How sez, "California hipster artist Shag has created 13 new art pieces commemorating the 40th Anniversary of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion attraction. I've collected all the details (and art) known to date about the upcoming event in August of 2009 in one post." What's not to like? Shag's art + the best ride Disney's Imagineers ever built = sheer heaven! Details are still a little sketchy (pardon the pun) at this time, but it appears that a range of merchandise will be created based on the art: at the very least, Shag will be signing prints on Sunday, August 9th at the park. Buyers, however, will get the first opportunity to buy the prints at a cocktail party the evening of the 8th where Shag will be the guest of honor. Here’s hoping that they hold the event in the Mansion itself — Walt Disney World has done dinners in the stretch rooms in the past — what a blast it would be to party where “candle lights flicker where the air is deathly still.” Shag Haunted Mansion art event (Thanks, How!)...

I've just come back from Tokyo, where, as ever, I found time to visit Tokyo Disneysea, the most elaborate and beautiful constructed environment I've ever seen. While there, I found three remarkable Disney jazz albums that have knocked my socks off by combining classic Disney standards with novel, artful interpretations from a diverse and talented collection of artists. First off, Bossa Disney Carioca, which has the worst cover and the best music of all three. These cool Brazilian covers reveal the pure, breathy dreamlike character in Disney's best music, especially Saigenji's "When You Wish Upon a Star" and Maucha Adnet's "Sonhar E Desejar" ("A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"). Every track on this disc made me smile and sing along. Next up, the altogether more challenging Modal Jazz Loves Disney, a more free-form approach to the canon. These are a little spottier, but when they score, they score big, as with the Helge Lien Trio's cover of the sinister, slinky overture from The Jungle Book, and LTC's sprinkly Baby Mine. Disney's Jazz Album: Big Band & Swing is the least interesting of the three, but that's mostly because so much of it is drawn from common issues like Disney Songs the Satchmo Way and original soundtrack recordings of tracks like Peggy Lee's smoky He's a Tramp. But this disc does have some standout rarities that were new to me, like the cover of Heigh Ho from Mary Martin and Tutti Camarata and His Orchestra, as well as their cover of Bibbidi Bobbidy Boo. Bossa Disney Carioca on Amazon Japan, Modal Jazz Loves Disney on Amazon Japan, Disney's Jazz Album: Big Band & Swing on Amazon See also: Bossa Nova greats cover Disney songs...

Tavie sez, "Having been to Disney World so many times, I wanted a way to keep the magic fresh, some detail to focus on that would allow me to look at this beloved place in a new way. So a few trips ago, I started snapping photos of lamps and light fixtures. Disney does detail like no other, and the sheer variety and beauty of these ordinary objects continues to amaze me. My collection only comprises a fraction of the lamps in Walt Disney World (with a few from a trip to Disneyland and Tokyo Disney thrown in.) Each time I visit I add more to the collection." Lamps of Disney (Thanks, Tavie!)...

David Campbell managed to slip evolution into the high-school science curriculum in the conservative Florida town where he teaches -- by using images of Mickey Mouse through the years to illustrate the principle: On the projector, Campbell placed slides of the cartoon icon: one at his skinny genesis in 1928, one from his 1940 turn as the impish "Sorcerer's Apprentice," and one of the rounded, ingratiating charmer of Mouse Club fame. "How," he asked his students, "has Mickey changed?" Natives of Disney World's home state, they waved their hands and called out answers. "His tail gets shorter," Bryce volunteered. "Bigger eyes!" someone else shouted. "He looks happier," one girl observed. "And cuter." Campbell smiled. "Mickey evolved," he said. "And Mickey gets cuter because Walt Disney makes more money that way. That is 'selection.' " Teacher shows that science, religion don't have to clash (Thanks, Andrew!)...

The LA Times's Joseph Menn has a great, well-researched feature article on the history of the copyright for the image of Mickey Mouse as portrayed in the earliest Disney cartoons -- and the theory that Disney made mistakes early on with its copyright registration, placing images of that specific Mickey (not the Mickey we know today) in the public domain. Prominent legal scholars like Peter Jaszi agree, but who will shell out the millions in legal fees to prove it? After all, the company's already threatened legal action against law-students who publish papers investigating the question! Brown went searching for flawed formalities -- and found one. It was on the title card at the beginning of a "Steamboat Willie" cartoon that had just been rereleased on a 1993 LaserDisc honoring Mickey's 65th birthday. It said in full: "Disney Cartoons Present A Mickey Mouse Sound Cartoon Steamboat Willie A Walt Disney Comic By Ub Iwerks Recorded by Cinephone Powers System Copyright MCMXXIX." [...] The authoritative legal treatise "Nimmer on Copyright" says that a copyright is void if multiple names create uncertainty, and courts have agreed. In 1961, a federal judge in Massachusetts cited the "accompanied by" rule in throwing out a copyright claim by newspaper cartoonist Art Moger. Moger's name was included in the title above his panels, but the name of another artist ran inside the boxes. Disney's rights to young Mickey Mouse may be wrong (Thanks, Xeni!)...

Harriet Burns, the first woman Imagineer, died this week at 79. She was part of the teams that built Sleeping Beauty's Castle, the Matterhorn, Submarine Voyage, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean. and Great Moments with Mr Lincoln. She also occasionally filled in for Walt Disney on "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color." In 2000, the Walt Disney Co. named Burns as a Disney Legend, an honor that acknowledges people "whose imagination, talents and dreams have created the Disney magic." Walt Disney Imagineering issued a statement this week, calling her "the best-dressed employee in the department." It also released a quote from Burns in which she described her work for Disney in the 1950s: "I wore color-coordinated dresses, high heels and gloves to work. Girls didn't wear slacks back then, although I carried a pair in a little sack, just in case I had to climb into high places." Link (Thanks, Mat!) (Image: Harriet, Blaine, and some traveling companions, a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike photo from Ste3ve's Flickr stream)...

No taking photos in the s33kr1t Disneyland parking lots! I mean, sure, they're full of CCTVs taking pictures of you, but just because you're paying $80 for the day, plus $10 to park, why should you feel free to steal the Mouse's precious, precious parking-lot photons? After all, those photos could be used by Al Quaeda to coordinate a strike on the Mouse House! At the time I marveled that these were now ten years old--and I remember parking in the lot when it was brand new. Just as I took this photo, however, a Security Cast Member in a patrol unit approached me (well, he stopped a ways away and shouted through a rolled-down window) and told me photography was not permitted there. Since that statement didn't make any sense, my first reaction was to question why that was. As I evaluated the possible responses, I thought "security" or "because I said so" would be what I'd get, so I complied and continued walking. I brought this up to appropriate people, who agreed there is no blanket prohibition of photography there. I wonder what secrets are hidden in this Pinocchio sign that are waiting to be discovered? Link (Thanks, John!)...

The Disney Experience's papercraft replica of the dear departed Disney skybucket ride is fantastic -- so cool to have a replica of this notorious widowmaker from the Happiest Place(s) on Earth. Link (Thanks, Mike!)...

Mister Jalopy sez, "Auction for banana leaf wallpaper that was destined for the Polynesian Hotel at Walt Disney World. When Cory builds the True Fan Enchanted Tiki Room, this will be perfect for the powder room!" Link (Thanks, Mister Jalopy!)...

This year marks the 45th anniversary of Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room, the birthplace of animatronics and one of my all-time favorite Disney attractions. Some of my earliest memories are of being dandled on my grandfather's knee at the Tiki Room while we sang and whistled together to the birds' songs and jokes. Former Disney designer Kevin Kidney and Jodi have been commissioned to make a run of limited-edition items based on the Tiki Room for a special event at Disneyland on June 22 and the schwag is awesome -- every nerve in my body just stood on end and shouted "WANT!" (Oh, if only I still lived in LA!) For years, I've harbored a fantasy of putting together a punk/alternative tribute disc for the Tiki Room, with the parrots voiced by Shane McGowan, Nina Hagen, Cheech Marin and Jean Reno, and the songs performed as follows: "In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room," the Ramones; "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing," Shonen Knife; "Hawai'ian War Chant," the Breeders; and "Heigh-Ho" by Tom Waits. Yes, I know, many of these people are dead. But a fella can dream. We’ve been waiting 5 years to make this item, and it’s finally happened. Rongo, the Tiki God of Agriculture, is at long last a beautiful green-glazed ceramic drinking vessel for your Tiki bar. His very unusual size and shape makes him an equally suitable fruit bowl, cereal bowl, or whatever-you-like-bowl. He’s even clutching his spool of kite string, just as he’s been doing at Disneyland for 45 years. Link (Thanks, Dwiff!)...