin, my mom hit me in the shoulder.

“Lighten up. You’re scaring your niece,” she whispered at me.

I switched the way I was looking at the mansion and laughed at its humorous elements. I kept smiling through the ride, and my niece had a great time. She wasn’t afraid of no ghosts.

Fortunately, the team of Claude Coats and Marc Davis helped to provide the elements of a frightening atmosphere and comic presentations. (Of course, there are plenty of contributions from other prominent imagineers, like Rolly Crump and his human-like furniture and wallpaper and the effects pioneered by Yale Gracey with Crump.) So, you can see the Haunted Mansion the way you want to. It is the creativity that the team put into the mansion that makes it a classic attraction that everyone loves.

For more on the Haunted Mansion and creativity, preorder “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity.” You can also get “Disneyland Is Creativity” and “Penguinate! Essays and Short Stories: Improve your Creativity for a Better Life and World.”

For more on the Disney Company, preorder “Penguinate! The Disney Company.”