#BUT ALSO i miss being obsessed with stuff like i am still insatiable about her but it's all reminiscing about the past | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

clippy · 2 months

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How did you become so interested in iasw? I’m genuinely curious and I would love to learn more about it! Also, what’s so special about… 𝐓 𝐇 𝐄 𝐂 𝐋 𝐎 𝐂 𝐊 .

Would you believe me if I said it was literally an accident LOL...

Like okay. I grew up going to WDW and Disneyland (as well as other theme parks but those were the main two; my dad grew up going to WDW so the obsession has spanned generations I guess lmao) small world was always a must-do, but my main theme park interests as a kid lied within everything Epcot-related (and it still does)

Anyway, my last trip to WDW prior to getting the Disney parks as a special interest was in 2014. I went with my high school band and it was kind of a whole thing (high school drama shit + spring break week + having to do performances in band) so we didn't get the most park time possible. We wound up skipping small world which makes me Wonder if this interest would have been kick started sooner if we didn't skip it. But anyway. Fast forward to 2018. I am visiting my friend (and now roommate) who is watching a bunch of animatronic and theme park videos and I, a clueless man, decided to watch with her and it literally awoke a sleeper cell in my brain or something because I've been *nonstop* obsessed ever since 🧍

Like literally during that session of watching videos I designed my objecthead version of Clockboy. My life has not known peace ever sense, and tbh has drastically been altered (I'll get into that later)

But yeah the Autism(TM) made me have an insatiable hunger for knowledge about everything small world-related... I still don't know EVERYTHING about it, as there are lots of variations and history, etc. involving the installments of the attraction outside of Disneyland, but my main focus is the original world's fair & Disneyland version of the attraction (since they're the same thing... Mostly) as well as IASW facades in general...

There are tons of people who have equally as niche interests within the attraction's history which I think is SO cool. Like the fact that this nearly 60 year old ride has enough meat on its bones to have whole sub-groups of what people like about it is endearing

The history about it is what has drawn me into it (aside from the funny clock) because it almost didn't happen! There was a near missed connection between a Pepsi exec and Walt Disney himself that, had that not happened, we wouldn't have gotten the ride at all. I don't want to relay the entire history here (the Imagineering Story & Behind the Attraction episodes about the world's fair attractions get into it, as well as a plethora of YouTube videos documenting the ride), but that story about the beginnings of it is so dear to me, and I can't explain why.

But anyway, since my primary focus is the original attraction and facades, I've done some reading about imagineers Mary Blair and Rolly Crump, who have become two of my favorite visual artists and large inspirations for me. Crump has a few books and interviews out that have been interesting to read, but admittedly I've had a hard time finding firsthand accounts from Blair herself. I'm sure some art out there but finding them has been tricky since I don't get a lot of time to do research in general (the stuff by Crump was all found on accident, and he also had the benefit of being alive until 2023 so getting firsthand accounts from him was easier)

Otherwise I am just... Constantly googling stuff and looking for old pictures and merchandise related to IASW. It gets me a lot of answers, surprisingly. I go to Disneyland at least once a month to go ride it and visit my boy.

Still not entirely sure WHY my brain fixated on IASW and the clock specifically, but that's just the hand I was dealt I guess 🤷 don't get me wrong, I still love Epcot stuff and have other silly theme park guys I love (RX-24.... 🥺) but the small world clock has such a stronghold on my brain and I genuinely don't think he's leaving any time soon LOL

It's so funny to me because 6 years ago, I would never have guessed this would have been my next special interest. I was working at a job I liked decently enough. I was still dropped out of school and had no urge to go back, and I was considering moving to Seattle... But now I work in a theme park doing a job I never saw myself having (which is fine, I like my job!), I'm back in school (pursuing a degree I hope I can spin into a career in theme park design 🤞), and I live in California now. Wild how that happens.

The small world clock may not be special to most people (I mean, a lot of people DO like him, I see tons of people taking photos in front of small world with him as the backdrop!) but he is extremely special to me. I treasure him so so so much, and do genuinely think my life has been better with him in it... It's silly that a funny clock face has done So Much to my brain and life but :'-) I love him so it's okay!

Anyway sorry that this is long and sappy LOL, you happened to ask this close to the 6 year anniversary of me getting into small world (it's on March 31 to be exact 😊) so it made me reflect a bit lol

TL;DR sources for more IASW info:

The Imagineering Story Episode 1: The Happiest Place on Earth (1964-1965 New York World's Fair stuff is about 35 min in) -- on Disney+

Behind the Attraction Episode 8: "it's a small world" -- on Disney+

"it's kind of a cute story" by Rolly Crump (interviews; written down by Jeff Heimbuch)

Defunctland's 1964-1965 NYWF video talks about it a decent amount if I remember right

any pictorial souvenir guides about the attraction (currently, and slowly, working on scanning mine in, and will share them once I do, but they're up on eBay a lot if you collect that sort of thing)

Sorry I don't have 🏴‍☠️ links for the D+ stuff or the book but I currently don't have the spoons to search for them

#hi. this is long so read more #sorry if u wanted a short answer

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gottaescape13 · 3 years

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Day 240

Friday the 13th

Usually have good luck on Friday the 13th. I hope that holds. Or at least, I GET lucky tonight! Been too long without the whole deal in that department (then again two days without is too long). I really am sorta insatiable in that regard with Steve. Can't get enough of him, even when he is being a little boy and otherwise annoying.

Had more snow yesterday. Guess winter is here to stay. Damn it.

Dexter's ball obsession is stating to get annoying. Or maybe I am just easily annoyed these days. Feeling a little stressed out and like a long vacation would help.

Man, I hope we are still about to go to St Maarten after the first of the year. Covid has gotten so bad, I'm worried. Supposedly they have a vaccine now, but that will take forever to get out to the general public.

I have an appt at 10 so only have two hours now to get myself together, eat and off to the studio. Been a bit busier the last week or so, which is a good thing. Steve even has worked full time a few days because Colin in hiding out since one of their co-workers got Covid and Colin is super paranoid about Covid. Been sorta weird not having Steve around all morning to sit and be lazy with.

Feeling sorta in a funk this morning. Tired of my body hurting all the time, tired of trying to get it on with my man and it not happening, tired if not being able to focus on stuff around the house, stuff with the kids, side projects, money, seeing old friends. Just tired. Maybe a lockdown for a couple of weeks wouldn't be as horrible as it could be. I dont know anymore. I just wanna go home. How can you have that feeling yet when you are almost 50? I just wanna go home, plop on the couch with a good book, sit with my dad who is watching the weather, go down by the lake for awhile and then go in and eat pot roast or mom's fried chicken or something.

I kinda feel like I dreamed about Mom last night, but I'm not sure. Just think missing her is maybe the reason for part of my funk.

Really.

Funk will end soon, I hope. Jay and Terry are coming out for massages tomorrow morning so that will be nice to catch up and earn a good $100+ also. I had to dip into the vacay fund a bit so that should bring it back to where it had been, which was a pretty good spot.

Let's hope it stays that way and I can still go come January. The time til then should go quickly. Thanksgiving in less than two weeks, and then Christmas isn't far away. I have no idea how Christmas will go this year, don't know what to do for anyone and the extra cash just isn't really there. I'll figure something out, I suppose. I always seem to.

Really.

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dulwichdiverter · 5 years

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All Wilby well

COMEDIAN, WRITER, PRESENTER AND LONG-TERM SE22 RESIDENT ROSIE WILBY ON MONOGAMY, POLYAMORY AND THE CHOCOLATE SALAD PROBLEM

BY RONNIE HAYDON

Rosie Wilby looks quite misty eyed when she talks about Dulwich Library. It’s a handsome beast, for sure, and a fine example of the prodigious Victorian philanthropy of John Passmore Edwards. But for Rosie, it was also the starting point of a wide-ranging research project into serial monogamy, which led to the publication of her book.

“I found a whole shelf devoted to relationships in the psychology section while I was mooching around East Dulwich, working through material for my shows,” she says. “It’s so great that my book is on that shelf now.”

The seeds for the funny, thoughtful tome, titled Is Monogamy Dead? were sown by the many years she spent on the comedy circuit, presenting a radio show and podcasting around the subjects of sex, relationships and break-ups.

Rosie’s warm, mischievous talks and discussions about love and heartbreak are often accompanied by statistics from sociological studies, with tangential stories illustrating these facts and figures.

The result is a delicious mix of eye-opening relationship study and belly-clutching hilarity. It’s no wonder she’s been called the “lesbian Eddie Izzard” by one reviewer, which is apt, because Izzard has described himself as a “straight, wannabe lesbian kinda guy”.

“I love Eddie Izzard’s stuff,” smiles Rosie, when we meet for coffee at Rock Steady Rum Lounge on North Cross Road.

As we chat about the book, the conversation turns to the labels we attach to people, and their sexuality.

“The book began with a trilogy of shows, starting with one called The Science of Sex that I toured in 2009-10. That was the show where I sometimes dressed up in a white coat: [a self-styled] ‘Love Doctor’.”

Rosie’s Love Doctor, with her flipchart, survey results and quick-fire gags, presented serious science about human relationships in a “fun and accessible” way.

These talks kicked off what she calls “a long arc of creativity” under which an often vulnerable and heartbroken Rosie sheltered, her personal life strewn with messy break-ups that fuelled more fevered research.

“I think what’s really changed is what it means to be lesbian, or gay, or LGBTQ now,” she says. “Both over my lifetime, or more recently, in the years since I moved to Dulwich in 2002.

“When I started doing comedy there was still an element of risk about which venues you would feel comfortable in, openly talking about being gay, which of course is a weird concept now that we can get married.

“But, in a way, I hanker after the old days of being a lesbian activist and wearing that badge with pride – even though none of us fit into neat boxes, it’s tricky nowadays when everyone’s fluid or pan-sexual or whatever, to find your place, to get a toehold anywhere…”

As if she senses she’s wandering down a potentially contentious path here, Rosie pulls out a gag: “I jokingly say sometimes that everyone’s a bit gay now, but frankly it’s been ruined for us!

“I miss having the secret, rebellious world we used to inhabit. Of course it’s wonderful that we have progressed so far in terms of equality, but I loved that feeling of breaking the rules and being more creative in my approach to relationships.”

Rosie welcomes the chance to be a rebel with her LGBTQ radio show, called Out in South London, which she presents every Tuesday evening at 6.30pm on Resonance FM, a community arts station based in Borough.

“I really appreciate having a dedicated platform that allows our LGBTQ guests to discuss how their sexuality influences their work,” she says.

“I still think there’s a real need to have our own shows, even though our community is in the mainstream now and we’re all cool about being gay, which is the reason the BBC has axed its dedicated shows. I think our voices should be heard on as many platforms as possible.”

Her ready wit and warm, chatty style has led to Rosie’s own voice being heard on a variety of radio shows on the now determinedly unstarchy Radio 4, from presenting her research into monogamy in a Four Thought broadcast (called A New Currency of Commitment) to guesting on Woman’s Hour and Loose Ends.

Her career has come a long way from her Camden years as a wistful singer-songwriter fronting her band, Wilby.

A guitar-strumming early career led Rosie into the world of stand-up comedy and turned into a wonderfully self-deprecating show about failing to make it in the Britpop years.

“I’d always chatted between songs – making jokes at my own expense – and the talking took over from the music,” she explains.

“That was a relief, really, because so much sad stuff had happened [her mother died when Rosie was just 28; a year later she lost everything she owned in a house fire] and I just wanted to park the darkness.”

Gloom was duly banished, as Rosie continued with her comic interludes, and took her first tentative steps into stand-up.

“By the time I got round to comedy I was in my 30s. I had a couple of early successes at a club called Comedy Camp. Gay men make the best audiences. There was a lot of ‘go, girl’ camaraderie. It was a lovely comedian called Simon Happily who gave me my first break.

“Once people started paying me I began gigging, with sets at the Old Nun’s Head and the Ivy House. I even did a show in Peckham Library, at the very top where they have this weird little space capsule. I do like Southwark’s libraries.”

The Science of Sex show, which she took to Edinburgh, led her to question the whole rollercoaster of falling in love, staying in love and committing to one person without it all becoming too domestic and humdrum. It set Rosie off on a path of exploring whether monogamy, as a concept, had outlived its usefulness.

She writes: “Should monogamy, which comes from the Greek, monos gamos, meaning one marriage for life, be newly translated as ‘one marriage until I choose to have an upgrade?’”

“I needed to redefine monogamy, which [for me] had meant a series of monogamous relationships and lots of breaking up, which is why I do the podcast, as well,” she explains.

Rosie presents The Breakup Monologues podcast (it’s free to download), in which she and other comedians (recent guests have included Viv Groskop, Alix Fox and Robyn Perkins) discuss their best and worst break-up stories.

“I still do a comedy talk about monogamy, in which I reference my book. During the talk I ask people what counts as cheating – anything from having sex with, kissing, texting or flirting with someone else.”

Or keeping the biggest portions of food for yourself. Apparently that’s a thing.

“In this interrogation, it seems that monogamy is such an assumed cultural default that many people don’t communicate to [their partners] what monogamy should actually mean, and everyone’s definition of cheating is different.”

She has written that women plus women relationships can be lonely, because it’s hard to have separate girlfriends to love, best buddies, like heterosexual married or partnered-up women do.

She tells a joke in the book, where she tries to distinguish between the many uses of the word “love”: “I love my girlfriend and I love chocolate, yet one of those is an insatiable, obsessive craving… and the other is how I feel about my girlfriend.”

Rosie worries in the book that the “lower-key, humdrum state was how I was supposed to feel about my long-term partner. Maybe she wasn’t chocolate but… a salad. Secretly I still hoped for both. Was a chocolate salad even on the menu?”

Is Monogamy Dead? received rave reviews when it was published in 2017, with Viv Groskop declaring it “bittersweet original, honest and funny”.

She added: “Rosie Wilby nails the challenges of intimacy and romance in this depressing age of Tinder. Would it be wrong to end a life of monogamy and leave m husband for her?”

A follow up book is not out of the question Not for a while, though: Rosie’s busy during festival season, and there’s a long-term partner and resultant house purchase to consider

“It’s great to receive messages from people who have read the book and say it’s made them rethink their own relationships and where their boundaries lie in terms of fidelity,” she says.

“What a lot of people don’t realise is that I’m now in a monogamous relationship. They assume that because I’m asking the question, I’m on a constant polyamorous adventure!”

Which does sound rather exhausting. Has she ever been a fan?

“I think polyamory has advantages. My friends who have polyamorous relationships make the idea work for them in the way that the partners communicate. I learned a lot from them, curiously; these are ideas I can take back into my personal life.”

She seems pretty chuffed with her current monogamous adventure, I observe. “Yes I am. I’ve put up with a lot of uncomfortable situations in the past. I think life is calmer and more contented now. These days if I want to have something that fuels that creative spark, some kind of questioning impulse, I look outside of my personal life to the wider world – in the sense of, ‘What on earth is going on out there right now?’

“Relationship-wise, I’m settled and I get on with my partner really well. We’re buying a place together and I guess I’ve got to a certain point in my life where I’m keen to embrace that chocolate salad.”

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