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...

The Ferdinand Effect

Can Ferdinand be considered a fairy tale?  If so, he's always been an iconic hero from my earliest memories.  I haven't analyzed this too thoroughly, but I truly love the idea of  defying the chaos and demands of the world simply by doing what you love best.  It's so epiphanic...it's genius.  And it's been the driving force behind so much of my life...I simply invoke the Ferdinand principle whenever I am feeling pressured by the various demands in my life, be they career, financial, what have you...of course, this will explain my lack of ambition and hence my pathetic earning potential, but I've been able to smell an awful lot of flowers over the years, some more aromatic, let's say, than others.

Other fairy tales I've liked for their imagery are Hansel and Gretel.  Who doesn't love finding your favorite candy in BFE?  Seriously, though, the imagery the story evokes is so amazing.  It's totally a sensory experience and I love that.  And Gretel is so very crafty, a virtual survivalist.

I also like Little Red Riding Hood, but she gets eaten in the end, as does Goldilocks...or at least neither of them are very good role models, just setters of bad examples for kids who might misbehave or make poor choices...

I'll come up with a better list and add it to the comments.  While I was reading your post below, I thought of a story line something like this: protagonist in 80s SF goes there to find love, maybe finds heartache instead, but because of that or in spite of it, she finds what she loves to do.  Vague, I know, but it's a character who metamorphoses from a caterpillar to a butterfly via a trainwreck.  OK, I'll stop here for now...the plot thickens or at least emulsifies and hopefully doesn't curdle.

Johnny (or Janey) Quest

Hey, I got your postcard. That's cool cut-out action! How do you do what you do so well? Do you have one of those circle-cutting Exacto knives? I could never control mine too well. I'll post a photo today.

I like your fairy tale in SF idea. The 80s are kind of fading from my memory—I was so young then. A teenager. Good age for a fairy tale though--starting out in life, maturing into an adult. Except the twist is I found a ton of adults who were not mature at all and were seemingly clinging to their feckless youth with everything they had.

Would it be funny to make the protagonist(s) already mature and wise (if raw and naive at first)? And everyone else completely out of their minds? Kind of like Through the Looking Glass, but semi-reality-based on SF.

What are your favorite fairy tales? When I was a kid, I always changed the adventurer-type characters into girls in my mind. I pictured a princess leaving a palace, dressing up in guy clothes with her trusty bow and arrow, and heading out to slay some dragons and such. I held onto this idea for a long time throughout my later childhood. I just didn't like traditional girl roles in stories. Still don't. There's attempts now to make girls more active in fairy tale movies and I wonder if little girls are relating to that. I bet some are.

Well, I'm rambling again. I guess if you're thinking fairy tale--the quest is kind of the epic goal the hero must accomplish. The quest in SF during the 80s was to survive on next to nothing while pursuing "art." Did anyone we know achieve this? Now it's impossible in that city because of the cost of living. The economy won! The artists must move to Oakland. And now that's becoming too expensive for many (rents are crazy-high). It's an ongoing quest in California. I hear Milwaukee has an active artist community. It's probably pretty affordable.

If the quest is to find true love, then this fairy tale would fail miserably, at least for a younger character in the 80s. I knew people who shacked up with each other then but none of them lasted. I think I better think about this further. Coming-of-age script where no one comes of age, finds maturity, true love or artistic freedom. Would the happy ending be the protagonist moving back to San Leandro or something? What a downer! Ha.

Fairy Tales

I just read over your last comments below and still haven't quite gotten to process all of it.  It's so packed with ideas and insights and commentary.  Unfortunately, as I've gotten older, ok, matured, I've gotten quite slow and basically now plod through this life, needing hours or days to accomplish what most can do in minutes.  My current theory on this is to blame the inundation that is contemporary daily life but that could just be an excuse for my obtusity, if that's a word.

Let's see...I am reading The Book of Lost Things.   He has a way of weaving a sentence together that makes you want to keep going to see what will happen next.  It's a scary fairy tale.  The story drags you in and make you feel as though you are also between sleep and reality and  if only you'd open your eyes, you'd be back home again...or at least that's where I suspect it is going...but I'm not there yet.  Thanks for the recommendation.  I don't read a lot of fiction.

How do you feel about fairy tales?  Do you think they have a place in 80s SF?  I see a lot of faded colors and bad hair.  Maybe a warehouse party or two.  I'm thinking about sending you a list of some of my most vivid memories of that time.  The ones that have a little shimmering edge to them, for lack of a better way to describe what I remember and how it exists in my mind's eye.  This all sounds so stupid when it's written down...hmmmm. 

OK, reality has arrived in the form of a mumbling 11 year old who is now doing curls on the couch and reading his favorite author: Jim Davis.  I must finish up...by mentioning...I just sent out a small item that, upon reflection should reveal its destination.  If not reflection, then it requires a little back lighting...if it doesn't arrive, I can post some pictures of it.  The post person seemed a bit doubtful...this language thing can be so clunky in the hands of a bumbler like me...anyways, I hope you get it soon!  :)

PS: I read both of the Bridge books and both were very readable, very good.  It's been a few years, maybe I'll read them again.  I've never seen the movies...I'll check netflix...we might have them at the library.  Speaking of the library, I just bought the Ben Taylor book (I buy all the 700s (the arts) for the collection (my favorite part of my job) and just put a hold on it as it's not in yet.

Big Wheel

The little big wheel rolled in on Monday and had me laughing from the second I saw it.

It's retro in every way:

1. spirograph
2. that painty spinning wheel thing that I can't remember the name of
3. hippies!
4. Laughing Cow, I presume :)

 I must quote from the contents (three hippies (four if you count their dog), and two spirographs):

On the back of the spirographs:
"...J and his friend C helped make this box and the only thing I could think to fill it was: Hippies.  A box full of hippies for you.  Growing up in Cali, a hippie sighting was like bird-watching and very satisfying..."

The Hippies:

"We will not eat processed, genetically altered food. Locally grown and organic ONLY. Amen.

 "I have modeled my entire life after Jerry.  I carry on his legacy."

"I will grow up to be an investment banker!"

(this has to be an homage to "I'm used to be a heroin addict, now I'm a methadone addict".? )

"Woof!  Woof!  I have a tick on my thigh! Woof! Woof!"

(another homage to: "My name is Rags.  Woof!  Woof!"?)

I feel like I know these people.   I won't mention any names but some of my best friends are hippies!    Some are born hippies, some become hippies. And in 2012, some buy their hippieness at Target and wear it on casual Fridays.  

*   *   *

I read the Eudora Welty short story.  Thanks for the handy link!  It was really atmospheric and transported me from the couch to a place I'd never been before, and it also reminded me of some of the fly specky towns we'd just driven through on our trip.   Sometimes this town reminds me of the smallness of that town...where you can't even go out into your own yard without bumping into twenty people you know and probably don't want to see.  Most of them being hippies and all!

I never had a thing for Woody Allen, just the movies.  I must've been very influenced by Annie Hall.  She was so non-commital.  It was a very useful attitude in so many ways: "oh, I'm not into addiction...it's too much of a commitment", that sort of thing.  I don't remember celebrities I had crushes on, do you?  I must have...but this memory of mine is not very memorable.  Jeff Bridges was always interesting, especially in The Last Picture Show.  If I were a little kid these days and had to pick a celebrity, I don't know that any are really that intriguing.  I never went in for those guy bands but then again, they didn't really exist in the 70s/80s, did they?  Does David Cassidy count? 

I haven't been reading much lately.  I'm working my way through a partially annoying graphic novel, "Friends with Boys".  I don't know where it's going but it's kind of boring.  Then, for work, I'm going to try to get into Negima, a manga series.  I tend to like non-fiction more than fiction.   I wish I liked fiction more.  What have you been reading?  If you have any title suggestions, I'd love to try them.  

Do you want me to look into doing a display of our mail art here?  Or if you'd like to, you can ask to use one of the display cases at your local public library.  Let me know what you think.  

Well, my aunt and cousin are visiting for the next three weeks which will make it challenging for me to work on much...I will try, but please bear with me.  I will get something out to you...

PS: yes, I would love to get together in SF at the maritime museum and musee mechanique (my favorite place even in its new incarnation)...let's try for September?

PPS: do you want to knock around some ideas for a screenplay?  Nothing very serious, just brainstorming, etc.

Ah, I see what you mean...

Ho ho! You are such a clever mail-arter! We loved this so much and especially the wee cut-out lettering. Lovely. Of course, I had to see if I could use it as a window and so I tried framing a cherry tomato in one of the circles and then framed Jackson. I could do this throughout the day, actually. It's quite entertaining. Kind of a different postcard for all occasions and locations.

I really hated to blur out the address since the lettering/numbering were a huge part of the charm. I have photos of everything intact. What a cool card. I'm still trying to figure out ways to display this stuff in the family/computer room. Mobile, I think.

I haven't seen the new Woody Allen yet. Barney? Shower? Wow. I remember having a huge crush on Woody when I was 13. I thought he was the only man in the world who would ever "understand me." Ironically, he probably would have liked me quite a bit when I was 13, if you know what I mean. *WINK*. And sorry.

I also liked Rick Moranis and Martin Short back then. I definitely had a "type." I don't think I would have been a Justin Bieber girl if I was young now. Hmm, I think I know what you mean about the lack of shower/inspiration...? The mail art helps keep me focused, but in a fun way. It's not work if you're making and receiving surprises all the time. Perhaps childhood is when we have the most surprises, since we're discovering so much all the time. It's good to have that feeling again, however you get there.

It would be fun to meet up with you and N, yes. Jackson is not a hiker. His joints/feet get achy. He loves bike riding and going to the beach though. Do you think it's too ambitious to plan an outing to Angel Island with bikes? I've always wanted to take a ferry and ride around. It's supposed to be an easy ride and incredibly scenic. If that's too crazy, we could meet up at Crab Cove in Alameda, or one of the Marin beaches, which I haven't been to in a long time. Also the little beach by Ghirardelli Square is fun because there's lots of ships, swimmers, pelicans, and the revamped Museum Mechanique nearby. These are all ideas I have for summer outings that are not too hot or dry. The ridges around Walnut Creek are great for little hikes but are really tortuous in the summer, although it's been windy and cool lately.

I have something to send to you very soon that will require a few little tweaks and a visit to the p.o. Have you ever read that short story by Eudroa Welty, "Why I Live at the P.O."? A good example of narrative voice. I just re-read "Great Gatsby" for Norm Macdonald's twitter book club. There was an argument about who was safer to be around, the poor or the rich. It was ridiculous, but I'm beginning to think that Norm is the most ridiculous person on Earth. He actually gets paid to be, so in a way, he's very lucky. Anyway, I love that book but I really hate Tom and Daisy, as Fitzgerald intended. He was an ambitious, self-hating kind of person. I love how he makes the born-of-wealth so deluded and selfish and awful. Sounds about right.

OK, I'll write more. I'm thinking about your last Flintstone's post. Keep singing, somehow. It is hard sometimes. If you can get your hands on a hammock and lie in it occasionally, I think that would help. The rocking motion is very soothing...

Already Been Said

I know this has been said several times over, but I thought I'd take this opportunity to use it as a metaphor for today's frame of mind. Not in general, just for yours truly and just today (I hope).

In an earlier post, I mentioned having discovered after seeing a youtube video of Betty Boop and Louis Armstrong (I'll Be Glad When You're Dead You Rascal You"), that it appears this bizarre cartoon inspired a short film by Woody Allen (his segment of New York Stories). I emailed his publicist asking if this were the case, and predictably, to date, have not heard back.

Then, a few days ago, after reading a review of his most recent movie, "To Rome with Love", in the New Yorker, I realized he most certainly is and most likely has been very much influenced by cartoons. I was amazed he would take such a memorable scene from the Flintstones and use it so obviously in his new film. I mean, everyone remembers that episode, don't we? Aside from every scene involving Dino, isn't the Barney shower singing episode the only one you really remember from your childhood of lousy 1970s t.v.? Anyhow, the deed is done and it's been noted by every blog in the stratosphere. What's really interesting is there are no, and I mean not one, image to be found of Barney in the shower on the internet. The clip itself isn't even on youtube. But I digress.

My metaphor is kind of sloppy but I'll muddle through regardless. Today is one of those days when I need not *a* shower but *the* hypothetical shower to do any sort of hypothetical singing. At least Barney knows he's got singing and everyone agrees he sounds good when he's singing in the shower. Today feels like singing could occur but we've got a problem with the plumbing, i.e., there's no water. I think if I knew what my personal shower was, today might be different. Do you ever feel this way? Is this listlessness? I suppose I'm filling the well, as they say. Yes, yes, another manifestation of this terrible metaphor.

How are you, by the way? I meant to write an email back to you because some of the stuff we write about is so personal, too personal for this blog. Without going into too many specifics, every time you write about J, I realize N is so much like that. They really have so much in common. If you want to correspond, or even talk more about this, we can try to get together, maybe for a hike? I can take a ride out there.

In other metaphorical news: I managed to send out an installment on Monday, before the shower went on the blink. I have other ideas lined up...these mail arts kind of force me to do something, which is good. I hope it made it through the mail here...it was kind of hard to see if you weren't paying attention, which was kind of my idea. Very transparent of me. :)