No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on March 4, 2010

My father read me Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the looking glass. I was fascinated by the poem the Jabberwocky and it was probably one of the first longer poems I learned by heart. (The last one I learned word or word was TS Elliot’s The Wasteland in college). I loved the Tenniel illustrations of the work. The fine line work fascinated me to no end. We were fortunate to have a copy of the Annotated Alice so I would read the story and the footnotes as I went. I have since then read through versions illustrated by other artists but the one that still rings true for me is the Tenniel version probably because it was my first.

I know I saw the 1972 Great Performances version with Kate and Richard Burton because there are images from that which are stuck in my head to this day. We got a copy and I re-watched it and remembered seeing it. I will never forget the Muppet Show Version with their take on Jabberwocky which was quite a puppet. I didn’t see the Disney animated version until much later where I had formed by ideas of the piece and I could see that this was a mishmash of the two books along with some other colorful ideas tossed in for good measure.

When I heard that Tim Burton was going to be making a version of Alice with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helen Bohnam Carter as the Red Queen, I said of course he is. Bits and pieces were leaked here and there. Disney has been doing a full court press on this one. As I have been learning things I have found out that it is not the original story but a sequel of sorts. Crispin Glover looks hawt with an eyepatch and a scar. Tim Burton really don’t seem capable of filming Helen Bohnam Carter without doing something to hide her beauty. This is the biggest 3-D roll out of any film so far. And a lot of other things most of which are spoilers so I am going to avoid talking about them and ask that you refrain from same. When/if I do a review, please feel free to talk about those there.

The movie I most wanted to see this year was The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus which I have and now eagerly await the DVD release (April 27th 2010). But Walt Disney presents Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland would have been if they had released Parnassus last year like they were suppose to. (Sherlock Holmes is out March 30th 2010 just for your information.)

I am going to go into this film knowing that it is a good cast (which Burton does quite well) and it’s Tim Burton so there is going to be a certain sensibility to the film that is not going to be everyone’s cuppa. However Mr. Burton has yet to fail to amuse me, so I have great hope for this. Besides I can always sit down with Caroline and our copy of the annotated Alice and read it to her.

I am grateful that Dark Shadows is still on Mr. Depp’s and Mr. Burton’s plate.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 3, 2010

Yep, we awoke this morning to big ol’ fluffy flakes falling from the sky and coating grass and untreated surfaces with yet another layer of the white stuff. Eventually it is going to turn to rain and then to snow again. Peter did a pretty silly parody of the current Old Spice commercial using rain/snow ending with “I’m on a drift”. To which I whistled the Old Spice theme.

I am getting Caroline ready to go off to school and it is interesting to see how much has changed in a short year. Last year she needed help getting her tights and leggings into place but this year she prefers to do it herself and she does it quite well. She has a routine in place and moves from point A to point B and by 8:50 she is ready to go to the bus. She can watch the clock and figure out where she needs to be in her routine be ready in time.

OK now the snow has gone to a very nasty snow/sleet/rain combination. I bundled Caroline up against the elements and gave her sneakers to change into when she gets to school. I flashed back to my mom doing the same thing for me when we lived in Boston.

Our plans for the day are not happening. There is just too much weather strangeness going on. So I think I am going to run a few errands this morning but stick close to the homestead. Or just stay in because it is vicious out there and doing some stuff around the house, still vacillating between the two.

If someone owns a website or a social networking site, that person or company gets to determine what will and will not be allowed on the site. I know it sounds strange but even though we have the global neighborhood of the Internet, each site is more like a business or one’s own house and private property. So when someone or the company decides that they are changing the rules because they don’t like something on their property, it is their call to make. Most of us are just visiting that site. We don’t’ “live” there and have to live with the legal implications of what is on the site. I just wish that more denizens of the web would realize this rather that shout first amendment at things that have nothing to do with the first amendment which doesn’t apply to the law in other countries. Peter has a pretty open door policy about his website. I can only think of a couple of instances where we had to shut something down and one where the webmaster came up with a clever way of dealing with someone who just won’t follow the rules.

Also if someone is the creator/owner of say a Yahoo group, then they have the final say in what the group is about. Trying to change (or forget yet again) the rules to suit your own needs is just not cricket. And honestly, I think she is being way too polite. If I were moderating, you would be one of the few people that I would have punted to the curb about two months ago. Everyone else has learned how to work within the structure, I am sorry that you haven’t.

I am so very grateful for all the people on the Internet who get the need to follow the rules.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 2, 2010

Even though we can be highly dysfunctional but we have such a great moderator that those sorts of things go away very quickly.

Today one of the grand masters of puppetry asked a very interesting question about secret sharing. Where do you draw the line at your trade secrets? Do you teach others the clever way that you do something or hold it close to the vest?

Back in the day when I was first trying to figure out how puppets go together, I had to use interlibrary loan to get books on the topic and a lot of the books were missing the juicy details about how something went together. I was told by an older puppeteer that it was close to impossible to get how the trick was done or how a puppet was made out of other puppeteers. They had learned the hard way so you had to also.

A lot of what I learned was by trial and error with a lot of errors along the way. It got easier for me to learn things when I got a job at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Part of it I think had to do with I had to know how the puppet went together before I could repair it correctly. Also there was an unwritten rule that if you worked a load-in or load-out at the museum, you could play with the puppets as long as the puppet wasn’t too old/fragile or the creator or the creator’s estate specifically said that they didn’t want anyone poking around their special puppets, which didn’t happen often but it was a hard and fast rule when it was invoked.

Since then it has gotten much easier to get information. There are more puppeteers that are willing to share what they know. Part of it has to do with the Internet. We can talk to a wider group of puppeteers with a wide scope of knowledge. Also there are many more pictures to look at where you can figure out how something was done. If I have a question, there are boards and groups that I can throw the question out there and get at least a couple of answers within 48 hours which is just wonderful.

Now as to where I draw the line, if someone teaches me something and asks me to keep it to myself. I try to remember to ask if I can teach others or if this is something that I need to hang onto. That’s my line.

So if you have any puppet questions, ask away. I am more than willing to share unless I have been told not to.

I am grateful for some good news in my inbox that I can talk about later once the embargo has been lifted.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 1, 2010

Yesterday we went to Ariel’s college to see her sing in the various choirs she is a part of. It was a very nice concert. Caroline enjoyed the percussion pieces, the lion sleep tonight, and anything her sister was in. Ariel did well.

Afterwards we went to eat at a less local mall and ended up at the Black Bear Saloon during the third period of the US vs. Canada hockey game so we saw the last 20 minutes of the game and the overtime. It was amazing that the US tied it up but that didn’t dilute the Canadian teams momentum in the OT.

Next week Ariel comes home for one of her breaks. Which means we will all be able to see Alice in Wonder…..Excuse me Disney presents Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland or DpTBAiW in Internet speak all together. Disney has been doing a big push on this one. The merchandizing department went into overdrive on this one. Most of the ads are aimed at adults and young adults not children and, given the subject material, is probably a good move.

It also means she will be home during Oscar week. Last year I did a break down of the various categories and tried to explain the difference between some of the awards. I might or might not do that again this year. I got some good responses last year.

Today is about laundry and part of a project for the school that I need to get a start on. They are doing a puppet Alice in Wonderland and I volunteered to help with the bodies. Today I plan to make a couple of Mad Hatters, Alices, and maybe a Cheshire Cat or two. Then I have a couple of March Hares and Doormice to go.

I might have to go out for a few materials before this is all said and done.

I am grateful that we had such a nice day with Ariel yesterday.

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Posted By Kathleen David on February 28, 2010

Two beautiful things at the same time.

I cleared out the way to the run off drain both in the backyard and on the street to allow for the melted snow or, as we call it, water to drain properly. Our driveway and sidewalk are clear and dry. Overall the impact of the storm was Friday morning and it was a big impact at the time, now it is just kind of pretty. I know that things are worse west of the city and that we were lucky that we just caught the edge of the storm.

Today we are off to Ariel’s college concert. We have a few things to do before that but that will be the bulk of the day.

Today’s New York Times magazine has a fascinating article on depression and some possible reasons that it is so prevalent in society today. I highly recommend it with the usual warnings that it might be trigger something so if this topic is not something you care to read about, I would avoid it. However it does bring some interesting ideas to the table. Here is the link to Depression’s Upside. Do feel free to discuss it in comments.

I am sure that most of you has heard about either Andrew Koenig or Alexander McQueen or Michael Blosil (Maria Osmond’s son). All three were treated off and on for depression and all three committed the ultimate act and killed themselves leaving their family and friends with a lot of questions. My sympathies are with all the family and friends of these men.

I understand that pit of despair that people can find themselves in. I have said before that I have suffered from depression in the past and even tried to kill myself. I was fortunate that I didn’t succeed as much as I wanted to at the time. Because I didn’t, I can sit here and watch my little girl play with her dragons and have an adventure unfold in front of me. Because I didn’t, I have been able to do things and make friends with people that I admired for years. Because I didn’t, I was able to help other people with problems so they didn’t try to do what I tried. Because I didn’t, I can be here for my husband.

Depression is more that not being able to cheer up. We all have sad times in our lives because that is part of life. But there are times that it does become too much and one can find themselves in a very deep pit with, what seems, no way out. And that is dangerous over time. It does affect those around you. It does affect your “quality of life” (I do sooo hate that phrase but it is one of the current buzz phrases so I use it). Sometimes it works itself out and sometimes one needs help to see the upside to things before the downside is all that they see.

Considering all that has happened recently, including some stuff that is rather personal, I have decided to be more open about my depression and my suicide attempts in hopes that my speaking out that in the long term it does get better and you never know what around the next corner will help others to get to that corner and not take themselves off the gameboard.

So read the article and let’s have some discussion here about it. The usual rules of politeness and civility will be in place.

I am grateful that I didn’t succeed in my plans to end my life.

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