Posted By Kathleen David on October 25, 2019

Or the supposed unwritten rules of fandom 

I belong to a couple of groups online that are about fannish conventions. Some are from the attendees POV and some are from the talents and agents POV and others are from the showrunners POV. 

I have been all of these at some point or another in my life. 

There are the basics of be polite and courteous to your fellow attendees which I am all for. We are there to enjoy what we love with our fellow fans.

I like convention which feel like families. You make friends that you see once or twice a year at these events. But I have seen those conventions crumble when they become so insular that it is not inviting to those who have not attended that convention for twenty years. New blood is necessary to keep the conventions going. Not only for attendees but for people running the show and the volunteers. Bring people in to help and give them a chance to show what they bring to the table.

There is an unwritten rule that is slowly being removed in the face of me too. Fandom prides itself for being inclusive. They don’t want to be those popular kids that excluded people. The issue is some people’s behavior is very problematic. I knew there were certain people to avoid when I went to conventions. They had a reputation and we knew that it was not good. In being inclusive, certain individuals were given a free pass for bad behavior. It had to be something really egregious to get them kicked out of the convention and then it might be only that convention. So we protected our own against those few that were dangerous.

The excuse of “well they have always been like that. Just avoid them.” Is slowly vanishing too. Bad behavior is bad behavior and letting people get away with it because they have always get away with it never sat well with me. Putting the onus on the other attendees to avoid the individual limits their ability to fully enjoy the convention.

Cosplay is not consent is a newer rule at conventions. It is a good one too. I can remember being asked to be a handler for a friend in costume. Part of my job was to keep the person feeling safe and keep creepers away. There was one guy who was a photographer or claimed to be a photographer who would set up shoots with young women and make them very uncomfortable while he photographed them. For a while he was taking photos for a convention but he did get shown the door after the 20^th complaint of him being handsy with the costumers. He would say he was adjusting the costume for the right look and would cop a feel along the way. I put myself between him and my friend by adjusting the costume the way he wanted without him touching my friend. The shoot was short because of that, I think. 

More and more conventions are telling attendees what can and cannot be discussed or done with talent. I have a couple of friends who are MCs and hosts for Q & A with the talent. Right from the get go they give the audience a set of rules to follow and what is expected when you ask a question. They step in if the question is on the forbidden list of topics. They also play the bad guy when someone wants to give their life story before asking their question.  This allows more people to ask their questions and get their moment with the talent without having to pay for an autograph or a photo. 

People are paying money to come to these conventions. Not only for the entrance fee but all the other expenses that occur during that time. They should expect to be comfortable in the environment. Things are better but there is a way to go.

I am grateful for convention committees that get it.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on October 24, 2019

With the newest version of the IOS for the MacBook, I had to update my 2001 version of Microsoft word for a newer version. I am not quite sanguine with all the changes including having to pay for the license year to year. I know that is becoming the model for software, but it stinks. 

The weather is in the funny spot of fall where we can go through what seems all four seasons in a week. There is more rain and a lot of wind at times. It makes figuring out what to wear for the day a bit of a challenge. 

The cats have integrated with each other. The pecking order at this time is Fig then Mew then Inky then Phoebe. I think as Phoebe gets older and bigger, Inky is going back to the bottom of the order. Every morning I feed them their daily wet food. Mew and Phoebe eat together with no issues. The other two need their own plates in a separate room. 

Caroline is working out all her school work, school activities, and other activities like kick-boxing and the gym. It is a bit of a juggling act but we think we have worked everything out until January. 

I am trying to adjust my thinking. I am doing better but I have a ways to go before I feel I am back to my best. 

We are getting ready for Halloween. I have one big project before I feel it is done this year. Photos if I can pull it off.

I am grateful for easy adjustments.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on October 20, 2019

(Think of the title as the sound of a helicopter)

Parenting is the toughest job one can ever have. There is no instruction manual but tons of books with advise on how to be a parent. I looked at the shelves in my local library of books on early childrearing to getting one’s adult child out of the house and on their own. It was quite a large section.

No two sets of parents raise their children in the same way. I think a large part of that is that each child is unique and while some rules can be universal in the house like don’t pull on the cat’s tail, others need to be tailored to each child.

There is an episode of the Simpsons where Homer helps Bart with a project and then becomes what is called a helicopter parent. When he leaves Bart, he stretches out his arms and makes a helicopter sound while spinning around.  This pattern of behavior is now going by the wayside and free range children have been seen again. I think that most helicopter parents come from a place of love and wanted to keep their child safe however if the path is always smooth there is very little learned.

There are authoritarian parents who believe that strict discipline and hard sets of rules backed up by consequences. And they tend to think that physical punishment is acceptable to straighten their kids out.  They believe in their methods because that’s the way they were brought up and they didn’t turn out evil. 

Permissive parents are one step removed from helicopter parents. They can’t say no to their child. They give them every thing they want. They try to be their child’s best friend. This can backfire spectacularly.

I am a firm believer that I am my child’s mother not her friend. That is our relationship and it works well for us.

Then there is the uninvolved parent (Think of the relationship between Indiana Jones and his dad). At its worst, it can be called neglect. It gives the child a lot of freedom and makes some grow up too fast and others to just bottom out.

I consider myself more an authoritative parent.

My belief is that as a parent I give my child controlled freedom. That way if something does go horribly wrong I can be there. I have let Caroline walk to the library since she was thirteen. She walked to school and knew how to be alert for traffic and the like. Once at the library, she would text me that she was there and then again when she was heading home. Now that she is sixteen going seventeen, she has been given more privileges because she has proved to us that we can trust her.

She also knows that if she loses our trust, she is going to be limited again. She takes responsibility for her screw-ups. She understands that actions have consequences.

I learned this from my parents who let us walk to our friends or into the village to meet up with friends. When we were older and since it was the 80s we would go to the mall and hang with our friends.

My parents also taught me by example. They treated their four children as four separate individuals. What might have worked for me didn’t work for my brothers and sister. So they would adjust to the needs and personality of each of us. Which worked because they have four children who are law-abiding citizens and vote.

I am grateful for my parents example of how to parent.

Category: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on October 19, 2019

We have decided what to do for our lawn this year. It will be a tribute to the Haunted Mansion since it is the 50^thanniversary of my favorite ride at Disney.

Now we have to execute those ideas.

Along with some other projects that need to be done.

I want to get my creative on.

Peter is in Memphis at <a href=http://www.memphiscomicexpo.com> Memphis Comic Expo</a> this weekend allowing me to work through one of the messier projects I need to do.

Our new kitten is integrating well with the other cats for the most part. We still have rounds of kitty politics.

So tomorrow is about decorating and cleaning.

Weekend Musing The This Is Halloween EditionI am grateful that my old laptop works for the most part.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on October 15, 2019

I thought I would start with some book recommendations for people who are interested in building puppets and costumes and crafty stuff.

 New one I have gotten and read through is Foam Patterning and Construction Techniques: Turning 2D Designs into 3D Shapes by Mary McClung. It covers just about every topic you might need on foam and how to use it. It is useful for puppets, costuming, and prop making. Well illustrated and well put together it is very useful to get your idea from 2-d (a drawing say) to a 3-d realized object in this realm.

Of course my go to for years, to the point of having to buy a second copy because I destroyed my first one from you, is The Foam Book by Drew Allison and Donald Devet of Grey Seal Puppets. That book was my hand guide to foam construction for years. Lots of solid information with great illustrations. 

Another books that I like is Dressing the Naked Hand which is a nifty book about building puppets that has a little something for every skill level.

For mechanics in rod puppets I recommend Hobey Ford’s Rod Puppetry. Not quite a how to book but lots of information on creating amazing rod puppets. He breaks down the mechanism in lovely drawings.

John Kennedy has two books for the beginner or a teacher who wants to incorporate puppetry into their classroom along with tips that are great for the experienced puppet builder. They are Puppet Mania and Puppet Planet: The Most Amazing Puppet-Making Book in the Universe. Good books if you want to take a stab at making puppets.

 

Another good one for working with children is 10 minute puppets by Noel MacNeal. And most of these projects can be done in 10 minutes after the prep work is done.

 

Now that you have the puppet, how do you dress them? This question is answered in Cheralyn Lambeth’s The Well-Dressed Puppet: A Guide to Creating Puppet Costumes. A good guide in how to create costumes for your puppets. She also has a great costuming book entitled Creating the Character Costume: Tools, Tips, and Talks with Top Costumers and Cosplayers. A lot of that book can be translated for puppet use.

 

Puppets and Puppet Theater by David Currell is still in print and a solid book on puppetry both the history and how to build puppets. I can highly recommend all the books by David Currell. The older ones can be found in libraries and occasionally for sale by used booksellers. He also has books on shadow puppets and marionettes. His books I have consulted for various ways of making puppets over the years. I also like reading the history about puppets that he puts into his books. 

 

Of course there is the Muppets make Puppets which is a fun books indeed.

 

Now I have to get my glues from Amazon because none of my local hobby stores or hardware shops stock 3M 77 which I use or barge cement. Both have to be used in a well ventilated area with a respirator with the proper cartridges for glue. Be very careful because you do not want health problems down the line.

 

Most of my fabric and foam comes from our local fabric shops with an occasional trip to the city to find that elusive fabric that I need for the look I am creating. If all else fails there is dye and markers I can use to create my fabric. 

 

I am grateful for books on puppetry.

 

 

 

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: