A Magellan Update and our Brush with KAOS.

Chester Wallow works for KAOS (pronounced chaos) as an undercover agent. He was spotted at one of our summer camps making contact with CONTROL. The laws of physics teach us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The same is true for imagination. KAOS works to counter the Imaginarium's work world wide. Recently they've made some gains in the 13 - 17 year old age range but hope to make inroads into the 10 - 12 year old range.

"Destroy their dreams and aspirations and you've capture their spirit and soul," said one captured agent under interrogation by Maxwell Smart. Keep your eyes open troops. KAOS could be watching YOU!

Hello Troops,
Work on the Magellan moves ahead. The panels are in!


The walls in the transition hallway are exposed as Kyle, Jon and Nate install a sliding door seperating the tansition hallway into two sections, the Magellan hall from the Discovery Hall (where you turn next to the TV room and the new Brig). The sliding door will be control by a rope and pulley in the Magellan control room.

This is the first of many renovations underway at the Space Education Center. Cool isn't a good enough adjective to describe what's coming. It's time to book your next mission at the Center, or perhaps sign up for one of the open spots on the upcoming September Overnight Camps.

Sam Shell's imagination is on overload after visiting the Space Center. He wanted to come straight back after hearing about our Magellan improvements but couldn't - the Center is closed until August 17th. Sam decided to access the power and creativity of his own imagination. He succeeded, with a bit of help from the Imaginarium.

KAOS

Chester Wallow is on to him and received orders from CONTROL to put an end to his silliness. Chester and a few of his comrades paid Sam's simulator a visit late one night. When Sam returned the following day he found his airplane gone and this spray painted on the wall.

A roadside sign from KAOS. Every agent is well trained in this tactic.

Two CONTROL agents photographed outside of Pleasant Grove. CONTROL is part of KAOS' administration. Field officers report to them. They in turn report to their nearest Safehouse.

We spotted a CONTROLLER late one night near the Space Center. Several of us discreetly followed to find KAOS' Utah County safehouse.


The shadowy CONTROLLER led us to the home of the Twitcher sisters. We knocked on the door and asked for an audience. We were instructed to leave. Half way down the drive a woman's voice shouted for us to stop. The sisters appeared.

They denied knowing Chester Wallow. They claimed to have no knowledge of Sam Shell. Their faces twitched when we questioned them about KAOS. We knew from their expressions that our questioning was uncomfortable.

"We live a quiet life," one sister said. I didn't know which one. They both looked, spoke and dressed alike.

"You're imagination has gotten the best of you. Get it under control before something happens," the other hissed with a snake like voice while brushing away a persistent fly.

I showed them pictures of our Magellan improvements. They shook with rage.
"There's a chill in the air," one said to cover her emotional reaction. "Time for you to go." The sisters turned back toward the safehouse.


We turned back toward town.

More Space Center Awards

Hello Troops,
Why is Ben looking so pleased? He successfully attached a Galileo Pin to James' lanyard without drawing blood. James is please because he earned his Galileo Pin.

Rachel is congratulating Spencer for earning his Galileo Pin. Ben wanted to do it but Rachel insisted she get a chance since Ben already got to give James his pin. Ben sat in the corner sulking.

We all agreed Ben could give out the next Galileo Pin. The sulking we could live with. The combination of tears and copious amounts of nasal discharge were more than we could handle. Daniel is happy to receive his Galileo pin from Ben as seen in his spontaneous reaction above. The click of the camera's shutter caught Ben off guard (as seen in his spontaneous reaction above). Ben jumped. The staff and volunteers laughed. Ben went back to his corner to sulk.

Ben's sulking we could live with. We ignored the next bout of facial fluids. It was the banging of his head against the wall that got to us.

"Rachel is it OK for Ben to give out the next Galileo pin?" I asked. Rachel glared at Ben. Her eyes shot daggers. Ben stopped banging his head against the wall.

"If I say no?" Rachel asked. Ben dropped to the floor and began kicking the brown classroom chairs.

"Enough Already!" she shouted. "Go ahead. Give out the next pin. See if I care?" Rachel crossed her legs, took out a nail file and sharpened her fingernails.

Ben jumped to his feet and ran to the front of the classroom.

"I award thee thy Galileo Pin," he said as he attached it to Nathan's lanyard. His expression of complete victory was noticeable to everyone, including Rachel. There was a scratching sound. Rachel sat in the back of the room testing her nails on the sheet rock wall. They cut straight through. Ben stayed next to me for the rest of the meeting. Rachel sat in the back picking her teeth.

The tension was broken when Brittney rose to award a Magellan pin to Emilie. They laughed. We laughed. Everyone laughed. Then a scream.

"Gross!" someone shouted after the last echo of the scream died away.

Rachel was alone with her right index finger pointing into the wall.

"She's speared a spider right through with her fingernail," a volunteer explained. Rachel asked for a photo.

Ben bolted for the door, being deathly afraid of spiders. Rachel saw her chance and followed with finger and spider held high overhead. We all laughed and laughed, but none laughed louder and longer than Odval and her camel. It was just another day at the Space Center.

Yesterday and Captain America

Hello Troops,
Yesterday at the Space Center:

• Christine and Skyler met to discuss improvements in the Odyssey (electrical and speaker wiring)
• Alex continued his work on the Magellan's new starship controls (the Magellan is switching from a starbase to a starship).
• Dave was in working on Phoenix issues.
• I was there with my feet up on the desk giving orders while drinking pineapple juice from a coconut shell.
• Kyle, Jon and Nate continued their work on the Magellan refit. I don't have pictures today because the signs are not installed. I'll post pictures as soon as they've made more visible progress.
• Cory, our lightening specialist, came in to consult on additional red alert lighting for the Magellan.

I took a couple hours and spent them at the American Fork Cinemark. I was told Captain America was pretty good. I was hoping the film would have a good foundation in story and plot. Everyone who knows me knows I despise plot holes in movies. My policy is to throw popcorn while spitting, booing and hissing loudly when glaring gaps of logic are slathered across the silver screen by over paid screen writers and over confident directors. Needless to say, I go to most movies alone. Audiences should react negatively when writers, producers and directors underestimate their intelligence and think a few special effects and dazzling costumes will misdirect the theater goer's attention away the cancerous plot they couldn't or wouldn't remedy. Hollywood's writers are getting lazy. It's pure and simple.

How Hollywood sees the American Audience.

I didn't like Captain America for many reasons, one of which is illustrated above. It wasn't bad enough to throw away my 5 dollar popcorn but bad enough to feel like I was being slung through a muddy pig pen of story built around special effects.

The last time Missy when to a plotless movie the muck ruined her nice pink shoes.
Missy is going to the movie today well prepared.

I need something to wash away that bad taste in my mouth. A trip to the Imaginarium should do the trick.......

A New Take on Star War's Movie Posters

Anyone want to join me? The free donuts caught my attention.

A Correct Venn Diagram of the Space Education Center.

Perfect for the summer company that comes for a week or two!

And finally, what better way to remove the taste of bad film?
I'd pay 5 real American dollars for one of these (none of that phony Canadian stuff). Where? Where? Ah the humanity! To feast with eyes alone, leaving the tongue so unsatisfied.

Mr. W.

August 3. And Let There Be Light

And you thought your summer couldn't get any worse?

Yes friends, with the Space Education Center on vacation things are slowly deteriorating for the children here in Wonderland. Today, a special emergency relief concert was organized by the world wide charity "Save the Children" to try to occupy a few of their blank hours.

"The children are becoming disengaged without the Space Center," said one parent who brought her son to the concert hoping being with other children would get him to start talking again. "That spark of imagination is missing. Without it they are a tad depressed."

"Disengaged isn't the word for it Love," said a elderly passerby. "These kids are roaming the streets without a spark of life in them. I mean listen to that rubbish," the woman said referring to the tones coming from the accordion. "You know they're practically brain dead to be sitting through that."

Serious droughts of Imagination are being reported throughout Wonderland. One source says that children just stand in their swimming pools. The diving boards and water slides are empty. It's like the children no longer remember what they are used for. We are told children are going to movies and sleeping. Children are seen in the parks laying in the grass, staring blankly into the sky. Children are found in the libraries hiding under tables. Children at home are staring at their televisions, whether they are on or not.

The Space Center urges Courage and a stiff upper lip!

Keep Calm and Carry On.

Hello Troops,
A quick update today from the Space Center.

Kathy is back! The first sign that a new school year is upon us is the return of the school's secretary. Having her back in the office brings a balance to the force (and relief to the Space Center's creditors who have been waiting for payment checks for a few weeks now).

Kathy does our deposit, balances our books and cuts checks to businesses that don't accept credit cards. She also issues refunds to campers unable to attend their camps.

Welcome back Kathy!

Kyle, Jon, Nate and Justus are nearly finished with the installation of the Magellan's new signage. The lights were installed today. Tomorrow the signs go in and the project will be complete. Brittney (the Magellan's Set Director) came by today and gave her enthusiastic blessing.

"We are please by this new addition to the Magellan," she said in the Royal Plural. Brittney is one many people refer to in the plural - especially our campers. She wore white gloves and walked around the set waving to any who poked their head through to door out of curiosity.


Kyle and Justus are seen putting up the sheetrock on the Magellan's new Brig. Jon (unseen) was banging away under the Magellan's raised platforms.


You'll notice the secret escape route out of the brig right over Justus' shoulder. A bench will be built to conceal the opening. Shhhh, its a secret. Don't tell anyone. The Brig's floor is finished and carpeted. All is going according to plan. Our Maintenance Guild are top notch!

And now, a few items of interest from the Imaginarium.....



And perhaps my favorite today. A modern take on "The Wizard of Oz". Slightly darker than the film shot in the late 1930's.

Well, the word slightly might be an understatement.

Mr. W.

August 2. The Work Continues.

"Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
(For you Dr. Who Fans)

Experts predict there will be world wide mass panic when we discover other intelligent life forms in the universe. Perhaps the older generations may be shaken up, but what about the kids? I think they'll weather the discovery just fine. They were raised believing 'We are Not Alone', and the Space Education Center plays a part in that. I believe the day is coming sooner rather than later. It's time to start considering the possibility......

Hello Troops,
Another day of maintenance and improvements at the Space Education Center. I arrived at 11:00 A.M. to catch up on emails and phone calls and was pleased at the progress our Imagineers were making on the Magellan. It's "Full Steam Ahead!" to accomplish everything on the to do list in the short amount of time we are closed. Here are the latest pictures right off the press.....

You'll notice the light and sign panels are up around the ship. The signs will be installed once we get the blue side plastic. They look awesome.

Nate E. and Justus F. helped today. They are smiling, even though they were just given the nasty job of clean up.


While Nate and Justus were cleaning up, Kyle Jones and Jon Parker worked on the Magellan's new Security Brig. Here you see them installing the floor.




Construction wasn't the only thing on today's Space Center agenda. From 3:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. our Programming Guild worked on installing the newest Cocoa software in the Galileo simulator. Matt Long was in the computer lab working on a few bugs when I snapped this photo earlier this afternoon.

And Now, Imagination at Work........... The Imaginarium

She comes across as the kind of woman who would have no problem raising a gaggle of kids while still holding down a job. Would you give her back talk if she were your mom?



Congratulations to the Imagineer who dreamed this up. Take your run of the mill styrofoam cup, add a bit of imagination, and you've given your customers something to admire and enjoy while they sip their favorite beverage. The concept is brilliant.

Imagination makes the ordinary, extraordinary. Watch, Listen and Learn from the best here in the Imaginarium.

Yep, some people are all show and no substance. Learn to tell the difference.
An imaginative way to teach an important lesson on looking deep for real worth.

It all starts with you and your attitude. Believe you can't make a difference and you won't. Believe you can make a difference and you might - with hard work and imagination. There are no guarantees. How will change ever come about if YOU don't try?

Braincakes, a rare delicacy here in the Imaginarium.
Why don't you see things like this at your neighborhood WalMart or Macey's Bakery?

I'm imagining how cool it would be to see one of these floating by on Utah Lake!

Have a Great Evening!

Mr. Williamson