Friday, August 10, 2012

Cloudy with a chance of postcards


Stormy weather with lovely red stamp and cutouts. Once again, I have to block out some of the design elements *frown*, but I like holding this up and changing the color schemes through the clouds.

Yesterday we had our first really fiery sunset in a long time and I wondered if it was because of the Richmond oil refinery fire this week. Or just really hot weather, mixed with skittery clouds, which were probably somewhat caused by the refinery fire. Anyway, it was fiery. Our dependence on oil rears its ugly, dangerous head (again).

Fairytales: Oh, Ferdinand. Even more timely in this age of helicopter parenting and all-star little-league sports and expensive Lego engineering camps. Can you imagine Ferdinand growing up in Walnut Creek among all the type-A ("A" for ambitious) parents and their scheduled offspring? I always liked the Disney narrator in the film for saying, "He just wanted to smelllll the flowers..." Whenever I smell a flower, I can't help thinking of that.



Lol at the mother cow's voice. He knew they wouldn't pick him and he DIDN'T CARE. Ferdinand don't care about bullfighting.

Hansel and Gretal is a good one too. Of course, Gretal tricking the witch into fattening up Hansel while making her feel a chicken bone, and then getting her to enter the oven is pretty badass all around. The whole tale is crazy dark: parents dumping their kids in the woods not once, but twice. Clever kids almost getting eaten anyway. A candy house hiding a cannibal. Holy Mother of God. The "Book of Lost Things" really delves into all that darkness and then some. Hansel and Gretal taps into so many childhood fears and just barely gets them out of there in one piece.

I've always had a thing for the Snow Queen. Another kids-close-to-doom, but a world traveling romance. I read it every few years and wish it could be made into a decent movie. Looks like Disney is going to have a go at it, finally. Annoying webcaster ahead:



I just got a call from my freelance boss in Marin. Company's closing after 24 years in business and he needs a Web site update. My lazy flower-smelling days are over for a brief time. I'll send you something in the mail in the next couple of days.

The Snow Queen in San Francisco in the 80s. I know what kind of snow that would involve...

2 comments:

Dee See said...

I don't know the story of the Snow Queen. I'll have to start reading up on fairy tales. Yes, that webcaster was quite annoying...does that make me a hater who's gonna hate (reference to her t-shirt)?

Dee See said...

PS: the sketch of the Snow Queen totally reminds me of your drawings. In fact, I thought it was yours!