No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on June 17, 2012

Happy Father’s Day to all the various forms of Fathers and Dads we have out there.

I know I am in the lucky category that I have a good relationship with my Father. It isn’t perfect. We still bûŧŧ hëádš over certain issues but we have learned how to deal with that and I think ours is a healthy relationship.

I also know I am in the lucky category because of my husband who is a very good father to his daughters. He and Caroline have a very good relationship and spend time together doing various things or just spend time in each other’s presence. Right now they are watching Ultimate Spiderman together and later they are going to play Skylanders together. She knows that her Dad is in her corner and will help her in any way that he can as I know the same thing about my Dad.

There was a commercial a couple of years ago that said, “Take time to be a Dad today”

It was a very clever way of bringing the message of what a Dad could be and it is those little moments that one’s kids remember.

One of my fondest memories is sitting next to my Dad while he read to me. We read books like “Wind in the Willows” and “the Hobbit”. I remember that I went to Girl Scout camp just as we got to the crossing of the ford in the Fellowship of the Ring. I didn’t know if Frodo was going to make it for a week.

I am grateful for all the Fathers and Dads in my life.

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 16, 2012

Or rather the people there annoy me especially the spambot and malware pretending to be people. Programs aren’t people….yet.

I am getting tired of people who post something to a group and ask for constructive criticism on something they are working on but they have a reason/excuse for every point given to them. For the love of squirmy puppies and fuzzy kittens, don’t ask for advise you don’t want. I know all you are looking for is how amazing the piece is (is going to be) and guess what, it ain’t all that and a bag of chips.

I am tired of people being outraged for other people that aren’t outraged. Apparently they should be but since they are not, these people are going to take up the slack.

I am tired of people refusing to look at/think about a solution to the problem. There is only so long I can read seething before I can see that they have more fun having the problem than they would not having the problem. And any solutions are dismissed out of hand, ignored, or another excuse pops up. Also your elders might know what they are talking about since a number of them have solved the same sort of problem.

I am tired of Internet bullying. Both the kind that is overt and the covert versions of the same thing. I am tired of double standards that are applied to people on the Internet. This is one that I have entirely too much experience in because of Peter. They can say anything they want about a professional in an industry but if the pro makes any disparaging comments about the poster, they are out of line and should act more like a professional. And people wonder why more professionals don’t hang out with the regular folk. Basically it is because some people have made it impossible for them to do so. Also the people bullying by hiding behind something really have to get a life. The covert garbage is worse in my book.

I am tired of the old fans vs. new fans fights that seem to break out in various fandoms when something is re-introduced to the public at large (like Doctor Who or The Avengers). You don’t have to know the whole history of something to enjoy it. Also this air of smugness among the old fans is really getting old. Guess what kiddies, you were once a young enthusiastic fan and you use to complain on how the old fans were acting towards you. Remember that and also remember how you declared you weren’t going to do that when you became the old fan. Kinda failed on that didn’t you?

I am tired of people stealing from other people on the Internet and then defending what they did. I don’t care if it is a large-ášš company one thinks they are sticking it to, remember that that large company is made of people who earn money off of the things stolen. This is the road to more people being laid off and things canceled because things aren’t selling well. Of course not, they are being traded around the Internet for free. And if the large corporation comes down on the individual for stealing their intellectual property, I am tired of everyone bìŧçhìņg about how the ebil corp came in and handed out C&D like they were candy. Fandom is a fine line and you have to respect boundaries or expect to get some hassle. This also goes for the artists who have created things for free on the Internet and make a little money from sales of art and the like. If they ask you not to do something with their creations, please respect their wishes.

I am tired of people complaining about other people using the Internet to promote themselves and things like Kickstarter to get the money together to do things that they want to do. No one is holding a gun to anyone else head to participate in anything. I think part of it is sour grapes that you didn’t think of the idea first.

I am tired of hypocrisy in all its forms.

So open post, what are you tired of on the Internet?

I am grateful for those people who make the Internet a nice place so I am willing to put up with the dregs to be able to communicate with people.

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 14, 2012

I won’t say how old she is but Douglas Adams would be proud of the number.

My sister Sheila is a very creative person. I think it runs in the family. She currently has a project she is working on called The 10 Thousand Flowers Project where she is giving away 10,000 drawings of flowers. She does some dynamite word art as well.

I put her on stage for the first time when we needed kids for “6 characters in search of an author,” I volunteered her and my youngest brother of the show. Since the she has spent time on and off the boards doing various things in the entertainment industry. She saved our bacon when we did the MRAP “Night at the Old Phoenix” at Fantasy Fair I believe by coming in as Romana at pretty much the last minute. That is the sketch where I played the 7th Doctor as a female punk rocker. I am lucky that there are no pictures of that performance.

She introduced me to the Internet (aka AOL) oh so many years ago and the rest, as they say, is history.

She explained Second Life to me in ways that I could understand. She did some serious work in that system as well.

She is a champion Thrift Store shopper. She can thrift with the best of them. And she makes what she finds look good.

She is Caroline’s god mother and Caroline loves her very very much.

Caroline got a haircut yesterday. A rather radical cut for her.

(for the VI: This is Caroline with her brown hair cut about shoulder length. She is smiling slightly for the camera. She is wearing a print dress and there is a stuffed Giraffe behind her left shoulder.)
I looked at her for a bit and said, “You have your hair cut a lot like your Aunt Sheila’s,” which she loved. Today at the bus stop she told the moms that she had a hair cut like her Aunt Sheila with great pride.

So Happy Birthday Sheila from all of us here at Casa David. I hope the next year does bring the question to the answer for you.

I am grateful that my sister is my sister.

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 13, 2012

Well not that much but this seems to be the beginning of a very travelled summer.

I have things to do and places to go.

Meanwhile we wait and wait to see if the other shoe is going to drop or if we are going to just walk away. Sometimes the hardest part is the waiting to find out. Well that and getting paid in a timely fashion. (Freelancers know of what I speak).

Next week is Caroline’s last week as a Third Grader. She is looking forward to summer vacation which we start in grand fashion with a trip to Italy. Peter is going to be staying here because he has entirely too much going on and can’t be out of touch for a week.

Today I am helping Ariel deal with a few things she needs to deal with before she is off to her job at the camp. Friday is all about the driving her to the camp and getting home again.

Then I have a week to do what I need to do before Caroline is out of school.

I really need to sit down with a calendar and figure out what is going on in July which is a lot of stuff for all of us.

Trying to stay in the now but not succeeded that often. Deep Breath and let it out slowly and go onto the next thing which is probably going to be a list of things I need to do. * sigh *

And it is raining today. It was so much fun putting out the paper for recycling this morning.

But this too shall pass and I shall be getting my act together and getting it on the road.

I am grateful for things that make travel easier.

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Posted By Kathleen David on June 12, 2012

Puppets and dolls have been my doorway to some pretty interesting adventures and have lead to some great friendships.

So in no particular order except when it is in order

Because of a Sandman Puppet, I met Neil Gaiman and this time he remembered me. I had met Neil before during his first Sandman tour which was when the first graphic novel came out at the comic book shop, Whirlygig Comics in New Haven, that I use to work at. He remembers the shop because of an interesting story that happened there which I can confirm was true because I was there when it happened but I left no impression what so ever (which is a good thing during a whirlwind tour).

But this time it was a DragonCon back when I was the tech director. I had, for a lark, made a Sandman puppet with LEDs for eyes and feathers for hair. Jill Thompson saw the puppet in passing and asked for a closer look. She asked if Neil had seen it. No, said I. He must, said she. So we arranged a time for me to be where Neil was. He loved the puppet a lot. I made him one and promised that those would be the only two unless I rebuilt mine. I would not sell anymore. Not that I haven’t had requests for them but I promised Neil and I keep my promises.

The Doctor Who puppets have led to some interesting conversations and some adventures in their own. A number of the Doctors have their puppets and I owe Colin Baker his which I will get to him soon I hope. The most recent was the puppet that started it all which was the Paul McGann Doctor. Since that TV movie was the impetus for me even starting to make the Doctor Who puppets, getting the puppet to Paul just seemed like a good thing to do. I know he liked it. I got the same kind of bear hug I got from Neil when I told him that I could make him a Sandman puppet.

I met the Frouds through a doll making course that a fellow puppeteer informed me about. I met Wendy and Toby and was introduced to Brian at San Diego. Since then I have taken Wendy’s course a number of time when it is in my area. I always learn something and Wendy pushes me as an artist. She knows what I have done and believes I can do better. I remember once I tried to slide some hands by her and she made me go make them again because she knew I could do better.

I have been introduced as a puppeteer to others which leads to all kinds of interesting conversation with all kinds of interesting people.

Last year I participated in the Puppet Slam at DragonCon and had a blast. I hope to do so this year as well. I just got the most twisted Idea…..

And finally and most important, if I hadn’t made a set of Klingon Puppets back at the Atlanta Fantasy Fair, I wouldn’t be sitting here typing this. Those puppets introduced me to my husband and led me to the life I have today which I wouldn’t trade for the world.

I am grateful that puppets and dolls have lead me such interesting places.

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Tags: crafty tuesday, Creativity