No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on October 7, 2011

First I want to THANK YOU ALL!!!! Shana’s project is funded! Thank you for all your social networking help getting the word out there and, of course, the money that was pledged. This is a wonderful thing and you have done a great service to a couple of really great kids.

Quite a bit to do before the end of the day. Ariel is coming home for the weekend so there are things that need to be done to get ready for her. The project that ate my brain is in full swing but about to be paused for New York Comic Con which starts a week from today.

Caroline joined a bowling league this week and next week two other afterschool activities start up so she is going to have a busy fall. It is nice that she has these other things to do.

We went to the mall yesterday to pick up our copy of Lion King and went by the Apple store. There was a very nice shrine to Steve Jobs. There were notes from people and some flowers and candles. Most of the notes were something to the effect of thank you to Mr. Jobs for how he changed our lives.

Today is pretty much mapped out. Tomorrow is too. Sunday seems a little more flexible. Monday is Columbus Day so the girls have off from school.

Also the turn signals are out on the truck so we are taking it to our auto guy. I am figuring it is a fuse since both sides just went out. I tried to replace it but no luck however the fuses there are over 20 years old at this point. So we are down to one vehicle until it is solved.

This morning Fig hid inside a bag and ambushed Millie who has one incredible vertical leap when scared. Fig then went back into the bag and did the same thing to Vanillie who wandered by next. Stalin is having none of it. He is on a cushion off to the side watching the shenanigans of the other three. Currently Fig is on my shoulder right now watching me type this.

I am thinking about making a Dragon and a Tiger or Lion to show at NYCC. These will both be dolls with a little steampunk thrown in the mix.

There are some things that I have to think about. Not all the news that comes through the door is good news and now I need to figure out how to deal with what is coming through the door. But that’s life. You take the good with the bad. And when you find yourself knocked down, you pick yourself up and dust yourself off and figure out what is next. It took me a long time to learn that. I think that and everyone is not going to be your friend were two of the hardest life lessons I had to learn.

Project Runway is confusing me this year. One episode I like it and the next I am really not into it. Also some of the judging and producer decisions have been just screwy.

I am grateful for good news.

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Posted By Kathleen David on October 6, 2011

“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

–Steve Jobs

Late yesterday afternoon I was reading “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” on my iPad. Peter was on the MacBook working on one of his writing projects that he needs to do. Caroline was playing DragonVale on my iPhone when I heard my iPhone ding. Caroline handed it to me so I could see what was on the screen. There was a New York Times alert that Steve Jobs had passed away. In some ways it was the most appropriate way to find out.

I have been part of the Apple camp since my Dad brought home our Apple II. I learned how to deal with PCs and programming but my computer of choice has been created by Apple. My Apple laptop (or the luggable as we called it) still works. My iMac still works. I have a number of older Apple products and they all still work. Maybe a little slower but they function as computers.

Steve Jobs, rather than given customers what they said they wanted, gave the customer what they really wanted and needed. Sure there were some total misses but if his hits verses misses was broken down in baseball stats, he would hold the computer batting title many times over.

I don’t think that iTunes would exist without Steve Jobs. He convinced the music labels and then other forms of media that they could sell their music on an exclusive system that would have safety measures that hadn’t been in place since the advent of Napster. And then there is the new words he put in our vocabulary like App. Sure it is short of Application but hey the phrase “there’s an app for that” is part of our language.

Then there is Pixar. The idea of computer animation had been kicking around for years but Steve Jobs put his money where his mouth was and supported the founders of Pixar. Now we have both computer animation and CGI effects that can be traced to Steve Jobs’ belief in the power of the computer to entertain.

He was a visionary which a word that is bandied about a lot but really does apply to him and his work. Kind of the Jim Henson for the electronic set. And, like Jim, his private life was private. He had his public face and his private face. This included his fight with cancer. I think we all figured out that something had happened when he stepped down a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think that many knew how short a time he had left.

So rest in peace Mr. Jobs and thank you for all that you did and allowed others to do.

“Your time is limited. Don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

–Steve Jobs

I am grateful for the work that Steve Jobs did.

On another note, Shana has two days to raise the rest of the funds for her and her husband’s dream. Even if you can’t provide money, please help by boosting the signal so that others know about it. We keep hearing about social media being the way to get the word around. I really want this to be one of the stories told.

The url is
http://www.ulule.com/5pointstheatre/

And I thank you for your help.

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Posted By Kathleen David on October 5, 2011

This one is probably going to read a lot like RTBTCKI but a little more random and with lists.

Kind of a brain dump so I can get my mind onto the next thing I need to think about

Before New York Comic Con

1) Fix poor Lockheed. The little guy got pretty beat-up. I need to replace a horn and a broken tooth, sew the wire back into the wings, re-rig the head, and check all finger and toenails to see if any need to be replaces.

2) Fix the X-men First Class jacket. I am not going to wear the pants this time around I think but the jacket after being worn has shown where I need to repair and re-enforce it. Also one of the sleeves is fubared and I need to take the cuff all the way off and sort out what the heck happened

3)Figure out what I am bringing with me this year to Peter’s table.

4)Finish up one more doll and maybe start another to show the process to people who are interested in that sort of thing.

So I have about a week and a half to do that

Finish the DVD project

I got so far on that one and then other things took priority so I need to buckle down and get it done.

I also want to create something where we can have a list of what we have so that we don’t duplicate DVDs. We are pretty good about it over all but we also have some holes in the collections that we need to fill before the DVDs go out of production.

Restore Peter’s Office
We still have a couple of things out of place from the Hurricane and it is also giving us a chance to figure out where things are and where they need to go.

We have art we found that we need to figure out what we are going to do with it.

The Book Cull
We need to go through the shelves and get rid of things that we don’t need anymore.

DragonCon Art Show 2012
Yes, I am really thinking about this NOW and let’s see what I can get done in a year

Caroline’s Halloween Costume
She has decided to be Cheshire from Young Justice. Most of the costume is pretty straight forward except the mask which I have to bring from 2-D to 3-D. The sculpt is going to take a bit of time but it is going to look great. I just have to break the rest of the outfit down

Halloween Decorations
Need to go up and I need to do my annual fall yard work so I can put the decorations up.

So that’s what I need to do between now and November with a couple of long term projects in the mix.

November is going to be all about writing.

I am grateful for friends who help with reference for projects.

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Posted By Kathleen David on October 4, 2011

When I was a youngster my parents would take me around to museums and show me art. I am very grateful that they did that. It must not have been easy to take four children through an art museum. I still go to the Met and turn a corner and remember when I turned that same corner at a very young kid. I go to art museums and see gallery exhibits because of the love of art that was instilled in me by my parents. I do the same with Caroline.

They played classical musical for me and took me to see Peter and the Wolf. There were certain pieces that I would have them play over and over for me. They took me to see the Nutcracker and gave me my love for ballet.

My school would take the kids to see a play at the Alliance Children’s Theater once a year. That was a very big deal to us. I saw lots of children’s classics translated into about an hour. Later I watched my friends perform an incredible version of the Tales of Edger Alan Poe that probably had some kids wetting their seats. They used various basic illusions to create some seriously scary parts. They knew they were doing well depending on how high-pitched the screams were.

Art Class and I didn’t get along too well when it came to drawing but I enjoyed just about everything else. Once in High School I took every graphic arts and photography class they had and ended up with independent study in photography my senior year. I loved photography and I still do.

Caroline has an art class once a week with an art teacher. She really enjoys drawing and crafty stuff. What she learns now will influence what she keeps up with as an adult. She loves her music teacher and has a good singing voice. Her father and I try to continue her education in the arts through visits to museums, music, and other experiences like talking to artists that make a living drawing.

I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach each time I read about another school district that has gotten rid of the arts and music because they don’t contribute to ‘the test’. What is lost is incalculable. The arts teach kids how to think outside the box and find solutions to problems that might not be the ones that we would think of.

The Arts are important and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Shana has 4 days to raise about 50,000 to see her artistic dream come true. And you can help by spreading the word far and wide so she has a chance.

The web site to her dream is
http://www.ulule.com/5pointstheatre/

And yes, I am in the cooking is an art form camp.

I am grateful for the arts and all that I have learned.

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Posted By Kathleen David on October 3, 2011

We are at the end of the 6th season of New Who. We get a Christmas episode and then it looks like nothing until Christmas 2012 and onto 2013 which is the 50th anniversary for the program. 50 years is a long time for a TV program to survive but I think Doctor Who has done more than survive, it has thrived.

Over all not a bad ending. I didn’t see one of the elements coming but more on that in the spoilers section.

Acting was solid all the way around. The casting director got it right as always.

I am fine with the ending and leaving things where they are with all the toys pretty much neatly back in the toy box. I have a few issues with how we got to putting all the toys back and restoring balance to the universe.

Also this is the BBC, which has one of the best make-up departments in the world. What is the problem with Matt Smith’s face that they have to put such a rubbish beard on it? Took me right out of the scene. I know he was suppose to look unkempt but there is a difference.

The rest of this is going to be behind the cut. The whole season is in play so here there be spoilers.

I am grateful that the BBC has already declared that there will be a 50th anniversary episode.

(more…)

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