EDIT 30/1//14: After I had posted this blog, I had realised that perhaps I wasn't entirely accurate with my assumption that no gay character had ever featured in Disney media, so I took it down. After a few days of debating this issue with myself, I decided I should just go ahead and repost this anyway, as it's still relevant, even if not 100% accurate. The point of the gay characters featuring on the Disney Channel is still significant. One last thing, the edit in the entry below was an edit made right after I posted the article, and therefore is part of the "original" article, before I took it down.
Hello everyone,
Last night the Disney Channel in the US aired the latest episode of their popular show, 'Good Luck Charlie'.
The episode broke new ground for the network, which is primarily aimed at children, as the show featured the first openly gay couple ever to feature in a Disney Channel production.
Being the big Disney fan that I am, I was trying to think about whether this actually extended past the Disney Channel, to all Disney media. I can't think of another openly gay character to ever appear in a Disney animated feature, live action feature or otherwise. I am mainly talking about Disney branded productions here, so we can exclude their more adult orientated brands such as Miramax or Touchstone.
It's a huge step for children's entertainment, and I'm sure the more conservative parents, and organisations such as American Family Association and One Million Moms, will be attempting some sort of boycott of Disney now, but you know what? Who cares?! It's a very welcomed move from Disney, and I really hope that more and more family programming sees gay characters appear in them.
I for one say bring it on! Children need to know that love is love, regardless of what form it takes. To some children watching that show last night, they would already identify with having two parents of the same sex, and I'm certain that there were some who sat there who were moved by the fact that their family group had finally been recognised. They were no longer "different", they were on a TV show on the Disney Channel.
EDIT: I realised that Modern Family on ABC has a regular gay couple, but again, maybe this doesn't count as regular Disney programming, or even family viewing, as some themes can be more adult (for Modern Family I'd say it's more a guidance/discretion thing than actually being adult, as it rarely offends). The basis of the argument for Good Luck Charlie's big news is more to do with the fact it is on a children's channel, and is considered part of the mainstream children's and family viewing.
Just my thoughts. Please, please leave your comments below. I'd love to know all your views!
Dan.
Monday 27 January 2014
Sunday 26 January 2014
2013 in Pictures
Hello everyone,
As we head into the last part of January now, 2013 seems but a distant memory, when in fact it was less than 4 weeks ago!
I wanted to share with you all some of my memories of 2013, but it's nearly impossible to pick the best moments, so instead I am just going to post the links to my Flickr sets from last year, which you can browse at your leisure.
We started the year at the Disneyland Resort in California, finishing up our extended Christmas and New Year trip there.
Flickr set for California Christmas/New Year is here.
A few days later we drove from Virginia to Philadelphia, where we saw the Disney On Ice show, Rockin' Ever After, and met with some old friends of mine who now live in New Jersey.
Flickr set for Disney On Ice is here.
In February we were in Disneyland Paris for Valentine's, and had a wonderful time with friends.
Flickr set for Disneyland Paris Valentine's is here.
At the end of March/start of April we were in Walt Disney World for Easter.
Flickr set for Walt Disney World Easter is here.
On the 10th April I met with friends of ours in London, and we attended the Disneyland Paris Shareholder's Club Round Table meeting.
Flickr set for the meeting is here.
Then, at the end of April, we travelled to Hong Kong to begin our epic around the world adventure!
Flickr set for Hong Hong is here.
Our trip to Hong Kong led us into May, where we travelled to Tokyo, Japan to visit Tokyo Disney Resort.
Flickr set for Japan is here.
From Japan we flew across the Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles, California, to visit the Disneyland Resort.
Flickr set for California in May is here.
After California, the next stop was Walt Disney World in Florida, where for the first time ever, I celebrated my birthday at a Disney Park!
Flickr set for Walt Disney World in May is here.
Finally, after Florida it was off to Paris, where we celebrated the grand finale of our world trip at an amazing gala dinner show at Disneyland Paris!
Flickr set for the Paris finale is here.
After all that craziness, we had a rest in June and July. I should point out that it was in June that we finally found out the US Supreme Court decision on DOMA. It was that decision that led us to do what we would do in August (finally!... see below), and spurred me on to create this blog!
You can read my very first post I made on this blog, here. It's quite long and detailed, and gives you a good insight into my life, and how Jon and I met.
As I said above, August was a big month for us, as it was the month we finally got married at Jon's parent's house in Maryland! Surrounded by friends and family, we had a truly wonderful day.
My Flickr wedding photo set is here.
After that, we visited some dear friends of ours in New York. I don't have any public photos of that, as I wanted to just enjoy our time there, and not be bogged down with my big DSLR camera, like I usually am.
Later in August we attended the Disney Junior Live! Pirate and Princess Adventure show, in Charlottesville, VA.
Flickr set for Disney Jr Live can be seen here.
Shortly after that, we flew back to Disneyland in California, where we had some late summer fun, which led us into September.
Flickr set for Disneyland September is here.
September came and went, and October arrived. We visited Disneyland Paris with Jon's family, who were in Europe on a cruise.
See my Disneyland Paris Halloween Flickr set here.
In November my childhood heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were visiting a mall near where I live, so I just had to go see them!
My Turtles Flickr set is here.
Finally December arrived, and we were back in Disneyland Paris for Christmas and New Year, where we rang in 2014 with our good friends.
My Disneyland Paris Christmas set is here.
So there we have it! My amazing year in pictures, or links, I guess!
Have a great Sunday everyone.
Dan.
As we head into the last part of January now, 2013 seems but a distant memory, when in fact it was less than 4 weeks ago!
I wanted to share with you all some of my memories of 2013, but it's nearly impossible to pick the best moments, so instead I am just going to post the links to my Flickr sets from last year, which you can browse at your leisure.
We started the year at the Disneyland Resort in California, finishing up our extended Christmas and New Year trip there.
Flickr set for California Christmas/New Year is here.
A few days later we drove from Virginia to Philadelphia, where we saw the Disney On Ice show, Rockin' Ever After, and met with some old friends of mine who now live in New Jersey.
Flickr set for Disney On Ice is here.
In February we were in Disneyland Paris for Valentine's, and had a wonderful time with friends.
Flickr set for Disneyland Paris Valentine's is here.
At the end of March/start of April we were in Walt Disney World for Easter.
Flickr set for Walt Disney World Easter is here.
On the 10th April I met with friends of ours in London, and we attended the Disneyland Paris Shareholder's Club Round Table meeting.
Flickr set for the meeting is here.
Then, at the end of April, we travelled to Hong Kong to begin our epic around the world adventure!
Flickr set for Hong Hong is here.
Our trip to Hong Kong led us into May, where we travelled to Tokyo, Japan to visit Tokyo Disney Resort.
Flickr set for Japan is here.
From Japan we flew across the Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles, California, to visit the Disneyland Resort.
Flickr set for California in May is here.
After California, the next stop was Walt Disney World in Florida, where for the first time ever, I celebrated my birthday at a Disney Park!
Flickr set for Walt Disney World in May is here.
Finally, after Florida it was off to Paris, where we celebrated the grand finale of our world trip at an amazing gala dinner show at Disneyland Paris!
Flickr set for the Paris finale is here.
After all that craziness, we had a rest in June and July. I should point out that it was in June that we finally found out the US Supreme Court decision on DOMA. It was that decision that led us to do what we would do in August (finally!... see below), and spurred me on to create this blog!
You can read my very first post I made on this blog, here. It's quite long and detailed, and gives you a good insight into my life, and how Jon and I met.
As I said above, August was a big month for us, as it was the month we finally got married at Jon's parent's house in Maryland! Surrounded by friends and family, we had a truly wonderful day.
My Flickr wedding photo set is here.
After that, we visited some dear friends of ours in New York. I don't have any public photos of that, as I wanted to just enjoy our time there, and not be bogged down with my big DSLR camera, like I usually am.
Later in August we attended the Disney Junior Live! Pirate and Princess Adventure show, in Charlottesville, VA.
Flickr set for Disney Jr Live can be seen here.
Shortly after that, we flew back to Disneyland in California, where we had some late summer fun, which led us into September.
Flickr set for Disneyland September is here.
September came and went, and October arrived. We visited Disneyland Paris with Jon's family, who were in Europe on a cruise.
See my Disneyland Paris Halloween Flickr set here.
In November my childhood heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were visiting a mall near where I live, so I just had to go see them!
My Turtles Flickr set is here.
Finally December arrived, and we were back in Disneyland Paris for Christmas and New Year, where we rang in 2014 with our good friends.
My Disneyland Paris Christmas set is here.
So there we have it! My amazing year in pictures, or links, I guess!
Have a great Sunday everyone.
Dan.
Thursday 23 January 2014
A Broken Toe Can Bankrupt you
Hello everyone,
It's that big elephant in the room again - healthcare!
Last weekend I broke my toe, falling down the stairs at home. I went to the hospital, where I spent 2 hours in the emergency room, where I was attended to by 3 nurses. They checked my foot over, bandaged it up, and told me if I had any other problems to come back and see them. For this, I paid nothing. Literally, nothing.
I saw this (below) posted by the page 'Being Liberal', and it really brought home to me the ridiculous difference between US healthcare and the socialised healthcare of most other nations of the world.
http://beingliberal.tumblr.com/post/74291527927/kirkwa-and-this-is-why-you-shouldnt-get-sick
I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of those images, and even if some are staged, I know that they aren't far from the truth. One of those posts includes someone who had a broken ankle, which cost over $80,000. I'm shocked and disgusted, $80,000?! I realise my toe is not as major as an ankle, but I dread to think what the cost would have been!
There will be some people who will come back and say, "But you will have good healthcare", and I won't deny that since Jon has a good job, and I intend to work, too, that healthcare won't really be an issue for me. Having said that, the potential is there for exorbitant healthcare bills, and insurance itself is higher (much, much higher, in fact) than what our taxes are for NHS services anyway!
All those who have a problem with socialised healthcare, you need to get a grip and start seeing how other countries look after their citizens. I am dreading the US healthcare system when I move there. It terrifies me to think I could have done the same thing in the US, and it could potentially bankrupt me.
Dan.
It's that big elephant in the room again - healthcare!
Last weekend I broke my toe, falling down the stairs at home. I went to the hospital, where I spent 2 hours in the emergency room, where I was attended to by 3 nurses. They checked my foot over, bandaged it up, and told me if I had any other problems to come back and see them. For this, I paid nothing. Literally, nothing.
I saw this (below) posted by the page 'Being Liberal', and it really brought home to me the ridiculous difference between US healthcare and the socialised healthcare of most other nations of the world.
http://beingliberal.tumblr.com/post/74291527927/kirkwa-and-this-is-why-you-shouldnt-get-sick
I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of those images, and even if some are staged, I know that they aren't far from the truth. One of those posts includes someone who had a broken ankle, which cost over $80,000. I'm shocked and disgusted, $80,000?! I realise my toe is not as major as an ankle, but I dread to think what the cost would have been!
There will be some people who will come back and say, "But you will have good healthcare", and I won't deny that since Jon has a good job, and I intend to work, too, that healthcare won't really be an issue for me. Having said that, the potential is there for exorbitant healthcare bills, and insurance itself is higher (much, much higher, in fact) than what our taxes are for NHS services anyway!
All those who have a problem with socialised healthcare, you need to get a grip and start seeing how other countries look after their citizens. I am dreading the US healthcare system when I move there. It terrifies me to think I could have done the same thing in the US, and it could potentially bankrupt me.
Dan.
Thursday 16 January 2014
New Year, New Concept
Hello everyone,
The last few days, I have found myself getting quite fired up over some political issues that have featured in the news. I try to refrain from posting my views over the various social networks I belong to, as I don't want to create any unease or tension with my friends, family and contacts. I understand that not everyone has the same views and opinions, and I respect that. On the other hand though, I can be quite opinionated, and like to be quite vocal about my views!
With that, I have decided to spice up this personal blog into something more encompassing, something that will be an outlet for my views and opinions, so I can freely share them without fear of indadvertedly causing offence. Of course, I am for freedom of expression and freedom of speech, and you might think I wouldn't care if I posted my views and someone didn't like it, but, I am also anti-confrontation. If I can avoid an argument, I will. I don't mind debates (bring them on, I say!), but an argument because of something I've said on Facebook has caused offence, is not my intention.
Over the next few days, I will be changing this blog around to accommodate the new format, and will also come up with a new name. Eventually I will set up my own domain name, and probably move the entire thing to a personal website that Jon will set up for me, and will be hosted on our own server (we won't need a new one, we have a lot of space on our Character Central one already!).
Our journey through the immigration system will still feature heavily on here, for as you well know, that is a chapter of our lives that is far from over, and is what brought about this entire blog in the first place.
It's Friday tomorrow, so have a good weekends everyone!
Dan.
The last few days, I have found myself getting quite fired up over some political issues that have featured in the news. I try to refrain from posting my views over the various social networks I belong to, as I don't want to create any unease or tension with my friends, family and contacts. I understand that not everyone has the same views and opinions, and I respect that. On the other hand though, I can be quite opinionated, and like to be quite vocal about my views!
With that, I have decided to spice up this personal blog into something more encompassing, something that will be an outlet for my views and opinions, so I can freely share them without fear of indadvertedly causing offence. Of course, I am for freedom of expression and freedom of speech, and you might think I wouldn't care if I posted my views and someone didn't like it, but, I am also anti-confrontation. If I can avoid an argument, I will. I don't mind debates (bring them on, I say!), but an argument because of something I've said on Facebook has caused offence, is not my intention.
Over the next few days, I will be changing this blog around to accommodate the new format, and will also come up with a new name. Eventually I will set up my own domain name, and probably move the entire thing to a personal website that Jon will set up for me, and will be hosted on our own server (we won't need a new one, we have a lot of space on our Character Central one already!).
Our journey through the immigration system will still feature heavily on here, for as you well know, that is a chapter of our lives that is far from over, and is what brought about this entire blog in the first place.
It's Friday tomorrow, so have a good weekends everyone!
Dan.
Thursday 9 January 2014
Happy New Year! I'm still here... Updates!
Hello everyone!
First of all, Happy New Year! Welcome to 2014! Second, apologies for not being on here for so long, but honestly, there hasn't been too much to report.
Jon and I welcomed the new year in at Disneyland Paris (where else would you expect us to be?! LOL!), and had a blast as we always do.
Other than that we haven't been up to too much.
We still haven't heard any more on our I-130 petition. We have been in contact with our lawyers as recent as last night, and they informed us that at the moment the processing for applications is taking around 5-6 months (argh!), which means that where we expected to already have our approval notice by now, we now have at least another two months! Eurgh! But, I have to admit, it put our minds at ease, as we would rather the whole thing be taking longer for everyone, than it just be us - otherwise we might start to worry there was a problem!
Of course, there is no reason to worry, and both of us are very regular people (well, as regular as you can be, but anyway!), with nothing that would potentially hold our application back, so I guess it's just a waiting game. Having said that, when it's your entire future hanging on one piece of paper, it can be quite nerve-racking!
Anyway, I thought I would share with you just a few pictures from my favourite moments from 2013.
Enjoy the photos!
Dan.
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