Orlando, I Love You!

Things have been so crazy around Chez Burtt that I haven't had a chance to post.  Also helping that along was a horrendous internet connection at my hotel in Orlando.  I'm baffled that a hotel that caters to convention attendees does not have WiFi nor do they have a strong ethernet connection. That is a review for TripAdvisor, but I just want to give a shout out to Orlando:  "Orlando, I love you, Orlando!"  For my musical theatre geeks, you know this is in reference to the hottest ticket on Broadway. Seriously though, I love Orlando. As a true Disney fan, I love being in the city that houses the happiest place on Earth.  Yes, Disneyland exists on my coast, but it's a fun day trip. Disney World....now that's a vacation!  After my rehearsal on Saturday for the same amazing company that took me to Paris, I hit Disney's Hollywood Studios with my brother and my niece and it was a awesome.  Here are some of the photos from that magical day.  (Yes, my niece really was there, but she doesn't need her photo blasted around the internet.)

 Me and Mike from Monsters, Inc.  I cannot wait for Monsters University!

I need an Incredibles costume for this photo.

I pose no matter where the red carpet is.....Orlando or Hollywood!

Fantasmic! continues to be one of the best shows Disney offers.  

Disney is ready for Christmas, I'm not sure I am though.  

They were looking for dancers, so guess who volunteered?

Me and my big little bro......

I hate to go upside down.  This is me going upside down on Aerosmith's Rock 'N' Roller Coaster.

A little stuffed with fluff love.  

The Little Mermaid show is kind of lame because (wow) is the singing bad, but the puppetry work is excellent. It's worth your time to go and see the artistry and then plug your ears for the song.

Remembering Steve Jobs

At the Oscars with my iPhone 4.

In December 1984, the big family Christmas gift was a Macintosh computer.  I spent my entire holiday vacation inserting the MacWrite and MacPaint diskettes and wasting reams of paper and ink cartridges printing up my creations.  I even went off to college with my Macintosh about a decade later and wrote countless term papers on that computer.

Dancing a little West Side Story with my iPad 2 at the State Fair of Texas yesterday. (I seriously need a spray tan.)

I didn't rejoin the Mac revolution until 2003 when I bought my first iPod, but once I went back to the cult of Apple, I never left.  My old Dell desktop went away as I bought an iBook G4 laptop in 2004, a MacBook Pro in 2008, my 3G iPhone in 2008, a gifted iPad in 2010, an iPhone 4 in 2011, and 2 gifted iPad 2s in 2011. Steve Jobs revolutionized the way we look at technology and I always joke that if I could marry my iPhone, I would.  I'm not kidding.

At CES in 2004 launching iTunes for HP.  (Look at that awful haircut!)

In 2004, I had the pleasure of helping HP launch their version of iTunes and the hPod at the Consumer Electronics Show(CES) in Las Vegas.  Yes, this Apple/HP partnership was short-lived, but it was an exciting time. I remember teaching people how they could find a particular song, download it to their iTunes playlist, and then make a mix of a variety of artists.  I remember adding a plethora of Michael Jackson, U2, and No Doubt songs to my unlimited iTunes account while I was at the show.  I was hooked and I watched as others shared in my amazement that week at CES.  

On the Goodyear Blimp a few weeks ago.....

These days, it's rare to find me without my iPhone or laptop and my iPhone has been photographed everywhere from the red carpet at the Oscars to the Goodyear Blimp. I own a collection of Pixar films from The Incredibles to Finding Nemo and I wear my Pixar sweatshirt with pride.  I am a happy Apple owner and shareholder.  My thoughts go out to his family and friends at home and at Apple.  You revolutionized the world.  RIP, Steve Jobs.

I would love to hear your stories about how Apple and Steve Jobs revolutionized your life.  Share in the comments below.

PaleyFest: Fall TV Preview Parties: ABC

Last night, I made it out the Paley Center for Media for the preview showings of ABC's new fall slate.  New shows like No Ordinary Family, Better with You, and My Generation plus the season premiere of The Middle were shown along with several cast members of each show participating in a Q & A session throughout the evening.  While the evening was filled with free drinks, popchips, and TV Guide, it really was a mixed bag on the boob tube.

The red carpet from up above.  I had the night off!

First up, was the highlight and the surprise of the evening, the sitcom, Better with You.  The show stars Debra Jo Rupp from That 70's Show, Kurt Fuller of every show of the last 25 years, and Joanna Garcia of Reba.  I am not a huge fan of the sitcom.  In general, I find it a tired format that suffers from the formulaic plot and a laugh track.  However, this show took off right out of the gate and the always amazing, Debra, knocked it out of the park.  This show is definitely worth a look on your DVR.

I was dying to see No Ordinary Family as I went to NYU with Julie Benz and I performed way back in the day with Michael Chiklis in a local production of The Nutcracker. (Yes, I just said The Nutcracker and Michael Chiklis in the same sentence.) The piece de resistance for me was the addition of Stephen Collins, the hot reverend from 7th Heaven.  Sigh.  It wasn't the show I wanted it to be.  Honestly, it is hard to imagine a guy like Mike married to a hottie like Julie.  It just doesn't exist in our world, even in LA.  It's basically The Incredibles brought to life, but without the Pixar heart.

My customized photo.  DJR=Debra Jo Rupp, KF=Kurt Fuller, AS=Atticus Shaffer of The Middle, HOT!=Stephen Collins, ?=Some guy from one of the new shows, but he wasn't very memorable.  Anyone know who he is?

The other two shows are barely worth a mention:  The Middle, a second season show with few laughs and My Generation, a new show this year that is a better idea as true life documentary versus a fictional documentary.  The show follows a whole generation of kids to adulthood from 2000-2010. Surely a busy decade with 9/11, Katrina, Enron, a rigged election, a war, and a recession, but the John Hughes stereotypes prevail:  the jock, the princess, the misfit, the nerd, and the criminal. Watch at your own risk, but you've been warned.

Parting shot of my BCBG suede ankle boots in eggplant and grey.  Yes, I bought both colors.  Yes, my friend, Maria, did too.  Yes, we both wore then on the same night.  Yes, we called to make sure we didn't wear the same color.  The End.

P.S. I might have a mini-crush on Stephen Collins, but it goes a long way back. Check out my interview with him for Focus Hollywood and a little behind the scenes scoop from our time on the red carpet.