Fresh Concept Art for Marvel's Avengers Campus at the Walt Disney Studios Paris

It's Captain America and the facade of the reskinned Rock N Rollercoaster, Avengers Assemble Flight Force! They are the focus of this brand new concept art for Marvel's Avengers Campus at the Walt Disney Studios Paris. Opening this summer, it's the next step in the transformation of the park that made the dismal Disney California Adventure 1.0 look like an Imagineering masterpiece. Hopefully, it's great- and here at the Disneyland Paris Resort, Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure (or its supposed new name, Spider-Man WEB Adventure) does not have to compete with the popular Toy Story (Midway) Mania. Now, bring on the next phase with that grand centerpiece lake and Frozen and Star Wars attractions! Thanks to the DLP Report for this piece.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Donna Summer: Gone But Not Forgotten

Ten years ago, Disco Legend Donna Summer passed away. But it was clear listening to the woman that she was so much more than a singer. When this was brought to my attention, I was shocked. I remembered reading about it, but how quickly time goes by! 

Interestingly, the world and the media has not forgotten her.  Author Greg Laurie has written a new book entitled, Lennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus: The Spiritual Biography of Rock and Roll.  

The woman behind such hits as Last Dance, MacArthur Park, She Works Hard for the Money, and an iconic album produced by Quincy Jones of Thriller fame that carries her name, gets more than a passing mention. (You've got to read about the album here.)

Donna states: "I never stopped being a Christian. Being born-again is an affirmation that the person is going to make a personal effort to walk closer to God and bring Him into one’s life and start following His way. There are parts in your life where you can look back and laugh: “I can’t believe I did that; how could I have said that; where’s my head at?” I’m sad that all the running I did was only running; it didn’t get me anywhere. The spirit of rebellion in myself and in my songs would not let me rest. But I’ve chosen to stay in the world’s eye, to give a positive image. It’s a very spiritual and a very helpful place to be. I love it."  

Her legacy is passed on through her husband Bruce Sudano, and through the popular band Johnnyswim led by daughter Amanda Sudano and her husband Abner Ramirez. Even if you don't know them, you probably do: If you've ever watched Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines, it's their song that gets used over the opening scenes.

With a stage show dedicated to the story of her life, new music on its way, and a continued interest in music of decades past, Donna Summer is, as her autobiography was titled, No Ordinary Girl. May she rest in peace.

             

By the way, what's a Carpenters fan to like here? Check out Donna's version of the duo's hit Superstar, with piano backing by none other than Mr. Richard Carpenter himself.

A Second Renaissance for California Adventure

Do you want to know what's next for Disney California Adventure? With the D23 convention coming up in August, and Disneyland's 70th anniversary on the horizon, it will take more than relative quiet about the DisneyForward project to keep us fans speculating on the future of Walt's park and its now legal age sibling.   

Concept art or otherwise, it's been awhile since I've written anything about Disney California Adventure. The constant Marvel character infusion into Avengers Campus is of little interest to me nor is the newest attraction, Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure. Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout is old news, and I don't see anything on the immediate horizon of interest. However...

Way back in 2008, I rote a very, very long post about the park and its quite unfortunate Bargain Basement Imagineering. Readers loved it as it showed in visual form the stories behind the park and pieces of art for each attraction. But I'd never seen the piece above. From the beautiful Grizzly Peak and Soarin' Over California - the park's two success stories- to the dismal Bountiful Valley Farm (Tractors as an attraction?) and the shopping mall entry, it's all there to see. Certainly, it was an insult to us fans sitting next to Disneyland. Yet, months later, Japan would get Tokyo Disneysea. That was an even bigger insult.

Thankfully, new CEO Robert Iger admitted Michael Eisner made a huge mistake  by greenlighting the park as designed and announced a sure to be fabulous makeover of Anaheim's laughing stock theme park. Soon after another article came out by me: Imagineering A New Dream, a collection of new art and new stories. 

After a great beginning with Cars Land and Buena Vista Street, the park began to slide into its opening years plan as many additions to it were actual subtractions.  Pixar Pier is the worst of the offenders.

Will there ever be a third collection highlighting a fresh infusion of creativity, focus, and cash for the park that sits next door to Walt's Kingdom? Or will DisneyForward kill that dream?

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company)

Karen Carpenter's Rarest Performance

Here's the long missing, pretty rare, 1981 live performance by Karen and Richard Carpenter on French television. The other song the duo presented was Touch Me When We're Dancing from their newest album Made in America. In the past, this selection has become unavailable, removed, or given the studio recording as the main track. 

No doubt that Top of the World is one of the Carpenters most loved songs, and this version almost sounds as if its a new recording. Karen Carpenter's rich contralto is instead higher, softer, and brighter, than the A&M Records original. Catch it here before it disappears again.

-----

2025 Note: This is part of a continuing series on the music and lives of Karen and Richard Carpenter. There are so many stand alone posts highlighting different aspects of their career, recordings, rare photographs, and life that I've lost count. 

Below is the list of my "Revisited /Fresh Look" reviews, the more extensive articles than my initial ones a decade earlier. Each have different photos and clippings and focus on various aspects of the individual disc's creation, promotion, and public reaction.

My Revisited / Fresh Look at the albums:

Offering / Ticket to Ride
Close to You
Carpenters 
A Song for You 

Now & Then

The Singles 1969 - 1973

Live in Japan

Horizon

A Kind of Hush

Live at the Palladium

Passage

The Singles 1974 - 1978

Christmas Portrait

Karen Carpenter (The Solo Album)

My Initial Reviews of the albums:

Offering/Ticket to Ride

Close to You

Carpenters

A Song for You

Now & Then

The Singles 1969-1973

Live In Japan

Horizon

A Kind of Hush

Live at the Palladium

Passage

The Singles 1974-1978

Christmas Portrait

Made in America

Voice of the Heart

An Old Fashioned Christmas

Time (Richard Solo)

Lovelines

Karen Carpenter (Solo)

As Time Goes By

Time to Wake Up: BBC's Report- Microchip Implants in Your Hand Turn You into a Human Bank Card

Years back, it was USA Today first reporting the story. Now it's the BBC.  How many times do we have to read about it before we pay attention to what is happening and put it into proper perspective?

 

USA Today reported everyone will be chipped within 50 years, making purchasing easier. (Cryptocurrency will play a part.) It can even be used to store health information and other personal data. You can read the article here.

You can certainly count me in as one many "religious advocates" that wholeheartedly object to humans receiving a computer chip in their body.  Planting microchips under the skin begins the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. Is this the start of the infamous "Mark of the Beast"written by the Apostle John in Revelation 13: 11-18? Without a doubt! And here's why you should look into it for yourself.

"The Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 

16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.


18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666."

Skip ahead to Revelation 14 to see why this is the wrong choice:

"9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus."

This technology will first be marketed as good. This way, many uninformed people go ahead and choose to be chipped. I mean, if its good for our pets, why not? But then, once a larger segment of the population is willing to go along, things take an evil turn.  

 
The Bible says that in the last days, evil will be called good, and good will be called evil. We are seeing that in many areas of life.

If you think the Bible is just a dusty old book, it is your choice. You are placing an eternal wager. Heaven or Hell is your choice. God offers eternal life through Jesus Christ alone. He himself said he is the only way to Heaven (See the Bible's Book of John, Chapter 14). All through the Bible's Book of Matthew, Jesus talks about Hell as a place for those who reject God's gift. Believe it or not- but I hope you do.

A Look at Tokyo Disneyland's Proposed Tomorowland Version of Tower of Terror

Is it the original Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios that's the best version of the drop ride? Maybe it's California Adventure's reworked Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout? Could it be the one at Disneysea? Well, how about the version at Tokyo Disneyland? No, not the one at Tokyo Disneysea, but the one at the first Disney park in Japan.

The TDS version concept art is one of my favorite pieces ever!

At the top is the concept art for the sure to be incredible Tomorrowland version. While we know the stories of the other attractions, what would the tale be for this drop tower experience? My bet is on some version of Alien Encounter. Imagine discovering a creepy hidden lair of a creature that would terrorize whoever discovered him. Whatever it would have been, of course, it would be incredible- it's in Tokyo! They do it all very, very well. 

What they did choose is to put the Tower of Terror in the American Waterfront section of Tokyo Disneysea. With a very different theme from the other parks, the story and special effects are top-notch. It's story is like Mystic Manor but with an evil, terrifying twist riders never forget.

In contrast, the California Adventure concept is one of my least favorite pieces.

When it comes to the Tokyo Disney Resort, the Disney Imagineers are given full freedom to dream. The Oriental Land Company chooses the best of the best to guarantee their parks remain the premier destination it is- and it certainly is!

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.) 

This Makes Me Sick to Death

We are a very sick society, and it sickens me to no end to even glance on this image! What would make me do such a thing? How could I ever live with myself for sharing this? It's impossible to understand, and yet I am motivated by love. This is the body of a late term aborted baby girl. Obviously she was injected in order to kill her, but normally there would be body parts. I just couldn't bring myself to show that...breaks my heart.

“Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, 

defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8–9)

Doesn't this apply to unborn children as well?

There are some good things we appreciate about each of our political parties, but that either side accepts or even encourages the violent dismantling of those children unable to speak for themselves is without excuse.

Founder Margaret Sanger's clear racist roots in forming Planned Parenthood and its strategically placed locations in lower income (usually Black) neighborhoods is not in dispute. Check out the facts for yourself.

But, boy, is this a big money issue! If the average cost for an abortion is $500 (the range can be zero to one thousand dollars) and if you multiply that by the 61 Million abortions that have occurred since Roe vs. Wade, that is a lot of money somebody is living very well on. (By the way, the image above is of a baby girl that was aborted by lethal injection and not in the usual manner of being torn apart piece by piece.)

God's heart grieves. He is the God of life, not death, and we've fooled ourselves into thinking aborting babies is reasonable, the lesser of two evils, or something we must put up with in order to further progress in other social ills. We are no better than the ancient peoples of old who used to throw their babies into the fire to worship their ancient gods. Certainly women (and their men) with unwanted pregnancies have a hard road ahead. But Our God is the God of the impossible! After losing almost everything, Job had a reason to despair, but he states,

“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4).

Thank God that the earthly mother of Jesus dealt wisely with a pregnancy she didn’t expect.

He steps in when we need Him- Here's the most significant success story of an unwanted pregnancy that didn't end in abortion.

 

We've seen many suffer by making this choice to abort a child- and I've seen God's heart of forgiveness and healing for those who truly repent of this sin of murder (and every other sin as well). Just as with addiction to pornography, it’s more common in the church than you may want to believe, but this is the truth.

"There are six things that the Lord hates,
    seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood..."

(Proverbs 6:16-17)

So please don’t tell me that until more people step up to adopt that abortion is the best answer. Again, I’ve heard this from professing Christians. The answer is to do what is right in God’s eyes first and then participate in making a difference by letting God move and allowing Him to sort out the details. THAT is faith in action.  

"Woe to those who call evil good
    and good evil,
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter!"

 (Isaiah 5:20)

Yes, we believers care about immigration reforms, caring for the poor, good healthcare for the population, racial equity, and more. But we cannot justify putting support behind ending the lives of babies. Even though it's not a good situation by any means - and God hates injustice- in every case of these other issues, the people affected are alive to fight for change. Even though mothers survive the abortion, victims of abortion are dead. They don't have a voice, a chance to grow up, a chance to stand up for themselves or a chance to change the world. We must speak up on their behalf and work for a better world that values life. That is the heart of Our God.

The Velocicoaster Attraction Poster

 

Great attraction posters used to be the sole domain of the Disney theme parks, Disneyland in particular. No longer! All it took was me walking through the queue of Island of Adventure's incredible Velocicoaster. Lining the walls were these beautiful and chill inducing prints based on currently built and never built attractions at Jurassic World. The above print for this article's namesake attraction perfectly captures the thrill of it all. The hunt for the raptors and the escape for the guests that is! If you're brave enough! Kudos to Universal Creative.

Notable and Quotable: Kathy Barnette

"I am the byproduct of a rape, My mother was 11 years old when I was conceived. My father was 21. I was not just a lump of cells. As you can see, I'm still not just a lump of cells. My life has value."

                    Kathy Barnette, Pennsylvania Senate Candidate

This Islands of Adventure Photo Shows An Epic Universe All Its Own

What a glimpse of Universal Orlando Resort's new Epic Universe? You, me, and everyone else who's a fan! But this photograph from the always popular Bioreconstruct shows how epic Islands of Adventure is on its own! The Velocicoaster is captured against the blue waters of the lagoon from way up on high. Just incredible- but there's a bit of magic going on, isn't there...

(Photograph copyright Bioreconstruct.)

The Magic Kingdom Gives the Disneyland Historical Preservation Society a Run for It's Money

We fans may bemoan the lack of attention to the parks under the reign of Robert Iger, but the upside is parks like Disneyland Paris, and to a large degree the Magic Kingdom, have retained a sense of their original vision. Nowadays, the island along with Country Bear Jamboree, Peoplemover, Swiss Family Treehouse, and Carousel of Progress stand as beloved remnants of a simpler, more innocent time in Imagineering. The Disneyland Historical Preservation Society has some competition!

From my huge files of concept art comes this incredible piece of work: Fort Sam Clemens on Tom Sawyer Island at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. As Disneyland's fort and the island as a whole becomes less and less true to the original, the opposite holds true in Florida. You can still "fire" the rifles and engage in some authentic role playing. There's no Pirates of the Caribbean overlay, and no thinking Jack Sparrow is just around the bend. The only noticeable change has been in 1996 when the name of the fort changed to Fort Langhorne. 

Who would have thought the park that is celebrating 50 years would still have such prominent nods to the past? And I'm so glad it does! 

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo at Epcot's San Angel Inn Restaurante

It's Cinco de Mayo, and the best place to celebrate at Walt Disney World has to be the San Angel Inn Restaurante in Mexico's World Showcase pavilion! The chips are hot, the salsa delicious, and the house margaritas are just what the celebration calls for!

This is another instance where the concept art,

thought quite nice, doesn't;t compare to the actual end result!

It's so much for than the food and drink however. Sitting on the waterside of the lagoon, boats sail on El Rio del Tiempo, the River of Time, taking passengers on their way for a fun and music filled Gran Fiesta Tour. 

As you sit there enjoying your excellently prepared tacos, perfectly cooked steak, enchiladas, or Queso Fundido, the perpetual moonlight and smoldering volcano in the distance takes you to a timeless land far away. The stresses of a Disney World vacation melt away. This is why you came to Disney in the first place!

Sure, there are many choices for Mexican food on the property, but for a uniquely Disney experience none beats this way to spend Cinco de Mayo. Is San Angel Inn Restaurante for you? Check out all the details on my Dine or Ditch review.

(Photograph copyright Mark Taft. Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Disney Tearing Down Polynesian's Luau Cove Celebrates Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month?

Does anyone else see Disney's hypocrisy here? The suits approve a slaughter of the Polynesian Village's Luau Cove and the Spirit of Aloha dinner show so they can build a DVC tower. Is this Inclusion? Sensitivity? Promotion of understanding cultures? No. A cash grab, pure and simple. Commerce at work. Disney is about the money and whatever it will take to get it. Don't be fooled.

Since the opening of Walt Disney World, guests have been able to get a taste of real Polynesian culture. Now that's gone, so guests get a chance to make more money for Disney. By staying in the Disney Vacation Club rooms at the Polynesian. Hypocrisy of the first degree.

(Top photo copyright Mark Taft. Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

How Will Avatar 2 The Way of Water Impact Disney's Animal Kingdom?

Will Avatar 2: The Way of Water be any good? Will anyone even care after all this time? Has James Cameron lost his way? How will the new film impact Disney's Animal Kingdom and the lushly themed Pandora area? These are just some of the questions I have about it all. 

The land's Flight of Passage is one of the park's best attractions in a park full of thrilling E Tickets and stage shows. Could scenes be changed once the new movie is out?

On the other hand, Navi River Journey is a mixed bag with beautiful sets, amazing sounds, and one but only one incredible and very temperamental Audio-Animatronic. Additions would certainly help, but let's be honest, they'll never happen. These are not the days of Walt.

Could a brand new attraction be announced? Well, it is Animal Kingdom's 25th anniversary next year, so I suppose that's possible. Something could be announced at the next D23 coming in August. (My bet something is announced, but not for that side of the park.) 

Here's my biggest question: Where's Imagineering's Joe Rodhe when you need him? 

An Incredible Karen Carpenter Photo

This beautiful Karen Carpenter photo from the Anthology songbook is my favorite image of the beloved singer. Captured by A&M Records "in house" photographer Ed Caraeff, it was actually never used, an outtake from the session for 1976's quiet but lovely A Kind of Hush album. The original version was sent to me from a friend at the A&M Corner forums, as was this newer, larger version from another friend years later. 

I was going to save this photo to be included in my Revisited / Fresh Look review of the Hush album, but when I realized that article is still several months away from completion, I thought it would be nice to send it out into the world ahead of time. For me, this photo of Karen captures the very depth of her soul: reflective, wistful, perhaps even a bit melancholy. 

As Carpenters, Karen and her brother Richard Carpenter made some of the most incredible and beloved recordings the world has known. His gifts of arranging, producing, and song writing paired with her God-given one of a kind voice created a magic never duplicated.