Posted By Kathleen David on May 15, 2013
I ran across an article in Scientific America about how rituals really do work. You can read the article here . I’ll wait here until you come back…Done? OK
I think we all do little rituals in our lives without even realizing it. Patterns of behavior which are repeated through out our lives. Then there are the social rituals that we take part in as part of the group.
I think a good example of this is conventions. Everyone seems to have their little rituals of things they do before the convention. Then there are the things that we do every time we go to X convention. Dragon*Con participants seem to have a lot of rituals that they participate in at the convention. I know people who delay their leaving because they want to go to Peter’s panel, which is the last one on the Star Trek track. They have been coming to it for years.
We have rituals before we leave the house. We check to make sure that the doors are locked. We make sure that all of the cats are accounted for and none are trapped behind a door of a room they shouldn’t be in. We make sure we have our keys before leaving. Skip a step and things might not go as planned.
I have patterns of behavior when I work on a creative project. A lot of it happens in my head but I recognize it as it is happening. Once I am actively working on a puppet I have things I do in a certain order so that there won’t be delays in assembling the critter. I also count off the steps in my head. Forget a step and I am delayed in completing the project in a timely fashion.
Caroline has her bedtime ritual. She brushes her teeth, gets on her PJs, gathers up the stuffed animals that are going to occupy her bed with her, and has us sing a song to her that we have been singing to her since she was born. She goes to sleep pretty promptly after that a little after 9:00 pm and gets up around 6:30 am or so. She says that the song tells her that her day is done and it is time for her to go to sleep.
I now don’t feel as bad or strange for some of my behaviors because they make me feel better or more centered. They are rituals that help me get through the day.
So convention folk, what are your convention rituals?
I am grateful for articles that make me feel better about being me.
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Posted By Kathleen David on May 13, 2013
Usual rules apply especial this week since a bunch of people already got their 2nd half of the season disks and have seen both this and next weeks episode. I am staying away from the Doctor Who sites right now.
Also Neil is a friend of mine so I might be coloring this through the lens of friendship.
This one was a little more 11th Doctor oriented, especially with the Clara in charge sections. Although I could see Sarah Jane or Leela doing something like this in the same situation. Ace would have been all over it.
Overall I liked it. Even the kids didn’t bother me, they were part of the story rather than horned in.
Warwick Davis is such a good actor and he proves it again with this gem. I will say they have gotten dynamite actors for all these episodes and the directors have done well as well.
The rest of this behind the cut and in the comments. Spoilers only up to this episode.
(more…)
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Posted By Kathleen David on May 11, 2013
The other day it came out that the coach/savior of the Rutgers’ Basketball team lied on his Curriculum Vitae or CV as we call it in the academic biz. Some say that he didn’t lie but exaggerated his achievements. But I learned at the tender age of three that you don’t lie on your CV or pad it. His CV stated that he graduated from Rutgers, which a quick check of academic records AT Rutgers shows that he was a few credits short. Now we have a lot of back peddling on the topic from a lot of different corners of the sports world and the Internet.
I have a resume/CV that is all over the place. I actually could use some help to straighten it out into something that makes sense. I also have my stage management resume, my puppetry resume, and my editorial resume. Then there is the basic resume that covers all the things I have done and that puppy is long because I have done a lot of different jobs over the years. So many that I have forgotten some of the jobs I have held until reminded of it by others. There is also my artist resume and my puppet building portfolio.
This monstrous career set is all true. I have never lied or padded my resume. I have seen looks of disbelief on the faces of people who are interviewing me until they check it out and then they realize that I have done a lot in my almost 50 years on the planet especially between the age of 16 and 36.
If one lies on one’s resume/CV, it leads to questioning the rest of their character and what else might they be hiding behind the resume. And in this age of close to instant communication, it is easy to ferret out the fiction from fact. HR is looking at one’s Internet “footprint”.
Sure at the beginning of one’s work career, you don’t have much but as you go along you do amass experience and credit. And think about your other skill sets that might help in finding a job. Learning how to use various computer programs on your own is legit. Claiming to be an expert in a software program that you have general knowledge about is not cool.
Anything I have on my resume I have done and can probably give you some interesting tales about it.
I am grateful that I have such an eclectic work history.
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Posted By Kathleen David on May 10, 2013
The rain cleared right out and we have a lovely day outside. Even this morning Caroline didn’t need a jacket or even a light sweater to walk to the bus stop. Might get a bit warm later but right now it feels really nice.
I have “Couldn’t we ride?” from the Great Muppet Caper running through my head. That sequence was one of the toughest they had to film for that movie. Remember no CGI in that one. It was puppets and cinema tricks to create the illusion of all of them riding bicycles. It is a masterpiece of puppetry.
Today I pull out the Doctors and see if anyone needs repair from their last outing. I also need to find the lovely Time Lord Reunion sign that Janet Lee made for me for our previous performance. I think I know where it is but it might take a little looking.
I am thinking of taking a puppet or two to sell at Phoenix. Not sure if I am or not. Honestly don’t know if there would be any interest.
I do have a pretty clear idea of a couple of things I want to do for Dragon*Con this year. I just need to start producing them.
Caroline is working with the conductive properties of various metals in her science class. She is really interested in the topic.
Peter is working on the next issue of X-Factor. I can’t tell you anything about it but Wow! What an issue. This is gonna cause some message boards to light up.
I am grateful for people who understand what I am trying to say.
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Posted By Kathleen David on May 9, 2013
The rain has gotten the pollen off a lot of things. The runoff water is yellow with pollen as it goes to the ocean.
Today is an indoor day. There is not much that can be done outside in the rain. We do need it since April has been mostly dry which is unusual for this area. We are down rainfall by quite a bit. The winter was mostly dry as well.
I am plotting out the rest of the day. A couple of things changed around. Caroline’s flute lesson is today rather than on Monday. I don’t think she has Girl Scouts this week but I have to double check.
This weekend we have some plans but I hope to get some things down around here. Next weekend Ariel graduated from college and we have activities with that. I think we have a week between that Phoenix but maybe not. I honestly haven’t sat down with the calendar this month.
I can tell we are getting closer to the end of the school year. Our bowling leagues are wrapping up. Caroline’s activities are winding down except those that she does year round like Kung-Fu and Flute. Our afternoons and evenings are starting to free up.
Just in time for the end of the Fall/Winter/Spring TV season and the beginning of the summer TV season. Next week there are a lot of last episodes of seasons. We have had a couple of final episodes. It is interesting how the rise of cable has changed things on network TV as well. Seasons are different lengths. Some shows are 8-12 episodes in length. There are shows that don’t start up until January rather than September/October. They had to adapt because the cable networks were cutting into their ratings.
Allergy pressure is less today which is nice. Also not turbo sneezing is nice too.
Right now all the cats are in their usual spots getting ready for their morning nap. Stalin is curled up at my hip purring up a storm. That is my cue to get up and start doing something productive.
So here is to a productive day.
I am grateful for rain that brings the pollen count down from OMG to tolerable.
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