By CJ Tiernan This two-human combination was a racing comet through sound and space. They whizzed by, lit up the night sky, and then – poof – 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 right, these

By CJ Tiernan Nicknames of historical figures are curious. Did all of 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 whatever it is or did they say 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 crafted by contemporaries or issued by historical arbit

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 la

By CJ Tiernan Magic Kingdom 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 rides on this list are steeped in 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 E xperimental P rototype C ommunity o f T omorrow 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