Mulan Pictures

Mulan

What's The Story:
A girl, Mulan, in China dresses up as a man and takes her injured father's place in the army.

Memorable Quote:

The Emperor of China: A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One man may be the difference between victory and defeat

Lessons:
Be yourself, be true to your heart
don't think of your suffering think of something positive

Main Challenges:
Dress in drag
learn a few martial arts moves Tai Chi

Attitude:
Friendly, compassionate, brave, daring, creative, uses ingenuity

Challenges:
Use chopsticks

Discovering the Empire of the Self

Many times throughout my life I have been in search of the truth. To find the greater sense of self someone has always come around to destroy it or steal it from me. I understand Milo's drive to learn, as I am known for obsessing about a particular thing, dinosaurs, ancient games, history, Disney, just to name a few.

The need to know is something that some people have in their blood, they must know everything and with every obsessed geek there is someone on the other side telling them that their pursuits are and I quote “Stupid” or “Who cares”. If there is not some sort of money attached to a pursuit it is considered a waste. What's interesting is that someone can spend eight hours a day playing a video game and that pursuit is somehow considered more valuable then learning something for fun.

I have on many occasions been asked what's in it for me to do this Disney thing (they usually elongate the thing like its somehow the most vile thing one can do) What's in it for me? I get to broaden my horizons, challenge myself, and discover who I am and more importantly who I am not. Blink, blink. “But do you get paid?” Never mind.

Some people don't understand the importance of self discovery, they assume that it is selfish and self serving. I, however, have learned that the more I discover about myself the more I understand others. The pursuit of self or other learning is never a waste, the more we know about the world we live in the better we can traverse it. Those naysayers will always be around no matter what you pursue, the trick is to stay true to who you are and you will discover the magic of life, it is in knowing and trusting ones self that the magic begins to manifest in their lives.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire- Picture

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

What's The Story:

A young man, Milo, goes with a motley crew to find the lost city of Atlantis only to find it endangered by their presence.


Memorable Quote:

Your grandad had a saying: "Our lives are remembered by the gifts we leave our children." This journal is his gift to you, Milo. Atlantis is waiting. What do you say?


Lessons:follow your dreams

strength lies in intellect

somethings are more important than money

don't give up on your dreams, even when people tell you that you should


Main Challenges:Write a code in Atlantian

prank someone


Attitude:Mischievous, fun, exploration, wonder, history, compassion, intellect, friendship, honour,


Challenges:

Wear a crystal

We Are What We Choose

In all of life there is always a choice. As children our choices are limited by our surroundings since the young are so vulnerable. The problem is that when we grow to become adults we tend to continue this belief that “I am limited by my surroundings” which simply isn't true. We all have a plethora of choices, where do I live, what do I do for a living, what am I going to eat for dinner.

Yes we become limited by what I call our “Want Factor” which says that what I want changes my surroundings. I want to be an anthropologist, but I have a family and can not support them on an anthropologists life style of 50-60 hours a week in remote locations. I would never see my family, I would have to move and I love my house and I would have to go to school and pay for it. The decision not to be an anthropologist is fairly simple, but it was made taking into account my priorities.

A lot of people seem to think that they have no choice. I am stuck they say, and they list a 1001 reasons why they are stuck, what they don't realize is that they are stuck by their own making. I am not stuck where I am, I have made a choice to do what I need to do in order to keep what I desire most.

Right now I am working two jobs, one I love that unfortunately can not support me year round, at least not now, and the other, a minimum wage job that, lets face it, is just a job. As with most jobs it has its pleasures and its pains. There are things I hate about it and things I love. The point is, I made a choice based on priorities and desire to work where I work, but that's not where the choice ends.

I have been going on and on about how you can be happy no matter where you are and that you should always make the most out of whatever situation you are in. Well here we are 39 weeks into living my life Disney, I have made a choice to not only work in the service industry, but to keep the teachings of Disney alive while I do so. Each moment in life is an opportunity for greatness. I could allow the fact that I “have to” work a minimum wage job defeat me, make me feel trapped, or I could just be who I am, no implications, no gloom and doom.

Fagin made some bad choices in his life, so have I, but what matters are the choices we make today. I could have sat wallowing in the choices of my past, but instead I made new choices. I choose to be the best me I can be, I hope we all can make that choice, today and everyday.

Oliver and Company Picture

Oliver and Company

What's The Story:

An orphaned cat gets caught up in the dark underbelly of New York city, under the direction of Dodger and a group of other homeless thieving animals

Memorable Quote:
Francis: [to Roscoe] Isn't it rather dangerous to use ones entire vocabulary in a single sentence?

Lessons:
follow the rhythm of life
Improvise
some people or animals will use you
street smarts is about learning to improvise
No need to worry when you can improvise
desperate times can lead to desperate actions
be careful who you do business with

Main Challenges:

Do something for the homeless, or those in need
Pamper a pooch

Attitude:
Innovative, sneaky, opportunistic,

Challenges:
Free to a good home? Try to get adopted?

Chicken Little Picture

Please Remain Calm

The theme of Chicken Little is panic and assumptions. As I ran around St Thomas in a chicken costume calling out “the sky is falling!” I couldn't help but think about how often in life panic and assumptions seem to be our first reaction to unpleasant situations. When bad things happen, and sometimes merely unpleasant things, we tend to start with the panic button or at the vary least we lead with an uncomfortable feeling that things are going to get worse.

We often assume the worst. If we have bad news we tend to expect even more bad news to follow, yet with good news, we tend not to expect more good news to follow, instead we wait with bated breath for the other shoe to drop and life to turn to, well you get the idea. Its not that chicken little claimed that the sky is falling, that caused all the trouble, upon hearing bad news the town panicked.

I have spoken before about our bodies ability to sense other peoples emotions, our bodies give off scents and our olfactory senses pick up on the subtle cues, and it spreads. The person next to you will start to chemically change, they will react to your panic, often with fight or flight. Panic, chemically speaking has the potential to spread like wildfire, it can be as infectious as the common cold. One bad apple can indeed spoil a bunch.

The spread of panic, in evolutionary terms, was once a survival skill, a call to arms for our primate selves. A tiger is in the distance: panic, run, pick up a sharpened stick, stones; do something. In the good old hairy days of humanity, panic made sense, but as we live in a safer world, together, with few tigers to threaten us we have little reason to panic. Yet, panic we do.

What I find fascinating about humanity is how being devoid of any real enemies, we create them in our entertainment, our values, cultures and the stories we create about each other and the uncertain future. Aliens, it seems, are certain to be galactic enemies. When there is no tiger in the distance, who do we remain vigilant for? Sadly, each other.

I am not suggesting that there is nothing to fear in one another, but what I am suggesting is that perhaps the reason we do fear one another is because we have no other enemies. If we were attacked by aliens, I think most people agree that all of humanity would band together against a common enemy. The question is, how long does it take to evolve past having a sensitive panic button?

In the end, Chicken Little learned that he panicked for nothing, the sky wasn't falling, it was just a piece of UFO that fell on his head. The aliens we're not out to destroy the Earth, they were just visiting, hoping to score some acorns along the way. Throughout my life I have learned that nine times out of ten there is no need to panic, everything is going to be alright, and often what we panic about are things that not only can you do nothing about it, but they often work themselves out in the end.

Don't panic, please remain calm, all will be well.

I'm No Chicken

I want to leave you with a few of my antics while dressed up as a chicken.
I tried to make a complaint at the police station when I informed them that the sky was falling, they only laughed at me.

Crossed the street and yelled out, “I don't even know why I am doing this!”
I yelled out “The sky is falling!” to just about everyone I saw. I ran through town hall telling everyone, they laughed, I don't know why they didn't take the 5'8” chicken seriously.

The best little moment was when I went into a local bulk store and asked them if they had a nice marinade that I could soak in. The woman smiled and said, “I know of a good beer one... except you have to shove the beer can up the chicken's butt.” to which I tightened my buttocks and politely declined.

Chicken Little

What's The Story:
After ruining his reputation with the town, a courageous chicken must come to the rescue of his fellow citizens when aliens start an invasion.

Memorable Quote:
Mr. Woolensworth: Class, turn to page 62 and translate each word in mutton. He.
Students: Baa!
Mr. Woolensworth: She.
Students: Baa!
Mr. Woolensworth: They.
Students: Baa!
Mr. Woolensworth: We.
Students: Baa!

Lessons:
Things aren't always as they appear
don't spread panic
there's always tomorrow to start over
be the best you, you can be and you will find something to be proud of
have faith in yourself
never underestimate someone because they are too small
Misunderstandings can lead to chaos
Don't assume things before asking questions
don't rely on the opinions of others to give you self worth

Main Challenges:
The Sky is Falling!
Play fetch

Attitude:
Innovative resourceful brave

Challenges:
sing to relax

The Great Mouse Detective Picture

Observe This

I highly doubt that anyone can be as observant as Basil of Bakers street, that being said I think that many of us have the ability to observe within a split second details of a person long before our conscience brain realizes. We know when someone is up to know good and when someone is good natured. The subtle lines on a face, the way they carry themselves, even the scent their body gives off are all indicators of what sorts of person you are dealing with.

Many years ago this sort of snap judgement call led me into trouble. When I was young, I instantly knew who had bad intentions and who did not. My instincts, which are more about my biological sense of smell and vision knew better than the logical brain that said things like “You're being silly.” or “Its rude to judge people without knowing them.” My logical brain sometimes knows squat.

Every time that I have ever ignored that little voice in my head that has observed the predator cues that a person was giving off, I regretted it. In varying degrees I have paid for not listening to the cues that scream “get out” or “stay away” or the simple “no”.

There are other instincts or miniscule observations that are not so negative, that say “go for it” or “follow that crazy idea that seems devoid of all logic and reason” The ones that lead you to lessons or people or experiences that your logical brain never would. It is through careful observations that we learn which “voices” if you will to listen to and which will end you up in a whole heap of trouble.

My hour of observations

I sat for an hour at Coffee Culture in St Thomas. A lot of people came and went I realized that there is a fine line between observing and looking creepy as you type and look at people. I found that I was able to observe things and make guesses about what sorts of people I was looking at with details such as wedding rings or hair styles. I speculated about what sort of lives they led and what conversations they were involved in.

I became aware of how unaware I usually am. I seldom notice things like rings and though I can somewhat pinpoint accents and ethnicity, I am not accurate enough to be a sleuth. I think that in order to be a better sleuth, like being a better person is to be engaged in life, in the moment. Time stops a bit when you become aware of your surroundings, it just doesn't really stop long enough for me to type my findings quick enough before people left. Oh well, C'est la vie. Disney reminds me, once again, to be present in the moment.

The Great Mouse Detective

What's The Story:
Basil, the rodent version of Sherlock Holmes, investigates the kidnapping of a toy-maker and uncovers its link to his archenemy, Professor Ratigan and his evil plan to take over the monarchy.

Memorable Quote:
Basil: There's always a chance, Doctor, as long as one can think.

Lessons:
its good to be observant
You can always think yourself out of trouble
Genius doesn't necessarily mean good.
Be helpful

Main Challenges:
Be totally observant, write down in great detail everything I see for an hour
wear a disguise

Attitude:
Observant, creative, helpful, innovative, pensive

Challenges:
Help someone in distress