Bridgeton a Suburb NW of St. Louis

Well here is the end of month update. I thought about getting in a few more miles tonight, however I am dead tired from this weeks 5am start schedule. So I am going to bed instead. I have the next four days off and am planning on running tomorrow morning.

Things to do in Bridgeton, Missouri

http://www.bridgetonmo.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=34

Walking Through Latin America

Never having seen Saludos Amigos, I was looking forward to today’s release on DVD.
This particular release contains two of Walt Disney’s films celebrating life in Latin America. Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. Now I have mentioned Caballeros in an earlier post so I will not go into that one here.

Saludos was the first of the two films. Like Caballeros it contains a selection of short stories. However, the setup and style of this film is different. Prior to each animated section we are treated to live action film clips of the South American locals and of the impressions they make upon the Disney artist.



Following the film clips we are treated to artist sketch work and some narrated details about what it is we are seeing.



Next up is an animated short. In the short, all the previous elements are blended effortlessly together somewhere in the story line. This process repeats itself through out Saludos.



This film is a delightful showcase of the vision that Walt’s animators shared. It also stands as testament to the tried and true documentary history of the studio. When you think about how modern DVD releases often have bonus features attached to them. Isn’t it wonderful to look back and see the vision Walt had of not only preserving his life’s work, but also the work of the talent he surrounded himself with.

Now neither of these films is a true feature film, rather they are a showcase of sorts. A time capsule if you will. And at only $14.99 I would recommend that Disney fans should pick up a copy today.

Tonight’s walk through Latin America. 7.6 miles 114 min

Oh and I leave you with this picture as you think about todays gas prices.

Blustery

Not a great deal going on out on the Tundra tonight. So just a quick update. Following work this afternoon I mowed the yard. Temp 35F and the wind was fairly strong. The mowing got me warmed up and I was anxious to start jogging. Early into my jog I realized my shins were begining to hurt. I figured it was because I was leaning into the wind. After adjusting my posture things were some what better, but the soreness was already there. My first 5.5 miles became a wog as I tried to work through it. Eventually I did and my only other discomfort was in my left foot, which had been ok until mile 7. That fortunately did not last long and I managed to end up with a decent jog of 12.55 miles. As I sit here 4 hours later my foot is sore, but it's not that overstreached feeling I had last week. This is all in the ball of my foot. It feels like someone is pressing their thumbs into it. Which oddly enough is the very thing that makes it feel better. Go figure...

Old School Disney

Charlie the Lonesome Cougar was released in 1967. I remember seeing this movie on The Wonderful World of Disney, of course in 67 I was only a year old, so it must have been rerun in the 70's. Ahhhh how I miss the 70's, our nations bicentenial, classic rock and roll, and my first Disney vacation. But let's get back on topic here.

As a live action film "Charlie" is a good example of what first attracted me to Disney. The Wonderful World of Disney showed many live action films such as Davy Crockett and The Hound Who Thought He Was A Racoon. These films held true to visual stylings established early on in films like the Real Life Adventure series.

Early Disney live action movies have always been special to me. I can't truly put it into words, but there is a kindly level of humor in them that I have always liked.
To be sure, some films such as The Strongest Man In The World, The Shaggy Dog, Super Dad, Blackbeards Ghost, and The Ugly Dachsund seem a bit formulaic today. But these films are like an old friend who never fails to put a smile on your face while touching your heart.



One of the endearing things about "Charlie" is the narration of Rex Allen. Rex did voice work for a number of Disney titles. I looked for a clip of Rex Allen that was related to Disney with no luck. I did find a nice Campbells Soup ad though and here it is. I hope that once you hear Rex speak, you may recall his voice.



Here is a link with a nice review of the film. http://www.ultimatedisney.com/charlie.html

And now to answer the other two questions that are hanging out there. Our pal Charlie caught the the scent of milk in the air and surprised our farmer friend while he was feeding his cats. Old Charlie just walked into the barn and mimicked the kittens.



As for the county. Well that would be Carbon County. If there is any meaning behind that name I am not aware of it. But I like the way it sounds.



Training: None tonight. Tomorrow marks the begining of my early week. (Help me out Rae, you know this is always a rough one for me.) I will be working 5am-2pm so after this blog is updated I am going to bed. My foot is feeling better so my goal is to get out tomorrow after work, and do 6-10 if the foot holds up. I think it will.

So do any of you have a favorite Old School Disney film?

The Original Splash Mountain

Did you know that while testing Splash Mountain live animals were sent down the log flumes? Here's proof.



Of course these are the early prototype logs. As you can see, they have not been hollowed out yet.



Here we see imagineers hard at work in the animal training area.



After hours of work the animal protection agency made certain that each animal was properly fed.



Ok I'll stop joking around. Now that you've seen these pictures who can answer the following questions without using Google?

1. Who is this cat?
2. What movie was he featured in?
3. What county is the film set in?
4. How is this cat being fed?
5. Bonus Question. Who narrated this film.



On the training front I have decided to take this evening off from SNAP and get some rest. My ankle is feeling ok, but I did do something to my foot last night. I have some discomfort through my left arch. It feels like the muscles there have been over stretched. Tomorrows exercise will be determined by how it feels. If it is still as sore as today I might hold off on jogging for an extra day or two. Perhaps using the elipticle would be a good choice for a couple workouts. At least that would not be impactful. Oh well, tomorrow will tell.

Rough Night

Tonight started out as one of those evenings when I really struggled with getting outside to run. The temps hear tonight are in the 70's and there is a storm on it's way. By the time I finally committed to the idea the clouds and lightning were already getting closer. Due to the approaching weather I skipped the warm up and went straight into a jog. I jogged too fast in the first couple miles and my body told me so. As the rain started coming down I decided to shorten my run.



I took off down a street that I have not jogged on. I was unfamiliar with the condition of the pavement here, until my left ankle decided to transfer what it was learning to my brain. Ouch! Hopefully it will feel better tomorrow.

Till Next time...

Missed It By That Much...

I will keep tonights post short. Tonight I decided to use a little discipline and hold back from running more than I should. So I did a nice Dewey run and completed it just as my garmin rolled over the 65th minute. Those minutes do include my walking warmup so not to shabby. One goal I have is to reach him in 60 minutes. Weather permitting I will try again next Tuesday. Also when adding up milage tonight I realized my Asics now have 202 miles on them. It seems like I just bought these shoes.

Thank you guys for the many comments on yesterdays post. If you have any other thoughts regarding that post please submit them. You know as I sit here tonight, I must admit that earlier I was working on another intro idea. Does this mean I have less water in my mix than I thought? There's no shame in it. And as for the intro. You guys will have to wait.

How do you like your Kool Aid?

Being that tonight is a recovery night,(although I did go to SNAP) I felt like trying to be a bit creative. One of the many comments Disney fans often hear is related to Kool Aid. You know that childhood drink, our moms always made for us. (I alway's liked lime) The jury is still out on how it was any better for us than soda pop though. My mom made it nearly every day during the summer months.

So what exactly is Kool Aid? Simply put, its a flavored power that you mix with sugar and 2 quarts of water. Who am I kidding you guys know this product. Less water means a stronger flavor, and of course more means a weaker flavor. The sugar gives it sweetness.

Have you ever been accused of drinking the Disney Kool Aid? The basic inference here would be that if you are a Disney Kool Aid drinker, you must be a true fanatic whose veins are full of the stuff. You live and breath Disney. I find it amusing, how I as a fan of Disney have been accused of drinking more than my fair share. Around my house you would think I never put my cup down. Which in my opinon isn't true.

Sorry to break this to you guys but there is more to life than Disney. I may like my Disney Kool Aid a little stronger than some, but at least there is some water in the mix. For me I would say that instead of 2 quarts of water I would use 1 1/4 quarts.

I truly love Disney but my vision is keen enough to realized that not everything they do is "golden". But this is not as place to express my feelings on the few things I wish Disney would do. Rather, I would like to pose the question to you. How much water would be in your own personal mix? Your answers can be anywhere from "I just open the packet and swallow" to how many quarts of water you add. For the purpose of the question lets consider 2 quarts as the standard baseline. To me a 2 quarter is a person who enjoys and appreciates the parks, would must likely visit again, and is close to "getting it" they way many of us do.



I am glad you guys liked the new chart I put up yesterday. Thanks Heath for putting it up in your side bar. I liked the idea so much, I have placed it in mine. Hope you all like todays pictures.

An Updated Chart and Another Nice Run

I decided to update my Donald Duck chart by adding the minimun time allowances not to get swept. Hope you guys find it useful.

Larry and I finally got together this afternoon and did a nice run around Des Moines Grays Lake.



The course around the lake is just under two miles. We did 4 1/2 laps for 9.03 miles in 98 minutes. I was quite happy with that, especially after having said hello to our pal Donald the night before. Larry brought along a gel pac for me to try. We took them before the run and washed them down with water. And for those of you wondering, we ran without Ipods. It really was not a bother at all. Larry and I conversed during the run, but kept it light. The temp this afternoon was 66F.

After the run, I came home and enjoyed a night chicken sandwich. I found myself thinking about the folks that participate in the Goofy Challenge. I just don't know how they can do that. For anyone who doesn't know what I mean. The Goofy Challenge is a half marathon followed by a full the next day, during Disney's marathon weekend.
My hats off to those who are able to do that.

Larry and I are planning to meet again for a 10 mile jog in two weeks. Thanks for meeting up with me today Larry, it was great having someone else to run with.

But for now...

Sidewalks, Unleashed Dogs, and a Duck

Mongello!!! Team Voice! I hope you are all having a great weekend.

I managed to check in on our pal Donald tonight. He's still out there cheering us on and he is excited about all the progress so many of us have made this past month.

My evening jog started out on the right note tonight. After my half mile warm up I managed to fall into a comfortable pace right away, and I held it through out the whole run. This past winter was hard on the sidewalks around town. Many of them have heaved upwards in spots. Tonight at about mile 4 my foot caught the edge of one. I stumbled a bit and thankfully did not fall. Mentally I had to tell myself to keep moving forward and not sweat it. Sometimes things like this throw me off and it takes a bit to recover, but not tonight. At about mile 5 there was a guy in his front yard with two dogs. Of course neither was tied up and a short chase insued. Fortunally the dogs went back to their owner we he called out to them.

Earlier in the day I had driven off a section of town to see how much distance I could add to my long jog if I decided to use the route. It was right at a mile. Most of the day I had been visualizing running along that road. So when the moment came I made a choice and committed to it. When I finally came around the corner near my house I was at 11.6 miles. "That's close to the 12.4 of a 20K" I thought. "Let's keep going." As I neared that 12th mile I realized I was approaching a landmark that was 1 mile from my home if I ran it a certain way. So as I circled back toward home tonight I found Donald waiting for me. 13.16 Miles 2hr 15mn.

I feel tired but pretty good. I expect I may be a bit sore tomorrow...

Update Sunday Morning:
Oh boy, did I really sleep 10 hours? Yes I did, and yes I am a bit sore. But its a good kinda sore. (Is there really is such a thing?) Of course there is.

The Disney View Of History?

Recently, I read a book about Walt Disney World that contained a chapter criticizing what it called “The Disney View of History”

If you have ever encountered this way of thinking before, then you’ll understand what I’m trying to say here.

This purist author takes issue with the way Disney chooses to select, omit, or mix pieces of history, particularly America History. I mean, who cares if you're in “the happiest place on earth” you have to include the dark side of history along with the good.

To quote this author I include the following statements.

Main Street USA should have a worn and lived in look. It should “not” be pristine with fresh paint on every building and manicured trees. Instead the buildings should have a weathered lived in look, with a dirt road down the middle.



In the American Adventure Pavillion we should not be subjected to racial interaction.

Clearly we should understand that people of different color could never have gotten along together. How could Disney portray such fiction? Give me a break, are we to believe that all of our ancestors where nothing but evil hate mongers?
Now, before I get too far, let me say this. Every nation has some not so rosy moments in it’s past and present to be certain. All events, whether good or bad shape that nation.
It’s true in our personal lives also. Sad and bad times are a part of our character. They can wear you down, but, you should grow stronger and become better for it.
Disney chooses to portray our cultural heritage in a hopeful light with dreams of a great big beautiful tomorrow.



Disney certainly has the right to show what it feels are memorable points in our history as well as the other countries that it chooses to represent in areas of it’s parks such as World Showcase.

When I go to a theme park, any theme park for that matter, I want to be entertained. I want to have fun. I want, (pause for effect) to forget the outside world and enjoy the experience! This is especially true when visiting a Disney park.



I do not go to the parks to critique and analyze it’s attractions for historical accuracy.

It goes without saying, you just can’t please some people. I once read a hotel review on epinions.com from a guy staying offsite near Disneyland. He complained that the hotel did not have an indoor pool. Hello…. California, duh, what an idiot.

Walt said it himself at the opening of Disneyland “To all who come to this happy place welcome”. He said it right there. Disney’s parks are meant to be a place of fantasy, an escape from the day to day routine. Welcome, come on in, set you cares aside for awhile and enjoy yourselves.

So who is it that gets and understands this?
It’s people like the Disney podcasters and those who download and listen to their shows each week. Thankfully, it’s also the majority of park visitors.

Now, while I truly would like to see everyone who travels to the parks have a great time. I wouldn’t mind tapping some sour apple on the shoulder and asking them to go back to their hotel room and let me have their place in the queue line.

Before I close, lets visit Walt's boyhood hometown of Marceline Mo. Imagine seeing with me, Cinderella's castle rising above his hometown Main Street.



And yes Deb I did this one, Click on it for a larger view.

The Lion And The Gazelle

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle awakens. He has only one thought on his mind: To be able to run faster than the fastest lion. If he cannot, then he will be eaten.

Every morning in Africa a lion awakens. He has only one thought on his mind: To be able to run faster than the slowest gazelle. If he cannot, he will die of hunger.

Whether you choose to be a gazelle or a lion is of no consequence. It is enough to know that with the rising of the sun, you must run. And you must run faster than you did yesterday or you will die.
This is the race of life."


This is an African Proverb that Larry uses in his email signature. If you take the time to think about it, this has meaning on many levels, especially for team voice.

Tonight was just a casual 4 miles on the old TM at Snap, thanks to the nice little April shower we have been enjoying today.

Warm Weather and Wind

Hello fellow All About the Mouseketeers and Team Voice members. How's it going today?

The first thing I would like to mention is that Byron has updated his blog. It has been quite awhile since we last heard from him and he has some exciting news. Be sure to stop by http://blog.phatdisneygeek.com/ and check up on Byron. A number of folks have already left some comments for him, but I know we have a number of new folks out there. So please introduce yourselves and cheer him on.

I had a much more comfortable run tonight. Over the past couple days I have been very good with my water intake and tonight about 30 minutes before heading out I had some fresh pineapple. Temps tonight were up in the low 60's with very gusty winds.

Holy Cats!!!

I'm was sore this morning. But two advil and several glasses of water later I was feeling just fine.

I may try the sports drink idea before a run. I think a straight out energy drink might cause me to crash later into the run. I have a holster style belt for carrying a water bottle that I used back in '06. I never liked it though, it always felt awkward hanging off of one hip. So I have not been carrying water on my runs. Has anyone out there tried a camel pack? I have seen these in many shapes and sizes. It is not something I would want to wear to an event, but for training it might be nice.

On target again tonight with the SNAP training. That continues to go well. I think next trip, I will work on adding an extra set of reps to each station.

I will catch up on some of your blogs tomorrow. For now good-night...

Meet Sophie

Sophie meet snow.



Sophie says thanks alot JB.

Well I managed another 10 miles tonight. The first few miles were grueling though. I am certain I am under hydrated. My water intake has been poor over the past few days and I have been active all day in the garage. One more coat of paint on the one side. Just gotta love how unpainted drywall sucks up paint. When I'm done my 2 car garage will have soaked up 2 gallons of primer and 5 gallons of paint. (That includes the ceiling)

I will make the effort to do better on the water. The next two weeks I am on regular 8-5 hours. This should help my routine. Larry and I are going to try to meet up next Sunday. He called me last week and we discussed where each of us our in are training, and what our expectations are for Dam to Dam this year.

Oh and I wanted to throw a question out to those of you who regularly run longer distances. I seem to feel drained around mile 8. Its not that I can't go on, its just a loss of energy. Should I be looking into gel packs? Is there a certain type of food that might be beneficial at some point during the day when I am planning a longer run?

There Was A Spark Out Of Jacksonville

Well It's official, this mornings download marks the one year anniversary of All About The Mouse. I have been a fan of the show from the very beginning. The show has changed a bit from Bryan's first few episodes, but even back then I could tell something was different about this show. I first learned about AATM through Jonathan, back when he originally announced that he would be appearing on the show to do a round table discussion about training for the Disney marathons. I checked out the show and found that Bryan had only recently started the podcast. I was hooked right away because he did shows on topics that I was not hearing anywhere else. Bryan's Segway tour and the Dolphin Experience are just two examples. I was the first (and possibly the only one at the time) to write into Bryan's original forum page and told him my thoughts on his new show. Does anyone remember the old forum?

The AATM faithful will recall that Jonathan made a number of appearances on the early shows, including a wonderful show on Disney honeymoons. Not long after that the show took on a new life(and additional minutes)as Bryan welcomed Jonathan as a co-host on the show. The guys have a chemistry that fits the show very well.

I must say that of the several Disney podcasts which I somehow find my way through each week, it is the attention paid to the listener fanbase of the show that greatly pleases me each week. It is a wonderful interaction. Listeners even get to be on the show. How cool is that? The "What If" shows are a lot of fun and speaking to that topic, what if AATM was indeed made into a musical?



Can you imagine that? It would most likely have two sequels and those might be followed up by a movie.



What does the future hold for All About The Mouse? Only Bryan, Jonathan, and well you guys, can answer that.

Bryan and Jonathan thank you for a great year and may you have many more. You are both wonderful people whom I am happy to have met during Mousefest '07. Thank you also for allowing me to be a small of the Magic and Mayhem by doing the occasional intro.

To you I raise my glass and shout out a hearty "Scopa! and Kungaloosh!"

New addition arriving today.

Morning everyone. We have a new addition joining our household today and she is the cutiest thing. The rescue league has her name listed as "Dora" but the my family wants to give her a new name. Of course I offered a long list of Disney names. But alas it seems that we have enough Disney going on as it is now. But hey I tried.

"Dora" is listed as a terrier, but to me she looks to be crossed with a dachsund. She is six months old. I will be at work when she comes home today, so I will ask my wife to take some more pictues and try to post a better one tonight. (cell phone cameras only work so well)

Well I am off to run some errands...

Oh yeah, I updated my weigh in finally. 198.6

Just The Facts

Short post due to it being very late, er early I mean 1:25am on Wednesday. I just finished a nice 10 mile jog. A little slower than my last longer run but that is ok. I found a comfortable rythem tonight and stuck with it.

I did get up to SNAP Monday night and I even managed a shorter jog of 3.63 miles. Monday just was not a good day for a jog. It was very windy and I overdressed.
Well I had better hit the shower and get to bed.

Catch you guys later.

Home Improvement With Debra Burke

This weekend we decided to clean up our garage, and also to see if we can improve storage space. So while painting today I finally had time to enjoy AATM #51. Our very own Deb Burke was on the show talking about her experience with the DVC. When I downloaded the show on Friday I questioned the shows length. 40 minutes it said, but the show notes said the guys were skipping the AATM roll call this week so I thought ok its going to be a shorter show.
Well today while listening, and with only 10 minutes left in the show, they had just introduced Deb, and I knew something was wrong. I mean certainly they were going talk longer than that. So I'm listening and Deb's doing a great job and then silence. So I dropped my paint brush and came inside and looked up the show. The length should have been 114 minutes. So I replaced the show version I had, and finished the show. Deb you helped make the time spent painting today much more enjoyable. Nicely done. Now the question is, what should I listen to when applying the remaining coats?

I am wondering if I downloaded the show while Bryan was uploading. ??? Who knows.

No run yesterday, Larry and I did not get together. But we will soon. Actually my legs were sore from Fridays outing so I was not too upset. Then today when I should have reclaimed some mileage, I have been working out in the garage. So it looks like tomorrow could be another Double Bubble day. I need to get this train on track and keep it there. I can't let anything like this happen.

Double Bubble

Ok, so after stating how "well" the routine seems to be going, I go and mess it up.
Yep, last night I was unable to update yesterdays post because,(and I am ashamed to admit this) I feel asleep. I got a little to comfortable on the couch yesterday afternoon waiting for the snow to stop. Yes, I said snow 2 plus inches of it. It was followed by rain which quickly melted it. I told myself I would run up to SNAP and hit the old TM. Well I never made it.

So tonight I did double duty. I did an evening run, 10 Miles in just under 100 min. And then after cleaning up, I went up to SNAP to do the weight lifting thing. I did skip the legs tonight though.

How this will impact my run tomorrow is weighing on my mind a bit. I did not intend to go over 8 miles tonight but things just felt right. One big plus is that temps reached the mid 50's and I was able to run in shorts for the first time this year. For me, that made a big difference.

I would like to hear some of the things you guys do that help keep you going. Here are a couple of the things I have learned to do.

Keep you eye on the horizon and not on the pavement ten feet in front of you. Being able to see a goal come closer really helps. The is especially true when cresting a hill. There is one hill on my route that as you go up it you can see the roof of a house and then the whole thing slowly comes into view. It may sound like a small thing but as you approach you get that sense of gaining ground. Where if you are just staring at the pavement, it just blurs together.

Visualize yourself reaching points out ahead of you on your route. Instead of just making that next approaching corner a goal, think about reaching the one beyond it or even the next. Think about a landmark that you might have out there.

Before I close for the night, I just wanted to mention that I am glad you guys enjoy the Python parodies I put up. Whomever edited these together did a great job. I came to appreciate Python after I was out of High School. When I was younger I just did not get it. I was more into another british comedy called "The Goodies." Does anyone remember that show? As for Spamalot I have not seen it, though I do own the soundtrack. The Song That Goes Like This is by far my favorite on the CD.

Spam came through Des Moines last year and I did not make it. The closest it is coming this year is Minneapolis in May. The week of my DAM to DAM run. Also that weekend B.B. King will be in Davenport. Grrrrr I wish these were on other weeks.

Well I've been going on for awhile now and should get to bed.

Till Next Time...

Sidebar

Yes, I made it up to SNAP last night. So when I jog today, I will have completed a full week of my new routine. So far I am pleased with it. Although I'm not walking or jogging on those days I am working my legs out when at the gym. I particularly like doing the weighted calve raises. My arms are hanging in there, even though some nights it still feels funny to raise my arms and wash my hair.

I was visiting Mike's place yesterday and I noticed he placed videos in his sidebar.
I liked that idea. So I copied him. I have placed a couple of my favorite Youtube vids in mine. It took me a bit to figure out how to resize the clips, but it became obvious when looking at the code.

Busted by my hair stylist.

Happy April everyone! Tonight I got a hair cut. Nicole, who has been cutting my hair for a while now, remembered that I am training for Dam to Dam and the Disney 1/2 marathon. She also remembered one other thing from an earlier visit. She asked me if I had done any runs without my ipod and headphones. I had to tell her that no, I had not, though I plan to before DAM to DAM.

Last month, I had discussed with her about how many races are forbiding the use of such devices for safety reasons. Dam to Dam has banned them, but you won't find that on the web page. I actually sent in an e-mail and asked about it. I was not planning on using them but I wanted the official word.

This coming weekend I plan on meeting up with Larry from work. He and I ran Dam '06 together. We are going to do a run together on Saturday and I am not bringing the ipod.

Last night I did make it to SNAP. Got an hour of various weight lifting and such in.

Tonight was an outdoor jog that went ok. I encountered some discomfort in my left knee a couple times and had to interupt my jog to walk it off. It was a bummer to slow down and walk, but it bothered me enough that I had to listen to it. Perhaps with having done my long jog on Sunday instead of Saturday I should have taken it a little slower. Another recovery day would have been nice.