An Historical Day

Once again it is the anniversary of the day that Sir James Matthew Barrie entered into our reality. He left his mark, and we salute him. (I know I do!) Last year I displayed a special decorative, (commemorative?) envelope featuring Barrie. See it and read how I obtained it here.



Just imagine if I paraded around like Schroeder in Peanuts.

As if inspired by Barrie's celebratory day, I came up with a location that shall be found on NeverWorld in subsequent adventures. I've hinted and teased quite a bit about projects... so I'll let you in on this new idea: Londoom. Like the charming city we all know but as a darker, nightmarish, dangerous version. Peter will recognize it...until he flies in closer. I almost want to write some of it now. But it shall have to wait.

Much gratitude, Mr. Barrie, for your marvelous puer aeternus mythology.

Bravo, Sir!

Shhh...Heroic Writers at Work!

I've made it no secret that I'm fan of Heroes. Sure, it had its wobbles in the middle, we all know so... but it found its niche again just in time. At least for me and some friends. We're still enjoying it. Well, Heroes: Fugitives is now completed. Moira Lewelyn asked me in a recent comment how I liked the finale. I did like it. Not stellar, but not without shine either. The expected twist at the end managed to acutally be a twist - unforeseen. (At least for me.) It's quite a disturbing use of Matt Parkman's power. I applauded that... even though it seems a little gimmicky. But it's a gimmick I felt willing to accept. It's important to remember the show's arguable source material - comic books. It's even self-referential to them since the beginning with Isaac Mendez's paintings being described as a comic book. So with that notion comes a great deal of fantasticary. [Though as we learned from the sagging middle too much can spoil the brew!] What surprised me most is that I'm satiated. I imagined I'd be "jonesing" for another episode, to be tortured by needing to see what happens next. But no. I'm content. It felt completed. A chapter ended most definitely.

Yet just because it's off the air doesn't mean it's not running. The other side of the screen is abuzz... as the writers are hard at work. Info released yesterday said casting is underway for a new female character, reportedly a love interest. Speculation as to for who ensues... and I have my own theory given the info presented. I must share a snippet from the article I read on IGN. For those of you who watch Heroes, you'll understand. Ask anyone I talk to about the show... the latter is my one true concern. :)

All I'm asking is that Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) not be the one with the new girlfriend. Not until he can figure out a way not to get his girlfriends accidentally shot or trapped forever in an alternate plague-ridden future. - Matt Fowler

I found the above so true as to be hilarious. Hope you enjoyed it, too. (Poor Caitlin!)
So, along with everyone else, I will sit and wait until the Fall for Heroes: Redemption.

Tim Kring, Bryan Fuller and the rest of the team: Thanks for the fun.

Looking forward to more. Bravo.

Peter's a Punk? Apparently...

Much to my surprise, I came across a manifestation of Peter Pan which I had not hitherto been aware. That’s not meant to sound pompous. It’s just that, for the most part, it’s difficult to bring a version to my attention that I had not previously come upon in my studies - from the Disney mini-comic of the Darling’s trip to a summer home (where Pan just happens to visit) to the Japanese language primer which uses the Pan story, I’ve seen it. I also own most of the variations available. Fact is I probably should have come across it before, as it came out in 1991. My bad?

This particular rendition is hailed as a parody. It’s another comic entitled Peter Pank.
A punk version of Peter. And as ironic as this sounds, an adult version. Not Pan himself per se (although he does seem more on the adolescent side) but in terms of content. The mermaids don’t have fish tails, for instance, nor are they wearing any clothes at all. (Gasp!)

I cannot speak specifically on the comic, as I have nothing to go on except for the pictures I’ll post the link to… and also…it’s in Spanish. I’ve taken Spanish in school, but school had been too many years ago and I don’t quite fair so well in the learning another language department. Thus, I cannot read but a few passages. However, I did notice the hook is on the right wrong hand. It does seem like it could be fun, though.

There’s a little bit more about this series created by Max (Francesc Capdevila) at Wikipedia. It details some of the reworked story… aren’t you curious what Max has done with the “Indians?” [I did find this line in Wikipedia odd: While in Peter Pan, Peter is simply a boy who refused to grow up to a man, in Peter Pank he's a vicious, rebellious, belligerent punk Obviously someone never read the original story… :) ]

Here’s the page (WARNING! Adult images!) I found which shows some more of the comic. Each page is click-able for a larger view.

Enjoy?

Typical.

Just a little to say on the “Indians” stereotype in the story of Peter Pan.
It’s been brought up in many different forms - from Barrie’s own treatment to Disney’s horrific portrayal. In the foreword of Peter Pan’s NeverWorld, I explain the wherefore of how I present them.

However, regardless of the way Native Americans are handled in the eternal boy story, let us not forget one essential truth: They’re not the only ones who “suffer” at the onslaught of a cliché. For instance, Mr. Darling can be seen as a parody of fatherhood, Mrs. Darling as the ideal mother (despite “losing” her children!), Wendy is all “girl” and John and Michael Darling have an overlaying desire to be English Gentleman.

Barrie didn’t mean offense. In his day, “Indians” (Native Americans) were a mysterious group in a far away land. Little had been known other than what adventure stories already depicted by stretching some truth.

All in all, I think Barrie shows them as noble, intelligent and with reverence while keeping their (now stereotypical) customary aspects intact. I strove to do the same.

So before bashing Tiger Lily, Great Big Little Panther and their tribe, consider how much Barrie is mocking the English aristocracy as well.

What Barrie Wrote Out the Window

Back in this post I brought up a discrepancy in Barrie’s work. Namely the amount of time Peter Pan spent at his parents’ house before flying away. It varies by version. But is it really a discrepancy? Let’s have a look.

In the eternal boy's first ever appearance, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens*, we are told he flew away seven days after being born. Though just one week does not sound very long, it is in fact the most amount of time given for the scenario.

For when Barrie created further adventures in the play, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up we hear Pan say he left the day of his birth. Aha! The discrepancy!

You’ve probably heard (read?) me say that Barrie preferred the book over the play. What does he write in the novel? Wendy, I ran away the day I was born. So does it stand to reason he’d definitely switched it in his mind to a day rather than a week? Possibly.

However, the book is technically not the final version of the story. Consider from his screenplay: I ran away from home, Wendy, soon after I was born. Aha! Peter states it a little differently now. Note the ambiguity – “soon after.” Could be any time from the same day to seven days later.

So what are we to make of the situation? We could just dismiss it right here, content in knowing that Peter Pan spent a very short time at home. Perhaps the exact amount isn’t important. Very possible, but one more factor must be considered.

It can even be considered the solution – one provided by Barrie. Don’t forget Peter’s memory is not to be trusted. Plus, he’s inclined to make stuff up. Just as with the directions to the Neverland, Peter said anything that came into his head at the time. In fact, it’s also supported by the text of the novel: “I don’t know,” he replied uneasily, “but I am quite young.” He really knew nothing about it, he had merely suspicions, but he said at a venture, “Wendy, I ran away the day I was born.” Therefore, it would seem definite that Peter is just wrong on the amount. He doesn’t remember exactly. Yet we also know from the text that he did live in Kensington Gardens for a while, so the first story did occur. (Yes, Peter Pan is the one who tells us this bit of history as well, but it's supported by an entire novella.)

So what are we to conclude?

The “soon after” of the screenplay is obviously meant to cover both accounts of the event. But given Pan’s lack of understanding and knowledge, we must look to the place which has no such ties to Peter relating the story. Which takes us back to the Peter Pan origin adventure, where the narrator states the duration as a week. Coupling it with Barrie's preference to the book form, it also makes sense as Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is both a book and its events are not negated by any version of the story. Thus, seven days is the correct answer.

I hope I’ve cleared it up.

Unfortunately, Barrie is not without a few other mysteries in his most famous tale. And the “big one” of these is quite a doozy – but I’ve tinkered with it and I believe I have a Barriesque solution. I’ve mentioned my interquel of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and Peter and Wendy before. But that’s a story for another day.

*Technically, it's The Little White Bird, as PPiKG is a story within that story.

Still Standing...

By the way, the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens appeared "as if by magic" on this date in 1912.

You can read a little more about it in my post last year here.

[Just add a year... ;) ]

And to think... I'll be seeing it in person very soon!

I'm excited, despite my not actually liking it all that much.

But the prospect of being next to it is enticing...

Novel Novels

Here’s some wacky news from the land of the literary which I found on one of my favorite sites, Boing Boing.

Fantasy author Peter Brett wrote a book on an industrial-grade HP iPAQ. And if that doesn’t sound impressive (or delightfully insane) already… it’s a 100,000 word novel. He says: As I got faster and faster typing with my thumbs, I wound up just writing prose on it. After doing that for a while, and realizing I could do it from anywhere, I made a commitment to myself to write on the train everyday. I admire his tenacity. Although it’s a wonderful idea… to make creative use of otherwise ‘wasted’ time .... I’d imagine revisions would be a bitch. Sometimes one sentence becomes garbled up over and over into something else entirely… seems it would be frustrating to go back constantly on a small device like that. Bravo, sir! Quite productive.


A new work from author Jeff Burk:

It's the first ShatnerCon with William Shatner as the guest of honor! But after a failed terrorist attack by Campbellians, a crazy terrorist cult that worships Bruce Campbell, all of the characters ever played by William Shatner are suddenly sucked into our world. Their mission: hunt down and destroy the real William Shatner.

How on earth does one get away with this? First of all, it’s that strange “fictionalizing” of real people in an overly bizarre and slanderous (used hyperbolically) fashion. Plus, what about the rights to all of those characters? Jeepers. How does one even THINK of this book anyway? None of what I’ve said is meant to be taken as condemnation… just as a happy “What the hell?”


The Boing Boing posts for more info and links:
Novel on HP iPAQ
Shatnerquake