Disneyland Double Exposed, 1961 by Charles Phoenix

Dapper Day is my faaave day of the year to experience Disneyland. It's the day everybody dresses up in their beautiful best and struts their stuff in the original Magic Kingdom and California Adventure!

This magical event is a perfect match for my …

RETRO DISNEYLAND SLIDE SHOW – Dapper Day Edition

WHEN: Sat, Sept. 19 – 12 noon to 1:15-ish

WHERE: Anaheim – Downtown Disney's AMC Theater

TIX & INFO

And now … Disneyland Double Exposed, 1961

Sleeping Beauty's Castle is slightly double exposed on the House of the Future. Its medieval meets mid-century! Medievalism and modernism have never been so close. For a mere, but marvelous ten years, between 1957 and 1967, Disneyland's legendary all-plastic House of the Future was just outside of Tomorrowland, perched on a pedestal, steps from the castle. They both represent fairy tales – one speaks of the future and the other of the past.

But who is supposed to be posing for this pic? Is it the twins wearing matching puffed-sleeved-pinafore party dresses over white bobby socks and black patent leather? Or is it the woman who wears sensible yet stylish shoes and her two followers, whose stride seems clearly interrupted?

‘Awake and Sing!’: Still Going Strong by M.R. Hunter

It has been 80 years since the Group Theatre premiered Clifford Odets' first full-length play, 'Awake and Sing!,' a family drama set in a Bronx apartment during the Great Depression. The critical success in 1935 bolstered both the playwright and the company's reputation for creating socially conscious, character driven works under the then nouveau Stanislavski method of acting. Although the Group Theatre lasted only a decade and later Odets would eventually stand trial at the HCUA (House Committee on Un-American Activities) for joining the Communist party, tarnishing his standing among Hollywood's elite, (many of these former members of the Group Theatre), Odets' 'Awake and Sing!' has remained in the repertoire of great American plays.

In Los Angeles, another milestone has passed, and with it, a revival of not only Odets' gripping tragicomedy, but of director Elina de Santos and many of the original cast members themselves in the 20^th anniversary of the smash hit production at the Odyssey. From this original staging two artists stood out, cementing their own reputations in L.A.: de Santos and Marilyn Fox, esteemed actress and Artistic Director of Pacific Coast Repertory in Venice. It seems for anyone with the right vision and chutzpah, Odets, (buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale), is a career-maker all these years later....

Eyestrology: Happy Birthday Libra! by Cici Psy-Chic

For the month of 9/23/15-10/23/15

Happy birthday to these celebrity October Librans: Julie Andrews (10/1), Sting (10/2), Gwen Stefani (10/3), Russell Simmons (10/4), Kate Winslet (10/5), Amy Jo Johnson (10/6), Simon Cowell (10/7), Bruno Mars (10/8), Tyler James Williams (10/9), Mario Lopez (10/10), Emily Deschanel (10/11), Hugh Jackman (10/12), Ashanti (10/13), Usher (10/14), Tito Jackson (10/15), John Mayer (10/16), Eminem (10/17), Zac Efron (10/18), Floyd Mayweather Sr. (10/19), Snoop Dogg (10/20), Kim Kardashian (10/21), Christopher Lloyd (10/22), Ryan Reynolds (10/23)

Mercury is almost out of retrograde, but don't celebrate too much just yet. This is still an excellent period for us to be pragmatic in our choices. Make sure to have as much information as possible before committing to anything through Oct. 9. Avoid any legal entanglements. We should be aware of our emotions and how we respond to others. Our feelings can guide us to what we most desire or what we no longer need. Pay attention to communications, and ask questions if anything is unclear. We should remain vigilant about our mercurial mood swings.

The Other TWA Rocket: Lost & Found, Kansas City, MO by Charles Phoenix

The TWA Rocket to the Moon is an icon of Disneyland's early days. It was the centerpiece and crowning outer space touch of the original Tomorrowland, "the world of 1987." But that wasn't the only TWA Rocket to the Moon. I'm not talking about the smaller scale "tribute" to the original that stands in Tomorrowland today.

In 1956, TWA's big bad boy, Howard Hughes, ordered a copy of Tomorrowland's TWA rocket and prominently perched it atop TWA headquarters in Kansas City MO, where it stood for, well, I'm not exactly sure. When the rocket was removed, through what had to be an odd set of circumstances, it wound up in a trailer park somewhere in suburban Kansas City...