Update on my Amusement Park Story.

It appears that the Walt Disney Company has suffered more damages than at first reported by me in my report about Oklahoma's own amusement park, "Frontier City", and how it plans to survive the difficult economy during the summer.

Disney reported last Tuesday that its second-qaurter net income fell 46 percent, possibly caused by an underperforming movie slate and the impact of the recession on its theme parks.

Disney's profit in the quarter through March 28 was $613 million, down from $1.13 billion the year before.

Revenue also fell 7 percent.

There's been a 97 percent drop in movie profits. The company booked $305 million in charges for the quarter. "Confessions of a Shopaholic", "Bedtime Stories", and "Race to Witch Mountain" all had disappointing turnouts for the family entertainment giant.

Attendance at Disney's major parks has also declined, falling 1 percent at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida but up to 2 percent at the Disneyland parks in Anaheim, California.

Overall, spending per visitor to U.S. parks fell 6 percent.

Disney announced last week it would allow older Disney movies and ABC shows available on Hulu.com, while adopting an equity stake with NBC Universal and News Corp.

WonderBlog #1: Jedi Churches

That's right, you heard me. They exist.

Jediism is the new non-theistic religiousmovement based on the philosophical and spiritual ideas of the Jedi as depicted in the Star Wars fanchise. (Thank you Wikipedia).

Apparently these real-world Jedi assert the actual existence of the Force, advocating adeherence to the Jedi code.

I know what you're thinking: there's no way this movement could be a very large one, right? But according to recent census in some English-speaking countries, over 500,000 people identidied their religion as Jedi.

There are also a few Jedi churches out there.

Now, the definition of religion states that a relligion is a group of people gathering togethr sharing a common belief. These real Jedis are united in their belief of the Force and how it guides them throughout their lives.

The Jedi church recognizes that there is one all-powerful Force binding all things in the universe together, not necessarily confirming or denying the existence of a God, just not believing in one, knowing full well the Force is their only guide.

In the United Kingddom, 2% of people in Brighton reported their religion as "Jedi".

On January 12th of this year, the Government of Canada granted Order of the Jedi, Inc. certification which recognized them as the world's first Federally Incorporated Non-Profit Religious Entity. On that day in January the church was founded.

From what I could gather in my research, there are Jedi Orders in New Zealand, in the United Kingdom, and in Maryland right here in the states among others.

They even conduct Jedi Marriages: "Do you Jedi ___ take Jedi ___ to be your husband...."

For more information and to do your own research into the world of Jediism, check out this Web site among others: http://www.jedichurch.org/jedi-marriage-licence.html

When They See It, They'll Believe It

That's pretty much the attitude that students at the University of Oklahoma exhibited when I went out on campus to talk to them about the Swine Flu.
I actually saw just one OU student a couple days ago walking around with a surgical mask on, which the majority of the students I interviewed believed to be pretty radical and extreme, not necessary. One of the girls I talked to happened to be a zoology major and told me about how masks won't really help keep you safe from this flu seeing as how it's a virus and therefore too minuscule to be hindered by covering one's face like that.
Despite there being recent outbreaks in the Texas and Kansas, as well as the first U.S. death from the flu coming from the Lone Star State, Oklahoma students, for the most part, say that they'll be worried once there are outbreaks in Oklahoma and in the Norman area, which has largely been diagnosed as negative for the Swine Flu.
Only time will tell if this trend continues.

A Look at the Sooners in the Draft

The results are in. Here's a look at the teams that the Oklahoma Sooners who went out for the draft will be departing to following the end of their collegiate careers.

Alumnus Tackle Phil Loadholt: Minnesota Vikings
-Selected as the 54th overall pick in the second round on Saturday. Loadholt is now the third OU player to be selected by the Vikings during the last three years. If he attains the starter position, he'll be blocking for former Oklahoma tailback Adrian Peterson.

Alumnus Wide Receiver Juaquin Iglesias: Chicago Bears
-Iglesias went at the 99th overall pick in the third round on Sunday. The Bears have drafted 24 Sooners overall and five since Head Coach Bob Stoops took the reins of the team in 1999. Chicago hopes to add Iglesias to bolster their considered thin receiving group.

Alumnus Safety/Linebacker Nic Harris: Buffalo Bills
-Drafted at the 147th pick in the fifth round. Harris spent the majority of his time at OU filling in the secondary, but may work as an outside linebacker when he comes to play in Buffalo.

Alumnus Guard Duke Robinson: Carolina Panthers
-As the 163rd pick overall, Robinson was selected in the fifth round. His draft position fell unexpectedly after being considered to be a first-round pick prior to the 2008 season, but Duke has won the honor of being the first Sooner ever to be picked by the Panthers, making the Houston Texans now the only team in the NFL to not have drafted a player from Oklahoma.

Alumnus Wide Receiver Manuel Johnson: Dallas Cowboys
-Johnson squeezed out of the final round of the NFL draft as the 229th pick overall to Dallas. He is now the eigth Sooner drafted by the Cowboys in Stoops' tenure. After Dallas cut its number one receiver in Terrell Owens, they were looking for a receiver to fill the position.

Nic Harris Looks to the Draft

This'll be fun, reporting about an Oklahoma player who shares my first name....minus the K.

But former OU safety Nic Harris has definitely lit up the field in his time as a Sooner. His senior season alone contained 75 tackles, making him fourth overall on the team. Three tackles for a loss, one fumble recovery, one interception and three forced fumbles can also be added to his resume over this past season.

The two-year starter also adopted a very versatile role in this last season, having to shift positions to middle linebacker in multiple games due to many injuries on the position.

The Oklahoma Daily sat down with Harris to get his thoughts on the weekend draft which will determine his future in professional football.

Harris expressed a willingness to play either as safety or linebacker on the pro field, as long as he's on the field period.

He says his knowledge of the game will give him an edge in the draft. He says he hopes his ability to make the calls as well as make the plays will make him successful in the pros.

Harris said he's looking forward to being a largely successful player in the NFL, not just wearing the helmet. He wants to make himself as marketable as possible on the field.

He has predicted he won't be getting any sleep the night before the announcements. He says he's planning a major extravaganza with family and friends as it's happening and will try to use it to give back to his community in an undisclosed way.

Nic claimed he worked out with St. Louis, New England, and Buffalo. He said he's also met up with Atlanta, Carolina, Jacksonville, among other teams.

We'll find out where the Sooner Safety Star will go on Saturday.

Juaquin Spills on NFL Draft

The campus newspaper of the University of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Daily, recently sat down with former OU wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias and asked about his thoughts on the upcoming NFL Draft.

Iglesias first arrived to play for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2005, his first home game being one of only two games that Bob Stoops has lost at home under his career at Oklahoma, when the Sooners fell to the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs. However, his last home game saw a romping of the Texas Tech Red Raiders three years later in 2008, 65-21, arguably thew greatest home game of the season.

In his time as a Sooner, Iglesias has racked up 202 receptions for 2,821 receiving yards, both records ranked second all-time in Oklahoma football history.

Iglesias was reported saying he is very excited about ending the process and bringing everything to a close, finding out where he's going to go in the NFL.

He says he has been working on his releases, his sharpness and routes and his overall mental aspect concerning the game to become better on and off the football field.

So far Iglesias said he has had correspondence with the Minnesota Vikings, the Seattle Seahwaks, and has even worked out with the Chicago Bears. However, Iglesias it would be a dream come true to play for the team he watched all while he was growing up, the Dallas Cowboys.

Iglesias says he'll be spending time with his family and loved ones when the NFL draft is released on Saturday.

Stay Tuned....

A Sooner's Advice to the Aggies.

OK, Mikey, baby, sit down.

Yeah, you too, Jerrod, and the rest of you Aggies, sit yourselves on down.

Yes yes, I know Stephen McGee's gone. I know, I know. Trust me, we're gonna miss Sam when he leaves, I can bet you any amount of money on that.

No, guys. I'm not gonna make good on that bet. Who do you think I am? Franchione?

OK, yeah, you're right, that was uncalled for, and I do apologize. We shouldn't be bickering, you and I. We should be pooling our efforts together.

After all, we do have a common enemy. The Texas Longhorns.

Trust me, we want to beat them just as much as you do. However, I'm afraid that, with the way things look right now, I think we have a much better chance of beating them than you do.

That's not an insult! I'm just saying. You guys went from stomping them into the ground for two years and then you get your butts handed to you several times over in Austin last season.

Don't look at me like that, you know it's true. Why did it happen? Well, it took the 'Horns two years to figure out that Colt needed to bulk up and they needed to realize that he's just not Vince Young and that other teams ARE in fact better than them. Once they got that under their skin and got one heck of a better defensive line, then they figured out the secret formula.

Unfortunately, all the times things were going right for them, all the wrong things were happening to you.

You lose Dennis, get a new head coach who, while coaching college in the past, was fresh off the NFL, and you had one of the youngest squads in the Big 12 last season, only comparable to Baylor.

And the thing that hit the final nail in the coffin, you just happened to be in the toughest division of a conference in the NCAA last season, the Big 12 South.

However, next season is a level playing field. Well, a little more so.

Tech is rebuilding with the loss of their two golden boys, Texas' secondary will be much weaker as well as their D-line, and we just lost several weapons on offense as well as pretty much our entire O-Line.

So, in light of that and the comradery we share through the hatred we share of the same team, here's some keys that I think will help you guys majorly next year.

First off, you got a couple of promising runners coming up. Jay Tolliver and Cyrus Gray. Guard them well. Also, Jerrod, you're really starting to come into your own in a conference full of some of the best QBs in the country, and who knows? Next year could be your break-out season and you could show Robert Griffin what for.

Your O-line, like ours, will pretty much need to be re-built, but it's not hopeless by any means. Watch out for pass protection, we can be a pass-happy league at times.

We'll see how the defense holds under the experiences of cornerbacks Justin McQueen and Terrence Frederick, and it'll be interesting to see how Chevar Bryson does as a converted wide receiver. You guys definitely need some stronger and sturdier hands at that position just like us.

All in all, you'll build yourselves back up again. Like Nebraska up in the North. I've got a feeling the playing field is gonna change next year. I don't think Mizzou will dominate the North for much longer and we may see a very different South next year, perhaps a South where Baylor can beat Tech and maybe Okie State can take it all (God Forbid).

Play your cards right, and I think you'll surprise your hated in-state rival, and maybe even get to a non-BCS bowl when you're done.

My point is, keep the faith. Sometimes it's all you got. I know the Sooner Nation will be pulling for you when face off against Texas.

Boomer Sooner and we'll see you guys in Norman.