No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on May 21, 2010

The weather is just beautiful. One of those ‘glad to be alive’ kind of weather.

I have a couple of things to do but part of the day is going to be spent in the hammock finish up a book I have been reading called “Drive” by Daniel Pink. It is an interesting look at what makes us go. Why the carrot and the stick doesn’t always work and other ways to motivate us to do our best. It has given me some new ways to help Caroline be the best that she can be.

The Mets won after almost giving the game in a lovely gift wrapped package to the Nats. I swear that if they had lost that game, Jerry Manuel would be looking at the want ads today. Whatever they do, they have got to get the pitching under control. Yeah they are hitting, but everyone is hitting against them too.

This weekend is about completion and next week will be about creation. I have a couple of things I need to do to get some stuff done to cross the items on my list that need to be done before I move onto the next thing.

One of those things is laundry which, after I post this, I plan to get started on. Then I think onto the book. This afternoon we are going as a family to see Shrek forever after. It should be fun.

I am grateful that the weather is so beautiful.

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Posted By Kathleen David on May 20, 2010

Peter got back yesterday after an uneventful trip back from Montevideo. These days in air travel an uneventful trip is a good trip. It is nice to have him back home.

The yard is growing by leaps and bounds. Rather than having to mow it maybe once a week, we are mowing it every 4 days if it is not raining. Which says that the lawn is healthy and that’s not a bad thing for it to be.

Caroline is having some allergy issues with something in the air. We can control it with Benadryl but it seems to be easing since she was not coughing and sneezing this morning and not that sniffy so I didn’t give her a dose.

Ariel is back and starting to settle in. She has to deal with the large containers that she brought back from college and finding a job next but she is working on the job hunt and will be dealing with the containers today even if she doesn’t know that yet.

I almost succeeded in my goals to have done before Peter got back. Today I am going to do two things that I wanted to do and two things I need to do to be caught up on things.

Caroline and I watched the Muppet Show all day Sunday and got through a couple of disks of the first season. I did have to go look a couple of the guest stars up because I couldn’t remember who they were. I had also forgotten how much I enjoyed the Joel Grey episode, especially the interaction between Mr. Grey and the Great Gonzo.

Peter finished up his bowling league last night. It was a good thing he was there because he helped his team go up in the standings. As of Monday we will be out of league until the fall unless we join a summer group.

I am interested in the end of LOST. I have invested a lot of time over the years into the series. I want to see how the writers are going to end it and if they can let it go or if they are going to set up more questions than they answer. We already have quite a few from Tuesday’s episode.

Wasn’t Glee fun? I think Neil Patrick Harris should guest star in all shows on TV today. I bet he could pull just about anything off now. The sing-off was wonderful and he does play a jerk particularly well. People that we know in common have told me that he is a nice guy who just happens to play jerks really well.

So I guess I will start at the top of my list and work my way down until the end of the day.

I am grateful that Peter is home safely and will all his possessions (a pickpocket tried to lift his wallet but didn’t succeed).

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Posted By Kathleen David on May 18, 2010

Ok we left the Doctor in trouble with what seems to be no way out which is probably when he is at his most dangerous.

We learn a little more about River Song but, at this point, it seems that the more we learn the less we know. I’ll talk about the implications of what was said about her in the spoilers section. I do like that it seems that their interaction seems to be backwards still. Some day we will probably see their timelines collide just not this season.

Amy is put through the ringer in this one and comes out on the other end…see Spoilers for my comments on this development.

Again the acting is fine and I feel that Matt is getting a handle on his version of the Doctor. The maniac is still there but it is a little more controlled than it has been in previous episodes. Karen Gillian continues to impress me as a companion.

I really see this and “The Time of Angels” as a piece rather than two separate episodes and that didn’t bother me.

Next week we go to Venice and deal with Vampires. With any luck there will be no Edward Cullens in the mix.

I am grateful for concluding episodes that do conclude the story along with setting up new things.

Ok usual rules apply. We only can talk up to this episode. Thanks. (more…)

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Posted By Kathleen David on May 16, 2010

We lost Jim Henson. A generation has grown up never having met the man but knowing his influence in the world. A generation hasn’t had the good fortune of seeing Kermit perform live and in person with his original voice.

I can still remember where I was when I heard the news. I was in the Green Room at the Yale Rep Theater. I was deck crew for Pygmalion. Someone I didn’t trust told me first but I had it confirmed by the friend who was worried about me. I went to the deck to my station and had a really good cry. I went to the service. I gave the butterfly puppet to a little girl who was squeezing her Ernie for all it was worth. I lost the program in my move from Yale. The memorial service was a celebration of the man’s life rather than a somber remembrance.

I met Jim a couple of times. Mostly at Science Fiction conventions like World Con. The first time I met him it was because the crowd pushed him into me at the opening of the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. I found myself telling Kermit that I was OK thank you.

Jim has influenced a generation and beyond. The things he did allowed others to dream of what they could do. Everyone I have met that worked with him said that he asked a lot out of you but nothing less that what he would ask for himself. He recognized talent and potential and surrounded himself with people who had that spark of creativity with a side of slight lunacy. And he encouraged others to be creative.

My work is influenced by his. I make no bones about it. I think I would have taken up puppetry but Jim’s work sealed the deal for me. He showed me what could be done with puppets and puppetry. Labyrinth and Dark Crystal are still in my top 10 movies of all times long with the Muppet Movie.

The Muppets are a touchstone for many of us. It is something that we all have in common that we can discuss. We can talk about the films or our favorite Muppet or our favorite Muppet moment.

Now we have new videos to talk about with some of the old Muppet magical lunacy shining through. Have you seen the one that the Muppets comment on LOST?

So let us today celebrate the career of a man who did so much for so many. I plan to watch a lot of Muppet Shows today.

The toast is to Jim Henson, a man among Puppets.

I am grateful that I did get to meet Jim more than once.

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Posted By Kathleen David on May 15, 2010

I had them on Thursday when I went up to get Ariel’s stuff that needed to come back to here that was large. I am pretty sure I had them when I was in the car getting off the boat. Since I got home, I can’t find them. I can see just fine. And I can read OK but there will be no needle threading until I find them again. I am pretty sure that I had them Thursday night but that is where my brain gets a little fuzzy. That is today’s quest.

Update: Found Them!!!! They were in the Van.

Peter made his connection and should be landing anytime now.

Update: He is at the Hotel in Uruguay.

Caroline got up early and is now drawing on her dry-erase board. She did an entire comic strip in pieces yesterday with word balloons and captions. But it was Zen art. She would finish one panel then erase it to do the next one. Now she is working on a pretty complicated drawing. If I catch her before she erases it, I’ll take a picture.

I am grateful for safe and on-time airflight.

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