No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on July 17, 2012

We got home this morning about quarter to 7. Not bad considering all that happened over the weekend which changed all our plans for Monday. But more on that later.

So how was San Diego Comic Con? Awesome and Tiresome at the same time.

High points? Well there were many. Meeting new people along with meeting some online buddies in person for the first time was one of them. My temporary Tattoo was another (more on that later as well). Sitting at the cool kids table at the Randomhouse party was rather nifty. Getting an elusive exclusive for Caroline who will play with the toy was fun too.

Low points? Getting from point A to point B and having to add 20 minutes to the trip. Staying at a hotel that was a ways away from the convention itself. About a 20 to 25 minute walk if there wasn’t a train (however the buses ran on schedule so it was possible to plan in a bus to get to the convention center or hotel.) The action of a few “fans” which ruined some events for the other fans. Things I would like to have seen but didn’t feel that standing on line for two hours for a wristband to go stand in another line for another two hours to be pushed through what I want to see.

Disneyland was a lot of fun too.

I am going to put this past week up in sections over the next couple of days but right now I need a nap because I didn’t sleep on the way back so my sleep debt is getting pretty high. You might even get that rare 2nd post.

I am grateful for everything that has happened over the last week and a half or so.

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Posted By Kathleen David on July 10, 2012

I did my paperwork for the DragonCon Art Show this morning. I figure I should get it done before I leave again.

(Side note: If you need to get in touch with me at SDCC, I have my cellphone with me. The number hasn’t changed since 1998 I think. If you need it, send me a message and I’ll get it to you.)

So here is the Class for the DragonCon Art Show 2012 (some will be showing at Shoreleave if I have a space there)

Nick Furry (Peter’s idea. I think it is brilliant.)
The Vampire (think Dark Shadows)
The Werewolf (think original Dark Shadows)
2 Phluzzies (since they are my signature piece)
The Beast (x-men first class blue version)
The Shape Shifter (think X-men First Class)
A Calot (John Carter of Mars)

Dolls
Steamed Dragon
Steamed Goblin
Steamed Lion
Steamed Tiger
Steamed Bear (had to be done)

I will also have Caroline’s costume for Shoreleave which is probably the simplest one she has wanted to do ever. And I will have some puppets to build for the puppet slam at DragonCon. I am still sorting out what I am doing for that. I am hoping that inspiration strikes soon.

On top of that are the various things I am going to need for panels and the like.

The build starts after I get back from SDCC so I am doing all my thinking and research now.

So there it is my goals for this year. I might have a piece or two at Peter’s table depending on what I do.

I am grateful for the creative spirit and the people who encourage me to use it.

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Tags: Art, conventions, crafty tuesday

Posted By Kathleen David on July 9, 2012

(and boy are my arms tired)

This is going to be an odd week for a couple of reasons. On top of that we are switching back from Italy time to Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

The trip back was pretty uneventful and that’s the way I like my transatlantic trips. We paid a little more for Economy Choice which gave us about 6 inches more room between the seats. There was a big difference between the trip going and the trip coming back in terms of comfort. Air Italia’s entertainment system is more fun but we did fine with the Delta non-version. They had two movies I wanted to see and we supplemented it with our portable DVD player and our copy of “How to Train Your Dragon”. Food was good on both and it was nice to have real meals back and forth during our 8 to 10 hour trip. Caroline ate what was put in front of her, which I was very proud of her.

Caroline has now petted cats on three continents.

We spent most of our time in the town of Pienza in Tuscany. Pienza has a very interesting history. It was the project of Pope Pius II to create the ideal Renaissance Town. And he did a pretty good job of a planned city. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in one of the original building which the exterior has not changed but the interior has been made for comfort.

This is how our day broke down for the most part

Breakfast was between 7:30 and 8:00 then we took a walk or hike through some part of Pienza or the Val d’Orcia which surrounds it. Back to the B&B for lunch and activities around the apartments. I got a lot of reading done and played games with Caroline and my parents. It was very relaxing. We would then have dinner either at one of the many wonderful restaurants that are in Pienza or my mom would cook up some really tasty dishes. We would get cappuccino then gelato after that was our passeggiata which we would start while eating our gelato. We would return to the B&B and go up on the rooftop terrace to watch the sunset and the moon rise. Then off to bed and do it again the next day.

We did go to Florence and went to Rome for our last day in Italy. In Florence we went into the Baptistery which in the Piazza del Duomo. I have admired the doors before but had never been able to go inside which we were able to do this time. It was amazing. Didn’t get into the Duomo itself due to the line. It was very hot that day as well. We did get over to the Basilica di Santa Croce and wandered around. While we were going in, we saw a poster for a gallery show entitled “Americans in Florence” and it happened to be on our way back to the train to Chusi. It was a lovely exhibit and should be an example on how to set up a show for the public to be able to read and enjoy it. They also had things for children to read and think about while going through the exhibit so it was fun for Caroline too.

Rome was very hot. We made it to the Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maloris that had amazing mosaics all through out it. We all started to overheat but some gelato and water really helped to pull us back together for the trip to our hotel before we had to get up very early to catch our planes.

Photos will be up soon. I need to download everything to one computer and sort through them for the best shots.

The food was good through out Italy. I tried Cinghaile (wild boar) and really like it but did find myself thinking about the comic book Asterix each time. Didn’t have that much pasta and pizza only once but that was fine since I got to try other regional dishes. Did have a lot of bruschetta. The tomatoes were fresh and tasted like tomatoes should taste. And the Coca-cola tasted the way it should rather than the post new coke version. Lots of good wine was to be had as well.

The most interesting church to me was Pieve dei Santi Vito e Modesto a Corsignano that had what looked like Etruscan influences and some non-Christian iconography on it.

We met a lot of interesting people on our journey. There were people in Pienza that we became nodding acquaintances with and exchanged greetings while passing, “Buon Giorno” during the day and “Buona Sera” in the evening. Most of the shopkeepers spoke pretty good English along with a number of other languages.

There were tour groups each day touring the town. It was fun to go out and figure out where each tour group had come from. A lot of Chinese and Japanese tourists in Pienza along with Germans, Russians, and Americans. Not as many teen groups and older folks but it was still interesting to listen while passing the plaza at the various languages being spoken.

We had a great time. Caroline learned a lot and absorbed it all. Her first words in Italian were to ask for water “Acqua, per favore”. It was an adventure for all and went very well.

I am grateful that we went and all the fun we had in Italy.

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Posted By Kathleen David on July 2, 2012

Hi there. I have wifi at the B&B that we are staying at. I also am typing this on my iPad so spelling and word substitution is probably going to happen.

I am putting photos behind a cut (I hope). I will add descriptors when I get back to the states.

We have been here three days now and are adjusted to the local time.

There is a serious heat wave right now and we are in the 90s which is unusual for Pienza.

Tomorrow we are going to Firenza aka Florence so I can show Caroline the Dumo and some other places I like there.

It has been very nice and relaxing which a vacation should be.

I am grateful we made this journey to Italy.

(more…)

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 28, 2012

One of Caroline’s Favorite movies every is “How to Train Your Dragon”. She saw it numerous times in the theater and in just about every configuration of 2-D, 3-D, IMAX 3-D and on a real IMAX 3-D screen that one could possibly see. This movie spoke to her more than any other film up to that point in her life had. She loved this movie. She loved the Dragons. She loved the characters.

Fast forward to about two to three years ago when we found out there was going to be a “How to Train Your Dragon” area show. At the time of the announcement by Dreamworks, the only places where you could see this show they were working on was in either Australia or New Zealand but the web site promised that there would be other international dates soon. So Caroline waited and watched the videos on the website and looked longingly at the pictures really wanting to see the show for herself. Then the first dates for the US tour were announced.

Which is how we found ourselves in Wilkes-Barra Pennsylvania at the Mohegan Sun Arena at the North American Premier of the show. Caroline decided to pull out her old Astrid Costume and wear it to the show. She also brought her Deadly Nadder with her and her axe and shield. She wanted to show Astrid how much she loved the show and the movie. The costume fit better than when she first wore it. I had built it a little big but now it looked really good on her. We couldn’t find one of her boots but considering I had built those for walking around a hotel, it was better that we didn’t.

Before the show, we had our picture taken as Vikings. Caroline didn’t need a costume for that since she was wearing a costume. At first she felt a little self-conscious because she was the only kid in costume. We pointed out to her that there had been no HTYD Halloween costumes so any costumes had to be hand-made. As we went through the venue and all the people at the arena were stopping and complimenting her on the costume or she heard comments from people passing by, she got more comfortable with wearing it. She got to show her costume to Astrid and Hiccup before the show at the Hero’s Welcome. Astrid just loved it. Hiccup played the fact that Caroline was carrying a dragon to the hilt.

The show itself is magnificent and has really raised the bar for arena shows. Disney on Ice had got nothing on this. It is some of the best combination of technology and puppetry I have seen on this scale. One of the new elements is using video to be another character in the show. And this is best used in a way that will have Cirque du Soleil kicking themselves that they hadn’t thought of it earlier although the technology to do it probably didn’t exist before this show.

And then there are the Dragons. Wow! They had clever hand puppets. They had full body puppets. And they had massive full sized beasts with lots of expression and movement. Each of those dragons were operated by three puppeteers who watched the show from the back of the hall. The big guys aren’t programmed to make the same moves each and every show, rather they add another set of “actors” to the stage making the puppets as much of the show as the live meat on stage. There was also an almost stunning sequence with shadow puppets when Gobber tells the dragon trainees about various forms of dragons. It is obvious that they are still working out the best distance for puppet to light source and distance to screen but if one is not well versed in shadow puppetry, it looked rather cool. My inner puppeteer was very very happy.

Afterwards we listened to a short talk about the show and saw some of the inner workings of things and left the area almost 5 hours after we got there very happy.

We went back to the hotel and found out that we were at the hotel where the cast and crew were staying. Caroline got to meet the actress who played Astrid. I got to talk to some of the crew and puppeteers and the director. It was a fun evening that went into the night.

I can highly recommend this show to both children and adults. It is a fabulous experience that brings the possibilities of what an arena show can be. And then there are the dragons in all their puppetry magnificence. Go see and you too will believe in Dragons.

I am so grateful to everyone who made this adventure so magical for Caroline. She had a great time.

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