Sometimes leftuggies are the last thing in the world that anyone wants to deal with. But under the right circumstances (planetary alignments, crystal energy, and so on), leftuggies can be delicious!
Howsabout this beautiful shot of the Columbia (circa 1978)? Very artistic. That rigging makes sense to a spider but not to me. The warm glow of the lanterns in the foreground contrasts with that brilliant, deep cobalt blue sky with the soft pink horizon.
Next is this overcast but still pretty photo of Sleeping Beauty Castle (1969). The blue of the "slate" roof tiles, the bright banners, colorful flowers, and tiny spots of bright-hued clothing really perk up what might have otherwise been a dull affair.
Major-
ReplyDeleteThese sure don't look as if they qualify for the dreaded 'leftuggie' category. For all the reasons you state, they hold a much-higher place in the pantheon of DL images. (Although I do have some concern about the folks bravely standing on the drawbridge of the castle, with merely three, free-for-all chains acting as intermediate railings. Why, a sudden gust of wind could just sweep them off the bridge, where they would plunge into the treacherous waters of the SBC moat - only to be attacked by savage swans-!)
Thanks, Major.
The Columbia pic is a gem. Gem of the Ocean that is. I like it for all the reasons you said, Major. Thanks for sharing as always.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree. Both of these images are lovely. Stand proud leftuggies.
ReplyDeleteHello! No way these fall into the uggies catagory. That has got to be the artiest pic of the Columbia ever. The castle looks great with the splashes of color here and there. Skyway gondola alert in pic 2. And are those the blonde Bobbsy Twins on the bridge? Thanks major.
ReplyDeleteNanook, the term “leftuggie” doesn’t necessarily mean that the picture is bad - it’s just a leftover, and as we all know, leftovers can be pretty tasty. With the winds we’ve been having here in recent days, I would not be very surprised to see people blown off of Sleeping Beauty Castle’s bridge! Also, why have there been no Syfy movies about giant swan attacks?
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, for some reason when I hear, “Columbia, Gem of the Oceans”, I think of Popeye cartoons. What does it mean?!
DrGoat, thanks!
Jonathan, “uggies” was just something my mom said. “What’s for dinner?” “Leftuggies!”. I do love a good artistic photo - if only those lanterns on the yards were still there (and lit up). I had to go back and look for the Skyway gondola. I wonder if those blonde girls really are twins?
That first shot reminds me of the evening and night shifts on the Columbia during the fall/winter season. Wearing the pea coat, staying warm and looking above seeing the mast silhouetted in front of a full moon. KS
ReplyDelete@KS you captured my heart and my memories with that brief word picture. Cool evenings wearing only a pea coat to stay warm.
ReplyDeleteThat first shot is amazing! Two things that I noticed was that the first photo is taken at dusk as the sun sets in the west (where Frontierland is located...great design and imagery) and light seems to be hitting the starboard side of the ship's masts (as well as that great pink, purple, blue sky of a setting sun).
Second thing of note, is that there appears to be Guests on board the ship, which indicates that it is in operation. Therefore I can assume that it is either last trip of the day, as the Columbia ceases operation at dusk (like Rafts to Tom Sawyer's Island), or that the Mark Twain is down for rehab, thus leaving only one ship to operate.
The warm glow of the street lanterns adds to the photo it only could have been improved is the Captain turned on the yard arm lanterns on the ship. they are visible... just not lit.
Always your pal,
Amazon Belle
PS and since I mentioned it... the moon rises in the east above Tomorrowland... those Imagineers thought of everything.
You know, AB, I never thought about that before. That's weird - just where did the Moon rise before the Imagineers moved it to Tomorrowland?
ReplyDeleteGreat pics today Major. Left over only in the sense that they didn't fit into any longer post. Both have elements that perfectly capture their moment and place. The castle picture is especially good to me, and we have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of views of it.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments, too. Thanks to the former CM's for viewpoints unavailable elsewhere.
@Matthew, never thought of that before, could that be the reason for the Park's major layout decision? Putting the Future in the direction of sunrise and the Past in the direction of sunset is an iconographic concept worthy of Michelangelo.
As a former designer, I've often wondered about the initial scoping and programming decisions for the Park. Fantasyland is a pretty obvious inclusion, echoing many amusement parks before Disneyland while leveraging WED movie content, and Frontierland is a similar notion. Main Street (as the only entrance, no less) and Adventureland, seem to me to be quite original ideas. I suppose that Tomorrowland more or less echoes the Worlds' Fairs which were big in that era. And after the major content was determined, how to lay it out? What are the adjacencies, how much space to allocate? I'd love to see the minutes or the storyboards from those meetings.
JG
These are more lefTUGGIES, because they're tugging at our nostalgic heartstrings.
ReplyDeleteKS, that sounds like a wonderful memory!
ReplyDeleteMatthew, wearing ONLY a pea coat? Surely you had socks on at least! ;-) Dusk in Frontierland was one of my favorite times, as the lights came on, and somehow the music seemed both quiet and yet more noticeable. And there was the sound of the crickets or spring peepers coming from Tom Sawyer Island, I always assumed that was played over speakers, but maybe not. Thanks for your nice comment!
Chuck, you forget that the moon was improved in the late 1960’s, making it bigger and brighter than ever.
JG, as I have gone back through some of the old boxes, I really do wonder why I skipped some slides. Especially that first one! Gosh, I’d love to know if there is anything to the “sunrise = future” and “sunset = past” theory. You make some interesting points about the various lands - I do believe that some Fairs had recreations of Main Streets of yesteryear - or at least Greenfield Village did. I’m sure Walt was aware of that place. I’ve never seen notes or minutes from meetings about Disneyland plans, but there are quite a few early sketches (including some from the proposed Burbank location) that help to give an idea of how the park evolved, from a simple little “Mickey Mouse Park” to the place we saw in 1955.
Melissa, ha ha, you need to trademark “lefTUGGIES”!