While supplies last, you can get a free chapbook “I Haunt the Spaceship” written by Brian C. Baer, author of “How He-Man Mastered the Universe” and “Bad Publicity,” at the Penguinate table (B91). These chapbooks contain three short stories that center around death and the afterlife. Ghosts on spaceships, a serial killer at a “recovery resort,” and the delay of a film production are all part of the fun.
Baer’s extensive knowledge of the pop cultural phenomenon is on display in “How He-Man Mastered the Universe.” His interviews and research are part of the work that he put into the book, but just as important to the book is the reason behind his passion for He-Man. Baer explores how deregulation changed the world of children’s television and how He-Man led the charge.
Baer’s fictional work, “Bad Publicity” is a noir story involving a tabloid reporter and his ghost informer. The trade-off for great information and what it leads to may be more them the reporter is willing to surrender.
Supplies of “I Haunt the Spaceship” are extremely limited. Make
your way to table B91 and claim your copy on Friday! (They will be available
all weekend if they last that long!)
If you’re considering organizing a convention, “The Land of the Lost” group was amazingly fun. The stars of the original TV show were upbeat, funny, and brought more to the Ogden UnCon than I thought possible.
On the final day of Ogden UnCon 2019, Shad Engkilterra is
scheduled to present “Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion: 50 Years of Creativity” in
the Ogden Eccles Conference Center Executive Conference Room. Taking a tour
through the Haunted Mansion, attendees will get history of the Haunted Mansion
and tips on becoming more creative.
At our booth, there will be penguins, books, Buddhas and posters. Our stuffed penguins are handmade with hand-embroidered eyes. Many of them are dressed in costumes; there are pirates, hipsters, BerryBerets and Sally. Jack and Pintel were adopted on Saturday.
Books by Shad Engkilterra and Darren Lamb are ready to be
consumed. Shad’s books include “Disneyland Is Creativity,” “The Haunted Mansion
Is Creativity” and “The Pirate Union” – a rollicking adventure on the high seas
sanctioned by the bureaucrats that run the PU. Darren’s books are light with
Buddhist philosophy and heavy with tension and action. If you want to live a
better adventure, Darren’s stories are a great place to start.
The Buddhas at our table include Yoda Buddha, Mickey Buddha,
and Rick Buddha. Embedded in each Buddha is a seed of the Bodhi tree and a
dorje, which is a tool used to bring positive energy to life. Strong Jesus and
Cthulu Buddy Christ are also available.
Our posters include Penguin Motivational posters and
Disneyland photos from The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Bug’s Land. If you
need something a little more pop culture, ask to see our comprehensive
selection of Russian Lobby Cards featuring movies from the last two years.
Priced at a dollar each, these collectibles are ready to take home.
The first three (3) people to come to our booth and say “Penguinating is the power of positive creativity” will get a tiny Avenger!
In case you missed it, “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity” is available for preorder at Amazon.com. The second book in the “Disneyland Is Creativity” takes a look at the Haunted Mansion’s history and structure and relates them to creativity principles to help you become more creative.
While the Haunted Mansion opened on August 9, 1969, it’s
history dates back more than a decade before when Harper Goff drew the first haunted
house concept in 1951 as part of a church and graveyard. The façade was
finished in 1963, but it took 6 more years for the technology to develop and
the concept to work. This delay allowed the Disney team to learn more as well
as explore hundreds of ideas before choosing the right one. Creativity requires
lots of ideas, time to be creative, and patience to choose the right idea to
develop.
That doesn’t mean there weren’t failures. The Haunted
Mansion was supposed to open in 1963 instead, Marty Sklar wrote a sign that
said the team was busy gathering ghosts. A short-lived effect called “the
Hatbox Ghost” didn’t work when the Haunted Mansion opened, and it was removed
until the effect could be done correctly. (It was reinstalled in 2015.)
Creativity comes with failures and mistakes.
Just in time to celebrate Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion’s 50th anniversary, the eBook is scheduled to be released June 1 and 2 to coincide with Lilac City Comicon 2019 in Spokane where I will be presenting “The Haunted Mansion: 50 Years of Creativity.”
The book tour will continue at City Cakes and Café in Salt Lake City. On June 7 to 9, we’ll be at Ogden UnCon where I will present “The Haunted Mansion: 50 Years of Creativity” on Sunday. Currently, our last scheduled stop will be at Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con from June 14 to 16.
If you know you want a hard copy of the coloring book “There Are No Penguins in Alaska,” now’s the time to preorder it. Because we will be printing them in Russia, we will be unable to replenish our supplies between events. While we would love to sell out of them at Lilac City Comicon 2019 on June 1 and 2, we would hate for anyone to miss out on the coloring book just because they were later on our journey.
So, if you’re going to be at City Cakes and Café for my author signing on June 5, or you’re going to find us at Ogden UnCon on June 7 to 9, or you’re coming to Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con June 14 to 16, preordering ensures that we will have a copy with your name on it ready for you to pick up. More importantly, you can order them at the convention price of $5 and not have to worry about shipping and handling. Just click on the link to the event you’re going to.
If you aren’t going to make it to any of the events listed, but you can meet with us while we’re in Salem or during our journey, you can still get the $5 price. You just have to be able to pick the coloring book up. Otherwise, they are $8 plus shipping.
If you have no idea how to order, or you know you are going
to get one but you don’t want to officially order, leave a note in the comment
or contact us through our Facebook page. We’ll set one aside and contact you
about payment and delivery.
Of course, preordering anything else you might want is also
a good idea. Penguins take more than a day to make, so if we sell out of them,
they’ll be gone. Other books we may be able to replenish, but there’s no
guarantee. The best way to get what you want is to preorder! You can also order
items directly from Amazon or on Amazon Kindle, but they will not be eligible
for any discounts.
Remember, members of our Patreon Penguinator team get $1 off for every $10 they spend at our table during an event. If you know you’re going to buy something from us, you might want to join our Patreon and get your discount as well as more information on creativity and stuffed penguins.
It’s just one month until we board the train in Blagoveshchensk to head to Khabarovsk. From there we’ll fly through Seoul and Honolulu to touch down in Portland, OR as we make our way to Lilac City Comicon 2019. Before we get to Spokane though, we’ll make a stop in Independence, OR to get our supplies and make any last-minute preparations. (If you’d like to see what we did last year, check out our archives and videos.) At Lilac City Comicon, I’ll be presenting the sequel to “Disneyland Is Creativity” with the release of “The Haunted Mansions Is Creativity.” Come see my panel “The Haunted Mansion: 50 Years of Creativity.”
From Lilac City Comicon, we’ll head toward Salt Lake City, with a short stop in Idaho to relax, for my author signing at City Cakes and Café on June 5. I can’t wait to see what they have for dinner, and I’m sure I’ll grab some great vegan pastries.
Ogden UnCon 2019 will be from June 7 to 9 in Ogden. The stars of “Black Sails” will be on hand as well as stars from “The Land of the Lost” – talk about retro! Drue M Scott is scheduled to be at our table, and we may have another special guest. On Sunday, I’m schedule to present “The Haunted Mansion: 50 Years of Creativity,” which will give attendees ideas for habits and activities they can do to become more creative.
When we leave Ogden, we’ll head over to Moab in the hopes of seeing Arches National Monument. After that little bit of relaxation (and celebrating Jenya’s birthday), we wind up the tour at Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con 2019.
Of course, this travel schedule may seem epic, but it won’t truly be epic unless you show up. Come by and say “Hi!” If you can’t make it to one of our events but are in the area, let me know I’ll see of I can make it work to meet up. We have some time after Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con to set up other events if you have a lead on something in the west that’s inexpensive. For those who want signed books sent to them, just use the order form on this website and we’ll get them to you as soon as we arrive in the U.S.
If you want one of our books or penguins, preordering will ensure that you get what you want. Our supplies are limited, so click on the event links above and order what you’d like. We’ll have them ready for you at the event, and you won’t have to worry about us being sold out! Remember, everyone of our Patreon Penguinators gets a discount on items bought at our events. Join today at any level!
The Haunted Mansion was always my favorite Disneyland
attraction growing up. Sure, I enjoyed singing and clapping with the Country
Bears. I had fun sailing with pirates in the Caribbean, and I really loved
Adventures thru Inner Space. However, it was the Haunted Mansion and its magic
that remained the attraction I would choose to go on first.
This year marks the Haunted Mansion’s 50th anniversary. Because of that, I wanted to delve deeper into its history and its links to creative principles. From the late 1950s when Ken Anderson was the only imagineer assigned to the project through to Yale Gracey and Rolly Crump’s shenanigans to opening day and beyond, “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity” takes you on a tour of the home of 999 happy haunts linking attraction details and designs as well as stories of its creation to creative principles as revealed through scientific studies and interviews with people who create for a living.
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
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.
Kevin Ashton’s “How to Fly A Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery” delves into and debunks the myths of creativity. By using existing scientific research and deftly chosen examples comb from history, Ashton creates an exciting and surprising read for anyone who has ever doubted their own creative abilities. The creative beliefs challenged by Ashton include:
The Creative Leap
Creative thinking is just thinking. There’s no leap, it’s
just that creative people take more steps to get to a solution. Less creative
people stop when they have something they think works, even if it’s not the
best, or even a very good solution.
People and Organizations
Want Creativity
People and organizations say they want creativity, but creativity is seldom rewarded. Ignaz Semmelweis lost his job and his life when he challenged the medical field to wash its hands, even though he could show that washing hands saved the lives of women and children during childbirth. The others who came before him to suggest the same thing were ignored or ridiculed.
Robert Galambos lost his job at the Walter Reed Army Institute
of Research for suggesting the Glia cells in the brain were important, and idea
commonly accepted now. Galambos was a famous neuroscientist, who with Donald
Griffin, proved bats use echolocation to navigate in the dark and had worked at
the institute with his boss, David Rioch for 10 years. None of that mattered;
he and his new idea were kicked to the curb.
The Eureka! Moment
The actual “Eureka!” moment that the story comes from is based on a falsehood. The displacement of water would be too small for Archimedes to determine whether gold had been combined with another metal to make the king’s crown. (Its buoyancy is what matters.) Sitting in the tub would probably not have mattered. Even if it did, the story says that Archimedes got into the tub while thinking about the problem. He hadn’t relaxed; he was actively pursuing a solution. The “Eureka!” didn’t come like a bolt of lightning; it came from a series of thoughts.
The Incubation Period
Tied to the “Eureka!” moment, incubation is also something that scientists haven’t been able to see in research the phenomenon. It’s a commonly accepted step in the process of creativity, but it may not be real. While incubation hasn’t been disproved, it has fallen out of favor. Some scientists are changing the name to “implicit cognition.”
Ashton address other issues like brainstorming, the role of rejection, what credit for an idea has to do with anything and why people get credit, and how people fear new ideas. Not only is Ashton’s books one of the best I’ve read on the subject, but it also uses clear stories told in an entertaining way and offers up lessons, hope and encouragement for people who want to be more creative. If you want to be more creative, get “How to Fly a Horse.”
Penguinate! Positive Creativity 