No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on November 16, 2011

But I wanted to put up my review of the Muppets while it was still fresh in my head.

This one is probably going to read a bit like a RTBTCKI (Random Thoughts Before the Coffee Kicks In) but my sleep pattern last night was not good so my brain is fighting the fog this morning. Funny thing is that we have real fog outside today or at least for right now. Later we will have rain and thunderstorms.

I will be bringing a couple of puppets to sell at the Allentown Comic Book convention this weekend. Mostly Fluzzies and probably one Ship-ship.

Learning new skills is always a challenge. The two things I would love to learn is how to REALLY knit and crochet rather than the bášŧárdìzëd versions I have been making do with. I have had little to no luck in finding how to do either. The crochet is because I have some ideas for those little Amigurumi creations. The knit is because I have some costuming ideas that I need to create pieces for.

Drawing is something else I would like to learn. My biggest problem there is really myself. I swear I just need to get a blank sketch book and give myself permission to just frelling Doodle. Not worry what it looks like just keep at it. I stop myself because I am embarrassed as to how badly I draw. There is a new Jim Henson Doodle book out and there is also the Zentangle way of doing things.

Next to X-Puppets are going to be Beast in Beast form and Mystique. May be by Farpoint but I might focus on the dolls for that show.

I am sorting out a puppet that I want to do that would be along the lines of Lockheed. I do need to get in touch with an artist that created the look of the character and I want to see what I might be able to do with electric wire on this piece.

I feel so lucky that I was taught how to use tools and how to do minor household repair. Those kinds of skills have translated more than once into something that I needed for some project or another.

Got a Mix-media idea that I need to cogitate on for a little longer. I have a fan art idea but need to stop and think about what I have time for and the skills for.

Also I have this sort of dark/goth idea for stuffed animals that I might be playing around with in the next year.

Lots of ideas but only so much time and materials. Although I am feeling a strong need to make a Monster or two of the cuddly variety.

I am grateful for the wealth of ideas and information I have in my brain and at my fingertips.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 15, 2011

For those of you who know me well, you know what the Muppets mean to me. To those of you that don’t know me that well, I think you still have an inkling of what the Muppets mean to me. I am a card carrying Muppet fan and have been for many years. So when I heard there was a new Muppet Movie in the works, I worked on keeping myself pretty much spoiler free. I knew who wrote it. I knew who starred in it. I knew who was directing it. But I avoided all the fan pages, user boards, and general on-line places where there were spoilers. I wanted to come into the film with pretty much an open mind.

That didn’t mean that I didn’t see the trailers for the film which is a pretty well done marketing campaign that reminded people in subtle and not so subtle ways what the Muppets were and why we love them. And I’ll admit, they got me with the first official trailer of the film.

Last night the WGA (Writers Guild America) had a screening of The Muppets for guild members and a guest. After the screening there was a Q&A with the writers of the film Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel. Peter and I went to see it. We lucked out and did some maneuvering and got seats front and center for the screening.

This is my spoiler free review of the film.

A couple of ground rules, this is one of the rare times I ask that any comments be spoiler free as well. I really would like the viewer to experience the film the way I did rather than going in knowing what is going to happen. This goes for who is in the film including cameos. I promise down the road we will have a “I can’t believe so and so was in the Muppet Movie” entry where we can talk about the film without worry.

Short review: I walked into the theater with an open mind and I walked out of the theater a very satisfied Muppet Fan. I laughed until I cried and then I cried and then I laughed some more. Both my eyes and my sides hurt after seeing this film but it was a good hurt.

Longer Review:

This is a Muppet movie soup to nuts. It has heart which is hard to find these days in a film without some sarcastic comment attached. It is a love letter to the Muppets and one from the Muppets to their audience. There are the jokes that almost border on the naughty. There is slapstick in the best Muppet tradition. There is song and dance and a couple of tunes that get stuck in your brain. It harkens back to the first Muppet Movie in many ways.

Jason Segel and Amy Adams are great in this film and really should do an other screw-ball comedy together. Chris Cooper is the villain of the piece and is delightful as he freely chews the scenery to shreds. All the other humans do a great job too.

But what about the Muppets which is the core to this film? A couple of characters were being performed by different people than the original operators. Overall not bad at all. There were a couple of times that it was painfully evident that someone else was under the puppet but those were few and fleeting. You saw pretty much every Muppet that Disney has in it repertory at some point on screen with the exception of Robin but I can understand that. Robin is Brian Henson and that they didn’t use him spoke of respect to the Hensons to me. Uncle Deadly is used very well and he does translate to the large screen which I wasn’t sure that he would since he had been built for the TV show. It was fun to play name that Muppet with the background characters in my head.

The newest Muppet is Walter who is voiced and operated by Peter Linz. Nice to see such a great guy get to do such a pivotal role in the film. I liked how Walter was used in the telling of the story. I think kids are going to relate to him.

This is a great family movie with stuff for the kids to laugh at and stuff for the parents to laugh. No naughty language which had been a trademark almost for the Muppets. We get close but nothing in there is a real swear word. There is the usual Muppet Mayhem but that is nothing new or unusual. There is lots of song and dance but they are integrated into the film rather than feeling that the whole movie is stopping for a dance number. This is that rare film that I would encourage people to see on a movie screen because there are details that will be lost on smaller screens.

How was the Muppets? Well I walked out with a smile on my face and a song in my heart with my faith in the Muppets restored. What more can you ask of a Muppet movie?

I am grateful that I got to see this film.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 14, 2011

Today is my father’s birthday. I am proud to call him my father. He’s smart, funny, and a great dad to me and my brothers and sister and a wonderful grandfather to his granddaughters.

Caroline knows if she has a science question, she can ask my dad about it. My love of science was given to me by my father. I learned the scientific method through listening to my dad and observing him work. The other day there was a question on “Who wants to be a Millionaire” about what someone won a Nobel in along with two other scientists. I saw the name and said physics, which it was. I knew the name and associated it with physics because of my dad.

My love of puns comes from my father. He is a master of the art of puns. His ability to work out word play is a wonder to see. He does the New York Times crossword puzzle every day. Both of my parents were sticklers for grammar and the correct use of a word but that has served me well through out my life. The other day one of the women who volunteer to be a class grandma comments on how well spoken I am for a person of my age (I honestly think she thinks I am younger than I am but I did thank her for the compliment).

My father taught me to play chess. He has this lovely wooden set with a large wooden board. He was very patient with me in learning the game. It was some nice time for the both of us to spend together. My parents bought me a magnetic chess set that has served me well after all these years and I still have all the pieces. When I think of chess, I think of my dad.

I know I was lucky to grow-up in the household that I grew up in. I had parents that loved me and took care of me. I learned from them by example and they set a dynamite example for me. My father took an interest in his children’s interests. He didn’t always understand them but he supported us in our goals and made us the people we are today.

Happy Birthday Dad! I love you.

Sincerely,

Your Eldest Child aka Kathleen

I am grateful that my father taught me how to play chess and so many other things.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 12, 2011

It is hard for me to believe that my daughter is turning 9 years old in less than a month. Time just seems to be moving faster and faster. Why it didn’t during some of my more boring classes I’ll never know but now the years seem to fly by.

Some things haven’t changed. She still loves animals. Her sense of humor is still very impish. When working on art, her focus is total.

But now rather than me reading to her, she is reading to herself. We still read out loud to her but she is a fine reader on her own. She likes non-fiction books about subjects she is interested in. Her fiction taste tends towards fantasy or diary type books. She reads graphic novels. If she likes a book or a series, she will reread it given a chance. Personal favorites of hers are the Scary Godmother and Magic Pixie books by Jill Thompson, Teeny Titans, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Her art is improving. She still loves to draw. Recently she has been playing with the Monster High fashion set which has given her a new way of looking at her art. Her dragons are really cool.

She says one of her goals is learning as much as she can about mythical animals. She loves reading about various creatures of mythology. She also researches big cats. She can tell you the differences between various large cat species. But she does a lot of reading about animals in general.

She has taken up bowling in a local children’s league. She loves to run the track at the Y. She is a healthy active child.

I love that she shares my interest in things. We like watching X-men Cartoons together. She loves the Muppets and the Fraggles. She had me explain some of the non-continuity of the X-men comics books. We play video games together.

She’s doing well in school. She is still learning time management but she is 8. She loves her teacher. She is the go to kid for helping new students find their footing at the school.

She amazes me. She confounds me. She challenges me.

But all that is OK. Because she is my daughter and I love her.

I am grateful that Caroline is Caroline.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 11, 2011

Today here in the United States we celebrate our Veterans. In our town that includes a parade and a lot of the local restaurants given vets free meals in thanks for what they did.

What did they do? Well veterans made it possible for me to write this and not have to worry about what I write. They preserve our freedoms and protect our populace. They have defended our country and served the people.

There is not much military in my family. I have relatives that have and/or are working for the military. I have a number of uncles who served in various wars. But we appreciate what the military has done for us.

My Uncle Jack who was married to my Aunt Mary Ann served in World War II in Italy. He was in the bombers that flew over Italy. He saw buddies get killed. He saw planes crash with people he had worked side by side with. He has in his office a model of the plane that he flew in. He showed me the medals he had earned and he old me the story behind each one. He is proud of his military service.

So Thank You Uncle Jack for your service. Thank you to my other Uncles who served as well. Thank you to the parents of my friends who served. Thank you to my friends who have served or are serving. Thank you to the children of my friends who have served or are serving. And thank you to all who serve our country and their families.

I am grateful for all that our Veterans have done for this country.

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