Peter Von Brown

Note: Notes to Note!

2012-01-25T18:31:00.001-06:00

Another great reader/fan sent along something to my attention.
My Heart in Company: The Work of J.M. Barrie & the Birth of Peter Pan
by Timothy G. Young

I ordered it just about right away. How does a compilation of Barrie's notes sound? Top drawer? Yeah, for me too. I wonder how many and which ones I'll remember... as in what and which will coincide with the notes I'd had at my disposal back in college when I composed Peter Pan's NeverWorld from his very musings. I'll surely let you know once the book comes my way. Here's a link.

As a bonus, this reader/fan (who generally goes by Z or ZZ) has a site up. A rather nice one, in fact. Yes, you guessed it. It deals with the infamous eternal boy. Please do have a gander. I especially like what she's written about Peter Pan on the home page. I just had more of a chance to poke around a little more... there are some essays that are intriguing. Must get to them - if only I didn't have to go out in a little while. Knowing me, I'll have a lot of 2 cents to throw in... Anyway, there's a good list (with pics) of Peter Pan books, both story and Barrie-biography related, like the book she sent my way. I also really love the depiction of Pan on it, too. Heavily influenced by Fox's Pan, but then, she's got a whole section about that terrific cartoon series. And if you can bet I'm a fan of a little cape for him!

So please, click on over. Oh - and thanks, ZZ, for the site, the book and having links to me!

P.S. - Buttercup hasn't shown up quite yet, so I had a chance to look through the essays. Good thoughts all around. I do have some differences of opinion, but that's all they are, for as ZZ points out, much of the world of Pan is speculative. I do have some answers to the queries posed - addressed in the seemingly-ever-upcoming (but will be worth it!) interquel of mine Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between. Not that I have the definitive truths, but rest assured they're tinkered into the 'world' with utmost care. But enough about me... go visit Fandomzz and get ZZ's thoughts too!

New Napoleon Is Dynamite!

2012-01-19T13:55:00.004-06:00

HECK YES!

After seeing it, I thought the movie Napoleon Dynamite would work as a TV series. I, for one, wanted more of these characters. But a sequel seemed beyond the limits of what could be done. What on earth would constitute a good enough plotline to sustain a film? But a series? That’s an open invitation to explore many avenues of comedy without striving or requiring it to be so big. The mundane and quirky lives of these strange people can be showcased in perfectly sized vignettes. After all, the movie had been not much more than that to begin with, right?

Someone else thought so, too, and I am glad of it. For it DOES work. Very well. And they had the excellent idea of doing it in animation.

Buttercup had been skeptical at first, but given that it’s Napoleon Dynamite and has all the original cast voicing their characters, she’d been willing to give it a try. (She’d also laughed at the ads.) She wound up cracking up just as much as me. She now whole-heartedly agrees - it’s a marvelous TV show.

I’m not sure what it is about this wacky world. Much of it doesn’t seem as if it should be funny at all. It just IS. And I’m happy to say that whatever worked in the movie is still carrying the mojo for the cartoon. Plus, there's the added bonus of having the freedom to be THAT much wackier to [moon]boot. Instead of needing Jon Heder to pilot a jet ski and daringly make a sweet jump, Napoleon and friends can now just do it. Tina the Llama can be helping Napoleon with his exercises. Aaron Ruell doesn’t have to master the Fushigi Magic Gravity Ball... but his cartoon Kip self certainly can with no trouble. To great hilarity. And I must say that it’s a sheer delight to have Grandma be around. She’s just as I pictured her in daily life. (She’d been gone most of the movie.)

Water skiing, too!

Also, the opening sequence is just right. It's funny AND shows us all the main characters in a way that's not forced. And I adore the way Napoleon runs. How did they get that calm-psycho quality of Heder into a drawing? Not sure, but I'm sure it's there.

Hooray for everyone involved. I applaud. I wipe tears of laughter from my eyes and look forward to more episodes of this SWEET show.

Viva Cartoon Dynamite!

Bio-NIT-Pic

2012-01-17T12:13:00.000-06:00

Again, folks.
Again with Jeopardy! and Barrie/Pan.
This is from a WHILE back now. As I've mentioned, I have catching up to do on this game show... and then I pulled a Pan and forgot I'd snapped photos of it to post. Silly me.

When this category appeared,

I said to Buttercup (who often watches/plays along with me)
Oh, look. Another chance for Barrie to come up.

I then lifted my arms in triumph when this 'answer' appeared.

The question/response, of course, is: Who is J.M. Barrie?

Ta-da.

I have a nitpick, though. Actually, Finding Neverland is not a biopic. At least not by my definition. If it were a true biopic, it wouldn't contain egregious liberties with real life events. Though it's a marvelous and beautiful movie and much of it is true, Finding Neverland is not accurate. It's more like a "fantasia on" the occurrences that created Peter Pan (and certainly not all of them, a la David and the skating accident for one.) Since Jeopardy! folks are sticklers for absolute correctness, you'd think they would have caught their own mistake here... or else I'm just uber-fussy when it comes to the term "biopic."

As for Barrie showing up again, I am glad of it.

No, Not 'Ralph Waldo'

2012-01-13T11:13:00.001-06:00

Reader (and fan, I believe) Lewelyn, whom I follow on Twitter, tweeted out liking this song called “Peter Pan” by Jacqueline Emerson. I decided to check it out. I’m not in love with it, but it’s nice and sweet nevertheless. It’s a good song.

Just a few comments -

First lyrics are:
Everyone's on a rocket ship
Leaving the earth ooh-oh-oh

Wow. Are they going to NeverWorld??

Another lyric is:

I am not like Peter Pan
I can't live forever in a Neverland

Why NOT? Just the other day, Buttercup said to me (in a conversation about my life & such) and in such as way as that it seemed to 'dawn' on her: You ARE Peter Pan.
I can do it, why not anyone? Or maybe there is only one, eh? ;)

Emerson (or the songwriter) seems to go on the belief that no one ages in the Neverland. As I’ve mentioned before, that is not true. It’s not NOT true, either. For more on how I think it works, it’s probably best to read about it in my upcoming interquel Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between. One of the aspects of the novel is this very dilemma.

Oh - the title of the post? Well, I had to make that joke considering Michael Pan's penchant for Thoreau, no?

Enjoy!

MORE Upon a Time

2012-01-10T11:47:00.001-06:00

Don’t you love it when a story gets better and better as it goes along? Yeah, me too.

That’s the case with Once Upon a Time. It's gotten stronger. I've since discovered that Lemonie is also a big fan. She's just invested as me. It's often shocking and always crafty.

I have to applaud this past episode. Not only did it deal with my favorite character in the show, it taught me a thing or two without me realizing it.

Rumpelstiltskin.

Before I go on, let me ask... how much do YOU know about this fairy tale entity? Probably, like me, just the basics: Little guy who spins straw into gold who gets paid dearly for his efforts, a la a first born child and only guessing his name will negate such a grisly contract.

But is that it? Surely there’s more to this character. What’s HIS story? (The familiar one with him in it is really about the girl who’s forced to produce gold from straw.) How is he even able to create a precious metal from dried grass? Where did he come from? WHO IS Rumpelstiltskin?

That’s precisely what the recent episode of the fairy tale based TV show is about: his past. Obviously not knowing much about Rumpelstiltskin, I let them present whatever they wished to about him. After all, a fairy tale is not set in stone by anyone one single author, so there’s plenty of room for creativity. And since what they provided not only gripped me like his hand on his walking stick but it fits more than properly into the world of “Fairy Tale.” It makes use of essential elements of the genre but doesn’t come across as cliché.

It’s pretty darn great when one winds up sitting and digesting for a moment or nine after the episode is over. So charmed had I been with their interpretation and backstory, I went right to the computer to look him up [after I’d “digested.”] I’d been very pleased to discover actual lore about the character had been incorporated. Once Upon a Time has built upon a basic fact of him - why he is called Rumpelstiltskin (which is the same as what his name means.) From Wikipedia:

The name Rumpelstilzchen in German means literally "little rattle stilt". (A stilt is a post or pole which provides support for a structure.) A rumpelstilt or rumpelstilz was the name of a type of goblin, also called a pophart or poppart that makes noises by rattling posts and rapping on planks. The meaning is similar to rumpelgeist ("rattle ghost") or poltergeist, a mischievous spirit that clatters and moves household objects. The ending -chen is a German diminutive and designates something as 'little' or 'dear,' depending on context.

AH, so that’s why Once Upon a Time had the character use a walking stick in this episode... and why his counterpart in “our world” of Storybrook, Mr. Gold, has a cane.

As for the rest of their version, well, they took some liberties. Then again, it is in fact true that there's not much to go on about this mysterious little guy. And what did they weave? Well, they spun gold. I’m not going to delineate (and hence spoil) the marvelous backstory as provided by the series, but suffice to say it has some excellent twists. It gives a “very fairy tale” explanation of how/why he has his supernatural powers, and again, in a not cliché manner. I also like that it left at a cliff hanger of sorts. We now know that he’s going to lose his child somehow (which helps explain why he desires another’s first born) but as of yet it hasn’t happened. But we know it will... and the tension left at the ending scene is still creeping me out.

Meanwhile, the “parallel story” in Storybrook proved just as compelling and just as delightfully inter-connected as has become par for the show.

I didn’t think it possible to make me love the uber-icky and twistedly awesome Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold more than I already did. But the writers here certainly know how to manipulate my emotions - just like the character himself.

BRAVO!

Pan "Returns" - of sorts

2012-01-09T12:40:00.003-06:00

A while back I reported on Disney’s latest venture in their version of Barrie’s magical island, Jake and the Neverland Pirates. It’s still the same [standard children's fare, a la Dora the Explorer set just off the famous island though], but here’s something new on it. Peter Pan will be making his first appearance. Up until now he’s only ever spoken of, but apparently they’ve seen fit to have him visit the lil’ adventurers.

Not surprisingly, Pan lost his shadow again and they need to help him look for it. Really? Couldn’t they have come up with something - anything - else? No, we’ve got to perpetuate the living shadow idea... sigh. Well, at least they’re consistent within themselves, eh? I hope the return of Pan is as exciting as it should be for those who enjoy the program.

Jake and the Neverland Pirates: Peter Pan Returns

airs on February 20th.

For those of you wondering about whether or not I decided to keep my character named Jake in Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between despite the usage of this preschooler show -- Anyone who might actually read my novel will figure out that the Disney Jake is not affiliated with my Jake whatsoever given the events of the story. Jake is my favorite name and I really wanted the character to have a “J” name. No other seemed to suit him. (Why “J”? It happens to be my favorite letter as well, but the real reason comes from examination of the rest of his moniker.) Besides, it will only serve to further establish the two [Barrie/Disney] as separate when they realize the two cannot be related.

Thanks to Josiecat for bringing this one to my attention!

Timeliness is Next to...?

2012-01-06T15:36:00.000-06:00

Peter came next spring cleaning; and the strange thing was that he never knew he had missed a year.

My my my... It appears that in addition to all the other ways I am akin to Peter Pan, I can chalk up the above quote to the list. Time just slips away from me! Sure, this has always been true... but it seems ever so much more prevalent than before!

I’ve been away for the Holidays, playing a truly immersive video game with my friend Gil, working on revisions to my interquel novel Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between, catching up on Jeopardy!, hanging with friends, checking up on the Annotated Peter and Wendy, seeing theatre as well as helping construct the set for Vitalist Theatre’s newest production The Ghost Is Here... all of which cause me to look up and say: WHAT?? It’s the 6th of January ALREADY? [Happy Topsy-Turvy Day everyone!]

It’s not just a cliché, people. Time DOES go faster as one gets (ahem!) older. Morgan Freeman says so! By that I mean on the great & often mind-blowing series Through the Wormhole. ‘Science’ has ‘proven’ that Time does speed up according to age and is even affected by gravity! What the --??

So AGAIN, folks, I apologize for letting so much time go by between posts! WHERE is it going? *Sigh* - it’s bittersweet that my life now incorporates the ‘messy’ Time of the Neverland/World on regular basis.

Thus, I’ll just accept the fact that my near-daily posts of days past are no longer a reality, and I hope you can as well. Besides, do you really need me ranting (positively or negatively) at you so much anyway? Perhaps selective or truly inspired posting will result in more poignancy.

That said...

for those of you waiting on the interquel - other folks have perused it. Still needs tweaking - and no, not in the sense of story. That much is set down. It’s the darned missing words, etc. that get too often glossed over, especially when one knows what it’s supposed to say... And I certainly wouldn’t want to deliver a book with such errors in it. Haven’t been many, no. But one or four are too much. And I reiterate that such glitches can easily be glossed over. Hence, more will have to lay their eyes on it. It WILL come, and it will be (boasting like Pan here) wonderful when it does.

So... whatEVER will be the next post? The ever-slipping annals of Time will tell.

Let me ask (in the interest of a new angle)... is there anything anyone WISHES me to post about?

Picture Perfect

2011-12-08T18:20:00.000-06:00

Well, all righty, then!

The "forgotten picture" does indeed fit just so in the only space available. I suppose it had been meant to be there all along.

Referring to this post.

I'm pleased.

Never Ask Why, Apparently.

2011-12-07T16:12:00.001-06:00

Well the first thing to report about SyFy's Neverland is that I don't have to hate it. But that doesn't mean there's really all that much to like, either.

If you're not aware, Neverland is the latest made for TV miniseries venture from the network to re-present a well known fantasy story. In this case, obviously, the story of Peter Pan.

WARNING: This post contains spoilers! Read at your own risk if you haven't seen it and care to do so without having bits ruined for you.

What to start with...???
I suppose I must say I am miffed at the very least that they made the Neverland a planet. We learn this right at the beginning and I sort of purposely forgot about it until the very end. That's when they referred to the fact again and made it worse in my eyes. You see, the whole adventure takes place on one big island. But at the end Peter is excited that there's a bunch of islands on this globe. HEY! That's MY creation! Yeah, okay, I am aware that it's not an exclusive thought. But NEVERtheless, it is rather irksome. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing I came up with and presented it first.

Other than that, though, I don't have any problem with it. By which I mean in terms of direct connection to Barrie. I'd been quite "worried" since it's a prequel. One that comepletely ignores the one that Barrie wrote. So.... you'd think I'd be up in arms, no? The reason I'm not is because of one word: Re-imagine. This version is meant to be a brand new spin on the whole of it. It's not, therefore, necessarily meant to be conjuncted to Barrie's tales. But that doesn't mean no negative bewonderment is involved, either. But these are minor, assuming the show really does wish to "be its own thing."

The real issues, however, are with the story itself. Sadly, it's the best of the (so far) three re-do's by SyFy. Tin Man (a.k.a. The Wonderful Wizard of OZ) had some great tweaks, bits and ideas. But ultimately it fell apart. Alice (obvioulsy Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) proved to be unwatchable. Yes, really that bad if you ask me. Neverland isn't as terrible as all that... yet it's still a half-baked mess with ingredients from just about everything other than Peter Pan. It unfortunately FEELS like a mash-up and Barrie's tale is just the backdrop for the peppering of others.

Andrea Jones (Hook & Jill) sent me this article from the New York Times. It's DEAD ON RIGHT, people. So perhaps you want to read IT before you read my extra rants. It will also save me from explaining much of what's going in this version.

I've seen many people complain about Peter's age in this show. He seems well past the six-to-twelve span of Pan. This, however, didn't bother me so much as other bits. Like the fact that he behaved nothing like Barrie's boy, unless one counts reckless bravery. At one point he became forgetful of his entire past, on account of the Tree Spirits (a.k.a. fairies) cursing him for being responsible for their home being destroyed. But he quickly regains it when the 'Lost Boys' (never referred to as such... they're just rejects from Oliver Twist here) play "La Marseillaise" on his flute.

It's more like I have a bunch of "Why in the world...?" questions. Like: Why does Tinker Bell look like an Annie Lennox to whom time has not been kind? Why do we not FLY to the Neverland? (It's a magic orb that transports what surrounds it in an explosion relative to how hard it is struck.) Why does the crocodile have extra limbs? Why are there a lot of these crocodile-pedes? Why did they make Starkey (an English school teacher turned pirate) into the Italian Cecco? Why did they add a lost boy named Fox (oh, right, I knew the answer to this right away... so they could kill one of them and not erase one of Barrie's!)? Why does Peter willingly wear a suit and tie at the end? Why is he concerned with doing the right thing all the time? Why does he never receive the name Pan [especially when the [as the show claims] 'power of a god' is given to him [flight/danger-sensing]? Why is Hook the true name of Hook? ...etc.

By the time we reach but one half hour left of a four hour show, Peter has not yet cut off Hook's hand. And so, it all feels horribly rushed at the end. It tries to be clever... having "Jimmy" say to Peter (in an effort to have him join forces with him when he steals the power of the Tree Spirits) Take my hand, Peter... And when he finally does in the manner we all know and love, it's done by accident. During a heated duel, Peter's long dagger gets in the way of a swipe by Hook and it's lopped off. Wait a minute... not on purpose? Nope. Peter doesn't even fling it to the crocodile on purpose. In fact, Peter doesn't do anything with it... it drops off into an abyss and A croc just happens by. Then Peter demands the pocket watch that he recently discovered belonged to his father (whom he never knew and Hook had killed) and Hook throws at Peter's head, it bounces off, and the croc happens to eat it, too. And then it inexplicably begins to tick loudly when it had never ticked once audibly before. What's even worse is that we don't ever get to see Hook with a hook. Nope. Though they got the correct hand chopped off, we also don't get to see the stump. What a crock! Not that I'm cheering for gore, but what a lousy break. We're also left to go on what we know of the original tale that the croc wants more of James. No chasing after him...

Oh... when Peter returns to the Neverland at the end (having used the orbs to come and go) the boys notice his shadow is missing. As if it HAD to be included, so why not tack it on to the end inexplicably? Or perhaps they intended the show to continue?

I did like the Indians. This tale knows enough to make them savages only in the eyes of others. These Indians are respectful of the Tree Fairies and act as caretakers and protectors of the Neverland.

It also used too many "pop culture misunderstanding" for my taste. For insance, that only Peter can understand Tinker Bell. Or that the Neverland is frozen in time and that no one at all ages there. Both of these are fractionally true, and ultimately not. Trust me.

And how is it that this connects to Wendy? Not that it had been supposed to, as it is a prequel, but if Peter needs the instantaneous orbs to take her doesn't that blow the whole fun part of Barrie's story?

I could go on, I suppose, but it's just not worth it.

It's a valiant effort to reinvent the beloved story. But the long and short of it is: WHY? Whatever it added to the tale didn't enhance the magic. It sort of undermined all of it.

NEVER saw a TREE like this before...

2011-12-06T11:51:00.000-06:00

YES! This is a real tree,

not a photo manipulation.

I came across this via OMG Facts

(@OMGFacts) on Twitter. Besides being rather intriguing and cool, I couldn't help but think that... ...wait for it.... ...such a tree would be on NeverWorld! It could also, for that matter, show up in the Neverland as well since there's nothing to say that it can't.

If I can find a non-gratuitous use for such a tree, I'll include it in a future tale of the adventures on the magic planet.

Here's the 'article' from quoted from OMG Facts.

The Eucalyptus Deglupta is a tall tree, otherwise known as the rainbow eucalyptus. It is found in the northern hemisphere, in places like New Britain, new guinea etc.

The tree sheds patches of its bark and exposes a fresh bright-green bark. Eventually the color and then darkens. It it will through blue, purple orange and maroon hues. The tree sheds its bark at various times throughout the year, which gives it its rainbow color.

Lost: Boy Pic

2011-12-05T11:29:00.001-06:00

For those who don't know already... a 'secret'

Oops!

Look what I found in my bin o'
Peter Pan's NeverWorld
books and postcards.

I put it in there for safekeeping during the move and only just this morning reached in for some more postcards. Forgot all about it - just like Pan himself, eh?

It's my framed picture of Michael Llewelyn Davies as Peter Pan a la Barrie.

Well, I guess I'll just have to find a place for it. Darn it. And everything fit so well before: See?

I guess he'll go under the light switch...

Publishing Cusp!

2011-12-03T19:43:00.001-06:00

You know that interquel

Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between

I've written and keep going on about?

Finally, the process of publication has begun.
Yes, that's right...

Thanks for waiting so patiently by the window all this time.
It really won't be long now.

As a small token of my appreciation, here's a peek at the back cover. I've talked about it, now it's right before your eyes. With any luck, you'll have a tangible copy in the near future.

Peter Pan & Capital Nook!

2011-11-30T14:40:00.001-06:00

Here it is, finally!

My new "set-up" for my Peter Pan stuff.

As you may have read in a previous post, I'd a major snafu when the shelf I'd designated to hold it all collapsed just as I finished. Needless to say I had to find another spot for it. Shortly after, my Labyrinth poster fell down. Hmmm, thought I. No other such mishaps occurred so I took it as a sign. I moved the Peter Pan pile to that spot. And you know what? I'm much happier with this configuration. It creates a little nook. I wouldn't have been able to achieve such an aesthetic if I'd put the posters up on a single wall. I like the whole effect.

And yes, I am aware that's Pips from Fern Gully and has nothing to do with Barrie's universe. Except, well, he is a fairy - a 'rare' male fairy to boot - and rather cool one if I remember correctly. Always liked him. That's him flying up there by the top two posters, too!

I had a scare-turned-miracle putting it up. The figure of Peter Pan (as seen in Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates) lost his cape. It frustrated me, for I'd been so diligent during the whole move. I even made sure that I had it after the shelf crashed. So I hunted. Throughout crates of paper file folders, under the refrigerator - the whole bloomin' area. Finally I accepted the fact that I'd have to make one and hoped that any of the fabric scraps I had available would fit the bill. Then, when I went to get something else, there, conspicuously and tauntingly, in the middle of the space around where I'd been searching like a fiend... the cape. Well, thank goodness.

The three books to the left of mine are the, in my current opinion, three best sources for the published Barrie universe - the Dover Publications edition of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, the script/play and The Annotated Peter Pan (The Centennial Edition) - I like having them readily accessible.

If anyone has any questions about the stuff on display, I'll be happy to answer them.

In the meantime, keep that window open... ;)

LINK to the HOOK

2011-11-28T11:00:00.001-06:00

So I've been spending the majority of my time lately in the world(s) of The Legend of ZELDA: Skyward Sword. I'll probably give a 'report' on it in the future, but I must present this material now.

If you're not already aware, there are quite a few parallels between The Legend of ZELDA and Peter Pan.

1) Both are of the Puer Mythology. (boy hero)
2) Both characters most commonly are depicted in green outfits.
3) Fairies exist (and often abound) in the ZELDA games/worlds... and in the most renowned game (Ocarina of Time) Link (hero) even has a fairy accompanying him everywhere he goes.
4) Both characters fight with swords on a regular basis
5) Also in Ocarina, Link lives among a people who look/have a stature like children and don't physically age beyond this appearance.

I bet there are other similarities I'm not thinking of, too.

But we can add one more to the list for sure. Guess who showed up in the Zelda-verse?
None other than the infamous Captain Hook!
Okay, no, not really... but it's as much true as the rest of the parallels.
Have a look for yourself... Link does indeed battle a pirate captain with a hook!

I'm almost done with Skyward Sword... a bittersweet concept, one might even say a double edged sword: To play through it, but alas, to have played through it.

Watch Once More Than Once...

2011-11-25T16:33:00.001-06:00

Once upon a time...

creators AdamHorowitz and Edward Kitsis came up with asimple but elegant premise for a new TV show, Once Upon a Time.

I had hopes for thisshow. Not necessarily high ones, butlofty enough that I wondered if it would be able to reach them. As with most things, I waited patiently forit to arrive.

After viewing the pilot,I decided it to be worthy of another gander. It didn’t blow me away, no. Butit didn’t smack of utterly lousy either. In other words, it had potential. So I gave it the chance it deserved.

Now many episodes in, I’mglad that I did. It’s shaped up quitenicely. I had wondered if such a simpleplot could be sustained to a satisfactory level without being just a gimmick,and it turns out it can be. Quite well. What is this seemingly gimmick plot?

All the fairy tales arereal (but of course) and the Evil Queen has decided to take away all the happyendings. She puts the most evil of curseson the land and the people - sending them to a horrible place: our world. The characters are all now renamed and haveforgotten their true identities and lives, living in a little town calledStorybrook. Just before the curse ‘hit’however, Snow White and her Prince Charming sent their infant daughter Emma awayvia a magic portal. Yep, Emma wound uphere...ahead of everyone else. Turns outshe grew up and gave a child up for adoption. Well, this child, a little boy named Henry, seeks her out as she is theonly one who can restore the stories in his “magical” book of fairy tales.

It’s rather clever in itswriting. The counterparts (such asQueen/Mayor) work very nicely. And thenames are terrific. Miss Blanchard, theschoolteacher... she’s Snow White. Blanca/White. A recent episode featureda maid named Ashley (sp?) and it’s learned she has two stepsisters and astepmother. Ah! Cinderella. Cinder/Ash. Well played. There are plenty of other allusions as suchand it’s a joy to hear/see them come to light.

Since it’s onDisney-owned ABC, they’ve been using the Disney names. Maleficent is mentioned, for instance, andthe dwarves have the monikers made familiar by the animated feature Snow White.

It has enough questionsthat arise - such as who each character “is” or the mysteries surrounding thegreat tome of stories that the boy Henry carries around. Where did HE get it? Whowould he be in the fairy tale land/s? Wouldhe be anyone since he’d been born outside of them? What needs to be done for Emma to restore thefairy tales?

It's also interesting to see well-known characters behave differently. Not just as their real-world counterparts but, for instance, Snow White as an outlaw thief (in the fairy tale land.) For you see, part of what makes this show work is it doesn't singularize the focus. We're treated to backstory in the fairy tale realm... which can also directly parallel events in the 'real' world. Such as Rumpelstiltskin demanding a child for his services... but now he would have to go through adoption proceedings. It's fun to see how the two worlds mirror (ha!) or collide with each other, as well as the welcome oddity of seeing White with a sword. Thus, in both realms we're given new ways of looking at old stories. And the "look" of the storybook lands is "just right."

Maybe I’m just a suckerfor fairy tales... no, that’s not it. Forit’s very easy to rework them poorly. Butthis one seems to be doing something right. A goodly amount of magic has been peppered into this show. It doesn’t exactly sparkle with it, but itshines through nevertheless.

Always on Target with Peter Pan

2011-11-22T10:22:00.000-06:00

Need a copy of Hogan's Peter Pan?

TARGET stores seem to be selling them for cheap.

Of course, the Blu-Ray is also now available. If you're wondering, no, I don't have it in this form. I've wondered just how much difference it would really make... and also the original DVD is the one with all the added material.

Just goes to show you, though, I can't ever escape Peter Pan... even when running errands!

Another Knock at the Window

2011-11-21T12:06:00.001-06:00

Well, it's happened yet again, folks.

Someone else has decided to write another novel about Peter Pan.

This time it's Always Neverland by Zoe Barton.
I haven't read it (yet?) but apparently (if one is to be absolutely technical about it) it doesn't hold water or air, in that it includes Tinker Bell and Captain Hook. Maybe there's something in the book that 'magically' resurrects these two characters, I don't know. If not, then we can add it to the pile that just ignores what Sir J.M. Barrie wrote. Sad, no?

Here's the "blurb" for it:

School has only been out for one whole day, and Ashley can already tell her vacation is going to bore her to tears. With her friends out of town and her parents working nonstop, she finds herself alone and with nothing to do—until one night she wakes up and discovers Peter Pan in her bedroom, wrestling with his shadow.

Since his original adventure with the Darlings, Peter Pan has been bringing new “Wendy girls” to Neverland to take care of the Lost Boys. But Ashley’s made of much tougher stuff than the Wendy girls before her—she’d rather befriend the mermaids or fight Captain Hook and his pirate crew. Creating new adventures for her friends, Ashley is bringing change to Neverland . . . and not everyone is happy about it.

Not that the idea isn't something ANYONE could think of... but doesn't this Ashley sound like one Amy Alexis Richards? And "wrestling with his shadow" seems to imply that it's doing that 'move on its own' trick that doesn't really exist. [Link to more misconceptions about Peter Pan in the left sidebar.]

Anyone else want to take a stab at the contents of this one before I get to it?

I have to say, though, that I kind of like the depiction of Peter Pan on the cover. The triangular shape of the leaves isn't as appealing to me, but the rest of him is great. And isn't that Disney's version of the Neverland shown? I do really enjoy how the whole design of the cover leads you toward opening the book.

JeoPANrdy, Yet Again

2011-11-20T10:29:00.001-06:00

One of my catch-ups throughout the time I'd been away from here is, yes, pseudo-sadly, episodes of Jeopardy! (Hey, at least it's educational TV, no?)

Well, turns out Buttercup is a big Jeopardy! fan as well... so she watched some with me. [I now live literally across the hall from Buttercup. No really, literally. I can see see her door when I open mine.]

So there we were, watching... and me thinking... "It's not going to happen again so soon, is it?"

A category came up:

And Buttercup and I looked at each other thinking..."It's BOUND to be there."

YEP.

First clue in the list:

So tell me: Who at Jeopardy! loves Peter Pan so much? I sure hope it's Alex Trebek!

By the way, the question/answer asked for the creator of the lands mentioned. The contestant said only "James Barrie" which had been deemed correct. It's not INcorrect, no, but it seems the sticklers of Jeopardy! judges might insist on the other name in there... or that could just be me.

I Still Exist...

2011-11-18T10:21:00.001-06:00

Yes, I am alive.

It's been a whirlwind, though. So many trips to stores... it's amazing what and how much you need that you just don't think about when you're starting up a new place. From measuring cups to papasan chairs, I've been hunting and gathering in the urban sense.

Throw in a weekend visit from my best friend Laughter and a few theatrical commitments (unrelated to the theartical Laughter, too!) as well as catching up on whatever fell by the wayside (besides this blog) and, well, Time flies like it just doesn't want to even pay attention to us. And maybe it doesn't, probably doesn't, just ask Science.

Anyway, I can't stay away much longer. And what with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword due in my hands this Sunday... jeepers, I'd better MAKE time.

My shelf o' Peter Pan has been on the backburner...again. It seems the shelving unit I wanted to use won't accommodate ALL of my Pan books (by which I do not mean copies of the books I wrote but rather books on/of/about Peter Pan) and materials. Had to reconfigure that one... and frankly, I'd been a little worn down in terms of putting stuff out and up. Took a break from all that.

I'll post a picture when I have the stuff's new 'home' all set.

New posts will be up in the days to follow, I promise, despite Zelda.

Pan Pack

2011-11-04T02:54:00.004-05:00

The move went as easily as flying to the window...
with the help of some professional movers.
Thanks guys!

Why, yes, yes I am enjoying the new place. It's the little things, such as the "guesstimate" made about the DVD towers and corner-designed shelving unit fitting snugly in a certain spot. They do.

I've gotten quite a bit done in terms of unpacking.
But something I haven't gotten around to unboxing yet (and this may shock you) is my Peter Pan related materials. That picture on the left? Yep, that's my pile of Pan. The plastic container included. There's some Peter Pan's NeverWorld paperbacks, 'obscure' hardcovers and postcards in there.

Why does it remain unopened? I must find the perfect place for it, but of course. It's really more of a display than just a shelving. Oh, not seen in the photo are my posters: a framed original LIFE Magazine spread about Disney's at its premiere (given to me by Lemonie), small [but not too small!] prints of Arthur Rackham illustrations from Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, a similar sized Hogan film poster and a frame shot of Michael Llewelyn Davies as Peter Pan (the one I used to create the shadow on the cover of PPNW)

All right...better get back to unpacking...

P.S. - Andrea Jones playfully pointed out that her novel Hook & Jill is not seen as well. 'Tis in one of those boxes, milady!

Neil Patrick HOOK??? (& Setting Sail!)

2011-11-02T09:45:00.004-05:00

So I've been busy the last few days. Today is moving day for me.

Sorry I didn't produce a special HALLOWEEN post... I truly do feel bad about it. But other obligations took precedence.

I hope these pictures make up for the lack...
Neil Patrick Harris came on Ellen's Halloween episode this year dressed as none other than Captain Hook! He's got the hand wrong, but I think we can forgo the stickler-ness for a simple lark on a holiday.

Then, on Twitter, Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) tweeted out a picture of his family. His partner and their kids certainly look great, don't they? Love the leaves. Bravo!

My next post will be from my new place...

You Mean TINK?

2011-10-25T10:29:00.000-05:00

I'd been out with Buttercup who decided to check out one of those Halloween superstores that appear during this season (well, by the end of August, sadly.)

I came across this costume and had to share.

NEVERLAND FAIRY, eh? ;)

It's just one of many "renamed" items there... such as "Rogue Pirate" for Jack Sparrow.

In other news, yes, it's true.

Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between is just about on its way to availability. The project is done (outside of any tweaks that come with/on/from the "proof.") However, I beg your forgiveness once more. As I mentioned before, I'm moving. That is happening in the VERY near future...as soon as possible. I've an apartment and such... just need to obtain it and move in... SO... once I have that all settled and a new address, I'll set the novel in motion.

Keep your window open! Pan's flying back to you very soon!

Here's THE THING

2011-10-16T15:01:00.006-05:00

You might recall I've been anticipating the new movie of The Thing. I'd been interested for another reason beyond the desire to see more of a good (cough) thing. What really attracted me is the attitude, promises and vision of the man who brought it to the screen, Matthijs van Heijningen, Jr. In a nutshell: When the time came that they wanted to remake the property, he came along saying 'Not, a remake... a prequel.' It would be the same premise, so in essence, a remake, but it would tie into the famous and beloved version by John Carpenter by showing the events of the Norwegian base that the Carpenter characters come across. And then, end as the other movie began. All done with utter respect and accuracy out of love.

I'm happy to say that Matthijs van Heijningen, Jr. delivered. Exactly what he professed to do.

Funnily enough, I longed to see how that axe would get lodged in the door. And when it finally happened, I wanted to applaud. I wouldn't have guessed that to be the scenario. Such clever use of a cherished aspect of the original film to achieve it, too. And a wee bit of a joke made out of it to boot. But so much more made me love it than inventive axe usage.

Is it a remake? Well, yes, but decidedly NO. The idea of being trapped/isolated in a harsh frozen environment and not able to trust anyone because they might be the Thing remains. So in that sense, it's the same movie over again. But other elements make it new and fresh.

For one (cough) thing, it is in fact the prequel. We're treated to finding the Thing and the joys and eventual horror that come with such a discovery. Most importantly, though, it enabled the incorporaton of a classic storyline. The monster movie! It worked very well. Since it deals with previous events, it only makes sense that the creature would run around "out in the open." After all, it's a potentinally giant contorted beastie with huge set (or sets!) of jaws with the ability to grab victims with tentacles or claws. I mean, really, who would challenge it? As you probably know from the first movie, a flamethrower is the humans' friend. Torching the hell out of the Thing happens a lot (again, in both movies.) If YOU were the Thing, you'd eventually learn that being burned up in this place is a fact of life. Thus, it would adapt. Safer to remain hidden and hide AS other beings. Don't get me wrong, it does that as well in this movie. The "could be anyone of us" theme is core. But again, the Thing tries running amok as a monster, chasing the humans through halls and such. A welcome dimension to the film/concept/story and a terrific delight.

Matching up all the visuals, both sets and items (like the burnt up twisted mass of human and monster that the Carpenter folk found) all were executed beautifully. When we entered the room that had the giant block of ice, yeah, I got the chills. And it all felt like the original film.

And when they also began to rehash (more like homage) a part of the original story/movie, namely the "test" for how to determine who the monster is... they then took it away. Something happens resulting that they are unable to proceed. But the scene remains. How? A believable alternative solution as to how to expose the monster arises. However, it again adds another dimension to the familiar tale. The new method is not foolproof. All it can say is this person might be the monster. What a great extra level of psychological torture, no?

It had been great not just to see the reason for the axe, but how other key incidents/objects in Carpenter's played out. Yet it didn't answer all the questions. I'm glad. I don't think it should. Mystery and the unknown is essential to this story. We also don't have a clear picture of what the Thing looked like when they found it. It's in ice, remember? So it's not all that easy to see. And when it escape, boy howdy!, is it quick. Quick enough to make me use the words "boy howdy!"

Reportedly this new movie would utilize the same type of special effects as the Carpenter movie. The tendency nowadays is to just CGI it. But van Heijningen, Jr. didn't want that. It had to have the same look as the original if it were to be accepted as on par and part of it. So they went with animatronics and laytex and all the old school wizardry. A little CGI, yes, but only when it couldn't be done otherwise or to "clean up" an existing effect. And it's truly, for my money, exactly that. It has the same beautiful ickiness of the original.

I also must give credit to Mary Elizabeth Winstead. I knew her as Ramona Flowers in one of my absoulte favorites Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. But she's not an elusive cute chick in this flick. She's a downright action hero. And she looked taller, to be honest. van Heijningen, Jr. had been right. Using a woman as the main character to counter balance the inmitable Kurt Russell helped seal the deal. Winstead played it with gusto. Showing the character's vulnerability but ability to rise to the occasion and take charge. Brava!

Unfortunately, Buttercup didn't like as much as me. She had trouble articulating her point of view, but she felt there were no new ideas presented. Not in the sense of newness that' I've already mentioned, but in terms of it seemed "just any old monster movie," or so is my take on what she'd meant from how she expressed herself. My response is, well, it's meant to be a backwards extension of Carpenter's film. Thus, it should have been in a "as before" kind of mode. 'Tis a shame she didn't love it, too, as Buttercup and I usually agree. But she didn't hate it. She said she isn't sorry she went. And thought the F/X were good and such.

I'm going to see it again. I texted a college friend of mine that I haven't seen in years. He's a HUGE fan of Carpenter's The Thing. He said he's been curious about it... and now I get to go with him and hope that he, too, feels the joy of its horrors.

For me, though:
All in all, a triumph. It's rare when you receive exactly what you wanted. Especially from Hollywood.

They Did THAT, too??

2011-10-14T11:59:00.001-05:00

I just have to give a so-called

Shout Out

to writers

Bonnie & Terry Turner.

I've always known I liked their work. Nay, loved. You see, I'd read their names in the credits for such TV programs as That 70's Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun & the movie Coneheads and thought to myself: Gee, they really know how to make quality coupled with laughs.

But just today I decided to put Bonnie Turner into IMDb and see what else falls under her (and his) creation.

To my utter delight (but which should have come as no surprise) I found many other favorites among their credits.

The Brady Bunch Movie, Tommy Boy (call this one a guilty pleasure if you must...it's just hilarious and very touching, deal with it!), Wayne's World (and its sequel), Whoopi (an unfortunately short-lived TV series that I adored) and but of course, Saturday Night Live.

I tip my hat to you both! Thanks for oodles of pleasure over the years. And I lovingly curse you for putting me in actual physical pain in my belly from laughing so much at Wayne's World. Know that whenever I come across Coneheads on TV I get sucked in no matter what point of the movie I find it in...and watch to the end.

Looking forward to more from this couple!

TIME for a GREAT IDEA

2011-10-12T00:01:00.002-05:00

I laughed out loud when I read the description of this upcoming movie. Loud and LONG. Think "Evil Villian Laugh" but on a happy, amused level instead.

And no, I don't mean laughing AT the concept. I mean a sheer boisterous joy and appreciation.

It's currently called Time Zones... and the idea is rather simple but compelling. AND - it's an ORIGINAL idea in this sea of reboots and remakes.

Imgaine if the world were divided into Time Zones...it already IS you say? No no... as in fractures in space and time so that one geographical area might be 1750 France, whereas another section is China in 300 B.C. and yet another is the future - New York 2065. What a great and twisted idea. Of course, it has a plot of a man's race against time to change the past and save the life of his wife. He can use the Time Zones to do so, it would seem, but it becomes a race against time within a race against time.

It's being written by Marc Guggenheim and is being produced by Disney.

I'll be keeping an eye on this one! It's definitely up my alley.

The Second Centennial!

2011-10-11T10:07:00.003-05:00

Today marks the

Second Centennial of Peter Pan!

2nd?? Say what now?

Yes, it's true.

October 11, 1911

is the publication date of Peter and Wendy, which is, of course, the novel form of the tale of the flying boy and his adventures with the Darlings.

If you're wondering, the first Centennial had been December 27, 2004. The play first opened on that date (1904).

Can you BELIEVE it? 100+ of Peter Pan!

I also received my copy of the new annotated "Peter Pan" (published under that title, as it is so often.)

It's a great book. Lots of excellent pictures ranging from Barrie photos, his other works to other illustrations of the characters to movie pictures.

And guess what... for those of you who are interested in it [and I know some of you are!] this book does include Barrie's screenplay. Yep, the movie treatment by none other than the man himself written for the silent movie. It had not been used, sadly. But it's still here for us to enjoy. Prior to this publication it had been obscure to say the least. Being as obsessed as I am, I naturally had a copy already. And in fact, I have used quite a bit from it in both Peter Pan's NeverWorld and Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between (although much more so in the latter.)

So reaffirm your believe in fairies today, okay?

Another PANiverse Worth Crowing About...

2011-10-08T14:14:00.019-05:00

Allow me to direct you to an online comic/graphic novel that deals with everyone’s favorite eternal boy. It’s written and drawn by none other than Jesse Rowden (a.k.a. Musapan), the young lady whose Peter Pan Guild interviewed me once upon a time. (Link on the left.) I have to say I’m enjoying it.

Jesse is an avid Pan fan herself. She, too, gets quite irked when the storyline and facts are carelessly altered. In other words, she’s a purist. However, I have to admit that I don’t fully agree with the timeline and such as she’s laid it out. But then, she also assures me that she has her reasoning. For instance, her tale takes place now, in the 21st Century, and Tinker Bell is still around. Apparently Jesse concocted a great backstory as to how she is alive again... but we’ve yet to find out what it is. She also has a different timeframe in terms of when and how long Peter Pan remained an infant in Kensington Gardens before going to the Neverland. (You’re probably aware that my upcoming interquel Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between deals with this very subject.)

I, of course, am not the end-all be-all of the Pan universe... but I'm the only one in print who stays accurate as best as possible to Barrie.* But this aspect may also very well apply to Jesse's tale as well. Since I remain in the dark on some it, I can’t really pass full judgement. Yet I am confident that she’s taking her work very seriously and wouldn’t want to compromise any part of Barrie’s tale. Perhaps she has another lens that applies just as well. It does, however, make it incongruous with my own Pan tales.

Even so, another way of looking at it is that her tale is in pictorial form, whereas mine is in written. Thus, in that sense, hers is entirely different to begin with and she seems to have a handle on her version of the Pan universe. Each of us are, in theory, consistent within our own works and Barrie in our two mediums.

At any rate, the art is delightful. Cheery, slick and sophisticated all at once. Her panels and each "reveal" are well accomplished. She’s got Peter Pan’s personality down, too. I particularly like the “game” he proposes (yet again!) and to be honest, I wish I’d thought of it myself. Brava, Jesse!

The 'comic' is still in development, as in she’s plunking away at it admist this thing called Life and every so often another fresh panel of fun appears. A little suspense never hurts, so it’s actually a grand way to experience it.

Please go and check out another tale of the Neverland, Adventurous Soul, and the magic that is Rowden’s art!

Adventurous Soul (links at bottom of pages to bring you to the next...)

* Hook & Jill by Andrea Jones can be considered to do so as well, but hers had been intended to veer off course from the original story... while remaining true to the themes, characters and mythologies of Barrie.

MOVING Right Along...

2011-10-07T12:41:00.002-05:00

All righty...

Looks like I have the Dedication and Acknowledgements composed. In the end, I wound deciding to keep it short and sweet instead of a long winded ramble. Which, as you might already have guessed, is typical of me. At least when speaking. I've got someone looking at it for me and I'll be sure to re-visit it myself in a bit. But it's all coming together. Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between is oh-so-near!

In terms of explaining my absences, suffice to say that part of the upheaval of which I've been mentioning is a move. Yes, I'll be changing my residence soon. I'll still be in Chicago, though. But I'm in no hurry. Moving is always so stressful! I don't have a set schedule of when I need to be 'out' so I'm taking it leisurely. It works out nicely, as I'm intermixing the "going through my stuff" alongside going out socially with Buttercup, Josiecat, Clara & Banky and Gil. Not to mention working on the book! I also had a great weekened with my best friend Laughter. Oh - I wound up sick for a while (hospital visit required!) but I'm fine now, nothing to worry about...

I hope to be more attentive once all the packing and such are done... and then unpacked in my new place.

“It’s all very well to say you are waiting; so am I waiting.”

2011-09-30T13:51:00.001-05:00

(From a production of Waiting for Godot)

Once again I apologize for being absent from posting lately. The upheaval of which I spoke in an earlier post is, in fact, still in progess. Dealing with the ramifications of it in addition to the regular aspects of my life doesn't leave as much room to go ranting on the internet.

But it doesn't mean I haven't been productive.

The back cover to Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between has been finalized, and comes as such at having been tweaked yet again since I'd thought it done before. As it says in Peter Pan's NeverWorld: Wisdom knows finished from done.

The Foreword has also been composed and recomposed and revised and overhauled and... well, you get the idea. It's also now in its final form. I've been having a go at the Acknowledgements page. Turns out it's difficult finding a sincere balance to convey the level of gratitude and deeds without sounding overly sappy. Don't worry, I'll get it down on paper. Other than the 'technical info about the book' page, we're drawing very close to bringing the novel to you all.

Thanks for being so patient. I hope you understand my adherence to getting it "just right" before you see it.

In other news, I heard from two of the characters in What If It's a Trick Question? the other night at Buttercup's place. And you know what they finally told me? How to defeat the "big bad" in the sequel. I have to tell you, I've been wondering about it! And now I know. And it's pretty clever of them.

I also find myself thinking of Thom and Carabas a bit more than usual. Of course, it's largely due to Josiecat often bringing up Thom and his story. She loves him so!

Then there's the generating of new angles and tidbits for my "ghost story" on the backburner.

I've nary a clue as to which of these will wind up being my next all-consuming project once the Peter Pan interquel is available... but I'm sure I'll have a good time doing it!

*Title of post is a quote from Peter and Wendy

OBJECTive Inspiration

2011-09-23T17:16:00.000-05:00

I'll admit it... the other night I'd been watching parts of P.J. Hogan's Peter Pan movie. Some bits are just so beautifully done.

And while watching, I had a cool idea for a subsequent book of tales from the NeverWorld. Which is great, but I'm in no short supply. This one, however, seems like more than just a tidbit. It has the potential to be very grand. I haven't fully formed it but I can see how it would branch out and grow into something wonderful.

My favorite part of this idea is that the notion for it comes directly from Barrie. (That's my favorite kind of inspiration when it comes to writing about Peter Pan!) I began to wonder whatever happened to a certain object in the story... and that's when the spark ignited. Needless to say, I know what became of it. At least in my subsequent timeline of Barrie's world. And like I said, I know it will turn into a powerful thing in the tale... I'm just not sure all that it entails or why it would be important or why the characters would need it... but then, that's where stories begin... with just the seeds.

I'll let it sit for now... as I don't have any immediate plans of returning to NeverWorld. So it will have plenty of time to develop.

If you're dying to know what the object is... there are some hints in this post. But otherwise I'll just say you would have think Wendy would have always kept it safe... And I'll just bet she did. But that's not to say something couldn't have happened to it down the line...

Talking Tink...

2011-09-20T16:39:00.003-05:00

Assuming her alive at the time you found her, would you be able to carry on a conversation with Tinker Bell? I’m guessing you’re inclined to say “no” because she speaks in the sound of little tinkling bells. No doubt your rationale for this comes from the passage:

“You don’t hear her, do you?” and they both listened.

“The only sound I hear,” said Wendy, “is like a tinkle of bells.”

“Well, that’s Tink, that’s the fairy language. I think I hear her too.”

Some of you might be so inclined as to believe you cannot understand the fairy language. Hearing it the first time, really how could you? Would you be able to understand Swahili when it first entered your ear? (I’ll venture to guess no.) And there’s rationale for this from the book as well:

“Tink,” said Peter amiably, “this lady says she wishes you were her fairy.”

Tinker Bell answered insolently.

“What does she say, Peter?”

He had to translate.

And then: What she said in her lovely tinkle Wendy could not of course understand...

So there we have, right? Only Peter Pan can understand Tinker Bell...

Now hold on a moment! Don’t go zipping to conclusions. Here’s a bit of text regarding the Lost Boys:

“Hullo, Tink,” cried the wondering boys.
Tink’s reply rang out: “Peter wants you to shoot the Wendy.”
It was not in their nature to question when Peter ordered. “Let us do what Peter wishes!” cried the simple boys.

A-ha! So the boys make sense of her bell-voice, too. Before you go arguing that the boys are wont to say such a thing anyway as they are devoted to Peter’s wishes, surely you don’t forget they actually do shoot Wendy down, just as Tink says Peter commands. Obviously it’s not just a regurgitation of an ingrained desire (to obey Pan’s wishes.)

So why is it that the Boys can comprehend her as well as Pan? Perhaps it’s because they’re in the Neverland and therefore just do? No, that’s not it. Good guess, though. Perhaps they’re magical like Peter himself? Oh no, that can’t be it. They’re just not. Well, then, why?

For the answer, we’ll have to (but of course) look to Barrie’s words again:

“You silly ass!” cried Tinker Bell in a passion.

She had said it so often that Wendy needed no translation.
“I almost agree with her,” Wendy snapped.

When does this occur in the story? Just about the time Wendy is trying to get Peter to declare his real feelings for her. When “playing house” needs to be much more real for her than it seems in the Home Under the Ground. Okay, but how about a more concrete image story-wise? Surely. It’s after Pan rescues Tiger Lily. Unlike a play or movie version of the story which must have a rapidity to the adventures the children have on the island, we know that a they’re there for a long time, so the saving of the Redskin princess wouldn’t have been toward the beginning of their trip.

And so we arrive at the simple answer. If you’ve been around Tink for quite some time, would you understand her then? Yep.

It seems that the fairy language is something that humans can pick up on, if they have enough exposure to it. Which certainly explains why the Lost Boys have no trouble. For who knows how long they’ve each been on the island? But we can bet it’s been a while.

Knowing that I’d need the first girl to visit NeverWorld to be able understand Denny (Peter Pan’s ‘new’ fairy) right away in my book, I had to make sure I included a passage about how this could be so.

Of course, Amy could not be described as a normal child, for she understood the fairy language perfectly. She had heard it so many times while passing through Kensington Gardens and in the twilight of slumber that she knew it quite well. Thus, she did not need a translator to converse with the fairy who just spoke to her.

Another easy solution. You see, I happen to know (of course I would) a little about the backstory of Miss Amy Alexis Richards. In the relevant nutshell, she’s been hunting for fairies and Peter Pan since age five, and does so with more conviction than most summon up [for anything] their whole lives. It took her a while to finally track down the Darlings’ house, but that’s another story and I digress...

At any rate, talking to Tink is no great feat. It’s just a matter of paying attention and prolonged exposure. Not unlike any other language, oui?

So why is it that there’s the misconception that only Pan can talk to Miss Bell? That when (erroneously) Captain Hook speaks with her in cahoots, she must pantomime to help get her point across? [Thank you, Disney. (Said with an eye roll.)] Why is it that she rarely talks in the few movies of the tale? Do we really have an aversion to hearing her speak? Possibly so, since many protested her being heard in the Disney films about her... and the script drafts of it bounced back and forth as to whether or not she had a “voice.” (Yes, certainly it also had to do with maintaining the Disney animated feature as well.) And yes, I know a certain actress played Tink and spoke freely in a certain movie named for the priate captain, but I so very pretend that movie doesn't exist.

It baffles me, then, why P.J. Hogan preserved the “silent” pantomiming Tinker Bell as well. Although I do recall learning in the ‘extras’ on the DVD that Hogan (and all) had been entranced by Ludivine Sagnier's facial expressions and clowning as such without words. But as cute as they may have been, I’d preferred they left the marvelous expressionism as such to Peter Pan, for as I’ve said before, no one makes faces like Jeremy Sumpter!

I’ll tell you... if I’m ever responsible for the mini-series version that rattles around in my head, the way I’d handle Tink’s speech is as follows: She’s just heard as the jangling at first. But throughout the show, each time she speaks, a whisper of actual words will gradually become louder, almost imperceptible until it’s clear as a well, bell. Naturally the tinkling sound will always accompany her, but it will be softened and weaker.

So there you have it.

Tinker Bell talks. Why else would she have lines with quotes around them in the book?

To Error By Era...

2011-09-15T16:00:00.000-05:00

I talk a lot about the wonderfully wacky and wow-ing 21st Century. We’re able to get guided directions, find out that name of an actor we can’t remember with a few touches of a finger, receive emails, shop, check the weather and a whole host of other sundry tasks all in the palm of a hand. And that’s just smartphones! Surely I needn’t go on about the other technology marvels that may as well be fiction!

But I’ve often wondered what it’s done TO our fiction. Certain elements common to all sorts of tales are now not going to fly. Once upon a time if a character wound up in unfamiliar territory, it meant “lost” and the panic would ensue. How to rectify the situation? Ask that kindly old man who turns out to be a sexual harassment creep? Break out the map (if one is even along!) but have no street lights to read it by? Keep walking and hope for a cab? The possibilities are endless. And yet many of them are cut short because nowadays, said character could just look up how to get back home on the “phone,” a device that does nearly everything other than be a telephone. Oh sure, there are ways around it for authors to thwart the character. The batteries are dead. The device itself got lost two days ago. Or...

I’m not saying that technology had ruined fiction, just that it’s given us storytellers more on the plate to have to contend with and thus makes it not so easy to create havoc and tension in the events of a story without having to cover other bases.

Go back even further, to beyond when a cellular phone had just been that and that only, a telephone. No texting, no pictures, no maps, no Angry Birds (no I don’t play)... Even then, there’d been a huge dynamic shift from something like Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. If they’d been able simply to CALL Marion Crane on her cell phone in the car, it would have turned out much differently. Yes, yes, it’s probable that she’d not answer or what have you, but any way it’s sliced, there’s a huge change in how the whole situation is perceived.

And that, then, affects how and WHEN authors craft a story. It makes me think of my own “epic” novel What If It’s a Trick Question? One day my #1 fan Anon wrote to me and told me exactly what year the book takes place. I’d been surprised. It didn’t have a specific year so much as an era. Jeremy, the main character, has a cell phone. Okay, sure. He plays video games... yet it’s before the Wii and motion-control gameplay. I could bring in other examples, but you get the idea. There are certain elements that can or cannot be in the story, also to the extent of his station in life (and what could be afforded and such.) It had been quite easy to figure out, since I essentially aimed at the time period during which I wrote it.

I didn’t have to worry about this time overlaps the particulars for quite some time, you see? Until Anon goes and figures out all the math accordingly (from story data) and also from the calendar. [The book takes place over the course of a month, each chapter is the subsequent day.] Anon located which year the dates matched up to the book and told me WHEN it happened. Interesting, no? Given that the world of the book is a fictional version of Chicago, it didn’t matter to me so much when the calendar aligned... I’d aligned it with the events/circumstances of the book. Again, it had been a time frame. If it hadn’t been meant to be a real city, did it have the same cycles of days as us?

That's the rub of writing what (at the time) is contemporary - advances render the book into a bygone era. But that’s the essence of this post. Things we now take for granted must factor into new storytelling. Why can’t she just use her cell phone? Did they record it in HD? Why is he using TAPES? Don’t they have security cameras placed at the top of the lampposts or something that would show the killer? Well, once upon a time all these didn’t apply.

Just one more way in which authors need to keep up with the times -- and it can be argued that such techno newness is ruining the options in a good book. What would Agatha Christie do with DNA matching?! From another angle, though, it opens up a lot more, too... always a trade off, Isuppose. For when writing in a past era you've got to REMEMBER (or research) what could/couldn't be done and what did/didn't exist.

We’ve got a lot more to contend with and control and make up excuses for (if you’ll pardon the expression) as to how it all went down in our stories.

Dino Pan?

2011-09-13T12:03:00.000-05:00

Er....

oooo00000kaaAAY....

What on earth?

(And be sure to notice Robinson Crusoe the Lost Jedi Knight)

Taking a bit of liberty, aren't they?

I doubt it's "contiguous" with Barrie's stories, so I suppose it's harmless fun.

It does get me to thinking, though... Dinosaur Island could very well be a location on NeverWorld. After all, it's a planet of mostly islands and kids dream of dinosaurs all the time, no?

I've Got It Covered?

2011-09-08T10:42:00.004-05:00

I believe I have the back cover of Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between, the interquel in the life of the eternal boy.

I said before that I had an idea for it which my best friend Laughter suggested. It would have been great and even felt reminiscent of a location in the book. Sadly, though, I couldn’t find anything worthy. No, that’s not me being high and lofty. Let me explain... So you’re not in the dark, Laughter’s proposal had been a Banyan Tree. Mind you, he thought I could use such a tree for one of the illustrations. But no such luck. Those that arose didn’t require one. So I decided it could be on the back cover, as you know.

Well, first there’s getting a image that I liked and could use. I had a few. All right, so... the real problem had been that no matter how I positioned one of these trees on a rectangular cover, it only looked like a pile of, well, dung. You couldn’t see the glory of the mysterious trees. Just a twisted mass of browns and not at all appealing. So I changed direction entirely. (Note: These are but examples, not the photos I tried.)

The task of composing a back cover blurb felt daunting... until I realized that “less is more.” So I thus decided it shall have naught (in terms of words) but the tagline I came up with many moons ago. It’s here on the blog if you want to hunt for it!

I narrowed down my photos, discovered which one looked best rectangularly without losing the essence or best parts of the photograph and started fiddling. I tinkered with it on and on... until I... well, I guess you can say inspiration struck. I tried it out. Voila. Just what the cover needed! Or at least I think so... I’ll give you a hint: It’s a callback.

I’m going to pass it along to a few people and see what kind of reception it has.

First up is my buddy Laughter. Not entirely sure who will see it next, but it’s a good bet I’ll ask for opinions of fellow Barrie-borrower Andrea Jones (author of Hook & Jill) and Pan-fanatic Anon.*
.
In the meantime, I’ll be doing the other Foreword and such...

*Barrie enthusiast and my faithful reader and #1 fan

Interquel & Interview

2011-09-02T10:19:00.002-05:00

Hi.

My apologies for being absent again. Suffice to say that a large chunk of my life had been (is) in upheaval and dealing with that took precedence.

However, that whole time I have not neglected Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between. I'm happy to report that all the revsions are done (as far as I know!) and all the illustrations and chapter adornments [a little drawing above each chapter title] are now on the pages! I really like the chapter pics and I've already mentioned how much others have liked the illustrations. Now I just have to settle on a back cover pic and write the Foreword, Acknowledgements and such.... and I'll try to get it done as soon as I can. I'm as eager as you probably are to see this interquel come to light.

Also,

I've been interviewed by L. Carroll [how GREAT is that for a name!] on her blog Lor Mandela, for the Authorpalooza. Be sure to go read about me...no, I'm not like Peter Pan a bit. ;) There's also a chance to win a free signed copy of Peter Pan's NeverWorld, too! Interview link

Until again...

Who's Asking About the Past?

2011-08-25T13:56:00.000-05:00

Just because it isn't in the story as shown doesn't mean it didn't happen.

By that I mean storytellers need to know the backgrounds and histories of their characters even if those parts of their past are not told in the tale at hand.

As an example, in the movie Back to the Future (and its two great sequels), a high school boy is friends with a crazy (no no, crazy is too harsh... eccentric? wiley? frazzled?) scientist with a doctorate who specializes in wacky inventions and has a Rube Goldberg Machine to feed his dog.

The fact that they are friends is pivotal to the story... and when the movie begins, Marty is entering the Doc's (he calls him Doc) "lab"/garage. Thus, from the start, they have an established relationship. There's no denying they're good friends. Even so far as the Doc telling Marty to meet him in the parking lot of the mall at 1:15 in the morning and Marty does it without question! We're to accept their friendship and go on with the adventure.

However, fans have always wondered... how does this unlikely pairing exist? Why does a teenage boy (who has aspirations of being a rock star and problems at home [like so many of them out there]) with a girlfriend choose to spend his time with a (ahem) strange Doc of weird science? Likewise, why does a white-haired scientist who's been [seemingly] unsuccessfully creating things since at least the 1950's such as a mind-reading helmet (which looks more like an Erector set dome with hair curlers) want to have an angsty kid hanging around? Oh sure, plenty of answers can exist. And the speculations ran rampant. Everyone had their own idea of this duo's dynamic beginnings. But what's the truth? Which one is correct? IS one of them correct?

It turns out yes, there is a definitive answer. Why? Because the truth is that director/writer Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale, as well as the actors and others involved with creating the film had their own version of the origins of the friendship between Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown. Why? Because as storytellers, they needed to know. It would affect how the characters reacted, hence the actor's performances. And it had to all come across as believable. Which it did... I don't think anyone ever called "foul" on their friendship, just a "Hmmm...what's the deal?" It didn't present it self as problematic. Rather it became intriguing.

How do we know there's a definite tale of how they met and became friends? Not so long ago in the media news, we were treated to the insight by Robert Zemeckis himself. You can read it here if you're curious.

My point, then, is that a story exceeds the boundaries of the medium in which it is told. Just because a piece of the characters' or situation's history is not revealed in the book, the author(s) must have an idea of what it had been. It's not possible to create a successful tale and not know the backstories. For knowledge of it will shape how the bits that ARE shown play out. It helps to have the intesity of the emotions and situations bolstered by the past.

Think of your own relationships. Are they not affected by what had been forged long ago? If we were to tell an adventure from your life as a book, would it not behoove us to feel the fervor of what had been to better understand the events and kinships that exist during said adventure? Of course.

Then again, it's not always important to actually know in the storytelling. After all, we're telling specific events. The audience can easily be bored by every detail of the past. In the case of Back to the Future, for instance, we don't need to waste precious movie time with the events that Zemeckis described as the start of their friendship. They're not part of the tale being told. Imagine if it the film showed that scene. We'd then have to show the progression, the build of how they came to care about each other... and thus it would take "forever" to get to what the movie is really about. But again, these previous moments in time shine through in the background, for as I said, no one questions their being pals.

So it's up to an author to realize what information is pertinent to the story at hand. But it's also up to the author to know what's pertinent behind the scenes, even if no one wants to or needs to know. Yet if you do it right, they will want to know. Any writer who cannot tell you about the extraneous bits of their story isn't doing the job. That's not to say that every single bit of minutia of has to be known, but by golly, if asked, the answer should come springing forth. And if it doesn't, don't fear, the characters know... just ask them.

Da DA Da...DONE!

2011-08-23T13:15:00.002-05:00

The illustrations are done!

Finished circa two in the morning, all the pictures of scenes from chapters in my interquel Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between are now complete. The final one, showing a scene lifted from an obscure and unused part of Barrie's tales of Pan, turned out well also. How wonderful that this little known Pan moment is brought to (still) life!

There didn't wind up being any more extra pictures beyond the original two extra, but hey... a picture for each chapter and then some is nothing to sneeze at... come to think of it, what IS to sneeze at??? At any rate, there are 14 chapters and thus, 16 pictures.

What's left to do? Well, I think I'd like a peppering of tiny images at the chapter headings. No worries though in terms of it taking too long. They certainly won't require any elaborate concocting like the story illustrations. Just simple adornments.

Don't hate me, but I also need to write and insert stuff that goes in the beginning of the book such as the Foreword, Acknowledgements page, Contents, etc. Oh - and the back cover picture (but I now know what that will be - thanks to a suggestion from my buddy Laughter!) After those are done (and some re-re-proofing all around) it will be on its way to availability.

PETER PAN is excited... are you?

For any and all who are anxious to read this "missing history" of Peter Pan - thanks for bearing with me through the process and for being patient.

SO... anyone want an a sneak peak at an illustration until then?

Penultimate Complete!

2011-08-21T01:27:00.001-05:00

One more!

Yep, that's right. There's just one more illustration to create for Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between, the interquel novel of the eternal boy's "missing" adventure.

The penultimate pic, like the others, turned out well. I'd been working on it while Laughter had been here and he gave me some input. In fact, he liked all the pictures. He's just as charmed as everyone else. His words of praise still ring in my ears. Hosah.

I do know what the final picture will be... at least in what it will depict. It is, however, different from what I had planned. But after another read of the chapter, something leapt out at me that would be not only fun to make but poignant. Besides being a pivotal moment for Peter Pan in the story, this scene is taken directly from Barrie himself and incorporated into the novel. A curious (but merry!) event which had been intended for his treatment onto the silver screen. I'm rather fond of the notion that this creation of his is given a shot after all...(since 'his' movie never got made.)

And there you have it... ever closer to the pages being in your hands, dear readers.

Keep your window open!

UN-fairy Exposure

2011-08-18T15:24:00.002-05:00

I'll be the first person to tell you that you should believe in fairies.

Even if I weren't obsessed with Peter Pan, I'd still tell you to do so.

Yes, I believe in fairies.

But here's a guy who is, it would seem, either making a mockery of the belief or trying to profit from it or both. Jose Maldonado, a 22-year-old bricklayer in Guadalajara claims to have a real fairy. He says: I was picking guavas and I saw a twinkling. I thought it was a firefly. I picked it up and felt that it was moving; when I looked at it I knew that it was a fairy godmother.

It died, so he put it in some formaldehyde. Now he "allows" people to take a gander at it for a fee. Seriously?

Just look at it. Like I said, I'm all for the belief, but you've got to be pretty hard up to want to see a fairy to give any sort of credence to THIS sad little piece of plastic. What a horrid way to make a few bits of cash.

Saw it twinkling, eh? Can anyone say "Glimmer of plastic coupled with working out in the sun too long"? Good! I knew you could!

Came out some time later, here's the proof
that Jose is being over-taxed
mentally and physically

Please, don't let this taint your own belief in the wee folk who populate the world... but if you want more info, the article is here.

Laughter Reigns

2011-08-12T08:00:00.010-05:00

My Blog Profile - bigger!

Just a note to let you know
that I'll likely not be posting from now
until at least through
next Friday.

My best friend Laughter

is coming back in town tonight! Hooray!

He'll be staying with us...

and I get to have a mini-vacation "playing"

(in a Barriesque way) with him.

(If you're wondering, he's in town to see a few concerts...

no, I'm not attending them.)

It could so happen that I do post,

but I thought I should give fair warning

and reason as to my hiatus.

Until again....

Three Cheers for Lumley!

2011-08-11T14:58:00.002-05:00

A long while back I reported that Moat Brae house in Dumfires with a garden where J.M. Barrie had been living (which helped inspired the Neverland for the story of Peter Pan) had been in danger.

Fortunately, the wonderful Joanna Lumley (probably best known here in the United States as the cranky and delightfully wicked best friend Patsy Stone on Absolutely Fabulous) has taken it upon herself to make sure that the historic house is saved!

She’s been successful, thank goodness.

And as it turns out, she just put up a statue of Peter Pan to boot.

I’m so very pleased with her efforts, thank you, Ms. Lumley, ever so much.

But why does the (otherwise impressive single-trunk carving) look like the Disney version? Darn it. It's such a shame that Disney has such a hold on the perception.

Oh well. It’s a marvelous, generous and wonderful gesture to preserve the site - and that’s what counts!

More Info

Peter Pan and Macy's

2011-08-10T14:25:00.003-05:00

So last night Buttercup and I watched this week's episode of Teen Wolf. She's my watching partner. I don't view it until we can get together in front of my big screen. For the record, still love the show. Even this far into the season (only one episode left as of now) scenes from (or references to) the movie source material manifest in amusing ways. Bravo to all.

But the real point of this post is a commercial that aired quite a few times. I caught it even in fast-forward. But then, with the big glowing word 'Wendy' on the screen how could I miss it?

Apparently Macy's (yes, the store) has a forthcoming series called Wendy. And you guessed right - it's a take on the famous Barrie tale. Here, Peter Pan is called Pete. It's updated, you see. Am I enraged? No, of course not. Why? As I've said before, I applaud reinterpretatons or reimaginings. Take a spin on this amazing story. It's only when it's meant to be contiguous to Barrie and fails that irks me. Anyway, it looks like fun. Kind of a Melrose Place meets Peter Pan.

I'd not been able to find much of it on the ol' interwebs. But looking again I found all the answers posted by some nice person named Lauren on 'Yahoo! Answers' here.

Essentially it's a web series showcasing their lines loosely based on the "timeless story" (as it says.) Macy's paired with Alloy Entertainment. It premieres September 25th.

Putting the THUNDER Back in the 80's CATS

2011-08-08T13:10:00.002-05:00

Well, I’m happy to be able to report that yet another “reboot” has been totally worth it. Cartoon Network has released a new version of the 80’s cartoon Thundercats. And it’s to purr about.

I liked the original show, but I wouldn’t say I’d been a true fan of it. But that doesn’t affect my opinion of how well it compares. For both Bart and Buttercup, who would count themselves among those enthralled with it, also really like this new take on it.

For one thing, the animation is superior. But that’s really no difficult task.

What I like best about the new Thundercats is that it begins further back in time. Nutshell: A handful of surviving Thundercats (including the heir to the throne) are forced to leave their planet of Thundera, only to be pursued and thwarted by the “villains” of other anthropomorphic animals as well as a mysterious and freaky mummy-like character named Mumm-Ra who wants the “Eye of Thundera” which is embedded in the Hero’s sword.

The first go around, we only briefly saw their home planet and knew virtually nothing about their ways, customs and culture. To be honest, this is one of the reasons it never really shined for me. I wanted that backstory to be able to care about the characters.

The second go at it, we (as I said) begin much earlier in the tale. Thus, providing a richer understanding. We even now see Lion-O’s (the Hero) father, the king. But in terms of making them more understood beyond cat-humans, this cartoon series has done something rather interesting. The Thundercats are not exactly the great beings we once thought them to be. It’s their kind (cats) that oppress the other animal-beings...hoarding the resources and enslaving them. They’re the bad guys in this one! Of course, Lion-O does not like this once he discovers the truth and speaks out against his father. Nothing really new here, as this is the same plot as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis from 1927. But it works rather well.

Another reason the original seemed a bit flat to me is that the “villains” (animal-based humans and Mumm-Ra) seemed arbitrary. They just were there, and hated the Thundercats, wanting that sword’s “eye.” Now there might be something I’m forgetting which helped explain them beyond “bad guys.” But even if it did, it had obviously not been memorable. Here, though, it’s different. We see that Mumm-Ra is an ancient evil once thwarted by the Thundercats and that the Eye belongs to him - once again painting the ‘cats to be not so stellar on their morals. I’ve already mentioned their abuse of the other creatures. There’s more to it than all this, fortunately, but I’m not going to bore you with it.

They’re also so much more cat-like than they were the first time, which only makes sense (and had bothered me before as well.) They’ve taken some liberties, such as making Tigra and Lion-O brothers, changing up relationships and such... but hey, it’s a reboot. It’s not supposed to be exactly the same. So far the changes are welcomed. The character design is such that they’re easily recognizable as their 80’s counterparts but they’re more sleek and tweaked just enough to be “new.” Oh - they also gave the Thundercats - get this - THUNDER & lightning to use! Cool.

Snarf 2011

80's Snarf

They even managed to keep the most annoying character, Snarf (annoying in voice [always saying 'Snarf Snarf'] and intrusiveness), and tone him down to something not so damned irritating. (Reboot Snarf doesn't talk [as of yet that I've seen] beyond a version of his trademark 'snarf' but it doesn't sound the same. The difference, for instance, between a cat's actual meow and our saying "meow.")

And so, because this version cares much more deeply about the story it would seem [even to the point of trying to make sense of one of the more ridiculous bits in the original: The Ro-Bear Berbils [cyborg bears with tufts of fur from their metal] by having a glimpse of them as a relic from a time of technology now thought to be mere myth, proven wrong when Mumm-Ra awakes and joins forces with the others who have been developing this mythical weaponry ever since...] ANYWAY, I’m liking it very much - mostly due to the bonus of actual storytelling this time!

Wendy? Word.

2011-08-05T11:43:00.003-05:00

My best friend Laughter and I have been playing Words with Friends on our phones lately. We now have three games going at once. It's rather fun... and if you can't figure it out from the picture, it's really a knock-off of Scrabble. It's one of those games that I've always liked but no one ever really wants to sit down and play. Now, on the go, it's in the palm of our hands.

I bet you've already read the tiles at the bottom there. Yeah, sure, I rearranged the letters to spell Wendy, but I didn't alter the letters which had been allotted to me.

Is the omniverse conspiring corroboratively with me? I'll just go ahead and believe so, for it makes me happier.

Scrabble/Words with Friends isn't merely fun. It's a way to keep one on one's toes in terms of words and vocabulary. Maybe not to a high degree, but the tumbling around of tiles into words definitely has some beneficial affects on getting creativity flowing. I also enjoy the words that it won't accept, as in the ones I make up and wish were real so I could utilize that Triple Word Score space. In the game, such words are not allowed, but in the hands of an author it can indeed be brought into existence and defined.

On another note, I get a kick out of the words Laughter and I placed on the board. I began it with "insane," he placed "ram" and, logically, then, I put down "reboot." One could arrange those words into saying Hollywood likes to RAM an INSANE REBOOT down our throats every so often, like the new Spider-Man movie, but don't get me started. Besides, I'm done with superheroes anyway, remember?

Okay, back to happier thoughts. So glad Wendy appeared in my life in such a wordful and wonderful way.

PAN Pan (as in *Almost All Pan)

2011-08-04T14:32:00.004-05:00

Wouldn't it be great if you could have

the pertinent Pan texts of Barrie in one single volume?

Why yes, yes it would.

And now you can!

It's edited by Anne Hiebert Alton and from Broadview Press.

Actually there seems to be one text not accounted for... Barrie's screenplay. But other than that, you couldn't ask for a better compilation - including the original 3-Act play (as opposed to the expanded full-length.)

You can find out more about it or order it here.

Go ahead and see all the goodies in it!

I have to give credit to Anon*, who sent me an email about this one. As life gets more complex (with more and more to "check" and do) it becomes harder to be on top of all that's happening with the eternal boy, so I'm quite grateful that a fairy or two is whispering to others to whisper to me. Thanks, Anon!

I'll be picking this one up... and any Pan Fan worth thy salt will do so as well!

*Barrie enthusiast and my faithful reader and #1 fan

A Wacky Wendy Tale

2011-08-02T13:10:00.000-05:00

Just found out about this a minute or two ago from Twitter.

An author named Barbara Silkstone is using the story of Peter Pan as a springboard. However, it is not in the sense of a continuation to Barrie’s narratives, so it doesn’t raise a flag from me, the purist.

She’s using Barrie in a parody fashion, and it’s the second in a series of “Fractured Fairy Tales.” The first tackled Alice, from Wonderland/Looking-Glass fame, The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland, Age 42 and Three-Quarters

The one using the famous young mother of Barrie is called Wendy and the Lost Boys and here’s the description on Amazon:

When a deathbed promise to one of her agents leaves Wendy Darlin, feisty Miami real estate broker for billionaires, trapped on a super-yacht with Ponzi-king, Charlie Hook, she’s forced to join him on a quest to recover his hidden treasure. Along for the danger-filled adventure are an undercover SEC Investigator, who kindles a spark in Wendy with his ‘Johnny Depp’ eyes and Hook’s young female helicopter pilot who befriends Wendy as they sail the high seas, one step ahead of modern day ruthless pirates. A laugh out loud whodunit… kidnapping, revenge, and a little murder on the side. The second book in the Fractured Fairy Tales by Silkstone series of criminally funny fables, this comedy mystery is set in Miami and the Caribbean.

This is a modern morality tale that takes the reader on an action-filled ride with memorable characters and lots of laughs along the way. It’s Indiana Jones meets Romancing the Stone while still remaining faithful to the original Peter Pan and Wendy.
~ Consuelo Saah Baehr, author of Best Friends

It’s available on Kindle from Amazon for just 99¢ here, Alice is here also at 99¢.

She has many stellar reviews for the Alice book.
Best wishes to you, Ms. Silkstone!

Avast! Thank Ye and Hear Ye!

2011-08-01T13:28:00.002-05:00

Well, well, well...

if it isn't the illustrious Andrea Jones, author of Hook & Jill, consorting once again with the flagitious Captain Hook.

Just something I whipped up not too long ago to both take a break from the creation of pictures for my interquel and as a way to say "Thank you!" to Andrea for having a gander at a revised section of said interquel.

The revision had been at her request, to solve a problem of congestion of information and introductions to characters. I'm happy to say that my rewrites satisfied her and thus took care of the issue. I'd thought it had as well, but it's nice to have a Pan fan (and the one who targeted the botched bit) and fellow writer agree.

Further report on the status of illustrations for Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between - nearing the finish line, folks. For a little while I'd not been sure what to depict for the next chapter. But I've just had an idea which might work. I'll give it a whirl and see how it turns out. Fortunately the picture to try for utilizes an image I'd been hoping to incorporate. Glad to have found a place for it...? I suppose I'll find out! I've since shown the pictures I already have to even more folks... always well received and some sort of "How did you do that?" question comes up. Thank goodness.

Beyond that, there are just two more pictures to be done. Well, at least two. I might be inspired to produce more than one for either chapter. But thinking ahead to what's in those chapters I'm not inclined to think I'll be making other scenes for them. Won't say "never" so to speak, though.

(Another photo manipulation of "Hook & Jones" can be seen on this post.)

And if you don't already have a copy of her amazing book, go get one...
for I heard tale that the sequel, Other Oceans is also fixing to make its splash!

Double HECK, YES!

2011-07-29T11:34:00.001-05:00

Back in May of last year, we discovered that a cartoon series of Napoleon Dynamite would be forthcoming. As I said in the post, I'd been on board from the start, as I really wanted to see more of these characters and places.

Well, fortunately the outcome is looking pretty Sweet.

The cast does return to reprise their roles. Can't ask for better.

Due to the recent San Diego Comic-Con, we now have clips of the show. Before I saw them, I'd been a good boy and held off until I watched each and every video interview with the actors (5 of 'em) to hear their take and thoughts on the cartoon-izing of Napoloen & his crew. And with each one, my anitcipation grew. I really liked what they had to say about it.

And then came time to watch the clips. I laughed as much as I did with the movie. Looks like it's going to be great, folks.

Not sure if I'm going to get what I initially desired, which is bigger screen time for some of the minor characters like Trisha's parents, but even so, the fact that it hasn't lost sight of what made the movie great is encouraging. Something that oddly did not occur to me at first - animation allows for lots of 'other' avenues as well. Such as our favorite blasé antihero's dreams. Thus, we now get to see him in a robe on Tina the llama as a steed meeting the King of the Ligers. Gosh! ;)

Hooray for more Napoleon Dynamite.
He'll be back to entertain us with his wackiness "midseason" on FOX in 2012.
Here's one clip so you can see what I mean... you can find more here. [It's not the site I originally found them on, so it doesn't have the individual cast interviews.]

Oh Simple Thing...

2011-07-28T12:34:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I began the day by finishing up the latest illustration for Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between. Quite pleased with it! Turned out better than I imagined. Then I met up with Buttercup. We headed to one of my favorite haunts, the Dixie Kitchen in Evanston, Illinois. Fortunately we'd been able to order off the brunch menu. Any time that I am able to catch their brunch, there is but one choice for me...Eggs Sardou. Imagine Eggs Florentine but with the addition of fried green tomatoes, artichokes in the Hollandaise sauce atop cornbread versions of English Muffins. Not to be missed! Buttercup's first brunch at the Dixie Kitchen. She's a fan.

Afterward, we saw Winnie-the-Pooh. Buttercup had not yet seen it. She loved it, but of course. And I'm happy to report it loses none of its magic the second viewing.

Buttercup wanted to get coffee, and at first we thought of going to Metropolis coffee house in our neck of the woods...but then I remembered we wouldn't have to go that far. I used my smartphone to lead us (literally, with a moving dot on a map as we walked) to Kafein, a snazzy little coffee house in Evanston.

I had the White Chocolate Mocha, but that's not really important.

What you are about to see (and read) is 100% true, I swear in the name of the creator of the eternal boy of the Neverland. On the tables, Kafein has 'Trivial Pursuit' cards. Thought I: Wouldn't it be cool [to quote my nephew] if the first card I picked had a question about Peter Pan or Barrie? I present to you the first card I picked out:

None shall ever convince me that Great Spirit doesn't pull a few strings in theory.

P.S. - It might be 17 pictures after all. ;)

Idiot, Idiom.

2011-07-26T10:24:00.001-05:00

Well, as the saying goes, I have egg on my face.

Math is not my forte. Never has been. So I've a little correction to yesterday's post. A little too pleased, I suppose, that there'd be more pictures, I stupidly added the 3 in that chapter to the total. Really I should have just added 2. For there'd already been 1 expected for that section... hence, it's not 17, but 16. Sorry about that. More on "math" here.

Egg on your face - what on earth? What's the origin of thais idiom? To the internet!

This idiom has two possible origins both coming from the 1950s. It may have come from a sloppy eater who had a lot of food on his or her face and was embarrassed by it. It also may have come from audiences throwing raw eggs at a performer on the stage that they didn't like. The performer would get very embarrassed. Quoted from this site.

Just this past week, Bart's Dad and I wondered about the expression "Frog in my throat" when he said it after clearing his. He looked it up later that day and sent me the answer. This one, folks, is quite strange. Apparently one answer to how it began is the 'ancient' medical practice of putting a frog in a patient's mouth as the secretions of the frog were thought to cure a sore throat.

Weird little world we live in...

...sorry about the math mistake. 16.

As of now, there are 16 illustrations in Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between.

17 Is the New 14

2011-07-25T12:13:00.001-05:00

Well, folks, I'm almost done with the illustrations for the interquel Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between. Actually, I probably would have completed the batch already but for one thing...

...and that one thing is good news for readers.

There will be more than the original amount promised! Yes, really. I'd said I'd aim for a picture each chapter (there are 14, like the number of the Darlings' house) but now there truly are some extras.

A chapter two-thirds of the way through is much longer than the others. I couldn't decide which scene to depict. So I took on the challenge of making all those I considered. For it would have been a crime not to show certain characters and such...so yea, I've now three pictures in that chapter.

I'm halfway through creating the next chapter's - and that leaves but four more to produce.

Truth is I don't decide on what to illustrate until I've read through and format-tweaked each chapter, so I can't exactly give an estimate on when I'll have those four ready. And even if I did plan on which ones, I'd still have to gather the necessary bits to create the scene, which also takes time.

So hang in there, readers.
Every day is a day closer to getting your hands on the "missing" part of Peter Pan's life.

*Correction to the # in next post.

Another Kind of British TV

2011-07-24T19:43:00.000-05:00

I used to envy the way in which the television schedule worked in the United Kingdom.

Let me explain. When I'd been a kid, all the new shows (whether it be actual new programs or a new batch of an old one) came out in the Fall. That meant that all Summer (and sometimes Spring) long, you'd have to settle for reruns. It seemed way too long for a kid, believe me.

Why couldn't we do it like the BBC, I'd wonder. For I came to learn that their new shows were done in small chunks. When a program aired, it only had a handful or episodes, 6 or 12 at the most. When the episodes ran out, there'd be something else to take its place. If the show had been successful, more were made and it came back in many less months of waiting... plus you had the other shows to boot.

Well, in today's world of "too many channels" it's almost as if we have the BBC way of doing the "telly." It seems like when one show wraps it up for the time being, another old favorite has a slew of shows to air. Then there's the "mid-season replacements" ... when networks test out a new show to see if gains a viewership. Instead of a mammoth chunk of time when nothing new narrative-wise is on the small screen, we now have a constant stream and renewal of programs all throughout the year.

I, for one, am glad about it. And now I no longer need to envy the British! Well, at least not for that reason... if any other reason turns up, I'll let you know.

What Is Too Much to Be a Coincidence?

2011-07-23T14:27:00.002-05:00

Yes, again,
Peter Pan and Barrie
on Jeopardy!

There's something at work here, whatever it is... Other Instances

Category:

Clue:

The contestant correctly responded with "Who is J.M. Barrie?"

(If you're wondering why I don't report these on the date of airing, it's because I don't always get to watch Jeopardy! on the actual airdates. Sometimes I store them up and watch about 3 in a row.)

Opposite Orphans

2011-07-22T09:00:00.005-05:00

Quite often I see that people have a tendency to think of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys as orphans. I guess I can understand that notion, but only if one's knowledge of the story comes from not having read the book.

Peter Pan, esepcially, is not an orphan, folks.

In fact, thinking that he is undermines the very heart of the tale. It pulls the punch of the gut-wrenching tragedy that is the events of the story. It's not that Pan doesn't have a mother & father and thus flew away to the Neverland. Quite the contrary, he sort of "oprhaned" his parents! He's the one who went away suddenly and without warning, leaving them to pine for their lost boy.

So what about the Lost Boys? It's the same with them. They "abandoned" their parents, not the other way around. I suppose it can be argued that the heart-strings aren't pulled as much as with Peter Pan, since Pan made a conscious choice to leave his home. The Lost Boys, in a sense, are just that: boys who are lost. As Barrie puts it they: fall out of their perambulators when the nurse is looking the other way. If they are not claimed in seven days they are sent far away to the Neverland to defray expenses. So you see, it may or may not be the case that the boys of the Neverland (or NeverWorld, for that matter!) meant to be separated from their original family. Barrie's boys tend to talk about their mothers and long for a "life" on the mainland (as evidenced by their interest in Wendy's stories of the mundane) so it's more likely that they didn't intend to end up as Lost.

Either way, it's another misconception of the story of Peter Pan. Orphaning implies a sentimental outpouring for his loss. Instead we are to be horrified by the loss Pan created in the other direction. And for those who've read Peter Pan's NeverWorld, we know who else felt hurt by his decision to leave, now, don't we?

Why is it people tend to "soften" the blow of the tragic and disturbing elements in the tale of Peter Pan?

(A link to more misconceptions is in the sidebar)

Lil' Neverland

2011-07-21T15:13:00.010-05:00

Back in January, I posted about a new friend I met online who lives in Kirriemuir, Barrie's birthplace.

As I am "friends" on Facebook with her, I saw these pictures she posted this past week. She gave me permission to re-post them here. It's a playground right beside the cemetery where you'll find the final resting place of Barrie (pictures of which are here, as granted by someone else.)

It's nice to think there's a place for the kids (and kids at heart) to run around in with a theme of the Neverland to help spark their imaginations. I bet Barrie would have approved.

Enjoy! You can click on them to make them larger!

Thanks very much, "Mrs. Kirriemuir"!
*P.S. - Is Hook's iron claw on the wrong hand or am I just not viewing it correctly? 'Tis a pity if 'tis.

New Old School POOH - The Stuff(ing) of Legends

2011-07-18T16:52:00.004-05:00

Perhaps you remember from previous posts that I've been "jazzed" for a long time about seeing the new Winnie-the-Pooh movie.

Fortunately, it's every bit as grand and reverent as I'd gleaned and hoped it would be.

It's the Pooh we remember. There's nothing but charming scene after charming scene and it's not afraid to slow down. At so-called "slow" parts the characters' personalities and interactions shine through and we eat it up like Pooh eats up honey. Truth is it never truly becomes fast paced at all. Sure, the characters are hurried and bothered, but the story remains at the leisurely comfort of curling up with a stuffed animal.

The animation is glorious. Not just the production itself, but the re-production of Disney's classic Pooh shorts. They've really found the niche. The artwork is a sheer delight, as is the fluidity of the animation. Bravo to the artists and animators.

There are also a number of musical sequences. And I bet you can guess... they're delightful. Each is funny, catchy and moves the story along without feeling out of place, forced or unwelcomed. They even have the Tigger song. You know, "The wonderful thing about Tiggers are Tiggers are wonderful things...." - that one. But it's truncated. Just a peppering to top off a scene with Tigger. We didn't need the whole song again, and Disney knew that. Just as they knew we needed a small smackerel.

I went with Bart and Josiecat, both of whom also adored the film. Yes, they, too, deem it 'Old School' and just pleasing all around. Josiecat hit the nail on the head in what they'd done to make this movie. It's really only one chapter from the A.A. Milne Pooh stories, the one with the note that reads 'Bisy Backson.' From there it expanded...by which we mean rerouted, heightened or inserted parts to create a new tale without ever losing sight of the origins. Truly a remarkable feat. But somehow it felt effortless, guided all the while by the shenanigans of Pooh and his friends.

I'd like to say it had been quite "Goldilocks." In other words, just right. It could have gone too far with the slapstick humor, but it does not. It's stirred in gently and never reaches "too much/far." It could have been an emotional fest, oozing a sappy feeling or message, especially when intending it to be such a nostalgic piece. But it's not dripping with too much honey in the least. (Metaphorically that is!) It would have been easy to push the envelope boundaries what with all the aforementioned 'expansion' but no, it all fits, nay flows nicely together.

I also want to give a special mention to John Cleese and Craig Ferguson. They lend their vocal talent as the Narrator and Owl respectively. You couldn't ask for a better Narrator than Cleese when it comes to Winne-the-Pooh. Yes, I agree, many people would be great like Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie or the like. But there's something about the timbre of Cleese that fits right into the Hundred Acre Wood. Ferguson is a wonderful Owl. He's got it down and yet adds his own twist...and keeping suit, in a Goldilocks fashion.

Lastly, the title. It's simply Winnie-the-Pooh. It's direct, it's simple. It's not some attention grabbing headline like Pooh: The NEW Movie or a story-informant such as Pooh and the Backson. No, just a plain ol' Pooh movie for you.

I'm convinced. The people who made this movie are the ones who, like me, waited all year for the Pooh TV special to come on, and when it did you can be sure the Footie Pajamas embroided with Pooh were on and the world stopped. Joy radiated for who knows how long after.

If you have a Pooh bear (that's ours in the picture) give him a hug. But go see this movie. On the big screen. When will you have the chance again to see a Pooh of this calibre on the big screen? Go! Relive the days when if you missed something when it aired, you missed it entirely!

Folks, Winnie-the-Pooh won't be in theaters forever. Take this opportunity to see Pooh at LARGE.

Plundering Pan Again

2011-07-16T14:21:00.008-05:00

Perhaps you've already come across this preview - but somehow I'm just discovering it now.

I "reported" on this upcoming TV show back in March 2010 and now we have something to actually show for it.

First let me say that the animation quality is quite nice. The camera angles, the way Peter flits about et cetera are quite pleasing. But on the whole, I just can't accept it. Sorry to everyone involved.

They're supposed to be fighting Captain Hook again. Strike.

They've absolutely re-created the Darling children, beyond the idea of descendants.
They've a Wendy, Michael and John. Strike.

Tinker Bell is still with him in this, the 21st Century. Strike.

Oh. That's three.

Maybe there IS a good explanation for any or all of the above. But from this vantage point it just seems as if they're trying to regurgitate the elements of Barrie. If we wanted all those characters, why not do what Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates did and base their new adventures around this passage in the novel: There were, however, many adventures ... to describe them all would require a book as large as an English-Latin, Latin-English Dictionary...

I also frowned at the "second STAR" being shown. That's one of the reworkings of Pan I wish we could relegate back to Disney alone.

I did sort of like the use of the statue in Kensington Gardens, though. That's something I haven't decided on myself. Within the world of Pan (see last post), IS there a statue erected to him? If so, it would have to have a different history to it, wouldn't it? I mean, it could not have been paid for and put up Barrie his creator as it had been in our own 'real' history. If it's there in the Pan-universe it would also not be in honor of a great piece of literature, rather a great urban legend. (I always wondered about the use of it in the Spielberg sequel movie, too.)

I just have a couple of other questions. The Narrator in the video hints that the Neverland doesn't change. Er, yes, they do. He also says fairies sparkle with gold dust. Gold? Okay, perhaps, but gold isn't one of the colors of fairies. Peter heard the call of thimble again... what on earth? Yeah, I get the thimble part. But HEARING it? I don't get it. Have a gander for yourself.

Oh well...at least it will likely cause more folk to seek out Barrie's original.

Lovely? Happy? No worries!

2011-07-15T14:16:00.002-05:00

Here’s another bit from Peter Pan’s NeverWorld that one might construe as a discrepancy.

From Peter and Wendy:

“You just think lovely wonderful thoughts,” Peter explained, “and they lift you up in the air.”

Said by Pan in PPNW:

“Now think happy thoughts and wriggle your shoulders.”

Happy thoughts? Shouldn’t it have been “lovely wonderful thoughts”?

Well, perhaps. I’ll let you in on my rationale for this one.

We know from Barrie that Peter Pan can be quite scatter-brained and also that he’s prone to saying whatever comes into his head. Thus, we cannot necessarily rely on him to repeat the same exact phrase.

And that’s a factor, too... repeating Barrie’s exact phrasing of those two modifying words for ‘thoughts’ would seem a little over-the-top, no? Maybe even stilted. Thus, I don’t have Peter Pan saying the same thing verbatim. It just wouldn’t happen.

Why, then, does he say “happy” when it’s become the standard in pop culture’s thinking about how one flies in the world of Pan? Well, precisely for that reason. You see, it’s not just in our own real life that Pan is known throughout by young and old alike. It’s within the world of the Barrie’s stories of him as well. Tales of Pan are passed down for generations... and not just via the Darlings’ descendants. Here’s the beginning of the chapter titled for the boy in The Little White Bird:

If you ask your mother whether she knew about Peter Pan when she was a little girl she will say, "Why, of course, I did, child," and if you ask her whether he rode on a goat in those days she will say, "What a foolish question to ask, certainly he did." Then if you ask your grandmother whether she knew about Peter Pan when she was a girl, she also says, "Why, of course, I did, child," but if you ask her whether he rode on a goat in those days, she says she never heard of his having a goat. Perhaps she has forgotten, just as she sometimes forgets your name and calls you Mildred, which is your mother's name. Still, she could hardly forget such an important thing as the goat. Therefore there was no goat when your grandmother was a little girl. This shows that, in telling the story of Peter Pan, to begin with the goat (as most people do) is as silly as to put on your jacket before your vest.

And let us not forget this passage about Wendy’s mother in Peter and Wendy:

At first Mrs. Darling did not know, but after thinking back into her childhood she just remembered a Peter Pan who was said to live with the fairies. There were odd stories about him...

... which just go on and on.

There you have it. I hope you’re happy with the lovely way I’ve manipulated the wonderful world of Pan.

What is "You Better BELIEVE It!," Alex?

2011-07-14T12:45:00.000-05:00

Go figure.

So soon after the last one, a character from Barrie is mentioned on the best trivia show ever once again!
My my MY my MY!

Granted, it's referring to the Disney incarnation this time, but for certain the "question" to the $200 "answer" on Jeopardy! is "Who is Tinker Bell?" I mean, what ELSE would be first in a categoty of 'TINKER,' right?

Also interesting to note, right next to it there'd been a category "EVER"s and one might think a mention of the N'ever'LAND might be inculded. No, though. But this entire category had been played before they ever touched on 'TINKER.'

Seriously, folks, WHO *IS* the Barrie & Pan fan on the Jeopardy! team? My friend Buttercup who'd been watching and playing along with me agrees that there's got to be someone!

Who is the Pan Fan, Alex?

2011-07-10T10:29:00.003-05:00

Although this one is much more understandable since it came during Jeopardy! Kids Week, my my my but if Peter Pan didn't show up as a clue on the famous and beloved quiz show yet again!

It came in a category of 'Quotations in Literature' and held the top box of $200.

Yes, a child catching up to the lead delivered the correct question.

I also need to point out that when they came back to the category, Treasure Island came up at $600. An "answer" about the link between the two books would have made my day.

Perhaps Jeopardy! uses Peter Pan and Barrie so often because they're just so well permeated in culture across both sides of the pond at the very least. Makes good trivia material.

Still, it's uncanny.

Tree-son Against Barrie?

2011-07-08T00:22:00.001-05:00

At the end of Peter and Wendy, Peter Pan says where he will now live:

“With Tink in the house we built for Wendy. The fairies are to put it high up among the tree tops where they sleep at nights.”

So why isn’t he living there in Peter Pan’s NeverWorld? Is this a glitch in the novel? No. What Barrie wrote is (but of course) true... and stayed true for quite some time. But as with many things, it had to come to an end. Why? What’s the rationale for that?

Simple. First off, there is quite an extensive amount of time between the events of Barrie’s conclusion and my novel. (We’re talking decades!) That alone should be (and is) a factor. Peter Pan would most likely get bored with living in the same simple and small place, espeically when remembrance of Wendy isn't fresh in his mind. Yet that’s but a mild reason among those that exist.

Here's another: Crowding issues. Since Lost Boys are always coming to the Neverland, eventually there’d be one too many of them trying to fit in the Wendy House.

Also, the Wendy House atop the trees is not as well hidden as say, a home under the ground. Think about it... there are other nasty shenanigans going on around the magical isle besides pirates. Would it behoove Pan to stay out in the open? He’s smarter than that.

The way I figure it... on one of Peter’s daily adventures in the Neverland, he came across the Home Under the Ground and found it again for what he believed to be the first time. Whichever Lost Boys were with him would delight in such a place as well. Perhaps whichever mother had been with him would poo-poo the idea, but then, sometimes there’s no arguing with Peter Pan! Having re-found it, he’d also (re?)realize what a boon the hideout proves to be. After all, Barrie didn’t think it up for nothing!

That’s why you’ll find Peter Pan, Denny and the Lost Boys living in the underground house on the island.

And yet...I didn’t want to replicate the very same idea for his adventures on NeverWorld. It’s certainly possible and plausible that he'd live under the ground again, sure. At the very least one of the kids who helped dream it up could have even placed an exact copy of it someplace on the planet. [In fact, that just might have been done!] However, from a standpoint of storytelling, it would also feel utterly rehashed.

So I decided on a solution that would refer back to the very same Wendy House that he’d “supposed to be” living in at the end of the novel. Thus, they live in a house on the trees.

But as with everything in Peter Pan’s NeverWorld, the stakes are raised. As an example, Mothers are without a doubt an important key factor in the tales of Peter Pan. Raised a level, that becomes Mother Earth/Planet. So when the Wendy House is considered, an upgrade from a house is none other than a mansion, or to be exact: ...a multi-level tree house with more rooms than necessary.

You might be thinking that an even bigger “Wendy House” is therefore an even bigger sight that could attract unfriendly and unwanted guests. What’s more, the novel says: It did, however, lack one thing – a ladder. They could keep enemies away who didn’t have the power of flight. Why can’t “baddies” just climb up, you might be wondering? The tree is rather daunting, I tell you. Honest. In my mind, it’s a very thick, hearty tree that’s able to support such a grand house atop itself. Not to mention it’s quite high up indeed. Not the sort of bark stalk that’s either inviting or particularly easy to climb. Oh, sure, I suppose it could be done if need be. But to use the opposite direction - that’s like saying you could jump off a cliff if you really wanted to do so. Or maybe it's better to say it's like scaling a cliff. Suffice to say, it’s no effortless task to clamber up their tree!

So there, you see, I strove for a blending of the old and new. Barrie wanted him in a Tree House. So I gave Pan the greatest Tree House of them all!

Another Thumb Up

2011-07-06T10:22:00.000-05:00

A little addendum to yesterday’s post...

Our friend Gil stopped by last night. He asked what I’ve been up to... so naturally I said making illustrations for my latest Peter Pan book. I explained what I’m doing and he wanted to not only see the ‘drawings’ but have a gander at how I’d been doing it. So I showed him. And I gave a quick demonstration of the process.

He marveled at both what I’d created and how I created them.

So... I guess it’s really not just me.

Let’s hope the rest go just as well.

I'm B-a-B Finishing the Interquel

2011-07-05T17:33:00.000-05:00

The progress report on Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between...

just over half done.

Sorry if you were expecting more. If only I were able to spend every moment working on it. Alas, that is not to be. Also, I don't want to rush it. After all, they're the pictures for the tale and I want to be happy with each and every one. So far that's true.

Part of the delay process is both selecting which parts to illustrate and another factor lies in what illustrations I am feasibly able to do. For instance, I'm using actual photos (my own) of Kensington Gardens wherever I can... but not all scenes take place there! So the hunt for more is on... (one picture in particular is composed of three - and you should have seen Bart get wide-eyed at that news. He'd no idea that had been the case.)

More importantly, recall that I wish it to have the 'feel' of the original drawings for both Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and Peter and Wendy. Sort of a hybrid of the two. For is it not a story that lies somewhere toward the middle of the two?

I'm not the only one who likes the pictures I have completed, either. Like I said, Bart's been impressed. He doesn't placate me, especially when it comes to something important such as pictures for a novel. [This after I got the "go ahead" from worthy critics Anon* and Andrea Hook & Jill Jones who each saw the first illustration.]

I've also been revising the novel once again. And that includes "maintenance" so to speak, as I tend to not want a page with, say, only two sentences on it or whatnot. Sometimes, but not often, such undesirable results wind up unavoidable. But I'm doing my best to prevent them... without sacrificing the original text. That can be tricky. But I'm happy to say that so far it's only caused a better flowing narrative.

And yes, I spent a good portion of the past holiday weekend working on the book.

So hang in there, Pan fans. I'm only trying to produce something I can crow about!
(I should also mention that the work is going by much more quickly than I anticipated.)

You'll be able to crow about it soon enough.

*Barrie enthusiast and my faithful reader and #1 fan

Thy Language Needs Thee

2011-06-30T15:32:00.003-05:00

Sexist language.

Back in college, first term of Freshmyn year, we had a whole session on the idea that the English language is sexist. "To each his own." Why 'his'? Why not 'her'?

We debated about it for quite some time, as you might imagine.

Not that it didn't come up in the discussions then... and not that it will solve all problems contained therein, but I think we need to bring back some of the archaic words. Namely: thee & thy

It certainly fixes the above statement. "To each thy own." So why aren't we doing it? It also avoids the space-hogging & awkward "his/her" or "his or her." And moreover, why is "his" usually written first?

Changing "you" to "thee" would provide just the jolt needed to stop moments like "Bless you" (when someone sneezes) from seeming so common. In other words, we hear it so often that it has lost its impact. We damn well expect it. Would you expect "Bless thee"? Nope. Hence, it would draw attention to what's being said and thus re-instate the sentiment lost by over-usage.

Thee is also useful in fun moments such as this passage in Peter and Wendy:

“Proud and insolent youth,” said Hook, “prepare to meet thy doom.”
“Dark and sinister man,” Peter answered, “have at thee.”

It's kind of weird... words go out of usage and then never seem to return. Why do archaic terms cease to be used once they fall from favor? Especially when they could be handy once again! Can they not be resumed in conversation?

I, for one, am going to try and incorporate THY and THEE into my utterings. (Not necessarily in my writing - only if it's warranted there...or if I wind up with a character who feels just as strongly about it.)

So go about thy way and I hope the sheer sense of resurrecting these words will hit thee.

Whatever Works

2011-06-29T20:07:00.000-05:00

On my stream of tweets that I follow, there's a bunch that are tips, quotes or advice about writing. I'd also recently been interviewed (I'll be sure to let you know when that interview is posted to the web) and I'd been asked advice on writing and/or the writing scene.

Know what I've found? Not surprisingly, there's a lot of conflicting advice. For example, when I had the good fortune to meet Isaac Asimov (see here & here) I walked away from his lecture with this wisdom: Think of a great ending first and then write until that ending is reached. Sound advice from a master of the craft. And yet, here's another tip from author Rose Tremain: In the planning stage of a book, don't plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.*

Well, gee, which is it?

I can see the case for both. It's important to know where you're headed in a story... but you need to be able to take detours. Characters are very often tricky in that they've reserved a whole ball of wax that can be fashioned into the very light of the tale. Sometimes it's planned guesswork.

I also recently (on Twitter) read that I should give myself a ritual...for the discipline of creating a mindset...yada yada yada. I don't disagree with it, I can see the potential. But upon following this advice I found it did nothing for me.

We should create lush and rich descriptions of the landscape and the interior of a room, for it paints the mood and infects the reader with the very environment of the novel. No, sorry, that does nothing but bore the reader into putting the book down. Adamantly. On both views. Depends on who you ask.

Obviously, then, it comes down to whatever works for each particular author.

* Thanks to Jon Winokur @AdviceToWriters for tweeting that!

What Is 'JEOPARDY!' Loves the Boy?

2011-06-27T02:23:00.003-05:00

It happened again. Yep.
Peter Pan turned up in an answer on Jeopardy!

Double Jeopardy! Round - $200
Category: Terms of Endearment
(They were having fun with a theme of movie titles as subjects.)

Yes, the contestant Questioned correctly.

I'll wager someone likes Pan in the writing staff.

Teaser

2011-06-24T20:32:00.005-05:00

I've been told I'm something of a teaser when it comes to talking about my as of yet unseen work... and that seems about right. But only because I'm the type who doesn't like flat-out "spoilers" so much as quips of info to trickle around in one's thinking.

I've been typing a lot about my forthcoming interquel Peter Pan: Betwitxt-and-Between. So I thought I'd not be a tease for once and put up the first two pages of the book. Oh. Wait. That counts as a tease, no? Nevertheless, here's it is. I hope you enjoy it and it causes you to want to read the rest! (No, really? ;] )

One night, of all nights, it happened.

            Peter Pan lay in the grass amid the trees of Bird Island, an infant kicking his legs gaily, looking up at the many stars and wondering. The stars winked back occasionally, making Peter even more good-spirited. He thought for sure they could hear his thoughts and often he would think things out to them. He never did get a reply other than friendly winks and when Peter caught forty of them, he fell asleep. He normally slept during the day, so that he could have his reign of the Gardens during Lock-out Time. Perhaps due to the irregularity of it, this night nap produced a troubling dream, the first of many throughout Pan’s life.
           At first the dream went pleasantly wherein he left his Thrush’s Nest boat and took to the air delighting in his power of flight restored. He zipped around the Kensington Gardens, happily sailing in the sky without a care. So much did he enjoy his aerial maneuvers and devil-may-care journey that he took no heed of where he flew. So not long after, unfamiliar territory stretched around him. He heard crying. He assumed it to be his own and took to crying himself. After a bit, though, he noticed that some of his sobs did not match up with the others. He quieted himself. After a few leftover gasps, he listened intently to the weeping in the distance. The gasps from this weeping became more frequent. Eventually, these gasps turned into sharp little quips of sound.
          Peter Pan hovered in midair, unable to move from curiosity. He could not figure from which direction the strange cries came. He kept listening and before he could tell that a switch had been made, the sound turned to a sharp laughter. The laughter surged through him and gave him a chill like the very first night he spent in Kensington Gardens after his triumphant escape from the nursery. He did not like the feeling even one little bit and wished, for the first time in too long, that his mother could have comforted him. Thinking of his mother within the dream while the boyish laughter still cackled must have been too much to bear and he awoke with a jolt.

© Peter Von Brown - Please do not quote this book without permission.

P.S. - For those who've read Peter Pan's NeverWorld and have thus figured out the laughter part - it's a continuity reference only, he doesn't show up in this book.

3-D Falling Flat

2011-06-22T15:33:00.005-05:00

Back on March 9 of last year, I ranted about 3-D movies. To recap: Really? Over & over and everything that comes to the screen? Pick and choose what would work best and don't over-saturate. It's getting tiresome.

If you don't believe me, how about the new movie version of S. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. It will be in 3-D. To quote Mrs. Estelle Costanza in Seinfeld: May I ask WHY?

And if you still don't believe me that this has becoming an annoying gimmick, apparently the film-going populace is also silently speaking out. How? Ticket sales for heavily promoted 3-D versions of movies are stacking in favor of their 2-D counterparts. The article I read is here.

Future of film? It didn't stick around the first time... why do they expect it to now that it's more flashy?

Don't get me wrong. 3-D is and can be cool. And some films make perfect sense to be featured with that extra kick. Just not every blasted thing that hits the screen. It seems 3-D is only effective when it's rare. It's only going to pop out at you when nothing else does. Makes me wonder how the sales of 3-D TV are doing...

Trio of Tinsel Treats

2011-06-22T12:31:00.001-05:00

Happy finds in Twinkle Town...

Three movies about Snow White are coming to screens, each with its own "take." I'd wondered about how the dwarves would be "done." Would they go the route of shrinking actors as seen in recent epic fantasy movies or would they use actual talented little people? Well, for one of the films in which the dwarves are now Shaolin monks, the answer seems obvious. We now have an answer for the other two, though. The untitled back-to-and-beyond-the-roots-of The Brothers Grimm version will feature a cast of great actors (including the marvelous Danny Woodburn) who just happen to be smaller than most folk. Snow White and the Huntsman, focusing more on their relationship, has cast guys who are going to need computer magic to be a dwarf. Granted a lot more than this issue will factor into what makes or breaks the movies, but it will be fun to see how they fare given their choices of actors.

Guillermo del Toro wants to direct Maleficent. Yes, please! It's not entirely likely that he will be able to do so, but I ever so wish for it to happen! Sounds like he's the man for the job: And let me tell you how much of a fan I am. I have a collection of over two or three dozen Maleficent figures, some of them four or five feet tall. I own about 10 pieces of conceptual art from Sleeping Beauty that include the dragon and a lot more pieces that are just from Sleeping Beauty. It's one of my three favorite Disney films. [Quoted from this article.] Hmmm. Director Guillermo del Toro and writer Linda Woolverton. Double yes, please!!

Danny Elfman is re-teaming with Sam Raimi for OZ: The Great & Powerful. Hosah! That could be divine. I'm uber-fond of Elfman's score for Alice. I bet he'll devise something great and powerful indeed!

Awaiting...

It's Looney & I Like It

2011-06-20T10:27:00.000-05:00

Despite myself, I just can't hate The Looney Tunes Show. It's just a really fun spin on a classic. Given some of the recent manifestations of Bugs Bunny and his cohorts such as Loonatics Unleashed, we obviously could do far worse.

Loonatics Unleashed - Really?

But quite honestly, I can't find anything wrong with the new Merrie Melodies program. And frankly, I laugh out loud at it consistently. You see, they've managed to capture the what made the originals great. Whether it be spot-on snide humor or the expression on the face of the characters and their personalities, it's tapping into the 'Old School.'

One of the aspects which make it different, of course, is the character and setting designs. When first promoted, it didn't sit quite right with me. I never outright disliked it. But it seemed off... Well, that changed once I actually saw it in action. It fits well with the whole package. As do the voices. Okay, yes, they're not dead ringers for the originals. But really, how could they be? No one, not even relatives, can be the master vocalizing genius Mel Blanc. That said, they're more than unacceptable. They're excellent. A bit off, but again, like the newly drawn version, it's enough to pay homage but keep it as it own version.

What has really changed, however, is the entire premise. Imagine if you will: Bugs and Daffy are roommates. Well, more like Daffy is mooching in Bugs's house. Yes, house. They live in suburbia, where their neighbors are the likes of Yosemite Sam, Porky Pig and Witch Hazel. I know what you might be thinking... and I didn't think it would work either. But it does. It's as if the mundane life of everyday activity is precisely what these beloved characters needed to bring them into the spotlight again. It's delightful to see these strong personalities evoked into minutia.

Perhaps you don't believe me or don't agree with me if you've seen it. In fact, not so long ago I'd been "defending" to an acquaintance of mine. She'd been saying, and rightly so, that Bugs and Daffy aren't meant to be shown in daily lives. I told her I thought so, too. Until I watched it happening. She agreed to give it a try... as she also admitted that she avoided it on circumstance and preview alone.

One other thing... one of my favorite Looney Tunes characters has always been Wile E. Coyote. In The Looney Tunes Show his misadventures with Road Runner are CGI. That's just not right. Looney Tunes shouldn't be computer renditions of themselves. But, darn it. It's funny. It, too, harbors the core of what we love about the coyote's capers. And darn it, it looks good. It's not fully rendered to a horrific degree, nor is it watered down or "over-smooth" looking (if that makes sense.) It's pleasing, and as I said, despite myself I just can't hate it.

They also have musical vignettes during the show. They've written clever songs about characters and feature them in music videos for the tunes. They're good, but not great. But they are entertaining rather than annoying.

Another music mention: The theme song is wonderful, too. It's a tweaked version of the original. It sounds familiar yet fresh and in my mind also matches the spin that's come to be so appealing.

So, yes, send me hate mail if you must, but I love The Looney Tunes Show.

And that's all, folks.

"Mr. Darling had a passion..."

2011-06-19T16:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day!

Well, last year the birth date of Sir J.M. Barrie coincided with Mother's Day. This year, Father's Day lands on the same day as the date that Barrie went to "the other place." Granted, it must happen quite a bit and the Mother's Day connection had been of particular interest since it had been a milestone of 150. (Today is one year shy of a milestone: 74)

Nevertheless, I like that the calendar lined up for both in a row. Especially with a story that relies heavily on parents as influential characters.

I'm very excited to be able to share some pictures with you. I wish I could say I took them myself, but alas, I did not. They were sent to me by someone online and permission has been granted for me to repost them. I've had them for nearly a year now... but I had to wait until today, obviously.

Here are a slew of pictures of Barrie's final resting place:

Sorry to post something a that could be construed as morbid for today... but I can't control the non-fictional calendar.

Thank you, Barrie! We are all indebted to you for your fantastic parody of fatherhood in the story of Peter Pan. By showing the stressful antics of a man who is only trying to do right by his family such as keeping the books tight and attempting to add levity to a situation, he shows us how difficult a job it is to keep a family running smoothly. So here's to all the fathers (of all varieties - natural, step, adopted, in-law, figures...) in the world. Applause to you for your often unappreciated and overlooked efforts of love.

Floral Inspiration

2011-06-16T11:35:00.001-05:00

The picture on the left is the current "wallpaper" for my phone.

It's a perfect pic to have as I am once again dealing with the fairies in Kensington Gardens. Ever so reminds me of the way they might make their clothes. [Although a la Barrie/Rackham and my own imaginings it seems they more so weave/crochet/sew such elements of Nature into garments rather than just use a tulip for a skirt... but who's to say they don't ever? :) ] It's just a darn cool photograph.

I found it on this page of photos taken at "just the right moment." Do check it out, since they're all great! I came across it in a retweet from Jason Alexander. Yes, I'm still enjoying Twitter...

I can't say how long it will remain the pic on my phone.

I like to change it up every so often.

Also, as I re-read my interquel Peter Peter: Betwixt-and-Between yet again figuring out which pictures to make and taking advantage of the different look (font, page size format, etc.) to do another proof/revision... I found something that I think I'm going to have to expound upon in a future Pan adventure. It's just too good of an idea not to let it show up again. And that's not self-praise since the idea referred to is a direct outgrowth (pun noted) of a bit from Barrie. No guarantees, but I do think it might happen in another novel.

Expect MAGIC Much?

2011-06-15T01:02:00.000-05:00

Amid the myriad of potentially problematic elements or moments of the MGM movie The Wizard of OZ, one always stood out to me.

The Wicked Witch of the West turns over an hourglass and tells Dorothy that’s how long she has to live. The trio of misfits who befriended Dorothy come to her rescue... but once she leaves the room, the hourglass is still running. Dorothy leaves and lives. Wait, so, if she exits the spell is broken? I thought she’d die when it ran out!

Well, that’s what I thought. I’d expressed this “hole” to many folks and made said folks ponder. Why is it that Dorothy still lives?

Then, over the weekend, I told this dilemma to Bart’s Aunt. Instead of suddenly wondering why, she presented her viewpoint on the matter. She has a very logical solution. And chances are she’s right.

It’s not that there’s a spell on the hourglass. Rather when the sand runs out, the Witch will come back and take care of Dorothy herself. After all, she's seen with it and throws it at them so she's been back to the room. Makes a lot more sense, no?

So what had I (and the others I’d infected) been thinking? That she’s a witch, so she’d use magic to exact revenge. Thus, it follows that the hourglass would be enchanted with the death sentence.

But apparently not.

Funny how we get locked into believing/expecting certain things.
I suppose I just wanted the Wicked Witch to have more power than she does.

HOWL if You Want More!

2011-06-14T00:05:00.000-05:00

More werewolves!

Oddly, it comes at a strange price, of sorts. But hey, I'm willing to ignore the "status" of it and cheer it on...

What am I talking about?

The now ever-prevalent "reboot."

This time it's for Universal Studio's The Wolf Man. You'll probably remember the recent remake, The Wolfman. Naturally, being a werewolf fan, I went to see it. My review is here. However, not everyone had a warm reception to it. So the prospect of a sequel is apparently out. Thus, the reboot plan. Word is that it will this time be called Werewolf. Who knows how much of the original story they'll keep. Frankly, I'm okay with either lots or none.

You see, I just want more werewolves.
I'm also looking forward to the remake (closer to the book, allegedly) of The Howling.

Vampires have had their day in the sun... I mean.. oh never mind.

Crayons in Stone

2011-06-12T23:23:00.003-05:00

When out with Clara & Banky one night, we couldn't help but create with the crayons on the tables. Unfortunately they'd already been well used. Here's what Clara decided to draw with the stumpy colored wax.

I added the blood to the sword to put in the grit of Barrie's work. I also drew the hook at the bottom. Clara quickly came to Pan's rescue, though, bringing the crocodile to the page. Tink is in yellow rather than white because of limited color selection. I suppose I could have just made the 'spark' with merely the black, but it wouldn't have stood out as much, right? Especially since Clara had been filling in the sky...

Banky? He'd been busy making a song request big enough for the band to see.

I rather like how this picture turned out. To quote Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous: What the hell is the difference between a painting done by a person who wishes to paint like a child, and a child's painting?

Yes, I'm aware the rhetorical above is tongue-in-cheek, but it does have a certain wisdom about it. And it can't help but bring to mind shades of Peter Pan.