2014 Favorites and Milestones

What would 12/31 be without a reflective post of my favorite moments of 2014 as well as a selection of my top favorites from this year?

Ultimate 2014 Playlist

1. Nirvana (Harry Fraud Remix) - Sam Smith
• I loved Sam's debut album this year but this remix really stuck with before it's release. I can't wait for Sam to make an album that is all dance tracks.
2. Rather Be (feat. Jess Glynne) - Clean Bandit
• I am not sure how this found its way to my iTunes but it did and then it got some radio play and some Jazzercise play but I really loved it on my Summer walks to work.
3. Jealous (I Ain't With It) - Chromeo
• Chromeo will always have a special place in my heart because of Jerome and this song reminds me of him. He would love it.
4. Love Now (feat. All About She) - Calvin Harris
• Calvin Harris' new album this year is one of my favorites and this song is stellar. I love his big dancey tracks with female vocals.
5. Break Free (feat. Zedd) - Ariana Grande
• I hate that this is on the list because Ariana Grande bugs me but I just really liked this song from the first time it played on the radio. I blame Zedd.
6. Take Me Home (feat. Bebe Rexha) - Cash Cash
• My friend Hillary showed me this song right before it became a Jazzercise song. I still really like it.
7. Froot - Marina and the Diamonds
• I got really into Marina and the Diamonds as we transtitioned from Summer to Fall and I build a whole playlist of sad dancy girl singers. Her last album was the star of the list but Jake was the one who brought this new track to my attention. It is weird and great.
8. Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J) - Katy Perry
• I blame this on my friend Sam who loved the music video when I went to Florida in late Winter at the beginning of the year. It grew on me and grew on my. I loved "Birthday" and "This Is How We Do" from this year as well but I decided "Dark Horse" would be Katy's contribution this year.
9. Helen Keller (feat. Roxy & Richie Beretta) - Manila Luzon & Cazwell
• I found this song somehow on Spotify and it is so weird that it kind of became something I loved. Drag queens and terrible queer rappers coming together to make a trash song that somehow I still laugh at.
10. Do It Again - Royksopp & Robyn
• Sweden rocks the house.
11. Shake It Off - Taylor Swift
• It is a good song no matter how many times they play it and the fact that I can't build this playlist on Spotify because of it. It is just great and remind me of the pink suite we stayed in in Vegas.
12. Feels Like Summer - Panama Summer
• This song came up on a dance rock radio station on Spotify and I kept going back to it eventually buying it to put on my dad's annual CD.
13. Jealous - Nick Jonas
• Despite his pandering to gay dudes, Nick Jonas is kind of awesome. I love a squeeky clean pop star who goes dirty and makes awesome adult pop after making such songs as "Pom Poms" with his brothers,
14. Neon Lights - Demi Lovato
• It is just a good dance song not matter what you say. It is also a painful leg workout but I will never be sick of this song.
15. Baby Don't Lie - Gwen Stefani
• Gwen can do no wrong in my book and while this is a little bis slower than most people would like. It is a great bus ride track.
16. Cook Kids - Echo Smith
• This song instantly takes me back to the pool at Elara where I spend at least 10 of my 36 hours in Las Vegas. Not a very "Vegas" song but a great one all the same.
17. Peaches - In The Valley Below
• I heard this song driving home from Katy and TJ's on a hot summer night. I rarely listen to the radio anymore but I happened to be listening to some indie rock show on the local alternative station and I really liked this song.
18. Chandelier - Sia
• Most people love this song for the video but I just loved this song. Such a deep powerful dance ballad.
19. Passenger - Britney Spears
• I know that is is really just a robot singing but man do I love this song. I think I listened to it everyday as I road the elevetator up to work for the month of August.
20. Say Something - A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera
• February is a hard month for all of us and when I got Winter sad I fixated on this song to the tune of replaying it for 30 minutes straight. 

Top 5 Things I Am Most Proud of in 2014

1. Getting promoted at work (twice!) to a job with a salary that allows me to feel comfortable
2. Visiting Chicago for my first business trip and adding a new state to my list of visited
3. Jake finding us a house to move into and being able to get out of an apartment
4. Getting my passport and visiting Canada for the first time with my Mom and Dads
5. Hitting 200 Jazzercise classes

Top Ten Favorite Movies Released This Year:

1. Guardians Of The Galaxy
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4. The Skeleton Twins
5. Big Hero 6
6. Gone Girl
7. Maleficent
8. Bears
9. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
10. Godzilla

Top 5 Funnest Parts of 2014

1. My crazy Summer road trip to visit Vegas for the first time as an adult, see Britney Spears. hike the desert, go to Disneyland and eat rolled tacos on the beach with my parents
2. Kate's Hair Metal Baby Shower
3. Running the Ugly Sweater 5k with Jake and Jenny and beating the pants off of everyone else while looking amazing 
4. Visiting all 4 Walt Disney Parks in 15 hours while visiting Florida
5. My last minute trip home for cookie baking with my mom and grandparents and for cribbage playing and pizza eating with my dad

30 by 30: The List

Today I turned 29 and one year from today I turn 30. Below are the things I hope to accomplish:

1. Go to 3 major league sporting events
• I like live sports and I haven't been to any games recently so let's get manly.
2. Make a total of $1000 in deposits into some sort of savings account
• I started the savings account and now I want to use it.
3. Go to the drive in
• We've been saying we want to do this as a tribe for a couple of years and haven't made it happen. Now we will.
4. Read one more book than I did in 2014 aka 13 books
• Reading is fun and so is self competition.
5. Read the Walt Disney biography Jake got me for Christmas 2013
• Jake looked everywhere for this book for me last year and then I haven't read it. 
6. Learn to play "Happy Birthday" on a piano (or other instrument)
• I can't play an instrument and I would like to learn.
7. Upload all music to a hard drive, get rid of my CDs which I never us
• We are moving on 1/24 and I would love to not move my CDs that I haven't listened to since I don't know when. If not, let's just get rid of them this year.
8. Complete 200 workouts of at least 45 minutes each (not exclusive to Jazzercise but could include)
• I felt good about this this year. Let's feel good again.
9. Go to the opera or ballet
• Similar to above, I want to experience more culture.
10. Do 12 active outdoor activities this year (hiking, camping, canoeing)
• I like outside.
11. Go camping at least once
• Moved this from 29 by 29 to this list because I do love camping.
12. Take a picture of myself each day because I hate taking pictures. Amanda Pope will be doing this with me as part of her 30 by 30.
• I hate having my picture taken. I grin and bear it most of the time and make this really weird face that my mom makes fun of. (Reasonably so)
13. Visit 6 states other than OR, WA, and CA (Bonus points for all 6 states to be brand new)
• I like the great United States and traveled a lot last year and loved it. 
14. Make 3 of these states I have never visited
• I would really like to see more of the US for the reasons above.
15. Watch all James Bond movies before the new Bond movie comes out in November
• I liked the Disney goal and I like Bond. Let's do this.
16. Vegan for a month (clean vegan, none of that processed fake BBQ stuff)
• I wonder how Jake will respond when he sees this. Anyways, I am just going to try this out. See how it feels.
17. Make a souffle
• I have wanted to make a souffle since I moved to Portland and haven't done it.
18. Ride a bike (It is that simple. Sit on a bike and pedal the pedals.)
• I used to have a bike and then it got lost and now I will ride a new one. Maybe I will by this bike. Maybe not.
19. Get a tattoo
• Remember when I wanted this last year and wussed out. Let's do it.
20. Volunteer 12 times this year
• Humanitarian
21. Do 50 creative writing prompts of at least 500 words
• Maybe writing a children's story last year was too big of a bite. Let's try some other kind of writing approach.
22. Go to the Japanese gardens
• I haven't ever been.
23. Watch all 201 episodes of the Office
• So as everyone knows this is my absolute favorite show but maybe everyone doesn't know that I haven't seen all of the last season.
24. Reduce my debt (I have more specifics about this but I kind of like to be pretty private about my finances)
• See the above sentence in parentheses
25. Shoot a gun
• I've never shot a gun and I would like to because I am an Eagle scout.
26. Cook a recipe from each of my cook books
• I own a lot of cook books but maybe haven't used them all. It would be nice to have actually tried something from each book.
27. Write in the blog regularly and post more than I did this year
• I like writing here. You are a nice reader.
28. Do another 5k (bonus points for a 10k)
• I liked running. I didn't like running and then not being able to move for 4 days. Let's try doing this with 100% more training.
29. Visit a National Park
• Did you know I love National Parks? I do so I want to go back.
30. Do something crazy. 
• I am giving myself a wild card. I just want to do something out of the ordinary for me. Something that isn't on this list that I am really proud of.

29 before 29: The Recap

I think I did pretty well for my goals this year for this being my first attempt at a concerted effort to accomplish 29 things in one year. Below is what I accomplished before my 29th birthday on 12/29/2014. I wrote several posts about I did so you can see the links to revisit those posts but I also provided images from additional things I did.

• One month no spending
• Knit something other than a neck warmer
• This one was tough. Originally, I decided to knit a pillow and as of 12/28 (today) it was almost done but I wasn't motivated. It was sitting on the table next to my new laptop when I was inspired to turn the knitting I had been working on for a year into this laptop case with leather straps.
• Write more, specifically in this blog
• I did a lot of writing and you can read it all here. Sometimes it was really hard to write about a Disney movie or something. In the next year, I want to blog more about other things that happen.
• Complete 200 Jazzercise classes
• I almost missed this one but I finished my 200th class with three days to spare. Lucky too because I got sick the day after. I am proud that I completed a workout routine for a year. I averaged 4 classes a week but at this exact moment in time I am maybe just a little sick of aerobics to pop music.
• Learn to make sausage w/ casing
• Teach Girlfriend 3 new tricks
• Here is a video starring Jake that he made for me to showcase Girlfriend's tricks:

• Read 12 books
• I did some reading this year. Honestly, I was really behind on this goal come Summer. In fact, at the beginning of the Summer I had only read 1 book and am super proud that I busted it out. Of the twelve books I read, I was really only excited about two and there were two others that I liked okay. I started writing about them and then it just turned into another thing to write about and I hated it.
• Go to the opera/ballet/symphony
• Eat rabbit
• Watch all Disney animated movies (There are 54 counting Big Hero 6.)
• Later this week or maybe tonight, I plan to write a whole post summarizing everything I learned about Disney movies including my favorites and least favorites as well as what I learned about myself.
• Run a race
• Put money in a savings account aside from my Christmas fund, possibly using the week in the year method
• I started a savings account and put some money in it and it took a lot of work and effort to do it and it was the worst because anything involving money is the fucking worst. I hated this.
• Make some sort of fermented beverage
• Email my grandma 4 times
• I am terrible at keeping in contact people unless I call them and then I feel guilty so my goal was to email my grandma more so that I felt connected and she knew I loved her. I did it and it worked and I felt better about myself and more connected to my grandma. She is great.
• Mail cards to my mom, dad, brother, grandma and grandpa for their birthdays and Mother's/Father's day
• Similar to above, I am really terrible at mailing cards and gifts so I made this a goal which I barely made happen twice (Father's Day and Andrew's birthday).
• Get a passport
• Use my passport to leave the country
• Hike in the desert
• I hiked in the desert alone on my way to Vegas from Orange county last Summer. Actually, funny story that sums up my goal of being more adventurous. When I got to the trail head, they hadn't opened the parking lot for the day even though it was past the time to open. I got really nervous and started to get back on the highway but thought about my motto for the year of "More adventure, less worry." I just parked the car on the side of the road and snuck in and had an awesome hike. Nothing happened to the car. Turns out when you just do things, it is awesome. Check out my pictures here.

And here are the goals that fell by the wayside:

• Sell one thing on Etsy
• I had this idea to create an Etsy shop and sell several different things. It never happened because it took too much time and money.
• Save $300 in a Christmas fund
• I made a lot of excuses and in the end it would have been really nice to have this money put aside.
• Get another tattoo
• This comes down to money. Everytime I had the money, I didn't pull the trigger and when i didn't I wished I did. Last night, I sent an email to a tattoo artist and we are working something out for the next few months. This will be on my 30 by 30 for sure.
• Go surfing
• Sometimes you get drunk and make a list of goals and when the rubber meets the road you aren't really interested.
• Hit my goal weight
• This was a dumb goal that had not real basis in reality. I wanted to hit an arbitrary number for some unhealthy reasons. You can see several posts where I came to terms with my weight.
• Camp with Jake more
• This or some version of this moves to my 30 by 30.
• Do ten diamond push-ups successfully with perfect posture
• See the "Go surfing" and "Hit my goal weight" for more information
• Learn the foxtrot with my friend Kate
• Kate had a baby and I stopped watching "Dancing with the Stars" so who cares.
• Get my oil changed 4 times
• I got my oil changed once last year. My poor, poor car. Too bad the guys at Jiffy Lube are too pushy.
• Write a children's story
• I sat down and wrote out a plan for this twice. I even talked to work Amanda about this to get motivation and it just never happened.
• Play in a soccer game
• See "Go surfing"

18 out of 29 isn't too bad. So what did I learn? 

1. This is a really fun thing to do and I want to do it again.
2. Your list of goals shouldn't be made drunk while listening to Kelly Clarkson
3. SMART goals are smart for a reason.
4. There needs to be more of a balance of short term and long term and less things that rely on the full year.

Disney Movie Reflection: Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, and Make Mine Music

This is my final reflection on individual Disney movies. I feel sad about writing this for the last time especially since this is a bit of hodge podge of movies. I watched Fantasia 2000 in the Spring and watched Fantasia right before Halloween. I watched Make Mine Music in early December as I began to prepare for the holidays.

While this seems a bit of a hodge podge, I grouped these together because I had a clear thesis about these movies that I will expound on for a bit and then talk about what I like and don't like about each movie briefly.

Thesis: Music drives Disney movies often times more than words but gets the least appreciation. As I write this, I am listening to the beginning of Cruella De Vil which starts with about a minute of music and then words and I instantly love the parts sans vocals even more. I love Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 because it really takes the film down to two basic elements: music and animation. Make Mine Music is great but it can be a bit hit or miss with it's vocals. For example, Peter and the Wolf is great but is even better with out the narration because the music really tells the story when paired with visuals.

My favorite Disney character is Mickey Mouse but more importantly Sorcerer Mickey from Fantasia's "Sorcerer's Apprentice" which you see in both Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. The ability to take a character that is universally known and tell a clear story about him without letting him talk is pure mastery. I love the story of mischief and magic mayhem that contains such musically driven drama. If you were to narrate the Sorcerer's Apprentice it would be a boring story because they story is so simple.

Make Mine Music's Casey at Bat proves this point. The story of Casey is basic. He is overconfident and he pays the price for his pride by losing the game. This cartoon is narrated similar to Peter and the Wolf and it becomes boring and even a little dumbed down. If you were to just pair the story with music and images, you could tell a compelling story that engages the viewer.

Enough on my thesis. Here are my individual reflections in brief:

Fantasia
As mentioned before, this movie holds my most beloved character. I also love "Night on Bald Mountain" for it's extremely dark nature and general creepiness. My least favorite piece is the piece that is paired with the evolution of the world focusing primarily on dinosaurs. The music doesn't match the story as well as I would like it too. Finally, the nutcracker suite and Beethoven' Pastoral symphony are near flawless.

Fantasia 2000
Sequels are never as good as the original but this one sticks pretty true. I do love that Donald makes his starring role in an music pairing just like Mickey did in "Sorcerer's Apprentice" by starring in retelling of Noah's Ark set to "Pomp and Circumstance". I also love the brightly colored Gershwin piece set in a bustling city. I find the piece about whales weird and the piece set to "Firebird" about the Spring sprite is just a little too new age-y for me.

Make Mine Music
Despite what you may infer from above, I did really enjoy Make Mine Music. I would watch it again or own it. I do love "Peter and the Wolf" because it reminds me of being a kid and my dad showing me the cartoon and him really liking it."The Whale Who Wanted To Sing At the Met" is also a favorite because of it's obscurity and the fact that they kill the whale in the end and he sings from heaven. It is a little dark to kill the main character but they just throw him up in heaven and let him sing. There are some more forgettable parts of this movie that I had to look up even thought I watched this less than three weeks ago. I didn't love the piece about teens in jalopies. The animated piece with two live action ballet dancers is cool because it definitely is innovative for the time but it isn't my favorite. Most of these compilation films are the same, they have their high notes that you probably know if you like Disney and they have their lower notes which are obscure for a reason.

Disney Movie Reflection: Frozen

I bought Frozen a year ago with a gift card to Target that I got for my birthday. I waited for weeks until the Bluray went on sale for as cheap as it would go. I just waited and waited and finally bought it.

And then it sat. In the plastic wrap. Just waiting.

Amanda Clem and I saw Frozen right when it first came out before Christmas. It was probably the second weekend it opened and the theater was pretty full and I wasn't sure if other people liked it. I left the theater excited and immediately downloaded "Let It Go".

And then they hype hit and you couldn't escape the storm. Not that I was mad about it because it was awesome to see Frozen represented in both trips I made to Disney parks. I just got more and more scared to watch the movie. I was scared it wouldn't be good enough.

So I saved it for second to last telling myself that I wanted to watch it close to Christmas since it is about snow (but it takes place in the Summer so really it is more of a Summer movie but never mind that). I watched it the morning after Christmas early on the couch with coffee and cinnamon rolls.

And it was as good as it was in theaters. I still got chills while Elsa builds her ice castle and Idina belts out her song. Anna's silliness was still laughable and Kristen continues to be perfect. I love Kristoff even more since I love Looking and Jonathan Groff.

The story takes the elements of the Lion King with rotating characters around a central cast. It is divided into distinct acts and the progress nicely. You have plenty of comedy but a truly heart felt story. Jake came in and watched the last 30 minutes and he thought Olaf was pretty funny so it definitely has something going for it.

Disney Movie Reflection: Peter Pan

I saved Peter Pan for the day before my birthday because it has always been my favorite. The first time I hear the "dun dun duuuuunh" I get chills each time. I honestly don't remember this being much in my conscientiousness as a kid. We didn't have it on a clamshell and I don't remember it on a boot leg VHS. I am not sure when I first saw it. My family never really road the ride at Disneyland until I was a pre-teen. Something clicked though when I was a teen and this became my favorite Disney movie. Often times, when i was an angsty emo teenager, I would watch this movie late on a Sunday night while washing my PE clothes for the next week or while finishing a shitty last minute essay on Frankenstein or Gatsby.

I love this story because for a long time I wanted to escape the ever closing world of being an adult. I grew up in a house that very much valued responsibility from a young age. We learned to budget when we were in early elementary school. We were taught about sin and debt and college and driving and marriage and all of the trappings of growing up really young and Peter Pan was my escape from the constant pressure a teen feels as they are becoming an adult. The same disk I have had for 15 years has always served as 77 minute escape from everything to a world where what you want manifests but maybe isn't quite as ideal as you though. It allows you to get away while shedding perspective on how what you have may not be ideal but maybe nothing is ideal.

Nowadays this movie is all about nostalgia. I know it so well but am mesmerized each time I see it picking up something new. Similar to Indiana Jones there is just something that always draws me into the movie it has a special place in my heart.

The movie gets a bad wrap for it's lack of political correctness and I have to agree that the treatment of Native Americans is inappropriate by today's standards. I get that but I can't buck something that has such a special place in my heart.

Disney Movie Reflection: Wreck It Ralph, Big Hero 6, The Great Mouse Detective and Treasure Planet

I will call this out on my own right now; I am behind on my Disney movie reflections and tomorrow morning I complete my goal of watching all 54 Disney films in one year. Here are my reflections on the films I have missed:

Wreck It Ralph
Every year I ask for a handful of Disney movies. Last year, it was Wreck It Ralph but I hadn't opened it until very early December. Once I embarked on the goal to watch all Disney films I knew I wanted to save some of my favorites for the end.

I love Wreck It Ralph because it is so not Disney while being entirely Disney at the same time. I love the references to my our Original NES as well as the arcade. I like how it is really intricate and detailed and that the story is a little hard to follow.

I also really like the idea of the imperfection be exactly what is needed to make everything right. That the things that make us different even if they can be harmful can also be special. I also like candy.

Big Hero Six
I like Frozen but it is definitely a princess story. I am glad to see that Disney is alternating stories with Tangled with Wreck It Ralph as it's compliment. Frozen's compliment would be this year's Disney release, Big Hero Six.

It is quite similar to Wreck It Ralph in that it is big and bold. It is an action packed commitment to loud rock anthems and comic books. I am a big fan of Marvel movies so the blend of a Marvel story with Disney animation was right up my alley.

The movie has a big impact because it also includes the traditional comedy elements that most Marvel movies have. Finally, it plays well with the current trend of the importance of sibling love that was important in Frozen. This time the kill off the brother though.

The Great Mouse Detective
This is one of the white clam shells that I grew up with. It is a little unknown unless you are a child of the 1980s. It also is a strange play on Sherlock Holmes and has some absolutely frightening moments. There are two specific moments where I jump in this movie still to this day.

Sadly, I did start this movie a couple of times and had a really hard time getting into. When I finally did watch it, I was cold and had a hard time staying awake. The movie is dark in both tone and actual animation. It has some pretty funny moments and the fact that the main character is obviously a rat parading as mouse is weird and great.

Overall, it sits in the middle of the pack of movies that I don't really plan to watch again, I will remember the clam shell fondly but don't plan to return soon. I would like to meet Ratigan at a park though.

Treasure Planet
This movie was okay. Toward the bottom of the pack okay. Remember in the 2000s when Steampunk was just getting going? Well this movie is all about it and I hate it. Joseph Gordon Levitt has a nice voice but overall the story of Treasure Island is overplayed and the weird aliens with monocles isn't that entertaining. Definitely wouldn't watch again unless I have a brain swap with a manga loving, Steampunk tween.

Check It Off: Running a 5K and Going to the Symphony

There is less than 1 month to go before I start the last year of my 20s. It is amazing how the year starts out so slowly and then warps into hyperspeed. It feels like just a few weeks ago that I was laying on the beach and trying to get through a book. Now I am veraciously reading to meet my 12 book goal and attending countless Jazzercise classes. I have only a handful of Disney movies to watch and less than 7 blog posts to write to hit my goal of 100 posts this year.

I planned yesterday to be a double whammy as an purposeful accident. I wanted to pack the Thanksgiving weekend with fun events to jump start the holiday spirit but Jenny couldn't go to the symphony on Saturday so I just went with a packed Sunday of events.

Let's start with the 5K. I wanted to run a race for a lot of reasons. First, I did some running in college on an intermural team and I really enjoyed running with other people. My body doesn't stand up to running a regular activity very well but I wanted to just get out there and feel the wind again. Second, I have never worn a race bib before. I wanted to get that official feeling of just making it happen. Finally, I am trying to keep my physical activities broad instead of just relying on Jazzercise as my main cardio option.

The Ugly Sweater Run wasn't the most official run of all time. It was more about dressing up in funny outfits and drinking hot cocoa as people walked which is totally fine. In fact, it was great because it meant that Jake, Jenny and I felt fast. We passed people and it felt like we were winning something that didn't have winners. Also, I really liked getting to kick off the Christmas season in an ugly Christmas sweatshirt and an easy run (even though I am sore).

The symphony is something I have always wanted to do but have never really had the funds or knowledge to make happen. Jenny was a great motivator. We decided to go to a symphony where they played Disney songs over the animation on a big screen. It was overall great but we didn't know there would be vocalists and no one sings "Let It Go" as good as Idina Menzel. Overall, I really liked the symphony part of it and would love to go again.

Disney Movie Reflection: The Lion King

The Lion King in a lot of ways is the perfect Disney movie. It has a great cast of characters that continuously rotate and change. It has a three act format and distinct scenes. The songs are on point and the capitalize on using awesome actors.

I watched The Lion King on my recent last minute visit home for Christmas baking with mom and dad. The Lion King is kind of a gut wrencher when watching with parents. I mean showing Mufasa dead and Simba wedging himself under his paw while you are sitting next to your dad. Jesus.

In some ways though, this movie has always been almost too good for me. It is at that point of perfection where it holds you attention but it almost bypasses that point of connection because it is too perfect. Simba of course is prideful and flawed but he is a lion and lions are harder to relate to than mermaids. The perfect story structure, the lack of a lackluster song, the perfect introduction of fart humor. I find myself loving the movie but being a little skeptical because it doesn't lack the flaws that Aladdin (women need protecting) or the Little Mermaid (girls should change for me) or Beauty and the Beast (women are properties). Don't get me wrong.  I own the Lion King but it definitely alludes my top ten.

Disney Movie Reflection: 101 Dalmatians

As I get to the end of my journey to watch all of these Disney films, I realize that I have watched almost all of the old films. With 7 movies to watch left and me leaving to see Big Hero 6 in 15 minutes, this was bound to happen but it does make me a bit sad to bid farewell to the golden age of Disney (well except for the fact that I am saving Peter Pan for the day before my birthday because it is my favorite). 

I ordered 101 Dalmatians from the library almost 6 months ago but they only have 5 copies and it was just released on DVD for the first time in like 100 years and I had to wait and wait. Some how along the road, I got Jake to say he would watch it with me. Now Jake wasn't raised on Disney like I was. He has two older siblings that are 7 and 3 years older and he says he spend his childhood watching Freddie Kruger and Tremors instead of Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio. I watch most of my Disney movies on Saturday or Sunday mornings while he sleeps for a bit and plays on his iPad and sometimes he comes in and watch the last half of one with me asking confused questions and being shocked by Pinocchio being drowned in a puddle. This was all to say that I was really excited when he said he would watch 101 Dalmatians with me.

I love dogs and have a bit of an affinity as of recent for Disney movies revolving around dogs (The Fox and The Hound, Pocohontas, Lady and the Tramp). I remember really liking this VHS as a kind with my brother. My favorite dog was always Rollie because I empathize with the fat hungry kid. I wasn't sure how this would stand the test of time though especially against so many other pupcentric movies.

Of course it still remains a great movie. Jake seemed to like it too cooing over animated puppies, feeling bad for Perdie when her pups are stolen, and generally interacting with all the dogs. Girlfriend didn't have as great of a time in a general state of confusion about why the TV kept barking. Cruella Deville remains one of the worst villians in my opinion with her greed and lack of heart. Overall, it stand the dog test of time and will now forever remind me of the Disney movie that Jake could finally watch.

Disney Movie Reflection: Alice in Wonderland

Over the Summer, I had a really bad week where I didn't get a promotion that I thought I would get. It was disappointing beyond belief. I decided to take an impromptu three day weekend because I needed some time away from work. I planned it perfectly to include a Disney movie in the morning, beach in the early afternoon and U-pick in the late afternoon. I decide on Alice in Wonderland as the movie to watch because I was prepping to go to Disneyland which has two rides devoted to the movie. 

Unfortunately, it was hot and I wanted to leave so I barely paid attention to the movie which I loved as a kid. I felt bad because I've seen so many movies this year that this one couldn't just slip through my fingers. I decided it would get rewatched at a later time just to make sure I gave it it's fair chance.

I rewatched it once Saturday afternoon while Jake was out playing and I needed to get caught up on knitting this stupid pillow cover that I have been working on for a year. The movie always reminds me of my brother and my dad. I am pretty sure it is because we three always rode the Tea Cups together even as full grown men. My brother also liked to watch the movie as a kid and I remember my dad taking me to check out the book from the library. 

Everyone has seen this movie a hundred times so I won't bore you with talking about the whole thing but I do want to focus in on my favorite part as an adult: The Walrus and The Carpenter. Part of me wishes that the Walrus and the Carpenter could have it's own movie entirely as they are the most outlandish and strange characters in the entire Disney cannon. They are a story within a story and I would wait in line for hours for a meet and greet. The story is dark and has a lot of adult nuance such as how the mother knows she must be cautious about her seafood babies because the month contains an R. The animation has a completely different color palette than the rest of the movie relying on blues and oranges while the rest of the movie is primarily greens and reds. I love this part because it is a difficult feet to interject a story in a story that is made up of a bunch of mini stories but done so well.

Disney Movie Reflection: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

I don't think I ever realized until I was an adult that these two movies went together. I distinctly remember Mr. Toad from Disneyland and Ichabod reminds me of watching Disney film strips in fifth grade. It wasn't until about three years ago when I saw this DVD as a combo pack at Target during Halloween that I decided to pick it up which lead to a rabbit hole of learning about the War time compilation films starting with Fantasia and ending with The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

It is hard to take them as a pair as they couldn't be further a part. One is a turn of the century tale that centers on modernization and established wealth and is a zany and outlandish. The other is a classic American story from the colonial period that sets off each October properly. While they a misjoined pair, I look forward to watching them each year.

In 2012, right after buying this DVD I spent it cat sitting for Amanda Clem drinking pumpkin beer, trying to make Dia de los Muertos figurines, and eating Granny Smith apples in that shelf stable caramel sauce they sell in produce section In 2013, I watched it after Jake and I had been to Target and I had picked up this weird foam skeleton craft kit. I put the skeleton together while Jake napped on the couch. I skipped the apples and caramel. 

For 2014, I had this on my radar since the very beginning of the goal. I knew this was the movie to signal Halloween. So in early October I bought apples and caramel and apple cider but each weekend didn't feel right. I went to Chicago and watched Fantasia which is my other Halloween movie one weekend. Another I woke up late and we were in Silverton and then finally Halloween came and went with no time to watch my movie. Once October 1st hits, it might as well be Christmas for how quickly the days fly by. Anyways, I watched the movie on November 2nd with coffee and butter toffee creamer and warm Fall oatmeal having watched Tim Burton's Sleep Hollow the night before.

I love this movie not only for its ability to ring in Fall but because it is also the turning point for really great animation. While the stories are good, the animation is really quite great. Mr. Toad feels light and ethereal. A land where animals and people really talk is totally believable. Ichabod is ominous and dark with a spooky but light side that is perfect.

Disney Movie Reflection: Oliver & Company

Oliver & Company is a sleep Disney movie for how much they really put into the film. It stars Billy Joel, Cheech Marrin, Bette Middler and a young Joey Lawrence. In addition to a song by Billy Joel, it also has a song by blockbuster crooner Huey Lewis. It had adorably sad animals and a lonely girl. It maximizes the musical format. It takes a classic story and mixes it with a bit of "Annie" to make this story that should be a hit. It recouped its $4 million dollar budget in the opening weekend but I would argue that this film is forgettable for most. They aren't selling Oliver or Dodger plushes at Walt Disney World and no one is lining up for a meet and greet.

I think that Oliver & Company takes all of the previous conventions and tries to add them together to make the perfect movie that turns into a bit of a failure. It borrows a little bit from each of it's previous movies so much so that it adds up to be a little too much. The cameos of other Disney dogs, the cute red head girl that looks too much like the little girl from The Rescuers, the villain that looks too much like several other Disney villains, and the over reliance on New York City as the setting to carry the movie. In the end, the movie is fun but it doesn't hold the relatable values of the blockbusters that follow it (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast). It is just a cute happy ending about a kitty getting a home.

Disney Movie Reflections: Bambi, Pocohontas, and Bolt

With the Fall just beginning, I finally have found a few evenings at home where I can get caught up on all the writing I wanted to do this year. I grouped three entries about Disney movies I watched over the past few months here for ease and just so I would get them done.

Pocahontas
I was inspired to watch Pocahontas after my first day of my summer trip to Disneyland (which was the second leg of the same trip that resulted in all of the watched Britney Spears videos), We saw World of Color at Disney's California Adventure and they play "Colors of the Wind" and that song makes me a little weepy so when everyone went to bed at like 10 I watched Pocahontas on my Kindle in a hotel bed in Cypress, CA.

I remember watching Pocahontas in the theater with my mom and brother. There was probably sodas in cans and a backpack with microwave popcorn. My mom was always frugal and loved popcorn. I remember one of my cousins having all of the stuffed animals for Meeko and Percy and Flit. I remember when I was in 8th grade we visited Jamestown and standing on the real beach where John Smith landed and being in total awe of how they had really captured the setting.

For some reason, I always really liked Pocahontas. I told people when I lived in Florida that Pocahontas was my favorite princess to be different. I even bought the DVD while there. I like her strong will and her spirit of adventure. She is loyal but headstrong. In the weirdest way, I see a lot of traits I have embodied in her in the best combination,

Bambi
Bambi gets a bad rap as being a little boring and a lot sad. I knew this going in. In fact, I decided that I would watch Bambi while Jake and Jake's Amanda watched Saw 1, 2 & 3. Great juxtaposition right? I know I have seen Bambi before. I remember Flower and Thumper and Bambi but there is so much I didn't know about this movie.

First, technically I had never really understood what a multi plane camera was until watching Bambi. It is crazy to realize that this movie was made in the early 1940s and the technology that went into from there.

Second, the impact that the artist Tyrus Wong had on the creation of Bambi is something that isn't much discussed but is really interesting. Wong was a Chinese immigrant whose impressionist paintings were responsible for the overall look of the movie. It made me take an even closer look at the movie at the movie as an early art piece instead of just a movie.

Finally, while Snow White had a dead mother I would argue that Bambi really sets the tone for the Disney "dead mother" trope. Snow White was release in 1937 before the untimely death of Walt's mother but Bambi was released just 4 years after Flora's passing due to a leak from a gas furnace. While Dumbo centers on the love of mother for son, Bambi can be seen as Walt's first film in which he starts to come to terms on film

Bolt
Truth be told, I checked this BluRay from the library 3 times. I finally watched it on the last time because it was overdue and Jake had gone out with friends so I decided to get it out of the way. I don't really like John Travolta and syrup sweet Miley was always a bit annoying so I pretty certain this would be a dud like all of the other computer animated films before it.

Turns out that Bolt is actually quite cute. Maybe I just have a soft spot for dogs, Jenny Lewis songs and animated Las Vegas. It could also be that they finally got the animation right in this movie just in time for them to go back to hand drawn. The story is cute and it made me want to just snuggle my dog and never let her go. I rooted for the animals to find home because Homeward Bound ruined me for life. While it doesn't have the lasting power of most other Disney movies probably because of the glut of Disney dog flicks, of the four computer animated films I would show this one to the nieces and nephews over the the other three.

Disney Movie Reflection: Winnie the Pooh

This movie was mediocre and forgettable. The original from the late 1970s was way better. Also, this movie is extremely short. The voices don't match with the originals very well and it is weird that there are clearly some moderately famous people doing classic characters voices. You can buy it to keep a 3 year old quiet but it doesn't have much value especially in comparison to the 1970s movie which is a Disney classic that launched a whole family of iconic characters.

Here is what I will remember about this movie:

It sat on my desk for a couple of days and I really needed to take it to the library so the day before I left for one of my trips I decided to run it to the library. I was hoping I could make it into an elevator without one of my coworkers seeing me because I really didn't want to have to talk about why I had it. Well, it turned out that one of the important high bosses got on the elevator with me and asked what I was returning. I told her what it was and she asked if it was good and I made a sarcastic joke and she said "Oh the things we do for our kids". Panic ensues because this lady is awesome and my bosses bosses bosses boss and I would love to work on her team so do I lie and then it is weird or do I tell her I am weird and about my quest to watch all of these movies. So I just kind of shrug it off but start talking about going back to get more and then she starts talking about how using the library is a good way to get these movie kids will get bored of and again I shrug it off. So now this high up lady thinks I have kids which is entirely not true and now I will never be successful at work because of Winnie the Pooh,

Cross It Off: Opening a Savings Account

I started the year with two goals about money. First, was to save $300 for Christmas to lighten the burden of Christmas finance drain. Second, was to open a savings account and save a certain amount of money for the holidays. I knew early on that I should have just taken $300 from my tax refund and saved that for Christmas and called it good but I didn't and then it just got to be too late. 

The second was just terrifying. I worked at a bank for years and I know all of the tips and tricks they would use to sell me things. I thought if I went to a credit union it would be easier. It wasn't. The lady who opened my account was just as slimy and saleswomanesque as they are at Chase. It was uncomfortable and she told me that I wouldn't get a fee from my bank for using a cash advance and I did.

What did I learn?

Financial stuff sucks. Banks suck. Credit unions suck. Next time, I will bring a chatty friend who will just talk to me so the banker can't ask me condescending questions. At least, I have $25 in a savings account where another $25 will go every two weeks. 

On Traveling

I got home a few days ago from my last trip of the year. This has been a jam packed year of travel so it feels a bit weird to sit in my house without a planned day for my next escape. I keep thinking about planning my next trip but then I realize I have three months of my favorite time of year ahead that I should really focus on. I also decided for many reasons to not go back home for Christmas this year and to spend the holiday here with Jake and possibly his family.

I've been to California twice, Las Vegas, Orlando, Canada and Chicago this year. I've been to both Disney parks this year (which almost made the goal list but I cut at the last minute), I've visited another country for the first time and added Illinois to my list of states I have seen. I have learned a lot about how I travel (I would rather sit in the back of the plane and on the aisle than in the front on the window.) I can also tell you that the Portland airport is the best airport in America and that O'hare is as bad as they say.

I came home from one trip filled with sadness and longing to be somewhere else. I came home from another trip missing Jake and Girlfriend so much. I loved Chicago but wouldn't want to live there. I enjoyed the people in Orlando but I resolved all my notions that maybe I should never have left (I made the right choice.) I learned that I didn't miss anything waiting to go to Vegas as an adult until now and that I need to take a break from visiting Disney parks until some new things open and the magic returns. I learned that time spent and mom and dad's house is always shorter than it seems and you can never fit it all in.

We are having one of those warm Fall days in Portland where it is sunny but I still will wear jeans and bring a sweatshirt but it is okay to just stay inside for most of the day and I can honestly say that I am okay to just be here with my little family of two plus a pup. Plus, there are a million Halloween crafts to be done, pumpkin things to bake and Christmas plans to be made.

Disney Movie Reflection: The Fox and The Hound

I went to Whole Food this morning after watching The Fox and The Hound this morning. We needed cheese and eggs so Jake could make breakfast sandwiches. The cashier asked what I had planned for the day and I said that I had just watched The Fox and The Hound and she asked if I cried. I said that I was fully prepared to but didn't and she told me about how she cried at Lion King 3D because Mufasa died so much closer to her.

As I walked the dog back home with groceries in tow, I thought a lot about the Disney moments that make us cry. Bambi's mom, the Beast on the top of the tower, Mufasa's plummet, Pinocchio face down in a puddle and of course the moment that the widow has to let Todd go in the forest. What is the purpose of the really sad Disney moments? The moments that reach out into you chest and just twist your heart? Catharsis instantly comes to mind but I think it goes beyond just having a good cry. In most instances it is causes you to intensely appreciate the important relationships in your life. To take your face and rub it in the lost of a love one and just make you sit in it for about 70 minutes. It really makes you remember what is important.

The Fox and The Hound is a layered story about found family. It is also about being lost and then found and lost and found. Maybe more importantly it is about being born into a role and having to live within it. The hound chases the fox. He doesn't befriend the fox.

I think this is why I like this movie so much for kids. It tells you that you don't have to be just what you are born to. That you can break your role. It also tells you that loss happens and shows how you can grow from it. It paints a perfect picture of the new family out of a group that doesn't fit together.

Disney Movie Reflection: Home on the Range

If you have been following along with my Disney reflections, you may have noticed a theme. I have a pretty specific form of animation that I really like. I like hand drawn with clean lines. I don't love the shaky hand style of the late 70s and I prefer the clean lines of the 1950s and 60s. The 80s were mediocre but I also really like the resurgence of my childhood. My least favorite this far is the bubbly computer animated form from the early 2000s.

"Home on the Range" is often cited as beginning of the modern downfall of Disney animation. "Home on the Range"was the last hand drawn film before the studio switched to fully computer animated for a time until the reverted back to hand drawn with "The Princess and The Frog". This is all to say I was expecting this movie to be a shit show. I was thinking I would walk away with another "Chicken Little".

"Home on the Range" is a pretty cute movie. It actually sticks to the classic Disney animal film roots. It has some famous people voicing animals that are trying to save their home and their human. They are funny and caring and resilient. They need to learn to work together in order to accomplish a goal. They do a great job of including a plot twist and double crossing. The humor is a little more crash than I really like (similar to "Meet the Robinsons") but it was still pretty funny.

I really loved the animation though. I have a particular fondness for the southwest and the cowboy. I love the art of the prairie and the plain and I think they did a great job of bringing it to life in an animated setting.

I think the downfall of this movie has less to do with the movie itself but more changing tastes. With everything, you can't always be on top and all 53 Disney films can't be the best but I would watch this with my niece and nephews and enjoy it. It isn't the best but it was funny and cute and touching. It just couldn't compete with the emerging love of "Shrek".

Disney Movie Reflection: Meet the Robinsons

Full disclosure: I watched this movie over a month ago and haven't written about it because I didn't know what to say. Even further disclosure, I checked this movie out from the library 3 times before finally watching it.

I don't like the bubbly "Shrek" style of computer animation that this movie and a few others tried. It looks cheap and not very sophisticated. I liked the story and I liked the characters but it felt very similar to "The Incredibles" and the animation was no where near as good. In fact, the whole time I watched I couldn't escape thinking that I wish Pixar had got their hands on this script first.

There are also some issues with the humor. Disney's modern films have a learned a lot from Pixar in that their humor is tongue and cheek not over the top like Dreamworks (again looking at Shrek). "Meet the Robinsons" starts to veer into the more overt fart jokes versus hinting at something a little more adult being behind the joke and that is what makes watching "Tangled" or "Frozen" funny. If I want gross out humor, I am not going to watch a Disney movie. I will watch "We Are the Millers" or "Horrible Bosses".

"Meet the Robinsons" is a cute movie and I spent minimal time on my phone while watching it but I left feeling how I usually feel after watching a Dreamworks movie. It was good but not great. It couldn't sustain parade at Disney let alone a ride and no one would ever line up for a meet and greet with the characters from the movie.