For the last week I have been thinking of the Oscars. Right before they announce the Oscars for best song they have someone come out and give a big spiel about how important music is to the movies. To illustrate it they show two movie clips of the same scene, one without music and one with. Of course the clip without the backing track is ho hum while the other one is STUNNING. They illustrate the power of music to stir up the drama, bring on the emotion and make it memorable.
I took out a few CDs from the library a couple of weeks ago. I just grabbed a few off the shelf because keeping up with Ray doesn’t really allow me to browse. One of the CDs I got had to do with Disney’s 50th anniversary. I had assumed it was like a greatest Disney hits CD. This was more for me than Noah as he hasn’t seen any Disney movies. (I’m saving them for when he’s older.) But I grabbed the disc feeling a bit nostalgic for my own childhood. But when I played the Disney 50 disc I soon realized it was songs from Disney RIDES not movies. And though I have been to Disneyworld quite a few times (it really was the closest thing to a regular vacation my Mom took me on – she really loves it and my great Grandparents lived nearby) I was sort of like “Oh well this stinks. But at least I can sing along to ‘It’s a small world.” However Noah was HOOKED. And not just on the disc, which we have listened to like 100 times. He is hooked on Disney. Just like that. With no movie exposure whatsoever. He’s constantly asking anyone who will listen what each ride is like (“Tell me about the Tiki birds,” “What do you remember about Space Mountain?” or “What do they sing at the Country Bear Jamboree?”), asking to see clips of the rides on Youtube and of course inquiring “WHEN ARE WE GOING?” What really got him were the "scary ghosty songs" namely the drama and intrigue of the music for the Indiana Jones ride, Pirates of the Carribbean and the Haunted Mansion. The power of thrilling audio has openned the Disney floodgates. Mark is a bit besides himself because he thinks Disney is the evil empire (you have to admit the marketing is INSANE) though I’m sure part of that is about being bitter that he never went to the Disney parks when he was a kid. But I’m sure he’ll be going some day. Chin up, little Mark. All Noah’s talk probably has Grandma planning her next visit and ours in 2013. To prep Mark I sent him to this Disneyworld article in Slate that I enjoyed courtesy of The Cleaner Plate Club.
Speaking of Grandma (because who isn’t?), Noah enjoyed his first overnight away from home at her place this weekend. I’ve been told he was very well behaved and I know he had an absolute blast. Two of my Mom’s husband’s granddaughters also slept over and the three of them played outside with the grandparents all evening (tag, kickball, glowsticks) before enjoying some Wii. Sounds like a fun night, right? And I only got a little weepy… it’s just the house was so very quiet. But Noah didn’t miss me in the least. “I was too busy having fun” he explained.
Noah’s also been hanging out a lot with his imaginary friend Annie again. And now she has a posse. Their names are Mister, Cotton, and Dinosaur. Today Noah packed them an imaginary picnic lunch while I readied our actual picnic lunch before spending three glorious hours in perfect park weather. Also sparking the imagination of Master Noah is the idea of actually hanging out with the characters of his favorite shows. “Mama, tell me a story about the Backyardigans, Curious George, Me and Ray going to the beach.” Or to Lancaster, the zoo, or even just grocery shopping. Oh and Noah started his dance class this week. I signed him up for a Movement to Music class and he’s already loving it. They played different styles of music - classic, rock, world and talked about different kinds of movement. They danced with hula hoops and moved like different animals. Or so he tells me - Ray and I went to get an iced coffee. Noah didn't blink once when I left him there, he was so excited. It's going to be a lot of fun for him. And hopefully he’ll learn some more moves for his “acrobatter” routines. The old ones are getting a little played out. I’m having a harder time feigning astonishment after seeing them endlessly.
Tomorrow is busy. We have an open house for a school we might like to send Noah to in 2010 (yes, it’s ridiculous that we have to already research this stuff), an art group meeting, a long overdue Mama haircut, and then a night at the circus. And yes- sad, sad elephants. Also sad chickens, cows, and pigs for that matter – but unless you’re a vegan (like Lonna) it seems really weird to be deciding which animals to be outraged about while not others. That's just my humble opinion. And my boy likes circuses DAMMIT. I did explain to him that some people are concerned about the elephants and as a result won't go to the circus. At least I am keeping him fully informed.
3 comments:
That's funny about Noah and Disney. It's amazing how they grab on to this stuff. I too avoided Disney as they are evil, but Dermot picked up everything from his class mates. So I've given in to the movies. So far anything Pixar has been a smash hit. Dermot's a little hit or miss with the classic Disney stuff, but I'm having fun with it:)
We've been able to avoid the circus talk. Dermot doesn't really seem to have much of a clue about the fact that we are vegan. Our next test is the field trip to the farm. That's going to be fun when we get to explain to him why he can't churn butter along with his friends.
Speaking of Grandma (because who isn’t?)I'm in heaven.
He was so good and amazes me so much with how smart he is! I loved it when he asked for 'some privacy please' while he was pooping.
We have a love/hate relationship with Disney, too. Hate the merchandising, but love Nemo, Monsters Inc., and some of the older classics. And for me, the Narnia films. /sigh/ Guess we'll just try to stay away from the mounds of trinkets.
Post a Comment