Seven Things

The Lovely Steph Leann and I have always been told, "You guys will be great parents!" in some form or fashion... either she was told she'd be a great mom, or I have been told how great of a dad I'd be, or collectively, as a parental unit, we've been discussed under the mantra of ideal parents.

When talking about this particular line of conversation that we keep having with people, and mind you this was some months ago, maybe even last year, The Lovely Steph Leann remarked, "Do these people even know us?"

Well, whether they do or not, she and I... we're going to be parents.  It's almost a big unnerving, and certainly is enough to weird both of us out.  I mean... a parent?  Like, there is a kid coming that will look to The Lovely Steph Leann as he/she's mommy?  Well, that is actually not a bad thing, and upon reflecting on it, its a great thing.  She's awesome.  However, that little mush of cells will call me daddy at some point, and that is kinda scary.

So anyway, rather than waxing poetic about finding out, and who knew and all that, I wanted to look ahead to our kid getting here... its been noted on this here website that we'll go with Campbell Isaiah for a boy, calling him "Camp", though I'm wondering if his friends like Will Fisher and Willy Roose and Colin Robinson, or his lady friends like Mattie Sherman or Clara Tuck or Sunshine Ray will call him Cam... for a girl, we'll go with Lorelei Addison, calling her simply Lorelei, and yes, that was the name of Lauren Graham's character on "Gilmore Girls", and yes, that is part of the inspiration, but no, our daughter will not be named after Lorelei Gilmore.

Looking ahead to Camp or Lorelei being here, I came up with a few things that we really want to instill in our child.  Obviously, like any parents, we want to make sure our kids understand things like responsibility, accountability, respect and the like... but also like any parents, we might place a higher value on some things than other parents would, and vice versa on other things...

So, I came up with a short list of things that, thanks to Daddy over here, Campbell or Lorelei (I say "or"... its really an "and" because we'll teach this to all our children) will be familiar with at the least, and deeply ensconced in at the most--Mommy will help with some, others I'm sure she'll leave to me...

1) THE LOVE OF JESUS
That's any Christ Following family's prayer and hope, that their children will grow up recognizing the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  While we will never force God on our kids, we will make sure they are fully aware of Christ, His death and Resurrection and we pray that one day, Camp and Lorelei will decide for themselves that a life with Christ is immensely more satisfying than a life without.

We'll also hopefully engrain in them how wonderful and meaningful a church family and church fellowship will be, so when Camp is 14, he has somewhere to go for help after he comes out, and when she's 16, Lorelei will be able to minister to her prison boyfriend.  Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

2) DISNEY 

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has any knowledge of us and who we are... we will give our kid plenty of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Lightnin' McQueen, Mater, Belle, Hercules, Cinderella, Mulan, Rapunzel, Simba, Genie, Princess Gisele and so on and so forth.  I've already had people tell me that they are holding open debates on how soon Lorelei and/or Campbell will head to The Most Magical Place on Earth, and even though I always said we would wait until our kids are at least potty trained and able to walk on their own, who am I kidding?  We'd probably deliver the child on Main Street USA if there was a way to do so.

Gotta get Mike and Sulley into the kid's life early, and often

I have often said that The Lovely Steph Leann will be heartbroken if our daughter isn't into the princesses, or at the least, into Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse.  I fear the day when our child declares that she loves Shrek and has forsaken The Mouse.  It is then that we will question our parenting, and perhaps will give the child up for adoption for fear that we can no longer raise them right.  Its the least we can do.

Actually, I think I'd like our kid to be exposed to "Monster's Inc" relatively early... monsters can be scary until you realize they are terrified by human kids... I plan on putting my stuffed Mike Wazowski with my child soon to let them know Mike & Sully are awesome. 

The moment I hear my own kid singing the words to "Hannah Jane",
my favorite Hootie song, that's the moment I know I did it right

3) HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH
I say "Hootie", but you can also add on Sheryl Crow, Blues Traveler, Boyz II Men, Pre-Skank Mariah, Pre-Crack Whitney, Journey and their ilk.  I will be feeding little Lorelei or young Camp a steady diet of 80s and 90s music all throughout their childhood. 

Yes, I know, I know, there will be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in there, and I'm sure they'll pick up other kiddy songs along the way, be it The Imagination Movers or some crap on Nick Jr, but you are darn tootin' my offspring will know something about "Hold My Hand" or "Only Wanna Be With You", or how awesome "Motownphilly" can be at high volume in a Kia Soul. 

4)  THE WWE
This is the one I get the most pushback on... but so?  I can't wait for that day when I curl up with mine own youngling in my arms, and we take in an episode of WWE Raw, and I let them know to cheer for John Cena and The Rock and to boo for the likes of The Miz, CM Punk and Sheamus. 

"I am not having my daughter watch the WWE," declares The Lovely Steph Leann.   I would guess that she'll want a night off at some point, and I'll do my best to make it Monday night.  But if its Friday night, then WWE Smackdown will suffice.

5)  STAR WARS
Another one that The Lovely Steph Leann is pushing back on, though perhaps not as hard as #4 above.  But as a young boy myself, Star Wars became an integral part of my life--I saw The Empire Strikes Back as a five year old, and from there on out, my childhood was partially defined by a love of not just Luke, Han, Leia and Vader, but also a love of the imagination, creativity and passion that came behind it. 

Kids love Jar Jar.  My son will probably dig Darth Maul too.  A dad
can only hope, anyway.

Ten years ago, I was afraid Star Wars might become irrelevant.  It would be the loved and influential movies of the 70s that only people who are around my age would value and cherish... but with the three prequels and now the award winning The Clone Wars: The Animated Series out, there's no reason for Star Wars to fade as a memory.  It is prime to influence mine own children with the likes of George Lucas' fine creations.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm going to bust out some dark "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" fresh out of the womb (that one might be a decade down the road), but "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" or "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" isn't out of the question in the first six months of life.  Kids love Jar Jar.  For that matter, kids love Ewoks, so "Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi" might also be an option.

6) DAVE RAMSEY
Never too young, I always say.  Okay, I don't always say that.  In fact, I just started saying that.  In more fact, I just said that really for the first time, "never too young", at least in reference to the starting age of Dave Ramsey's financial peace.

I want Lorelei and Camp to both grow up never knowing debt.  I want them growing up not only know the value of a dollar, but the value of earning it.  I want them growing up thinking that if they want something, they have to do what they can to get it, and never expect things to be handed to them. 

Now, I'm not saying that we won't give them gifts, or buy them things all along, I mean, there are things I'll see all the time I'll want my kids to have... but I don't want them ever expecting things to just be handed to them all time.   I like th FPU way of teaching your kids chores--some they do because they live there are are expected to do, and some as a way to earn money... and out of every dollar, 10 percent of that goes into a jar that say "Giving", another 15 percent goes into a jar that says "Saving" and the rest can be used for whatever. 

Wish someone, anyone, had taught me the discipline of Three Jars. 

7) COMMON SENSE
Going along with the above "Dave Ramsey", I just want my kids to be responsible.  Responsible for their own actions.  Teach them how to give, but to take care of their own house first.  Teach them that the government is not the answer, they themselves are.   Teach them that this is the great country in the history of the entire free world, teach them that this country is the good guy.  Teach them that not everyone in the world, or even this country, will be nice to them, teach them that some people will be downright mean and hurtful, teach Lorelei that not all guys will be good and teach Camp that chicks can be overwhelming and over-dramatic, teach them that a life as a Christ Follower, things won't necessarily be easy, and sometimes might downright suck (though I'll try to use another word) and teach them that you know what, life just isn't fair...

...but also teach them that God is a wonderful God, and He has a created a beautiful world around us, teach them that there are great people in the world, and teach them that those people are created in God's image and that everyone deserves respect (until they don't) and everyone deserves for someone to be nice to them (until they don't). 

And yes, when they get older, if Lorelei and Campbell want to be Democrats, that's fine... but they had better be able to tell me why they believe that way.  They need to know that  Rush Limbaugh can be believed (mostly because if they pay attention, it makes sense) Keith Olbermann is full of crap (mostly because if they pay attention, he makes no sense) and finally, yes they will get spanked on the backside when they are bad, regardless of what is politically correct.

I think I'd also like Lorelei to be familiar with Audrey Hepburn movies, and Campbell to know about DieHard, but that's later. 

I'd like to say we're going to be great parents, but The Lovely Steph Leann would say, "Have you met us?"

The Summer of Blogging Day Twenty Four

The 100 Coolest Things of 2010... #50 to 41

And we continue with the longest running list, not counting The Dave100, on this blog site... that being the 100 Coolest Things of 2010.  I won't bother with the recap just yet, you can find it to the right under archives...

50... Harry Finds a Hallow
After what I considered to be a disaster, though one I can still bear to watch, of the last movie (the post I wrote, by the way, "A Letter to Steve Kloves" is one of the most read posts on this here bloggy site), my expectations for "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part I" were lower... but still slightly high, nonetheless.

Here's what I wrote on November 30th, 2010:

First and foremost, it holds a huge, huge advantage over any of the previous six films, and that is simply that this movie covers only half the book. The reason "Goblet of Fire" and "Order of the Phoenix" cut out almost half of their respective books is simply a time factor... you would have a six hour movie to cover everything ("Goblet of Fire" skipped the S.P.E.W. subplot, and was one of the few things I enjoyed about the movie versions over the books).

Essentially, the film version, at least Part I, of "The Deathly Hallows", is a little like a table of contents. You see a live action snippet of each scene that is fully fleshed out in the book itself, something is allowable because the 140 minutes of the movie covers only about 300 pages, not 500 pages.

You can read the full post here, but it continues to talk about the movie, first spoiler free, and then second, spoiler filled (though there are several alerts to tell you to stop reading if you haven't seen it).  I finished the post by saying, "Anyway, I really enjoyed the film, and have intentions on seeing it again. I said before my favorite movie character is Luna, but my favorite book character is Ginny Weasley... but I'm not sure I dig Bonnie Wright. I also think Fenrir Greybeck is fantastic in the book, but in the movie he's so marginalized and relegated to a second tier character.  Go see the movie, irregardless of whether you've read the book."

49... Via Napoli


Don't let the angle fool you.  This pizza is a monster, and this is taken
after four adults had just about had their fill...



What can I tell you about Epcot's newest restaurant?  Its in Italy, its authentic Italian, and its delicious.  I've eaten there twice, and its got some of the best pizza I've ever had, not to mention some of the best desserts I've eaten in a while.

Their food is a little pricey, but let's face it, its Disney, and all prices are a little higher than normal.  They ph-balance the water to match that of water found in Italy, as well as authenticate other ingredients to give you the freshest, purest form of Italian food... and their large pizza, $40 as it may be, will feed at least six people, if not more.  Its pretty awesome. 

48... Christians Like Stuff
So, Jon Acuff writes this blog, aptly titled Stuff Christians Like about being a Christian, and he asks tough questions like, what to do with the Christian version of "Freebird", or the problem with unrated movies on DVD... he's the author of several books, including one named after his website, and its a great read pretty much every day. 

47... Little Sister Ashley Gets a Ring
What can I say... my own adopted little sister (I got the looks in the family) got a ring on her finger from her hometown sweetheart, Brandon.  Apparently, he'd pined for her for years and years and years, and she gave him the cold shoulder... but one day, she woke up and said, "Whaaaa...?  I... like this guy!  No!  I love this guy!"



At top, its Brandon and Lil
Sister Ashley.  The bottom pic
features The Honorable Rev'rn
Ty "Sharpton" Coffey and Lori
Anne, bride to be.

 She stopped by my store and flashed the ring, then I immediately commanded her to go to The Cabana and show The Lovely Steph Leann, which she did. 

And this past May, we were able to attend the wedding, which I'm sure you'll read about in The 100 Coolest Things of 2011... at this rate, some time around September 2013. 

Which leads me to...

46... Ty Gives a Ring
Here's another engagement that rocks, and gets the slight edge over Little Sister Ashley's big moment if only because I was involved in the proceedings...  The Honorable Rev'rn Ty Sharpton called me up and asked if I would participate in his little engagement get-together, which involved me taking the ring from him and setting it up in Samford's chapel. 

It was a little intimidating, holding a ring that cost more than Toni Rocki Honda, my little car at the time.  He asked me to not open it, not to look at it, he wanted Lori Anne to be the next one to see it, and I obliged.  I was to place it on the podium of the chapel at a certain time, then hide when Rev'rn Ty and his bride-to-be, Lori Anne, came in. 

While I was waiting for the word from Ty, people came in and out of the chapel--Samford had a football game going on in the stadium across the street at the same time--and I sat off to the side in a pew, probably looking like an old creeper.  I held the ring box tightly until I got the text that said, "In chapel yard".  I was nervous about letting the ring leave my sight, but I put it on the podium then slipped out a side door.

I walked around the student break area until I finally got a text that said "ITS DONE"... upon my return, there was a big smile from Revr'n Ty, and a bigger smile from little Lori Anne, and the ring almost blinded me.   And I was also able to not just attend, but be a part of their wedding, which you'll probably see in The 100 Coolest Things of 2011 as well.

45... B.o.B. Professes His Love
By the summer of 2010, there weren't a ton of songs that had really piqued my interest, especially in hip-hop areas... cause really, they all kind of sound alike.  So, here comes "Nothin On You" by B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars, with this profession of love for his boo, telling her that there are chicks all over the place, and that sure, they might be cute or he might say hello... but ain't none them ho's got nothin on you.  Nothing.

"Beautiful girls, all over the world, I could be chasin', but my time would be wasting, they got nothin on you baby (nuh nuh nuh nothin on you... nuh nuh nuh nothing on you)... they might say hi, I might say hey, but you shouldn't worry about what they say cause they got nothing on you, baby (nuh nuh nuh nothing on you... nuh nuh nuh nothing on you)... nothing on you baby..."

Keep in mind, this was the summer that both B.o.B. and Bruno Mars emerged, so I don't feel bad in telling you that for the longest time, I couldn't tell who was rapping and who was singing.  Perhaps I'm still not sure.

44... The Books Get Read
My love of audiobooks is well documented and deep, with probably 100 or more in my collection... I keep most of them, about 110 gbs worth, on an external portable hard drive, but on my iPod that I have with me about 97% of the waking hours of my day, I have at least 30 or 40 that I take with me, just in case I might want to jump into a random book, be it Kristen Chenoweth's biography (or Andre Agassi's) or maybe some Glenn Beck, or even a chick lit novel by Emily Giffen...

And then, I finally joined Audible dot com.  The way it works is, you pay one price per month and you are given "Credits".  Then, you can download audiobooks for a credit, or for larger audiobooks (like the Walt Disney biography I initially got, which was 35 hours--it was two credits, but I got it free for joining).  Every month, for $14.95, I get another credit...

Essentially, its buying an audiobook for $15 per month, but when you consider they are running anywhere from $25 to $50 per book, its a pretty good deal.  Also, for members, you get special discounts on books, sometimes half off, sometimes huge percentages off, sometimes free... I just downloaded "Go the Heck to Sleep" children's book (warning:  NOT Emmy Turnbow safe), narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, for no charge whatsoever...

And the selection is pretty great too.  I managed to get The Pixar Touch for less than $7, I got Patton Oswalt's comedic book for about $6 and downloaded "ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun" for May's selection for one single credit... regular price, $26. 

Randomly, just for thought, here's my current wish list, or, books I'll end up downloading or purchasing if they go cheap--in the order I'm going to get them:  "The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called Dreamworks" by Nicole LaPorte... "Decision Points" by Dubya... "Bossypants" by Tina Fey... "Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Musical Rent" by Anthony Rapp... "Your Only As Good As Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films and 100 Films For Which I Should Be Shot" by Michael Medavoy

And if you think this was just a reason to go all Ron Burgundy and say, "Hey everyone!  Come look at the cool stuff I've been reading!"... well, you may be right.  Though if anyone has thoughts on any of these books, then I'd love to hear them--besides the predictable recoil by Brad Latta, Atty at Law, at the mention of Glenn Beck or Dubya. 

43... A Dragon Gets Tamed
Here's what I wrote about "How To Train Your Dragon" on June 6th, 2010...

"How to Train Your Dragon" follows the story of Hiccup, who lives in a Viking village where the life of a Viking is to hung and kill dragons of every size--and they are aplenty in this movie. Hiccup is a loser that is made fun of by most of the clan, mostly because his heart is not into hunting anything, much less dragons, but to please his father--who happens to be village chief, no less--he does what he can.

Hiccup ends up taking down a rare Night Fury dragon, but upon finding it in the woods, cannot bring himself to finish him off... and there, the adventure takes flight, pun intended.

I loved it. I loved every single second of this movie. I loved the main character, Hiccup, I loved his love interest, a spry pixie named Astrid, I loved the dragons, including the main one nicknamed Toothless, I loved the setting, I loved the creativity, I loved the story... I thought this movie was brilliant. This was the first time I'd ever seen a non-Pixar animated movie and thought, "This should have been a Pixar film."

The Lovely Steph Leann loved it too. As the credits began to roll, she piped up and said, "Wow. DreamWorks finally got it right." (full review is found here)

By the way, I watched this movie a few days ago on cable... it is just as good, great even, as the first time I watched it.  And that is a true test of a good movie.

42... A Town Gets Covered
Wow this is a big book.  Perhaps Stephen King likes to release a 1000 page behemoth every year, or maybe I just tend to read one--in 2009, it was "It"... and in 2010, it was "Under the Dome".

In the fall of some year after 2012, Dale Barbara, known as "Barbie", is trying to leave the small town of Chester's Mill.  Before he can get very far, however, something odd happens.  An invisible, indestructible barrier--a dome, per se--is dropped over the town, keeping everyone who's out of town out of the town, and everyone who is in the town, in the town.

Big Jim Rennie, second selectman, takes over the town, appointing his corrupt friends and sick, twisted son Junior as town officials, and does his best to try and contain the opposition, which includes Barbie and newspaper editor Julia Shumway.   Slowly but surely, the town's government falls apart as Big Jim's rule becomes more and more stern, and as his ego--and paranoia of losing control--spiral out of control.

Efforts to destroy the Dome fail one after the other, and everything from civility to law to just common sense begins to fall apart, piece by piece, little by little... its not a slippery slope so much as a straight up and down cliff. 

While the Dome is the central key to the novel, it is what happens to the town that becomes the book's plot.  The breakdown in civilization, the loss of respect and democracy... that's the book's central storyline.  When Big Jim realizes that not everyone sees it his way, its then that he begins doing whatever, and I mean whatever, is necessary to ensure his own rule is followed. 

King stated in an interview that he thought of Dubya when he was writing the character of Big Jim, but honestly, all I could think of was He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected... who gives a rip how it affects anyone, this is what I think is best, so this is the way we are doing it. 

Anyway, its a huge book, but I'd rank it up there as one of King's modern classics, and one I'll probably read again in the next year or two (it stays on my iPod just in case...)

41... Z's Serves the Burgers
Sometimes the best food you can find is in a nondescript hole in the wall place you've passed by a thousand times but never noticed its existence... and that would be Chris Z's to a tee. 

Nestled on a corner near St. Vincent's hospital, sharing the same block, if not the same wall, with the empty building that used to be Golden Rule BBQ (take a left off of Red Mt Expressway/Hwy 31 as you are facing St. Vincents), it doesn't have very much parking, and in fact, the best way to get to it is to drive past it, turn left at the light and come around the entire structure.

Walking in, you can see immediately that its family owned and operated... covering the walls in almost every space are frames, frames with single pictures of family, frames with duo photos of more family, large frames with collages of a dozen or more pictures of family and friends.  Being my close friend Melanie's husband, you'll see pictures of Melanie and Chris together.  You'll see the Z kids, Jay Z, Special K and The Zack Attack.  You'll see lots of people that sort of look like their family, and you'll see friends that you might recognize... or not.  

The cafe itself is set with not more than a dozen tables, mostly because there is no room.  Come at lunch time, you'll be hard pressed to find an open chair, but if you are an experienced Chris Z eater, you'll know this and will plan for it--either come earlier or later, or get it to go, or just stand and eat like many patrons do.

The menu is typed out in a familiar Comic Sans font, with some scribble with a marker and some tape over certain things, those manual corrections that the owner doesn't have time to make in the form of a new menu... no, there is too much food to make.  And the food is aplenty.

Hot dogs cooked to perfection, topped with everything or nothing at all, your request.  And the cheeseburgers are fantastic... my personal favorite is a Chris Z burger with mayo, mustard and ketchup, and cheese splashed all over the fries.  The Chris Z burger was actually recently named by a local magazine to the be the best burger in town, and its a well deserved distinction.

And then there is dessert... a family owned recipe for cheesecake pie.  That piece of pie kinda deserves its own ranking among the coolest things of the year, almost like a #40 1/2 spot... its amazing.  I've had cheesecake in six different states, ranging everywhere from the Carnegie Deli in Manhattan to the Baltimore Harbor... and its the best cheesecake I've ever had.

Anyway, if you are in the St. Vincents area, and you find yourself hungry--or even if you just want to find something new, check 'em out.  They also serve breakfast, which is excellent too... and that's not to mention their Middle Eastern menu they have the first Friday of every month.  Its good, good stuff.  (you can click here for more info)

Coming up... Hide yo' kids!  Hide yo' wife!  Its more of the best of 2010, now that 2011 is half over!  Yeah!  More Disney!  A DFC Champion!  And startin' fires...

The Summer of Blogging, Day Twenty Two

Video - Who Is Leo Howard the Karate Master? - Biography, Photos, Video and News!

Kickin' It Star Leo Howard

Leo Howard – a name most are not familiar with.

But beware, because over the next few years you’re going to hear a lot about this 14-year-old extraordinary young man.

Let’s start with the basics:

Leo Howard was born on July 13, 1997 in Newport Beach California and lives near San Diego today.

From a young age Leo was fascinated by the martial arts, karate and kobudo and has studied the arts since he was just a child.

Today, Leo is a black belt master in the field of karate, Shorei Ru, and Wu Shu, and has stunned audiences since he was just 8-years-old with his karate, martial arts, and stunt skills.

Watch Leo do a Karate kobudo Demonstration


Leo’s acting career started when he was just 8-years-old with a small role as the front desk clerk in the television documentary “Camp Hollywood”.

From there, Leo got his big break on the TV series “Monk” playing the role of a young karate expert. From that one appearance, Leo Howard’s acting career took off.

Black Belt Karate Master

His mix of acting ability combined with his karate expertise is amazing, and producers and talent scouts took notice and started beating down his door.

2009 was a breakout year for Leo as he appeared in six different movie and TV projects that propelled him into a fast track Hollywood vocation.

First was the movie “Aussie and Ted's Great Adventure” about a lovable Australian dog who embarks on a mission to return his young owner's missing Teddy Bear.

Next was the movie “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” working alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sienna Miller and Dennis Quaid – a story about an elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe that takes on an evil organization led by a disreputable arms dealer. Leo performed all of his own stunts and impressed the director and audiences alike.

With two movies under his black belt, Leo completed his third movie titled “Shorts” working with Jon Cryer, William H. Macy, and James Spader.

“Shorts” told the story of a young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock that causes pandemonium in the town of Black Falls and the jealous kids and cunning adults that try to steal it from him.

“Shorts” was the big break for Leo and showed he could hold his own in a large movie project. But his celebrity status was just starting to be noticed.

Disney got wind of Leo and cast him in his own show in 2009 called “Leo Little’s Big Show” where he appeared in thirteen episodes about him and his sister Amy who host a show about Disney stars, shows, and movies from their family room.

After appearing in two episodes of “Zeke and Luther” about two best friends who want to become the world's greatest skateboarders, Leo was hired for his first starring role in the movie “Logan”, about two brothers who have their minds set on an impossible task.

Watch Leo Howard in "Logan" Movie Trailer


“Logon” showed Hollywood that Leo had the staying power to not only carry a feature length movie but also work the long hours necessary for a television series while performing action sequences and his own stunts at the same time. Leo Howard was becoming a star.

But his big big Hollywood break came in 2011 when the Disney XD network cast Leo in the role of Jake in the network’s karate action TV series “Kickin’ It” working with Hanna Montana veteran actor Jason Earles.

The series is set at the Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy - a strip mall martial arts studio and the worst dojo in the nationwide Bobby Wasabi chain.

The plot revolves around a motley crew of endearing misfit teens who welcome a hotshot skateboarder named Jack who teaches them about life, karate, and how to just plain kick it.

Watch Leo in "Kickin' It" Interview


“Kickin’ It” was one of Disney’s highest rated new shows and forever cemented Leo’s star on Hollywood.

Leo also scored a major role as the young Conan in director Marcus Nispel’s “Conan the Barbarian” where again he performed all his stunts and karate moves while in heavy movie makeup and shirtless barbarian period costumes.

“Conan” tells of the quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the warrior but soon turns into an epic battle against colossal rivals, horrifying monsters, and impossible odds.

Watch "Conan" Movie Trailer


It’s clear that at only 14-years-old Leo Howard is going to be around for a long time. His combination of acting, humor, martial arts, karate, and teen idol appeal along with the marketing might of Disney tells us his star has just began to rise over Hollywood.

Follow InfoStar on Twitter – no sucker punches here…

The Great Thing about Tiny Lister (and other random thoughts)

So, I read that "The Expendables" is possibly heading to a sequel.  Man, I hope so, cause that movie is the most craptacular spectacle that exists on His green Earth today.  Its a testosterone overload.  The movie, of course, was a rousing success, with Sly Stallone and Jason Stathem in the lead, and guys like Jet Li, Randy Couture, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dolph Lungren.

What's the plot?  Doesn't really matter... something about an arms dealer in a South American island, which is where they usually are. 

Anyway, I bring this up because I was reading on the movie's Wiki page about a possible Part 2, and those who might star in in... those names include:  Jean Claude Van-Damme, Hulk Hogan, Mr. T., Carl Weathers, Vin Diesel, The Rock, Charlie Sheen, Lorenzo Lamas, Chuck Norris and yes, it lists Ryan Seacrest (!).  Now, with the addition of Seacrusty to that list, one must assume this is a very tentative list, as the words "action star" and "Ryan Seacrust" go together like "Obama" and "concern for the American citizen", but there it is.  Wiki isn't known to be 100 percent accurate, but they are fairly close most of the time. 

Of course, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger shared screen time with Sly Stallone in a quick scene that was highly praised as "the three biggest 80s starts at the same time", and sources say that Bruce is hoping to reprise his role as "Mr. Church", possibly being the main villian.   Ahnold was also thought to be in a bigger role, but after his baby-daddy scandel the last few months, that might not happen.

Its targeting a August 2012 release date.  I'll be there.

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So, went to the doctor with The Lovely Steph Leann.  Why is it that there are fifty chick mags in the office, all lying around, like "Parenting" and "Women's Health" and "Good Housekeeping" and "Ebony Baby Mama", but for the men, you usually have two options... "Field and Stream" is always one of them.  My dad read that magazine when I was a kid, and I have a hard time believing it still exists.  The other is "Sports Illustrated", though its a rule that doctors offices cannot have any issues that are anywhere close to recent.

Go to the doc's office and find an SI, and you are likely to see something on the front cover like "Saints Win Super Bowl" or "Will LeBron Pick Cleveland?" or "Favre Becomes an NYJet".  To be fair, if you see a People Magazine, you'll also see something like "Elizabeth Smart Found!" or "Jesse and Sandra!  Happy Together!".

Can they not subscribe to Entertainment Weekly or Newsweek or something?  Seriously?

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Being a Sunday afternoon, a lazy Sunday afternoon, we are just flipping channels and watching whatever is on.  "Ironman 2" was finishing, as The Lovely Steph Leann dozes and I type.  We both were awake at the end, though, when the Hammer Droids were all defeated, but rigged to blow up (hope I didn't spoil it for you... whoops).  Anyway, this little light starts blinking and goes, "Beep... ... ... ... beep ... ... ... ... beep ... ... ... beep ... ... beep ... beep ... beep .. beep . beep beep beepbeepbeepbeep", which simply led me to observe, "If we are standing around destroyed battle droids and a little red light starts blinking and starts beeping at a progressively increased rate, perhaps I would start to run."

The Lovely Steph Leann just says, "Yep."

Hasn't Gwyneth Paltrow seen "Predator"?  This is exactly what happens.

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Speaking of "Iron Man 2", we were just chatting as the credits rolled, and I noticed something kinda funny... you know, like, at the end of movies when you see the American Humane Society logo, and it says "No animals were harmed in the making of this film"?  I've often wondered what happens if an animal is, in fact, injured, and that claim is no longer valid.

Well, the end of the credits, the American Humane Society logo pops up, and beside it simply reads, "Animals were monitored during filming".  Guess there's your answer

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Yeah, so I guess we'll have to baby proof The Cabana.  Kid coming and all.   Very weird feeling.

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Judging by the flannel, I am assuming this is
Tiny Lister as Deebo in "Friday"

So, this post extended into Monday morning... and usually in the morning, there's not much on worth watching.  First World Problem and all... anyway, right now, there is an action movie currently on, called "Blast!" from 2004, and it's starring Eddie Griffin, Brecken Meyer and Vivica A. Fox. Those are actually the names along the top of the DVD box, along with action mega-star Vinnie Jones (and that, of course, is sarcasm).  

That's the first indication that the movie is a bit unknown, when anytime your DVD box sports those names as your title stars... the second is what I just found out--you have to actually put forth an effort to find this in Wikipedia and IMDB.  I mean, when you have to work to find the Wiki page, no bueno.  

Oh, lest I forget, someone who didn't make the DVD box, but is worth mentioning none the less, is Tommy "Tiny" Lister, the big, lazy eyed black dude from such Oscar winning films like Hulk Hogan's "No Holds Barred" and for winning a Golden Globe as Deebo in Ice Cube's "Friday" series.

(Can poke some fun at Tiny Lister, but can't knock him too much... on 1999, he gave his life to Christ when Benny Hinn prayed over him and told him that he could use his acting career for the Kingdom.  Lister is a member of The Light of the World Christian Church in California.  Word.)

Truth be told, its on right now because Samantha Brown's Walt Disney World doesn't start until 10 on the Travel Channel... and that's where I'm headed.  Samantha + Disney = me enthralled.

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And finally... so, I don't watch "Glee" all that much... The Lovely Steph Leann is giddy when its on and Gleek personified, but for me, its not a bad show, I just don't watch it.

However, NBC has a similiarly styled show next year called "Smash".  It won't take place at a high school, but will instead focus on the competitive nature of Broadway and those trying to make it.  And, it stars not only Katharine McPhee, but also Debra Messing. 

McPheever and Debra?  I'm in.

Unfortunately, its NBC, so it will probably get scheduled against American Idol.  Then they'll blame the show and its stars, they'll screw it up and cancel it.  Then replace it with something like "Law & Order:  Latta's Rule".  How do I know this?  Its NBC.

Summer of Blogging Day Fourteen

Leo Howard Kicks His Way into Disney’s New Karate Series “Kickin’ It” – Video

Karate Master Leo Howard

Every now and then Disney gets it right.

The Disney XD channel, known for its predominantly teen oriented programming, launched its latest action series called “Kickin’ It” last night - and it looks like a hit.

Or maybe we should say a “kick”.

The premise of the show revolves around two competing martial arts dojos and their attempt to recruit the hottest karate kid in town played by 14-year-old Leo Howard.

Howard, no stranger to martial arts and action flicks, finds himself in the starring role of “Jack”, the grandson of the Wasabi Warriors Karate franchise founder and master trainer.

Jack not only tries to save the Wasabi Dojo, but also tries to impress the cutest girl in the club. It’s classic teen Disney, and sure to be a hit if they give the series enough time to find an audience.

And Leo Howard’s got the moves.

In the premier episode, Howard performs a number of high performance kicks, flips, punches, and deflections – showing he is no stranger to this type of work.

And for good reason.

Leo is a champion black belt in martial arts, has been doing karate since he was 5-years-old, and is a member of the Sideswipe Performance Team – a high impact martial arts exhibition club in California.

His dad is the famous Todd Howard - also called “The Big Bulldog" who is another master of the martial arts.

Leo was born in Newport Beach California, but today lives near San Diego so he can work on his karate and television productions.



Not only is Leo Howard a Karate Master, but he also knows his way around Hollywood.

Before joining Disney, Leo got his start in a bit part on the popular TV series “Monk” playing a young karate kid.

His first movie role was in the action movie “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” with Sienna Miller, Dennis Quaid and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The film told the story of an elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe that takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.

Leo has also appeared in a few high action television shows like “Children of the Corn”, “Leo Little's Big Show”, and “Zeke and Luther”.

All that practice has paid off, and now Howard is heading to the big big screen as the younger version of Conan, played by Jason Momoa, in “Conan the Barbarian” due in theaters later this year.

Conan tells the tale of Conan the Cimmerian and his adventures across the continent of Hyboria on a quest to avenge the murder of his father and the slaughter of his village.

Watch Conan the Barbarian Movie Trailer


We’re sure with Disney behind his promotion, Leo Howard and his karate skills could go on to be the next Disney teen idol.

After all, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus will be leaving the nest soon and Disney needs to keep the machine running.

Related: Leo Howard Videos, Photos, and Biography

Follow InfoStar on Twitter - We won't kick you

A Nine Year Old's Rap Sheet

The summer movie season continues eating away at our budget intently, as two movies came up on the docket this weekend... the first came as a result of our nephew Benjamin coming to visit.  The 9 year old and his family live in Jasper, but they spend time here in B'ham with the in-laws (mine, not theirs) frequently.

One of the activities including him playing hours and hours of LEGO Harry Potter on the Wii, and another was a movie... "Kung Fu Panda 2".  Originally subtitled "The Kaboom of Doom", I'm kinda glad they dropped that and just went with the "2" part.

Anyway, I liked the movie as much as the first one.  Its premise basically surrounds a panda named Po (voiced by Jack Black) who, in the first film, learned he was a "dragon warrior" and was taught Kung Fu, and joined up with other members of the Furious Five, including Tigress (Angelina Jolie) and Mantis (Seth Rogan) and others.  For whatever reason, Grandmaster Flash wasn't included in this.

The bad guy this time around is an evil peacock named Shen, deliciously vocalized by Gary Oldman, and you'll hear other familiar voices like Jean Claude Van Damme, Dennis Haysbert and Danny McBride. 

The animation is wonderful, the story is solid and flows well and its perfect for just about anyone of any age.  You kinda wonder if there is an attraction between Po and Tigress, but the real relationship moments are between Po and his adoptive father, Mr. Ping.  You can tell its adoption when you see Mr. Ping is a goose. 

Po wonders who he is, knowing that a goose cannot be his real dad, and begins to question his family... and in a touching moment, Mr. Ping is forced to watch his beloved son Po walk away to battle. 

As far as Po's real family, they kinda do that movie thing where one of the main issues in the second movie is an issue they don't even address in the first one... sorta like, when you realize Riggs wife is dead in the first Lethel Weapon, its only a minor plotpoint they use to establish the character, but when Lethel Weapon 2 rolls around, it becomes a major point in the story.

Same with Po's real family--only used to establish Po's character in KFP 1, but in KFP 2, it becomes a plot point.  Guess you can do that with sequels... 

And man that 9 year old kid loves him some Panda.  And Bakugon.  And Bey Blades.  After the movie, then dinner at Chick Fila, we dropped the quickly tiring The Lovely Steph Leann off at The Cabana, then Benjamin and I spent some time first at The LEGO Store, then Toys R Us.

I do love The LEGO Store.  Of course, every time I go there, I look over at ABC Toys, where The Happiest Place in the Mall used to be, and I throw up a little in my own mouth.  Like I did last night.  Ended up walking out with three LEGO guys he built himself, and a couple of Harry Potter keychains I bought for myself.

At Toys R Us, he spent about 30 minutes in front of the Bakugon and Bey Blade aisle, touching just about every toy and telling me which ones he had and which ones he needed.   I listened intently, though I can't say I learned anything.

Should be noted that for whatever reason, he likes rap music.  I dont think he fully understands the concept of "rap music", other than its style, so I was forced to fumble through my car for something that he could listen to.  Luckily, I had a copy of "The Greatest" by LL Cool J, and was able to pop in "Mama Said Knock You Out", which he rather enjoyed.  My other other CDs in the car at that moment included Norah Jones, Sara Bareilles, Sarah McLachlan, Darius Rucker and, of course, Dwight Yoakam's Greatest Hits--$5.99 at Wal-Mart, I considered it a steal. 

Songs that I did manage to find on radio that made the cut were the edited version of "California Love" by Tupac and Dr. Dre... "Rocket 2 U" by The Jets... "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears... "Big Time" by Peter Gabriel... and "The Come Back Song" by Darius Rucker.  "You Give Good Love" by Pre-crack Whitney also came on, but he informed me, "I don't like slow songs.  I like rocker songs.  And rap music."

We got about 34 seconds into "Dre Day", but I was able to flip the channel just as I heard the syllable "Muth..." and saved the day.  Sometimes SiriusXM will censor, sometimes not.  And since I listen to 90s on 9 a heckuva lot, I was bewildered that because I hear "Hip Hop Hooray", "Gangsta's Paradise" and "Baby Got Back" repeatedly, I just knew I would catch one of them for Benjamin's listening pleasure... but when I needed them to come on, I got nothing.  Thats how I knew my life was outta luck, foo.

He did ask me if I had ever heard an Eminem song... I told him I had.  He asked me if I liked any Eminem songs.  I told him not many, though there were a few that I kinda liked.  He asked me if Eminem was bad.  I told him that yes, Eminem songs are pretty bad.  He asked me how.  I told him there was a lot of language, and that Eminem really liked to use lots of F-words.  He asked me, "What's an F-word?"  I changed the subject.

I finally popped in a CD that I had gotten from The Happiest Place in the Mall, one that included Hilary Duff, Aly & AJ and some High School Musical stuff.  Figured that was safe as anything. 

The line of night came when "Hoedown Throwdown" by Miley Cyrus came on... sadly, and I'll admit this to you--I know just about every word to it (and to "G.N.O." that came on later... which I'm guessing that besides me, only Hurricane Rhett would even know that stood for "Girls Night Out", much less know it by heart)... anyway, the song came on and Benjamin said, "Really?  Is this Hannah Montana?"

I replied, "Its Miley Cyrus, yes."

Pause.

"So... why are two guys listening to Hannah Montana?"

Touche.

Summer of Blogging Day Thirteen

Two More Days To Snag Eversave.com Disney Trip Deal

Just in case you missed it, Eversave.com has been offering a fantastic deal for families planning a trip to the Disney World area. For $285, you get a five-night stay for two adults (25 years and older only) and two children at the Kissimmee, FL Country Inn and Suites. What is really special about this deal (other than the price, of course!) is that this hotel is a Walt Disney World Good Neighbor Hotel. To see more details on what the Walt Disney World Good Neighbor distinction entails, click here.

Upgrades are available for an extra fee. See all the details on Eversave.com.

This Week in Blog

Didja miss something being posted this week? 

Here's your chance to have some weekend reading during The Summer of Blogging...

Day Six... Its a recap of Days 1 to 5, so you can start from the beginning!

Day Seven... "A Review of Pirates and Mutants"... movie reviews on the newest Pirates film and X-Men First Class

Day Eight... "My Yard Goes Disney"... thoughts on the newest HGTV show, featuring people that have too much time on their hands

Day Nine... "Feelin' Funky"... A random email of encouragment from 2001, using Susan Ashton's "I Go Down" as a message for the power of prayer in poopy times

Day Ten... "The Best Show You've Never Heard"... Wondering what The Deucecast is?  You'll find out by reading this post.

Day Eleven... B@d Movie Trio... Three terrible films that I watched so you don't have too

Next week on the Summer of Blogging... The Deuce Remembered... more of the best of 2010... and OJ Simpson...

The Summer of Blogging Day Twelve

My Yard Goes Disney

Summer of Blogging, Day Eight

So, just finished dinner at the in-laws, and beside me, a refreshing glass of Cheerwine poured into a limited edition glass tumbler, with animated pictures of "The Great Muppet Caper" from McDonald's, circa 1981.

We just recorded, and are watching back, this show on HGTV... now I don't really watch HGTV, because every show on their schedule might as well be called "Kitchens and Backyards That You'll Never, Ever Be Able to Afford TV" or KABTYNEBATATV... in hindsight, I guess HGTV works better.

The show that would get me watching HGTV?

My Yard Goes Disney



Daddy Bradburn holds Little Tommy and says, "I can
tell he's laughing, because his drool is flapping back
on me!"  No, he really said that.

 Apparently, HGTV invited people from all over the country to make videos telling them why they deserved to have a Disney-themed backyard makeover.  The Bradburn family won, and they are getting an unbelievable prize...

A backyard with an 8 foot sorcerer's hat, a Tinkerbell themed teapot that serves as a playhouse, a Tinkerbell themed birdcage kids swing, flowers with kids pics in the middle and topped off with a freakin' train with 200 feet of track running from their backyard into Mawmaw's backyard next door, and of course back again.  All designed by genuine Disney Imagineers. 

They even have train cars and materials that meet the National Amusement Park safety standards... yes, they are hand cranked, but still. 

You know, Walt Disney himself had a train in his backyard, actually steam engine powered, and running through his own backyard... it wrecked, though no one was hurt.  Made me think, though, that back then, you could do that.  However, Walt trying to install a train in his yard and inviting kids from all over to come and ride it, even with his own daughters around, he'd get lots of suspicious parents about that "creepy Disney guy" and probably a few lawsuits when some punk kid wasn't paying attention and stubbed his toe... anyway...

Okay, so I would have totally played in this, even if it is a teapot.  Of
course, I would have played "V" or "GI Joe" or "Star Wars" because
let's face it... a Teapot Rebel Base is a rebel base nonetheless
(cue NBC's The More You Know jingle)

So, in this backyard, the amenties keep coming... The umbrellas match those you'd find on Main Street USA... the Sorcerer's Hat has blue, soft interlocking tiles along the floor... the teapot playhouse is carpeted... there is a flower bed in the middle of the yard yellow flowers making a Mickey, surrounded by red flowers...

Are you dadblamed kidding me?  This is why the terrorists hate us...

Leave it to The Lovely Steph Leann to be realistic... "What's going to suck is, in about three years or so, they are going to have to paint all this crap..."  That, of course, is a Blessed White People Problem...
 
It makes me wonder what happened to those completely stupid tricked out cars on Pimp My Ride... how many were stolen, and how many were repossessed or impounded for lack of insurance, because Billy could barely afford to drive a 1981 Honda Civic with a Kelly Blue Book value of around $575, so do you really think he can pay for the insurance on a revamped 81 Honda Civic with four flat screen tvs in the trunk, a juice maker in the glove box, a Bose sound system, leather seats (made with bits of real panther!) and a disco ball?  Nay nay, I say.  
 

So in other words, "My Yard Goes Disney" is ridiculous.  Over the top.  Absolutely unnecessary.  Probably priced their home out of its possible sale in their neighborhood.  Kids are completely spoiled.  And yes, when they install an Animal Kingdom playground in a yard next week, I'm totally watching.

What You Missed

Day Six...

Here's what you might have missed this week, since I posted every day...

Day 1... The 100 Coolest Things of 2010... "The Expendables", The Super Bowl and Amy Adams (whom I'm in love with), plus more of 2010

Day 2... "The War for Late Night"... book review on the great behind-the-scenes story of Conan, Jay and the 2009 struggle for the Tonight Show.

Day 3... Getting Hot in Herre... The misery of having no air conditioner upstairs...

Day 4... The "Love is Magical" Pin Event... a recap of the Disney Pin Event from February

Day 5... Cheery, Not Whiny... three things that made my day

Cheery, Not Whiny

Summer of Blogging... day #5

Three awesome things from today...

Mama Ruthless, Sis in Law Angie and the childrens went to Walt Disney World last week.  Mama Ruthless brought me back this particular pin...

She rules.

Wendi Deckermiller commented on yesterday's blog that her boo Mike Deckermiller loves Star Wars pins... enjoy this.   (also, Wendi, I do have an Empire emblem pin--but its got Mickey ears on it...)

Oh, and there's this...

Also brought back from Disney World... three of them, as a matter of fact.  I usually get one of these when I go, so I'm pretty excited to dig into this.

And finally... The Lovely Steph Leann asked me to stop by Wal-Mart tonight to pick up a few things... and along the way, I found this...

Cheerwine, my all-time favorite beverage, ever, narrowly edging out Dr. Brown's Cherry Soda.  Cheerwine makes me happy.  Cheery, not whiny, you can say.

Anyway, there's my thoughts for tonight. 

The Love Is Magical Pin Event

The main reason we wanted to go to Disney World in February was that its now a tradition... not sure how many years have to go by before something becomes a "tradition", but this has been our third year, so we'll go with that.

Our time to go usually is right around the last few days of January into the first week of February, but this time around it was a little different.  There was... a pin event.  A Disney Pin Trading Event, which we had heard about but never been too. 

Okay, first, let me tell you about Disney Pins.  They are pins, not pens, and there are by now probably close to 100,000 different pins out there... all sizes, shapes, complexities, characters, and anything Disney related you can think of.  Long story short, you can trade them while you are there.  The Lovely Steph Leann and I choose to wear lanyards with pins adorning the left and right side, but some people carry small (and big) books, put them on hats, vests and any number of personal possessions.  Some people buy them just to trade them, others buy them as collectables only and still others do a combo of both, like us.

It started in Disneyland back in the late 90s, caught on at other parks, and because of Walt Disney World's size and sheer volume of guests every year, it exploded into this huge hobby and pasttime. 

My very first pin.  Its on one of our many bulletin boards,
and will never be traded.

The Lovely Steph Leann bought her first pin on a pre-marriage vacation she took with her mama and sister and family in the fall of 2003, and I purchased mine on our honeymoon in March of 2004.  I just asked her what her first pin was, and she said, "Oh... I dunno... probably a wedding pin or something..." referring to the several Mickey and Minnie bride and groom pins that she picked up.  I, however, know my first pin.  The abominable snowman from Monster's Inc, complete with yellow sno-cones.

Since then, she and I have spent hundreds... oh, who am I kidding, thousands of dollars on Disney Pins.  When I worked at The Happiest Place in the Mall, I got a huge discount at the park, which made buying pins even cheaper, which ended up costing us more money because we spent more than we would have otherwise.

For anyone who has visited The Cabana, they can tell you about our 6+ large boards full of pins, mostly grouped by character, or theme park, or whatever.  She loves classic pins like the princesses and the dwarfs and anything else she finds "cute!", while I have a huge collection of Tinkerbell pins, Incredibles pins and Hercules pins.

So, when I found out that they were doing a pin event on February 5th, I told The Lovely Steph Leann that we were going and our trip was going to be based around that day.  Well, we thought it would be good to go to the event early in the trip, especially since we had some friends coming down later that week, so we arrived on February 3rd (told in this post), and went to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios on Friday, the 4th (told in this post).

Saturday morning, we got our pins together, me in my "pin messenger bag" and she in her "pin backpack".  We could tell that there were a lot of other people there for the event because guests were arriving with suitcases and big boxes and crates literally rolled in on hand trucks and such.  She and I carried with us maybe 50, 75 pins each, these people had 100s of pins with them.

When the gates opened at 9a, I dashed on over and got Soarin' fast passes while The Lovely Steph Leann walked over to the old Wonders of Life Pavilion to get in line, which was good because we ended up being about 10th in line to get in, and the line got rather long behind us as 10am approached.

 

The theme to the event, featuring Duffy the Disney Bear, who I think is
kind of stupid.


 We go in, finally, handing over our passes--which, by the way, I feel like should more than an email confirmation... I mean, we paid like, $50 each to do this event, and we got a sheet of paper that essentiall said "Let 'em in."  Just like when you buy Annual Passes, I feel like they should be harder plastic, making it harder to mess them up, instead of the paper cards we got.  They dispatch four thousand plastic cards per day for room keys, can they not do something for people who pay $50 for tickets, or $495 for an annual pass?  Just sayin.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, we go in, and get in line immediately for our pre-purchased pins.  There were pins and pin sets you had to order ahead of time to ensure you got them, which we did, and we picked them up right off the bat. 

You know how you are planning for something, but because you don't know alot about it, you kind of have to feel your way around it and actually experience it to "get it"?  That was this event for us... we didn't know what to expect, so when we walked around the corner and saw the rows and rows of empty tables, we weren't sure exactly how to approach it.



Pin traders in action

 We did find a spot to put our stuff down, but again, we only brought a limited number of pins with us, so we weren't prepared to spread out and be real traders.   When you trade with a Cast Member, they have to take whatever you give them as long as the pin you are handing over is one they don't have, or its obviously a pin that isn't from Disney.  With these pin traders, these are pins that are from their own personal collections... so they aren't obliged to take anything you offer. 

There were sourpusses for sure, people that you try to talk to and they wanted to take advantage of you, asking for your best pins for something that you would be able to find elsewhere... and there were nice people to, people who had books of pins that were just their extras, and as long as they didnt have a bunch of the pin you would try to trade them, they were more than happy to help you finish a set.

Pin traders were only part of it, though.  As part of your ticket package, you got four coupons for pin boards, and the pin wheel. 

In the back of the room, they had several cute backgrounds set up with different Disney scenes, including one where several characters were coming out of a mine in a car.



The Tunnel of Love display.  Mickey and Minnie were in a nearby set up.

  

The Mine of Love, as its called.  This is right near one of the Pin Board lines


There were actually six lines to choose from, and five were just alike, so really it was a crapshoot.  Here's how this works... you get in line, and when you get up to the front, you get to trade two pins off of this big board sitting on an easel.  But the board is facing the other way, so you don't know what it looks like until you get up there... and they trade it out every 20 minutes or so, so its being refreshed with new pins.  The trick is trying to be someone who gets there right after they refresh it, because if you get there right before they bring a new board out, its usually pretty picked over.  Why not wait and take your time?  Because you only get 60 seconds behind the board to choose.

The sixth, though, was something a little different.  It was a pin wheel... we got in this line first, and because we lined up before the pin boards opened up, we were pretty quick to the front. 


Me, making the hard decisions


Its a wheel with 8 covered compartments.  You get there and stand on the X, and spin the wheel.  Whatever compartment comes to you when it stops, the panel opens and you choose out of those pins.  From what I remember, there wasn't much to choose from when I was at the wheel, but I think The Lovely Steph Leann found something cool, though she spun to a different section.

After the wheel, we got in the longer line for another board, this time a regular board. 




Time is ticking away, tick tick ticking away, as The Lovely Steph Leann tries
to choose wisely

This is what took much longer.  We decided to divide into two lines the second time around, and really, it didn't make much difference.   It took both of us forever to get to the front of each line we were in, so after that, we just stuck together. 


This is early in the pin board activity time... it got much busier





I hope you don't imagine all pin traders to look like big'un there in the blue... He is at the front of a long line, about to trade on the board--he should be more excited!  The Lovely Steph Leann, who is third in this line, is ready to sit down.


After the pin wheel and separating for a line, we just stayed together in the other two lines we went into... this part took up most of our afternoon, which is okay because it did start to rain. 

My only complaint was really that there wasn't a food place offered in the pavilion.  Being the old Wonders of Life, they had, even visible, a set up where they could serve food--but only offered desserts. 

For $50, you would think that they would give you a boxed lunch, but that's wrong... but I'd have been willing to pay Disney prices ($9 for a burger and fries) for lunch if it was offered in the buidling.  Instead, I had to leave the pavilion, walk all the way down to The Electric Umbrella, stand in line, get lunch and drinks, then walk all the way back... for those of you who are a little sketchy on what I'm talking about, imagine starting at Test Track--or behind it--then walking halfway to Soarin', getting food, then hurrying back.  No bueno.

Later, though, they did a great dessert buffet.

Don't mistake me.. the dessert was great, but it wasn't lunch

All in all, it was a lot of fun, something that I hope we can do again.  Like I said, some things have to be experienced to truly know what to do next time, and this was a perfect example.  Next time, we'll take more pins with us.  Next time, we'll know how to do the boards.  Next time, we'll be aware of the special pins available for purchase that we didnt even see...

Yeah, forgot that part.  So, off to the side of the big room they had a table set up, selling "mystery pins", or pins in a solid colored pouch for purchase.  There were two sets of pins, each with at least 12 pins in the set, and each set had a companion set that had a "Chaser" or a variation of that pin... hope that made sense.  Anyway, by the time we found out that they were for sale, most of the pins had sold out. 

I guess that is a good thing, though, because we also found out that each mystery pin was $15.95, and I can only imagine how many we would have purchased... because The Lovely Steph Leann found them to be so cute.  And when she thinks its cute, we usually end up going home with those pins.

About to enjoy a big plate of seafood and steak, surrounded by a
bajillion gallon tank (on my right, anyway)

We left the pin event in mid-evening, maybe 6ish, finally rode Soarin' and ended up eating dinner at The Coral Reef Restaurant, which was awesome. 

There is another pin event coming in September, though I'm not sure we are going to it... I would love it, because its called "The Florida Project", and its all about the 40 anniversary of Walt Disney World--but unfortunately, bills have to get paid.  And our AC went out--though it was an easy fix, it makes us remember that we need to have a little more money for emergencies, not pins.

All in all, a great first weekend to our trip, a trip that had an Africa Trek (Sunday), a lunch with an Imagineer (Monday), Melanie (Tuesday), Cirque de Soleil (Wednesday), Harry Potter (Friday) and a ride around Epcot on a Segway (Saturday). 

I'm glad this is the summer of blogging (day four!) because it might take me that long to get to all of it... and then, there's Disneyland to discuss! 

Keep reading!!!