As you may remember, I work for Writers in the Schools. This week we are hosting our annual Young Writers Reading Series. Here is a video (48 seconds) of Raphael, age 6, from last year's reading. His poem is called "Explaining Colors."
click here to see the original post with text of the poem
Pearl came to me Sunday morning saying she wanted to make a DVD. She needed help. Okay, I said. How can I help? I want to trace a circle onto this paper. Would you cut it out for me with scissors?
So I cut out a circle of white paper, and Pearl drew puppies and sunsets with colored pencils.
Now I need some glass, she announced after the picture was complete. Oh, and the DVD will be called Puppies to the Rescue 1.
Glass? Yes, Pearl said, a circle of glass so I can make the DVD.
I guess that because DVDs are shiny, she assumed they were made of glass. Also she seemed to assume that if she attached this picture and title onto a DVD, she could insert them into the DVD player and see the entire story unfold on the television.
Let's see, I said. We can make a DVD, but there might be a few steps more to it than it might seem.
So I took dictation for her in her 100 page book,explaining that to make the DVD we would need a story first. Pearl told me two stories, "Puppies to the Rescue 1" and "The Elephants Will Be Kings." She rattled them off so fast that I only jotted down a third of the words. I read them back to her, but she was--in her mind--on to the next step.
Marcia is the family filmmaker, and she helped Pearl videotape and edit the story that afternoon. The story that Pearl narrates in the video is different from the one she told me. In neither version of "Puppies to the Rescue" do the puppies rescue anyone. Perhaps we must wait for Puppies 2?
As I mentioned in the previous post, she was disappointed in the results. But she has responded well to all the encouragement from the family. Carrie has watched the clip dozens of times. If a sequel does surface, you will be the first to know.
Happy 2008!
This is my first experiment with FLIP video. Thanks to S & J for the lesson. (time 3:15)
Marcia's family has a no-gift policy this year, which is how our holiday slide show got its name. Click play to view the past year in Grrrlville condensed down to 11 minutes. Happy holidays, dear reader!
I've been combing through my archives tonight and found a little clip of Carrie eating lunch. She was 13 months old. (Now she's 2!) It was made with one of those disposable camcorders, and the quality is poor, but I still thought it might amuse you. Find it in the side bar on the right or click on the icon below.
Yes, I want to write about The L Word, only I am even more woefully behind than ever. AfterEllen is the first blog to cover these TV spectacles, and I am the very last. Just finished Season 3 this week so bear with me.
Just to remind you where Season 3 ends, Dana has died, Shane has left Carmen alone at the altar, post-menopausal Kit is pregnant, and Helena has been cut off from her wealthy family. Some rough stuff, right?
With characters in, characters out, have your impressions changed? Who's irritating? Who's sexy? Who would be your friend? What do you think about Max and the trans narrative? Were you surprised that Shane flew the coop?
Here are a few randoms from yours truly. Alice is the ultimate lesbian friend. She's funny, smart, loyal, gossipy, and cute. For some reason, I never had a clear sense of Carmen. She doesn't stand out for me. On the DVD bonus footage, a bunch of women said Carmen was there favorite character, so I thought that was interesting. As you may recall, Jenny has always annoyed me. 
She doesn't seem like a writer, and her character doesn't ring true for me. Max is interesting to me, in his lostness. I found the scenes between Dylan and Helena very hot. I'm letting my authority
issues hang out in saying this, but Helena is sexy as was Marina in Season 1. Maybe I'm just a sucker for foreign accents?
So tell me your thoughts! And don't worry about spoiling Season 4 for me. I can take it.
For all you moms out there, this one is for you. (Time = 14 seconds)
Yes, friends, crazy Jojo (Carrie) can sit and twist and shout. She is a tiny, human tumbleweed, rolling across the prairie of our lives. And oh, what a screamer!Here's a second version of the video. I'm hoping that this one is more "user friendly." Let me know.
I'm trying to post a short video of Pearl, but I'm struggling with the technology. I found a program called VideoEgg which looks great, but this clip is a little bit too long. Tonight I will edit it down some more and post it a better way. For now, though, let me know whether this actually works for you or not.
Recent Comments