Span-less in Minnesota

Terry Ryan of the Minnesota Twins has just pulled the trigger on his first trade since officially reclaiming the title of Twins GM again. He has sent the Twins starting center fielder, Denard Span, to the Washington Nationals for a very young, low minor league pitcher named Alex Meyer. From what I have been reading around the web, it seems like most writers feel the Twins made the right move, and most rubes are blasting the team. I very much agree with the writers on this trade. Ok, yes, this trade does absolutely nothing to fix the major issue of the 2013 pitching staff for the Twins. Unless, of course, you consider that the salary Span was getting paid can now go towards a free agent pitcher, or even get piled onto the amount the Twins have available to pile onto a free agent pitcher in an attempt to get a higher grade pitcher. I have no idea if that is going to happen, but I do know the Twins do not need to spend that money on another outfielder as they already have a replacement in Ben Revere (who is actually a better center fielder, but not quite as good with the bat yet). The exciting part about this trade, in my opinion, is how this stacks the Twins rotation in 2-3 years. Obviously anything can happen between now and then, but Meyer is a potential top of the rotation pitcher, where he should be joined by current Twin Kyle Gibson. It could potentially be the first time in decades when the Twins could illegitimately have 2 top of the rotation pitchers. Add in Scott Diamond as a very solid #3 and that could hopefully be 3 guys that can take the Twins a long ways for many years to come.

Contemporary Resort Christmas Tree

This photo features the Christmas tree that is out side of the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World in Florida. You can click on the image to view it larger.

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William Drew Photography

Magic Kingdom Christmas

I took this photo while standing by where the boats dock at the Transportation and Ticket Center at Walt Disney World in Florida. This photo features the Main St. Train Station, Cinderella's Castle lit up with it's Christmas Ice lights, and in the lower right side of the photo, the new Beast's Castle in the new Fantasyland area.

You can click on the image to see a larger version of it, and feel free to "like" it to share it with your friend!

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William Drew Photography

Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

This is a short video I shot at Hollywood Studios of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. This clip features the song Christmas is Starting Now by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

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William Drew Photography

Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child of Mine

I love this song so much, it is the ring tone on my phone. "Sweet Child O' Mine" is a rock song by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and the third from their 1987 debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction. Released on August 17, 1988, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart,[1] becoming the band's first and only number-one single in the U.S. It reached number six on the UK Singles Chart, when re-released in 1989.

Lead guitarist Slash has been quoted as having a disdain for the song due to its roots as simply a "string skipping" exercise and a joke at the time. In a VH1 special, it was stated that Slash played the riff in a jam session as a joke. Drummer Steven Adler and Slash were warming up and Slash began to play a "circus" melody while making faces at Steven. Rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin asked Slash to play it again. Meanwhile lead singer Axl Rose was upstairs in his room and heard the 'jam session' going on downstairs and couldn't help but write lyrics. He based it on his girlfriend Erin Everly. With Steven's added drum part, Izzy's chords and Duff McKagan's bassline the harmony became the core of the song. Originally, there was a third verse to the song. However, this verse was later cut from recording as the band's producer, Mike Clink, felt the song would carry on for too long. The final dramatic breakdown was not added until Clink suggested the band add one. They agreed, but weren't sure what to do. Axl started saying to himself, "Where do we go? Where do we go now?" Clink suggested that he sing that, and "Sweet Child o' Mine" was born. In an interview with Hit Parader magazine in 1988, Duff McKagan noted:
"The thing about 'Sweet Child o' Mine,' it was written in five minutes. It was one of those songs, only three chords. You know that guitar lick Slash does at the beginning? It was kinda like a joke because we thought, 'What is this song? It's gonna be nothing, it'll be filler on the record.' And except that vocal-wise, it's very sweet and sincere, Slash was just fuckin' around when he first wrote that lick.”

Prince - Let's Go Crazy Extended Version

Prince - Let's Go Crazy - Vidéo Dailymotion

Click the link above to watch the video for one of my all time favorite songs. I freakin LOVE the extended version of this song.

"Let's Go Crazy" is a 1984 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album, Purple Rain. It was the opening track on both the album, and the film Purple Rain. "Let's Go Crazy" is one of Prince's most popular songs, and is almost always a staple for concert performances, often segueing into other hits. When released as a single, the song became Prince's second number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the two component charts, the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[2] and Hot Dance Club Play charts,[3] as well as becoming a UK Top 10 hit. The B-side was the lyrically controversial "Erotic City". In the UK, the song was released as a double A-side with "Take Me with U". Common to much of Prince's writing the song is thought to be exhortation to follow Christian ethics, with the "De-elevator" of the lyrics being a metaphor for the Devil. The extended "Special Dance Mix" of the song was performed in a slightly edited version in the film Purple Rain. It contains a longer instrumental section in the middle, including a solo on an apparently out-of-tune piano and some muddled lyrics, repeating the track's introduction.

In 2007, Stephanie Lenz, a writer and editor from Gallitzin, Pennsylvania made a home video of her 13-month-old son dancing to "Let's Go Crazy" and posted a 29-second video on the video-sharing site YouTube. Four months after the video was originally uploaded, Universal Music Group, which owned the copyrights to the song, ordered YouTube to remove the video enforcing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Later in August 2008, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel of San Jose, California ruled that copyright holders cannot order a deletion of an online file without determining whether that posting reflected "fair use" of the copyrighted material. Lenz notified YouTube immediately that her video was within the scope of fair use, and demanded that it be restored. YouTube complied after six weeks—not two weeks, as required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act—to see whether Universal planned to sue Lenz for infringement. Lenz then sued Universal Music in California for her legal costs, claiming the music company had acted in bad faith by ordering removal of a video that represented fair use of the song.

The Minnesota Twins have played the song when a Twins player hits a home run since they moved to Target Field in 2010. Likely a nod to Prince's Minnesota roots

Jack White - Sixteen Saltines

"Sixteen Saltines" is the second single on Jack White's 2012 solo album Blunderbuss. It was when White first played this song on Saturday Night Live that the album had a surge in popularity.

Celebrate the Magic Video

I just spent Thanksgiving week at Walt Disney World with my camera, and for the first time I utilized it's video capabilities. This video here is one I shot of their new castle projection show called Celebrate the Magic. It's a 10-minute video, and it is truly amazing how they are able to project shows like this on the castle that make it seem to come alive.

Celebrate the Magic is a new nighttime spectacular at the Magic Kingdom park of Walt Disney World, that premiered on November 13, 2012. It replaces the The Magic, the Memories and You display, a similar show that ran at the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland from January 2011 to September 4, 2012. Celebrate the Magic takes place on Cinderella Castle and includes a contemporary musical score, pixel accurate projection mappings, pyrotechnics and lighting.

Tinker Bell introduces the show as she appears flying over the castle's turrets. The castle is transformed into a paper canvas as Walt Disney appears sketching Mickey Mouse in his iconic Steamboat Willie appearance. Tinkerbell enchants a paintbrush, which then becomes the host of the show. A kaleidoscope featuring images of Mickey, Donald Duck and Goofy are projected followed soon after by short clips from Cinderella, Pinocchio and The Princess and the Frog. The show then progresses into longer, classic scenes from Disney films, including; Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Wreck-it Ralph, The Lion King, The Jungle Book, Toy Story, Pirates of the Caribbean and Brave. The show's climax features a fast-paced montage of characters and scenes from such other Disney films as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mulan, Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, Pocahontas, The Sword in the Stone, Up, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Hercules, 101 Dalmatians and Tangled. During the montage Walt Disney appears again, via archival footage, reciting one of his most famous quotes; "I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse". The show then proceeds into a synchronized fireworks finale.

Similar to its predecessor, Celebrate the Magic will showcase sequences from that will be appropriately themed to seasonal parts of the year. The show premiered with the original Christmas segment from The Magic, the Memories and You. The summer months will show films such as The Little Mermaid and Lilo & Stitch, in addition to segments featuring Disney Princesses for Valentine's Day and Disney Villains for Halloween are also planned to be shown.

I Almost Died.

So, I almost died Monday night. Not in the “I laughed so hard I almost died” way, or the “OMG, my fart smelled so bad I almost died” way. In the “my heart almost stopped beating and I turned purple” way. There was an issue with carbon monoxide at my job, and I took the brunt of it head on. At one point, during the night, I started feeling light headed, and a little fatigued. My thoughts then were I hadn’t had anything to eat in almost 8 hours and had been working hard for most of those hours. I was finished with my work, and was starting to bring all my equipment back to the van that was in the loading dock. Each trip I took out there, I’d come back in feeling more and more light headed and fatigued. I drank a glass of water a couple of times, and it made me feel better, and that just reinforced my thought that I was feeling that way just out of sheer hunger. The last task I had to do was roll up the 300+ feet of hose onto the storage wheel in the back of the van. As I was doing so, everything started getting worse and worse. My heart was beating ungodly fast. My arms felt fatigued like I had just done a crap load of curls in the gym. My vision was getting blurry. I stopped rolling the hose for a while trying to catch my breath and slow down my heart. Now, I was doing this job alone, but there were two people “watching” me as this was in a high-security building and they had to be in the same room as me the whole night. At this time I was at the back of my work van, they were at the opposite end of the loading dock. I started trying to roll up more hose, and the dizziness, the lightheaded feeling, my heart racing so damn fast, all my limbs going numb, my vision going blurry. I realized that I was going to black out, and turned to start walking to the door, thinking some fresh air would help (again, I was still thinking this was all hunger related, little did I know how much I really really needed that fresh air). But as I turned, I realized there was no way I could walk that far. I was that weak, that dizzy, that close to blacking out. I turned the other way, thinking I could walk to the other side of the van and get the attention of the other two guys. Everything was shutting down so fast on me at this point. I was slipping under so fast. There was nothing I could do except completely understand how fast I was slipping. Everything was going dark. It was literally the scariest feeling I have ever had in my life. I managed to yell out one of the names of the other two guys. They both came over. I could only make out the shadow figure of one of them coming around the van, even though it was a situation I should have seen him clearly. I don’t remember anything after that. By the time the 2nd guy came around, he said I was purple, and my eyes were rolling back in my head. I was still standing somehow. The first guy sat me down on the back of the van. The 2nd guy got me back on my feet and started slapping my chest to get me going. They got me outside and that is when I “came too” again. We were right across the street from the hospital, so after I got some of my strength back we walked over there, and that is when the other two realized they were lightheaded and dizzy too. I know, probably should have called 911, but we were all a wee bit messed up at this point. The hospital got me back to a bed right away. Got me on some oxygen. Drew some blood to test it for how much carbon monoxide I had taken in and other tests. Gave me an EKG. When they drew the blood, it was probably 90-minutes after I blacked out and turned purple. When they gave me the results, they told me a normal person has a CO rating of 2-4 in their blood. A smoker has around 11-14. I was at 23. TWENTY THREE!!! They upped the oxygen, and kept me around for a few more hours before doing another blood test. They were debating putting me in a hyperbolic chamber, and some other measures to get me back to normal. At 3 AM my level had dropped down to 6. I was cleared to go home. And home is where I am sitting right now, lucky to be here. Lucky to feel zero effects of the day. If I hadn’t managed to call out to the guys that were watching me, there is no way I’d be sitting here typing this. I’d be dead. If my company had their crap together, they would have called in ahead of time that I would be there, and those two guys wouldn’t have been there TO come save me as I would have been cleared to be there alone. It all happened so fast. I still have no recollection of the one guy slapping my chest, or how they got me outside. I’m just so very thankful that I am still here with all of you, because it very easily could have turned out much much different. I am alive.

Epcot's Illuminations Photography

This photo of Illuminations was shot while standing on the 2nd floor balcony at Teppan Edo restaurant in the Japan Pavilion. Illuminations is a fireworks and water fountain show at Walt Disney Worlds Epcot theme park.

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William Drew Photography

Mackinac Bridge Postcard

This is a beautiful, post-card worthy photo of the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan.

William Drew Photography

Beauty on a Bridge

Standing on the new Lowry Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis that spans the Mississippi river, I took this photo of another photographer who happens to be very beautiful.

William Drew Photography

Wishes Fireworks from the Transportation and Ticket Center

I have always spent my first night at Disney World watching (and photographing) the Wishes fireworks from the Transportation and Ticket Center across the Seven Seas Lagoon from Magic Kingdom. They have the music playing at the TTC, so you get the full effect of watching the fireworks and hearing the soundtrack. And, to be honest, it is the best place to get the full effect of all of the fireworks.

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William Drew Photography

Bruno Mars - Locked out of Heaven

The fact this new Bruno Mars song evokes thoughts of early Police songs is a good thing in my book. This song totally kicks ass and Bruno is rapidly building an excellent library of songs. "Locked Out of Heaven" is the first single from his upcoming album Unorthodox Jukebox. In the recently released video, Mars and his band belt out the upbeat track in a dingy club, but the real attraction here are the grainy visuals filmed in fake fuzziness, giving the clip a retro feel. Unorthodox Jukebox is set for release on December 11th.

Guns N' Roses - November Rain

This is another of my all time favorite songs. "November Rain" is a power ballad by American rock band Guns N' Roses, written by lead singer Axl Rose and released as a single in June 1992. It appears on the album Use Your Illusion I. It features a sweeping orchestral backing and is one of Guns N' Roses' longest songs.

According to Tracii Guns, former L.A. Guns guitarist and founding member, Rose had been working on the song since at least 1983. In an interview, he said the following about "November Rain": "When we were doing that EP for L.A. Guns, like '83? He was playing "November Rain" on piano. The guitar solo is amazing. Way back then. It was the only thing he knew how to play, but it was his. He'd go, "Someday this song is gonna be really cool." And I'd go, "It's cool now." "But it's not done", he used to say. And, anytime we'd be at a hotel or anywhere, there'd be a piano; he'd just kinda play that music. And I'd go, "When are you gonna finish that already?" And he'd go, "I don't know what to do with it.”

Another Panama City Beach Sunset

I took this sunset photo while standing on the beach in Panama City Beach, Florida. I was out in front of the Long Beach Resort condo's. It is now my favorite of the sunset photos I have taken through the years.

Baby Blue Cinderella's Castle

This is one of my favorite photos of Cinderellas Castle as it is bathed in baby-blue light, highlighted by the bright red bush in front of it.

Minneapolis Reflection

I took this photo of the Minneapolis skyline while standing on the new Lowry Avenue Bridge that spans the Mississippi river. The beautiful skyline is reflected perfectly in the river in this photo.

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William Drew Photography

Panama City Beach Sunset

A beautiful sunset bathed in red light is what I was able to photograph on this day in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Steamboat Willy Mickey Mouse

I took this photo during the Fantasmic show at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios theme park. Actually, when I took this photo, the park was still called MGM Studios. The photo features the Steamboat Willy version of Mickey Mouse, so he is driving the steamboat and appears to be in black and white.