Break Out the Cage - Magic's Afoot

I'd been all set to write a "real" post... and then I saw this.

Right up my alley...
looking forward to it, even it just turns out to be "merely" entertaining.
I'm especially fond of what's going on at 2:14
I hope it's what I think it is - nice homage.

'Ware Santa...

My how times change!

I’ve been listening to old Xmas radio shows.
A favorite of mine: Fibber McGee & Molly.

In one of them (not Fibber), Santa Claus comes to visit. A little boy’s mother tells Santa that the boy has been naughty.  She then asks Santa to give him a good beating.

I don’t think that would be accepted in a program produced today.

Avast Ye! What a Weekend!

For two rounds of the sun,
me hearty and I served the Pirate Queen on deck three.

Let me rephrase that.

Over the weekend, Bart and I welcomed author Andrea Jones into our home.


I refer to her as the Pirate Queen because Andrea penned the magnificent novel Hook & Jill, which deals with not only one of the greatest pirates of them all (Captain Hook) but her own feisty female buccaneer of grand repute. You might already know from other posts (or by the whopping clue in this text) that her novel is set on the shores and waters of Sir J. M. Barrie’s fantastic isle. Hook & Jill is a “reworking” of the story of Peter Pan. Andrea played a “What If?” game with the original tale, veering it off into a grand adventure. [For more on this concept and how much I love it, see my post(s) here.] Ever since I met Andrea at her appearance at The Book Cellar, she and I have been emailing or chatting via Facebook. Eventually we realized the necessity of getting together again in person. As she had not yet seen Andrew Birkin’s The Lost Boys, I invited her to view it on our big TV. Quickly this turned into an old-fashioned “Sleepover” and we’d been planning it over a month - having set a date when both our schedules could match. Well, it finally happened this past weekend.


We had a delightful visit. Bart made Andrea’s acquaintance outside of cyberspace for the first time, and we all had a pleasant chat over the delectable vegetable soup Bart made from a recipe of one of his dearest friends, La Trix. After a while, though, Andrea and I must have driven Bart crazy with our talk of Barrie. Later on, Andrea and I watched P.J. Hogan’s Peter Pan. I bet you’ll believe that we stopped it every minute or so, eager to express our opinions. We shared which parts we deemed lovely or brilliant to what disenchanted us. I rather enjoyed Andrea’s take on certain elements, as this film is largely what inspired her to write her novel.


Later, Bart bestowed culinary magic upon us once again. A roast bone-in loin of pork marinated with orange-pineapple juice, cilantro and chipolte peppers along with baked potatoes and a mixed green salad with balsamic vinaigrette. (He’d been making dinner while Andrea and I watched the movie.) A lot more conversation ensued, and again Bart graciously dealt with our pontifications about Barrie’s masterpiece. Not that we only spoke of that subject, of course.


We had intended to watch Birkin’s mini-series, as I said. But after dinner, Bart retreated to the computer and Andrea and I remained at the table. I showed her my collection of obscure books that have to do with Peter Pan - ranging from ill conceived sequels to rare comic adaptations. Andrea had a list of items regarding Peter Pan’s NeverWorld - bits she enjoyed, questions she had, etc. We also discussed the presentation the two of us are to give next year at an author dinner in Wisconsin. (More on this as the event approaches.) Well, the next thing we knew, the bells reached three in the morning! How Time flies when you’re discussing the Neverland! Obviously we did not get to Birkin that night. But I did show/introduce her to an episode of Fox’s Peter Pan & the Pirates before bedtime. (Not to mention we realized we’d never gotten to the orange spice cake Andrea brought! {I'd been worried she would bring one of jolly thickness with green sugar on it! ;) }]


The next morning we went to brunch at a favorite haunt of Bart and I. (You might know from the dust jacket flap of my hardcover that going to brunch is a frequent activity.) When we returned, we began Birkin’s The Lost Boys. Bart watched with us, as he thoroughly enjoys the biopic as well. Andrea had been drawn in just as we had upon first viewing. But alas, we could not complete the entire show before she had to catch a train. We knew we'd have to continue the viewing at a later date. Oh what a shame - another get together. ;)


All in all, we had a marvelous visit. The long awaited “Sleepover” turned out to be as much fun as it sounded. Quite the thrill to talk shop with a fellow Barrie enthusiast. How delightful to learn more about the life and craft of a cherished author friend. Thank you, Andrea, for coming to stay with us. I so enjoyed sharing and “playing” in the Neverland with you!

Bits of the Story Leap Out...

Still reading Peter and Wendy.

I'm actually much further along than the part I am (sort of) mentioning, but I just had to share.

I came across a very telling scrap of evidence which might reveal...
...that I am correct in my calculations as to the "real" identity of Captain Jas. Hook.

It's a wonder I never noticed it before. But then, given that Hook only appears in Peter Pan's NeverWorld by mere mention, it might not be so surprising after all that I didn't stumble upon it before. For I have not belabored over the puzzle of the Captain's past.... just tinkered with it.

Of course, much like a lot of odd tidbits by Barrie, it could also be interpretted another way.

You didn't really think I'd tell you what the clue is or my theory on his identity, did you? No, sorry, saving that for a possible (not a guaranteed) book in which I present the origins of Hook, or at the very least how he wound in the Neverland. Maybe some day...

O man unfathomable. - Perhaps NOT!

And one other curious mention by Barrie which I'm re-noticing:

Then [Peter] got into the nest, reared the stave in it as a mast, and hung up his shirt for a sail. Shirt? He's dressed in leaves, isn't he? Well, yes... BUT: This scene of course parallel the bird's nest boat which allowed the flightless infant Pan in Kensington Gardens to cross the Serpentine. It also shows that Wendy (and other mothers) did indeed change Peter Pan's outfit fromt time to time. (Just in case anyone thought my new togs for Peter to be off course.) Then again, my "interpretation" of what he wears is based on the photographs Barrie took when he dressed up Michael Llewellyn-Davies as Peter Pan.

Calling for the PAN of Barrie's Classic!

So I've been reading through Peter and Wendy (a.k.a. Peter Pan) again on account of that really cool event that will be happening this weekend [which I hope to have permission to write about here.]

No matter which version of the novel being addressed, there is always too much missing. Ridiculously so. Sure, I understand that cuts and tweaks usually need to be made when transferring it to the visual medium. But does that always have to be the case? I've decided no.

If I ever am able to present my own filmed adaptation of Barrie's masterpiece, I am going to do using several parts. It seems the only way to be able to include it all (besides one VERY long film) is to spread it over several sections. I'm imagining the proverbial "mini-series." I'd also like to see it done in realistic motion-capture CGI animation. In many ways, it's the "best of both worlds."

It's truly a shame, for instance, that we always lose the full gamut of Mrs. Darling's fears and toils regarding the coming of Peter Pan. Do you even know about her scouring the floor with a candle in a panic for footprints? And She rattled the poker up the chimney and tapped the walls. She's really freaked out! I mentioned the loss of Mrs. Darling's interactions before in this post.

And none have fully realized the flight to the Neverland. What of the real duration? Where are the bouts with the birds? The touching of shark fins? And the Darlings fearful at being left by themselves when Pan darts off to some adventure without them?

It would also require the alluring task of adding some dialogue for passages such as: [Wendy] gave him a look of the most intense admiration, and he thought it was because he had run away, but it was really because he knew fairies. Wendy had lived such a home life that to know fairies struck her as quite delightful. She poured out questions about them, to his surprise...

If ever given the chance, I want to include it PAN (ALL.) And yes, there would HAVE to be a Narrator for the salient quips included as such.

If you've never read the original, please do so... you'll be surprised at how much you're missing!

What the Dickens? A Bit of Christmas Past!

I don't know about you, but I find things like the parchment writings of Charles Dickens fascinating. Bart and I feasted upon much in Dickens's house during our visit to London this past summer.

And now the New York Times has given us a treat for Xmas. Take a gander at

A Christmas Carol in its original form, even with some tweaks and changes.

Click here.

(Thanks to Tall Guy for bringing this to my attention on Facebook.)

Oh... if you're wondering why I have not yet 'reported' on the new Robert Zemeckis 3-D version... I have not yet seen it. Bart and I wanted to go with Banky & Clara. Clara (understandably) just couldn't "do" Xmas until after Thanksgiving. As it stands, we'll probably have to see it not this weekend, but the next. (I'll be doing something very cool this weekend, which I hope to be able to post about - the decision isn't entirely up to me as someone else is involved.) But rest assured, I shall indeed be seeing the new film version. As I said in this post, I'm quite excited. How I've lasted this long is a Festivus Miracle!

Until then...

The Remakery Horror

Okay, if you've been reading my posts,

you know that I "so" have a "thing" about movie remakes.

Short version: It's out of hand. Few and far between are movie remakes worthy / warranted / ideal. But otherwise, it's just maddening.

Who would have thought I could find something entirely NEW (get it?) to get vexed at regarding the proverbial reboot?

The original movie came out in 1979.

The remake came out in 2005.

The NEW remake is already being handled. So... maybe 2010?

SERIOUSLY? We need another version of this movie? So soon?

Why not just make a haunted house film and have people think "Hey, that's kinda like that other one..." and not slap the 'name' on it. Hasn't this town suffered enough? Oh sure, the "recognizable" name is what allegedly will draw people to it. Instant money bucket? PERHAPS, but so soon? It could be, however, that someone is just not yet satisfied with the manifestations of the Lutz family's plight and feels the need to rectify it. If so, I admire that, I really do... but so soon?

Have we all gone mad?

Make us believe in the unbelievable INDEED!