Podcast thoughts, intro

One thing that has exploded over the last 2 years or so is the preponderance of Disney-related podcasts. According to the Disney Podcast Directory website, as of June 1, 2008 there are about 125 podcasts that discuss, in one way or another, Disney. Now, I'm a lover of all things Disney, but my real passion is for Walt Disney World. As such, I listen to several podcasts that would be very familar to other WDW fans. I thought I would give one fan's opinions on the podcasts I listen to, what I like and what I don't, what I think makes the podcasts successful and what I think could be better. The first thing I'll do, though, is explain why I listen to these podcasts every week and why I feel they help with my desire to know as much as I can about what's going on at Walt Disney World. Podcasts are a great way to connect with others who have a similar passion for whatever interests, hobbies, or views a person has. At least I think so.

Questions raised by repeated viewings

So, my 2 1/2 year old son has taken to saying "Watch Cars!" "Watch Lilo!" "Watch Nemo!" "Watch Woody (or Buzz)!" Now, he can actually speak in sentences, but he's already using shorthand to tell us which DVD he wants to see. To be completely accurate, he also says "Watch Thomas!" and "Watch Sam!" (Fireman Sam, which can be seen on PBS Sprout-not a plug, just letting you know). But, the boy knows what he wants when he wants it. When this phenomenon first started around October, we must have seen Cars every night for three weeks straight. We gradually introduced Finding Nemo and Toy Story as alternatives and after having us read a storybook version of Lilo and Stitch, we have now started a streak that may rival Lightning McQueen and the Radiator Springs folks. What is so interesting about all of this is not that Daddy doesn't seem to mind having the movies on constantly (neither, really, does Mommy), but Daddy actually watches the movies and gets distracted by them enough that he sometimes doesn't notice that the Boy has lost interest in the adventures of Stitch, Woody and Buzz, Nemo, or Lightning and Mater and moved on to play with the plethora of toys he has.



I still notice things in Cars that I haven't seen before and I've probably seen the movie (all the way through) 30-40 times. I remember sometime in late November or early December first noticing how Lightning chuckles as he passes Chick in the first race and thinking, "Wow, I never noticed that before! What else am I missing?"



I also notice the things that really do make you think. Such as why are there farms in the world of Cars? Who planted the flowers in the flowerpots that Red waters at the beginning of the Radiator Springs scenes? What's the deal with the white race car that The King passes in the first race (the car with no sponsor decals)? And the one that really puzzles me: What's the deal with the car that makes it through the Chick-caused crash in the first race? Why can you see the car drive through the wrecks, but later see it spinning out?



I don't actually expect answers to any of the questions (except maybe the farm one), but repeated viewings of these movies create a lot of discussion fodder. At least I think so.

My first blog post and I suppose I should explain what I'm going to try to do here. The name of this blog is The Mouse and More. Now, for anyone who may find this blog by searching for Disney-related content, you would be right that this is a likely place to find such content. However, there are tons of blogs that will do a much better job of feeding a person's Disney need than I will do. I chose the title "The Mouse and More" because I have many interests that I may discuss in any given post, at any given time.

Why, then, should you continue to read this post, much less any others that appear here? Well, that's for you to decide (the beauty of the Internet-something else is always a click away). Personally, I like randomly reading blogs on all different topics. I'll post when I can and what I post may be my thoughts on Disney or on any number of other topics. Chances are, though, that any given post will more Disney-related than anything else.

I hope you enjoy!