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Burning Dragon
Sep. 1st, 2004 08:55 amWe leave for DragonCon tomorrow. I have a lot to do between now and then. We have a house sitter so the cats won’t be lonely and probably will get more attention than they have had in months. As I type this, my kitty is laying next to me purring. I think he is going to sleep soon. Cat naps are wonderful things.
We are rewatching our way through Firefly since most of the cast is going to be at the convention. There is a good cross section of guests at the convention. A bunch of our friends from various facets of our life are going to be there. For some of my older friends from Atlanta, they have to do a mental adjustment when they see me. They know me as Kathy which I haven’t gone by since 1990. Also my last name is different since I am now married. I have gone from fan to professional since moving up to New York. Then there is Caroline who redefines me to a lot of people as a Mommy. So there can be some awkward pauses in conversation as people I have known for years have to rethink how they pigeon hole me. I don’t know why people are surprised that others have changed.
Now a short rant. Why is it that in the American continuousness that puppets are either for kids or used in political street theater by hippies? Someone was being interviewed on NPR the other day about the protests outside the convention and they said (This is not an exact quote but a paraphrase) "The republicans were hoping for images of angry hippies burning things, and holding puppets, and they didn't get that." If the puppets are giant puppets (ie: Bread and Puppets) then it is political. If they are small and cute then it is for kids (Ave. Q aside). Puppets are so much more than that. In some parts of the world they are physical representations of people’s ancestors. In others, the puppeteer is held in the role of a religious leader. There are groups that perform whole Operas with puppets. Puppets are so much more than the narrow view of most Americans. Some of the best shows I have seen or participated in were adult shows. There have been lots of fun kid shows too but there is a magic to puppetry that can be lost in a frenetic pace of a children's show.
Then there are the pictures of the burning dragon puppet from the RNC protests. No one is sure how the puppet started burning. The people who built it and called it The Dragon of Self Determination had abandoned it to the anarchists after stripping it of its sound system and other stuff that was worth something to them. It could have been the anarchists. It could have been a misfire of the smoke that came out of his nose and mouth. Some say it was the police which I really don’t see. It was papermachie. If it ran over a lit cigarette, it might ignite. It was not build with fire safety in mind. We will probably never know. May be it was one of those angry hippies with a burning puppet.
I am grateful that DragonCon is this weekend.
We are rewatching our way through Firefly since most of the cast is going to be at the convention. There is a good cross section of guests at the convention. A bunch of our friends from various facets of our life are going to be there. For some of my older friends from Atlanta, they have to do a mental adjustment when they see me. They know me as Kathy which I haven’t gone by since 1990. Also my last name is different since I am now married. I have gone from fan to professional since moving up to New York. Then there is Caroline who redefines me to a lot of people as a Mommy. So there can be some awkward pauses in conversation as people I have known for years have to rethink how they pigeon hole me. I don’t know why people are surprised that others have changed.
Now a short rant. Why is it that in the American continuousness that puppets are either for kids or used in political street theater by hippies? Someone was being interviewed on NPR the other day about the protests outside the convention and they said (This is not an exact quote but a paraphrase) "The republicans were hoping for images of angry hippies burning things, and holding puppets, and they didn't get that." If the puppets are giant puppets (ie: Bread and Puppets) then it is political. If they are small and cute then it is for kids (Ave. Q aside). Puppets are so much more than that. In some parts of the world they are physical representations of people’s ancestors. In others, the puppeteer is held in the role of a religious leader. There are groups that perform whole Operas with puppets. Puppets are so much more than the narrow view of most Americans. Some of the best shows I have seen or participated in were adult shows. There have been lots of fun kid shows too but there is a magic to puppetry that can be lost in a frenetic pace of a children's show.
Then there are the pictures of the burning dragon puppet from the RNC protests. No one is sure how the puppet started burning. The people who built it and called it The Dragon of Self Determination had abandoned it to the anarchists after stripping it of its sound system and other stuff that was worth something to them. It could have been the anarchists. It could have been a misfire of the smoke that came out of his nose and mouth. Some say it was the police which I really don’t see. It was papermachie. If it ran over a lit cigarette, it might ignite. It was not build with fire safety in mind. We will probably never know. May be it was one of those angry hippies with a burning puppet.
I am grateful that DragonCon is this weekend.
