An early start to the semester and a ticket price over $300 meant I wasn't going to hang out with my parents and go see Tiger Woods, Notah Begay, Mike Weir, and Camilo Villegas play a charity skins game at Atunyote Golf Club, but that didn't deter or dampen the spirits of the humongous crowds. It's not every day that a world-class star comes to central NY!
On a side note, it's not that the Constructvist family is not splurging on a sporting event this year. For Thanksgiving break, we'll all be heading to Skate Canada to witness Daisuke Takahashi's attempted comeback from knee surgery and warm-up for the Vancouver Winter Olympics (which we'll go to if we win the lottery in time). The Full Metal Archivist's verdict: Dai-chan=ikemen; Tiger=otaku. Sorry, Tiger!
Showing posts with label jumper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jumper. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Girrlz!
Here's about big long grow-ups post about the antecedents of Sparkychan, Gojochan, Jumpsan, Kongsan, Haatochan, and the Powerpuff Girls, Grrrrr!
And this is the girl who started it all. Her name is Flossie Mackenzie, she's 10 years old, and she lives in Africa, the imagined Africa of Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain. We're in chapter 4 where Quatermain has asked her whether or not she feels lonely living "among all these savage people and without any companions of her own age":
She was pointing to Mt. Kenya.
And this is the girl who started it all. Her name is Flossie Mackenzie, she's 10 years old, and she lives in Africa, the imagined Africa of Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain. We're in chapter 4 where Quatermain has asked her whether or not she feels lonely living "among all these savage people and without any companions of her own age":
'Lonely?' she said. 'Oh, indeed no! I am as happy as the day is long, and besides I have my own companions. Why, I should hate to be buried in a crowd of white girls all just like myself so that nobody could tell the difference! Here,' she said, giving her head a little toss, 'I am I; and every native for miles around knows the "Water-lily", -- for that is what they call me -- and is ready to do what I want, but in the books that I have read about little girls in England it is not like that. Everybody thinks them a trouble, and they have to do what their schoolmistress likes. Oh! it would break my heart to be put in a cage like that and not to be free -- free as the air.'
'Would you not like to learn?' I asked.
'So I do learn. Father teaches me Latin and French and arithmetic.'
'And are you never afraid among all these wild men?'
'Afraid? Oh no! they never interfere with me. I think they believe that I am "Ngai" (of the Divinity) because I am so white and have fair hair. And look here,' and diving her little hand into the bodice of her dress she produced a double-barrelled nickel-plated Derringer, 'I always carry that loaded, and if anybody tried to touch me I should shoot him. Once I shot a leopard that jumped upon my donkey as I was riding along. It frightened me very much, but I shot it in the ear and it fell dead, and I have its skin upon my bed. Look there!' she went on in an altered voice, touching me on the arm and pointing to some far-away object, 'I said just now that I had companions; there is one of them.'
She was pointing to Mt. Kenya.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Of Countries and Bodhisattvas
“Hey Kong!”
“Yeah Jump!”
“Didja hear about Onechan and Imoto?”
“No, what happened to them? I haven’t seen them in awhile.”
“They’ve gone to Japan!”
“Japan? What’s Japan, Jump?”
“I don’t know, Kong. I thought you’d know.”
“Sorry, I don’t know, Jump. But maybe Japan is a country, like Norway and Tibet and Nigeria and Argentina and America.”
“America? That’s where we live, Kong. America is a country? I didn’t know that. You learn something everyday.”
“Yeah, America is a country, and so is Japan. And all those other places. Countries have houses and roads and trees and schools and bridges and cities and mountains and lawns and fields and rivers and airports and flowers and candy and trucks and busses and cars and lakes and dogs and fish and lots of stuff.” And after saying all of that Kong was all out of breath. “Wheeuuw.”
“That makes sense, Kong. I heard they were going to visit their grandparents,” said Jump.
“I hope they have a good visit.”
“Me too.”
And so the two friends just sat there together, thinking and being happy together. And then Jump thought of something. “And you know what else?”
“No, tell me Jump. What else?”
“I just heard from Sparkychan. She’s studying to be a bo bo boadi . . . I’m having trouble saying it, Kong, it’s a big word. Something about boadi and sat, boadisat . . . “
“I know”, said Kong. “Bodhisattva!”
“Yeah, that’s it. Bodhisattva! That’s what Sparkychan said. But what’s a Bodhisattva?”
“I’m not sure, Jump. I think it’s someone who is strong and good and patient and kind and loves everything.”
“Everything? Are you sure about that, Kong? ‘Cause everything is an awful lot.” Jump was very puzzled by this. Wouldn’t you be?
“Yes, everything. Including rats and dirt and thunder’n lightening and germs.”
“Wow, sounds real strange Kong. Anyhow, Sparkychan told me she was having a good time, but it’s hard, and sometimes she misses Onechan and Imoto and Haatochan. And even doggie, even doggie.”
“We’ll have to tell them the next time we see them, Jump.”
“Yes we will, Kong, yes we will.”
And so the two friends talked and laughed and looked at the pictures and thought about Onechan and Imoto and their trip to Japan.
“Yeah Jump!”
“Didja hear about Onechan and Imoto?”
“No, what happened to them? I haven’t seen them in awhile.”
“They’ve gone to Japan!”
“Japan? What’s Japan, Jump?”
“I don’t know, Kong. I thought you’d know.”
“Sorry, I don’t know, Jump. But maybe Japan is a country, like Norway and Tibet and Nigeria and Argentina and America.”
“America? That’s where we live, Kong. America is a country? I didn’t know that. You learn something everyday.”
“Yeah, America is a country, and so is Japan. And all those other places. Countries have houses and roads and trees and schools and bridges and cities and mountains and lawns and fields and rivers and airports and flowers and candy and trucks and busses and cars and lakes and dogs and fish and lots of stuff.” And after saying all of that Kong was all out of breath. “Wheeuuw.”
“That makes sense, Kong. I heard they were going to visit their grandparents,” said Jump.
“I hope they have a good visit.”
“Me too.”
And so the two friends just sat there together, thinking and being happy together. And then Jump thought of something. “And you know what else?”
“No, tell me Jump. What else?”
“I just heard from Sparkychan. She’s studying to be a bo bo boadi . . . I’m having trouble saying it, Kong, it’s a big word. Something about boadi and sat, boadisat . . . “
“I know”, said Kong. “Bodhisattva!”
“Yeah, that’s it. Bodhisattva! That’s what Sparkychan said. But what’s a Bodhisattva?”
“I’m not sure, Jump. I think it’s someone who is strong and good and patient and kind and loves everything.”
“Everything? Are you sure about that, Kong? ‘Cause everything is an awful lot.” Jump was very puzzled by this. Wouldn’t you be?
“Yes, everything. Including rats and dirt and thunder’n lightening and germs.”
“Wow, sounds real strange Kong. Anyhow, Sparkychan told me she was having a good time, but it’s hard, and sometimes she misses Onechan and Imoto and Haatochan. And even doggie, even doggie.”
“We’ll have to tell them the next time we see them, Jump.”
“Yes we will, Kong, yes we will.”
And so the two friends talked and laughed and looked at the pictures and thought about Onechan and Imoto and their trip to Japan.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Free Fall
Episode 3 of 2001 Redux: A Toy Odyssey
“Hey, look,” said Jump, “now it’s beginning to twist and spin.”
“It sure is,” said Kong. “I wonder what it’s up to.”
“Now it’s changing color, again,” said Jump.
“Yeah, it’s blue and purple.”
“And it’s spinning faster and faster. It doesn’t look like a box at all.”
“No, it’s all twirly and swirly,” said Kong.
“And whirly too! And now it’s green!”
“I wonder if it’s going to do all the colors of the rainbow?” asked Jump.
“I don’t know,” said Kong, “but it’s going faster and faster and faster and now it’s yellow.”
“Wow, this sure is interesting. I wonder what’s going to happen next?”
No sooner did Jumpsan ask the question, than a mysterious force began to draw her and Kong out of their spaceship and into deepest space. The deepest and coldest space ever! Brrrrrr!
“What’s going on?” asked Kong. “What’s happening to us?”
“I don’t know, but it sure is scary,” said Jumper. And Jumper was right. It was scary. And now they began to spin too.
And so Jumpsan and Kong began spinning and tumbling in space. Down and down and around and around and over and under and sideways, glideways, rideways, always. All ways they went, tumble tumble tumble.
They kept falling and falling. They were both scared. Their hearts were beating thumpa thumpa thumpa thump thump thump, thumpa thumpa thumpa thump thump thump, thumpa thumpa thumpa thump thump thump . . . But they didn’t give up. They thought about each other and all their friends and they even thought about Coco and Nila, the brave little girls who saved Gojochan and Sparkychan. Pretty soon they saw a strange planet.
And still, they kept falling. “It’s a pretty planet,” thought Kong. “It’s a pretty planet,” thought Jump. And still they fell. And then they got separated. Kong couldn’t see Jumper, and Jumper couldn’t see Kong.
Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear! Pretty soon Kong heard a little voice: “Kong, this is Nila, friend of Gojochan and Sparkychan. Be brave and you’ll be OK.”
So Kong was brave and he kept falling. It was scary. But it was good, too. It felt all light and tingly.
Oh me! Oh my! Oh me! Oh my! Jumper heard a little voice at the very same time: “Kong, this is Coco, friend of Gojochan and Sparkychan. Be brave and you’ll be OK.”
And Jumper was brave, very brave. It was scary. But it was good and tingly too.
And pretty soon Jumpsan landed in the woods near a patch of berries.
“Hmmm, I feel OK. Two legs, two arms, yes, got those,” said Jump as she counted her arms and legs. “Got my tail, got my eyes, got my nose and ears and mouth and tummy and . . . I got everything. I’m OK. But where’s Kong? I hope he’s OK.”
Pretty soon Kong landed in the woods on a green leafy plant.
Plop! Just so, it was a soft landing. “Got my legs, and arms, and toes and nose.” Said Kong. “Got my tummy and my eyes and my ears and my tail and . . . . I got everything. I’m OK. But where’s Jumper? I hope she’s OK.”
And so there they were, Jumper and Kong, on a strange planet. Both were OK. They listened to Coco and Nila and were brave. But they were also lost. Kong didn’t know where Jumper was, and Jumper didn’t know where Kong was. How would they find each other?
In the last episode Kongsan and Jumpsan had gone into space to investigate the Green Box over Citytown. At the end they were watching the mysterious box change colors.
“Hey, look,” said Jump, “now it’s beginning to twist and spin.”
“It sure is,” said Kong. “I wonder what it’s up to.”
“Now it’s changing color, again,” said Jump.
“Yeah, it’s blue and purple.”
“And it’s spinning faster and faster. It doesn’t look like a box at all.”
“No, it’s all twirly and swirly,” said Kong.
“And whirly too! And now it’s green!”
“I wonder if it’s going to do all the colors of the rainbow?” asked Jump.
“I don’t know,” said Kong, “but it’s going faster and faster and faster and now it’s yellow.”
“Wow, this sure is interesting. I wonder what’s going to happen next?”
No sooner did Jumpsan ask the question, than a mysterious force began to draw her and Kong out of their spaceship and into deepest space. The deepest and coldest space ever! Brrrrrr!
“What’s going on?” asked Kong. “What’s happening to us?”
“I don’t know, but it sure is scary,” said Jumper. And Jumper was right. It was scary. And now they began to spin too.
And so Jumpsan and Kong began spinning and tumbling in space. Down and down and around and around and over and under and sideways, glideways, rideways, always. All ways they went, tumble tumble tumble.
They kept falling and falling. They were both scared. Their hearts were beating thumpa thumpa thumpa thump thump thump, thumpa thumpa thumpa thump thump thump, thumpa thumpa thumpa thump thump thump . . . But they didn’t give up. They thought about each other and all their friends and they even thought about Coco and Nila, the brave little girls who saved Gojochan and Sparkychan. Pretty soon they saw a strange planet.
And still, they kept falling. “It’s a pretty planet,” thought Kong. “It’s a pretty planet,” thought Jump. And still they fell. And then they got separated. Kong couldn’t see Jumper, and Jumper couldn’t see Kong.
Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear! Pretty soon Kong heard a little voice: “Kong, this is Nila, friend of Gojochan and Sparkychan. Be brave and you’ll be OK.”
So Kong was brave and he kept falling. It was scary. But it was good, too. It felt all light and tingly.
Oh me! Oh my! Oh me! Oh my! Jumper heard a little voice at the very same time: “Kong, this is Coco, friend of Gojochan and Sparkychan. Be brave and you’ll be OK.”
And Jumper was brave, very brave. It was scary. But it was good and tingly too.
And pretty soon Jumpsan landed in the woods near a patch of berries.
“Hmmm, I feel OK. Two legs, two arms, yes, got those,” said Jump as she counted her arms and legs. “Got my tail, got my eyes, got my nose and ears and mouth and tummy and . . . I got everything. I’m OK. But where’s Kong? I hope he’s OK.”
Pretty soon Kong landed in the woods on a green leafy plant.
Plop! Just so, it was a soft landing. “Got my legs, and arms, and toes and nose.” Said Kong. “Got my tummy and my eyes and my ears and my tail and . . . . I got everything. I’m OK. But where’s Jumper? I hope she’s OK.”
And so there they were, Jumper and Kong, on a strange planet. Both were OK. They listened to Coco and Nila and were brave. But they were also lost. Kong didn’t know where Jumper was, and Jumper didn’t know where Kong was. How would they find each other?
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Lift Off
Episode 2 of 2001 Redux: A Toy Odyssey
Kong: “So, how’re we going to investigate the green box if it’s up in space?”
Jumper: “Why, we’ll have to go up in space.”
Kong: “Gee, I’ve never been in space. How do we get there?”
“We’ll have to fly in a rocket ship.”
“A rocket ship! Won’t that go higher than high and faster than fast?”
“Yes, it will. It’s so neat.”
“Uh . . . I don’t know . . . I mean, what if it crashes?“
“It won’t crash, Kong. It’s safe.”
“I don’t know. Sounds pretty scary to me. You ever done this before?”
“Lots of times. That’s how I used to visit Sparkychan and Gojochan.”
“Well, OK, I guess, if you say so.”
And so the two friends went to Jump-Off Space Port, at the very farthest edge of Citytown:
When they got inside it was BIG.
Finally, they saw their space ship. And they jumped right on it:
Jump: “Um, err, I don’t think we’re supposed to be on the outside of the ship.”
Kong: “Why not?”
“’Cause we might fall off. And get cold.”
“Get cold?”
“Yeah, Kong, it’s cold out in space.”
So the two friends got inside the space ship:
Then the space ship took off. Rumble rumble roar roar whooshhh whooshhh whooshhhhhh . . . . it went. Jump and Kong were in space!
“Whee! This isn’t so bad,” said Kong.
“That’s right,” said Jump, “it’s not bad it all. It’s fun.”
And so they flew and flew and talked and talked. They even had hot chocolate and cookies. And then . . . .
“There it is,” said Kong, “the green box.”
They got closer, and the box got bigger . . .
. . . and bigger . . .
“Boy, it sure is big,” said Jump.
And, look!” said Kong. “It’s turning funny colors”
And so it was:
“It’s turning blue and red,” said Jump. “I wonder what’s happening?”
“It’s still changing,” said Jump. “I’m getting scared.”
"Me, too," said Kong. "But, ya know, it's kinda pretty, too. Don't you think?"
“Looks like it’s heating up,” said Kong.
“Now it’s glowing,” said Jump. “I wonder what’s happening. Is it going to explode?”
“I don’t know,” said Kong, “I don’t know. But I just talked with Mayor Grumble, and he said that Citytown is OK.”
“That’s good,” said Jump. “I think we just have to keep calm and investigate.”
And so the friends kept calm and began to investigate. What did they find out? Did the green box explode? Did it turn into candy? What did it do? Tune in next time for the next episode of 2001 Redux: A Toy Odyssey.
In episode one Jumper and Kong got a call on the Red Phone. “There’s a mysterious green box up in space over Citytown,” said Mayor Grumpy Grumble. And so the two friends sat down to plan plans and scheme schemes, while drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies. Note for squeamish adults: there's no poop in this episode.
Kong: “So, how’re we going to investigate the green box if it’s up in space?”
Jumper: “Why, we’ll have to go up in space.”
Kong: “Gee, I’ve never been in space. How do we get there?”
“We’ll have to fly in a rocket ship.”
“A rocket ship! Won’t that go higher than high and faster than fast?”
“Yes, it will. It’s so neat.”
“Uh . . . I don’t know . . . I mean, what if it crashes?“
“It won’t crash, Kong. It’s safe.”
“I don’t know. Sounds pretty scary to me. You ever done this before?”
“Lots of times. That’s how I used to visit Sparkychan and Gojochan.”
“Well, OK, I guess, if you say so.”
And so the two friends went to Jump-Off Space Port, at the very farthest edge of Citytown:
When they got inside it was BIG.
Finally, they saw their space ship. And they jumped right on it:
Jump: “Um, err, I don’t think we’re supposed to be on the outside of the ship.”
Kong: “Why not?”
“’Cause we might fall off. And get cold.”
“Get cold?”
“Yeah, Kong, it’s cold out in space.”
So the two friends got inside the space ship:
Then the space ship took off. Rumble rumble roar roar whooshhh whooshhh whooshhhhhh . . . . it went. Jump and Kong were in space!
“Whee! This isn’t so bad,” said Kong.
“That’s right,” said Jump, “it’s not bad it all. It’s fun.”
And so they flew and flew and talked and talked. They even had hot chocolate and cookies. And then . . . .
“There it is,” said Kong, “the green box.”
They got closer, and the box got bigger . . .
. . . and bigger . . .
“Boy, it sure is big,” said Jump.
And, look!” said Kong. “It’s turning funny colors”
And so it was:
“It’s turning blue and red,” said Jump. “I wonder what’s happening?”
“It’s still changing,” said Jump. “I’m getting scared.”
"Me, too," said Kong. "But, ya know, it's kinda pretty, too. Don't you think?"
“Looks like it’s heating up,” said Kong.
“Now it’s glowing,” said Jump. “I wonder what’s happening. Is it going to explode?”
“I don’t know,” said Kong, “I don’t know. But I just talked with Mayor Grumble, and he said that Citytown is OK.”
“That’s good,” said Jump. “I think we just have to keep calm and investigate.”
And so the friends kept calm and began to investigate. What did they find out? Did the green box explode? Did it turn into candy? What did it do? Tune in next time for the next episode of 2001 Redux: A Toy Odyssey.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Coming Attractions
Kong, Jumper, and the Green Pavilion:
Have they heard about the rescue of Gojochan and Sparkychan? Do they know about the League of Pretty Good Amazons, aka the LPGA? Do Coco and Yaya have the Right Stuff to join the LPGA? What's the Green Pavilion?
So many mysteries.
Have they heard about the rescue of Gojochan and Sparkychan? Do they know about the League of Pretty Good Amazons, aka the LPGA? Do Coco and Yaya have the Right Stuff to join the LPGA? What's the Green Pavilion?
So many mysteries.
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