Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Who WRITES these kid shows?

****CAUTION: If you are easily offended skip this post!*****

I haven't watched South Park in a while, Nor have I been watching Family Guy or American Dad. These are definitely the shows where some of the things I have noticed lately would fit in. So my question is: do the writers on Sesame Street, (this time around, there have been other preschool shows as well), realize what they are putting in front of kids. Or is this one of those, let's throw a joke in the for the parents as it will go over the youngsters heads ploys? If so they are playing a very tricky game.

The instance that got to me was on Sesame Street this week and was so over the top, went into such scary places, I was surprised it was allowed to air. I also can't seem to get it out of my head. Honestly I am not a prude. I would scare most of my friends if they knew half of what went on in my perverted mind. But then again maybe that is the problem. Either way I thought I'd share since this worm won't stop crawling around my warped mind.

My friend and I were talking as his preschooler was watching said show. I was distracted by the sight of a nekkid Bert. Okay, really he was without his typical shirt and they didn't show below his waist. Bert was singing and dancing behind his bathtub. There were bubbles flying everywhere and then a chorus of other male muppets came in to sing with him. This is where the bathtub grew. I could not help myself just as my mind thought it I blurted out "Bert's in a BathHouse!" My friend turned and looked. He hurriedly covered his eyes crying out "Don't do that to me!" He was trying desparately to remove the image from his brain and not laugh. It didn't work. It also got worse from there. He admitted there was always a question since it isn't clear whether or not Bert and Ernie are brothers or just "good roommates". Then we looked at the tv again. Total mistake as now there were animals singing and dancing with all the male muppets behind the ENORMOUS bathtub. Bubbles, colored lights, singing, dancing, laser show and lots of nekkid muppets! What were we supposed to think? (Maybe if we were listening to the song it may have helped.)

This is where the 8 and 6 year old come up from the back of the house as my friend and I are chuckling and trying to keep quiet. Plus these kids are totally oblivious to us. We are not cool or important you know. In any case, they came out looked at the tv and shouted "They're naked!" They promptly ran back to the room they were first playing in and didn't come out until they were called. The point of this part of the story? I wasn't the only one that noticed these felt creatures were only wearing air. I admit the homosexual aspect as well as the beastiality angle was probably just me. Until now.

The section then ends with Bert alone in his bathroom. It was all in his imagination. Well of course it was.  And now we know just what goes on in HIS mind.

If you don't believe me go and look for yourself.
 http://www.sesamestreet.org/video_player/-/pgpv/videoplayer/0/c31c4dc4-157d-11dd-9bc7-777dea8a73e7/i_gotta_be_clean

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Here we Go!

It is now the end of 2010 and of course this makes most of us look back at the year we've just spent hoping would end quickly. Being the end of one year it also makes me in particular look forward to what is coming up.

I don't know about you all but there never seems to be a definitive end to one year and a definitive beginning to the next. For the last dozen years things just seem to blend together. The actual date only marks when things are due or when they are well and truly done. Otherwise we keep plugging away at similar if not the very same things year after year, day after day.

This may seem monotonous to some, to me it is an indication of what I've accomplished over the last couple of years. For things to continue happening it means that I have continously worked on them. I am fairly good at cutting people or activities from my life when they get too cumbersome, boring or toxic. I say fairly good because I probably give both my activities and acquiantances more chances then they deserve to get back into my good graces. Regardless, the point is that I don't have continuity due to inaction but due to a concerted effort to continue those things that I enjoy.

To this end I am now starting to at least think about my calendar. Yes, I have not followed my own advice again. I haven't plotted on an actual calendar yet. I swear I will hit the dollar store soon!

Even though I haven't written it down on paper, I can already see the weekends up until Summer filled up. And my weeknights are going to start filling quickly as well. I have to keep repeating to myself that this is all good! I have created this busy schedule nightmare with the projects I have taken on. This craziness will get the troupe the recognition we want, me the money I need to pay the bills on time and a of course a chance to for me to publish at least one of my stories.

This is the idea anyway.

Now myself and the friends I purposely have surrounding me are on to planning the next year and it's going to be a hard, fast ride! Hopefully everyone's ready and has their safety belts on. There's no slowing down this rollercoaster!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Nemesis and Chaos strike again!

I bet you all thought that Trickster Time was my nemesis. This, however, is not true. Life has had so many bumps, traps and holes for me that I believe that Nemesis and Chaos are a tag team that dog my every crossroad. I am just not sure how I should take this.

Most religious and spiritual paths believe that trials and tribulations are necessary to get us where we need to be. That these obstacles will help shape a person's spirit and personality.

Personally, I think that there may be some intent, but I also believe that Chaos just likes getting into mischief with his good buddy Nemesis.

Right now I've had a series of these 'character building' events happen. Up to and including my vehicle being out of commission. This is the most severe of all the obstacles as this is how I get to and from work as well as get errands done for the family. One of those errands is paying the bills. Another is picking up the gifts for this holiday. Not usually a procrastinator with gift buying, I did need to wait until after payday this time around. Oh! We need to add cashing that check to this list of errands. I sure am envying the snow birds and their golf carts right now.

Chaos of course not to be undone by Nemesis' sly work with the 4runner decided that the troupe performance this weekend needed more excitement. Two dancers fall ill, that was half the show, and the organizer didn't organize. With only two dancers to do a four dancer piece and then a third joining in after not even hearing the music until 2 hours before the performance we were already nervous. The addition of the set list not being with the master cd for the show AND the gal with the set list being 25 minutes late. Woo Hoo! Chaos was having a grand time. We did show Chaos that while he could mock and make it difficult he did not win completely. We went on and while we didn't knock it out of the park we performed well. And really if you think about it we had the coolest music. Christmas Carols done with drums and an Oud!

Out of this I have learned that I have at least one more friend that I can count on in times of crisis. It is also making the fire under me burn a little hotter for getting some query letters out soon. Which means I need to spend more time writing in order to have something to shop.

And this is when Time steps in for a little mischief of his own. Projects that should only take a few minutes take hours. Because, of course, Time is not working alone. Nemesis made sure that my printer ink cartridges were clogged so that Time could chuckle whilst I spent almost two hours hitting deep clean and nozzle check. After all this time was spent, Nemesis was in for a treat as the cartridges became unclogged the ink was showing close to empty. Therefore a quick print project, (the document was already previously written and saved), turned into a long waste of my time. The boys got their kicks alright.

Here I sit once again the butt of their jokes, a piece (I am never a pawn) in the game that they like to play. Where will we go next and what ultimately is the purpose?

In my opinion it is just Life's way of giving me true competition. Mortals are just too easy to overwhelm.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Creativity runs Amuck...

But then again this is a regular and natural occurence in my current circle of friends.

I told an event organizer to be careful and give my group general guidelines for a show she is planning for the spring. Hard and Fast Parameters are needed to rein in the inevitable cascade of creative juices. She laughed and unfortunately told me that this show was no holds barred. Even more unfortunately, I let this slip to the gals Wednesday night. Whoops!

Now let me explain why the lack of parameters is worrisome.

In February of last year I saw a post calling for entertainers. Dancers, tarot readers, etc. The posting stated that the organizer was looking for entertainment for a Ball to be held as part of a big event. I contacted the organizer thinking this could be fun. I didn't realize what a roller coaster this would turn out to be.

My idea was that we would either have our musician friends play for us or pick out some recorded music and we would dance. A quick set, nothing spectacular. Well, it ended up being an extremely memorable and spectacular set.

It started with the costumes. What kind of costume would be appropriate for a pop culture event? Then came the storyline. Which I might add became more and more elaborate as time went on. Plus since there were two vastly different types of costuming suggested we had to incorporate both which is how the storyline came into play. Then of course there was the fun of getting the music that we wanted/needed to put it all together. So for two months a new idea came up almost daily, (a different way to showcase some prop or our costumes) and of course there was putting together the music. We almost bought a portable blacklight and a fog machine to really utilize some of these ideas. Seriously, it got crazy with the creativity. (I was going to post snippets of Facebook posts but thought better of it. I don't want to scare anyone away!) The show ended up as a fun and memorable 20 minute set.

Currently we are in the midst of putting a 30 minute show together for WWWCon in March. This has gotten even more creatively HUGE. There are new costumes, costume changes, sets and all manner of props. Patterns are being created for the costumes, right down to our footwear. Thank goodness we have the "soundtrack" done. Did I mention this is a production?

Our troupe does not just dance, there is also THEATRE Darling.

Don't misunderstand me. The troupe CAN and does just dance to live or recorded music. We have even recently done just that at a local Fall Festival. We have a simple set coming up this weekend as well. There are some venues and performances like these where doing anything beyond dancing is inappropriate and we get that. However, when we get a little leeway or a touch of encouragement to add a little more, it becomes very apparent that "little/small/slight" is not in our performance vocabulary.

What is the point?

I began this post because we've been asked if we want to put a comedic bit together. And I let slip that the promoter said this show was no holds barred, so long as it was family friendly. My mistake. Even in the middle of major planning and working on the big show in March, there was already the inevitable..

"I have an idea!"

Within the first 12 hours. After an evening practice. Meaning that at least 6 of those hours were spent sleeping.

It is a great idea that sounds like a hysterically good time and I can't wait to work on it. But trust me on this one folks. It will only get bigger from here.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Life's Lessons... are expensive!

Trust me I know about expenses...

A conversation I had a couple of weeks ago with a friend keeps replaying in my brain. Now you all know that my mind tends to take things that are said and warp them a bit. For my own amusement of course. But this conversation just keeps nagging at me and I figure that it is because I've missed something.

I have had many jobs and career starts. Most of them, obviously, have not led me to where I thought I wanted to go. In fact in leading me down the confusing path, these jobs and career ambitions actually left me more in debt than when I started. The idea with working, especially working hard and tirelessly, is to make money and get rid of debt. At least that's what I was told. In fact I was promised that this was the truth. Maybe I should sue. Whoops! I am getting off track.

Where did this hard work and belief leave me? Much more in debt. BUT knowing a thing or two more about life and people. In learning I have succeeded. Only there just seems like there's so much more still to learn!

I was reminded that when folks say that they graduated from 'the school of hard knocks', this is what they mean: They have tried different things, got knocked around pretty hard and learned some things of value. To which I can now say I am going through this same educational process.

But wait! My mind screams out. I went to an accredited college and supposedly got some education. Granted I haven't graduated from there either. Money slowed down and life got complicated. I got knocked around pretty hard figuring out what mistakes I made in choosing a college AND being overly honest in my financial aid applications. And... Ohhhh...

Dangit! This means that the expensive college experience was ALSO part of this whole curriculum that I am still trying to get through! Here I was figuring that I was going to have a double degree at the end of all this. Blasted Life and it's ongoing lessons. I would like a syllabus please. It'd be nice to have a direction. Or wait...

Have each of these lessons been pointing me to the itemized syllabus that will move me on to the next section? Can it really be that easy? Well maybe not easy, as these lessons are hard won and dear. Maybe I should say 'simple'. Yes, simple works for me. In fact it's been my mantra for the last week and a half. Simple and direct.

Now I am off to review my lessons so far and see if I can come up with a Simple List of Directions. There has got to be at least one arrow in all this mess.


***Oh and I reiterate that Life's Lessons are expensive. If you don't believe me here's a simple exercise to see the proof. Add together the cost of a college education, living expenses, cost of dating (yes I picked some broke guys for some reason), start up and ongoing investments for 4 direct sales businesses, clothes, shoes, medical expenses, fuel, trailer landing gears, makeup, books, seminars, plane fare, pain relievers, compact discs, workshops, alcohol, printing, copying and office supplies. Just to hit the basics. ***

Monday, December 13, 2010

I had forgotten...

I had an amazingly good weekend. I think I stated that before but I do need to reiterate because there was not just one incident or gift that made the weekend what it was. In having such a good weekend I was reminded of a few things and that made me think of other things that I had forgotten.

I had forgotten that I love to sing. I don't mean along with the radio or just while puttering around type singing. I mean having to hit the right notes, remember where to breathe and also make your lungs and diaphragm support all of this, type of singing. Granted what I got to sing this past Friday was Christmas music. These are songs that I tend to shy away from due to raising my son in a pagan atmosphere. These are also the very songs that I used to sing in every choir and chorus I was a part of while growing up. Surprisingly, I still knew the words to most of them by heart. Also as surprising was that when I opened my mouth to sing my voice remembered what to do. There were notes and syllables pouring out before I could think about it and it was fabulous! This cascade of musicality was rushing forth with no serious thought or effort. To be quite honest I would have loved to continue on and on but of course all good things must come to an end. This good thing restarted later but it was midnight and my family needed to go home. *sigh*

I had also forgotten that I really dig folks with musical talent. Of course, I am surrounded by very talented folks most of the time. We have a host of fantastic percussionists and string players. Most of the time I am not just enjoying their music. I am dancing and being a part of that music. This past Friday I didn't do that, I just stood and listened to a very talented young lady who was having fun tickling the ivories and bringing Mannheim Steamroller's musical stylings to the party. This brought back memories of watching other musicians in high school and college, enjoying not just the sound of the music but the energy that surrounded them as they played. There is definitely a connection between a musician or dancer and the audience. When that connection is completely open and transmitting the experience is almost beyond words. It is transcendent. Sometimes this transcendence is mistaken for something else, hence panties being thrown on stages. But we won't go into that here. *grin*

With the list of forgottens I do need to add another more important then the two above. In fact it was something that now remembered made it possible to enjoy and remember those joys.

I had forgotten what it was like to enjoy my friends' company and participate in a gathering WITHOUT the burden of constantly watching over and/or checking on my child. What a fantastic experience. Now that my child is >this< close to 9, he has proven that he can be left alone with other children AND be trusted not to be overly stupid. (Yes I know what you think but I stand by this word choice.) He's a good kid and really takes to heart what he is told or the instructions he is given. In fact, we have to re-program him sometimes because he takes the messages more literally than they are intended. Now, I will be totally honest and say that I did look for him to check how he was doing twice. In the 5 hours that we were at this party, this would be a record for me. PLUS no one came to me to tell me he was a.) hurt, b.) crying or c.) hurting someone else. This is also a record. I can trust my kid and he's growing up knowing he is earning that trust. It's amazing!

I am sure that there is a lot more that I have forgotten over the years. I mean the stuff I forget within moments due to fibro fog is astounding in and of itself. However, now I know that I have many instances where I will enjoy remembering the things I had forgotten.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Truly Blessed and Ready for World Domination

(Warning: Some seriousness may ensue, proceed with caution)

Yesterday I mentioned that I had a couple of friends help me by keeping me from going Total Harpy on folks at an event. Today I am online AND will get to work a bit on my fiction due to a friend's help and generosity. (This laptop has a Huge screen!) I find myself repeating to myself and anyone that will listen that I am totally blessed.

Mind you, life is tough. There have been some serious ruts and bumps along the way. Don't get me started on how many times being helpful has ended up costing us. We are who we are though and changing would be worse than just taking our lumps and continuing to fight our way through.

All in all it's been worth it. Slowly but surely I have found true friends. People who have been there when Chaos strikes and Nemesis decides to have a little fun. My friends have become my fellow warriors when it's time to fight, my support group when it's time to lick my wounds and my partners in crime when it's time to let off steam and get into just a little trouble. (We haven't ended up in jail saying those four words yet.)

Even better lately, I have found myself surrounded by not only great friends but friends with similar passions and desires. We have formed a group of complementary talents. What an exciting time! So long as we continue to work well together and have fun helping each other there is nothing we won't be able to accomplish.

So I repeat that I am blessed. Good friends. Great partners. Forward momentum. Limitless Generosity. These are the things that the Brain was missing. This is why his genius plans were always foiled and why we, Oh Goddesses of Raven and Red hair, will prevail.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Progress aka Yes it CAN be Changed

For anyone that has known me for ANY length of time it comes as no surprise that I have a tendency to want to shake things up and do things differently. Experimentation is a fun and fabulous thing that can lead to more fun and fabulous things. (I promise!)

Even more than loving the process of experimenting though is the fact that I think things through (wow this goes back to the first post doesn't it?) and I want know others are thinking as well. Honestly, the two most repeated mantras you will hear around my house is "Everything can be improved" AND "The only constant is CHANGE".

Now, I do realize that change just for the sake of change can be counterproductive. I truly do have reasons and a thought process behind my ideas for change. HOWever, just because there's the slightest possibility that you may not get a good result does not mean that regardless of a good reason and valid point for a change to occur you should still keep the status quo because that's how things are.

That being said I will now get to my point and why I am ranting.

I mentioned in my last post that myself and a couple of friends coordinated an event that went pretty well with a bit of a shaky start. One of the shaky starts was being told I couldn't do something. One of the Loudest reasons I given was 'we've never done that'. I will tell you all that I walked away because I was seriously afraid I would get physical. I really rather reason and logic my way through any given obstacle, problem or argument. BUT when the logic you are being given is ridiculously void of any logic, my brain short circuits.

Yes I AM a parent that HATES the phrase "because I said so" (albeit I do realize that it can be a replacement for the answer you've given 20 times already.) I am sorry to inform everyone that I also will NOT accept "because" as an answer to ANY question. I honestly don't care what reason I am given for something, just so long as it has a small amount of thought behind it. Well, that and you actually listen to what I have to say and process it first before formulating that answer. (Yup there are always qualifiers.)

I was tea-kettle screeching steamed. I have points to make, data to back me up as well as knowledge of how things actually work and conversations no one else has had, yet none of these things matter nor will they be heard. All due to the fact that 'we've never done that'. AAARRGH! (Yup, I can throw a hissy fit with the best of 'em.)

Pause for reflection-

Everyone has been in this situation several times in their lives. I know most folks understand the frustration. Your boss has said 'no' to a brilliant idea that will make the company loads of money for hardly any investment because 'we've never done that'. Your parents say no to a creative idea you have 'because we say so'. Add to that the frustration of not actually being heard and BOOM! Insta-Harpy (must add chocolate or alcohol to return to human form.)

So the question for the day is: Since we've all been there before, why would we continue to do this to each other? (Overly logical I know, most days that is my biggest problem.)


Now back to the regularly scheduled rant -

I KNOW that I am an intelligent woman, I KNOW that I do my research and I KNOW that the reasons behind my decisions are sound and well thought out. So when my ideas/requests are dismissed without thought or a real discussion, when my logical and researched findings are stomped on without a solid base of reasoning I tend to take it a bit personally. You have just told me that I am not worth your time/brain power OR even worse you have told me that you don't think I have a brain. For of course I assume that everyone around me has and uses their brains. (Again back to that first rant.)

Thank goodness for the Red-Headed Goddess with the YUMMY ale that came to everyone's rescue, whether they were aware of it or not! Of course we must also give thanks to the Brunette Goddess that knew it was necessary. :)

OH and let's not forget the all important "I told ya so!"

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Speaking of Time

It has been way, way too long since my last post. I looked back wondering what the heck happened and why so much time flew by. That Trickster Time did it to me again! I am telling you he is in for it now!

As I take my time and start to sort out the mess my life became I realize that I do have quite a bit to share. Once again I will have a short series. Because once again I got in over my head and have now resurfaced to discover that while most of what I needed to do got accomplished, there is always much more to do.

Our local ReCreation group has an annual event whose theme is basically a Barroom Brawl. It's great family fun! I volunteered, with three of my friends, to coordinate this event. At the end I must say that I learned a lot. One of the things I learned was that I still have no clue what I am doing most of the time. Another thing I learned is that I don't effectively communicate with men anymore. It is a skill I used to have and apparently have lost. Darn the fact that I actually have fabulous female friends nowadays! I also learned that folks in general have a really difficult time with change. I mean really just because something is always done one way does NOT mean that this is a good argument against doing it another way. Seriously folks. It's called progress. However, I also learned, most importantly, that I am surrounded by some pretty awesome people.

Mind you that while trying to coordinate this event I was also trying to help a friend move, failed in that by the way, trying to put together a lesson plan for a poetry section to teach at my son's school, got sick so had to reschedule that, write up a flyer and send in a contract for the dance class I want to teach come January (so close with that one), tried to do the NaNoWriMo contest, yeah so did not even get close and of course be the Nanny and Mommy that is always my job. Wife and Animal caregiver have to fit in there as well. Oh and herald, friend, troupe performance coordinator and general information finder. Yes I am crazy, busy and can't find my own behind wi.... well anyway it's a bit mad around here. I have also had a cold or more than one that have had me unable to breathe or sleep well for the last three weeks. I forgot to take my Vitamin D. Whoops!

Looking at the list my feeling is that I succeeded in one of my projects but failed in the rest. Yes this is how we learn and what I have learned is that I took on way too much at once. What do I do about that? I can't not do the things I love and that interest me. So I need to fix this somehow.

At the moment I have convinced myself that I need to take on only two projects per week. This week is getting my contract to whom it needs to go to AND try to coordinate a date to teach that Poetry class. I have help coordinating the next Troupe Performance so that one doesn't really count. Maybe I don't need NaNo to try to do something of the scale.... maybe I can do it on my own in an off month like say..... well I will get back to you on that because I can't think of a non-busy month off the top of my head. I know there is at least one!

Now back to the Nanny gig and later the Mommy one while I try to wrangle my life into some semblance of order.