Randomness for 9/2/2007

* I'm getting promoted to "trainer" status! That raises my pay by about $.75-$1.00/per hour when I'm training people plus I'll be getting the ultra rare "Jiminy Cricket Trainer" pin! I'm actually happier about this because I've been REALLY frustrated with the quality of people's training lately. I mean I had awesome trainers so others should too right? My training to become a trainer begins next week and apparently involves a scavenger hunt at one of the parks. More on this when I know more.

*Dear Democratic Party,

Hey if you don't want my vote that's fine. I can go elsewhere. It's no skin off my back. I'm pretty sure history is gonna make you look monumentally stupid for so casually dissing a highly populated state full of moderates but hey, it's your money and your choice. Do as you please. Oh and memo to all the candidates: Not really impressed with the display of guts you all are showing by going along the party line. Don't pretend like you're not gonna care more about Florida than Iowa in twelve months, and you WILL care when we vote red. I promise you that.

* Battlestar Galactica, which may seriously be the best show television will ever produce, is once again being screwed over by the Sci-Fi channel. "So you want to end the show with the upcoming fourth season?" the cable network says. "Well that's fine. We'll just continue to milk you for all you're worth by splitting the season in half and showing the second half in 2009!" You can hear the evil laughter from here. Way to build fan loyalty Sci-Fi.

* My favorite movies of this summer were Ratatouille and Stardust. Just so you know.

* I'm planning on working on a short story about life at the World of Disney. It might take awhile to write out but I hope to post a rough draft some time in the next week. It'll be fictionalish (new word time!) with a dose of fantasy mixed in. No I haven't read Kingdom Keepers yet but I'm certainly interested. Any thoughts and suggestions are always welcome.

Comic Recommendation of the Week

Jonah Hex #23 comes out this week and really there's no bad month to pick up Jonah Hex. Hex is a DC western comic with no real continuity so you can read each issue, usually a one-and-done story, without having to read previous issues to understand what's going on. If you like quality western stories with a little grit in them you should give this a try. This issue has guest art by Jordi Bernet, so BONUS!

Pin Traders of The Carribean!

I don't know how I missed it, having lived in Orlando for the last six years, but pin trading has become a big deal at Disney. A BIG deal. People plan trips and come visit the resort for the sole purpose of trading little pieces of metal with each other and collecting more of them. Needless to say this is awesome and I'd totally be hooked if I had the capital. No joke. I'm down for collecting random items for no reason. I find it comforting to not have a point. One of my favorite things about being a cast member is the random parts of my day where a guest will come up to me and ask to see my pins. We're assigned our very own lanyards (mine's #178 although I like to cover the 8) with which to trade with guests and I covet the happiness and acceptance that comes with being able to supply something they're looking for. Yes I know, it's sad but typical all at the same time. We have specific rules for pin trading:

* Guests can only trade with a cast member up to two times a day on any given day.

* Guests can't trade a pin to a cast member that the cast member already has.

* Children control their own lanyards. Parents can't make them trade for something and can't stop them from trading with a cast member.

We also have limited edition pins that are called "Cast Lanyards" because you usually have to trade with a cast member in order to get one. The most popular of these are the "Hidden Mickey's" which have a set of Mickey Ears somewhere on the pin. There are several different series of these, one of the most popular for this year being the monorail series:



Imagine that but with several different colors in the set. I think there's eight to collect. So what happens is that people will buy a starter set of pins, like one of different Disney 2007 characters, and then walk around trading with cast members as they tour the resort. It's fun for kids and adults and allows them to interact with the cast more, which we all love. (Who doesn't want more attention?)

Also, we have pin trading sessions at the store, which today I was in charge of. There are many benefits to doing the pin trading, for one thing it kills time. A LOT of time. It takes about thirty minutes to get the pin bag ready for trading (we have to add fresh pins and remove lame ones). About an hour to go in, trade, and get out while people who "just got there" howl in frustration. And about another half hour to reset the pin bag. Today I was training another cast member so it took more time. Plus it bracketed my brakes so I think I wound up spending four hours today either on brake or doing something involved with pin trading. It was a good day.

The other benefit I get is first access to hidden Mickey's and the pins that guests traded TO us. Needless to say my lanyard is now loaded and I should be popular the next couple of days.

Labor Day is coming up which means HOLIDAY PAY which makes me a very happy person. Labor day is for extra labor right?

Disney Collector Tips:

Disney recently announced that we will be changing the name of the Disney-MGM Studios to Disney's Hollywood Studios. So if it says "MGM" on it then it's a keeper.

Also the hand and wand have (finally) been taken down from Spaceship Earth at Epcot. So anything with them is now a collector's item.

If you're looking for Jack Skellington or Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise I suggest visiting the Days of Christmas store in Downtown Disney.

We just got Halloween merchandise. Get it while it's hot.

Cheers!

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And I'm hungry like the wolf!

Right now I'm listening to NPR using the awesome reporters from "All Things Considered" to play Peter and the Wolf like a news report about a boy capturing a wolf. It's so awesome I'm speechless. I gotta find a copy of this...

Where We Introduce The Future

It's feels weird writing an introduction to a blog I've written in a couple of times. Originally I planned this for something else while I continued writing in my Live Journal. I wrote in my LJ for the last six years while I was in college and working with the Central Florida Wesley Foundation but now that I've moved on I feel like this is a good time to start something different. Now that I've entered the stage of my life where I'm working for Disney and making new friends I feel like a new blog is in order. See I love stories and connecting with people and at Disney I get a lot of both. For example just today I met a couple that was preparing to celebrate the first birthday of their child by throwing a large birthday celebration, something that is important in their culture for establishing the community's interest in the child's future. I love learning this stuff and having the ability to share it with others. Now I'm no Studs Terkel but I do like writing so I'll be posting on here whenever I can and I have something I want to share. This will be where you can get the latest updates on my life. I'll be sharing my opinions on stuff in pop culture and politics if you're interested in that sort of thing in addition to a little bit of Disney history and insider knowledge. Also, I'll be working on writing my own stories. I'm not the best writer but I hope anyone reading along will enjoy and comment with your own thoughts and opinions.

Captain America Speaks Out!

We now pause the irregularly scheduled randomness for a special message from Captain America!

FACE FRONT TRUE BELIEVERS!



Now I've been hearing rumors lately that I suppositively "died" or something.  Well fear not friends for as you can see I'm alive and well!  You shouldn't believe what you read in papers, especially when they're reporting on a MARVEL comic.  I don't know if you all understand this, but comics aren't real.  They're written by middle-aged bald men who never fought in WW2 and think the world would be a better place if Spider-Man wasn't married, also known as "losers".

Did you even read the issue I "died" in?  I was shot by a sniper and my girlfriend!  Does that even sound like me?  I fought the Red Skull for breakfast people!  I could and HAVE taken out a HYDRA cell blindfolded.  And did you hear how I got into that position for the shot in the first place?  Apparently I was back in the Civil War and I surrendered!  The hell?  I only have one question for that:




Now obviously those communists at Marvel expect the world to believe that I would go back in time to defend President Lincoln and the Union only to surrender to some rebel pansy and get shot by the guy who killed Kennedy.  What kind of crap is that?  I FOUGHT THE NAZIS!  I punched Hitler in the FACE!



Does that look like the kind of guy who would surrender to a grey-coat?  I don't care whose side you were on you gotta admit I'm getting a bum rap here.  The truth is WAY more simple then that...



I've been on vacation!  EXCELSIOR!!!  What?  Hey you get frozen alive for a few decades and pretend like you don't have NEEDS to attend to.  So never fear True Believers!  I'm still alive and doing fine!  Shoot I'll probably wind up being resurrected in a couple years anyway...



The following has been brought to you by Dell Rusk Inspirational Posters, who want to remind you:

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Tuckenie on Cultural Lies: The Apology

Dear Sir,

I had a crazy week. A really crazy week. I'm sure compared to your's it was nothing but for me I think I grew a lot and that pains me considering my birthday is coming up. At my school we had a 24/3 prayer initiative that united several Christian campus ministries together and it was simply incredible. Communing with God is always a great experience but somehow this week was different for me. I didn't feel closer to the Lord specifically and I didn't see anything radical take place that most people would be impressed with. Rather I think I grew in my understanding of God's heart. Just a little bit mind you. I still have a long way to go. But I have to do something now. Something I find difficult but necessary.

I have to apologize to you Mr. President.

See I don't particularly like you. I'm sure you're a great guy outside of Washington and I bet you're great at BBQ's but I find many of your policies to be close minded and negative. I don't particularly want to get into anything specific but suffice to say I'm not exactly voting Republican in November.

Yet I see the media coverage of the world right now and I can't help but think that somewhere we've gone wrong. I'm not just talking about Iraq or Afghanistan or 9/11 or Bill Clinton or that time Andrew Jackson brought a bull-whip to a duel. I'm talking about how we approach issues and inform each other. Everything seems biased these days. It seems like our entire culture is based on cynicism and power struggles. Nobody can be allowed to get an edge so as much mud is slung as possible to avoid an upsetting to the balance of power. It's like we don't even remember the point of government anymore. It's not about public service anymore it's about getting one over on the opposition.

I see this and I see how I approach you. I see what you're faced with. The other night I was praying for you and I was confronted with just a taste of the pressures you have to bear. I saw the darkness that threatens your soul and the hounding of a world driven by greed and instant gratification. I can cook a hotdog in thirty seconds Mr. President so how come our boys aren't home yet? It's like we don't even remember that it took six years for our own independence to be won. You have people crying out for your blood and declaring you to be the ultimate representation of evil. It's as if they think that will change your mind. I don't blame you anymore sir. I'd refuse to listen to people saying those things about me as well.

This is what we've driven ourselves to in this country. We believe in freedom of speech, as long as you aren't saying something people don't like. We believe in the freedom to practice our chosen religion, as long as it doesn't offend the other people present. We believe torture is wrong, until our security is threatened. We believe the press is free to do whatever it wants, including destroying our lives.

Yet do we have free speech when Satan controls the words? Do we have a free press when the dollar controls the content? Is a religion free when it devotes itself to politics?

Something else is needed in this country Mr. President and it is needed now starting with you. We need God sir, and if you want to show yourself to be the leader you claim to be then you can start on your knees crying out to him. The time for this hatred and despair has been too long and we need to turn to something only the greatest of men reach for, love. God is found in love and that's what I plan on showing to you for now on. I don't agree with you and I won't vote for you, but I will respect and love you George W. Bush. And I will pray for you. I will pray that the light of wisdom and knowledge will reach you. I will pray that your heart will embrace the love it needs. I will pray that prophetic words guided by love will reach your ears. I will pray protection over your thoughts and actions and that you will be blessed with success. I will pray these things for you not only because your blessings are our country's but also because I sense you really need someone who prays for you out of love and not because of your agenda. I believe you and all our other leaders have been corrupted by a spirit of darkness that must be cleansed for our country to heal. And I believe the only answer to the problems gripping our world are the servants of the most high crying out for him to move across the land and declare his kingdom.

I apologize to you for breaking one of the greatest commandments for I have not loved you as myself or as Christ loves me. I ask only for your grace and forgiveness.

Flying with Christ,

Vallen C. Tucker ><>