Pictures of My Childhood

While I was out of country, my Mother discovered a couple of boxes of old things I had been storing in my brother's closet space for many years. (I am so evil) Upon removing them to MY closet, I started to go through them and enjoyed a voyage into the mind of a child. My mind, that is. When I was a child. (Would it surprise you if it wasn't all that different from how it is now? Some of you it might. Those who know me...maybe not...)

Literary Lists

Since I was on the topic not too long ago, here's a (still admittedly short) list of fantasy books and series that I have started and want to finish, or want to start to see if they are any good.

- Harry Potter: now that all the books have been published and all the movies made, I might actually read/see them now. I told you I wasn't cutting edge!

- Discworld: read the first two and liked what I saw. Looking forward to more

- Inheritance Cycle: I need to read the last book...for old times sake if nothing else

- Wheel of Time: still haven't read the most recent book. I did notice that my local library has the audiobook on a whopping 30 cds. Maybe I'll borrow it and listen to it while I landscape?

- Redwall: I just heard today that Brian Jacques, the beloved author of the beloved Redwall series, passed away this past February. I loved his books when I was younger, and I want to read those I have not yet read. I shall mourn his passing.
- And as I said previously, A Song of Ice and Fire

Hmm...and while I'm at it, how about some other series I have read?

Forgotten Realms - A lot of R.A. Salvatore's stuff. Not really a fan any more. Felt rather uninspired after a while.

The Binding of the Blade - not all allegorical fiction is good. This series is. I recommend.
Stephen Lawhead's The Song of Albion and King Raven trilogies - the first is definitely fantasy. The second is more historical fiction, but it is epic, and it is a good read. I want to read more of his stuff.
Dune - only the first one...not particularly interested in the others. As much as I admire creativity when Worldbuilding, some places and universes are just too weird for me.
The Founding - this is an omnibus of three novels written by Dan Abnett about Gaunt's Ghosts, a fictitious military unit set in the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. It's interesting. Different. It is somewhat reminiscent of Forgotten Realms books in that it follows the general bents and patterns of an established game system, but not quite as constrained.
The Chronicles of Narnia - 'nuff said
Lord of the Rings - ditto...well, not really, since there are books outside the main trilogy. For my part, I have also read the Book of Unfinished Tales, the Children of Hurin, the Hobbit, the Silmarillion, and the first third of the The Book of Lost Tales. I suppose there's another series I need to finish.

I'm sure there are more I haven't thought of. Maybe I should make a permanent page for this list and continue to expand it as I go on? Something to think on...

Still in Bolivia. But I still wrote this before I left. I am a Phantom. Fear me.

~ Tommy

Larger Than Life Figures (con't from Master Puppeteer)

So I think I figured it out. What is it about the Muppets that inspired my childhood? Two words: Personality and Diversity.

PERSONALITY


Let's face it. The Muppets have wild personalities. From Kermit to Gonzo to Beaker to Bert to Oscar to Animal to the Fraggles, such incredibly wild personalities exist inside each one of them. They're not cookie cutter characters like we get in most fiction these days. I could name any number of rather flat, unimaginative character archetypes that have been used and are still being used in most fiction these days. Especially in Disney movies, with their never-ending catering to children with the same stories told again and again and again. Seriously, how many variations on a princess theme can you have? A wizard theme? Seriously. No, the Muppets certainly weren't flat characters. And I think that more than anything has influenced my creative enterprises.


DIVERSITY


A second point about the Muppets is the incredible variation amongst them. They are an incredibly eclectic group. Not one of them is like any other. We have talking animals, aliens, "people" with impossible skin tones, monsters, random furry creatures with bugles on their heads that can make noise by squeezing their noses (?), et cetera. How many movies are there where the protagonists are all of a kind, except for the token minority or alien--if even that? No, there is beauty in diversity. I appreciate this about the Muppets, and the shows they are featured on.

So that is my final analysis, which I had not even planned on making really. I hope you have enjoyed this random walk through the mind of a rather odd college student.


By the way, which title would make you more likely to read: "Master Puppeteer"? Or "Puppet Master"?


~ Tommy

Master Puppeteer

What is it about the Muppets that make them so darn endearing? To this day, I am still enamored with Jim Henson's creations, marveling at the incredible life they bring to the screen, despite being so obviously not real.

I mean, come on. Even when I was very young, I knew the Muppets weren't real. Big Bird was no more real than Santa Clause (no, my parents did not attempt to perpetuate that myth with me). But I loved watching. Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock; I loved 'em all. Still do, in fact. But why?

I've always felt a strong affinity for the fantastical. If children's books introduced me to magical and fantastical worlds, it was film that cemented it as the highest idea of fiction in my mind. I spent endless hours reading books by the faint light that seeped into my room from the hall at night, hoping my dad wouldn't suddenly appear and chastise me for not sleeping as I should have been. When I was grounded, I would still risk everything to sneak into our family room, hiding under the coffee table when I heard my sisters ask if they could watch a movie. I don't recommend disobeying one's parents or other authorities in pursuit of entertainment, but it amazes me now how far I was willing to go because of my intense fascination. Nowadays, I treasure the little sleep I get each night. And I watch too many movies and videos for my own good. Funny, how some things change.

And yet others don't. Locked inside this head of mine is such a wild imagination it's amazing I manage to contain it! Whole worlds populate my mind! Peoples and cultures and characters! So full of life! A much more interesting place to hang out than the humdrum of usual life. And yet we must live humdrum lives...because we have to leave, therefore we must eat, therefore we need money, therefore we must work, therefore we must drive, therefore we need a car, therefore...et cetera.

And wow this post deviated far from where it started...I salute you, Jim Henson! Thanks for sparking my imagination and encouraging it to run wild. Thanks for doing so to countless others.

Hmm...I still have more to say...hmm...aha!

TO BE CONTINUED...

~ Tommy