It is with great sadness...
Alright, I'm just messing about. I'm not really saying goodbye to Disney forever. How crazy would I have to be?!
This blog, however, is saying goodbye to posts about Disneyland.
I've been doing some research on blogging lately, and reading quite a bit about multi-blogging (maintaining several of these bad boys at once). It just seems as though my efforts would be best served by maintaining some semblance of focus. Since this blog deals quite substantially with family matters, my occasional outbursts of tomfoolery no doubt lend it a sort of imbalance. At least, that's what I think. Maybe nobody else cares.
But at any rate, I've decided to take my talents (at least those I associate with Disney) elsewhere.
In a collaborative effort with my wife (genius writer and proofreader that she is), Mark Treiger, and whoever else I can manage to talk into it, as of later today we'll be officially opening our own Disney blog --
Restaurants, Restrooms, and Rides, Oh My!: Days In The Park
Contrary to what some might believe (myself included), I know (because I've talked to you guys) that there are people reading my blog. And they do like the Disney stuff. You might not show up in my Followers, and you might not comment here, but your voices have been heard. Rise up, my people! Follow us over to our Disney blog! And on the way stop by the Enchanted Tiki Room for a Pineapple Whip. I hear they're scrumptious!
ºoº
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Safety Is Only An Illusion
I knew about a week ago when it happened that it was something that I was going to have to write about.
About a week ago, while Lucas and I were sitting in the sofa watching PBS cartoons, I began to hear a woman shrieking in the distance. She wasn't just screaming noise, but screaming words. I can't really repeat what she was saying, or rather, I won't. But it became very, very clear very, very fast that this woman was pissed off to the point of rage. And I've seen enough news broadcasts (don't really watch them anymore, who needs them anyways apparently) to know how quickly south these things can go.
It probably went on about 15 minutes or so when I saw someone else (a woman) from across the way go bolting up the street towards all the commotion. It wasn't long before I could hear her yelling herself at the two of them (the fighters) to open the door and open the door now. It was at this point I first heard the man's voice. Amid all the swearing and referring to both women in what can only be described as derogatory terms, were these nuggets: "Oh yeah? I got one too", and "shoot". I'm assuming, like me, you can put two and two together.
I finally saw the lady who had gone running up the street come back down the street, where by this point a few people were standing around wondering what was going on. She eventually walked off, and about five minutes later no fewer than four police sheriff's cars rolled up. The cops rolled out pistols and guns drawn. Enter random lady who apparently wanted to be a hero (Do the words "Billy Don't Be a Hero" mean anything to ya?). Dunno where she had procured it, but she was literally walking towards the cops with the gun our friends the "fighters" must have had. At the shouts of "Put the gun down and back away!" and "Everybody get back in your houses!!", I had of course had enough. I grabbed Lucas and ran him into his bedroom and told him to stay low on the floor. It might seem overkill (no pun intended), but with all this happening no more than 10 feet from my front door, well, fatherly instinct kicked in. Not enough to save myself, though...
To shorten it up, the cops got the gun, managed to arrest the man (never saw the woman but no doubt they nabbed her, too), and went to work on the paperwork. Oh, and they made sure to tell our hero what a dummy she was and that she was lucky they hadn't drop her where she stood, too.
I was talking to the wife about it later (of course). It was kind of funny, because one of the first things she said was, "all the more reason to get out of here and into a house." But I think we both know that doesn't really mean much.
The truth is, nowhere is safe. Nowhere on this entire planet is exempt from evil (or bad things, if you prefer), or its reach. We do live in a good neighborhood. The kids school right across the street is a good school. We do live in a fairly affluent city. Rent's not cheap, here, let me tell you. All of what society says will keep you safe (sans me owning a gun myself, which some days seems more and more like a fantastic idea) we pretty much have.
Moving won't help. Running won't help. If last week showed me anything, it's just how close to the edge we truly are all the time. Sobering thought. But running from the truth won't make it safer, either.
Lots to think about in the coming weeks and months.
About a week ago, while Lucas and I were sitting in the sofa watching PBS cartoons, I began to hear a woman shrieking in the distance. She wasn't just screaming noise, but screaming words. I can't really repeat what she was saying, or rather, I won't. But it became very, very clear very, very fast that this woman was pissed off to the point of rage. And I've seen enough news broadcasts (don't really watch them anymore, who needs them anyways apparently) to know how quickly south these things can go.
It probably went on about 15 minutes or so when I saw someone else (a woman) from across the way go bolting up the street towards all the commotion. It wasn't long before I could hear her yelling herself at the two of them (the fighters) to open the door and open the door now. It was at this point I first heard the man's voice. Amid all the swearing and referring to both women in what can only be described as derogatory terms, were these nuggets: "Oh yeah? I got one too", and "shoot". I'm assuming, like me, you can put two and two together.
I finally saw the lady who had gone running up the street come back down the street, where by this point a few people were standing around wondering what was going on. She eventually walked off, and about five minutes later no fewer than four police sheriff's cars rolled up. The cops rolled out pistols and guns drawn. Enter random lady who apparently wanted to be a hero (Do the words "Billy Don't Be a Hero" mean anything to ya?). Dunno where she had procured it, but she was literally walking towards the cops with the gun our friends the "fighters" must have had. At the shouts of "Put the gun down and back away!" and "Everybody get back in your houses!!", I had of course had enough. I grabbed Lucas and ran him into his bedroom and told him to stay low on the floor. It might seem overkill (no pun intended), but with all this happening no more than 10 feet from my front door, well, fatherly instinct kicked in. Not enough to save myself, though...
To shorten it up, the cops got the gun, managed to arrest the man (never saw the woman but no doubt they nabbed her, too), and went to work on the paperwork. Oh, and they made sure to tell our hero what a dummy she was and that she was lucky they hadn't drop her where she stood, too.
I was talking to the wife about it later (of course). It was kind of funny, because one of the first things she said was, "all the more reason to get out of here and into a house." But I think we both know that doesn't really mean much.
The truth is, nowhere is safe. Nowhere on this entire planet is exempt from evil (or bad things, if you prefer), or its reach. We do live in a good neighborhood. The kids school right across the street is a good school. We do live in a fairly affluent city. Rent's not cheap, here, let me tell you. All of what society says will keep you safe (sans me owning a gun myself, which some days seems more and more like a fantastic idea) we pretty much have.
Moving won't help. Running won't help. If last week showed me anything, it's just how close to the edge we truly are all the time. Sobering thought. But running from the truth won't make it safer, either.
Lots to think about in the coming weeks and months.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Freaking Giddy Blog: 'The Dark Tower'
BD Horror News - Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' Becomes Epic New Franchise!!
I've been hearing news about this for a while now, but it looks like it's finally going to happen!
A couple of years ago, I decided for my summer reading excursion (summer is the season I finally find time to start reading things I've been meaning to for a while) to go in a different direction with my Stephen King and read 'The Dark Tower' series (been reading King for years but mainly sticking to the horror novels).
Suffice to say, I read all 7 books in the span of the two months I had (some I read in two days flat punctuated with a few days space before the next one). I didn't so much read them as I inhaled them. Point of fact, as I write this, I see them on my shelf and I just may have to start them again.
Probably my favorite novels ever, and that's really saying something, I think.
You can imagine how stoked I am about this! Of course, with the creation of such a thing (or rather, the adaptation of something to another medium) comes the possibility it will completely reek. But with Ron Howard at the helm (of at least the first one) and such amazing source material to work with from the very beginning, this could be something epic.
I've been hearing news about this for a while now, but it looks like it's finally going to happen!
A couple of years ago, I decided for my summer reading excursion (summer is the season I finally find time to start reading things I've been meaning to for a while) to go in a different direction with my Stephen King and read 'The Dark Tower' series (been reading King for years but mainly sticking to the horror novels).
Suffice to say, I read all 7 books in the span of the two months I had (some I read in two days flat punctuated with a few days space before the next one). I didn't so much read them as I inhaled them. Point of fact, as I write this, I see them on my shelf and I just may have to start them again.
Probably my favorite novels ever, and that's really saying something, I think.
You can imagine how stoked I am about this! Of course, with the creation of such a thing (or rather, the adaptation of something to another medium) comes the possibility it will completely reek. But with Ron Howard at the helm (of at least the first one) and such amazing source material to work with from the very beginning, this could be something epic.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Life Doesn't Always Have To Be Profound
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
One of the biggest issues I have with blogging is that I feel like I very rarely have much of substance to say. I know that's not necessarily the case, and that sometimes (at least it's my hope!) they very much contain something of substance. I write about my family and my relationships with my wife and children fairly frequently, so that has to count, I reckon. But other than that, they're pretty much all over the place.
I was talking with my wife about it the other night (seeing as how she kind of worries about what she writes, too, sometimes) and the one constant I kept coming back to in what I was saying was, "I want the blog to reflect who I am." And the more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that that's pretty much exactly what it does. It does an amazing job of reflecting who Chad Elliott really is.
As a person, I'm all over the place, all the time. Truth be told, sometimes that gets me in trouble. But truth also be told, I've had to come to grips with the fact that more often than not, I'm dancing to the beat of a different drum than most people. But to me, those are the most interesting people in the world! No doubt in my mind that other people look at me and see an oddball sometimes. My sense of humor often is dry and sarcastic, or completely flies over other people's heads. What I think is hilarious other people look at me like I've lost my mind.
The truth is, it used to bug me. Made me wonder if something was wrong with me (and maybe something is). But it's who I am. I'm not a serious person all the time. More often than not, I'm not willing to put all the serious stuff on this blog that I'm going through. Who'd want to read that, anyways? Blech! It's horrible enough when I have it kicking around in my own head; I'd hate to throw it out there for general consumption.
My blog is who I am. It's me in a nutshell. I love my family and my sons so you'll see them a lot. I love my Disneyland, so you'll see it a lot. I watch a lot of Youtube videos that tickle my funnybone so you'll see it a lot. Alabama football. Christian anecdotes. You get the idea.
If I'm reading Genesis 1:27 right (and I think I am) God gave us a lot of what makes Him who He is. And if that's the case, He gave me what He wanted me to have. He made me an oddball. Thanks, Lord. Appreciate that.
But again, if I'm reading that verse right, it's okay. It takes some of all kinds to make the world go around. If this is me, and I was made in His image, well then I guess I'll just have to resign myself to that fact and live with it. And you will, too.
Life doesn't always have to be full of profound moments. And neither does my blog.
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
One of the biggest issues I have with blogging is that I feel like I very rarely have much of substance to say. I know that's not necessarily the case, and that sometimes (at least it's my hope!) they very much contain something of substance. I write about my family and my relationships with my wife and children fairly frequently, so that has to count, I reckon. But other than that, they're pretty much all over the place.
I was talking with my wife about it the other night (seeing as how she kind of worries about what she writes, too, sometimes) and the one constant I kept coming back to in what I was saying was, "I want the blog to reflect who I am." And the more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that that's pretty much exactly what it does. It does an amazing job of reflecting who Chad Elliott really is.
As a person, I'm all over the place, all the time. Truth be told, sometimes that gets me in trouble. But truth also be told, I've had to come to grips with the fact that more often than not, I'm dancing to the beat of a different drum than most people. But to me, those are the most interesting people in the world! No doubt in my mind that other people look at me and see an oddball sometimes. My sense of humor often is dry and sarcastic, or completely flies over other people's heads. What I think is hilarious other people look at me like I've lost my mind.
The truth is, it used to bug me. Made me wonder if something was wrong with me (and maybe something is). But it's who I am. I'm not a serious person all the time. More often than not, I'm not willing to put all the serious stuff on this blog that I'm going through. Who'd want to read that, anyways? Blech! It's horrible enough when I have it kicking around in my own head; I'd hate to throw it out there for general consumption.
My blog is who I am. It's me in a nutshell. I love my family and my sons so you'll see them a lot. I love my Disneyland, so you'll see it a lot. I watch a lot of Youtube videos that tickle my funnybone so you'll see it a lot. Alabama football. Christian anecdotes. You get the idea.
If I'm reading Genesis 1:27 right (and I think I am) God gave us a lot of what makes Him who He is. And if that's the case, He gave me what He wanted me to have. He made me an oddball. Thanks, Lord. Appreciate that.
But again, if I'm reading that verse right, it's okay. It takes some of all kinds to make the world go around. If this is me, and I was made in His image, well then I guess I'll just have to resign myself to that fact and live with it. And you will, too.
Life doesn't always have to be full of profound moments. And neither does my blog.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Things I Miss Living Overseas
One of the most popular questions in a "getting to know you better" exercise almost has to be: "Tell us something most people don't know about you."
Whenever I've been asked this question (and yes, I have) my first response is usually that I lived overseas for five years of my life. Followed by "Where?", of course, followed my canned "southern Africa" response.
And there you have it. Something maybe some of you didn't even know about. I lived overseas in southern Africa (Swaziland, to be exact) for roughly five years of my life.
I'll probably start blogging a bit more here and there about things I miss being over there (although, I have to admit, the years are beginning to cloudy and muddy up much of what I remember).
But thank goodness, my parents still live there and I still get lots of interesting things from them, including this. I think that one of the things I miss most is the quirky attitude and sense of humor of so many over there. This is an excellent example of just that (courtesy of my folks), and I would love to fly with Kulula Airlines (South Africa) given the opportunity. Tell me this isn't a plane you'd like to fly in.
Whenever I've been asked this question (and yes, I have) my first response is usually that I lived overseas for five years of my life. Followed by "Where?", of course, followed my canned "southern Africa" response.
And there you have it. Something maybe some of you didn't even know about. I lived overseas in southern Africa (Swaziland, to be exact) for roughly five years of my life.
I'll probably start blogging a bit more here and there about things I miss being over there (although, I have to admit, the years are beginning to cloudy and muddy up much of what I remember).
But thank goodness, my parents still live there and I still get lots of interesting things from them, including this. I think that one of the things I miss most is the quirky attitude and sense of humor of so many over there. This is an excellent example of just that (courtesy of my folks), and I would love to fly with Kulula Airlines (South Africa) given the opportunity. Tell me this isn't a plane you'd like to fly in.
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