A Day of Magic at The Walt Disney Family Museum

19 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Animation, Disney, Disneyland, Walt Disney

Tags

Diane Disney Miller, Elizabeth Fais, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Family Museum

I admit it. I’m an animation geek. And I’m particularly geeky when it comes to Walt Disney feature-length animated films that were produced when Walt Disney was alive. So you can understand why I was shocked to hear that some young people today think “Walt Disney” is a made up brand name. Like Captain Crunch, or something.

Diane Disney Miller, the daughter of Walt and Lillian Disney, was shocked too. So much so, she and her family went to an enormous effort (and a heck of a lot of expense) to preserve the history and imagination of her father’s legacy by founding The Walt Disney Family Museum.

It took seven years of planning, designing, and construction before the museum opened in San Francisco’s Presidio on October 1, 2009. [photo by moi]

The Walt Disney Family Museum

WARNING! This is no ordinary museum. Be prepared to be amazed! [WDFM logo, Wikipedia]

The moment you step inside the first interactive gallery, you are walking in Walt’s footsteps, with his voice narrating his story. The journey starts with Walt’s ancestors immigrating to America, and shows you their humble beginnings on a farm in Missouri. From there you join Walt’s adventures selling papers, working on a train, enlisting in the army as an ambulance driver, cartooning, and creating his first animated films.

Not all of his early endeavors paid off. After a bankruptcy and losing the rights to his first animated character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt was on a train when he got the idea for Mickey Mouse. When you step into the elevator to go up the second floor of the museum, you step onto that train car with Walt, as he tells you the story.

When you get off the car, you’re in Hollywood!

As you walk through the galleries, you witness the development of a new animated art form, and the plethora of products and technologies that followed. The men who worked with Walt share their stories at the touch of a finger, on interactive consoles throughout the galleries. It’s amazing that one man could assemble such talented teams — artists and engineers — and inspire their genius to create all that they did.

I could ramble on and on about the live-action films, nature documentaries, audio animatronics, and other technologies Walt Disney inspired. And don’t even get me started on Disneyland. But that would be boring. It’s much more fun if you sneak a peek at the Interactive Galleries on the Walt Disney Family Museum website! And while you’re over there, check out the Special Exhibitions, Classes and Workshops, and Special Programs for the whole family.

I was having a cup of coffee in the museum cafe after my last visit, when I overheard a teenager at the next table talking on her cell phone…

I just walked through Walt Disney’s life, and it was so cool!

That simple statement — made by someone who wasn’t alive during Walt Disney’s lifetime — proves the timelessness of Disney magic. Forty-seven years after his death, Walt is still creating magic … for young and old alike.

In the following video Diane Disney Miller announces the museum’s opening on October 1, 2009.

Preview of the Walt Disney Family Museum on CBS

If you’re planning on visiting the museum, be sure to check the Walt Disney Family Museum web site for Hours, Location, and Directions. There’s ample parking directly across from the museum too!

WDFM Calendar of Events
The museum is closed EVERY Tuesday,
New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.

5th YAppiest Giveaway! “First Day on Earth” by Cecil Castellucci

15 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Aliens, Book Reviews, YA, YAppiest, Young Adult

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Aliens, Book Review, Cecil Castellucci, Elizabeth Fais, First Day on Earth, YA, YAppiest Day on Earth, YAppiest Giveaway, Young Adult

17 YA AUTHORS + DISNEYLAND = THE YAPPIEST DAY ON EARTH!

If you couldn’t make The YAppiest Day on Earth, never fear! The YAppiness keeps rolling with epic read giveaways by each of the 17 authors.

This is the 5th YAppiest Giveaway! For a chance to win, see the “Here’s How” rules. For a complete list of upcoming giveaways, go here.

“First Day on Earth” by Cecil Castellucci

Mal has a lot of reasons to be angry. His father abandoned him when he was eight, his mother is drunk and probably crazy too, and the cool kids at his high school are self-centered idiots who always make fun of him. All but one, that is. Posey.

In spite of all he’s been through, Mal loves life. That’s why Posey’s mother–the vet at the animal shelter where Mal brings the stray dogs, cats, and rabbits that he rescues–is so kind to Mal. It’s why Posey likes him too.

Mal can use all the kindness he can get.

He’s learned to cope with being the parent to his dysfunctional mother. Just barely. He feels trapped and wants nothing more than to escape. Anywhere. He secretly hopes the aliens who abducted him when he was eight, will come back and take him with them. Permanently this time.

Mal remembers the abduction on the 4th of July, shortly after his father bailed on him and his mother. Though it didn’t take long for him to figure out that he shouldn’t talk about that experience to anyone. So many things about the three days he was missing can’t be explained any other way. But the doctors insisted he had a psychotic break, caused by the trauma of his father leaving. Mal’s memories of those three days are fragmented and fuzzy. So much so, that he begins to wonder if he really was abducted.

That is, until he meets Hooper in a 12-Step abductees meeting, and Hooper admits to being an alien. Mal has his doubts about that, until Hooper asks Mal to help him to catch his only chance at a ride back home.

A Must-Read for Anyone Who’s Ever Felt Alone

This small book, and seemingly simple story, floored me with the power of its depth. The heart of the story isn’t the aliens, or even whether they’re real or not. This is a human story, a metaphor for the isolation is intrinsic in the human experience. The characters all suffer from varying degrees of isolation. What’s beautiful is how they help each other to heal through their connection and interactions.

At one time or another most of us have all felt alone, on the outside of a group, a misfit, misunderstood, or outright invisible. To feel pain is human. What we choose to do with it, reveals our humanity. And in this, Mal shines as an example for us all.

Kirkus Reviews sums this book up in one elegant sentence:

A simple, tender work that speaks to the alien in all of us.

WANT TO WIN A FREE COPY OF THIS Remarkable BOOK?

Here’s how…

NOTE: The FREE giveaway of a copy of this book is open to residents of the United States and Canada only, due to shipping costs. My sincere apologies.

Leave a comment on this blog by midnight, June 21st (1 entry).
Tweet about this giveaway, including #yappiest in your tweet (1 entry).

I’ll tally the entries and choose a winner at random, then announce it on this blog on Sunday June 23rd. Good luck!

Stay tuned for more YAppiests Giveaways!

Bob the Busking Cat ~ How He Saved a Life and Inspired a Bestseller

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Cats, Inspiration

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

A Street Cat Named Bob, Busking Cat, Compassion, Elizabeth Fais, Inspiration, James Bowen

Some cats have nine lives. Others are happy with one that’s larger than life. Like, Bob, an extraordinary street cat…

Bob “the busking cat” may be small in size, but he’s huge on heart. This orange tabby single-pawedly pulled a man out of a destructive downward spiral, then hooked a literary agent’s eye to seal a bestselling book deal.

Don’t take my word for it. Watch the video … if only to see Bob give his person a high-five.

The Busking Cat that Saved a Life

Bob’s Bestselling Book, in 25 Languages!

A Street Cat Named Bob, And How He Saved My Life is due to be released in the United States in late July 2013.

Here’s the description from Amazon:

James is a street musician struggling to make ends meet. Bob is a stray cat looking for somewhere warm to sleep.

When James and Bob meet, they forge a never-to-be-forgotten friendship that has been charming readers from Thailand to Turkey.

I’ve pre-ordered my copy, but until it’s released in the United States (later this month), I have to rely on input from the following credible reviewers…

The Huffington Post…

A simple, sweet and ridiculously heartwarming story.

And The Guardian (UK)…

A book with the strong ingredients that made Marley and Me and Dewey big successes…A warm and poignant memoir.

The Times (UK)…

Move over, Marley. A stray cat from north London could be heading for the lap of luxury as the cinema’s next box office pet sensation.

And The Independent (UK)…

A Street Cat Named Bob has sold over 350,000 copies in the UK, and has been published in 25 languages.

Go Bob! Can you teach my cats your secret?

4th YAppiest Giveaway WINNERS!! for “Divine Intervention”

09 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Books, Giveaway, YAppiest, Young Adult

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Tags

Elizabeth Fais, Giveaways, guardian angels, Martha Brockenbrough, YA, YAppiest Day on Earth, YAppiest Giveaway, Young Adult

17 YA AUTHORS + DISNEYLAND = THE YAPPIEST DAY ON EARTH!

The 4th YAppiest Giveaway is for Divine Intervention, by Martha Brockenbrough. This book was so divine that it deserved two (count them, 2) winners! Each will receive a FREE copy of this amazing book!

And the Winners Are…

… Drum roll please …

~oOo~

Cheryl Higashi

Kim Griffin

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

*** Tosses obscene amounts of confetti! ***

~oOo~

Coming Up Next!

The 5th YAppiest Giveaway! for First Day on Earth, by Cecile Castellucci is just around the corner, so…

Stay Tuned!

For a complete list of YAppiest Giveaways, go here.

Elephants that Play Beethoven

03 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Elephants, Music

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Dave Soldier, Elephants, Elizabeth Fais, Jami Sieber, Lampang, Music, mystical power of music, National Elephant Institute, Richard Lair, Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary, Thai Elephant Orchestra, Thailand

No, this is not a joke. There is actually an orchestra in Northern Thailand near Lampang that is made up of sixteen Asian elephants who have three music CDs under their trunks. Their first CD is predominantly improvisations, but on the second CD they play Beethoven and Hank Williams.

Of course, the elephants had a little help in the production department. Elephant conservationist Richard Lair and of the National Elephant Institute (formerly the Thai Elephant Conservation Center) and the American musical artist and neuroscientist Dave Soldier built their instruments and worked with them through every note. You can watch a documentary here.

I wasn’t surprised when I first heard about the Thai Elephant Orchestra. After all, I’d attended a full-contact elephant handling school at Riddle’s Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary in Arkansas, where I learned first-hand just how scary-smart elephants can be. But I certainly was intrigued that these elephants enjoyed playing music. Their performances were more than animals trained to do tricks. Watch the following video clip and see for yourself.

Thai Elephant Orchestra Takes the Stage

My direct experience working with elephants (though brief) proved to me that elephants are as aware as we are. Combine that with an intelligence equal to that of a five year-old human child, and you can begin to comprehend the depth of feeling and the extent of their creative potential.

I am not embarrassed to admit that I was amazed (and delighted) by the moving account of world-renowned cellist, Jami Sieber, playing music with the Thai Elephant Orchestra. A while back I wrote a post on the mystical power of music. The following video proves that music is a universal language. It spans species, as well as the entire human race.

Music ~ The Language that Spans Species

Have you known an animal that loves music?

4th YAppiest Giveaway! “Divine Intervention” by Martha Brockenbrough

31 Friday May 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Book Reviews, YA, YAppiest, Young Adult

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

after-life, angels, Book Review, Divine Intervention, Elizabeth Fais, guardian angels, Martha Brockenbrough, YA, YAppiest Day on Earth, YAppiest Giveaway, Young Adult

17 YA AUTHORS + DISNEYLAND = THE YAPPIEST DAY ON EARTH!

If you couldn’t make The YAppiest Day on Earth, never fear! The YAppiness keeps rolling with giveaways of epic reads by each of the 17 authors.

This is the 4th YAppiest Giveaway! See the “Here’s How” rules for a chance to win. For a complete list of upcoming giveaways, go here.

“Divine Intervention” by Martha Brockenbrough

There is a great legend of the guardian angel who traveled across time and space for the human girl he loved, slaying those who would threaten her with a gleaming sword made of heavenly light.

This is not that story.

Jerome Hancock is a total screw up as Heidi Devine’s guardian angel. I take that back. He’s not even an angel, because he was such a loser when he was alive. The arrow stuck in his head is proof of that. Technically Jerome’s in the Soul Rehabilitation Program for Nefarious Teens (deceased, of course), where he’s broken pretty much all the rules there too. He actually threw away his Guardian Angel’s Handbook: Soul Rehab Edition without bothering to read it. Messing up his after-life is one thing, but messing with Heidi’s in another matter.

Heidi is about as opposite to Jerome as two souls can be. She’s a high school junior with dreams of becoming an artist, but lacks the self-confidence to make her dream come true, partially because of Jerome. You see, as long as Heidi can remember there’s been a weird voice in her head. Jerome. He spews snarky comments at the most inappropriate moments, or sings Lynyrd Skynyrd songs. By the time Heidi reaches high school, she’s convinced she’s nuts. And the whole thinking you’re crazy thing? Yeah, not so great for the self-esteem.

These fractured souls blunder along, assuming they have all the time in the universe to sort things out. And maybe they would. Sort things out, that is. Except the unthinkable happens…

Heidi dies in a freak accident, thanks to Jerome’s slackitude. And what’s worse than costing Heidi her life, is that Jerome’s incompetence kicks Heidi’s soul on the fast-track to being lost forever … while ensuring his ticket to the place-that-shall-not-be-named.

Unless … Jerome can angel-up and set things right … for once in his after-life.

Humor, Heart, & a Lot of Soul = 1 Heavenly Read!

This story shines with tongue-in-cheek celestial wit and wisdom. But don’t let that fool you. The characters’ lives and after-lives are grounded in everything that makes us human. The predicaments Heidi and Jerome face stem from their personal weaknesses, and they must see through their character flaws to figure out what they did wrong (or didn’t do at all). Otherwise, there’s not a chance in heaven (or hell) at preventing Heidi’s soul from being lost forever.

To keep this spoiler-free, that’s all I can share with you. Except maybe for my top five faves…

The earthiness of Jerome’s celestial existence is quirky and fun. He has to use the Service Entrance — the back of a mall — to get in to heaven, because only people who know what they’re doing go in the front door (of the mall). Jerome explained, “Heaven’s sort of trick. The entrance is different for everyone.” His heaven is the mall!
The celestial rules in the Guardian Angel’s Handbook: Soul Rehab Edition are enchanting. As is Jerome’s creative approach to swearing. He gets a sizeable celestial brain zap every time he swears, so he uses substitutes for the original four-letter words. No chevy!
The problems and feelings Heidi and Jerome wrestle with are poignantly real, for teenagers and anyone who remembers anything about what it was like to be a teenager. I could totally relate to their internal challenges and was rooting for them all the way.
The relationships between the characters and their best friends and families. Heidi’s family dog, Jiminy, was a particular favorite of mine, because he showed us that no soul is too small to make a big difference.
The edge-of-your-seat suspense, especially in the final chapters when Heidi and Jerome are racing the clock (literally) towards absolution and salvation. How this unfolds is remarkable, with results that are sublimely satisfying and well-earned.

Want to win a FREE copy of this amazing book?