Croker steals Brazil

Ok, I'm a huge fan of the Italian Job, and I loved how they re-did it from the original. But there's been talk about a sequel, and I hope it comes out sometime relatively soon. Apparently They've got most of the original cast back on for the movie, according to IMDB.com, so here's to hoping they start shooting this movie soon. Until then, the mini's are idling in the garage.

Teens

I recently got chewed out by a "friend", saying how much I've "changed", and how much of a "jerk I've become." I have, but I haven't. I mean, I've matured more in areas I lacked previously, and I've grown to watch what I say more than I did. If you don't like me for some reason in the past, or you think I did something wrong in the past, please just send me a message so I know what I did wrong. I'll apologize, and I will try to improve. There's always room for improvement. Anyways, I'm not like most teens. I don't conform to the latest trends, and I blaze my own trail. I do what I want, because I like it, not because it's "cool". Heck, me and two other friends had a formspring, and about two months later, 8-10 people from my old school had one!

This past year, I walked onto campus thinking I was "it". I knew a lot of girls liked me, and I knew a lot of guys didn't like me, because a lot of girls liked me. I let that get to my head. I'm sorry I acted arrogant, and I'm sorry I wasn't the class act I know I can be, and am striving to be. But since the first quarter of school, I've changed. I've mellowed out, and I don't really care about what girls like me. The way I see it, if you like me, and I like you, let's see where we can go with dating, and being a "couple". I don't consider myself to be a player, because at this age, we are just trying to figure out what we want in a person for out future spouse. So if there's something in a girl that's against my standards and morals, I'm not going to continue dating. I'm just tired of trying to be me, and getting crap for it. If you don't like who I am, or what I do, then here's some tips: 1. Don't go gossiping to your drama-infested friends. 2. Get over it. 3. Find a way to be nice, and come talk to me about the issue at hand.

Ok, rant's over. Now onto other stuff. . . . .

The Captain Has Landed.

Captain EO is making the grand tribute debut tomorrow at the parks. First showing is at 10:00. Disney will have a press release, or announcement today at 1:45, so check back to see the news on that. I'm actually looking forward to this show, since Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (or HISTA) has been there since 1998, and honestly, the same 3D show gets old after 3 years at maximum. And with todays technology, people can just pay $10.00 to go see the same thing at their local theater. Either way, this is here for a limited time, so catch it while you can. Hopefully we get something really awesome after this ends. No Monster's Inc Laugh Floor, or Stitch's Alien Encounter. We don't need another cloned attraction. Something new, and fresh would be preferred.

Nationtastic

I know this is a few days late, and the news was already released, but in case you missed it, the Electrical Parade is headed east this summer. She’s going to Walt Disney World for their very own “Summer Nightastic” summer events. Personally, I’d much rather see her back on the original street she came from. After all, it IS Disneyland’s 55^th anniversary this year. But, Walt Disney World has been struggling more than Disneyland to bring in guests, so I can understand this move. What bothers me, is that Disneyland has some relatively cheap entertainment, especially in the parade section. Celebrate! A Street Parade is way too “High School Musical” for me. And it’s odd to see classic characters dressed in urban outfits, dancing to party music that my parents used to dance to.

There were rumors of the “Worlds of Wonder” parade making a debut this year, but I’m guessing budget cuts caused this parade to be shelved…at least for now. I just wish that Disneyland would have a high quality parade that people willingly stake spots out for hours in advance. Ehem, remember Parade of Dreams? Yea, up to its last days, I saw people waiting upwards of two hours to save spots for it. Now, less people wait for C!ASP. Most just stop when it shows up.

Why does Disneyland do mostly nighttime entertainment? On an average spring/summer night, there’s a showing of fireworks, 2 of Fantasmic!, and then the bands at the Tomorrowland Terrace. There’s nothing inside the Fantasyland Theater, and even in Frontierland, there’s been a decrease in Billy Hill and the Hillbillies shows. I’d love to see Aladdin’s Oasis reopen, have a tropical meal, and bring back the Tahitian Show. Not to mention, A revue show in the Golden Horseshow that’s an hourly or so occurrence. Redesign the Fantasyland Theater to actually represent a theater, instead of a dry shamu arena, and put in a very high quality, Broadway style show. I’d even be happy if they transplanted the current, and soon to be late, Aladdin show to this location. At least for the beginning, then they could bring in other shows. Maybe Mulan, or, a combination show of all the Fantasyland dark rides. And the old Festival of Fools arena, there’s some potential here for a western show, or just gut it, and make room for a new attraction on the backside of the Rivers of America.

So much can be done, and there’s always room for creating magic. It’s just a matter of time until things change. It’s Disneyland. It will always change until imagination leaves this world.

Fog and the Beach

One of the coolest things I love is a foggy night at the beach. It's just something about it that's just really fun. I'm a pretty romantic guy, and I've always wanted to walk hand in hand, just sipping on coffee, or tea, just talking, enjoying each others company on the pier, listening to the sound of the crashing waves...that'd be so awesome. I guess my future wife will love me for that. :-)

I really love the beach, and wish I could live over here. The weather is nice almost all the time, there's the ocean to surf and boogie board in, the sand to jog on, great food, good people, it's just so much better than Bakersfield. I mean, the only thing I like about Bakersfield is how centrally located it is to everything. Pretty much two hours from anything. The high desert, L.A, the beach, Fresno (who wants to go there anyways?), it's all two hours away. Other than that, I care less for it. Hopefully, I can go to college, then get a job that's close to the beach.

Valentine's Day

Well, today's the only day a diaper wearing midget can shoot people in the butt, and say it's for "love". It's also single's awareness day, for all the amazingly awesome people who are still looking for their Prince Charming or Cinderella. Here's hoping you find them. They're out there, just keep looking! For everyone that's in a relationship, I hope you have a romantic day with your significant other. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Howlin' At The Moon

Went to the movies last night with my buddy Kevin and saw Wolfman. I was wanting to see this from the commercials, but after seeing it, I wasn't really that impressed. Granted, I must give Universal props for sticking to the original for the most part, but I really wanted more depth to the story. The action scenes, and transformation scenes were impressive, and overall, the movie was well shot. Some cool angles were used, and the graphics were really neat. But just like Avatar, I felt it lacked a lot of depth. But, if you want to see it for just entertainment, and just to see something on a lazy Saturday, go for it. Otherwise, wait for the next full moon to see something better.

View On Homosexuality

Ok, recently I've had a debate with someone on my Formspring (http://www.formspring.me/mainstreetjake ) over views on homosexuality. Now, at first I was only joking around, thinking it was just someone being funny. Well, now that views are conflicting, and a heated debate has ensued, I thought this would be the best way to post ALL of what I want to say, so I don't have to compress it all into short messages. These are my personal beliefs, and you can take them for what they're worth.

Now, first off, I do believe that homosexuality is a choice, rather than something that's natural. My theory is, is that there's instances where babies are born, and they have both X and Y chromosomes. If this happens, the some guys are then, naturally having a "softer" side to them, and for girls, sometimes a manlier side. But, there are people who aren't "gay" because of this. How could being gay be naturally traited in a human? If it was, then wouldn't God have made Adam and Steve, and not Adam and Eve? In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve, and from there, an attraction to the opposite sex.

The person debating this against me wanted me to watch segments on youtube about this topic, and I did. But there was one story in the video that proves my point. A man was raised in church, and when he was in late Jr. High, his friends got a hold of a Playboy. Apparently, the images did nothing for him. So, he assumed that something was "wrong" with him. From here, he had to choose to either figure out what's "wrong" or act on it, and say "I'm gay. Those images didn't do anything for me, so I'm gay." So, from that, being gay is an action.

The person said I couldn't have gay friends, and have the beliefs I have. Well, yes, in fact I can. I may not agree with their lifestyle, however, I do have gay friends, and I don't judge them. It's their life, not mine. I'm always here to talk about my beliefs, and opinions, and I'm not going to force them upon a person, if they don't force theirs on mine.

After this, I am done with this debate. If you wish to talk to me more about it, send me a e-mail, or message on Facebook. There is a link to my Facebook on the right side of the homepage. And here's my E-mail - jacobmatthew1992@aol.com

Hope everyone has a good day!

>>Jake

Late Night World of Color Testing

Decided to check the Mattercam on the HoJo hotel tonight....turns out they're testing for the WoC. Here's a screenshot of the fountains. You can't see much, but I think these are the blowpops being tested. These things go HIGH. To get what I mean, Mickey's Fun Wheel is 150 feet high, and these are at about 120-130 feet. It's crazy to see how high they go, and at that, see the color travel with the water that high!

World of Color

Photo courtesy of Darkbeer: http://darkbeer.smugmug.com/

Gosh, I can't explain how excited I am to see this show. This new nighttime spectacular taking place in Disney's California Adventure's Paradise Bay, is going to pack the crowds in. The roughly 25 minute show is going to take viewers on basically, an emotional roller coaster. The show takes emotions, and portrays them through color. I've got some people who update me every so often with news on what's been tested recently, and how things work, and I have to say, this show technology-wise, is crazy!

A short summary of some cool stuff that's in the show:

- Projection Domes - waterproof white domes that rise up, and tilt 90 degrees, with projectors on the inside, allowing for circular objects like a jellyfish, or planet to come to life.

- Flame Whips - basically a flame thrower, with the ability to rotate in a 360 degree circle, and can tilt 55 degrees.

- Blow Pops - fountains that shoot 200 feet in the air.

- Butterfly fountains. - eight fountains, four on each side, rise and fall in a wing like motion.

And that's just some of it. There's also water chasers, water whips, water screens, lasers, LED's, and so much more. This show is going to be so visually stunning. And here's some photos from testing of the show, and a clip of testing the fountains. There's been no official opening date yet, but expect a late Spring opening. My guess is Mid April to early May. But just like the parks, it's always subject to change without notice.

The Saints Came Marching In

Well, that was an exciting game last night! I was really expecting the Colts to win, but the Saints proved me wrong. I'm glad the team won for the first time, especially after everything that town's been through. The game was fun to watch, but gosh, the half time performance by The Who was PHENOMENAL! I've gotta say, for those guys being so old, they've still got it in 'em! To see those guys still rock out on those songs was pretty awesome to see. Old guys rock, what can you say? Haha and that stage setup was really sweet. I loved the lights and pyro setup they used. The lights, even on TV was bright, and the designs, and fluidity of it all was just uber rad. And speaking of The Who, I've got a small theory: They used a well known rock band from Britain, to subliminally promote adding teams in England, and other European countries! So, who's the Half Time performance next year? Paul McCartney? The Scorpions? Guess we'll have to wait and see....

Super Bowl XLIV

Who's gonna win? The all favored Colts, or the under dog Saints? We'll find out tonight! I personally don't care, seeing that I'm a Denver Broncos fan. It'd be cool to see the Saints win for the first time, but then again, I really do like the way Peyton controls his team, and how good of a quarterback he always has been. It's going to be a great game either way. And then, of course, there's the always funny and witty Super Bowl commercials. From beer to insurance sales, shipping companies to chips and dip, they're gonna be great. Hopefully they run another Carl's Jr. Kardashian Salad commercial...speaking of which, that actually sounds good right now! ;-)

Getting back to the blog...

I'm getting back to blogging..

I thought this is a way to update stuff about me, what I like, what's coming up with cool stuff like movies, music, Disney, etc. I'll have a link to my Twitter, and my Facebook. I'll be posting a bunch of stuff, so if you want to see something posted, just ask me, and I'll probably post it.

>>Jake