With high gas prices and all the other challenges of travel these days, you may not be up for a trip to Central Florida and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, so you may want to check out the YouTube channel of ResortTV1. This lovely channel has been around for over 13 years, with brother and sister team Josh and Jenna vlogging and regularly streaming from the Universal and Disney Parks.
If you can’t go out on a Friday night, go with Josh and Jenna (and sometimes their parents or Josh’s wife and son) on a stress-free visit to beautiful Orlando! I’ve enjoyed reliving my own days in that area, as Jenna and Josh wander around my old stomping grounds (the Disney World streams at Christmastime were my stress escape!). They are wonderful hosts, very family friendly and relaxed, taking viewers to the front of the line and to great views of the parades and fireworks with no crowds, high costs, or sweltering heat.
If you’ve never been to Universal Studio’s Wizarding World, check out this video from last fall, in which you can see some of the Wizarding World seasonal entertainment. You can also see some of the sites on other visits to the park. If you are hoping to visit the Wizarding World (or any other resort area park) in the future, this channel will whet your appetite. Enjoy!
nonetheless end their own lives, either directly, as he does, or with drugs, alcohol, or other destructive choices. Some of those are stories of famous people, and others concern less-well-known people who nonetheless seemed to have everything any of us could want. It may seem surprising that someone who has it all should throw it all away, but it happens with terrifying frequency.
short while, one I inherited, or even one that belongs to someone else, as long as I can cut up the potato or write down the item on the grocery list. However, like most people, I find that it really does matter. I have a favorite paring knife; I have pens I like or don’t like. Sometimes, it is because of the intrinsic quality of the item. Maybe that particular knife just holds the edge well or does a particularly nice job on potatoes. Maybe that pen writes well. Sometimes, though, it’s more about personal preference. The size of that knife or pen might just be a great fit for my hand, which is smaller than that of most adults. Or, I might prefer a particular color of ink for the task at hand (I have never graded in red, always green, purple, or, occasionally, blue). Even more subtly, though, that tool choice may be linked to something deeper. Perhaps I use that knife because my granny always used one like that to cut potatoes, or perhaps I choose a pen, even for a menial task, because it reminds me of someone special. Humans are used to choosing our tools for reasons that are both practical and sentimental. Yet, there is also the sense, especially in literature, that tools choose us, and that is a theme we can see not only in the Wizarding World, but also in a wide variety of other texts and popular media.
Disney’s animated films are known for being enchanting. Whether we are taken deep into the forest to the castle of a Beast or swept off to the glorious savannahs of Africa, these films can take audiences somewhere, somewhen that is magical. In its sixtieth animated feature, Encanto, Disney again brings the enchantment, like the title indicates, as it presents the story of a non-magical girl trying to help and heal her magical family. Like a squib in a house of wizards, Maribel Madrigal is unable to communicate with animals, lift buildings, or control the weather (all abilities her family members possess), but she comes to understand that families and love are not about those kinds of gifts. In part, since the story is set in Columbia, the film relies beautifully on the tradition of magical realism. However, it also relies nicely on a very specific literary structure that we have often visited here: the soul triptych. Join me after the break for a look at the way in which the number three (and twelve), along with a familiar triune structure helps Encanto weave its spell. And yes, we will talk about Bruno!
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