Fantasia GIF(ts)

I'm glad to see Disney is feeling the need to liven up our computers. I've been in meetings all day long and have no idea who is going to finish all my work. Perhaps that first GIF of Sorcerer Mikey can help out!

Even though I like them all, these are my favorites. Hope you like them too.

 

 

To see the other Fantasia GIFs, click here.

Ruhe Sanft

Ruhe Sanft, mein holdes Leben is a beautiful aria from Mozart's unfinished opera, Zaide, written in 1780. Roughly translated from German, it means, 'Rest in peace, the love of my life'. Treat yourself and watch one of my favorites, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa sing it by clicking here (but come back to read the rest of this post!)

This past Sunday, I was at the Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Loretto, MN. Whenever I go to a cemetery, I can't help but think of Mozart's music.

Having traveled throughout Europe, I visited cemeteries where people have been dead and buried longer than the United States has been a federal republic. In comparison, we are young. Even so, we do have some people who go back a hundred years or more. Seeing this headstone, you know why Mozart comes to my mind. And before I get hate posts, yes, I know that it was Johann Andreas Schachtner's libretti for Zaide.

It saddens me when I see younger people buried. Click on the picture below to read the writing on the stone to the right. I can't even imagine this mother's grief, but I can imagine the conversation telling her son to buckle up, and him saying, 'Yeah, don't worry about it, Mom". This is exactly why she worried about you, Luke.

Usually Mozart's Requièm Mass in D minor (K. 626), which was left unfinished at the time of his death on December 5, 1791, runs through my mind, especially when I see images like this. I am reminded of the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna, Austria, where I roamed for hours, where so many famous composers are buried like Beethoven, Schubert, and the Strauss'.

If you're like me and speak, read and write German, you will be able to read the headstone in the foreground. Evoking Mozart's naughty side he is said to have had, as do I, you may notice I purposely included the headstone in the background. There are lot of Germans buried in this cemetery, and I can only imagine the torment the name of this family has received.

For those who don't know German, let's just say the polite and proper translation for the word is to 'receive'. In its most vulgar, crude, and literal translation, well, let's just say it's not a Disney word, or one you'd use sitting around the dinner table.

Who says I don't have a sense of humor? I find myself to be quite...

The Morning After

There's always next year, Luke.

May The Fourth Be With You

It's that time of the year again! May 4th. Not a big deal you say? Well it is if you're a Star Wars fan because it's the international day that honors the Star Wars saga. True, the original movie, or Episode IV, came out on May25, 1977, so why celebrate on the 4th? Well, it's a pun of the famous phrase, "May the Force be with you." Get it?

This has been going on for years, and there are so many clever 'May The Fourth Be With You' memes out there, I had to add a few of my own.  Let me know which is your favorite. You may think my favorite includes a self-portrait, but you'd be wrong.

Be sure to check out the Star Wars website for other fun celebratory ideas. You can even send me a May The 4th Be With You e-card, or to your favorite Wookie, when you click here.

Mom

I'm a huge fan of Hallmark. If you're following me on Pinterest, you'd know that. If Hallmark was a company Walt Disney trusted with whom to create one of his first partnerships, it's good enough for me!

Last week, I went to Hallmark so I could pick up a few birthday cards (yes, I'm one of those who still sends physical cards and keeping the USPS in business) and a few other things so I could receive my free VIP gift bag filled with goodies. I received a card about a 'Mom' frame, so I wanted to check it out.

It was on sale, so I picked it up. This is going to be such a cool Mother's Day gift! Hallmark has a partnership with Shutterfly to make these pictures. You buy the frame, and there are instructions inside to tell you what to do. You load up your pictures to Shutterfly and can choose one, two or three pictures to use for your frame. They will print it out and ship it to you for free! Use the codes provided, but enter them after you've created your picture. The system won't accept the codes at the beginning of the process even though it asks for it. I could have saved myself five minutes.

Anyway, a sample of the finished product is below. I'm going to do the same thing for Father's Day so my parents each have their own frame.  Visit Hallmark to learn more about the frames and these One-of-a-Kind Creations!

Hallmark word frame insert

View the entire collection of cards.

Hallmark Word Frame

 

(See the other post. I have to keep this widget for Shutterlfy!)

Mom Word Frame Insert

Create beautiful photo Christmas cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

It's a Work of (He)Art Part Deux

As promised, I am showcasing a few more pieces of my Disney production art. You can refer to my April 17, 2013 post which started all this, as well as going way back to 2007 to see a giclee done by Andreas Deja.

These first two pieces are some favorites. It's the White Rabbit and Alice with their croquet mallets. They were part of a TV commercial, and unfortunately I wasn't able to acquire the Queen of Hearts that completes the set.

With recent Disney animated features, it's getting more difficult to find production and/or animated art. That's why I jumped at the chance to pick up Prince Naveen from The Princess and the Frog.

Many of you know that The Lion King is one of my top favorite Disney (and non-Disney) movies of all time. While Timon is my favorite character, I certainly can relate to his warthog friend, Pumbaa. Which is why I had to pick up this piece where you can see Pumbaa singing his line, "When I was a young warthog!" from Hakuna Matata.






Disney fans know Orville and his brother Wilbur from The Rescuers movies. I really love that movie.

Some don't know that due to the success of those movies, Orville had a brief stint at a Disneyland Attraction.


Debuting July 4, 1984, "All Because Man Wanted to Fly" was preshow film with Orville at the Circle-Vision Attraction. That was the same year I hired in at Disneyland, which is another reason why this particular piece is special to me.

To see the 8-minute preshow film, click here. This scene from which this production art occurs around the 7-minute mark.

Don't worry. I have a lot more art to showcase! You know how those Disney fanatics are with their collections!