Yeah, that's me full tilt on the Disney sauce. It's been almost two weeks since I posed for my wife here (she rolled her eyes as soon as I posed). Although it's only been a short time I feel like I've been gone for centuries. Each day the "magic" fades just a bit more than it did the day before. Of course I am thankful I have the gift of life and I'm gainfully employed but I'm no longer waking up to the sound of the ferry that shipped patrons to Epcot. There are no more smiles that greet me in a ginormous lobby. The traffic I'm in now isn't headed to happy-land. No one is asking me if I'm enjoying myself or if I need anything. I'm not powering up at 9 pm in anticipation of a fireworks show that is better than the one that happened the night before. I'm back to my usual station --- the wonderfully exhilarating but thankless job of being Dad. Dad who isn't buying everything he's being asked for. Dad who is saying, "no" and "go to bed" and "throw out the trash."

By my pic you might think it was my first time there and not my daughter's. She went full tilt on the Princess sauce and didn't have a care in the world. Neither did I and that's a good thing at a place like Disney World where you can wind up spending the equivalent of half a year's worth of mortgage payments or more once the smoke clears. In the eyes of a storyteller (myself) Disney is a monster storytelling machine, selling narratives at every turn from the time you wake up until you return back to your hotel or resort wishing you could do more before morning and excited to get going the next day.  Stories, whether written or visual, create the canvas for the mind to imagine and dream. I wasn't about to let something like money get in the way of my daughter's, and to some extent my own, desire to plunge as far down the rabbit hole as possible.

So how did I and how can you experience the Disney Vacation YOU want to have without being left in the poorhouse upon your return to reality?

I'm a little out of the loop right now but I hope the commercial below is shown during the Super Bowl. For any man who was once a boy and for all parents who have children with fresh and large imaginations there is no way someone can't relate to some if not all of the below.

The first six seconds of this commercial are almost identical in tone and detail to the original Star Wars movie from the white hallway with the black floor to John William's orchestral score. This was the scene when George Lucas debuted of one of the baddest baddies of them all: Darth Vader. Except for the fact that this "Darth" is only three feet tall, clad in plastic, wearing a helmet that's entirely too big for him and probably has nary a sinister intention short of having mind control over dolls and the family dog.

As someone who contemplates "The Force" at least once a week this commercial hit home. It was a double whammy, reminding me of my childhood and causing me to smile about the silly and fun moments of parenthood.

It's only February, but I'm nearly ready to claim this as the commercial of the year. But that's just me.

Agree or disagree? Hot or not? Is it a smash or simply trash?

E.Payne is the author of Investing In An Emotional Letdown and I Didn't Invented Sex. For the past 3 years he has posted 600+ articles about fatherhood, marriage and everything in between here at Makes Me Wanna Holler.com. To learn more, click here.

As per my stats on GetGlue my house is a cartoon-watching household --- animation domination on full tilt. This is for two reasons: 1)I have 2 kids spaced 10 years apart who seem to agree on most cartoons they watch together; and 2)my wife and I are some cartoon watching grown folks who never stopped watching them from childhood.

One the absolute favorites around the house is The Incredibles. Released in 2004, my daughter recently got hooked on this movie. She now refuses to watch anything else. Here, every viewing for us is almost like watching it for the first time. But why wouldn't we? We live it every day.

Mr. Incredible/Bob Parr - His strength is immeasurable and he's seemingly physically invulnerable. His exaggerated shoulders and back are an illustration of the weight he carries: that of the world. But at times has the attention span of a flea. He reminisces about the good old days, but loves his family. He's the father and the husband.

Elastigirl/Helen Parr - Flexible isn't even the word to describe how agile and flexible this superhero is. She's poised and constantly focused on what needs to happen in the moment and in the next. She's ferociously protective of her kids. She keeps her man Mr. Incredible in line (often to his chagrin) and gives him the love and support he needs to thrive. She is the mom and the wife.

Violet Parr - The teenage daughter of the Incredibles has the ability to disappear and throw up force fields at will. She's shy, awkward and often unsure of herself and where she fits in the world. Sounds like most teenagers...

Dashiel "Dash" Parr - The little brother. A hot ball of energy who is moving a mile a minute. On in the case of this young man he's so fast he can run on water. He antagonizes his older sibling to no end and drives his mother up the wall at times. Anyone who owns a preschooler - grammar school student knows this all too well.

Jack Jack - the baby. At all appearances he is "normal" possessing no powers at all. But at the critical moment at the movie's end when he gets upset we see the full breadth of his capabilities. He morphs into a screaming fireball to a possessed demon to a lead weight. The parallels don't get any more obvious.

According to these characters most families are incredible. And maybe they are. Although I'm sure most haven't seen The Incredibles as many times as the members of my family and myself have. I'm not sure I've met anyone who can honestly say they didn't enjoy the movie. Can you?



E.Payne is the author of Investing In An Emotional Letdown and I Didn't Invented Sex. For the past 3 years he has posted 600+ articles about fatherhood, marriage and everything in between here at Makes Me Wanna Holler.com. To learn more, click here.

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Although this trailer is hardly new, this is it's debut on Makes Me Wanna Holler. Of course I saw the original TRON in 1982. Back then (I won't say what grade I was in) I had dreams of destroying the MCP, getting the girl and most importantly, holding a stick out in front of me and having a futuristic motorcycle form around me out of thin air. As wide-eyed as I was over the whole thing back then, I thought the graphics were just a little cheesy.

So of course I was totally skeptical when they announced the "sequel" about two or so years ago. It's been almost 30 years! Yet again Hollywood was tampering with something that should remain untouched in its space (and decade) for the sake of one potential big box office weekend. Or so I thought.

But it is 2010 and technology has most certainly caught up with the imaginations of us boys who are now men, but are forever boys at heart (and in our dreams). Watching these trailers for TRON: Legacy turned me into a believer once more. Now I have something to look forward to this December to satisfy my inner geek. The acting juggernaut, Jeff Bridges, is back, Daft Punk is doing the soundtrack and the light cycles from back in the day have nothing on these bad boys featured in the next clip.



Shhh...can you hear that? That's the sound of you wanting one in your favorite color complete with a killer frisbee.

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For the life of me I don't understand the fascination with water fountains, but then again parks were disgusting when I was coming up in Chi-Town. My eyes were rolling back in my head when I snapped my little one and one of her classmates happily taking turns (sort of) at the fountain.

That's right. This is my collection all bought or gifted to me from H&M over the past few years. This is only the beginning... I was doing laundry... I couldn't resist...

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It's the differences that attract us, but then it becomes the differences that stand between us...

I say this to say I have been waging a video holy war with my wife since we began living together (one of many reasons not to do such a thing - yeah, if I've never mentioned it before I'm totally against living together before marriage even though I did it myself - both based on my spiritual beliefs and just basic cons outweighing pros - which I learned the hard way).

I like old movies. She does not.

I like foreign films. She does not.

I like blaxploitation flicks. She does not.

I like kung fu movies. She sometimes tolerates them.

I can watch a good action movie until the DVD player breaks. She wants to know what is a "good" action movie.

I thought LOTR (Lord of the Rings) was amazing. She thought they were the worst movies she never saw.

And she likes girlie stuff, and the occasionally heavy piece, and I can't be bothered.

At one point we both had Netflix accounts. But it didn't make financial sense to have two accounts once we moved in together. Since her plan allowed for more movies per month I discontinued mine and effectively silenced my rights to have a say in what we watch on DVD.

Until now...

One day I happened to be driving by the good old public library and I had an "A Ha!" moment. I swerved out of traffic, parked and walked inside. In less than five minutes I was able to verify my residency at the front desk. They handed me a crisp new card. And I walked out with not one, not two, not even three or four DVDs. I walked out with 10.

So now my wife's DVD selections trickle in here 2 or 3 at a time and are movies we may or may not have already seen based on how out of date here queue is. I now rule the pile with stacks upon stacks of my quirky movies. And did I mention they were free? As long as I return them on time. And I have a week to do that, which is more than enough time to view or decide not to view a movie.

I have since reignited my love of the movies of my youth. Movies that were meant for kids first and a toy line second. Today's toy-driven cartoons just don't do it for me (except for Transformers). In the last month or so I've been able to introduce my daughter, and in some instances my teenage son to the following:

• Almost every Disney princess offering in existence.
• A ton of Pixar movies and even Pixar shorts.
• Disney's Robin Hood (the one where Robin Hood is a fox).
• Disney's first full feature Jungle Book movie.
• Several Charlie Brown/Peanuts movies - my stand alone all time favorites, period. I was Charlie Brown and I always wanted my own Snoopy even though I didn't get why real beagles didn't look like Snoopy.
  
• Rikki Tikki Tavi (a personal favorite of mine based on Rudyard Kipling's tale of a rescued mongoose who loves his adopted family and goes on the warpath against two despicable cobras that threaten his new family and all the animals in their garden)
• American Legends (a James Earl Jones hosted and narrated piece about US icons, John Henry, Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed)

Believe it or not, next on my list is a compilation of all the School House Rock shorts and Puff the Magic Dragon (I cried after this one and my father took me to McDonald's and soothed me with their Quarter Pounder --- they hadn't added the cheese yet --- yeah I'm really, reealllly dating myself now).

If you haven't considered it or never thought of it, your local public library is a great source of movies and those other things called books. Some even have gallery spaces for artists. The original paintings and sketches of Dr. Seuss are currently on display at mine. Who knows, you may rediscover your youth (or at least your interests) while looking through their selections.

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Kryptonite comes in more forms than an imaginary radioactive green rock from outer space.

Last week, I thoughtlessly shot the following piece of footage. When I watched it I was taken aback by my honesty and how I conveyed it. And since I'm all about the real, here's the deal (that rhymed)...

Being a father isn't always rosy. I receive a lot of emails from people thanking me for the inspiration I provide. Sometimes, a message can be conveyed without waxing eloquent. Sometimes, it's just raw emotion --- raggedy, honest humanity that is the best teacher. I'm a man, dad, and husband and I have to make sacrifices because of the dad, husband part. I don't always it. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that, even as a dad and a husband. I think it's human. So if you're a dad/parent don't beat yourself up too much for having natural feelings that don't jive with your position. Just don't let those feelings prevent you from doing what needs to be done in the lives of your children.




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I'm back from my sightseeing visit to Hotlanta --- it was in the high 80s the entire time I was there and most of the folks I met were relieved that it was cool. (...) I got to connect with old friends, briefly hang out in Buckhead, peruse the National Black Arts Festival and catch a really interesting flick called, Jerusalema, oh and of how could I forget...I watched the debut episode of this season's Housewives of Atlanta in a living room with about 20 people yelling at the television. I'm happy to be back in the Belly of The Beast, otherwise known as NYC, but I do miss the view from 23 stories up, through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my room at the W Midtown. Thank God for rewards points.

Imagine my surprise, when I found out just after midnight that I made the cut! I am a finalist for the 2009 Black Weblog Awards!!! The category I landed was Best Parenting and Family Blog.

What happens now?

There are two votes, one by a panel of judges and one by you, the wonderful readers of Makes Me Wanna Holler. Show your love (or basic appreciation) between now and August 31, by casting your vote, here. Since it's the finals, it's a little more involved than the nomination round.

I have to say I'm happy, because I typically don't get selected for doo-doo. But thank you for all the support! It's because of you, that I'm on this list. It is truly a blessing to be recognized this far.

Keep reading and I hope to have some interesting stuff this week to make you smile, make you thirsty, and maybe make you holler.

Peace!

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Like a thief in the night, it arrived.



I just soiled myself.


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