Bulletin Board of the Brain

Love Story

Kj — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:03:44 +0000

My beloved friend Lucy honored me by asking me to help officiate her wedding to Kris. I’m still reeling from what this all meant to me, but one of the amazing things she asked me to do in the service was to tell Kris’s and her love story through an enchanted narrative. Kris and Lucy have always been recognizable for the pirate and mermaid they are, so it seemed only fitting to tell the truth about them. The following story is taken from stories I got from each of them separately, things I knew on my own, and a number of stories that I prefer not to think of as fantasy, but as more than true.

Kris & Lucy, I will never forget a moment of standing with you at the start of your marriage. Thank you.

Magical things happen to all of us on our way through life without our noticing for a time they have happened. “Surely it has been there all along,” you think. “Surely I have always loved him.” “She has always been mine,” you tell yourself. And of course, being magic, it is all true, even when it is still only becoming so.

And so it was for the pirate and the mermaid who fell in love.

This mermaid of whom I speak was not unlike a certain Wendy of whom I’m sure you all have heard, who always knew just when to sit thoughtfully at a window and when to step to the window’s edge and take flight toward the stars. The pirate was not unlike Peter Pan, who, despite choosing never to grow up, knew all the best pathways through enchanted woods, which only the wisest of adults know. But above all, the mermaid and the pirate were not unlike each other, for while both delighted in the kind of solitary escapades that can only be undertaken in secret, they each separately believed that true adventure, is best when undertaken with a friend; For adventures are always sweetest when you can see in another’s smile, that Yes, this is an unforgettable moment.

Both the pirate and the mermaid were frequenters of a certain lagoon, nestled in a corner of a much-loved island. Though both spent many days and nights and weeks throughout the years enjoying the lagoon, they both thought of it as their own, and rarely, at least in the beginning, noticed that anyone other soul besides themself kept is as a home away from home.

For the mermaid, naturally, lived at the edge of the sea. On evenings when the sunset promised to be dazzling, the young mermaid would climb to a secret spot on the cliff overlooking the ocean to watch the sun settle down to bed in the deeper sea beyond her reach.

To the south, in an isolated patch of woods, the young pirate enjoyed the solitude offered by tall trees and disguised hideouts. Even as a boy, the pirate was a superb swordsman and parried with dazzling rapidity against imaginary foes.

And while the years passed, we would be mistaken if we thought the pirate and mermaid never noticed one another or spoke, for to be sure, it was not a very large lagoon they frequented. But did they recognize each other? Not quite. “How can this be,” you ask, “if they shared a home away from home.”

Some would say it was because the pirate and the mermaid had seen each other so often in their dreams, they did not know the other was real. I’m inclined to agree with those that say so.

And this would explain how one night, when both the pirate and the mermaid were invited to the same banquet, they fell into conversation so easily.

The mermaid thought herself dreaming, though wide awake, when she noticed a rakish-looking man in a well-haberdashered suit and fine boots. The mermaid said to herself, “Here’s a flashy fellow, but not in the artificial way of bobs and bangles. No, his is a flash like sunset beams on the water, natural and luminous.”

The pirate recognized the mermaid from across the room. “I have seen her before” he thought, “ seen her standing on the shore in a bright dress with her hair dancing in the wind, have seen her facing the rain on a hillside, bundled against the storm yet eager for more. Have these things happened already or are they about to?” He wondered.

And it seemed only natural that he should cross the room to her and speak.

“I know you,” he said. “I know who you are.”
“You know me?” said she, “Well, I am not hard to find. Many know my name.”
“But I know who you are. You are a mermaid.”

She was taken aback. For though she had recognized him, she did not expect him to recognize her.
“What you say is true,” said the mermaid. “But how did you know?”
The pirate replied, “There is a certain lagoon I’ve had reason to visit often. I’ve seen you there laughing with your sisters, and teaching the little fishes new games to play.”

“And I recognize you,” admitted the mermaid. “But maybe I mistook you for a fish. I see now I must have been mistaken. You are a pirate, aren’t you?” she said.
He smiled his ‘Yes.’
“Do you pillage and plunder for treasure”
“Certainly not. I design treasures and share them. What treasure do you seek?”
“Well” said the mermaid, “I should like something to keep me warm on my windy walks on the shore.”

And just like that, the mermaid found herself wrapped in the warmth sown by this pirate, her friend.
“You made this just for me?” she inquired.
“Truth be told, I made it for myself, but thought it would suit you better.”
“Then I like it all the more. What else can you do?” asked the mermaid.

The pirate leaned in so that only the mermaid could hear, and said, “I can fill a single day with one thousand adventures. I can make wearing a tie look fun. I can walk in the wind and the rain and snow so long as it’s a new place to go.”

The mermaid smiled, put her hands on her hips and winked up at him. “Well, sir pirate. I shall put you to the test.”

And she did. For if you cannot already tell, both the mermaid and the pirate had lion courage. Neither was tame, but both were good. From that day forward, adventures were of daily occurrence. The difficulty is which one to choose to close our tale. Should we follow them snowshoeing up the frozen volcano? That is a pretty story and shows how brave both can be when the other is there to encourage them. Or we could join them at their favorite talking spot and eavesdrop on their secrets.

But since our time is short, I think the best story would be the adventure of the sunken treasure. For, after years of many mini-adventures, the pirate and mermaid decided that to live together would be an awfully big adventure.

“Now forever more, I will call you ‘my pirate,’” said the mermaid. “What now will you call me?”
Her pirate replied, “I will call you Lucy, for your own name is the sound I like most of all.”

And hearing this, she took him by the hand, leapt into the surf, and led him swimming to a place she’d always wanted to explore, but had not yet had reason to. There, glittering under the water, hidden by undersea caves was a pirate ship, not ravaged by wreck, but in perfect condition, as if its crew decided to put it to there to sleep after a long day afloat. And as the mermaid began to unroll slippery maps on the captain’s table, the pirate waved her over to a small bronze chest whose lock was broken. Eager to see what was inside, the pirate and the mermaid opened the case together and what do you think they found inside, but two golden rings, studded with sapphires.

“They match,” said the mermaid to the pirate once they were back on shore.
“And so do we,” said the pirate.

It will come to no surprise to any of you here to learn that not long after this, the mermaid and the pirate invited all their friends together to a beautiful spot, not far from their lagoon, so they could give these rings to one another.

And if you are a lucky one, on a day such as this, if you happen to wander onto a certain island, you might, just as the sun is setting and the stars are beginning to wake, see a mermaid and a pirate dancing to the rhythm of the sea, as the night sings “This is love, this is love, this is love, that we’re feeling.”

If you see this, you will have no doubt that, Yes, this is an unforgettable moment.

*wedding photos stolen from Facebook friends

‘Run to the Woods’: Songs for an Appalachian Dystopian Narrative

Kj — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:02:44 +0000

I tend to only use Pandora in situations where I can’t use iTunes, which then means I just try to recreate my finely honed playlists designed mostly for reading. So of course for re-reading The Hunger Games, I needed to create a portable station with which to read along. When I started plugging tracks from the [AMAZING] Songs From District 12 and Beyond album, I began to pay attention to every song Pandora played to see if the lyrics would fit the narrative, characters and world of The Hunger Games Trilogy. I keep being shocked at how eerily this mix of indie folk, bluegrass, etc has captured so much of the texture and tone of the stories. As an interpretive experience, I love discovering those songs that sound like one character speaking to another, or maybe just songs that certain characters would listen to if they could. And I especially love when the artist name, album or cover art evokes the mood as well.

Here’s some lyric highlights from songs that have come up, (and were findable on youtube). There are many, many more. The name of my Hunger Games station on Pandora is called ‘Run to the Woods’ I dig it.

Mother’s Sick by Horse Feathers from Words are Dead

-Mother’s sick. She’s gone mad.
A daughter’s tricked, she’s been had.
Life just don’t always fold up neat.
Sadness will come in different sheets.

As blue eyes state, on your father’s face,
hides some grace.
All those years your youth has stole.

Have You Ever by Brandi Carlile from The Story

-Have you ever wandered lonely through the woods?
And everything there feels just as it should
You’re part of the life there
You’re part of something good

-Have you ever stared into a starry sky?
Lying on your back you’re asking why
What’s the purpose I wonder who am I

Flowers and Blood by Marie Sioux from Faces in the Rocks

-I’ll shoot me a gun made of leaf and branch in this here town
And eat me a bowl full of secret and mud, yes, i will
I’ll eat eat me a bowl full of secret and mud, yes, i will
If you build up a new me of flowers and blood — say you will
Build up a new me of flowers and blood — say you will

How Long by Eilen Jewell from Letters from Sinners & Strangers

-The darkness is deep, but night will end
‘Cause truth crushed to earth will rise again
How long will it take, you want to know
How long, not long because you reap just what you sow

Sing your Song by Johnny Bertram from Sing Your Song

-If you wake up in the morning to find
your things all gone
sing your song
And if you bed down in the darkest cave
of fear and fright
shine your light
Don’t let yourself pretend
that this is the end

- If you’re standing on the battlefield wearing blood,
the lines are drawn
sing your song
And if you’re stuck in situations far out
beyond your control
Let them go

Sing Out by Mason Jennings from Blood of Man

-I’ve been a rolling stone since the devil first came to me
No light upon my feet, so much that I couldn’t see
I was a hurricane till the hurricane called my name
Into the eye of the storm out of the cold, cold rain

-Sing out, sing for the wounded heart
Sing for the lives we’ve lost

Love Song for Buddy by Headlights from Wildlife

-We’re all gonna die tomorrow
Waiting around for your friends to come down and join you

-Don’t you want to say you tried?
Don’t you want to say you tried to the ones you love?

Because the Odds are Not in Their Favor (Potential Hunger Games Spoilers Within)

Kj — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:19:03 +0000

I’ve avoided writing about The Hunger Games on my blog because I’ve assigned the text for a class I’m teaching this summer, and didn’t want all my salient lecture points (or student paper topics) just sitting here willy nilly on my blog, but I’m breaking my rule because of an outstanding intertextual experience I had, which clarified some lingering questions.

You might know that I’ve seen the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ book 8 times in the theatre (so far?). I’ve read the first book 4 times. As any good adaptation should, the film raised new and different questions for me than did the original text. Reading the series, most of my questions dealt with my identity as a consumer. It doesn’t take much self-knowledge or cultural awareness as a reader to know that you are not Katniss or Peeta; you are the Capitol. You are the person wearing shoes made by an impoverished person somewhere distant you’ll likely never see and eating food you played no role in harvesting. As Katniss implicitly invites you to be horrified by the Capitol citizens’ egregious oppression through ignorance, she implicates our participation in a similarly convenenient incognizance.

What the film allows that the book does not is an insider’s perspective of the Game Makers and Game technicians. The books give no details of the people who push the buttons that lead children to their deaths, but now the film does. What’s brilliant about the film’s protrayal is that the button-pushers are not the bloated beardy men drinking cocktails above the Training Center so clearly coded as “Old School Evil Boys Club.” No, the button pushers are genial, hard-working folk who take pride in their specialized skills and participation in a finely honed team of magic-makers. The nerdy blonde smiles coyly when she sees that Katniss has noticed one of the cameras embedded in a tree. The booming voice behind the final countdown is a baby-faced fellow who can’t be older than twenty. And the top dog of the button pushers, the creator of the mutations that kill Thresh and ravage Cato, is the lovely and amiable Lucia, who most greatly resembles the woman you would choose to sit next to on the bus if the seats were filling up. These are the people literally smiling as they steer teenagers toward violent deaths.

As I watched I had to ask myself, in what area of my life might I be as benignly comfortable with people’s deaths. The question didn’t have time to fully form before “The Military” lit up my brain. While I certainly don’t smile cheerfully while hearing troop casualty reports, there certainly exists in my mind an attitude of “you know what you’re signing up for.” Now I’d like to qualify my remarks by explaining all the ways that my attitude is totally different than the game techs and that of course I respect the people who serve in the armed forces, but the point I’m trying to make is that the film showed me my own attitudes extrapolated to their not-too-far-reaching extremities. The films takes my subtle reduction of “soldiers die” and makes it visible. Lucia smiles as she prepares a canon to announce Katniss’ death because Katniss isn’t a real person to her. Katniss is a tribute, and “tributes die.” “That’s what they [get] sign[ed] up for.”

That observation had been floating in the back of my mind until the other night when, after seeing The Hunger Games again, I watched Winter’s Bone, the film that garnered Jennifer Lawrence an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Watching the film now, its not hard to see why Lawrence was Suzanne Collins’ ideal Katniss. Ree Dolly is a modern-day Katniss, roaming the Ozarks in search of her meth-cooking father so she can keep her siblings and clinically depressed/catatonic mother fed and safe. It would have been hard not to read these two films intertextually for narrative reasons, setting, score, regardless of Jennifer Lawrence’s presence, but her performance made me watch more closely.

What jumped out most to me in Winter’s Bone was the issue of entering the armed forces. We see Ree watching admiringly as her former classmates practice drills either for the color guard or ROTC (she’s clearly dropped out of high school to care for her family). As she enters neighbors’ homes, its common to see a soldier’s portrait on the mantel: decorated as a memorial or just decorated with pride? And most significantly, 17 year-old Ree tries to enroll in the army for the $40,000 signing pay. She is unapologetic about wanting to join just for the money, which she needs in order to keep her family alive.

The American flags, eagles, and patriotic symbols that adorn the homes and bodies of the characters throughout this poverty stricken tale finally connected the dots that The Hunger Games film had drawn. Who are our present day teenagers that submit themselves to danger and violence because poverty makes it appear as their best option? And why is it that patriotism for the country that propagates this system seems highest in the very communities who are paying the greatest cost? The parallels to Distict 1 and 2 [and beyond] are not hard to see. If you’re going to be forced through poverty to fight a battle so a wealthy population that doesn’t know your name can keep their cars running on the resources your life is paying for, then might not it be easier to accept the propaganda and embrace the ideology that what you’re doing is noble and for the greater good, rather than the alternative? In The Hunger Games the Career Tributes have adopted the Capitol’s view of The Games being a field in which to gain glory through being the boldest, strongest, most fearless warrior. And this is the Capitol’s brilliance- as long as some of the oppressed believe the propaganda surrounding the vehicle of oppression, the system will keep running smoothly.

What is it that Donald Sutherland’s President Snow says as he greats the 24 reaped teenagers at the Tribute Parade?:

“We salute your courage and your sacrifice.”

In the dystopian future-world of Panem, the poorest residents die publicly for the sake of maintaining wealth and convenience for the privileged. Today the deaths are overseas and harder to see.

What Yankee Candle Means to Me: Ep 16.

Kj — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:18:44 +0000

Can’t believe I’ve been doing these for over a year…

What Happened To Me Tuesday

Kj — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 09:16:54 +0000

This

What can I say? I am astounded, dumbfounded, profoundly humbled, and indescribably grateful.

And a little bit closer to leaving Seattle.

[no comment]

Miss Representation

Kj — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 07:16:18 +0000

This Wednesday at The Seattle School, I’ll be one of 7 panelists for a screening of this excellent documentary. We’ll be discussing portrayals of women in media, and no doubt lots of feminist theology goodness! Come, if you like.

Writing Papers for Fun & Amusement (and battling personal demons)

Kj — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 08:53:58 +0000

It’s been about a month since I presented my Harry Potter research at the 2012 Southwest/Texas Popular & American Culture Association’s conference. Per the growing trend in my life, I wrote the paper in order to address some personal questions. Some people make art installations; I write research papers. I’m learning to accept this about myself.**

The idea to write this particular paper was born quite a while ago, from maybe my 29th viewing of the film adaptation of Prisoner of Azkaban. I don’t remember a particular moment of revelation, but I’ve since forced many a person to listen to my interpretative theory of the Expecto Patronum spell. I even blogged about it.

But when the time came to decide if I should go to the conference this year, I took the fact that 2012 would be the inaugural year of a specific “Harry Potter Studies” section of the conference, as a sign that it was time to test my theory to see if the text itself, (much less my amateur Latin translating abilities), would support my interpretation.

Turns out its really hard to write a paper when you haven’t done so in almost two years. Thankfully, a snow storm set down in Seattle right when I needed to create more hours in the day in order to write. I pushed through, and am really pleased with what I managed to eke out. What I’m posting here is really only a draft- I know some of what I’d fix if I were to submit it for publication, (the title, for example). but this draft gets across the gist of what I wanted to explore.

You can open the pdf here: Expecto Pater–Kj Swanson.
Or, if you’re not in the mood to read 27 pages about a late ’90′s children’s fantasy novel, here’s some Powerpoint presentation highlights instead. Enjoy!

**The actual reason I wrote this paper was to help me decide my third tattoo text.

Celtic Prayer

Kj — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:57:20 +0000

I’ve been fortunate this spring to be an assistant instructor for the Celtic Spirituality class at The Seattle School, taught by Tom Cashman. This week, students brought in prayers they had written in the Celtic style, some features of which include a Trinitarian focus, attention to nature and specifics of everyday life, a rhythmic structure, and nuance between the immanence and eminence of God. I took the opportunity to write two myself. Here they are.

Prayer for the orphaned

Holy God
Fractal father of the universe
You are the same from near as from far
show me how I am shaped like you
that I would not prize isolation over relationship

Holy spirit
Voice of the wind
You are as gentle as you are strong
Help me hear the secret vows I have made
That I might be freed from lies I have believed

Holy Christ
Most human of humans
You are both healer and king
Enlarge my heart to take compassionate risks
That I would not run from the pain of love

Prayer for Awe

I bind to me this day
The wisdom of the Spirit
She who wakes the fairies
Speaks through dream language
Rouses repentance through story
May I respond to your truth at the moment I hear you, and not hesitate to trust

I bind to me this day
The beauty of the Son
He who walks with the wolves in winter
Laughs with the mischievous toddler
Keens with the mourning lover
May I respond to your desire at the moment I am near you, and not hesitate to love

I bind to me this day
The faith of the Creator
Who stirs the atoms of the universe
Unfurls the spirals of time
Encloses every reality to one
May I respond to your presence at the moment of my need,
at the moment of my joy,
at the moment of my death
and at the moment of my transformation,
that I would not hesitate to embody the fullness of what you made me to be: yours.

What I Do in ABQ

Kj — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:07:06 +0000

Last week, Ian and I reunited for our third trip to the Southwest/Texas Popular and American Culture Association Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s a fascinating blend of faculty, doctoral/grad students, undergrads and random smart people, all getting together for four days of watching people present papers on anything and everything relating to Pop Culture or American Culture. This spans the Grateful Dead to Library Sciences; The Beat poets to Grand Theft Auto; Film History to Biker Culture. It’s pretty rad.

Ian and I attended over 18 panels in 4 days, which measures at least 54 individual papers. The conference was a bit (extremely) disorganized compared to past years, with an unending tide of no-shows and cancellations, as well as one day where no lunch or dinner break was scheduled, with only 15 minutes breaks from 8am-8:30pm. Needless to say, while staying at the lovely and newly remodeled Hyatt Regency for 5 nights may seem like a vacation, (Ian & I have logged enough nights at this place over 4 years to qualify for their Gold Passport) we were lucky if we got seven hours of sleep ever, usually having to get up at 6:30 (app. 6 hours earlier than I’m used to getting up). But it’s always worth it to be inspired by new ideas and frames of thought, as well as gaining new perspectives on things you know well.

Our approach to choosing what panels to attend is honed each year. What I landed on this time, is that I get a lot more out of going to papers on topics I know very little about as opposed to going to the one’s in my field. It comes down to the fact that hearing papers on the Hunger Games, you just sit there saying “yep- already thought of that and that and why didn’t you mention this”, etc. But when I step into a different discipline, where I may know the thing being discussed, but not the methodology being applied, my synapses explode with new frames of thought. As has been true every year thus far, Ian and I are always most impressed, inspired and mind-blown by the presenters from Game Studies, even though-or especially because- neither he nor I ever really play video games. Listening to people talk in detail about the theories and meaning behind stuff you personally only know a little about opens up whole worlds of ideas. We love the gang at Game Studies. We’re their biggest secret fans.

But even in great presentations, you run into some common tropes- tempting one towards drinking games of oft-used phrases or sources. This year’s list:

Most-Heard Phrases From SWTX2012 Papers:

“gender performativity”

“Baudrillard says …”

“according to Thomas Campbell’s hero’s journey…”

“signifier”

“the Walt Disney Corporation”

Also, of note, of all places, Mark Driscoll came up three times. (Is nowhere safe?)

We had a great time, and thanks to the fact that my friend Sarah moved to ABQ last fall, Ian and I actually got to travel beyond the 5 block radius of the Hyatt Regency. We were not forced to eat at Maloney’s three nights in a row. Hallelujah. Here’s the list of panels I attended and some notable papers.

SWTX2012 Panels & Papers of Note

Gender and Sexual identity 1: Queer(ying) American Popular Culture
Young, Out, and Proud: the History, Development, and Impact of Young Homosexual Characters on Television
Robin Haynie, University of Texas at Tyler

Graphic Novels, Comics, and Popular Culture 1: Superheroes
Superinjuns: An examination of Two of Popular Culture’s Native American Stereotypes in Marvel Comics’ X-Men
Kristin Riggs, Texas State University

Religion 3: Interpreting Religion, B
Faith Plus One: Jesus People, Contemporary Christian Music, and the Question of Authenticity, 1970-today
Krystal Humphries, Texas Tech University

Stephen Colbert and Stephen King: Catechists for a Secular World
Kathleen Heininge, George Fox University

Science Fiction & Fantasy: Screening and Sing-along
Joss Whedon’s ‘Dr Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog’ and Buffy the Vampire Slayer S6E7 ‘Once More With Feeling’

The Apocalypse in Popular Culture: Literature of the Apocalypse-The Hunger Games
Teenage Love, Dystopia, and The Hunger Games
Heather Braun, Macon State College

Computer Culture 2: Apps, Blogs, and Social Networks
Hipstamatic, an App for Nostalgia of the Recent Past
Maria de Panbehchi, Virginia Commonwealth University

God 2.0: Religious Groups, People of Faith, and Social Media Use
Amanda McClendon, Independent Scholar

Myth and Fairy Tales 1: Disney’s Consumer Culture
Cooking with Class: How Food Represents Status in Ratatouille
Jason Feldstein, New York University

Game Studies 5: Culture, Play, and Practice
Fallout 3 and Yesterday’s World of Tomorrow
Rowan Derrick, University of Wyoming

Religion 5: Women and Religion
Be Quiet, Already: Evangelical Popular Culture’s Misogyny Problem
Melanie Springer Mock, George Fox University

Blogging for God: Women, Christianity Today, Sojourners, and The Christian Century
Kendra Weddle Irons, Texas Wesleyan University

Game Studies 7; Culture, Play, and Practice
The Mouth of the Cave: The Challenges of Player Doubt in Computer Game Narratives
Jennifer DeWinter, Worcester Polytechnic University

Harry Potter Studies 4: Colloportus! Harry Potter and Class
Work in a Magical World: Revisiting the Stratification of Castes in the Harry Potter Series
Lindsay Clifton, Youngstown State University

Harry Potter Studies 5: Protego! The Relationships of Harry Potter
Making Up Wizards: Technologies of the Body in the Magical World
Deana Day, University of Pennsylvania

Expecto Pater: Reading Harry’s Journey of Identity in Prisoner of Azkaban through a Theological/Psychological Lens
*Me! Kj Swanson, The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology

Computer Culture 4: Theory and Vision
From the Page to the Screen: Towards a Model of Interactivity in Reading Practices
Jenna Pack, University of Arizona

The Apocalypse in Popular Culture 4: The Apocalypse as Positive and/or Negative
‘I’d Shake Your Hand But I Don’t Want to Set a Bad Example’: Contagion and the Display of Global Paranoia in Contemporary Epidemic Films
Julia Echevarria-Domingo, University of Zaragoza

‘Not With a Bang But With a Whimper’: Dollhouse’s ‘Thought-pocalypse’ as Cautionary Capitalist Tale
Erin Giannini, Independent Scholar

Food and Culture 11: Alcohol and Nostalgia in American Popular Culture
Don’t Drink the Bath Water: Moonshine and Filth in the Lower Class
Sarah McMahon, University of Colorado Denver

Cosmos, Wine, and Shots of Tequila: The Urban Girl’s Fairytale
Tiffany Fitzgerald, University of Colorado Denver

Science Fiction & Fantasy: Guest Lecture
Thinking Dothraki: An Evening with David J. Peterson, Language Creator for HBO’s Game of Thrones

Film & History 2: Ethnicity, Gender. Politics, and Film History
Dealing in Absolutes: Experiments with Music and Animation in the works of Walt Disney and Oskar Fischinger
Ian Klein, Columbia University (my co-conferencer!)

Double Dutch: Transforming Female Jewish Identity in Verhoeven’s Black Book
Ruuard Dykstra, University of Western Ontario

Film & History 3: Medieval History/Contemporary Film
Crusade, Jihad, Film: The Encryption of Despair
Robin Vose, St. Thomas University

Templars, Witches, and the Holy Wars: Religious Critique in 21st Century Medieval Period Films
Benjamin Villarreal, New Mexico Highlands University

The Happiest Place on Earth

Kj — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:04:32 +0000

2012 has kicked off as quite the Year of Enchantment. [Ironically, 2012 also features the schedule from hell, but oh well.] Notable among the happenings thus far, is…

WINNING A TRIP TO DISNEYLAND!

Yes, that’s right, people. Sometimes it pays to follow DisneyParks on Twitter. I happened to be on my computer when they posted a link on how to win a night and a day for 2 at the newly refurbished Disneyland Hotel, and TIX to both Disneyland and California Adventure. Amazingly, it wasn’t a sweepstakes; the first 40 people to answer the blog question correctly would win the prize. I had the answer and my info in within 6 minutes of the posting, so I felt my odds were good, but in the land of Interweb, not guaranteed. Nevertheless, about an hour later, my email went “Ding!” and there was an email from Disney Travel Promotions congratulating me as a winner.

I shouted various expletives of astonishment and celebration.

Part of the promotion was a very small window in which the trip had to be taken, so I managed to finally literally the only 48 hours in which I could do it: Jan Jan 25-26. Then I invited Spiro to join me: an awesome coda to the trip to Disneyworld she took me on in 2010. It seems I am destined to never pay to go to a Disney park. Note:

Dec 1991–Disneyland: Age 12, so didn’t have to pay

Spring 1995–Disneyland: Went as a performer with high school so didn’t have to pay

Summer 2003–Disneyland & California Adventure: Signed in for free by my cast member friend

Dec 2010–Disneyworld: Gifted graduation $$ from beloved friends, and a free week’s stay at the resort as a guest of Spiro who was shooting a wedding there.

Jan 2012–Disneyland & California Adventure: On Disney Promotion’s dime.

** Somewhere in there Erin, Richard and I went in middle school, but I can’t remember the circumstances. I just know we screamed like maniacs on every fantasyland kiddie ride, and received many disturbed looks as a result.

So this time, with Spiro and I headed down, I alerted Ian that we’d be in his ‘hood, hoping he could take a day off and join us at the park. He could and he did. THEN Jonathan decided to make it his birthday weekend trip, and flew down too. He and Ian are both annual passport holders!

With some help from another Disney cast member friend, we got a discount on a second night, as well as an extra evening at the park the night before. Fantabulous.

Ian told me that gnereal statistics for visitors to the park is 8 attractions in a day. With 3 hours Wednesday night and 11 hours the next, Spiro and I hit 28 ATTRACTIONS. We rocked it!

Highlights:

Star Tours-The Adventures Continue: The new Star Tours 3D adventure was sock-off-knocking. We rode it 5 times. Each time was different. With a series of 5 sections of multi-options, there are 53 possible different ride combinations. We went to Hoth, to Tattoine, underwater on Naboo, and a bunch of other places. And the 3D was so sharp, it never felt like 3D.
Pirates of the Caribbean: the recent film franchise has captured my heart (minus the last two) and it makes the ride all the more captivating. It’s a slow, take-in-every-detail ride through politically and historically incorrect scenes, but oh the charm of it all! Yo ho ho!

Animation Academy: Ian showed us this hidden gem. It’s tucked into a building in California Adventure that looks like something just for kids. But when we walked in, we were immersed in a giant room paneled with giant screens of classic animation and concept art, with select songs playing to accompany them. We sat on the carpeted floor of the air-conditioned room for over 20 minutes while scene after scene of magical Disney memories performed for and around us. I could have sat there all day. There’s also great activities inside, including having your voice stolen by Ursula in her Grotto and discovering your true Disney identity in the Beast’s enchanted library. Amazing.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage: the old 20’000 Leagues Under the Sea submarines have been transformed to take you to Nemo’s coral reef, and it’s wonderful. This is one case where using video projection on a “live action” ride really works, and I felt like I was really discovering an undersea world. My mouth was agape the whole time.

Monster’s Inc.–Mike & Sully to the Rescue: This is a kid’s ride at California Adventure, and it is wonderful. It feels like you’re in the jazzy, pastel-colored, hi-jinxy, romp of a world that is the film. And there are smells! Of all things to find on a kid’s ride, when we crashed through the sushi restaurant, the smell of wasabi is unmistakable. Loved it!

The Disneyland Hotel rooms: Spiro had been to the hotel less than 2 years before and remembered the sad, 70’s décor. It’s all gone! The hotel has been redecorated with imagery from Mary Blair’s work, my favorite Disney artist. Also, the standard rooms are about the quality of a business class hotel, which is much nicer than I anticipated. But the most magical moment of all was this: Spiro and I had just got into our room and were getting organized. I turned a switch on the lamp between the beds, but instead of a light coming on, I heard the very quiet notes of a music box playing Cinderella’s “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” I said ‘Spiro! Listen!” But she said “Kj. LOOK.” Behind me, the wooden headboard, which stretched between both beds and featured a giant carved-out castle, had lit up with twinkling fireworks. Our headboard was a magical, singing, sparkling, twinkling nightlight!

It was an amazing trip, which also included a glorious birthday meal at Steakhouse 55 to celebrate Jonathan’s birthday, and much, much screaming and laughter. Spiro made a great little video blog, and it features the magical headboard. And in case you miss it, there’s another video of that too (you have to turn that one up loud to hear it).

Thank you Disney, for kicking off my year of enchantment! And all in the span of 48 hours!