By CJ Tiernan Every now and then, a character will become synonymous with an article of clothing. They wear it so well, or it’s so interwoven with the plot, the two become inextricably linked. Mario and overalls. Cinderella and clear shoes. Batman and eyeliner. I’m not a big “remember what people look like” guy myself. If asked to close my eyes and reveal the hair color of friends and family I’ve held dear for decades, I’m not likely to surpass (in a statistically significa

By CJ Tiernan This two-human combo was a racing comet through sound and space. They whizzed by, lit up the night sky, and then – poof – before we knew it, it was over. Alan Menken was the composer and Howard Ashman was the lyricist for an absolute musical dream team. They wrote songs for Disney staples like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, as well as an Off-Broadway reimagining of Little Shop of Horrors that became the basis for the 1986 movie. That’s

By CJ Tiernan Nicknames of historical figures are curious. For instance, did all the members of his cabinet refer to Abraham Lincoln as “Honest Abe?” Did he even like that nickname? Did they just whisper it in halls of the parliament building or wherever it is they did whatever they did or were they actually saying it to his face? Did that nickname even exist, or was it manufactured after he, so to speak, bit the bullet? I don’t know whether some of these nicknames were cra

By CJ Tiernan This will be a list of Christmas Songs that skew more toward the secular side of Christmas or don't qualify as Christmas Carols. I also tried to choose only songs by the original artist, as there have been countless covers of the best Christmas songs over the years. I have a separate list for Christmas Carols, which you can view by clicking here. There was also an effort made to reduce the number of repeat artists, as my taste in Christmas music is relegated lar

By CJ Tiernan Magic Kingdom (or at least Disney World as a whole) is known as "The Happiest Place on Earth" (step aside DMV). It is a magical wonderland full of child-like awe and impossible thrills. You get to enter a piece of history and nostalgia, a world from various Disney properties, and have an uncompromising blast with friends and family. I have everlasting memories of spending time in Disney World, as I was fortunate enough to return over and over again as a kid. The

By CJ Tiernan Disney World has four distinct theme parks in Orlando, Florida: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and one that keeps getting renamed but I think is currently called Hollywood Studios. EPCOT was the second of these four parks to open and stands as my favorite one. EPCOT is an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow and was a land of the future in Walt Disney's eyes. It came to fruition well after his death, but was designed to honor the spiri