Five Associations of Carol
Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given. This is from jeanniecee
1. Philip Pullman
Amen! His Dark Materials is a huge part of who I am. Not only are they amazing books (especially the last two), but they introduced me to the concept of daemons. When I was little I used to like to imagine animals which would run outside of the car, follow me in the mall and generally keep me entertained. Usually the animal took whatever form I was "into" that week - horses were most common, but many other animals appeared. When I was 13 or 14, it became one continuous form quite suddenly - a dog in the form of my stuffed Pooch Patrol dog, Blizzard. He snarled at Tattoo when I was teased, and made me feel protected. I kept Blizzard all through junior high and high school, and he walked me around campus all through university. But when I read the Golden Compass, I realized that he was my daemon. It all fit perfectly, eerily perfectly. Of course, then Blizzard demanded a more "daemony" name, and eventually picked Brero out of a Richard Adams book. My relationship with Brero isn't spiritual: It's just a way of talking to myself and learning about my own subconscious. But having that imaginary animal by my side makes a big difference in my day. Jung called this part of the psyche our animus/anima, but because of Pullman, I call it my daemon.
2. Timothy Bear
Ah, timothy_travels . Timothy is the realization of a long-time dream of mine. As a child, I was a stuffed animal junkie. I always wanted more. Mum put her foot down when I was a teenager and refused to get any more for me, even at Christmas. That made me sad (and made Christmas less exciting) but I recognized that I clearly had a problem. I wished I could stick to one particular toy which would become extremely special to me and go everywhere. But there were too many that I loved equally. I loved Rags, my big stuffed dog that was certainly the main star of my collection, but too big to become my everywhere companion. There was Thumper, my big rabbit puppet, who made an excellent pillow on long plane rides. There was Grimalkin, the rather suspicious gray cat who fancied himself to be a bit of a detective and tended to take life a little too seriously. There was Randy, my beloved stuffed fawn, whose little leather hooves never failed to delight me. And so on. But I went through phases where I cherished one, and then the other. I couldn't settle into a monogamous relationship with one toy. I loved them all.
When I found out about Build-A-Bear, I was very excited. I originally had no other thought than adding another character to my collection for the sheer novelty of designing my own bear. Jonathan ponied up some of the money for him, shortly after we broke up, as a Christmas gift. I was happy about the gift certificate, but I felt that if I went and made a bear based on ex-boyfriend money, that somehow my bear wouldn't feel like mine, it would feel like a gift from someone else. Break-Up Bear! But then Maeghan gave me another certificate, with even more money on it. We went to Build A Bear, and I blew both certificates on a bear (the cheapest part!) and several outfits. For those who haven't made a bear at BaB., they make you take a little cloth heart, and make you go through all sorts of ritualistic rigamarole (rub it on your head, so he'll always have fur. Rub it on your heart, so he'll always be loving...) before putting it into your bear. They give him a unique ID number, to help him come home if he is ever lost. They print you a birth certificate. They go to a lot of trouble to make your bear feel unique, and it worked.
TImothy didn't have a soul at first. At first he was stiff, awkward, and unseeing. But I knew he was special. Amazed by the variety of outfits at the store, I already had plans to go back and buy more. I was envious of Amy's Stitch, who went places with her. I planned to make him my "Stitch" and take photos of him places in outfits. Within days he began to grow a personality, and within a month, he had a soul. He is bright, thoughtful, and just the right combination of little boy and wise old man. He can enjoy new sights with childish delight, while soothing an aching heart with the wisdom of selfless love. He isn't any more special - really - than any of my other beloved toys. But he has a life of his own which they never had, and other toys in stores look souless and cheap by comparison. I no longer desire new stuffed toys - I don't need them any more. What good would they do me? Timothy is enough. I've finally become monogamous.
3. "He wants to keeesss you"
Oh gawd. I still have him somewhere in Wolfville, you know that? For those who haven't seen the disgustingness of Mr. Ee Wants to Keeess You, check out my first year video on facebook - he has a cameo on that. Basically, he's a floppy, rubber set of fake teeth that you can stick your fingers into like a puppet, and he has, bobbing on the top of his, er, gums, two very phallic, very floppy eyes. The teeth and tongue were painted, but the paint kept flaking off, giving it the appearance of something disease-ridden. The description does not begin to do justice to the ugliness of this thing. If you're on facebook, check out that video. I think he's in the first minute or so of film. Jonathan or I (I can't remember which) won it at S.U.S.H.I. and we loved to gross people out with it, saying "eeee wants to keeeeeess you!"
4. Animals
Well, that makes sense. Don't even know how even to expand on that. I can't imagine me without animals, it'd be easier to imagine me without books. Everything about me, from imaginary companions to a need for stuffed toys, revolves around animals. I just love them. I find people who dislike babies easier to understand than people who don't like animals. Animals are bred right into us. Wolves started hanging around our campfires around the time that we BECAME human. Without them, we may never have succeeded as a species. We are evolved to rely on dogs, to depend on the help of animals. Two hundred years ago, two thousand years ago, twenty thousand years ago and two hundred thousand years ago, we needed animals to survive. Without them, there would be no us.
5. Video making
You know, I could explain at length how I got into this hobby, but after careful consideration I have instead decided to release some footage which has been in the vault since 2003. In this short documentary, you can learn how I originally got involved in the nostalgia video industry, and how I rose to the top. Observe the trials and tribulations which go into making one of my nostalgia videos. This documentary also includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with my exclusive team of "Clip Commanders" as they discuss what it is like to work with a genius such as myself. All your questions shall be answered! ... And if you think that the documentary descends into ridiculousness, like some critics have claimed that it does... well... you clearly just don't understand the industry.
(Advisory: This documentary contains strong language and drug references and may not be suitable for all audiences. Parental guidance is strongly advised).
1. Philip Pullman
Amen! His Dark Materials is a huge part of who I am. Not only are they amazing books (especially the last two), but they introduced me to the concept of daemons. When I was little I used to like to imagine animals which would run outside of the car, follow me in the mall and generally keep me entertained. Usually the animal took whatever form I was "into" that week - horses were most common, but many other animals appeared. When I was 13 or 14, it became one continuous form quite suddenly - a dog in the form of my stuffed Pooch Patrol dog, Blizzard. He snarled at Tattoo when I was teased, and made me feel protected. I kept Blizzard all through junior high and high school, and he walked me around campus all through university. But when I read the Golden Compass, I realized that he was my daemon. It all fit perfectly, eerily perfectly. Of course, then Blizzard demanded a more "daemony" name, and eventually picked Brero out of a Richard Adams book. My relationship with Brero isn't spiritual: It's just a way of talking to myself and learning about my own subconscious. But having that imaginary animal by my side makes a big difference in my day. Jung called this part of the psyche our animus/anima, but because of Pullman, I call it my daemon.
2. Timothy Bear
Ah, timothy_travels . Timothy is the realization of a long-time dream of mine. As a child, I was a stuffed animal junkie. I always wanted more. Mum put her foot down when I was a teenager and refused to get any more for me, even at Christmas. That made me sad (and made Christmas less exciting) but I recognized that I clearly had a problem. I wished I could stick to one particular toy which would become extremely special to me and go everywhere. But there were too many that I loved equally. I loved Rags, my big stuffed dog that was certainly the main star of my collection, but too big to become my everywhere companion. There was Thumper, my big rabbit puppet, who made an excellent pillow on long plane rides. There was Grimalkin, the rather suspicious gray cat who fancied himself to be a bit of a detective and tended to take life a little too seriously. There was Randy, my beloved stuffed fawn, whose little leather hooves never failed to delight me. And so on. But I went through phases where I cherished one, and then the other. I couldn't settle into a monogamous relationship with one toy. I loved them all.
When I found out about Build-A-Bear, I was very excited. I originally had no other thought than adding another character to my collection for the sheer novelty of designing my own bear. Jonathan ponied up some of the money for him, shortly after we broke up, as a Christmas gift. I was happy about the gift certificate, but I felt that if I went and made a bear based on ex-boyfriend money, that somehow my bear wouldn't feel like mine, it would feel like a gift from someone else. Break-Up Bear! But then Maeghan gave me another certificate, with even more money on it. We went to Build A Bear, and I blew both certificates on a bear (the cheapest part!) and several outfits. For those who haven't made a bear at BaB., they make you take a little cloth heart, and make you go through all sorts of ritualistic rigamarole (rub it on your head, so he'll always have fur. Rub it on your heart, so he'll always be loving...) before putting it into your bear. They give him a unique ID number, to help him come home if he is ever lost. They print you a birth certificate. They go to a lot of trouble to make your bear feel unique, and it worked.
TImothy didn't have a soul at first. At first he was stiff, awkward, and unseeing. But I knew he was special. Amazed by the variety of outfits at the store, I already had plans to go back and buy more. I was envious of Amy's Stitch, who went places with her. I planned to make him my "Stitch" and take photos of him places in outfits. Within days he began to grow a personality, and within a month, he had a soul. He is bright, thoughtful, and just the right combination of little boy and wise old man. He can enjoy new sights with childish delight, while soothing an aching heart with the wisdom of selfless love. He isn't any more special - really - than any of my other beloved toys. But he has a life of his own which they never had, and other toys in stores look souless and cheap by comparison. I no longer desire new stuffed toys - I don't need them any more. What good would they do me? Timothy is enough. I've finally become monogamous.
3. "He wants to keeesss you"
Oh gawd. I still have him somewhere in Wolfville, you know that? For those who haven't seen the disgustingness of Mr. Ee Wants to Keeess You, check out my first year video on facebook - he has a cameo on that. Basically, he's a floppy, rubber set of fake teeth that you can stick your fingers into like a puppet, and he has, bobbing on the top of his, er, gums, two very phallic, very floppy eyes. The teeth and tongue were painted, but the paint kept flaking off, giving it the appearance of something disease-ridden. The description does not begin to do justice to the ugliness of this thing. If you're on facebook, check out that video. I think he's in the first minute or so of film. Jonathan or I (I can't remember which) won it at S.U.S.H.I. and we loved to gross people out with it, saying "eeee wants to keeeeeess you!"
4. Animals
Well, that makes sense. Don't even know how even to expand on that. I can't imagine me without animals, it'd be easier to imagine me without books. Everything about me, from imaginary companions to a need for stuffed toys, revolves around animals. I just love them. I find people who dislike babies easier to understand than people who don't like animals. Animals are bred right into us. Wolves started hanging around our campfires around the time that we BECAME human. Without them, we may never have succeeded as a species. We are evolved to rely on dogs, to depend on the help of animals. Two hundred years ago, two thousand years ago, twenty thousand years ago and two hundred thousand years ago, we needed animals to survive. Without them, there would be no us.
5. Video making
You know, I could explain at length how I got into this hobby, but after careful consideration I have instead decided to release some footage which has been in the vault since 2003. In this short documentary, you can learn how I originally got involved in the nostalgia video industry, and how I rose to the top. Observe the trials and tribulations which go into making one of my nostalgia videos. This documentary also includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with my exclusive team of "Clip Commanders" as they discuss what it is like to work with a genius such as myself. All your questions shall be answered! ... And if you think that the documentary descends into ridiculousness, like some critics have claimed that it does... well... you clearly just don't understand the industry.
(Advisory: This documentary contains strong language and drug references and may not be suitable for all audiences. Parental guidance is strongly advised).