The original DVD doesn’t have any additional features.   It just has the standard movie (in 4:3 format) and scene selectors.   The movie can use Disney’s “Special Platinum Edition” release with documentaries, featurettes, games, and print clean-up.   The same treatment with Dumbo and Bambi DVDs.

Personally, I very much like the theme song, “When You Wish Upon A Star”.  It was performed by Cliff Edwards, who happened to be the voice of Jiminy Cricket in the movie.   I found the YouTube video of the original song, with the scenes from some of the other classic Disney movies.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-GtMDLlGRI

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Re-View: Pinocchio

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I went through the DVD features with my daughter.  With the book style read-along, she attentively listened to Michael J. Fox read the words.  Then, there was the Central Park Adventure Game, where my daughter answered a series of multiple choice questions.  She actually answered most of them correctly!  Plus, she enjoyed the dancing and singing in the music videos.

The DVD version that I have is the “Widescreen Collector’s Edition”.  There is a newer version called “Deluxe Edition”, which is the studio’s way of saying “Buy another copy because we included more extra features.”  Indeed, the deluxe version included additional featurettes, and deleted scenes.  Currently, Amazon sells the new version for $8, so it’s a bargain.

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Comparatively speaking, OC Fair is nicer and more fun than the San Diego County Fair. There was also more emphasis on food and fun.  The retailers’ booths were neatly hidden inside the buildings.  With no clutter of commercial signs, it felt more like an amusement park.

There are more games and rides, with a separate section for adults and kids.  My 3-year old daughter loved the kids’ rides.  She would go on them by herself, too.  My wife and I didn’t have to accompany her.  We took the cable car ride from the front to the back entrance of the fairgrounds.  It was a neat ride; we could see the entire fairground from end to end. 

At the Park Plaza, we stopped by to watch Kishin Daiko performing Taiko, or Japanese Drums. These guys (and girls) are incredible.  The rhythm of the drums is mesmerizing and awe inspiring.  One of the performer mentioned there’s a Taiko Drum Master for Playstation 2.  I want one also for the Wii!

The only gripe I had about the Fair was the expensive food and drinks.  We had roasted corn for $3.75, Great Western BBQ Sausage for $8.75, and small Dipping Dot ice cream for $3.50.  Good thing we brought our own water, otherwise it’s going to be another $2.50 for that!

Overall, we’re glad to have gone to the Fair.  We’re looking forward to visit it again, maybe in 2 weeks, or next year.

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Orange County Fair 2008

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Then we served them melons, strawberries, grapes, dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, turkey wraps, chips, birthday chocolate cake, with pink lemonade and water for drinks. The afternoon ended with everyone getting goodie bags with balloons.

All in all, the kids had a great time. I could also tell the parents were enjoying it too, watching their kids laugh and play. At that moment, I wanted to be 3 years old again, and join the fun. Ah, it’s so nice to be a kid – without any care in the world. All they can think about is just having a good time.

Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn! We are looking forward to celebrate your next birthday!

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Birthday Girl

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This morning, I prepared a breakfast in bed for my wife.  I let my 2-year old (going on 3) daughter carry the tray to her.  It’s sort of our tradition for us since last year.  My wife really loves this day, next to her birthday and Christmas, because we celebrate the day and put a lot of attention to it.  We don’t send each other a greeting card.  However,  I’m going to start recording the occasion on this blog and attach a greeting video instead.

I like to say Happy Mother’s Day to every mother in this world.  Thank you for your love.  May your lives be richly blessed!

Rose Photo Credit: Lyubov

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My wife likes to sit with my 3-year old daughter and show a slide-show of my daughter’s photos in reverse chronological order from recent to birth. She’ll ask her, “Who is this?” and my daughter would respond, “That’s Kaitlyn.” She’ll say her name in most of the pictures until she reaches a particular photo, where she’ll say, “That’s baby.” My wife and I are baffled by this. Is there a big difference in the way we photographed her before and after this picture? Does she look different? We don’t think so, but apparently my daughter can tell the difference.

The same goes with my blog writing. I’ve reviewed my posts to the beginning of my blogging days, more than 2 years ago, and noticed that I have indeed changed the way I write. Now, I write more words. The content is more in-depth and has a lot more outgoing links. I seem to have more things to say now, not just about myself. I can say that I’ve grown up, even if it’s only a little bit. I noticed my writing has improved a bit. The turning point was when I started having a few more readers. It began with zero RSS subscriber, now I have 25. I have regular blogging friends who drop by to check out what I have to say. I’ve also been reading other people’s advice, from writers and other experienced bloggers, on certain do’s and don’ts of the blogging. I’ve learned the tricks of the trade. Looking back, I have certainly grown as a blogger.

I’ve also asked the question, what should I do with some of the older posts that are bland and sometimes immature? Am I supposed to go back and delete them? Leo from Write To Done seemed to think it’s a good idea to delete old posts due to clutter. For me, I believe my blog is my personal diary and the old posts are valuable indication how far my blogging journey has taken me. My blog reader friend David Rader considers his personal blog as a time capsule for both him and his daughter can look back and enjoy. I certainly agree with him. I also want to use my blog as an educational material for my kid. I’ll tell her to learn from the old man, don’t make the same mistakes. My hope is that she will learn more from my unspoken words. I will not delete any of my old posts!

So here’s to more years of blogging — and more growing up to do!

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It started with our trip to the airport from home. My wife and I were told that my 3 year old daughter had to be on a toddler’s car seat during the van shuttle rides. Even though it is the law in California, most shuttle drivers don’t care. Ours certainly didn’t care. When we got to Florida, the same thing happened; the taxis and shuttle drivers didn’t care about the car seat. So we wasted the energy to lug around a car seat that we hardly used.

Then there was the airplane ride. It took about 8 hours to travel from California to Florida, including a transit stop in Dallas Fort Worth Airport. We could’ve saved about 3 hours if we flew non-stop, but that would cost us an additional $200 per person ($600 for the 3 of us). When we arrived in Orlando, it was 11 PM Florida time. We were tired but couldn’t sleep until 3 AM because of jet lag.

To save money, I opted not to rent a car since it would cost us $100 per day (including gas, parking, and insurance). Instead, we used the “free” shuttle service from the hotel to Disney World for 3 days. We discovered the pickup and return schedules were awful. Morning pickup was as early 7:40 AM which meant we had to wake up at 7 AM every day. Who wakes up at 7 AM during their vacation? On the first day, we were going to visit Disney World’s Animal Kingdom first, but we missed the shuttle at 7:40 AM because the driver decided to leave 10 minutes early! We had to wait until the next ride at 11 AM, so we pretty much changed our plan and went to EPCOT first. We got to EPCOT close to noon, so half of our day were wasted by sitting and waiting around. We did have a long breakfast buffet at Ponderosa, which was interesting in its own unique way.

The adventure didn’t stop with going to Disney World. Coming back from the parks was as grueling as getting there. The last schedule to return was set at 9:15 PM from Magic Kingdom. They warned us not to be late, so we made sure we got there at least 10 minutes before. We didn’t want to miss the shuttle and the possibility of paying $40 for a one-way taxi ride back to the hotel. So we would miss the parade and fireworks. No matter how well we timed it, we had to fight the crowds to get to the exit and we still ended up sprinting to the parking lot; only to find the shuttle was late! Oh well!

With the money we saved, we figured it was worth to spend that extra dollar eating in the theme parks. We spent, among other things, $7 for a small pizza, $5 for a hot dog and fries, $2 for a Popsicle, $2 for soda. Another words, we paid double the price for food! We thought that was convenient. We didn’t have to exit the park to eat. Except in some places, during lunch, the lines were at least 30 minutes long just to order the food!

So, all in all, we both agreed this was a great experience. Will I take my family to go back there in the near future? I doubt it. We’re just happy to be home again!

Note to self:

• Vacation is not all relaxing and comfortable.
• Vacation is expensive.
• Save more money for the conveniences.
• Patience is required.

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Her eyelid became swollen. We consulted the pediatrician again and this time he prescribed a mild antibiotic called Amoxicillin-Clavulanic. This one even had a raspberry taste to it so it would be easier for my daughter to take. However, we also had trouble administering it to her as she would sometimes throw it up. But after a few tries, we thank God that the antibiotic worked. The swelling disappeared within 48 hours. Note that with antibiotic, it must continually be given to prevent the bacteria from growing back and stop the infection.

As to why or how she got it in the first place, it’s still a mystery. She could’ve been infected by someone else, or maybe it was just the Santa Ana winds that blew all sorts of dust and debris.

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Pink Eye

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[Update: Click here for the photos of the event.]

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