I wish I had thought of this.

I know that Hallmark kicked off Christmas last June. (something I'll never understand) But now with Thanksgiving over I feel it is time to turn our thoughts toward Christmas. Here is a great YouTube find. This video is not only very funny, it works well for this time of year when you consider the message of redemption that is found within the Star Wars series. Mixing original vocals with the music from the Kenny Rogers & Wynonna Judd version of "Mary Did You Know" I am pleased to post...

Vic Mignogna's: Vader Did You Know?



Visit Vic's Site Vic'sWorld.net Click around the site and you'll find a some more humorous song parodies under Music & Sound Design.
Vic's resume included voice work on many anime productions including Dragon Ball Z.

Caption This #14 Happy Thanksgiving

"Can't wait to see the wishbone."

From Chris: "I just find that the "Big Bird" are too gammy"

From Mike:

Ernie: Hey Burt.
Burt: Yes Ernie.
Ernie: How come Big Bird did not come to dinner and why is the count using the end of a yellow feather as a tooth pic?
Count: One tooth picked, two teeth picked, Three yes Three teeth picked ha..ha..ha!
Burt: Be quiet and enjoy Big Bi.. er I mean your bird or your going to be a side dish!

From Ryan: What did you do Mr. Hooper?!?! I said have Big Bird TO Dinner!

From Doc Terminus: "Can you tell me how to get.. how to get to Digest-a-me street"

Proud Papa

Hello Team Voice, how’s it going? Can you believe how fast these days are going? Time is flying by here on the Tundra. We had our first “true” snow yesterday but today it has already melted away. Fine by me as I would like to see the trails stay dry along with reasonable temps if you please. We have been very busy over the past couple weeks. On the 14th and 15th our son Connor played the lead role of Henry Jekyll in our High Schools production of Jekyll and Hyde. He did a fabulous job and we are so proud of him. All of the students in the show did a wonderful job in what was a very ambitious program.

Being the proud Dad that I am, I have posted one of the scenes from the show on YouTube and am including it here. Also on the 22nd my son was part of the Iowa All State Musical performance. He was in the choir. In all there were 651 students selected from all over the state. Besides the choir, other students were either in the band or in the orchestra. I took some video of that but have not looked at it yet. I may post something if it turned out well.



Training:

I have to admit to no dedicated exercise since my 30 min mall walk last Tuesday. I feel bad about it, but I will confess that yesterday and again today my arch is feeling much better. Now I need to ease back into somehow building up to longer runs again. I am apprehensive about further damaging my foot. Slow and steady right? I feel like I am in an awkward place having only about a month before the half. Working 5am to 2pm this week so my plan is to get some exercise in after work. Monday my plan (depending in the weather) is an outdoor walking warm up followed by a light 4 – 6 mile jog or a biking warm up at SNAP followed by a few mile on the treadmill. And I will need to really check myself and not over do it.

Go For A Jolly Ride.

Sometimes simple things are so nice. Today I drove over to one of our Illinois systems. It was a nice drive. 2 ½ hours of piece and quiet. Listening to radio rather than plugging in the ipod was a refreshing change. I like driving, I find it relaxing. Perhaps that is because I get the chance to unplug and not be glued to the PC or stuck on a phone. Whatever it is I like it and I look forward to the drive back tomorrow.

I’m typing this up before laying down for some rest. We have a maintenance scheduled for midnight. Earlier I was going to hit the fitness room at the hotel, but opted for mall walking when I went out looking for a place to eat.



To celebrate the open road yourself, may I suggest a visit to the Virtual Toad Website. This site is still under construction but it’s really cool and offers a nice step back in time.
Be sure to look over your shoulder before entering the attraction. Ahh memories.

What Does Magic Cost?

This chart is related to comments I left over on the All About The Mouse Forums.

He's The Greatest, He's Fantastic!

In a surprise announcement this morning Cosgrove Hall Films and Disney have confirmed the upcoming release of "Danger Mouse The Motion Picture"
Inside Edition reports that the original cast members where left out in the cold and that Disney's Fab five will star in this big screen adaption.

Early rumors are that Donald Duck will be playing Count Duckula. Goofy will play the role of Agent 57 who is a master of disguise. Minnie Mouse is said to be in negotiations for the role of Colonel K. A source close to the production staff has been quoted as saying that Minnie was offered the role of the Colonel's secretary but refused the offer saying "if Dame Judy Dench can play M, I can darn well play Colonel K!"

It is also said that early screen tests with Mickey indicate what just may be a nod to Oscar. Bob Iger states that this is perhaps Mickeys most damanding role and that the animated character has insisted on doing his own stunt work. He further states that with the popularity of the Danger Mouse series in England that the show could help boister park attendance for Disneyland Paris.

No release date has been announced.

Here's a look at one of the original episodes.

Is this Heaven? No it’s Red Wing.

After my weekend epiphany over daily footwear and arch support, I took the time to visit the Red Wing store next to my office. I was looking for either new work shoes with improved support or some type of insert that offered something better than Dr. Scholl’s.

To paraphrase Clint Eastwood, Red Wing “made my day.”

The salesperson helping me brought out “Red Wing Custom Moldable Foot Bed Insoles” You can heat these in the oven and create a custom fit if you like, but from the moment I slipped my feet back into my boots I was in heaven. Now I can support my arches throughout the day and make the transition between shoes and boots knowing that I am not prone to excessively stretching my arch in flat footwear. I think this will be a major plus for me. The discomfort I have generally occurs the day after running. (walking around at work becomes uncomfortable) This afternoon I have had no trouble. In truth I think this is really a short term help because I know that internally I have injured something. However this should help with recovery and hopefully help in these final weeks leading up to Main Street and beyond.

Post Disney I am going to take a running break and really give my foot the time it needs to heal properly. This means I will need to watch my diet closer and commit (ugh) to weight training. Biking may be ok as it does not seem to bother the arch. But I am thinking an all out break for the feet may be in order. I have plans for my feet and I need them healthy for Dam next year and if I decide to participate in the Des Moines marathon next year. I’d love to consider Disney again in 2010 but financially I am not sure I can swing another year of travel down that way so soon.

Next years Dam will be a good place to decide upon whether to maintain steady training for another half during the Des Moines event or if I am willing to commit to the full. As it stands today I can not see “running” an entire marathon. Although I can envision wogging it, but I am not certain that I can do that with pace requirements. They have walkers that do the marathon, does that mean I could start with them? They leave an hour early. Do these statements sound like I’m copping out already? I hope not. (So much to consider and too soon to decide) Overall, pacing may be the key. Frankly I’m surprised to even be considering it.

At the very least I am setting some post Disney goals. I hope that many of you are too.

Duck Feet? Yes Duck Feet!

Yep that's me dressed as Donald about 17 years ago. We were going to a halloween party. My wife and her friends had the idea of being Huey, Dewey, and Louie so naturally I was to be Donald. It's funny to look back at this now knowing that soon we will all be down in the parks chasing this fine feather fellow.

Speaking of ducks and feet our pal Doc Terminus could not resist a little duck feet fun himself. Stop by Passamaquoddy and check it out.

My arch is feeling better today and I did make it out for a jog tonight. I was going to go up to SNAP for biking and treadmill work but when I stepped outside I decided to just jog outdoors. Temps here are in the low 20's but there was no wind.
I had a comfortable Dewey jog on trails I am familiar with. Two things worked in my favor today. One, because I decided to jog outside at the last minute I did not have my garmin. This was actually nice because I generally look at my pace and stress over it. Tonight I was just able to relax and have fun at a nice pace. Two, I wore an old pair of running shoes to work today. These have much higher support in them than the shoes I typically wear to the office. All day I could tell my left foot was happy. I can't wear these shoes during regular buisness so I need to come up with a plan. I am going to shop for an over the counter support for walking or I will stop over to the Red Wing store and see what they have that might work.

I played cards last night with some high school friends which was nice. It's amazing how laid back we were, compared to what seems like only a short time ago. My friend Dave tells me he has begun jogging. Hopefully he and I can work out some running times together. (Too bad the weather is turning cold here.) I told Dave he should consider DAM and shrugged it off. I think he could certainly be ready. He has been running 2-3 miles per outing for awhile now but he tells me he did over 7 one night.
He runs a 10:30 pace which puts him right there close to me. So here's hoping I can have a running buddy again.

Feet

"I wish that I had duck feet. And I can tell you why. You can splash around in duck feet. You don't have to keep them dry."

Ok I really don't want duck feet, but these days I can't keep Donald off my mind. We are just over two months away. It's exciting.

Still relying on Bike work to keep my cardio up while nursing my feet. That darn arch is slow to heal and as for that blister, I had to just take the skin off of it. The movement from walking was working the loose skin back and forth and keeping it from healing. But now its getting better and if both feet are up to it I hope to get a 6-8 mile jog in this weekend. I need to strike a good balance between now and January. But it will come together.

Stuff That Works

I created this simple video because I could not find a decent copy of this classic Guy Clark song to share. Sometimes you just have to rely on the things that work. Team Voice for example.

For Chris

So Chris posted a comment that his daughter dressed up as Jasmine for Halloween. He also mentioned she has red hair. Which caused me to wonder what Jasmine would look like with Ariel's hair...



Is anyone else having trouble viewing Andy's blog? I can briefly view it and then IE errors out and kicks me off his page. Other links seem to be working fine.