A World Of Laughter, A World Of Tears

[oakvale]

Originally Posted by statichaos

Holy crap. Thanks for pointing that out to me!

Next, Wikipedia, right?

EDIT: Oh God, 99 posts. I'd better make my next, uh, milestone, something good.

Another EDIT because I don't want to get to 100 posts just yet:

Originally Posted by Geekhis Khan

And the best part: thanks to the "AI" of the google ad bot, it's "sponsored" by Disneystore.com!!!

Oh man, that's hilarious.

[Captain Brooks]

Originally Posted by Geekhis Khan

HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!! Awesome! "Crapsaccarine World".

And the best part: thanks to the "AI" of the google ad bot, it's "sponsored" by Disneystore.com!!!

Thanks. I actually added that one (I edited the page a little).

[President Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by Captain Brooks

Congratulations, Statichaos. You've made TV Tropes!

Next Wikipedia, zhen ze world!!!

Seriously, congratulations for your entry. You and your story deserve it.

[Nekromans]

This really is a cheery little dystopia you're developing here. A nationwide Stepford seems to be the best way to describe it.

[Eldorado Dingbatti]

It's probably a little early for him at the minute, but Bob Dylan is currently 17 in the timeline. Any plans for him?

[statichaos]

Originally Posted by Eldorado Dingbatti

It's probably a little early for him at the minute, but Bob Dylan is currently 17 in the timeline. Any plans for him?

Actually, yes, a couple.

[Captain Brooks]

To echo a question that a previous poster asked, are you going to have anything about Ed Wood in this timeline? Seeing how he fares in this Disneyist climate would be very interesting.

[statichaos]

Originally Posted by Captain Brooks

To echo a question that a previous poster asked, are you going to have anything about Ed Wood in this timeline? Seeing how he fares in this Disneyist climate would be very interesting.

You know what? I don't usually take requests (though some comments have inspired me to address certain issues), but I think that I'll do this one.

[President Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by statichaos

Actually, yes, a couple.

I hope you don't let him become a propaganda singer for the Disney administration. That would be evil

I also hope, that the beatles will be still around. At least John goes into music, but I hope he takes Paul, George and Ringo with him.

And if Motown also goes to England, including the Jackson 5, this will make a very fine british/european music scene.

[statichaos]

U.S. ASTRONAUT ORBITS EARTH - Astronaut Grissom To Be Given Ticker-Tape Parade.

-New York Times, 5/20/59


The success of Grissom's flight seemed to revitalize the President. The past few times that I'd seen him, President Disney had kept the face mask for the oxygen tank over his mouth for nearly the entire duration of our conversations, only moving it to give brief one-word responses to my queries regarding action. Nearly everything else in the form of communication was either typed and sent to my office, or (if the President was feeling exceptionally puckish that day) was delivered by Cohn.

After Grissom's orbit of the Earth, however, the President seemed more lively, more energetic. A bit of color came back into his cheeks, and he even managed to acknowledge the White House domestic staff with a smile. At the ceremony to honor the brave young astronaut, the President even managed a Honeymooners-based "to the moon" jest that Grissom responded to with a polite chuckle.

However, as his physical health seemed to improve, President Disney still seemed beset with uncertainty and insecurity. More than once during discussions regarding the issue of Negro terrorism, he would get a faraway look in his eyes, shake his head, and murmur "I don't know". The hard-headed and competent businessman I'd known during the '52 and '56 campaigns had seemingly disappeared, replaced by a man haunted by the legacy of his past decisions, of terror regarding the possible implications of his past actions and inactions. I tried my best to reassure him that he had made the best choices possible given the information that he had to work with (and Roy, in his own inimitable style, assured the President that his fight against the "Negro commies" was in the right), but nothing seemed to crack the depression that hung over the man night and day.

--The Truth of Fantasy: A Washington Memoir, Former White House Communications Director James Dodd


It was during a fine brunch with Cocteau at a Paris bistro whose name escapes me that I was introduced to the man who would be my most trusted aide, the keeper of my legacy. We had just finished a more than adequate vichyssoise, and were preparing for the next course, when Cocteau's young friend Godard approached the table with a friend in tow. Shabbily dressed, the young filmmaker's companion cut less than a fine figure, but his appearance was hardly vulgar or outlandish by the standards of the bohemian spirit infecting France that year.

The man--somewhat haggard, with the bloodshot eyes and rosy glow of the habitual drinker--sat down at our table and began to "pitch" an outlandish concept for a screenplay. I barely recall any of the specifics at this late date, but I do remember that it had something to do with an invasion of aliens who promised a utopia for the Earth, but instead ended up creating a fascist dictatorship. The protagonist would be the leader of a gang of juvenile delinquents who would be skeptical of the alien plans from the very beginning, and who would rise in open revolt against the alien menace once the leadership of the invaders began to turn the human populace into mindless zombies. Additionally, for some reason, the male lead would spend half of the movie dressed in women's clothing. Interspersed with this plotline were comments regarding the gentleman's avid appreciation of my work, ones that went beyond the typical Hollywood reassurances and ego-boosting into the rarefied realm of utter sincerity.

Convinced that I was the victim of a tasteless prank, I waited until the young man excused himself to the restroom, and turned on Godard with a single raised eyebrow. The budding young director chuckled and held up a hand. "I know, Orson, I know," he said in thickly accented English. "But, mon ami, he is so eager to please that to spurn him would be to kick a puppy. Besides, he is more enthusiastic about our art than anyone I have met! No, I do not joke! His films, I have seen them, and they are horrible beyond my ability to say in English, but there is something of the line between genius and madness there as well."

Naturally, this description of the man intrigued me, and I spoke with him further upon his return to the table. He stated that his name was Edward Wood, and that he had recently come to France after being released from an asylum in the United States where he had been held for treatment of what the doctors termed "sexual degeneracy". "I stormed the beaches in Normandy wearing women's underwear," he sputtered resentfully. "And now they say that I'm sick because I dress a little differently? Because I like the feel of angora? Besides, all of the great filmmakers have left America." Here he gave me a pointed look, which I modestly ignored. "Europe is where it's at, and I was lucky enough to fall in with Jean-Luc and his gang. They're giving me some work around the edges, but I really want to work at Pinewood." Here he gave me a pleading, hopeful look, one that would have turned my stomach had it been on the face of a lesser manipulator.

Godard was right, and I hadn't the heart to introduce this puppy to the toe of my shoe. Mr. Wood soon found himself on the next boat to England with our merry crew, and soon became a trusted member of our organization, even if he was somewhat eccentric even by the loose standards of the film crowd. By the time we had reached the other shore, he had somehow eked out a promise of employment as my personal assistant for at least the duration of the filming of Faust.

-Through A Lens Darkly: The Autobiography of Orson Welles, Orson Welles, 1973


THEFT OF WEAPONS REPORTED AT ARMY BASE - Fort Irwin Commander Called To Washington To "Explain" Theft of Automatic Weapons and High Explosives.

--Los Angeles Times, 6/9/59


"While it would be a mistake to jump to hasty conclusions, the evidence implies that Negro terrorists now have their hands on some of the deadliest weapons known to mankind. This is more than a failure of the Army. This is a failure of leadership, and it goes all the way up to the White House."

-Senator John Stennis (D-MS), speech on the Senate Floor


"It wasn't like this should have come as a shock to anyone. Every time we were asked who our influences were, we would always mention The Weavers, Leadbelly, and Woody Guthrie. It wasn't our fault if these names were a little too obscure to most. So when we stopped singing songs about teenage romance and started singing songs questioning what was happening in the country, we were pretty surprised to find ourselves blacklisted by the radio stations, even if it did take them a while to figure out that "This Cat Ate The Mouse" wasn't a song for children.

"Interesting thing, though, is that our records keep on selling like crazy. It drives the marketing people up the wall!"

-Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio, quoted in Folk Sounds of 1959, New American Music Press


ISRAELI GOVERNMENT FALLS - PM Resigns, Red-Leaning Government Expected To Take Control

-San Diego Union, 6/15/59

[Japhy]

Always glad to see updates, will Welles make Wood something close to descent?

And also interesting to see the re-alignment of the Mid East become more entrenched.

Edit: Also I'm wondering because of Stennis' comment. Did the robbery at Ft Irving consist of things more then M-14 rifles and C4?

[Wolfpaw]

Haha, I take that as a compliment, static, especially since it comes from the creator of one of the best TLs out there.

[Fenrir_Angerboda]

Welles and Wood togther?
Epic.
But how will that partnership end.....

[Captain Brooks]

Yes! Ed Wood is one of my favorite characters of film history. And putting him with Orson Welles? Awesome.

[statichaos]

Originally Posted by Captain Brooks

Yes! Ed Wood is one of my favorite characters of film history. And putting him with Orson Welles? Awesome.

Largely inspired by Ed Wood's Tim Burton-directed biopic, which showed an apocryphal meeting between the two men. Having Wood meet up with both Welles and the creators of the "New Wave" in French cinema seemed too good a possibility to pass up once I was asked to include him, especially since I'd already introduced Welles.

[Captain Brooks]

One little question. It's almost the end of the '50s. Any hints as to who Disney's successor's going to be?

[statichaos]

Originally Posted by Captain Brooks

One little question. It's almost the end of the '50s. Any hints as to who Disney's successor's going to be?

A couple of possibilities have already reared their heads in previous posts.

[Captain Brooks]

Let's see. Kennedy seems unlikely. Rockefeller doesn't seem much more likely. Jerry Brown's too young. Rockwell seems too "For All Time-ish, (but says a lot about this timeline that you can't completely rule out it'll happen at some point). John Stennis's has been popping up a lot. Could he be a dark horse? Am I close?

[President Al Bundy]

I like the twist in the middle east. We have here a pro-sovjet Israel and a pro-USA Arabia. I really like that.

I also like how you put Ed Wood into the TL. Keep going.

P.S.: I also hope that Germany gets some pieces of the creative refugees from the US

[Geekhis Khan]

I'll mirror the EPIC comments!

And serious extra points for making Gus Grissom the first man in space.