Leisure … more than a word, it’s a lifestyle

Went to one of the 14 theaters showing the Dark Knight at Pleasure Island/Downtown Disney at 12:01.  Amazing performances, amazing movie, even allowing for the horrible Batman mask and voice changer.

Sometimes actors unfortunately never live to see the true impact that their career has or to see the reaction to a particular performance that defines them for all time:  James Dean-Rebel Without a Cause; Bruce Lee-Enter the Dragon; Brandon Lee-The Crow; and now you can believe the hype and add Heath Ledger-The Dark Knight to the list.

Not since Anthony Hopkins dominated the screen in Silence of the Lambs have I seen any actor take a fictional character and make it so believably psychotic, charismatic and downright scarey as Ledger does with The Joker.

Somehow an Oscar isn’t fitting enough and if given will forever possibly be tainted as a “sympathy award” and so the members of the Academy may shy away from voting … I hope not.  Ledger deserves it on merit … that performance is THE finest by ANY actor EVER in a superhero/fantasy movie and hopefully this bigger legacy will be that he brings credibility and recognition to all the actors that appear in these frequently overlooked works of art (except in the technical categories).

My final note with regards to Ledger’s Joker … Jack Who?

I watch a lot of TV so I am always interested to see what shows get nominated for Emmys, always seems they are shows I don’t watch or care about … so going down the list, I will mark in bold, shows or performances I actually saw. 

Best Drama Series
Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

Best Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
The Office
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men

Best Actor, Drama
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
James Spader, Boston Legal

Best Actress, Drama
Glenn Close, Damages
Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Best Actor, Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

Best Actress, Comedy
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Best Supporting Actor, Drama
Ted Danson, Damages
Michael Emerson, Lost
Zeljko Ivanek, Damages
William Shatner, Boston Legal
John Slattery, Mad Men

Best Supporting Actress, Drama
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers and Sisters
Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Chandra Wilson, Grey’s Anatomy

Best Supporting Actor, Comedy
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Rainn Wilson, The Office

Best Supporting Actress, Comedy
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Jean Smart, Samantha Who?
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

Best Guest Actor, Comedy
Will Arnett, 30 Rock
Shelley Berman, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Steve Buscemi, 30 Rock
Tim Conway, 30 Rock
Rip Torn, 30 Rock

Best Guest Actress, Comedy
Carrie Fisher, 30 Rock
Edie Falco, 30 Rock
Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock
Polly Bergan, Desperate Housewives
Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives
Sarah Silverman, Monk

Actually it was more than I expected … I religously watch The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Desperate Housewives, House, Weeds, SVU and Dexter … 30 Rock I catch from time to time same  as SNL and Pushing Daisies I lost interest in.  The exception to all the shows is Monk.  I never watched it in the past when it was on, but I am currently ploughing through 100s of re-runs and I believe a new season starts this week … Shaloub is a genius, so sorry I never watched before now.  Of everything else listed I hope that Tim Conway gets the nod in his category, that old actor routine was hilarious … anyway we shall see.  If you haven’t yet make sure you check out Dexter.

Several major theme park companies are challenging a new Florida law that allows people to keep guns in their cars.  So they should.  Guns have no place anywhere near a theme park and families enjoying themselves.

The new law went into effect Tuesday and allows employees to bring their guns to work as long as they have a concealed weapons permit and keep the weapon in their car. Disney World and Universal Studios oppose the law and are arguing they are exempt from allowing guns on the property.  We at Florida Leisure support them completely.

Disney argues their federal permit, to handle fireworks fits the law’s exemption of companies that handle large amounts of explosives.

“The safety of our cast and guests is our top priority. We will continue to maintain our zero tolerance policy for guns and workplace violence,” Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said.

The law states that companies with a “…permit required to engage in the business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing in explosive materials…” are exempt.

“If you have a concealed weapons permit you should be able to handle a handgun. You should be responsible enough to take care of it,” gun law supporter Mandy Dawson said.

Our view is that Mandy has lost her senses. Families want to be safe and anything that keeps firearms away from kids and places where families gather is absolutely supported by us.

“No guns on property. It’s a family facility. I don’t think there should be any firearms at all,” Disney employee Lee Morgan said. Quite right.

“It’s typical of Disney. They have no regard for the safety of their customers or their employees,” said Marion Hammer of the National Rifle Association.  Well Marion, it’s exactly because Disney is thinking of the safety of their customers and their employees that they are fighting this law and absurd points of view like yours.

You can imagine it now can’t you? Thousands of vehicles parked in a parking lot at one of the most popular theme parks in the world and some idiot decides he wants to find the hidden weapon in a vehicle and discharge it. A whole host of vehicles being broken into by some crack head and then the added threat of bullets being discharged into fun loving familes. Yes, Marion, great idea. But then that’s the sort of nonsense we expect from the National Rifle Association thesedays isn’t it?

Sometimes in life something happens that really gets under your skin. This happened to me over the last week when some hack called David Whitley at the Orlando Slantinel went over the top in accusing Tiger Woods of being the most selfish athlete on the planet.

Here’s what Whitley had to say in his article on June 19 after Tiger had secured a remarkable U.S. Open win: “In case there is still any doubt, Tiger Woods just proved he is the most spectacular, determined, stoic and admirable athlete on the planet. He may also be the most selfish. But not in the sense that he hoards fame and money and gazes in the mirror all day. All high achievers must focus on themselves and how to succeed. It’s just that Tiger was so bent on winning the U.S. Open that he discounted the consequences. Not just for himself, but for his sport. He is the sport. And now he’s not.”

It’s hard to beat that for claptrap but there it was… in black and white. Well Mr. Whitley, I have news for you; 1) Tiger Woods is not the sport and 2) what he did showed the whole world how to overcome adversity. Not to run away from challenges and not to allow something like this to detract from what you really want in life.

Sure, Tiger could have taken the easy way out. He might even have contrived to miss that putt on Sunday night to save himself from the play off but winners simply don’t do that. The lessons that Tiger handed out over the weekend and on Monday 16th June were there for all to see… life sometimes throws you a curve ball but its how you handle adversity that really matters.

The other lesson Tiger handed out is that only you can be true to yourself and do what you want to do. Whitley prattles on “What if he’d done permanent damage to the knee, the kind that will curtail his career?” … as if Tiger now has to answer to cretins like this about what he does with his life and his career.

So, the footnote is that Tiger yesterday had his reconstructive surgery and that Dr. Thomas D. Rosenberg and Dr. Vernon J. Cooley are ‘pleased with the results’. Tiger seems happy as well and is looking forward to working through the rehabilitation and training.

Yes, he’s going to be away for a while… but in doing so golf will carry on as it did before Tiger. Many people will still enjoy their golf and the game will continue to flourish… OK, so the media have lost an icon for a short while and dare I suggest that maybe it’s people like Whitley who are actually the selfish ones… after all they’ll now have to work for their living and find stories about other golfers instead. Hard times indeed.

ORLANDO, Fla. — A giant London Eye-like observation wheel is coming to Orlando.

The 400-foot wheel will fit about 40 people into each capsule on the wheel and offer a bird’s-eye view of the City Beautiful, plus on a clear day a view of 25 miles of the surrounding area.

Official with the Singapore company Great Wheel Corp. are expected to be in Orlando next week to announce details of the attraction. Similar high-tech wheels are already in Dubai, Singapore, Beijing and Berlin. Orlando would be the first North American site for the Great Wheel Corp. Sketches of the project show enclosed glass capsules offering a Ferris wheel-like sightseeing attraction. Details of its exact location are also expected to be released next week, but we have heard that it will be constructed either on the tourist-filled International Drive area between the convention center and SeaWorld on the old site of Race Rock … or failing that at the junction of I-Drive and Westwood. The Great Wheel Corporation plans to start construction next Wednesday. The London Eye (500ft) is one of the tallest structures in Europe and it welcomes an average of 3.5 million customers each year, according to its Web site. Before the Orlando attraction, the Pepsi company announced it planned to create America’s largest Ferris wheel in New Jersey. The attraction would be 287-feet tall, according to a Business Wire report.  This will be now dwarved by Orlando’s 400 footer. Currently, the largest observation wheel in the world is the Singapore Flyer. Florida companies are expected to be working on the project.  Cost of the project is approx $200 million.  I don’t know who is footing that bill, but it is an amazing amount of money available in the current economy … money I am sure could be out better use … just my opinion though.

Orlando and Las Vegas have long had a “love / hate” relationship and it seems the battle has been stepped up with Orlando taking their new ad campaign to the ‘enemies’ doorstep!

Recently the Travel Industry Association went to Vegas and it seems that Orlando couldn’t resist have a bit of fun by placing the billboard (seen above) near to McCarran airport.

So now we know… “What Happens In Orlando, Stays With You Forever”.

Buzz Lightyear’s dream will come true on May 31 when Disney Parks and NASA send the 12-inch-tall action figure “to infinity and beyond!” The beloved character from the Disney-Pixar “Toy Story” films will blast off aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-124 and spend several months at the International Space Station as part of NASA’s “Toys in Space” program. Through the online educational initiative, which is designed to excite elementary school students about science and math, Buzz will have his own online journal and participate in an experiment testing the limits of zero gravity. Buzz’s groundbreaking mission into space coincides with the opening of the Toy Story Mania! attraction at Walt Disney World® Resort on May 31 and Disneyland® Resort on June 17. Buzz is scheduled to return home later this year. Click here to read the entire story and view the podcast.

The world’s No. 1 family vacation destination and the worldwide leader in sports have joined forces to re-brand Disney’s Wide World of Sports™ Complex with the ESPN® brand. “This is a natural and exciting pairing of two powerful brands to create a one-of-a-kind, immersive sports venue that will enable athletes, coaches and guests to experience sports in a whole new way,” said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts. Plans for the re-branding initiative are still in development, but initial concepts involve renaming the sports complex and incorporating the signature elements of ESPN throughout the 220-acre venue, which annually hosts nearly 2 million athletes, coaches and spectators.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando police are at Universal Studios Wednesday morning, looking for a black bear seen taking a dip in the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel. Reports said a security guard at the hotel called police when he spotted the bear on a security screen. The bear got out of the pool and was roaming the property. Crews with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservations Commission joined police in a search of the area for one or more bears.

I was a lucky guy yesterday as I got to meet the host of the Travel Channel’s “Great Vacation Homes“, “Sam’s Disney Favorites“, “Girl Meets Hawaii” and the soon to be aired “Passport to Great Weekends“… the lovely Samantha Brown.

Samantha said something that made me stop and think… she was talking about the reasons why people travel and why they take vacations. She said “most people take a vacation to tune out but what they really should be doing is tuning in… to their family, their partner, their friends and to themselves.”

I have to admit it stopped me for a moment and then I thought “wow…she’s absolutely right”. It also made me realize that what we do at Florida Leisure Vacation Homes is exactly that.  We provide people with fantastic vacations and fantastic vacation homes so that they can spend quality time with the people they love the most… so they can “tune in” to each other.

It occurred to me that even though hotels can provide the same experience to a degree they can’t quite provide the intimacy that a vacation home  provides. Hotels, you see, have other people involved. Other people at the pool, other people in the dining room, other people wandering around the corridors and hallways… and other people in places you just don’t want to see them.

Vacation homes, on the other hand, provide a completely relaxing and totally private atmosphere for all the family to enjoy. Everyone gets their own space…ie., 1) their own bedroom (no cramped hotel room where everyone falls over each other… or fights for the tv remote… yeah, I know… I have that battle with my kids every time we have to stay in a hotel room ) , 2) their own living room where they can watch TV as a family or they can retreat to their own bedroom and watch something else, 3) they can cook or eat what they like in their own fully equipped kitchen with no lines… no bad service to encounter… and they can save heaps of money…. big bonus…eat what you want, when you want and at a price you can afford! 4) and best of all, their own private swimming pool to do exactly what they wish without having to worry about perfect strangers getting in the way.

Yeah that’s right. People vacationing in a home get all that… time to “tune in” to their loved ones and time to “tune in” to themselves”.

The other thing that Samantha said was “How does a place make you feel… what is the emotional value of a place?” and that set me thinking of some of the great feedback and comments we have had from our guests and members. Comments like this from Geneva Ormond from Illinois, Chicago who said:

 “I love retirement & that is why I love Florida Leisure Vacation Homes. We come down to relax, rest & recreation. The house is so large, all the family can enjoy without being stacked on top of each other.  Some can swim, others can cook or BBQ, watch TV in each room. I just love it & the house is awesome.”

or Pat Scott from Columbus, Ohio who said:

“We really love the house & location to Disney World. The house has all the comforts of home & my family truly enjoyed the time we spent there. All and all it was fantastic. When our friends see our vacation pictures I expect you will be getting bookings.”

or Jack Greenhalgh from Williamsburg, VA who commented:

“The house was perfect for the family. The location was terrific, allowing us to easily bring the kids to the house for lunch & a pool romp before going back to the park.”

and it’s when you read comments like this… plus the hundreds and hundreds of others we have collected… that you really realise what this company and what the people who work for it are all about. We’re giving people wonderful experiences and memories that will last forever. Sometimes when we’re going about our normal lives we forget that… so today, thanks to Samantha Brown… I’ve had a jolt that brought me back to my roots… it’s great to do something in life that makes other people’s lives better. Thanks for the reminder Samantha… it was great to meet you.