No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on June 24, 2012

Well a week from yesterday (Saturday) and I am not sure how much Internet I am going to get over there so this blog may go a little quiet over the next two weeks or so. But I hope to get some entries out there while doing other things.

And the summer got a little busier or it very well might. I may be going to San Diego with Peter this year. Nothing solid but we did the first thing, which is get me a badge so I can get into the place. We are still working on rest of the puzzle pieces that need to fall into place. Either way Caroline is going to have an adventure because she is going to see her sister Shana for a week or so. This will be her first plane ride by herself and she is looking forward to it. I know she’ll do fine because she had flown so many times that air travel is old hat to her.

Today I have to do things that I need to do but don’t want to do. One of the things that is not fun as an adult is being responsible and doing what needs to be done rather than what I want to do. But that ship sailed so many years ago and then got reinforced when I had a child which is a lot of responsibility but I think I am a better person for it. Peter and Caroline have a list of things they want to do with one and another today so Mommy is being given some quiet time to get done those things that she don’t wanna do but will do anyway.

DragonCon is shaping up to be a good year for me. I will have a number of friends I don’t have much of a chance to hang out with and probably not have much of a chance to hang out with but might at least see at the convention. I know that there are a couple of functions I want to get them into so they can enjoy the convention. Also I don’t believe they have been to various traditional meet-up places that are a lot of fun.

Mr. Sandusky is probably not going to see the light of day without prison bars and this is a good thing. The more I heard coming out of the trial, the more my stomach churned. I think one of the saddest part of all this is seeing how many enablers there were around him passively helping him to harm children. The saddest has to be what happened to those boys most of whom are men now and how much that affected the lives of these men. And I almost threw the radio across the room when I heard the testimony of one of Mr. Sandusky’s friends talking about horseplay in the locker room is just good-natured jackanapes. And we wonder where bullies come from…

I have been reading in small chunks “Rebel Buddha” by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. I can only read it in small chunks because it makes me think a lot about what I am reading and at points I find myself a little overwhelmed. So far I am enjoying it and learning things about myself and the world that I hadn’t thought about before.

I am thinking of making a bear for DragonCon entitled “Nick Furry” with a Shield outfit to match. Thank Peter for that strange idea that has been stuck in my head.

Still grooving on Brave. Think it has taken the top spot for films this year which I thought was going to be really hard considering how much I loved the Avengers. Caroline is grooving on Brave as well. Oh saw the Hobbit Trailer before Brave, can’t wait for that.

We seem to be returning to more reasonable temperatures at this time. The last couple of days have been pretty miserable. Tropical Storm Debbie can’t make up its mind apparently. All I do know is that it is going to be wet at Disney World today.

Well I better not put what I need to do off any further or it is going to be miserable and HOT to get those things that need to be done outside done. Have a great day y’all.

I am grateful that I have so many opportunities to do cool things this summer.

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 23, 2012

As usual the review above the cut will be as spoiler free as I can make it but below the cut and in the comments all bets are off.

Caroline has been wanting to see Brave since she saw the first trailer bundled with Toy Story 3 I believe. It appealed to her right off the bat. Since then I think she has seen just about every trailer that was available and the more she saw, the more she wanted to see. That is how we found ourselves in our local movie theater with her clutching her Merida doll eagerly awaiting the movie.

The Pixar short was entitled La Luna and was the usual delightful short that went in a couple of directions. This was one where they used sound and garbled words to tell the story but you could tell what was going on. I had a smile on my face at the end of it. It is a delightful little tale.

Caroline let out a little squeal of joy when the movie started and hugged her doll close. I settled back and watched the film unfold.

This is my favorite PIXAR film so far and I can’t tell you why without spoiling a few key points so my explanation of it is under the cut. I will say that the commercials manage to tip-toe around one of the cleverest parts of the plot. I didn’t see it coming and was very pleased that I hadn’t been tipped off. I will say that in many ways it is a coming of age story and tradition vs. new thinking.

Voice casting was top notch across the board. Then the animators took those voices and put them with fascinating characters to watch. The visuals on this are just wonderful. It did remind me of the Scottish Highlands. It is amazing to me how far PIXAR has come since Tin Toy. The people look more like people. The animals are amazing. They had to write an entire new program just for the hair.

The hair is almost another character in this film between the humans and the animals. But it is well done and looks very natural for an animated character. Caroline loves Merida’s horse Angus.

Over all I really enjoyed it and liked that PIXAR can still surprise me. The sound track is wonderful as well. I think Uncle Walt would have been very proud of this one.

It is rated PG for scary action and rude humor. Basically they say that the kilts are being worn traditionally so there are some bare bums at a couple of points and a couple of jokes on the potty side of humor. The scary action can get pretty scary and there are people put in danger but it all sorts out in the end. I would say that 5 and over will understand what is going on. Under 5, you might have to explain one or two things and assure them that everything is going to be all right.

And the soundtrack is right in my wheelhouse. I have enjoyed Patrick Doyle’s soundtracks over the years. This one harkens back to his earlier work.

This is not going to be everyone’s cuppa scotch but it is a solid film with characters that will stay with you after the film and a story that really touched my heart.

Also there is a tag at the end of the credits which is really quite funny so stay all the way through.

I am grateful that Pixar made this film.

(more…)

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 22, 2012

And I have been reflecting back on the year and what she has learned and what I have learned.

It is amazing how, when I was a kid, time in school seemed to stretch into eternity especially at the end of the year but as a parent I blink and we are here.

I am glad that math is going back to learning and rote memory. New math was fuzzy math to me. There were a few clever tricks but nothing beats going over one’s times tables over and over.

I don’t know if my child is going to have a signature. They are no longer teaching cursive to children in the New York schools. Caroline’s teacher made a serious effort to get the kids to learn script so they can at least read it. I am going to have to teach her that myself. Why aren’t they teaching penmanship? Well it boils down to “the test” which most of the year is taken up with and computers because fewer people write in script.

I am not happy with the pressure put on the teachers to get their students to perform well to “the test”. All we are teaching our kids is how to take tests well. Where is the knowledge that is going to spark the next great Invention? We use to be first on the planet for innovation and creative thinkers. Don’t think we are there any more.

I am very appreciative of Caroline’s teacher this year who encouraged her creativity and thinking outside the box. I also appreciate that her other teachers didn’t try to steam the tide of creativity that is Caroline. Caroline is a good abstract thinker and I think that will serve her well in the future.

I appreciate that her teacher worked with her on her test anxiety issues. Caroline does better with a goal and doing it in her own time. This year she had to learn to work within the clock parameters and for a while this was driving her nuts. But her teacher worked with her and the rest of the class on time management and relaxation techniques during test taking.

I appreciate all the other staff and teachers who kept an eye on her and the other kids while at school. She knows I get updates about her from various people I know there. I also get amusing tales o’ Caroline from them which make me smile. She seems to be a good influence on the people around her.

I am grateful to everyone who helped Caroline this year become the young lady she is growing into.

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 21, 2012

Caroline is really getting into Ninjago. I think she has about 7 episodes to go to have seen the entire thing. Not something I would think she would like but then she is studying a marital art so maybe that’s where the interest came from.

Speaking of studying a Marital Art, I am still trying to get moves down that should be easy but I am finding my body fighting my mind. Or rather my mind body connection isn’t connecting that well. I did fine for a bit but then got out of sync. I need to practice more to get the moves down.

Remember when a book was just a book and not part of an elaborate series? Or a platform for multi-media and entertainment properties? I liked one and done stories but no one seems to want to publish those anymore. It must be part of a bigger picture. You know what my bigger picture was? My imagination of what happened next. Yeah, I did fanfic in my head at a young age.

Janet Lee is a friend of mine who is a really spiffy artist. I have admired her work for years and finally the rest of the world is starting to realize how wonderful an artist she is. She also makes killer sock monkeys. She recently did a set of the Doctors from Doctor Who and has captured them quite well. I am coveting her 8th Doctor piece.

I have also been reading various artists web logs about what has been selling at tables and not selling. Art Shows have been pretty dead according to them and prints have hit a saturation point between the production costs and the sales. Last year seemed a bad year for sales for most artists. Personally I had one of my best years.

In this “do you think this will sell category” subsection Harry Potter, do you think the following would be of interest to anyone and at what price point.

It is a glow in the dark basilisk tooth with another tooth on a lanyard in a decked out box.

I have some other ideas of things to make for DragonCon. I am just trying to figure out the market these days.

Getting ready for our trip to Italy. I am excited and have a feeling of trepidation all at the same time. There is still a lot to do before we leave in 8 days.

There is a fine line between creativity and insanity. Just saying.

There is also a fine line between performance art and crossing the line. If all you are trying to do is shock your audience, go and start a haunted house or something. Also complaining about who gets grants and that you don’t should get you to take a closer look of what you are doing. And no “the man” isn’t trying to keep you from expressing yourself, he just isn’t willing to pay you for the privilege.

Caroline is citizen of the month for her school this month. I am very proud of her.

Mets are running hot and cold these days. If they sweep the Orioles, then, given their pattern, they are going to lose to the Yankees. It is mostly the bats. The pitching has been pretty doggone good. And props for RA Dickey for his killer season. He has been amazing to watch.

Caroline current favorite girly programs are Winx and Monster High. One is about fairies and the other about monsters. Both are about fitting in and not fitting in and how not fitting in is not always a bad thing. They do encourage being true to yourself and not following the pack even if you are a werewolf. They are a little repetitive at points in the story but also feel like soap operas for the younger set. I wonder if Caroline is even going to know what a soap opera is.

Well I need to get to it this morning. I have a few things I need to do today before I get a little me time.

I am grateful that Caroline does have a strong sense of self.

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 18, 2012

Hard to Believe that the end of school is nigh. Caroline had three full days and two half days to the end of the school year and she will no longer be a 3rd grader. She had an excellent teacher this year who worked with her to become a better student and that she could do math. Her teacher also dealt with some of her eccentricities and worked to make them less so especially when Caroline takes a test.

Hard to Believe in less than two weeks Caroline and I will be in Italy. My parents invited us to join them for a week to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and my mother’s 75th birthday (both really nice milestones). Peter wanted to go but had entirely too many things going on that made it impossible for him to take a week off. Right now, considering the other things that have popped up, it is a good thing he is not going and has a week to just work without interruption.

Hard to Believe I could be even further behind than I was last year for DragonCon, but I managed to do it. Right now I am going to just work my way to when I go to Italy and take the time in Italy to regroup and sort out what I AM going to get done for DragonCon.

Hard to Believe that Caroline is turning 10 this year. She is, as she puts it, going into double digits. I swear I just brought her home from the hospital. But it is amazing to see how much she has packed into her 9 years so far. Hard also to believe in 9 years she will be an adult.

Hard to believe that Peter and I have been together for 15 years and married for 11. We are still silly in love with each other. The time has been both short and long. One of those weird timey whimey relationships.

I am grateful for that which makes my life easier right now.

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