Madonna Music Monday - 08/01/2011

Happy Birthday MTV!!! 30 years ago history was made when an new cable network broadcasted its 1st video. Remember videos? Those mini films set to music that were meant to promote a singer's album? They still have them but where do you see them? You Tube? Well to celebrate MTV's birthday, let's go back to Madonna's 1st video. Taken from Madonna's debut album, EVERYBODY was a piece of 80's dance heaven. The video, basically Madonna singing and dancing in a New York club, was an early staple on MTV. So let's go dance in time when music was seen on TV. Here's Madonna's 1st hit, Everybody from the debut album MADONNA. Enjoy!



John

A Hot Ride on the Mad Tea Cups

Having Fun at Disney Hollywood Studios

Madonna Music Monday - 07/25/2011

Well I'm back from last week's Walt Disney World trip. If there was one complaint I have about the trip I would say it was the hot weather. It was over 95 degrees every day, without any rain to cool things down. While I was in Florida, Chicago got extreme weather also. Some days it hit well over 100 degrees. At least I was at a resort that had a pool I could swim in every day. And it looks like its gonna be another hot week in Chicago this week. So that got me thinking about one of my favorite live Madonna performances. One of the things I admire about Madonna is how she re-arranges her songs to reflect different music genres or how she 'mashes' her songs with other songs. In this case, Madonna mixed her song MUSIC with that of the classic song Disco Inferno. She performed this version during her 2006 Confessions Tour. Its an amazing performance. I especially love the disco roller skating. So if its hot outside, it should be hot on the dance floor. Here is Madonna performing Music Inferno live on her Confessions Tour. Enjoy!



John

Happy Birthday Disneyland...I'm Going to Disney World!!!

Today is Disneyland's 56th Birthday!!! So what do you do to celebrate? You go to Walt Disney World! We are at Chicago's Midway Aiport. We have two hours to wait before our flight takes off. My stomach is acting up for some reason. I didn't get a good night's sleep. Or maybe I'm just hungry. McDonald's is right behind us in the terminal. Maybe that will ease my stomach...or make it worse...!!!

John

1 Day and Counting...

So I didn't have to get up early today to check-in for tomorrow's Southwest flight. I did add the 'Early Bird Check-In' option when I booked my flights for two reasons: One, I didn't want to get up early today to check-in for my flight and Two, I didn't want to fully rely on my smart phone while at the parks trying to check-in with a weak or bad signal while in line for Soarin' at Epcot. And really, I forget that I have to check-in for my return flight while I'm at Disney. I don't want to be reminded that I only have one day left on my vacation.

So my luggage is sitting on my couch staring at me. I think I have everything I need for my trip. I did a last minute shopping run last night for band-aids, soap, a travel toothbrush and over supplies. I have all my electronics packed. I'm packing an empty duffel bag so I can pack either dirty clothes or souvenirs.

Starting tomorrow, I'll do daily minor blog postings via the Blogger mobile app. I plan on tracking my attractions via Gowalla. I'll post updates on my Twitter and Facebook accounts. Of course, all of this depends on my phone's batteries. Actually, I might do a last minute run to AT&T for an extra battery if they have them. I bought a battery charger and extra battery on Ebay. The charger is great but the battery seems to hold half the charge of a 'real' Samsung battery. If AT&T has official batteries, then I'll buy one. Otherwise, I'll use what I got.

So now I gotta head out to my mother's place and relax with my family. Hopefully my next post will be either on my way to Disney World, from the Pop Century Resort or from the Magic Kingdom, the park we're visiting on our arrival day.

Have A Magical Day!

John

3 Days and Counting...

So I called Walt Disney World today. I wanted to make my final resort room requests. As with any resort requests, they will try to honor the request but its not guaranted. However, by the tone of the Cast Member's voice, it seemed like a done deal. I put in a request for a ground level room at the 80's section at Pop Century. Blaine, the Cast Member I spoke to, said it should be no problem because guests want rooms closer to the main building of the resort, Classic Hall. I'm requesting a room further away.

Blaine put me on hold for about 5 minutes while he spoke with someone in charge of room asignments. When he got back to me, he went over the details of my Disney trip. Eveything sounded like it was in order. He wished me a Magical Day and hoped my nephew will enjoy his first trip to Disney World. I told him Thank You and that I'm sure my nephew will enjoy his trip!

Well there you go. Everything is in place. Rather I'm ready or not, my trip begins on Sunday. Since I reached all my work deadlines early, I'm taking tomorrow off from work. I'm officially on vacation!!!
Tommorow I'll do last minute laundry and packing. Saturday I'll go to my Mom's house to spend the night since its only 10 minutes away from the airport we're flying out of. My sister and her children live with my mother. I'll get to spend 'family time' with everyone before I leave. And then at 6am on Sunday, the  adventure begins! Here's hoping we have a geat trip!!!

John

Madonna Music Monday - 07/11/2011

Well it was recently announced that Madonna has hit the studio and has begun recording songs for what will be her 12th studio album. Its also been rumored that Madonna is working with superstar DJ's A-Trak and David Guetta. If this is the case, the new album might have a hard electro-house sound to it. Of course, we won't know for sure until the completed album is officially released. So for now, let's take a look at Madonna's last album. Released in 2008, Madonna worked with Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Pharrell Williams and Nate "Danja" Hills on her 11th album HARD CANDY. The album consisted of a urban pop sensibility and sound. It worked well. When the album was released on April 25th 2008, the album hit #1 in 37 countries. So for today's video, here is the live performance of Candy Shop, the title track of the album. The video is taken from Madonna's Sticky & Sweet World Tour of 2008-2009. Candy Shop was the opening number of the tour. As you can tell from the video, Madonna knows how to start a concert. So here is Candy Shop, from Madonna's 11th album HARD CANDY. Enjoy!



John

7 Days and Counting...

I love doing the "Single-Digit Dance". That's when you have less than 10 days before your next Disney trip. Well time is moving fast and I have a lot to do. The luggage is out and ready to be packed. I've put some t-shirts and shorts on the side that I think I wanna take on the trip. I've already pre-registered for my resort arrival on-line. I've been keeping an eye on the weather forecasts. I have a very busy work week. I'm sure I'm working 10 hour days. Tomorrow I have a memorial service to attend for an acquaintance, but if I get out of work late I might not attend. A friend is having a birthday gathering on Friday after work. I thought I could attend this, but I'm sure I will be doing laundry one last time before my trip. The planning never ends.

Another thing I'm worried about is the crowds. Part of me is happy that many of the parks are open late. That's a great thing about going to Disney World in the summer. But of course that means there will be crowds because everyone is visiting Disney World. For the six days that I will be visiting Disney World, I plan to visit Epcot, Animal Kingdom and the Disney Studios one day each. I will be visiting the Magic Kingdom on three days: my arrival day, Wednesday and Friday when we leave. I'm sure I can see most of the Magic Kingdom on those three days. And if I don't, then what ever we don't get done on this we'll take care of on the next trip!!!

So for now, I'm just resting. Letting things go thru my mind. I should be making a list of what I need to pack. But by now, getting ready to travel to Disney World is kinda second nature. I just don't wanna over pack. One, I don't want to get charged by Southwest for over packing and Two, I wanna make sure I have room in my luggage to pack any souvenirs I buy at Disney World. When I travel to Disney World, I pack everything into one large suitcase. I always pack an empty duffel bag. I use it either for my dirty laundry or carefully packed souvenirs. Thank god Southwest Airlines let's you take two luggage bags free of charge.

Okay boys and girls, food is calling me. I gotta stay healthy for next week. Have a Magical Day!

John



10 Days and Counting...

Well today was another crazy day at work. Usually the first two weeks of any month are pretty busy for me at work. Its non-stop report processing, number crunching and expense analysis. First thing this morning, we had a department meeting. I don't understand why we have meetings during month-end processing. There are just not enough hours in the week for extra work. But somehow, I did get to get about 10 minutes of free time so that I could go on-line and pre-register my check-in for my upcoming trip. In 10 Days...!!!

One of the benefits of booking a vacation trip directly with Disney is that you can check-in on-line 10 days before your arrival. Basically you are confirming the details of your trip, assigning a credit card for room and resort charges, making any room location requests and letting Disney know if there is a special occasion for the trip. When I went on-line, I tried requesting a ground level room and one close to the bus drop-off location. But for some reason I got an error message. You can also call Disney 3 or 4 days before your arrival and make these requests over the phone. I do want a ground level room located in the 80's section of POP Century. When I stayed at POP last year, I made the same request and it was honored. While it may be a longer walk to the main hall of the resort, I like the theming of this section. Plus since its father out, it is a much quieter section of the resort. And of course, I'm a huge fan of the 80's!

Well sometime this weekend I have to get my packing done, hopefully Sunday. And now is the time to keep an eye on the weather forecast. So far I see some rain and highs in the 90's. Well I guess shorts and t-shirts will be all I pack for this trip. I also have to check park hours. Within the past few weeks, Disney has extended park hours in anticipation of high crowds. So far, that's fine with me. The longer the parks are open, the more time I have to ride and see attractions. I'm sure it will be crowded, but since I'm traveling with my 8 year old nephew, I plan on taking it slow and easy.

Well, let's see what I get done over the weekend. Until then, Magical Dreaming!!!

John

13 Days and Counting...

Happy Fourth of July to Everyone! I hope your holiday weekend was filled with fun times. I spent the whole weekend with my Mom, Sister and her three children at the nearby resort town of Wisconsin Dells. Its known as the water-park capital of America. We spent the weekend swimming, shopping, eating, laughing, crying, remembering old memories, making new memories. Basically just hanging out as a family. I know this is SO Martha Stewart, but it WAS a good thing!!! LOL!!!
So I spent the weekend prepping my 8yo nephew on our up-coming Disney trip. He's getting so excited about the trip. I measured him and he's right at 52 inches tall. According to WDWINFO, or The Dis Boards as we Disney fans know it, he can pretty much ride everything at Disney World on his own except the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. Does that mean I'm sending my nephew to ride Space Mountain on his own? NO!!! I just wanted to make sure what he could ride and what he couldn't. I asked him how he felt about roller coasters. Well he wasn't too sure how he felt about them. So I got an idea. At the water park/resort we stayed at, they have this huge water slide where up to 4 people can ride a raft down this three story slide. So my 16 year old nephew, my 10 year niece, my 8 year old nephew and I ride this water slide. And guess what? My youngest nephew LOVED IT! He wanted to ride it again! After we did, he says to me "I think I can ride those roller coasters at Disney World!" YEA!!!

So this is gonna be a CRAZY week at work. I start working on my June month-end processing. I actually got a jump start last week. All my important work has to be done my July 15th, before I go on vacation. But if I planned everything right, I should be done by the 13th, giving a couple days of breathing room. So I hope everything works out as planned.

I received another vacation packet from Disney over the weekend. This now has all my updated resort info, including the upgrade in my dining plan. Now I just gotta get thru work, find time to pack, get everything organized and then go on my trip. So much to do, so little time...

John

Madonna Music Monday - 07/04/2011

Happy 4th of July! So what is more American than Madonna and pie? How about the two together? Today I thought I would share a remix version of Madonna's cover of American Pie, the Don McLean classic. I know I have written about this song before, but I'm in a dancing mood. So here is the Victor Calderone Vocal Club Video Mix of American Pie. Enjoy...Dance...Love...!!!



John