The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[Nunu]

I figured the last thing a Utah gated community needed was some old queen sloshing a martini around as he tried to dole out candy to children. Can you imagine the looks from parents I would've gotten at the door?!?

You almost made me spit my coffee, lol!

he said proudly "I'm a charcuterie board!" and then he started pointing to himself and naming the items on display; Brie, grapes, salami, Gouda, Spanish olives, etc.. I lost it.

I would've loved to see the boy's charcuterie board costume. Genius!

 

[Nunu]

We carved some pumpkins tonight. Happy Halloween.


View attachment 752003

Wow, very cool!

 

[Rich T]

New Haunted Mansion movie:

Overall, this was better done 20 years ago...and that movie is hardly a high watermark from Disney either. I maintain that the first three minutes of the 2003 movie are still the absolute peak of 'HM movie' as an executed concept, despite some CGI that's aged terribly. Not that most of the newer movie's CGI is all that great, but still.

The one thing I'd say is probably better in the 2023 version is the casting of the main ensemble we spend our time with. There are too many people involved, but they're all better acted (not that anyone's getting an Oscar out of this, mind) and more tolerable to be around than Eddie Murphy mugging til the cows come home and his family. Jamie Lee Curtis is a fair amount better as Madame Leota than I anticipated based on the trailer, unless she has to tell what the script has decided are 'jokes'. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, as the worst thing about both movies is their apparent need to fill dead air with the hackiest, least original comedic bits conceivable, many of which you can see coming from a mile away. The more things change, right?

Despite much deserved criticism about the quality of contemporary Disney screenplays, the biggest difference between the two movies is that now Disney has added Product Placement, and references to Hip Foodz Of Today. Most obvious is the Burger King run, but there are references made to Yankee Candle, Baskin Robbins, CVS, Amazon, Paypal, Yelp, etc. in addition to several references to tater tots. It's all very forced, blatant, and distracting.

It's a bit odd, but even though the newer film seems to have more overall references to the attraction, it feels more tonally removed from it than the Murphy film. It's also 30 minutes longer, and perhaps because of that feels like it goes on forever.

So to the shock of probably no one on here, it's a bust. I can only dream that as the evidence mounts that attractions don't make good films (and that attractions that attempt to just regurgitate films in ride form are boring as tar), eventually they'll figure out that they're better off wasting their dollars on something else.

Will Disney ever relearn that great movies AND great rides come from fresh, original ideas? Or at least fresh, original interpretations that don’t treat their source material as if it was toxic garbage?

Besides, everyone knows that a Haunted Mansion movie should begin with two teenagers, Mike and Karen, walking home from a date…

(Man, I just re-listened to the start of this album to make sure I got the characters’ names right, and… Wow, the setup, the tone, the sound, the vivid description, it’s all right there. THIS is what a Haunted Mansion movie should be like! )

 

[Californian Elitist]

Still one of my favorite Halloween costumes:

 

[Mark Norris]

The picture doesn't do it justice, but this Madame Leota that turned up at my doorstep was the clear winner last night...

 

[Phroobar]

The best one I saw was a family dressed up as the crew of the Ghost from Star Wars Rebels/Ashoka. The girls were Ashoka and Sabine. Mom was Hera and dad was Thrawn. No Avatar aliens except one kid that was dressed as monk with an arrow on his bald head. Spiderman, Barbie, princesses, monsters and clowns were everywhere. I didn't see Elsa or Anna. Defiantly no Captain Marvel.

 

[Parteecia]

Well, gang... It's just after 10pm and Halloween '23 is going into the history books. Unless you are on a college campus or Hollywood Blvd. in WeHo where things are just getting going about now. But for me, I'm done!

Disney was not really on the radar for costumes this year. Not even Marvel. At least not that I recognized.

And so I've shuffled off to the bar to make the evening's cocktail, as I was only sipping apple cider all evening while I greeted the kids. I figured the last thing a Utah gated community needed was some old queen sloshing a martini around as he tried to dole out candy to children. Can you imagine the looks from parents I would've gotten at the door?!?

Here's the basic rundown of where Youth Pop Culture 2023 stands. I got about 40 kids this evening, not as many as I would have gotten back in Villa Park, but still a decent number. Off the top of my head, the kids in '23 were really into...

Girls: Barbie, Barbie, Barbie! I saw a lot of Barbies tonight. Mostly Pink Cowgirl Barbie, and Rollerblade Barbie. Also a lot of Taylor Swifts. Honestly, all the Taylor Swifts and the Barbies sort of blended together by 7pm. The girls were also into princessy things, and the usual cutesy animals and what I presumed to be the bride of Frankenstein except with pink overtones instead of green. (That one was odd)

Boys: This year was pretty standard for masculine costumes. I got a lot of zombies and gory monsters. I got a few Mavericks in US Navy aviator outfits. I got one rollerblade Ken, a boy about 12 who was paired with what I assumed was a girlfriend who was Rollerblade Barbie. Also a few cowboys. Are Westerns coming back in style?

Best Costume Award gift baskets went to...

Girl: A young lady arrived at my entry looking like a complete mess. But then I realized who she was... Weird Barbie! With a wig that had been chopped to pieces, crayon make-up drawn on her face, a crazy outfit. It was hysterical. And she was a total sweetheart and was so excited to think she'd won an award. Her mom was dying at the end of the walk, and ended up coming up to introduce herself and thank me.

Boy: As above, a young man arrived at my entry looking like a complete mess. But he wasn't Weird Ken, he was just sort of this giant brown cardboard form with all sorts of weird crap hot-glued to it. Sort of pieces of food, or weird stuff, or vegetables? I stammered, but asked him "Young man, what... are... you?" and without hesitation he said proudly "I'm a charcuterie board!" and then he started pointing to himself and naming the items on display; Brie, grapes, salami, Gouda, Spanish olives, etc.. I lost it. I only hope I'm still around in 15 years when he throws his first dinner party, and that I get invited. That young man has a golden future of hosting ahead of him.

Best Family: There wasn't a family that was all dressed in the same theme this year. So instead I gave the Best Family Award to a charming and fun young group; mom and dad both about 35, with kindergarten aged children. But it was the dad that stood out, as he was wearing a blue business suit with dark tie, his hair powdered white, with giant safety knee pads and elbow pads strapped around his business suit. Who was he, you ask????... He was President Biden, with safety measures to protect himself from his next fall. Just like I did with the Charcuterie Board, I lost it.

Happy Halloween to one and all! And now, onward towards Standard Time and Thanksgiving!

Interesting. 158 total here. No Marvel except for a few Spideys. A few Barbies, no Ken. No Star Wars except for one tiny Grogu. Mario and Luigi were popular. Surprising amount of Harry Potter. Some T.Rexes! I love the dinos.

Most of the older kids were in home-cobbled miscellaneous gore instead of IP, which was refreshing. There were a fair amount of light-up X masks. Good thing I don't award best of show. It would make me crazy trying to choose and fearing regret.

 

[TP2000]

I would've loved to see the boy's charcuterie board costume. Genius!

It was fantastic. It was all homemade, which forced me to really look at it and ask him what it was.

I can tell he thought of it himself because he beamed with pride when he said "I'm a charcuterie board!". He was about 10 years old, which is really in that childhood sweet spot of ingenuity and innocence and wild abandon. I find the 9 to 11 year olds come up with the best costume ideas but haven't yet developed a sense of early-teen angst, as that fabulous Madame Leota shows us above. God bless every one of those wonderfully inventive kids!

Also, can you imagine how many times his mom has thrown a dinner party and he's been drafted into prepping the charcuterie board while she does last minute hostess party prep? He's clearly a pro by now at that task.

 

[TP2000]

Interesting. 158 total here.

That's a lot! Villa Park type numbers! I just counted my leftovers, and I actually had 53 kids plus the 3 gift baskets I gave out. It was a very manageable and fun evening, and I think I will enjoy this slower Halloween pace here in the new house.

I've always thought it important to live in a neighborhood with young families with children. It keeps things festive and upbeat, and its why I have never given a thought to moving to some 55+ community somewhere. I have a few friends who live in those places and the tone is generally crabby and a bit dour. It's amazing how much children (with good parents) can lighten the tone of a neighborhood and bring smiles and fun to things. (But thank God I don't have to care for them myself!)

No Marvel except for a few Spideys. A few Barbies, no Ken. No Star Wars except for one tiny Grogu. Mario and Luigi were popular. Surprising amount of Harry Potter. Some T.Rexes! I love the dinos.

Most of the older kids were in home-cobbled miscellaneous gore instead of IP, which was refreshing. There were a fair amount of light-up X masks. Good thing I don't award best of show. It would make me crazy trying to choose and fearing regret.

I did get a couple of boys as Spiderman, but I keep forgetting that's a Marvel character now. We had Spiderman when I was young so I forget that he's part of the Disney/Marvel gang now. Otherwise, I saw no Marvel or Star Wars last night, those fads are unhip on school playgrounds now apparently. I did get a couple of what I now understand was "Mario and Luigi" though. Cute!

Southern Utah is apparently Barbie and Taylor Swift central. Most of the girls, and a few moms, were that.

 

[Disney Irish]

That's a lot! Villa Park type numbers! I just counted my leftovers, and I actually had 53 kids plus the 3 gift baskets I gave out. It was a very manageable and fun evening, and I think I will enjoy this slower Halloween pace here in the new house.

I've always thought it important to live in a neighborhood with young families with children. It keeps things festive and upbeat, and its why I have never given a thought to moving to some 55+ community somewhere. I have a few friends who live in those places and the tone is generally crabby and a bit dour. It's amazing how much children (with good parents) can lighten the tone of a neighborhood and bring smiles and fun to things. (But thank God I don't have to care for them myself!)



I did get a couple of boys as Spiderman, but I keep forgetting that's a Marvel character now. We had Spiderman when I was young so I forget that he's part of the Disney/Marvel gang now. Otherwise, I saw no Marvel or Star Wars last night, those fads are unhip on school playgrounds now apparently. I did get a couple of what I now understand was "Mario and Luigi" though. Cute!

Southern Utah is apparently Barbie and Taylor Swift central. Most of the girls, and a few moms, were that.

Um, Spider-Man has always been a Marvel character since the day that Steve Ditko and Stan Lee created him in 1962.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Sounds like Jungle Cruise went down today for a quick surprise refurbishment. The Ancient Cambodian Shrine (built by Ancient Cambodian Shriners) is getting fixed, I guess the structure was unsound.

 

[TP2000]

Um, Spider-Man has always been a Marvel character since the day that Steve Ditko and Stan Lee created him in 1962.

Oh, really? I knew he'd been around since the 60's, but I didn't know he was part of Marvel since then. Makes sense.

But as Disney didn't buy Marvel until 2009 (I think?), Spiderman hasn't been a Disney property until 14 years ago.

It gets even more confusing when Sony releases Spiderman movies instead of Marvel. I can only imagine the bar tabs the lawyers ran up at Musso & Frank's before that agreement was figured out.

 

[TP2000]

Clean out your gutters!

Now that I have your attention, I thought of our friend @Practical Pig this evening when the weather forecast showed that from Eureka to Crescent City would be getting up to 5 inches of rain this weekend. Mother Nature is swinging into rainy winter mode fast now, and the heavy rains are arriving to the West Coast.

Have you cleaned out your gutters? Swept out your drains and downspout areas? Removed leaves and lawn cuttings from drainage areas? Do you have some sandbags or those miraculous new gel-tubes to protect a garage or cellar door from flash flooding? Do you have a few buckets and tarps to use if a leak develops at Midnight?

Now is the time to prepare, not when the TV weatherman starts sounding the late alarm and Home Depot is already sold out.

This weekend's rain will be up in far northern California. The heavy rains don't usually arrive in SoCal until January, but when they do arrive, Disneyland can be uniquely fun! Or miserable, depending on your outlook on life.

 

[Disney Irish]

Oh, really? I knew he'd been around since the 60's, but I didn't know he was part of Marvel since then. Makes sense.

But as Disney didn't buy Marvel until 2009 (I think?), Spiderman hasn't been a Disney property until 14 years ago.

It gets even more confusing when Sony releases Spiderman movies instead of Marvel. I can only imagine the bar tabs the lawyers ran up at Musso & Frank's before that agreement was figured out.

Yes he and his rogues gallery have always been Marvel. And yes he didn't become part of Disney until they bought Marvel back in 2009.

Sony came into the picture around 1999 (actually slightly before but that is a different longer Marvel story) when Marvel in order to prevent going bankrupt sold the film rights for the character and his rogues gallery to them. The character is still owned by Disney/Marvel for everything else including comics, theme park usage (except in WDW, an even longer different Marvel story involving Universal), and merchandise. Disney/Marvel through a deal made back in 2016 with Sony can use the character in MCU movies, hence the Tom Holland version of Spider-Man in the MCU. I've glossed over a bunch, including a bunch of renegotiation's of the deal between the two over the years, but that is the basics.

So long story short, in movies he is sort of "co-owned" at this point by Sony and Disney/Marvel. But the character as a whole is owned fully since day one by Marvel now under Disney.

 

[Practical Pig]

Clean out your gutters!

Now that I have your attention, I thought of our friend @Practical Pig this evening when the weather forecast showed that from Eureka to Crescent City would be getting up to 5 inches of rain this weekend. Mother Nature is swinging into rainy winter mode fast now, and the heavy rains are arriving to the West Coast.

Have you cleaned out your gutters? Swept out your drains and downspout areas? Removed leaves and lawn cuttings from drainage areas? Do you have some sandbags or those miraculous new gel-tubes to protect a garage or cellar door from flash flooding? Do you have a few buckets and tarps to use if a leak develops at Midnight?

Now is the time to prepare, not when the TV weatherman starts sounding the late alarm and Home Depot is already sold out.

This weekend's rain will be up in far northern California. The heavy rains don't usually arrive in SoCal until January, but when they do arrive, Disneyland can be uniquely fun! Or miserable, depending on your outlook on life.

Thanks for your concern. I do appreciate it.

I actually own four homes, counting a duplex as two, and three of them are mortgage-free rentals. The duplex had a recent roof inspection with a positive report, and I just paid the bill for a new roof and gutters (including gutter screening) on the other rental house a couple of weeks ago, so they should be fine.

The gutters on the home where I live were last cleaned two years ago, but I live in the shadows of the Redwoods with a constant rain of Redwood Duff, so my gutters may well be inundated. I won’t know unless it happens, since my personal health currently prevents me from climbing that ladder now.

I will say that there is long history of weather reports that predict heavy rainfalls that actually land south of us here. We'll see.

 

[TP2000]

Thanks for your concern. I do appreciate it.

I actually own four homes, counting a duplex as two, and three of them are mortgage-free rentals. The duplex had a recent roof inspection with a positive report, and I just paid the bill for a new roof and gutters (including gutter screening) on the other rental house a couple of weeks ago, so they should be fine.

The gutters on the home where I live were last cleaned two years ago, but I live in the shadows of the Redwoods with a constant rain of Redwood Duff, so my gutters may well be inundated. I won’t know unless it happens, since my personal health currently prevents me from climbing that ladder now.

I will say that there is long history of weather reports that predict heavy rainfalls that actually land south of us here. We'll see.

Good to know that you're aware and already on it.

Although I just had to Google up "Redwood Duff". You learn something every day!

 

[Rich T]

Oh, really? I knew he'd been around since the 60's, but I didn't know he was part of Marvel since then. Makes sense.

But as Disney didn't buy Marvel until 2009 (I think?), Spiderman hasn't been a Disney property until 14 years ago.

It gets even more confusing when Sony releases Spiderman movies instead of Marvel. I can only imagine the bar tabs the lawyers ran up at Musso & Frank's before that agreement was figured out.

And it gets yet *more* confusing in Florida, where Spiderman greets guests and stars in a fantastic, thrilling e-ticket ride… at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Universal keeps that wonderful attraction running for the next 50 years just to annoy Disney.

 

[TP2000]

And it gets yet *more* confusing in Florida, where Spiderman greets guests and stars in a fantastic, thrilling e-ticket ride… at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Universal keeps that wonderful attraction running for the next 50 years just to annoy Disney.

Thank you! That helps explain my confusion, as I had vague recollections of a Spiderman ride out there.

There's been a Spiderman ride at Universal Studios Florida for 25 years, and there's now a Spiderman ride at DCA. So who does Spiderman belong to again? I'm suddenly not as embarrassed to not know that answer.

Although I think Disney should get extra credit for their Spiderman, since at DCA they have the guts to throw a Spiderman mannequin at a wall several times per day, with mixed results. "Airbags please!!!"



Although my personal favorite line is "AAAHHHH... Thunk... My Back!"

 

[Rich T]

…Although I think Disney should get extra credit for their Spiderman, since at DCA they have the guts to throw a Spiderman mannequin at a wall several times per day, with mixed results. "Airbags please!!!"

Disney gets 50 points for the catapulting mannequin, but minus 500 points for their Spidey ride, which is so lame and uninspired compared to the much older Universal attraction.

IoA’s Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man really is one of the best dark rides ever. It takes a lot of elements people have experienced before (motion-platform vehicles, 3D projections, practical sets, live water and fire blasts) but combines them perfectly and convincingly to create amazing and startling illusions in service of a great, perfectly-paced story. And the wonderful writing captures the humor, thrills and fun of the comic book Spidey (and J. Jonah Jameson) brilliantly.

Man, I love the Universal ride. The Disney version? Not so much.

 

[Rich T]

This apparently released two weeks ago, but I just found out and thought I’d post this here as a theme park fan PSA (and my apologies if this has already been discussed).

A EURO DISNEY soundtrack album, released last year as a vinyl exclusive to celebrate 30 years of Disneyland Paris, has finally been released on iTunes and is available to stream on major music services.

This is a pretty great little compilation. The highlight for me is definitely the fact that the incredible original “Space Mountain From the Earth to the Moon” score is once again widely accessible for people to enjoy. Happy listening!