The Blue Parrot

06/07/2024

A last night at the ball park.

The Oakland Coliseum. July 5th, 2024. Likely my last time here to watch a game of baseball. It’s fair to say that I am a fan of baseball. Living south of San Francisco for seven years, it was…

10/06/2024

So, you need a steam train for your 1913 movie? What do you do? Here's a story of how you find the solution.

Western Pacific steam locomotive 94 at Olcott on the former Sacramento Northern Railroad. Roger Colton photo. Director David Swift, recalling production of 1960’s “Pollyana” for D…

21/05/2024

There's More There Than You Think.

Just another family, enjoying a day at the Park. It has become amusing to read, see, or hear some of the Disneyland faithful tell that a day at the Park isn’t what it used to be in more ways …

27/03/2024

35 years ago, it was Easter Sunday night.

NBC offered the two-hour premiere of a new drama, “Quantum Leap”.

Somewhere, I have a VHS standard tape on which I recorded it that night.

In the years since, I owe a good deal to Scott, Dean, Don, Deborah, and everyone who brought the series to television for us all to share and enjoy.

It has been a great privilege to meet fans with whom Quantum Leap resonates on so many levels, both in person and online. It goes beyond community in so many ways.

Here is an appreciation I wrote several years ago.

Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Doctor Sam Beckett led an elite group of scientists into the desert to develop a top secret project known as "Quantum Leap."

27/03/2024

Calling Chicken Little, white courtesy phone, please.

If you read the various new stories, blogs, Facebook or watch various YouTube channels, the impression is that Disneyland is closed. Or, in other words, the sky is falling. Despite Disney producing…

26/03/2024

A bit of the good life, with connections to the past and Colton family stories as well.

It's a story of greed and revenge from beyond the grave! Roger Colton shares a look at the Colton mansion, high atop San Francisco's Nob Hill.

27/02/2024

The rest of the story? Finally.

Now, where was I? Oh, yes… Disneyland. May 10, 2023. A Wednesday, to be exact. When I last left off, we had done the thing that is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. But as you may know, there i…

27/02/2024

Yes, Still Lurking About...

As Mark Twain may have remarked, rumors of my demise have been exaggerated. I am not lying in the ditch on the side of some rural byway, just diverted along the scenic route, so to speak or type. A…

01/12/2023

A look back at a retrospective on a Christmas classic!

Forty years ago, Lee Mendelson wrote those words on the back on an envelope. Something quick to add a touch to a nice piece of music Vince Guaraldi had written.

17/06/2023

A Day at the Park: In A Galaxy Far, Far Away.

We are awaiting the rope drop in the Hub at the start of the Day at Disneyland. The big day had finally arrived. Wednesday, May 10, 2023. It began as many do, waiting in line for the happiest parki…

10/06/2023

Day at Disneyland: If it’s Tuesday, this must be Orange County.

The wilds of Orange County. It’s been. Well, more than a while since I spent any time roaming Orange County. Tuesday, May 9th, 2023 became the latest. Starting the day, K.D. and I began with …

08/06/2023

Day at Disneyland: Getting There, Almost

San Joaquin train 710 at Martinez, CA May 9, 2023 The big day arrived at last. Monday, May 9, 2023. I arrived in downtown Martinez and found plenty of parking in the lot at the Amtrak Station. It& #…

02/06/2023

More planning for a Day at Disneyland.

In the past, when it came to tickets for days at the Disneyland Resort, I usually had several choices. For many years, off and on, I had one of the levels of an Annual Passport. That started back w…

01/06/2023

Finally, the tale of a long overdue Day At Disneyland. Well, the prologue of the adventure.

May 10, 2023, to be exact. My last visit to Anaheim and the Happiest Place On Earth was well before the Covid-19 Pandemic. A day with friends visiting the California Adventure almost 5 years ago to…

31/05/2023

Some thoughts on Entertainment.

The things that entertain us. In general, people seek out something to divert them from their daily tasks. Even if only briefly, this diversion (more often than not) will take on some form of enter…

16/05/2023

Fully recovered from my visit to the Southland last week. Will start blogging later today.

Here’s a little something from the past to tide folks over:

Main Street USA at Disneyland, looking from Town Square towards the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Continuing on our look at the Park, we head today to the first place any Disneyland guest visits. If ther…

01/02/2023

"Things Change"

Or "Why can't it just happen as it happens?"

A typical day at Disneyland? Or is it… Remember this quote: “Things change.” Loyal readers of this space may recall that Don Ameche uttered those words on-screen in a 1988 film of…

27/01/2023

The Panorama Passes

Yes, Daisies… In the months since I took a hiatus from writing now and then, a few changes have taken place. First and foremost, we moved out of the duplex we had rented for the last 17 years…

23/01/2023

Tales from Adventures Online.

Roger at Baltimore’s Camden Yard with a crab cake sandwich and an excellent red ale. Photo by Ken Mitchroney and it’s all his fault. Continuing from where we left off last time… O…

14/01/2023

A re-introduction, part one.

No. I haven’t worked for the Mouse. The above is a fair question if you are new to this space. Who is this guy and why should I read what he shares here? Getting right down to it, I am one of…

10/01/2023

Back at the keyboard.

Here we go again… sailing around the bend. After an absence of some time filling this space with shared items and occasional news bits, I decided to take up residence at the keyboard once mor…

10/08/2022

After the dust has somewhat settled over “Lightyear”, here’s a little something of note:

BEX, Switzerland — A Swiss pilot strapped on a jet-powered wing and leaped from a plane Wednesday for the first public demonstration of the homemade device, turning figure eights and soaring high above the Alps.

07/08/2022

Summer nights at Disneyland.

Is there anything better?

As much as I enjoy Disneyland, I am hard pressed to explain why I enjoy it even more after dark. Something in how the lighting brings even more magic to the place would be as good an explanation as any.

20/05/2022

Yup! Web site changes going on now. New content shortly.

08/02/2022

A Good Friend Passes

Ed Mackinson meets the mascot of the Reno Aces Baseball team. Photo by Joanna Mackinson, his daughter. It has taken me a while to sit down and write this. A good friend and cohort of many misadvent…