Celebrating the Birth of Our Nation is, to me, one of the most important holidays of the year and second ONLY to honoring the Birth and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. For in the course of human events, nothing has affected the progress of life on this Earth more than that life and this republic.
To spite its constant presence in our daily lives, the mere existence of an entire country founded solely on ideas becomes more miraculous with each passing year. A land based on potential rather than parentage is a remarkably forward-thinking concept that empowers its citizens to create their futures instead of confining them to their past.
It is in this spirit that America has revolutionized most of our planet, for which every innovation of the last 200+ years is due to the principles brought forth by our founding fathers. From the Industrial Revolution to the Digital Frontier, all of our collective progress originates from, what Abraham Lincoln called: “our experiment in popular government,” for which the entire world has looked for inspiration.
It is quite clear and irrefutable that without our nation’s embedded innovative spirit we would have never seen the likes of Franklin, Edison, Einstein, Lamarr, Disney, Lucas, or Jobs (just to name a few). And it is because of this that I feel truly blessed and most grateful to live in a time and place where I can humbly stand on the shoulders of many giants and endeavor, always, to live up to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created this land — and to inspire others, as best I can, to restore faith in our ability to shape a world that offers hope to people everywhere.
Tomorrow will be better as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life. — Walt Disney
This week's Raw Wednesdays takes us to the construction of The Magic Kingdom's Pirates of the Caribbean with a rare look at it's "rope cutting" ceremony on December 15th 1973, performed by Rock Hudson.
Continuing our week-long celebration of THE LIVING SEAS 40th birthday, here's my "sizzle reel" constructed from its original b-roll.
Watch the entire 10-minutes of footage here: https://www.epcotlegacy.com/history/seabase-b-roll
As part of the Millennium Celebration, the anthem "Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand" was produced in several musical genres including Country, Latin, Pop & Gospel.
I thought I had all of them until I discovered this somewhat forgotten variation as part of a recently contributed archive of theme park music.
The following is the 2OOO "Techno" variation created for the New Year's Eve celebration held nightly on Pleasure Island.
Graphic Designer, Norm Inoyue, drafting the 21st Century with Deborah Lord's iconic "World" Bold typeface!
With its structured block style & soft rounded corners, "World" walks a fine line of being forward-thinking without the traditionally sharp angles of other typefaces of tomorrow.
It's futuristic without being formidable.
Friendly without being frivolous.
Our 15th-anniversary celebration kicks into high gear with this unique tribute to the park's musical repertoire.
Inspired by the once frequent and highly treasured Official Albums of the parks, The Official ^Instrumental^ Album of EPCOT Center, utilizes the latest AI* audio separation models to present, for the first time ever, these classics in purely instrumental form, accompanied by many once-commercially released medleys and augmented by several that should have been.
*AI with considerable manual (aka human) efforts to remove AI artifacts, remove volume “ducking”, and enhancement to adjust for the loss of EQ.
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Decades before construction, Walt Disney and his Imagineers knew that, whatever form it would take, EPCOT, in all its vastness, could not exist without the technological and financial assistance of “American Free Enterprise”. Without the intrepid leaders of AT&T, GM, Kodak, GE, MetLife, and several others, EPCOT Center simply would not exist.
In gratitude for their support, each pavilion’s design included a luxurious VIP Lounge for their sponsors' employees. These lounges included special amenities, fascinating architecture, backdoor attraction access, and often spectacular views of the park their company helped to create.
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In VIDEOS, view Supporter Only exclusives like the full-length versions of Raw Wednesdays.
In PODCASTS, hear rare selections and restorations from the JLH Audio Archives — often years before the public. And some are forever exclusive to the Legacy Lounge.
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See You in the Future, — Joshua
Global Neighorhood by Albert Yu 1992
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