Now that google has made cartography more enjoyable many of us are posting screenshots of locations across the country. Being a Disney Geek, I figured I would have to check out Disney World. What I was interested in this time was the behind the scenes area. Cast member parking, maintenance buildings, and possibly a construction zone or two.

It seems that one of the largest of the backstage areas is actually north east of the Magic Kingdom. I think there are several backstage roads as well, although I’m not and have not been a cast member so I’m just guessing. But I have not seen delivery trucks drive through the front gate of the Magic Kingdom parking area either.

I know I’m not the only one to share in these voyeuristic activities. Pop a link in the comments to someplace you found inspiring to view from the top.

Last year I mentioned musical influence on a designer from a seemingly scientific study in How Magazine (I seem to have lost that link– if you find it please post the url). I think there is even more to music than just a nice beat, though. I like a story, parable, and the like. Sometimes the more unconventional tunes spark the unconventional idea. Perhaps you too could try turning off the radio and listen to some new music.

Just last year I picked up Jack Johnson’s album On and On and it quickly became one of my favorite an most played albums. The music is upbeat and the guitar is fluid. I also like the island-esque influence that appears in many of the songs. I highly recommend that album, take a listen on iTunes if you don’t know Jack.

Today I got his recent release In Between Dreams. It has a few well done songs that continue the quality of On and On, but the songs almost got a bit too light for my liking. There is more emphasis on the acoustic guitar with a casual approach, and this is still a very subtle difference. I would still recommend In Between Dreams for someone who likes a very light and smooth tune. In fact, this album is prime for a summertime sunday brunch.

Do you have any new music to share?

I have formed an opinion on the Mac Mini (previous
status — undecided).

First off, I think it appeals to many, not just Windows users tempted by the
unusually low price. Students, parents, offices, libraries, schools, Mac heads,
teenagers, retirees, executives, designers, programmers, system admins, and
many others looking for a small, easy to use, affordable, well valued computer
will find the Mac Mini hard to resist. If you have an extra decent monitor or
KVM switch lying around it won’t cost much to grab one of these.

At first sight it is a thing of beauty, brilliant form indeed. Though it may
be on the lower end of the performance scale, there is a lot for the money.
The video card memory may be a touch low, 64 MB would be better, but it will
do quite well for the vast majority that pick it up. Yes, as stated redundantly,
a RAM upgrade would need to be done for optimal performance.

It is not cheap, it is affordable. The Mini provides a balanced
set of hardware and features and allows to be used as a versatile box.
Wherever you might need a desktop computer with a basic feature set, the Mac
Mini should be considered.

I was at the Apple Store ten minutes too late on Saturday, I shed tears in
the store, needing to use the genius bar as a makeshift physiatrist’s
chaise lounge. No, I’m not one to wake up at the crack of dawn to get in
line. I had the desire to bring home a Mini but now I have chosen the convenient
home delivery method — marketing spin. I currently don’t own a Mac, but
used to and will again soon; a 1.42Ghz Mini should be headed my way in a couple
weeks.

I’m quite skilled on both platforms, a great resume feature, and am comfortable
on both. Os X is just so gorgeous and working with multimedia files is a dream
on the iLife programs. iCal, Address Book, and Mail are top notch back-to-the-basics
programs. It provides a comfortable feeling deep inside, something you can’t
get with the sterile and cluttered Windows programs.

So as I wait to welcome the Mac into my home and sit here looking at my twenty
inch Cinema Display — yes I couldn’t
leave the Apple Store empty handed — join in my anticipation. Do you like the
Mac Mini? Have you said “Mini me”? If you have one and have reviewed
it, post a link. I’d love to read it.

This is just too hard to pass up. Check out this photo
set found on flickr.

That is just another reason why flickr is so nifty. Yes this is the second
flicker and dog related post, but this time it has more relevancy to graphic
design and my goals for Graphically Speaking. I think the puppy with an iPod
is a great concept for an ad specifically for the iPod photo. And what better timing could there be with MacWorld a few hours away.

Would the agency for Apple ever consider doing a campaign in anyway similar
to the concept I have in mind, I doubt it, but I would like to think they would.
I didn’t do it for the cute factor. I did not just want to do something with
the picture. It really was just an idea I had envisioned the first time I saw
the pictures.

Want to view a larger version? Check out the iPod
Photo ad pdf.

Does the ad aim for the iPod Photo’s target market? That is not a rhetorical
question. Critique it.

I went through my current content and chose a handful of postings, from various
categories, that I believe are noteworthy and above average. I hope to add more
content that is more informative and beneficial while making it ever easier
for readers to find, or just stumble upon, the available information.

Is this a helpful addition to the sites usability? Is the icon appropriate
or ambiguous?

The Contemporary and Polynesian Resorts were the first to open at Walt Disney.
Many things have changed since the beginning. Quite a debate/discussion could be started
on that topic alone, Change at Walt Disney World.

To dabble a bit in the nostalgic past of Disney World I recreated a couple
of what I think are the original resort logos (if anyone actually knows for
sure, please confirm). “Where did I obtain the reference for these logos?”
you ask. Matchbooks. I found them quite worn and wanted to capture the glorious
art to be seen for all time.

I scanned in the matchbook covers and traced the logos in Illustrator, being
careful to keep the original art intact. After I finished it, I displayed it
on Flickr, the web’s newest toy, and posted
it in the Disney Geeks group.
Someone recommended I put the Illustrator file up somewhere on the web. “Great
idea,” I thought.

Feel free
to download the Illustrator file (v 10.0).

Sign up to receive a free iPod.

Update 1 (7/25/04)

Thanks to all those (21!) that signed up using my link!

I currently have 4 of my referrals with completed offers, and, no doubt, will
have 5 quite soon. Odds are on my side this time. I am, however, awaiting my
reply from freeipods.com because I never got an offer confirmation e-mail after
the 3 days. I did the AOL trial offer, but I’ve not heard of any difficulties
as I had.

So, as I patiently wait, I would like to offer my readers the opportunity to
get a free iPod a bit more easily. Send
me an e-mail with your very own referral link. I will use it to link to
freeipods.com for all the links, a way to say thanks.

I will be updating as I go through the process further.

Update 2 (7/28/04)

Well, with 21 referrals, you’d think I could get 5 to follow through
with completing an offer. Ummmm, nope. So while I wait [taps fingers on desk],
I wanted to say the AOL Trial didn’t work for me. Something got screwed
up along the way and freeipods.com never gave me credit for it, so I decided
to do the Ebay thing. Registered a new user, found a digital camera and bid
for $0.01. I was highest bidder (it had a reserve price and I was below it BTW),
for a couple of hours. Later on today I got the confirmation e-mail and my account
was credited. No credit card required, virtually no risk of spending money,
and quite rapid. I would highly recommend doing the Ebay offer, for
sure.

I ask of you, those 17, that are reading this and have yet to complete their
offer, please do so. Thanks a bunch.

Update 3 (8/27/04)

Yippee! I’m so happy.

They love me — they really love me! Thank you, jgmitchell, for being number five (your first name isn’t Johnny I hope).
If there’s anything I could do, I might try.

I’m currently in the confirmation process; I hope everything pans out, I’m
sure it will. According to Freeipodguide.com,
the confirmation and shipment could take a week or more, but I’m willing to
wait. I started this mess at the beginning of July and I took two months to
get my referrals to do their offers, so patience is extremely important. Oh,
and don’t get too obsessive. I hope I’ll use the darn contraption.

I will post a shipment update, hopefully soon.

Update 4 (9/20/04)

After a long and arduous process of e-mails to the freeipod.com customer
service department, they have allowed me to order my 100% free (if time is of
no value, which it is) iPod. I chose the 20gb Apple over the HP version of the
same and any one of the Minis.

I just can’t wait to get it in my hands, but I’m afraid I’ll be waiting. Supposedly
it’s taking a month from order to delivery, but what’s another month? You can
be sure I will post some nice pictures, when I get it, in a different post, this one is too long already.

Like science fiction? Not a full time reader? I’ve got a couple of books
that you should get you hands on.

A couple of weeks ago I saw Down
and Out in the Magic Kingdom in kartooner’s
reading list and decided to pick it up. It’s a really great read, with a
good plot and identifiable characters. Even though the characters can be immortal,
they still have vulnerabilities and weakness. If you are a Disney buff, the
added layer of the setting being at Walt Disney World and Kissimmee adds a fun
layer to the story. Doctorow, the author, is an awesome sci fi writer; Down
and Out being his first novel and all is impressive.

Another of Cory Doctorow’s books is Eastern
Standard Tribe. This is a must read for those geeks out there, looking toward
the future’s technology. Doctrow’s vision of a decade from now does not seem
so improbable, which appeals to those not into far out ideas and a plot based
upon them. So you don’t have to be in to science fiction to enjoy it.

The real entertaining part about this book is his style of writing. The first
chapter is in third person. In the next chapter the narrator introduces the
main character, Art. Art writes the rest of the story from an asylum. The chapters
of Eastern Standard Tribe alternate from past to present explaining how he got
in to his predicament.

I read both of these books last week, I don’t believe I’ve ever
read two books in a week, but I couldn’t put them down. Next up on my
list:

1. Vector
   Prime (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 1)
2. Dark
   Tide I– Onslaught (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 2)
3. Dark
   Tide II– Ruin (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 3)

I’ll see if I want to continue ithe The New Jedi Order series after the first
three. Have you read them? What is on your shelf?

Title sequences are more than just motion graphics. The creator’s typographical
treatment of the credits and title can really engage an audience in the movie.
These title sequences should not distract, however. So there is a crucial balance
between the “cool effect” and “practical communication.”
Do I remember any of the credits given to Spider-Man cast? No not all, but if
one was actually reading all of the text, the anticipation would not be built
up so well. Being drawn in to a movie, believing everything is real or at least
having a strong emotional response, doesn’t hinge on the title sequence,
but it helps give the audience get a good impression.

Do all title sequences have to be extremely elaborate? No. Just like any graphic
design work, they must be appropriate to the context. For example, Finding
Nemo is an amazing movie, and their title sequence was subdued, just text
over the animation. Just that text was just so appropriate, not distracting
from the glorious world they created. Typographically the text was spot on,
and their logo is fantastic. Just in case you are wondering, the typeface used
was Gill Sans, and the logo was set using the ultra weight modified.

Contrast, balance, unity, and other principles of design are so relevant to
both motion and still media. Designers can find inspiration in so many different
places. From photography
to game design, there are always places where great inspiration is to be found,
sometimes right in your living
room.

So while I wait, along with many others, to see Spider-Man 2, read the
dark genius of Kyle Cooper, man that worked on both title sequences.

Pine trees in the Tahoe, California area are havens for this great looking moss. I’m no botanist, but I did learn that this particular pine tree is called the Ponderosa Pine. We don’t have these gigantic pines in Florida; therefore, my interest in these “new trees”. This tree was in Sugar Pine Point State Park, just south of Tahoma, California.