The NJ DIS Meet Weekend 2014

The Bride and I attended this event last year, and came back for more this year. The New Jersey DIS Meet Weekend is a get together for fans of Disney, and fans of the DIS Unplugged Podcast. This past weekend there were charity auctions, open buffets, trivia contests, competitive Tastykake eating, and the chance to attend a live taping of the podcast - and all the proceeds go to Give Kids The World, so it's all for a good cause.

On Friday night it was a get to know everyone get together. They even had a version of speed dating they called speed DIS-ing where folks broke into groups and switched tables every three minutes, while questions about Disney experiences were thrown out as discussions topics. In no time flat most of the seventy or so folks in the room knew a little something about everyone else, fun. Trivia followed, food was provided and the mingling and conversation continued.

Then it was time for the big event of the night, the Tastykake Competition. Last year they were out of the area folks who had never seen a Butterscotch Krimpet before eating them… and would never want to see one again. This year, competitors came prepared. Competitive food eating techniques like dipping the cakes, and excessive drinking were in play. Last year's record was ten, won again by the reigning champion this year with fifteen. Man, he was inhaling them. After that, we had a late dinner at Applebee's with some of our new friends and folks we knew from last year, no Tastykakes for dessert though.

Saturday began with breakfast at the hotel, then a trip to the local Elks Lodge where many of the main events of the weekend would take place. There were games, an open buffet lunch, and several auctions, with all the proceeds going to GKTW, a couple of which we actually won. Then we were all in the audience for a live recording (and streaming) of the DIS Unplugged Podcast with hosts Pete Werner, Kathy Werling, and Teresa Echols. The enthusiastic Bride even got to ask a question. You can see the podcast here.

Later in the day, we returned to the hotel for a 1920s themed party night featuring performances by the improv group Comedy On Demand. The Bride was part of a skit during the festivities with podcast host Teresa Echols and had a ball.


Drinks, discussion, and donations continued into the night, and was capped off by a quiet breakfast the next day. A terrific weekend with good friends, new friends, and all for a good cause. In the end, over $16,000 was raised for GKTW. Can't wait 'til next year!

For more on the NJ DIS Meet Weekend 2014, check out the Make Mine Magic Podcast's special episode on the event here.

DJ E-Z Rock Dead at 46

Even though the song was released in 1988, there wasn't a club - dance, rock, otherwise - that this song wasn't played at least once a night throughout the 1990s. "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock was the song. Love it or hate it, its insane popularity cannot be denied.

Hip hop pioneer DJ E-Z Rock, born Rodney 'Skip' Bryce, teamed with lifelong Harlem friend Rob Base to create the song, died yesterday from undisclosed circumstances at the age of 46. The album It Takes Two went platinum and yielded two other hits besides the title track. The song changed the world of sampling and itself was sampled by dozens of other artists.

Arrow S02 E20: "Seeing Red"

One week later from the events of our last episode, Roy has lain comatose in the Arrowcave as Felicity's friends at S.T.A.R. Labs in Central City try to recreate a cure for Mirakuru. Felicity turns her head for a second in the opening, and Roy is up and around, and on the rampage.

This is one of these episodes where the main thrust of the plot is really merely a distraction. Yeah, everything revolves around Roy's rampage, but what it really is is an excuse for little vignettes with other characters. Diggle and Felicity, Diggle and Thea, Thea and her mom, Thea and Sin, Oliver and Sara, it goes on, ultimately ending with Mom telling Oliver she knows he's the Arrow, and has known for a while.

In his rage, Roy takes down Arrow and Canary, just like Deathstroke would have, sans the training - or are the fighting skills inherent to the Mirakuru? And speaking of Slade, where is he? Taking a break while the Roy subplot plays out? In the fight, Arrow's leg takes a beating, making him pretty useless the rest of the episode. It's okay because Roy's rampage was for the most part useless too, he was back in the Arrowcave status quo by the end anyway.

And as long as we're talking about subplots, Flashback Island goes out the window this week in favor of a flashback of a different kind. This one goes back seven years, to the midst of Oliver and Laurel's relationship, when Ollie's extracurricular activities resulted in another girl getting pregnant. Could this be Connor Hawke's mother?

I asked earlier where Slade was. We find out in the final moments of the episode. As Mom, Thea, and Oliver leave a mayoral rally, the car crashes and our hero wakes to find them all tied up, with Slade stalking over them with a gun. He offers Oliver the same choice Ivo offered him on the island - choose who dies. Mom makes the decision for him.

"Seeing Red" was a mediocre episode with excellent character development, and a beautiful terrible pay off. This just goes to show you it is always a bad idea to know a super hero's secret identity, and as far as Roy goes, based on this episode, it doesn't look good for him either.

What was Mom about to tell her children when Slade interrupted them? What friend was Sara going to see? What about Oliver's child who would be about six now? And who was the other person Slade needed to kill? The season is rushing to a close, see you next week.



…and was that Ravager?

Jem

First look at the new live action Jem movie.

The Rest of the Eurovision 2014 Semi-Finalists

Here are the rest of the Semi-Finalists for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. There has been a lot of Susan Boyle-ish hype about Belgium's entry, although it does nothing for me. Poland definitely has the spirit of Eurovision with their risqué video. Latvia gets it too, even though apparently Montenegro doesn't. I'm kinda fond of Ireland, as with most years, it's one of my favorites, but this is a year of very fierce competition. Time will tell…

Azerbaijan - "Start A Fire" by Dilara Kazimova



The Netherlands - "Calm After the Storm" by The Common Linnets



Belgium - "Mother" by Axel Hirsoux



Poland - "We Are Slavic" by Donatan & Cleo



Latvia - "Cake to Bake" by Aarzemnieki



Montenegro - "Moj Svijet" by Sergej Cetkovic



Hungary - "Running" by Kallay-Saunders



Ireland - "Heartbeat" by Can-Linn featuring Kasey Smith