43 Ideas for Birthday 43: Fairy Godmother Dress for Success

Ever since I saw Octavia Spencer in this dress for the 2012 Academy Awards I've had this wonderful dream of somehow, someway having a Fairy Godmother wave her wand and manage to bring a similarly flattering semi-couture dress by Japanese Designer Tadashi Shoji into my life. The man knows how to dress curves, or at least has worked with Ms. Spencer to dress her curves.

I mean look at these other styles.

Yes, I know it takes a team and money, and more money -- but I'm dreaming, and Disney has a LOT of work to do for me. I was promised a Fairy Godmother, or at least a few housecleaning woodland creatures.

 
So far? NADA!

World’s Shortest Fairytale

Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl, "Will you marry me?" The girl said "No" and she lived happily ever after and went shopping, drank martinis beverages with friends, always sometimes had a clean house, never had to cook (unless she felt like it), had a closet full of comfy shoes and gigantic handbags, stayed relatively skinny heathly looking, and never had to share her remote or watch football*.

The End

*except for ogling those tight ends

Happy Birthday to Bro! Repost

Original version posted: October 8, 2008

Once upon a time, about one score and ten years ago, a small family of four was living in the land of the Utes anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Stork. The Mommy and Daddy had told their darling daughter and active little son that Mommy’s tummy was growing because there was going to be a new brother or sister left under the Cabbage Patch. The little girl was very excited because she already had one little brother to play Make-Believe with and was really, really hoping that the Stork would bring her a baby sister to share in new adventures.

And lo, it came to pass, that the days turned from summer into fall and the Mommy’s tummy got bigger and bigger. The children began to wonder if the Stork would ever come. One night, the little girl woke up and saw one of her Fairy Great-Aunts coming into her bedroom to check on her. She got excited because that had to mean that Mommy and Daddy were out in the Cabbage Patch waiting for the Stork to make the Important Delivery. She was almost too excited to sleep, just like at Christmas, but the Sandman sprinkled her eyes with his magic dust and off to Dreamland she went.

At last morning came, and the Daddy came in from the Cabbage Patch. He got his grumpy little boy out bed and in they went to the girl’s bedroom to wake her up. Once the Daddy sat down on the bed and everyone was settled, he told his children that the Stork had come to visit. For some reason, the little girl began to get a very, very, very Bad Feeling. Somehow, she just knew that what was left under the Cabbage Patch was not the little sister she had been thinking about for the longest time, but yet another pesky (at-times) little brother. It would be hard to describe the little girl’s initial feelings of disappointment at this juncture, but she was very brave and did not cry. She listened to the Daddy tell her and her brother that they were the Big Kids now and had to help the Mommy out with their new tiny Baby Brother. Eventually, the Daddy went back out to the Cabbage Patch to bring back the Mommy and the Baby. Both the little boy and little girl got to hold the little creature and decided to not throw him to the trolls under the bridge after all.

Years passed, as they do in the land of fairy tales. The little girl grew to love her baby brother just as much as she had her other comrade in imaginary tales of Make-Believe. For lo, it turned out that infant grew up into an tall, odd creature, at time spouting hair that make him look like a great-horned owl, at other times having long luscious locks that the Indian Maidens of Yore would envy, or become hursuite in preparation for the Christmas pagent circuit. It could be said that his humor was bizarre, and that he shared a strange affinity for pirates. He would always loathe appropriate footwear, much to his detriment on travels. He would take journeys to far away lands, eat his share of beans and rice, raft down great rivers, tangle with Geographically-Confused Constables of the Law, emulate Wizards named Jobs, and do much sharing of the snark. He would eventually grow into a Man, and start a little family of his own in the Land of the Utes. As the Circle of Life wheeled around, he too would share in the age-old Daddy Dilemma of explaining to older sisters that the Stork was coming to upset the Apple Cart.

Happy Birthday Baby Brother. Love ya!

What’s in a name?

I was in the midst of a conversation with someone the other day when they asked me what one of my family member’s real name was. I had to stop and think about it, posing this question in return: “You mean the name on their birth certificate?”

It is hard to explain that this person has had many names that we consider a “real name.” There was the internal family nickname; the version used during the late-mid teens; one that was tested out briefly and rejected just as quickly; and the name that appeared on the school-records. The designation used now by the individual in question is the one that they picked out themselves to use as they reached adulthood. While it may also be considered an initial or a symbol, it is who they are now and therefore it is considered and used as a “real name.” (Okay, the government may not agree, but until legal papers are filed, it’s real.)

The conversation made me realize that most of the men in family don’t use their real names. Long before the use of handles for e-mails, tweets, or blogs, the male members of family (on both sides) have been using monikers that they had chosen themselves--either nicknames given them or adaptations of their given surnames or family names--gradually claiming them as their own. It does come in handy. My father can pinpoint how people know him, either from what stage of his life, or if it is personally or professionally, by which version of his name they use; this doesn't even count the titles or honorifics. Usually most family and friends have adjusted to the name changes over the years, but it can lead to comedic situations when more than one family member is using the same name. It’s gotten to the point in conversations when we have to use “your X” and “my X” when referencing husbands/sons/fathers/brothers.

To a certain extent, my mother and I deal with the name thing as well. I will NOT abide the use of a certain nickname, aside from some very select great aunts who can call me just about anything they want to. (I've already talked about my fake name ad nauseum on the blog, so I won't here.) My mother has different issues with her name(s). One version is as generic as John Doe. However, use of her first and middle name, along with a Southern twang, will immediately illicit a negative and defensive reaction. I asked her about it one time and she basically said: “It takes me back to that girl that I was, and I am not that person anymore.”

It isn't uncommon in Native or other cultures for a person to have many names throughout a lifetime. In some cultures it also isn’t uncommon to let the children choose their own names when they are older. In other religions and cultures, new names are given during adulthood or other sacred ceremonies. It is also well established in fairy tales and other ancient lore, that names have power. In the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling illustrates this when she writes about you know who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Many ancient stories have many other situations where people are much cautioned about the exchange of names. Given the evils of identity theft and the misuse of bestowing of cable channel/brand name appellations upon innocent babes, these warnings are still valid.

How about instead of names, we fall back on knowing each other by our works and deeds? The Good Book does say, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

Maybe this would be easier than having to deal with nicknames, mispronunciations, fake fake names, and identity theft?

Just a thought.

Happy Birthday to Bro!

Once upon a time, about one score and ten years ago, a small family of four was living in the land of the Utes anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Stork. The Mommy and Daddy had told their darling daughter and active little son that Mommy’s tummy was growing because there was going to be a new brother or sister left under the Cabbage Patch. The little girl was very excited because she already had one little brother to play Make-Believe with and was really, really hoping that the Stork would bring her a baby sister to share in new adventures.

And lo, it came to pass, that the days turned from summer into fall and the Mommy’s tummy got bigger and bigger. The children began to wonder if the Stork would ever come. One night, the little girl woke up and saw one of her Fairy Great-Aunts coming into her bedroom to check on her. She got excited because that had to mean that Mommy and Daddy were out in the Cabbage Patch waiting for the Stork to make the Important Delivery. She was almost too excited to sleep, just like at Christmas, but the Sandman sprinkled her eyes with his magic dust and off to Dreamland she went.

At last morning came, and the Daddy came in from the Cabbage Patch. He got his grumpy little boy out bed and in they went to the girl’s bedroom to wake her up. Once the Daddy sat down on the bed and everyone was settled, he told his children that the Stork had come to visit. For some reason, the little girl began to get a very, very, very Bad Feeling. Somehow, she just knew that what was left under the Cabbage Patch was not the little sister she had been thinking about for the longest time, but yet another pesky (at-times) little brother. It would be hard to describe the little girl’s initial feelings of disappointment at this juncture, but she was very brave and did not cry. She listened to the Daddy tell her and her brother that they were the Big Kids now and had to help the Mommy out with their new tiny Baby Brother. Eventually, the Daddy went back out to the Cabbage Patch to bring back the Mommy and the Baby. Both the little boy and little girl got to hold the little creature and decided to not throw him to the trolls under the bridge after all.

Years passed, as they do in the land of fairy tales. The little girl grew to love her baby brother just as much as she had her other comrade in imaginary tales of Make-Believe. For lo, it turned out that infant grew up into an tall, odd creature, at time spouting hair that make him look like a great-horned owl, at other times having long luscious locks that the Indian Maidens of Yore would envy. His humor was bizarre, and he shared a strange affinity for pirates. He would take journeys to far away lands, eat his share of beans and rice, raft down great rivers, tangle with Geographically-Confused Constables of the Law, emulate Wizards named Jobs, and do much sharing of the snark. He would eventually grow into a Man, and start a little family of four of his own in the Land of the Utes. As the Circle of Life wheeled around, he too would share in the age-old Daddy Dilemma of explaining to an older sister that the Stork was coming to upset the Apple Cart.

Happy 30th Birthday Baby Brother. I would not have traded you in, or missed our adventures, squabbles, tears, trials, laughter, and love, for all the little sisters in the world ... well most of the time anyway.

Love ya,
Sis

A Fair(y) Use Tale

In this age of computers, copiers, scanners, video and sound clips, and photo and file sharing, the rights of the author and/or copyright holder are challenged as never before. This was most recently brought to light with the distribution of unauthorized materials written by Stephenie Meyer. She basically stopped writing a novel because someone else posted materials they weren't authorized to share and wrecked it for the rest of us. (THANKS A LOT!)

Most libraries have notices near their copy machines warning patrons NOT to abuse the copyright law. Patrons are allowed to copy portions of materials for study use only, but not allowed to make copies if materials are going to be used for financial purposes. Students in library school are taught about the copyright law, as it is a tricky area and hard to police. As users, we may not even think about it when we paste pictures into blogs and e-mails or create multimedia videos to share on the 'Net. There have been lawsuits galore over the scope of copyright and the fair use concept. Companies, like Disney for example, are known to sue small businesses, like daycares, when they use Disney's trademarked images without authorization.

To help us understand the copyright law and the fair use concept, Eric Faden, a Bucknell professor, has produced an amazing video -- A Fair(y) Use Tale -- which cuts together thousands of extremely short clips from dozens of Disney cartoons, lifting individual words and short phrases to spell out an articulate, funny, and thoroughly educational lesson on how copyright works.

It's an entertaining AND informative 10-minute video. Check it out and keep this in mind the next time you make a copy or post that picture on your blog.