Club Josh Daily Update

Tomorrow night, I will be a guest at Charo's house in Beverly Hills. What a long strange trip it has been from my Cuchi-Cuchi Hawaiian Style party in 1996 to this point. I am excited and I don't know what to expect, but Tiffany will be accompanying me and I will have my camera so look for some photos in the next few days.

Work has been going well - I am really happy with what I am doing, and I look forward to an exciting summer! It is hard to believe that it has been almost a year since we opened the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at the park. The other night, I found a one-year anniversary pin which will go well with all the other collectibles that I have gathered from the attraction. I really need to get organized and start hanging stuff up around my apartment. It seems whenever I want to do that it is near the time of year that my lease is up, and I think, this is going to be the year I am going to move, and I never do it. Five years later, I still do not have much up on the walls. All I know is that when I actually do move, one of my first objectives will be to decorate the halls.

Another exciting thing is that I have a second website to work on, so its nice to get back into some web work. I am a bit rusty when it comes to web site work, bit it is good to shake the rust off and get some work done. It is a bit challenging to balance my time since I am working long hours, but thank goodness I took the FOCUS class a few months ago!

I did see Prince Caspian last week (I know two movies in a week!). I was a bit let down - not that I thought it was a bad movie, but I think the LWATW was just a better story. It will be interesting to see how the movies will evolve since some of the major characters don't show up in all the movies. It's very different than most movie sequels and I feel it will have an impact on how well they do.

Toy Story Midway Mania opens in two weeks at Disney's California Adventure. I had mixed feelings about it when I heard what it was going to be, but I will be the first to admit it is a really fun ride with a lot of repeatability - something that modern attractions need in order to be a break out hit. If you get a chance, head on down to the resort when it opens June 17 - you will have a blast! (Of course I am still partial to Buzz Lightyear - better game play and the free photos! Sorry, I am totally biased!)

Posted by Josh at 9:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past week I have made it through a few DVDs in between training shifts.

First up: Meet the Robinsons
I missed this Disney CGI movie when it came out last year. It was the first time since Chicken Little I missed one in the theaters (heck I even saw Home on the Range in theaters). Maybe its something against CGI. At any rate, I was pleasantly surprised by the movie and it was much better than I expected. Perhaps it is the age-old axiom of low expectations=better movie experience. I recommend you check it out.

Second Up: Paprika
This is a Japanese anime movie that Tara and Brian saw last year and Daniel had been wanting to see for awhile. He finally found it on DVD and we sat down and watched it. Directed by Satoshi Kon from a story by Yasutaka Tsutsui, it is a story of a group of scientists who have invented a device that records your dreams onto a laptop. It reminds me of Until the End of the World with better reception on the laptop. It was truly entertaining and despite being a bit difficult to follow at times, it is well worth the investment. Another recommendation to check out!

Third but not last: Oxygene Live in your Living Room
It is not often that Amazon delivers to me a Jean Michel Jarre video, so naturally I was impatiently roaming the halls at work waiting to get this in the mail. Jarre performs his classic 1977 album "Oxygene" in real time (with some filler here and there). What is really amazing is that he does it with the help of three other musicians and does it on lold 1970s era synthesizers. I was enthralled for the entire 60 minute concert.

Those of you lucky enough to be in Europe, he is performing the same concert live at various venues. His concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London sold out in 2 hours (Ok so he is not Hannah Montana, but that is fast for Jarre). The disc also comes with a 3D version of the concert which I was not able to get to work. I am not sure if it is the video or my eyes or my equipment, but it just looked all misaligned. Many users of the Jarre newsgroup have indicated it is difficult to get it to work. One day, perhaps I will have a big enough room to make it work. As a bonus there is a re-recording of Oxygene (my 3rd such recording) to listen to in the car. For you Jarre fans out there what are you waiting for? Go get it!

Posted by Josh at 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well I am back from a bit of a hiatus!

I went ahead and updated my photos from my two weekend getaways - Solvang and San Francisco. The trip to Solvang includes a stop over at the Kwik-E-Mart in Burbank. I thought it was rather cleverly done, despite the fact the Buzz Cola and the donuts were a little nasty tasting.

Speaking of Simpsons, I attempted to break out of my non-movie watching slump and went last night to the movies to see The Simpsons Movie. We arrived about 15 minutes early and after buying tickets and stopping at the bathroom, we ended up in the theater 10 minutes before it started. We were surprised to find the movie starting already. We shrugged it off and settled in to try and enjoy the movie. 10 minutes into the movie (or the real start time) it just stopped. I theorize that they discovered it was already running and were trying to figure out how to stop and re-wind. Unfortunately. after 45 minutes of delays and dealing with the hordes of obnoxious kids and teens in the theater, they finally told us that they were going to give us our money back.

Me and Daniel had been iffy about going to the Block at Orange to see movies lately since the patrons seem prone to interrupt movies and the quality of the facility is on the decline. After this incident (despite being comped the movie and given a re-ad for another movie), it will be a long time before we go back here. There are plenty of newer and nicer facilities out there.

One last photo note, I finally updated the Gorn page with the photos that I have taken in the last 8 months. It has been awhile and I was a little rusty getting them up, but hopefully I will get more into the groove.

Posted by Josh at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love the movie Inland Empire and recently discovered the Italian Trailer which some (including me) think is better than the original. You decide:

Italian:

American:

Posted by Josh at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It has been a rough few weeks since my return from Mobile and Mark's wedding. First out of the gate, the week of Thanksgiving my eye problem from last year re-surfaced. Nothing major, just another stye on the same eyelid as last year and it started almost the same day. Luckily, I had some of the ointment from last time around and it was still good so it went away fairly quickly. Unfortunately, I caught a bit of a bug - probably from the airplane despite my Emergen-C and Echinacea regimen. So for the last two weeks I have been balancing work with sickness and just a general malaise.

Some good highlights:
- I finally replaced watch bands and batteries for my backwards Goofy and Mickey Mouse date watches after my Timex indiglo watch from Mom finally had the face plate fall off. I have no idea when it happened, but Paul at work told me that he had noticed it for a few days before I realized it and pointed it out to him. I went a few weeks watchless, but now I feel whole again.

- I went and saw Casino Royale with Daniel. I thought it was pretty good, but hope that this "reboot" of the Bond franchise does not jettison all of the classic Bond elements (esp. the cool gadgets) that seemed to be missing from this story. It did feel a lot like Dr. No and From Russia With Love and I enjoyed the basic feel. Daniel Craig did a great job, but one movie is not enough to start the "Is he better than Sean or Roger" debate - we will see if he lasts a few movies.

- I am trying to enjoy the Shatnerrific "Show Me the Money" on ABC. I think that if there were a few trims here and there and the pace was speeded up a tad, it would be a blockbuster. Unfortunately, it is difficult to stay interested past 30 minutes so I do not think it will last a long time.

- This past week I had a chance to meet the new President of the Disneyland Resort Ed Grier twice. The first time was at the family holiday party on Monday and the second time was at a Cast Member Forum I was picked out to attend. He was much more personable than I expected and since I am working on the Nemo Project, I think I will probably see him again and hopefully he have a positive remembrance of me. Who knows where you can go if you network with the right people.

- As I posted earlier, I also met Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company at the Family Christmas Party. Honestly, I was thrilled beyond all believe that I actually got to chat for a quick minute and get a photo. It was way better than being in the foreground of a photo with Michael Eisner and never actually talking to him. I like what Bob has done for the company and the direction we are going, and I hope his success continues. And yes, I forgive him for canceling "Twin Peaks" back in 1991.

- Finally, work has been going well. After months of waiting, Test and Adjust is just around the corner and I am getting busier and busier. Hopefully I got my sickness out of the way and I can go head on into working on the project. Every day I am amazed at the progress being made and I really think we are building something special. All the attractions I have worked on have been special (yes even Pooh), but this one has a little something extra. Maybe because of the complexity or maybe its the passion of the workers. Who knows but I can't wait for it to open and everyone gets to see it.

That's about it for now!

Posted by Josh at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Gorn photos from my recent trip to New England can be found here.

My last day in Boston I had visions of going to Harvard or down to Boston Common again to see the outside of the Cheers Bar, but alas, I decided instead to sleep in and be a bump on a log. It actually turned out to be a good thing since it helped keep my system on West Coast time.

The flight back was OK, but again I vowed never to fly a 737 cross country. It is hilarious when people have to pass in the dinky aisles. I should have watched the movie, but I was too busy with the Gorn photos to pay any attention.

I am glad that I have Thursday and Friday off again as my normal days off. It will give me a chance to catch up on everything around the house.

One of the things that Nathan finally convinced me to do was sign up for a free-trial of Netflix. Honestly, I should have tried it years ago, but I really don't rent a lot of movies. Recently, my movie-going has really slowed down and there have been a lot of movies that I have wanted to see but haven't. I figure if I keep it, I will need to watch 6 movies a month for it to pay for itself. Depending on how I get through the movies I selected, I might go down to 2 movies at a time instead of the three.

Posted by Josh at 1:07 PM | Permalink

Just yesterday, I had read an article about Johnny Carson writing jokes for Letterman. I was happy, hoping that maybe, just maybe he might make another Cameo on the show soon. Then today, the other shoe dropped as it was announced that he had passed away. I always liked The Tonight Show when he hosted it. Despite who was on the show, I always tried to catch the monologue and was always po'ed when it was another repeat cuz he was on vacation (then again that was better than suffering through a guest host). No one has ever come close to recreating the same sense of atmosphere on their show. Letterman never tried, and kudos to him for sticking to his style. The others who emulated never got it because they lacked the same charisma and charm that he had.

The Mini Mac went on sale yesterday, and for the first time since being in Cartography class at UCD, I want a Mac. I know Andy made the switch awhile ago. I still think I would rather have a new Windows based laptop, but the software titles that Apple has produced are really awesome. Now if I can get a copy of Dreamweaver for the Mac, the decision becomes even more difficult.

I watched A View to a Kill the other night. I figured since I had picked it up last weekend and I hadn't seen it in forever, it was a good way to kill some time. I was surprised how much I liked it, despite Roger Moore's advanced age. Next up Ring 0: Birthday - no where as creepy as the first two. Call me crazy, but I think Ring 2 permanently scarred me, and this one was enjoyable, but still a bit of a let down. Finally, I picked up the 40th anniversary edition of Mary Poppins. The film has never looked better. In my other DVD, there was a glaring difference between the "effects shots" and the regular ones. In this DVD, they are closely matched, and unless you are looking for it, you can't really tell.

For some reason, I love Mary Poppins more and more as the years progress. I think it is because it was Walt's crowning achievement, and (as they explain on the DVD) was the result of Walt's ability to get the best from all those around him. I think it also inspires me to give my best when I am at work. Just to make him proud.

Posted by Josh at 6:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While I was watching my new Aladdin DVD Bonus features, I noticed that one star was given the least amount of coverage - Brad Kane. He was the singing voice of Aladdin and I thought he should have been given at least as much time as Lea Salonga (the singing voice of Jasmine). Lea didn't get much time either, but at least they got her opinions on the whole thing. They did show Brad and Lea singing "A Whole New World" at a recording session, but alas no interview.

A quick web search hasn't really turned up anything. Some items of note: Brad goes by the name of Caleb and performs in a band called "The Fates". He apparently has composed music for Freddy vs. Jason and Devil's Pond. He still provides the singing voice of Aladdin.

So Brad if you are out there drop me a line and let me know what's up.

Posted by Josh at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Been a slow week. But here are some tidbits:

Amazing Race is back! Version 5 is off and running in Uruguay. So far they have a good group of teams, although I don't think it is fair to have a former Big Brother contestant on the show - it eats up spaces for the rest of us to try to get.

Watched Johnny English on DVD the other night. It was funny in spots and was a pleasant diversion for a few hours. It is sort of how I imagine what would happen if I were a secret agent.

Had a great time with Tiffany and Daniel on Saturday night - so much so we are going again soon.

Dome to Dome Twice is almost done with the editing phase, just need some titles and the menu design and its set to go - I don't think I'll have a problem hitting the early August release date.

I hope things stay mundane for a bit, it is nice not to have much to fret over.

Oh - here is something to ponder (and hopefully comment on): What would you spend $700 on if you didn't need it for bills/rent/crack or any other responsible thing. DVDs? Speakers? Digital Camcorder? Travel? The mind boggles..

Posted by Josh at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It may seem that the only thing I have been doing lately is watching DVDs and posting movie reviews, but um, actually that is pretty much what I have been doing.

If you missed any over the weekend here are some links: (Dark Water, A Day Without a Mexican, Battle Royale)

I managed to also pick up Season One of Survivor on DVD and have been watching some of it with Daniel. It is great re-visiting the original crew. It has been almost four years, so it was nice to refresh my mind about the one that started it all. You can tell the production values were way more primitive than in the recently finished All Stars installment. You can also tell just how superior the casting was in this version than say Africa, Thailand, or any of the other ones. To be fair though, I did think Pearl Islands was one of the better ones and hopefully Vanuatu will prove to be another winner when it premieres in September.

Now its just a few short weeks until the July 6 premiere of the Amazing Race 5. I can't wait!! Other than that, I took Daniel out for his birthday on Friday. The rest of the gang will get together on Wednesday to take him out to Red Lobster. Sunday, Tiffany and Alex came with me to Jason's BBQ in Long Beach. We had a great time - despite the fact we showed up just before everyone started to head out. Luckily there was some of Jason's handiwork left over in the form of Korean BBQ Ribs and Corn. I was assured that no Koreans were harmed in the making of the ribs.

We also managed to watch the first half of Mean Girls on DVD. But Josh you say, "Isn't that still out in the theaters?". Yes it is. It appeared to be a bootleg from a French speaking country. The odd thing was that there were no subtitles, and the credits were in French. It was kind of jittery, but no worse than some old VHS tapes I have. The story goes that you can find all the latest releases on the streets of LA for $5. No wonder the MPAA is scared.

I'm too much of a film snob to get a movie in this condition though. I totally am willing to wait and spend around $20 for a good studio endorsed version. That being said, I think that charging over $60 for a whole season of a show is robbery. Why are things like West Wing and 24 only $50 a season, but Star Trek is $100 a season and Battlestar Galactica $80? Makes no sense. I think they are just trying to milk the faithful. I guarantee that if the Trek seasons were $60 a pop, they would be sold out. I know I would have bought them all.

Posted by Josh at 6:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So our team competed in the annual Minnie's Moonlight Madness through Disneyland. We stumbled out of the gate due to some really poor acoustics in the Fantasyland Theater. I can't imagine that the Snow White musical sounds very good at all. A good time was had by all - especially once we broke down and got Alex his cupcakes. we ended up 163 - a steep drop from last year, but we chalk it up to our more relaxed attitude this year. We got whipped by Daniel's brother who finished 43rd, but I bet we had more fun.

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered Dark Water - the Japanese film by the director of Ringu - Hideo Nakata. The eBay auction said that the DVD was Region Free and from Hong Kong. Well two weeks later, I am the proud owner of a Region 3 (Japan and Asia) version of the film. It was only $10, but not being one to waste money, I scoured the internet for some file utilities to help me out. Sure enough, I found some programs that can make backup copies of your DVDs (something I am concerned about with esp. some of my out of print and hard to find movies). Add to that the Nero program to burn DVDs, I now have a Region Free backup of my DVD.

Daniel and I have been itching to watch it ever since we sat through the first Ring movie and the sequel last year. We popped the movie in to the player and it seems to be work. We didn't watch the whole thing yet, we are gonna wait for the pizza and the darkness of night in order to get real scared. I'll post a review later.

Posted by Josh at 5:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had some extra time on my hands the last day or so and I decided to put into the DVD player some discs I have been wanting to watch for awhile. First up: Star Trek Nemesis. I still agree with my review from when I saw it in the theaters, but at least the DVD makes the film look all nice and shiny. The special features were OK, but nothing on the level of the Trek 1-6 stuff. I did notice how easily those DVD menus look to make, but from my one time trying to master them for my Covina Chaos movie, I know they can be hard. I just wish I was that good at graphics.

The other movie I dropped into the player was Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This time out, I listened to the Michael Palin, Eric Idle, and John Cleese commentaries. After all these years, this thing still cracks me up in all the right places and listening to the Pythons made it even more so. I was a bit put off that each person was obviously recorded separate from each other, but the editors blended it together nicely. Palin gets most of the time - I wanted to hear more from Eric Idle. Cleese comes off as a bit pompous, but it is hard to tell if it is an act or if that really is him. I had watched the extras before, but I still enjoy seeing the Japanese translation version of the French Soldier taunting the Knights of the Round Table.

Posted by Josh at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I tried really hard to get more updates onto the site, but I have been busy with crazy schedules at work. I did want to fire off a quick update on some movies and TV shows.

Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me: An oldie, but goodie. Dunno why I have been in a Peaks mood lately, but I did manage to get Daniel to sit down with me and watch the DVD of FWWM. Man, I love this movie. I know Daniel was lost during most of it (He's only ever seen the pilot), but I enjoyed seeing it over and over. It has gotten to the point where I can recite lines from it. Sad, oh so Sad. I wish season 2 of the series was on DVD so I can sit down and have a marathon that I have been wanting for a long time.

Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country: Another Trek movie has made it onto DVD with all sorts of expanded features. Save for the disc art error on disc 2 (they show the Enterprise-B from Generations), this is a great set. I really enjoyed the features and of course the text commentary. I never would have guessed that it was the same bridge from Trek V - they did a great job of transforming it. Now its time for Generations and First Contact SE's to replace my laserdiscs! I was thinking that I should finally sit down and watch Nemesis - I suppose I'll get to it eventually.

Airline: Totally Daniel's fault. He started watching it and made me TiVo it. Now I am hooked. It follows crews from Southwest Airlines as they deal with issues at LAX and Chicago Midway. It airs on A&E and I think it is one of the best reality shows out there.

Survivor All Stars: What can I say? It's back - I haven't watched the full thing yet, but the snippets I have seen prove that this might be the best show yet. Now if only Amazing Race was on!!!!

That's all in the roundup.

Posted by Josh at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is hard to believe that it has been two years since I started working at Disneyland. I would have never imagined all the events that have happened in the two years since I first walked into the park without any guests. Friends have come and gone and the attractions I work have changed, but deep down inside I am still having a good time. I am a trainer on two attractions, but am still hoping to become a lead (AKA foreman) for one soon. I am also hoping to learn a new attraction in the next few month that with any luck will be one of the last ones Walt supervised. Where will I be two years from now? I have no idea and I dare not offer any predictions. I do know that 2005 will be Disneyland's 50th Anniversary, and hopefully I will be a part of it in some form. One thing that is particularly interesting is that I have worked for Disney as long as I had worked for Edmunds.

I am nearly done with the photo resizing. Just the World Showcase and the Magic Kingdom left to do. Daniel still needs to give me his photos so I can combine the photos into a truly great site. I am going to be using the new Trip Diary format (maybe called something else like Journeys - dare I say Magic Journeys? OK, I am a dork) and when all is said and done it should be really sharp. Next step is to get Gallery installed (yet again - I think this is the third install on my server -- gotta love customization!) in the Diaries directory. I hope to have it all up and pretty next week.

I also noticed today that my homepage design will be turning two. That is an amazing amount of time to have a static design like that. I keep looking at the page and trying to improve it, but I just love its simpleness and elegance. I think I might redo one or two if the icons (like the dorky mug shot of me), but overall I am still happy. If my Trip Diary redesign goes well I might just roll out the design site-wide. But then again you have all heard that before.

One last note: I received my DVDs from the Company's 80th anniversary sale: Peter Pan, The Great Mouse Detective, Treasure Planet, Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Complete Goofy all for $7.50 each. Can't beat that! I'm trying to curb my DVD spending in order to wrangle my finances under control, but this month is tough. The Lion King, Star Trek V: CE, and The Adventures of Indiana Jones all come out this month.

Posted by Josh at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past weekend I had the opportunity to work the ABC Primetime Preview weekend at DCA. Basically, standing around trying to lure people into the audience for ABC's Casting Call and ABC's Reality Check. Both shows allowed members of the audience a chance to re-create a scene from an ABC hit with a star from that show. One of the highlights for me was with Constance Marie of "The George Lopez Show". I had the chance to escort her with her VIP guide back to the hotel. She was good humored and was always willing to pose for a quick pic with a fan in attendance as we made our way back to the hotel. She even made an elderly Latino woman in a wheelchair start walking.

All in all, the stars I got to see up close and personal were:
Anthony Russell from "Life with Bonnie"
Kevin Weisman from "Alias"
Constance Marie from "The George Lopez Show"
Amy Davidson from "8 Simple Rules"
Bill Brochtrup from "NYPD Blue"
Zachary Levi from "Less than Perfect"
and Andrew Firestone and Jennifer Schefft from "The Bachelor"

It was a welcome change of pace from the grind. Monday, I spent the entire day training some new people at Winnie the Pooh, only to have them both either call in or get out of their training on Tuesday. I was a bit bitter (mostly cuz it felt like I was wasting my time all day Monday), but I did get to go into rotation at trainer rate.

I decided to go ahead and leave early so I could pick up my Sleeping Beauty DVD. I almost got the Core as well, but I decided to skip it for now since my vacation is coming up in just two weeks. I will say that the Sleeping Beauty movie on the DVD is stunning - rich, crisp colors. It's too bad it is just a regular release, the extras are a bit dull and standard (very similar to Dumbo). Next month is the release of the Lion King and then in November it is Finding Nemo. Time to save the pennies!

Posted by Josh at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's been a busy week! Kicking it off was last Thursday's outing with Granny and Jerri to the Queen Mary in Long Beach. I have been wanting to go for one reason or another but mainly because scenes from the classic disaster flick "The Poseidon Adventure" were filmed aboard. It was cool being aboard, but truth be told, the ship needs some work. I noticed a lot of wood rot as well as some places just being worn out. I then realized that the Queen Mary has been in Long Beach an awfully long time (close to 40 years). the ship has also been through a lot (including one trans-Atlantic voyage as a troop transport with over 16,000 people crammed everywhere.

I really think that someone needs to buy the whole Hotel/Tourist Landmark and pump some money into it. The whole area is depressing, especially with the Spruce Goose dome sitting empty next door. To top it off, the admission price without a discount was $26 - way to high. I wonder where that money is going, because it sure doesn't seem like it is going to renovate the ship.

One of the thrills was being in areas that inspired the infamous boat-flipping-over ballroom scene in the Poseidon Adventure. I took some pictures and will try and get them online soon.

That night, Daniel and I headed to Walmart so he could develop his digicam pics. He has a Canon S230 3.2 MP camera, and the photos came out excellent. It did a lot to fuel my consumer lust. While we were waiting for his photos, I noticed both the Poseidon Adventure and "The Towering Inferno" in the $5.88 DVD bin. Both were great deals since I only had them on laserdisc, and with the recent demise of the player, it is nice to replace some movies on the cheap. Over the next few nights, we watched both, with Daniel agreeing with my assessment that TI is a better made movie, but overall, we both liked PA better.

The rest of the weekend was spent working long hours at Pooh and Matterhorn. Some rumblings are afoot regarding the reorg of cast members, and I know a lot of people are worried about where they will end up when it is all done. Hopefully, I will end up at Pooh.

Today, I began my first day of training as a trainer on Matterhorn. It is weird being in this situation given the problems I had when I first learned the attraction. It went well, and I hope to learn a lot more over the next two days.

Posted by Josh at 3:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have held out for a long time. I think I even liked the shock value when I would tell people, "Yeah, I still have one of those". But no more. Not after last night. I decided to watch Lost Highway with Daniel. It is one of the few movies that I own on Laser that has not come out in one form or another on DVD in the US (It has apparently come out in Pan and Scan in Canada - more on that in a bit). So I decided to open my box of laserdiscs and plop it into the player. I should have known something was up from the get-go. The image was fill of pixelations due to laser rot. I decided to keep watching the movie, thinking that I needed to go through my collection and see which discs were OK and which were kaput.

An hour into the movie, it's time to flip the disc. Thankfully, I own a model of player that flips the laser so that it can read the other side. Sadly, as I went to the other room for a sec, the player gave up and began to make this horrible rattling noise. After a half hour of trying, it was no use. Not only had my player died, but my precious Lost Highway laserdisc was stuck inside. Now I have to figure out what to do. The player is giving a diagnostic code, but I am thinking if I call Pioneer, will anyone still know the old codes?? Also, where would I find a place that someone can fix the player for a reasonable price? I think it's time to dump the discs on Ebay. I know I can at least get some good money for my Star Wars box set, and maybe a few bucks here and there for some others. I also might try Amoeba records in Hollywood. I know they buy lasers as well.

It is really sad. An end to an era for sure. But I am determined to finish watching Lost Highway, so I bid on a Canadian P&S DVD. I want widescreen, but there are no region 1 ones out there. I hope they release it in the US at some point in widescreen with extras and such. I figured the only other way to watch the movie would be to get rent a video which is Pan & Scan, so I might as well get a DVD for less than 10 bucks.

Another surprise was a quick visit from Matt. It was great to see him! I haven't seen him since last year, and before that it was almost three years. He was driving home from San Diego, and happen to pass Disneyland as I was getting off work. We were able to hang out for almost two hours before he got back on the road. It was cool to catch up, and I am hoping that we get to see more of each other soon. He ended up getting home at 3am - almost 9 hours after leaving my house due to an accident in Burbank on the I-5. Yeesh. I don't know how he made it!

Posted by Josh at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So moving is a pain. Not that it should be a surprise to anyone. But you see, for every year you live in a place, the degree of difficulty multiples on a logarithmic scale. Actually, as I look around my place, I think I have done OK. One of the casualties of the move is the white Steelcase desk I picked up at the UCD Bargain Barn back in 1996 (Sorry Peggy - she let me and Darren move it in her old Blazer back in the days). I am excited about getting a smaller computer station, especially one with good placement for the keyboard and mouse. The way I will have my dining room configured is that it will end up being a combo dining area and office. I just need to make sure there is additional room for my still-in-the-box scanner.

I am still trying to put together my entertainment center. I've been to the local Fry's (closer than the one in Burbank was to my old apartment), and I'm trying to go completely S-Video. The biggest item I need to hook up is the TiVO. It will require running a super long phone cable, so I am still trying to track it down in my boxes of cable. My deadline is Thursday so that I won't miss an episode of Survivor.

Ya know, things have been so chaotic in my personal life that I didn't even realize just how close the Academy Awards are - only a few days away! I might have to break from tradition and not post my annual prediction list - heck I haven't even seen Chicago! I did manage to see the American version of the Ring and I can honestly say it was not nearly as good as the Japanese version. I want to see Dark Water which is a recent movie by the Japanese director of Ringu. Dan managed to see it, and hopefully he can score me a copy.

I have the cable modem hooked up to the laptop and that is my only contact with the outside world. It is connected via a USB port which I think is contributing to my perception that it is slower than my DSL. When I get the network up and running, I'm hoping that things will move faster, and that I'll be able to sit out on the patio, enjoy a nice beverage, and surf the web. Maybe I'll even resurrect the web cam.

That's all for now, I'm hoping to return to more frequent updates soon!

Posted by Josh at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Far be it for me to pass up the latest and greatest internet fad. I was sent the link to YMDb by several people, but first by Cooper. Basically, you post and rank your top 20 movies and see how you rank according to other users of the site. It was very difficult for me to come up with only 20 movies, and even harder to rank them.

Here is the link to my list. Why not join up and create your own list and see how much affinity we have for each other? (Cooper and I have a 15.59% affinity for each other - I suspect I will have a hard time finding anyone close to 30% like he has.)

If you are too lazy to click the link, here is my list posted for fun:

Aladdin
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
The Sound of Music
Dr. Strangelove
Fantasia
Gone With The Wind
2001: A Space Odyssey
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Mary Poppins
Amelie
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Poseidon Adventure
Goldfinger
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Mulholland Drive
Driving Miss Daisy
Earthquake
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
The Lion King

Now, I know I will get some heat for it, but as I said ranking was the most difficult part.

Ah yes and Happy Birthday Walt Disney and Gary!

Posted by Josh at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

After years and years of waiting, I was finally able to snag Doingworld.com. Ok, maybe not years and years, but since December 1, 1999, I have waited for it to expire. I guess the person neglected to renew it in December and I just now noticed it or it just became available. Either way, I am happy. Back in the 1990's I wanted the domain name to host a more expansive Doingworld site. Dave suggested that I get crackin' on it since I have experience working at a major theme park. Now that I have the domain name, I just might do that. Right after I get the new Daily Update launched.

Tonight I hopefully will finally get to see Lilo and Stitch. I have been wanting to see it since it came out but with work schedules the way they are, time has been premium.

An email surprise today - an actual response from a resume submission! Keep your fingers crossed!

Posted by Josh at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have noticed that I have been more frustrated than usual. I think it is the end of Spring booboojeebies that I seem to get every year. Last year, it sent me off to French Polynesia, and if I had the time and money, I'd probably be off somewhere again in the next month or so. By this time last year, I had already been to the Grand Canyon and Yosemite before heading off to Tahiti last June. This year? I haven't even made it to Arizona to see Mom and Kevin (sorry Mom).


I think an extended weekend is due soon. One of the things I hope to do is see the Pet Shop Boys in Concert. They will be at the Universal Amphitheater the first week of June. It might be good for the soul (and sole for that matter) to have a change of pace and do something different. I picked up the PSB's latest CD Release last week and really liked it, especially the tracks "London" and "Here".


Oh yes, at least there is Episode 2 (in case you forgot) tomorrow night. I will try and have something posted on Thursday about it, but mind you I will have bizzaro schedule for the next few days with Grad Night and all.

Posted by Josh at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's official! Lev, Andy, Oszie, and I will be partaking in a midnight viewing of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones next Wed./Early Thurs. I am eagerly counting down the days. In case you didn't know, yes, I am a dork. There are not too many movies that I will go see at a midnight showing, but Star Wars movies definitely are worth it. When I saw Episode 1, it was at a 2am showing with Cooper in Sacramento, a mere five days before moving to LA to work with Lev and Andy (and later Oszie). So after three years, I finally get a chance to see a Star Wars movie with them.


If I were an artist, this is the type of thing I would do. Just ask anyone who has seen the mountains of drawings that I have for the fictional Bonita Verdes and Club Josh Highway Systems. It was a hobby when I was in high school that led me into cartography as well as the development of Doingworld. So in a way, I am an artist, but only for a limited audience, not 150,000 people a day.

Posted by Josh at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well I guess I did OK on my Oscar predictions. I managed to get 6 out of 11 right. A bit worse than last year, but then again, if you look at my wishy-washy pics I pretty much mentioned a few more winners. The Academy did indeed go highbrow, but even that could not save this year's ceremonies. I thought the Kodak Theater looked marvelous, but the show was not nearly as good as last year's show. I think there was just one too many tributes to certain aspects of filmmaking.

I love Syndey Potier, and I am glad he got an honorary Oscar, but I thought that he was never going to get off the stage. At least he was a bit more bearable than Robert Redford, who also deserved the honorary Oscar. By the time he got up on the stage, I was praying that he would just say, "Thanks a bunch" and get going. It was hard to believe that this show was even longer than the one a few year's back where they dragged out all the award winners for the previous 70 years. At least we were at a BBQ at Jeff and Brian's house so it made it more palatable.

A lot has been written about the fact that Denzel and Halle finally broke down the door for African-American actors. Personally, I think it will take more than one win. Let's hope that not only African-Americans, but Asian, Hispanic, and every other race/creed/national origin/sexual orientation out there win on a regular basis.

And, um, what happened to J-Lo's hair?

Roger and Alex were able to walk the red carpet on Saturday night when they went to the shopping complex at Hollywood and Highland. Next year, I'll be sure to go down there with the Gorn and get some good shots. Also, I want to put in the application to be a bleacher watcher.

The Spring Break crush has begun at Disneyland. If you are planning to go in the next two weeks, bring lots of patience. If you are thinking about it - forget it and come a few weeks later. It will be a bit less crowded and all of the rides will still be open (save Splash and the Carrousel).

Posted by Josh at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is the end of March which means it is Oscar time! Every year for the past six or so, I have put out my own predictions for who will take home the gold, and I usually end up with a pretty good track record. Last year, I did the top nine, and I will add the Animation categories this year since they added Best Animated Feature.

Actor in a Supporting Role: Sir Ian McKellan should have enough power in his hat to take home the trophy. As many sites have reported, some Academy members might also be rewarding him for his performance in "Gods and Monsters" a few years back.

Actress in a Supporting Role: Jennifer Connely should benefit from the Mirren/Smith split, which is unfortunate because I would have voted for Mirren.

Animated Feature Film: I really want Monsters, Inc. to win. I thought it was a far superior film to Shrek in every way. However, I think that DreamWorks has been doing a great campaign for Shrek, and along with the anti-Disney sentiment around Hollywood, look for the big green guy to get the award.

Short Film (Animated): For the Birds should win as a way to reward the hard working folks at Pixar. This was the short in front of Monsters, Inc. that was just as good.

Foreign Language Film: The PR machine is in high gear, add to that the fact it is a great film puts Amelie over the top.

Adapted Screenplay: Anyone who can make Lord of the Rings make sense to me deserves an Oscar, and I hated Ghost World (not that it matters, but I thought I'd throw that out there).

Original Screenplay: As much as I loved Amelie, it is a visual feast rather than a written feast. I think Memento deserves it, but the Academy voters might feel pity and give it to Gosford Park (though I though this movie was booooring as well).

Actress in a Leading Role: It is between Halle, Nicole, and Sissy. Award voters might award Kidman for her performance in the Others, but when push comes to shove and I have to go on record, I'll give it to Sissy Spacek. (If Halle Berry wins, will she become the first best actress to appear in a Bond flick??)

Actor in a Leading Role: It is between Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. Again, I think Denzel will win, not necessarily because his performance in Training Day was that good, but because the Academy might want to reward his career. However, Crowe could win because of the massive PR campaign I hear on the radio for his performance. So I give Washington the narrow nod.

Director: I'll take the safe bet and give it to Ron Howard. He won the DGA award which makes him the front runner. Peter Jackson did a fantabulous job with Lord of the Rings, and if the early categories start leaning heavily in LOTR's favor, then he might just nab it.

Best Picture: I think Lord of the Rings really was the best movie of the year in a myriad of ways. It was accessible to a great many people and was a vastly superior production. However if the Academy gets all highbrow than look for Richie's A Beautiful Mind to gather the gold.

Well there you have it. Happy Oscar watching. Check back on Monday to see how I did.

Posted by Josh at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am working on a video catalog consolidation project. Some of you long-time clubbers might remember I used to have a video catalog of my movies on the site complete with reviews and ratings. The past two years or so, it is among the many things I have neglected. So in the past few days, I have been working on bringing my catalog back up to date. I don't really think it will be back on club josh, but it will allow me to see which VHS tapes I can toss or recycle since I now have over 40 DVDs. interesting to note, with my recent purchase of Superman on DVD, I now have more DVDs than Laserdiscs. About time!

Posted by Josh at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Avoid daily updates that start off with "Well things are right in the world". After posting that update: A tree fell over and hit a bunch of people in Frontierland, I got a sunburn at DCA on Saturday, and to top it off, I missed work yesterday thanks to some fine food poisoning. Nothing like waking up with the urge to vomit.


Diamonds Are Forever is cheesy, but when infirmed, its fun to watch. Why is it listed in the Sci-Fi category on IMDB? The moon rover? The diamond satellite? Moonraker I can understand. But if DAF is sci-fi, shouldn't You Only Live Twice be listed as sci-fi as well? They have a satellite/rocket thing as a major plot point. The mind boggles and then shuts down for a nap.

Posted by Josh at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mark was down this weekend and it was nice to kick back, take in some Shaft with Samuel L. Jackson, have an extremely overpriced lunch at Y Arriba Y Arriba at Downtown Disney ($80 for four people consisting of 4 Tapas and 5 side dishes plus two drinks) and generally have a good time.


Another one of my favorite commercials is for Washington Mutual. Guy walks into a bank up to the teller. She asks him for his accunt info and then staple-guns a barcode to the top of his head. She then directs him to the other line. After Washington Mutual flashes to their bank full of nice warm colors and friendly people, we see him in line. He asks the person in front of him "What's taking so long". They say "I have no idea". Flash to the front of the line where the teller is holding someone's head and running it back and forth across the scanner similar to a supermarket. The teller looks into the monitor and says "I hate it when these things don't scan". Priceless.


If there was a vote for coolest person, Mandel would get my vote.

Posted by Josh at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I guess no free tacos. Mir came down last night with nary a hitch. Good light show, but no drama. I guess it is a good thing.


Oscar Picks 2001:

A note before I begin. I am only posting for the top 9 categories since my knowledge and experience with the other categories rates next to nil. I did however make picks for them, and I will include them in the final tally after the awards on Monday.

Best Picture: momentum has swung back and forth, but I think Gladiator still has enough to eek it out on Sunday.


Best Director: Ang Lee will ride to victory, mainly due to the Soderbergh split. Ridly Scott could win if it's a Gladiator night.


Best Actor: This is the toughest battle of the night. Russell Crowe is the early favorite, but I think deep down that Tom Hanks will be the first person to take home three best actor trophies.


Best Actress: No contest this year: Julia Roberts smiles all the way home.


Best Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro has the only performance that was really deserving of an award. Joaquin? Don't think so.


Best Supporting Actress: Kate Hudson is the IT girl and should have something to compare with here Mom.


Best Foreign Language Film: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will win this by a landslide, and because of this won't win Best Picture.


Best Adapted Screenplay: Shut out of most other awards, Traffic will finally get one.


Best Original Screenplay: Not really nominated for much else (other than Kate Hudson), Almost Famous should get this.


Before I forget, I remembered that there are some Gorn pictures from Catalina that I missed! I'll try and get those up on Monday or so next week.

Posted by Josh at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some more A-V bliss. Apparently the Anti-Valentine's Day tradition continues in Davis.
Checkout the latest column from California Aggie columnist Kenley Matsuda.


SFGate presents an article about the current direction and evolution of the modern theme park, and the bizarre turns it has taken in recent years.


Did anyone else think that the Oscar nominations were a bit weird this year? Maybe it was just the selection of movies. I dunno.

Posted by Josh at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)