Apple technology comes through again for another scintillating film showcasing highlights, as seen through the mind of my phone, from the past twelve months.
The scenes explained...
Opening: We see images (primarily...what's that mini-escalator doing there?) of the famous Budweiser Brewery in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. The music wells up in triumph in the spirit of the Age of Industrial Revolution as we see the inner workings of this massive factory built by pioneering immigrants who aspired and achieved greatness in this great country, The United States of America. But it's also a triumph of my own achievements during this early start of this year, having cobbled together, bravely, the resources to stay free and have options to myself possibly immigrate to a new land, perhaps Missouri or Illinois as this post here details. Ah, so much pioneering! And the crescendo of the musical piece stamps bold images of other St. Louis landmarks of greatness into our view. Oh Pioneer! (With the final dramatic shots being of cars in parking garages, meh.)
Scene Two: Far from the snowy plains of Missouri, our fate is sealed as spring arrives, my Disney blackout phase is over and I'm reminded of why I chose to live in Florida. Plus, the Stormtroopers! I mean, can't you see them? The New Order has commanded I stay and witness not only this stellar display, but a whole new realm of this Disney Hollywood Studios about to open in just a few more months. The music is appropriately Darth Vader/Kylo Ren esque, no?
Scene Three: At nearly the one minute mark into the film, we listen as the bombastic tones of the previous scene fade into the gentle, humble strains noting the search is over, we find a new home at last. A quaint little green mobile home nestled among the gently rolling slopes of orange groves well away from the hubbub of Orlando. Shamrock Inches. (Director's Note: These pictures were actually taken just before leaving on my early September cruise but I edited them to here to represent my home purchase in March.)
Scene Four: The music evokes a feeling of "coming home" as I'm reunited in April with my ol' pal the NCL Breakaway. We see shots of the massive ship astride her berth in the Mississippi River, balcony cabin first impressions, and our sailaway and dawn return out of and back into New Orleans. Oops, I forgot to take pictures of the places the cruise visited. LOL!
Scene Five: The playful, joyous audio is inter mixed a bit with the voice capture of the safari tour guide as we ride cautiously through the savannas of Wild Africa ablaze in the early May sunshine. Well, Central Florida's equivalent: Disney's Animal Kingdom. Then we find we've been magically transported to the strange world of Avatar's Pandora. We end our scene back among the touristy crowds as a colorful Kevin surveys us like WE were the zoo exhibits.
Scene Six: Welcome aboard as we set sail on the Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas out of the exciting port of Ft. Lauderdale in the height of summer. Let's get chill to these cool jazz sounds as we embark to Key West and the Bahamas. That Havana merch is just that: merch. We didn't actually go there...that's why we booked this last-minute cruise at the cheap rates we did. Hey, it's Mr. Bojangles!
Scene Seven: Rolling with nary a second's time wasted into our next cruise aboard the MSC Armonia (Hey wasn't there another cruise before that? Yup, it was accidentally left on the cutting room floor. Mainly just b-roll style shots of Nassau anyway, no big.) The music has both the simmering saltiness of late summer and the languid strains of oncoming fall as we lazily sail the Caribbean from Jamaica to the Cayman Islands to Cozumel and finally Costa Maya, embarking and returning to beautiful Miami. Highlights of this section include a shot of the proudly waving Mexican flag in Cozumel and the intertwined flags of the US and Mexico in Costa Maya...I proudly applaud the friendship between our two countries. Mexico is not a country of "bad hombres." It's a place to dive under the waves in tiny submarines, interactively watch some amazeballs Luche Libre and, as the quick selfie of me shows clearly, get fucked up on Mexican beer. Hic! Ole!
Scene Eight: The intense music cues us in as we witness a horrific tragedy! Chewbacca punches a little kid out! This is what I saw as I watched this clip solely edited by my phone. Well, maybe I changed the score to the one we hear. Of course, it's actually a Disney castmember in a Chewbacca costume playing with a youngling at the newly unveiled Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Hollywood Studios.
Scene Nine: After a quick slightly misplaced shot of Cinderella's Castle, we find ourselves on the last cruise of 2019, the Norwegian Sun. (Um, I still have some 23 days sooo....Nah, I'm done!) The autumn-themed Disney shots are from my last visit to the Magic Kingdom right after disembarking from the cruise on Halloween day.
Scene Ten: But wait! Here we are watching the Dapper Dans do their Dapper Dan thing at the Magic Kingdom with Holiday music and Christmas decorations all over the place...what's up? I thought the previous scene was the last visit of the year? It was. This is the magic of editing. These shots were actually from a visit back in January shortly after last Christmas. I thought they looked better here. Artistic License. Oh, and the music abruptly ends just before the end shot selfie I dropped in of a very drunk Ric and me at Wolfie's in Indianapolis. Hic! Hope you enjoyed my phone's vision of my year!