A WORD, please?

Just learned from the online Dictionary that an oft used word had been coined by Dr. Seuss. Today is the anniversary of when he is born. I’ve a much better acknowledgement of this event here. Anyway, back to this word. Whole foundations of characters and movies have been built upon this word. I’ve been called this word. What is it? Nerd! Imagine that. Who’d have thought it to have been just a fraction of his wonderful nonsense?

I also want to take a quick moment to say that I am disgusted and appalled. Yes, both. At what? The movie of The Lorax. It makes me utterly sad. I’ve only seen the ads, but that’s enough to loathe it. It’s clear from these snippets that they’re flushing an important book down the toilet. It’s a very serious character within an equally serious book. They’ve turned it into cheap humor and cutesy-ness. As if this weren’t bad enough, they have a myriad of product tie-ins for stuff that goes against the very fiber of what the book preaches. No, it does not make it okay that a fast food chain provides seeds with your purchase.

Besides the affront to the story and point of The Lorax, are they even aware that Dr. Seuss did not wish to have his characters used for product placement or to endorse anything at all? Sure, he drew for some companies in the past... but his personal characters? They’re not to be used in this manner. So WHY are they?

To make it even worse, these computer animated films based on his books do not rhyme ‘constantly.’ Excuse me... did they even READ Dr. Seuss? What - do they consider it too difficult to convert their “expanded” script into “verse”? How can this even be something they overlook? Why, it’s integral to every Dr. Seuss book! Is it really beyond their reach and skill? Or do they just like going against his will? I can’t fathom the reason, but I consider it treason. No matter how one looks at the situation it’s just one big aberration! I do not like it, Peter I Am. I do not like this Seussian sham!

The crown jewel in all of this horror, which I just realized before I set down to type all of this, is that they’re releasing this monstrous crap of one of the books dearest to his heart (and with majorly vital message) on the date of his birth.

What a freaking sacrilege.

Otherwise, take a moment to be silly today, okay? It’s what the good “doctor” would have wanted.

Queue It Up...NOW.

Very often I find myself on the fence about things.

Take “instant” for, er, instance.
What just prompted me is a message from Netflix telling me that a movie which is in our DVD Queue is now available to “Watch Instantly” (streamed to our TiVo.) So I can view it whenever I please.

It didn’t always work that way. Instantly. Lordy. I remember when being able to watch a movie had been an event. That’s right, an event. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz could only be seen once a year. If you missed it… you missed it. Your life stopped for it. “Can’t. Oz is on tonight.” True story: I believe it had been in my final year of middle school. A friend, KM, shocked us with a statement one day. The fateful day. KM said, “I’m going to skip The Wizard of Oz this year.” Honestly, it had been a proverbial bombshell. Purposely skip watching The Wizard of Oz? Unheard of! But KM meant it, delivering an explanation about growing up (in a healthy way, not in any sort of attack or derogatory remark about Oz) or some such thing… and we tried to talk him out of it. Unable to truly tear himself away, KM wound up watching large chunks of it, as I recall. And nowadays? You can watch it any night you like, as often as you like. Hell, you can even go directly to your favorite scene! Whereas before you had to time the replenishing of your drink and snacks within the commercial breaks.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great. But I just can’t help but feel like something is sorely lacking in terms of anticipatory glee in our lives. Another prime example is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The night Rudolph aired had been just as important as Xmas day itself! We’d check the TV Guide (we used the one that came with the Sunday newspaper) each week in December, knowing that one of them would be the big night. What a treat it had been! You also had to hunt for the “big” nights of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas. And now…you can just pop all of ‘em in for your own little Xmas special marathon.

Again, it’s not entirely without merit. I recently became hooked, okay, I’ll admit it, obsessed with a cartoon series. I came across it by chance (though I had heard of it before) and [ahem!] instantly fell in love with it. I knew I had to see more. Since our world is not only often “instant” but many times over-saturated, I set the TiVo to record episodes (of which about four played a day.) So I viewed more and loved it all the more with each episode. I soon learned Netflix streamed the first few seasons. Wowsers! That meant I could watch them ALL… I could feed my need, instantly. I liked being able to do that, certainly. But still, it deprives me of the pleasure of waiting for another episode. (Granted, it plays loads of times as I said, but just in general, it’s nice to have that build up.)

Yes, we still have that feeling to some degree. Whether it be waiting for a particular movie to arrive or even new episodes of our favorite TV shows. But still, chances are all the old episodes are available in an instant.

There used to be a time when one would carefully pick and choose what movies to go see in theater. Now the attitude is, “Looks good. I’ll catch it on video.” It must appear quite special or “worthy” of a big screen (of course, I also have one of those, too) …bigger screen.

It's not just TV and movies either. Our photos are instant. Even editable right there on the camera the instant after it's taken. Can you imagine having no idea if the picture "came out" at all until the glorious day when you received your envelope full of pictures? (Even that wait went from a week to a few days to "within an hour" ... good grief!)

So, not that it’s any great revelation, but it’s my two cents for the pile of regrets or sighing or embitterment or cocked head or whatever one wants to call it for the lost art of anticipation.

My Book Idea That Will Never Be...

Back in this post, I spoke about an abandoned project of mine. I discarded it for a few reasons. As I said in the other post: Not only did it seem insurmountable to obtain the right to do it, but I also knew how much work it would be. And if it couldn’t go beyond my desk and the few people who I’d torture with it, why bother?

But I also half-promised to show you what I did produce to ponder while I am in London.
I want to make it clear that I am in no way suggesting that this piece is worth any salt. It's merely the first draft of whimsical idea. I wanted to answer all the inherent questions which arise about the Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat. It would incorporate all manifestations of the Cat (books/sketches and cartoons) as written/"sanctioned" by Seuss to support its claims. As the piece states, it's meant simply in fun.

Thus, I present the never-more-to-be-written

The Definitive Cat in the Hat

Foreword

It is a well known fact that children of all ages and from many countries of the world love to visit the wonderfully wacky and whimsical world of Theodore Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss. It is also just as common knowledge that Dr. Seuss's works incorporate more than silly characters who find themselves in equally silly if not abusrd situations and antics. By this I mean it is evident Seuss's world comes with its own set of life lessons, meaning and morals applicable to our own. Even more astonishing is his ability to present not just one but usually three, if not more, such messages in any one given tale. And let us not forget the good doctor does so entirely in rhyme. In my opinion, his uncanny talents are best exemplified in the story of the Sneetches on the beaches. I won't go so far as to delineate the details of the narrative or even cite specific examples within the text. I leave these tasks to the reader. After all, the following "hidden messages" are not so arcane that even the supposed audience of children cannot uncover them. Instead I will point out these obvious observations. The Star-Bellied Sneetches story speaks out against racism, the pitfalls of fashions and trends and also displays the principles if not the foibles of Capitalism. Thus, it is well established that Dr. Seuss is a multi-talented artist whose words and illustrations can be explored on many levels, able to entertain a child as well as enlighten an adult. Who knows to what end deep mysteries can be extracted? A Who? Who indeed?

But who is more wrought with secret logic than Seuss's best loved creation The Cat in the Hat? The familiar feline brings nothing but semi-informational teasers of his being. Who is this large cat with a candy stripe stove pipe hat? What is the secret to his magical mayhem? Why does he barge in uninvited? How can he be so wise and yet so seemingly immature? When did he become skilled in his fields of expertise? Where did he receive his training? I feel that the answers to all of these questions and as they say, a whole lot more can be ascertained by careful inspection of the clues the good doctor provides. In order to obtain the most accurate impressions, all manifestations of his favored feline must be incorporated. By this I mean we must examine in depth every book and animated feature sanctioned by Seuss in which the infamous cat appears. It stands to reason that a well developed history and doctrine of The Cat in the Hat can be both inferred and implied by the cryptic clue-ridden rhymes of the master. Finally we will have the answers to the secrects of the fabled moss-covered, three-handled family gredunza!

I wish to clearly state that I am in no way suggesting that Theodore Geisel or even Dr. Seuss intended these interpretations. I do not claim the insights contained here within to be correct, inclusive of or even in accordance with his perceptions. Instead I offer a hypothetical and creative alternative to some of the most haunting and nagging queries of the Cat's true nature, philosophy and past. Yet, at the same time, a sincere effort has been made to remain true to and preserve what Seuss presented.

I. Cat as an Archetypal Figure
II. Cat's Family & Upbringing
III. Cat's Schooling/Education
IV. Cat's Philosophy of Life
V. Cat's Extent/Range of Magical Powers
VI. Cat's "Wardrobe" and Place of Dwelling
VII. Cat in Relation to Other Seussians
VIII. Cat in Relation to Psychedelics
IX. Cat's Inherent Mysteries (i.e. The White Belly?)
X. The Enigma of "Little Cats" and "Young Cat"
XI. Cat's Vehicles
XII. Cat's Possessions
XIII. Cat's Teachings
----------------------------------------------------

For those of you wondering, yes, Dr. Seuss does in fact show us such things as where the Cat lives. In fact, we see most of his house (and he opens his closet) in the animated The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat.

The Cat's ideas/doctrines are also not just invented by me. For instance, although quirky and seemingly obvious, the practice of "Calculatus Eliminatus" actually does work... I've tested it on many occasions. Its simplicity is deceiving...

Even if the concept might have been a blunder,
I hope I've instilled in you a new sense of wonder...

Let Us Dote on What He Wrote!

This looks like a book I need. Something which I ought to read. Yes, by golly, yes indeed!

I don’t know about you, but I’m fascinated by The Cat in the Hat.
To know more about him is quite tempting.

In fact, I even tried something along this line once myself.
Well, not really. Not a straight-up scholarly annotation such as this book by Philip Nel.
Rather I had planned on a writing The Definitive Cat in the Hat to answer all the inherent questions which arise about the character. It would have incorporated all Seuss "sanctioned" manifestations of the Cat (books/sketches and cartoons) to support its claims. Such as his family history, his education (Cat Tech, you know!) and an outlining of his philosophies.

I’ve long since abandoned the project. Not only did it seem insurmountable to obtain the right to do it, but I also knew how much work it would be. And if it couldn’t go beyond my desk and the few people who I’d torture with it, why bother? [And yes, it included a disclaimer of it being a creative pursuit rather than absolute information.]

I did begin the project though, with a list of chapters/topics to be covered. And a foreword/explanation. I’ll find these “notes” and type them in a little while later.
Perhaps to leave you something to ponder when I journey to London.

SuperSILLYous Censorship

On Senator Wafflepoop's (yes, really, but keep reading) LiveJournal site, an incident of censorship is described. In short, a nine year old boy's science project had not been allowed to go on display because adminstrators did not like the results of his study. Specifically the part where he said that what he really learned from this project was that some people don't want to be called boys or girls, and that those people need an "other" option. The post goes on to explain how many people are fascinated by the survey and that you can have a different gender identification and still be considered and counted and included. It seems the boy had been very understanding, ready to roll with the idea, accepting. The "worry" is that his good-natured, loving and freeing mentality is being squashed by the narrow-minded. You can read the whole post here.

Besides wanting to applaud and boo as necessary, one aspect of this "story" intrigued me. It prompted this posting. The lad also found those that classify themselves as 'other' tend to prefer blue to green. Why did that strike me? Here, have a look:

[Fairies:] the mauve ones are boys and the white ones are girls, and the blue ones are just little sillies who are not sure what they are.

- Peter and Wendy, Sir J.M. Barrie

It's almost as if Barrie had been a prophet. Or else he really knew about fairies and androgyny. I'm not really supporting either of those statements. Just being silly.

As for referring to the 'others' as sillies, I do not construe any offense in that word at all.

Consider my thoughts on silly in this post. Take note of Meyers saying that society oppresses "silly" and Dr. Seuss's notion that there has to be another way of looking at the world.

Celebrate on This Date!

Today is the day a marvelous man came our way
He taught some of us to read and others to play
His sense of wonder proved enough for us all
And his wisdom is known by the short and the tall
It’s a nice dose of laughter which this doctor prescribes
And each chuckle is a powerful lesson cloaked in disguise
Whether tackling Capitalism, Racism or the Polluted
His creations are sheer genius - it cannot be refuted
His drawings are zany, askew and bizarre
And we all love them just as they are
Many don’t realize he made political cartoons, too
As well as for advertising - look it up, it’s true
Thank you, Theodore Geisel, for the imagination you shared
You’re a true gem, an inspiration, a man who obviously cared

Look here! It’s Google! Look how it’s unfurled
Celebrating this day when he came into the world

And if you’d not seen “In Search of Dr. Seuss” when it aired on TV
Make sure that you do, I recommend it highly - and it’s on DVD

One last side note I would like to mention, if I may
The year of his birth is also the premiere of the play*

*Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up

Silly = Natural

In one of her posts which champion and extol the virtues of Improv use in daily life, Danielle Mari wrote:

Guerrilla theatre brings theatre to those who need it most: those unconverted, uninitiated few wandering through life unaware that it's completely possible (and even beneficial) to rearrange perspective, stir reality, and shake things up a bit.
[Whole post here.]

As I commented on the post, I find it horribly sad that such a mindset exists. These people, I suppose, are the same type who would turn their nose at fantasy. If it’s not “real” than why bother, right? Wrong! Fantasy and nonsense are vital components in a person’s well-being.

Allow me to quote two of the silliest people who ever lived.

Mike Meyers:
Silly is you in a natural state, and serious is something you have to do until you can get silly again.

I had originally heard him say this on Inisde the Actor’s Studio. He attributed the idea to his father. (He also said that his father and brothers told him ‘You’re not funny, Michael. Stop trying.’ Can you imagine what THEY must be like??) I also recall the notion that the inclination to repress silliness is what is wrong with the world. I agree.

Dr. Seuss:
I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.

What would the world be without the wacky but poignant doses of the best medicine from the good doctor?

I’ve actually known people to be annoyed with silliness. Sure, one can argue it has a time and a place. But then one could also argue that bringing levity to any situation cannot be entirely construed as a bad thing. It also brings to mind the great Monty Python skit Confuse-A-Cat. Despite its inherent wackiness, the overlaying message is a severe one. It’s all too easy to get bogged down by routine. If we cannot see beyond our noses like the people in the City of Reality in Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth [another great source of profound silliness] then how can we know we’re alive?

...the most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between, and they took great pleasure in doing just that. Then one day someone discovered that if you walked as fast as possible and looked at nothing but your shoes you would arrive at your destination much more quickly. Soon everyone was doing it. They all rushed down the avenues and hurried along the boulevards seeing nothing of the wonders and beauties of their city as they went.

No one paid any attention to how things looked, and as they moved faster and faster everything grew uglier and dirtier, and as everything grew uglier and dirtier they moved faster and faster, and at last a very strange thing began to happen. Because nobody cared, the city slowly began to disappear. Day by day the buildings grew fainter and fainter, and the streets faded away, until at last it was entirely invisible. There was nothing to see at all.

- The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster

Bringing fantasy and craziness is not just the job of comedians and authors. It’s a duty of all humans. We must have a reality that shines with silly, lusters with laughter and is filled with fantasy.

If we cannot laugh and play, then we are truly lost.

Be sure to read Danielle Mari’s insightful post if you have not already.
The videos alone are worth it.

Here's the video for Confuse-A-Cat.

Just Wait...

Here’s something NOT to think about: Waiting.
It seems that we are always waiting for something. For lunchtime. For a reply. For a movie release. For the right person. For…anything. Once whatever "it" is arrives, another “it” can immediately take the place. We are forever looking ahead to the next thing we anticipate, need or desire. Oh sure, it’s good to live in the moment, that whole ball of wax. But even that positive attitude doesn’t erase the fact that we mark dates on our calendars for upcoming events. Try not to think about the ever continuous process of intervening time between where you are now and what you want to occur.

“Everyone is just waiting…” – Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

“How much of human life is lost in waiting.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Waiting is.” – Michael Valentine Smith, Stranger in a Strange Land

“The waiting is the hardest part.” – Tom Petty

"Wait till your father gets home!" – Mothers everywhere

“The waiting time, my brothers, Is the hardest time of all.” - Sarah Doudney

“Now we play the waiting game...” (pause) “Awwoh, the waiting game sucks! Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!" - Homer Simpson

“We're waiting for Godot.” – Vladimir, Waiting for Godot

"Still waiting..." - Talking Heads