Send Off for Sendak

Another great has passed on today...

Maurice Sendak's page has gone blank.

His most famous work, Where the Wild Things Are, is actually one of the first books I ever cherished. I don't think my mother understood the fascination.  (But that might be par for the course. Both with that particular book and my favorites in general.)

Mr. Sendak's ability to tap into the collective and primal psyche is a force to be reckoned with, that's for certain. Like Barrie, he semed to walk on the border of childhood and adulthood - utilizing that marvelous and mysterious grey area to the fullest. In fact, I seem to recall Mr. Sendak saying that he doesn't write for children or adults. That's the way I like it. And the way I, too, function.

Farewell, Maurice Sendak!

Thanks for the inspiration, stories, illustrations and just in general - sharing your wild imagination.

Immortalized on the Game Again!

Good gravy!  I truly am running out of ways to say:
1) It happened again.
2) Is it just that I am prone to looking for it... or does someone at Jeopardy! love the boy on the island as well?

The category "The Immortals," I must say, did not actually make me think of Pan.  But there, hiding first off under the $200 spot he showed up.

It's interesting that they did classify him as an Immortal.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it isn't correct.  Just that it's never (ha!) directly stated that Pan is immortal.  Only by the context and clues of the story as it unfolds can we make that claim.  Gotta love irrefutable inference, am I right?

Know What? Never, Actually...

If you're a follower of my posts here, it's likely that you've read about my friend Gil.

I met Gil last June.  Since then he's become one of my favorite people.  We've been through a lot and are great friends - to the tune of hanging out as many as four or more days a week.  We have much in common and make each other laugh.  The truth is I'm quite a bit older than him.  And not just a little, really quite a lot.  But it didn't put any stops in our friendship.  I've got a Peter Pan complex, remember?  I act his age most of the time (not meant in any bad sense) anyway.  [Most people mis-guess my age by as much as 15 years!]  In fact, the age difference worked out well, for he'd been able to put me in touch with "current" ideas, culture and lingo and by the same token I've "taught" him a bunch of "old school" things.  But usually, the gap straight up didn't matter a whit.   Just an all around great buddy, my best friend here in the city [as opposed to Laughter, my true best friend - who, by the way, is also very fond of Gil.]  So you can imagine how devastated I'd been when it came to pass that he'd be moving away!

Yep, an opportunity arose out of the blue, and he decided to jump on it.  It wouldn't be any small move, either, but of the distance and life-changing variety.  I'm here in Chicago and his plans would take him to Baltimore.  Those plans?  A sweet job [which would also involve trips to South America] and otherwise being just an hour or so from his home turf.  Which meant not only would he be doing something he figured he would love, but also being that much closer to HIS actual best friend, not to mention other members of his family.  Truly happy for him, I had to let that outweigh my sadness.  And it did, but being bummed would creep in from time to time.  And time seemed quite short.  For he'd be leaving in just two weeks [from when the opportunity arose]!  We'd been looking forward to a fantastic Summer of fun.

We decided to make the most of our time and spent nearly all of it together, more than usual if that's even possible.  But as can be expected with expecting every moment to count, we'd grated on each other a bit.  Don't get me wrong, everything had been and is fine between us.  It's just that we needed some patches apart, too. Familiarity breeds contempt as they say... But the clock kept ticking, right?  I'll be damned, though, if I didn't seem like I'd spent an entire two weeks crammed into one!

To put a fly in the ointment, as the saying goes, my excellent and long-time friend Sunshine came to town the final weekend that Gil would be here.  I'd known about Sunshine's visit for a couple of months in advance [coming to perform in an Improv Troupe as part of the Chicago Improv Festival] and I'd been uber-excited for her to meet Gil.  So you can imagine the turmoil and churning inside knowing I'd have to deal with dividing my time between the two of them - and that circumstances would prevent Gil and her from coming face to face.

I find it's nearly impossible for me to NOT relate events in my life to the tale of Peter Pan.  So it's no surprise that I felt like him - and my favorite Lost Boy would be going off to grow up!  Not that I'd be alone on the island by a long shot.  But no one wants to see a best friend no longer be around, especially when the adventures together had been so sweet.  And so, that's ONE way that my friendship with Gil ties into the art of storytelling.  There's another, but I shall save that for a different post, as it deserves its own.  For you see, as it turns out... this tale had been far from over!

 

I'd been ultra lucky enough to be able to spend all day Friday with Sunshine beginning with breakfast, joined by NutTree (a mutual friend from college) as well as Zoey.  Sunshine and I had a magical visit full of reminiscing, running amok downtown, excellent improv theatre and laughs.   Later in the day, I got to meet her lovely, funny and enjoyable friends who would be performing with her.  They're friends of Sunshine, how could they not be utterly entertaining and wonderful folk?  Even better, Doodles came in from the suburbs on Saturday afternoon and we had a great time as well.  We met up with Sunshine, but of course (we had all gone to college together, you see), and we cheered for her in her moments of glory on the stage when performance time rolled around.  For the record, Banky and Clara came to see her show, too!  And Zoey again – oh.  She’s a long-time friend of mine, along with Sunshine and Doodles.  But I digress... I -had- been talking about Gil.  But it's not as if his leaving had been out of mind during all of this joy either.

Gil had a window open on Sunday, so off I went to spend the day with him...(missing another performance of Sunshine in the process!) which I knew just might prove to be the last time I'd see him in who knows how long.  But something happened.  To put it in a nutshell:  Gil had heard from the "other end" of things and apparently the tune of what would be happening changed.  It no longer seemed so wonderful, one might go as far to say shady.  Suddenly it did not seem like a good move (figuratively and literally) at all.  But we weren't sure.  A genuine dilemma.  Thus, we (us and his sister) had been in limbo.  Gil in a different and much more dire version of it, naturally.  He had his whole future on the line!  I’d just been dealing with the possible "loss" of a great friend.  When I left that night the decision had still not been made - as info had yet to come from the other end.  As much as I would love to have him stay, I certainly wanted the best for him.  If only what’s best had been clear...

The next day he texted me to come over in the early evening.  I’d be able to meet his mother (another Peter Pan reference!) for her plans in the city finally left a spot open.  I’d been thrilled.  I’ve talked with her on speaker-phone and heard great things about her.  So I went off, got re-tracked (by Gil, in mid-transit) and wound up at a bar/grill with them.  Needless to say, I now know why Gil's so charming - his Mom is pure delight. 

I know you’re in suspense as to how this turned out.  Just imagine how it felt for all involved, right?  Over the course of the visit there in the booth, Gil let me know what had been decided.  After all that roller coaster, full of bittersweet and emotionally charged incidents, he’s staying!  He decided to give Chicago another go and make his major life shifts here instead.  And he has!  The very next day, would you believe it, Gil landed himself a sweet job.  How great it had been to hear the joy in his voice when he called to tell me.  Way to go, Gil!

 

So there you have it...  QUITE a weekend, eh?

If there's one thing I've [re]learned over the past month, it's that if we think we know what tomorrow will bring, we're just pretending.  Or, let me say it via a lyric from my favorite band:

All that you dream of will echo surprise – and all you have to do is just believe.

Peter Pan is 100 - AGAIN!

Well, folks, another Peter Pan Centennial has arrived!

As of today, the statue of the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up has been drawing visitors to it for 100 years!

Yep, having appeared without warning (as if by magic) as per Barrie's request on this date, it's a testament to the enduring quality of the magnificent character.

Now if only it looked like Barrie's photos instead... but, I'm just being a purist again.  Not meant in any way to slight George Frampton's statue, it's a masterpiece in and of itself.  I know, I had the good fortune to see it in person from every angle.  I spent a good chunk of time there! ;)

An "Other" from Andrea!

Fortunately for us all, the illustrious Andrea Jones has not put down her pen!

That's right, folks.  The well-crafted, engaging and commendable alternate timeline of Barrie's world of Pan shall return.

I woke up one morning recently to an exclusive - the cover of Other Oceans, the sequel to Hook & Jill.  Andrea has since unleashed it to the wilds of the internet, but I certainly felt special getting a pre-peek of it.

I absolutely love the 'callback' quality of it to the first cover.  It's just as stunning and promising, no?  I asked about the keys - they are indeed a (ahem!) key element in the tale.

And how sweet to have quoted me, wouldn't you say?  I meant every word.  And I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm looking forward to every word.  Of course, I also have had an extensive insight into the tale from Andrea herself during out last get together.  We're all in for a treat!  And bear this in mind, dear readers: I say that even though Peter Pan is not a player in it!  [He's in the Neverland, right?  This book takes to another seafaring adventure with the Pirate Queen.]

It will be arriving on the shores in July.

The site, a subset of the Hook & Jill site, is here.

AHOY!

Peter Pan, a Crock?

I had to share this...

Who says things in the Neverland are complete figmentation?

Andrea Jones, author of Hook & Jill, posted this on Facebook.  I love her comment.  (In fact, I'm the one who hit "Like" as seen on the screen capture!)

It's a photo in an album by someone named Bobby Flaherty...



Click for Larger Photo



Certainly brings Barrie to mind... and who else would make sure to note it than Andrea?

FORCING The Force

It finally happened.

It happened for many others a long time ago, but not for me.

But now? I’m sad that it has.

Star Wars has gone sour for me.

You have to understand... I’d been a little kid when the original Star Wars movie (now known as Episode IV - A New Hope) came out in 1977. I’d been just as entranced and obsessed as the next kid (or adult.) I’ve followed it all the way through... speculating with the best of ‘em. I knew a lot of the obscure info, backstories of characters and the like.

When word came that the first three parts would be coming circa twenty years later, ecstatic is not a strong enough word. To give you some idea of my elation, I said to Doodles one night (and I meant it): Star Wars is a gift from god. Doodles jumped on it with a half-laugh and replied, Okay, THAT’s the overstatement of the year. A beat later, though, she eked out: Althooough, technically everything is, so THAT might be an understatement! Such had been the depth of our devotion. With the precepts of The Force so etched into our psyches, we probably literally shivered with anticipation.

And then, Episode I did arrive. And much of the world wishes it hadn’t. Me? I liked it. A lot. I’m not going to begin to debate any of it with anyone. But I will say that Queen Amidala rocked my world. Color me whatever shade of misguided, stupid or ridiculous you want, but I enjoyed the story. I never would have guessed at those events as an “origin” of what I knew to be so. It didn’t match any of my ideas and that helped quite a bit in my enjoyment. Yes, yes, yes, the ‘Midi-chlorians’ were a little weird, but I accepted them. I even liked Jar-Jar. Before you throw rocks at me, tell me, just tell me he’s not any more or less annoying than C-3PO. [And personally, I think most of us who are now adults have forgotten - Star Wars is for kids.]

As time went on and the next two parts came to light...I liked those, too. Sure, I had my qualms such as a certain actor’s lack of ability and the degeneration of the feisty Amidala into a whining and helpless creature... sure, sure... it has its down moments. But on the whole, it had been okay. Anything that didn’t sit right with me I could look the other way in favor of what had all been amazing otherwise. And even though those bits were somewhat troublesome, they never made me entirely scoff. In other words, I learned to accept them as part of the triumphant saga, Lucas just told us a different tale than I (and most) might have expected.

I liked (most) of the ‘Special Edition’ revisions as well, respecting Lucas’s desire to make it more like the original vision in his head now that he could.

I even clamored for more in the form of The Clone Wars TV show. Having found a new favorite character in Ahsoka Tano, I eagerly watched the Empire slowly take its hold. But it’s precisely this series that pushed it too far. No, not the rampant Star Wars merchandise... not even the Tauntaun-innards sleeping bag nor the Lego Video Games (which allowed such things as Luke to use Lightning!) made me wince. But a slew of “WHAT IN THE UNIVERSE?”s that arose during the show came along. And one of them had been the final blow that turned off the tractor beam hold Star Wars had on me.

The parts that raised my eyebrows?

An entire episode in which The Force had been embodied by guy on a distant asteroid/planet who had a daughter (Light Side) and son (Dark Side) and... yeah, it got horrifically silly. My friend who is so Star Wars obsessed he had a Jedi robe made for himself told me the only way he could let it into his perception is thus: It’s a bad fan made (as in not a good/serious/knowledgeable fan as well as poorly done) episode that somehow got on the air. I laughed. I used his idea in order to wash it clean. But then other episodes took turns way beyond hyperspace of acceptable - Obi Wan Kenobi physically altering his body to look like a bounty hunter to infiltrate... yada yada.... Um, okay, I’m supposed to believe that a way to ACTUALLY change his body’s structure and morph into this other guy (with a chip in his throat to give him the other guy’s voice even) exists within the universe of Star Wars! This isn’t a simple matter like “why don’t double-edged lightsabers exist in IV, V & VI?” [That has an explanation, for the record!] But body morphing for ONE ‘job’ only, never to be heard from before or again? Just no. It’s preposterous and doesn’t belong in the least.

But what stopped my thrusters dead?

When a coven of witches unleashed zombies of their exalted dead warriors. WHAT THE?? As you might know from this post, I cannot, will not, abide zombies. I, personally, am just done with them. And I certainly don’t want them in the Star Wars Universe!

Strike number three, I’m out.

No, I don’t suddenly hate it entirely or something of that sort. But sadly it’s kicked down a notch. I’ll never be able to stop revering the good parts. Yet as for wanting any more to do with anything new that comes out (such as the live action series in the works) I will pay it no mind.

I never would have thought that I could sour on such a legend.