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By: ChloeF,
on 12/14/2012
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Jolyon Mitchell
A protestor holds a picture of a blood spattered Neda Agha-Soltan and another of a woman, Neda Soltani, who was widely misidentified as Neda Agha-Soltan.
It was agonizing, just a few weeks before publication of Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction, to discover that there was a minor mistake in one of the captions. Especially frustrating, as it was too late to make the necessary correction to the first print run, though it will be repaired when the book is reprinted. New research had revealed the original mistake. The inaccuracy we had been given had circulated the web and had been published by numerous press agencies and journalists too. What precisely was wrong?
To answer this question it is necessary to go back to Iran. During one of the demonstrations in Tehran following the contested re-election of President Ahmadinejad in 2009, a young woman (Neda Agha-Soltan) stepped out of the car for some fresh air. A few moments later she was shot. As she lay on the ground dying her last moments were captured on film. These graphic pictures were then posted online. Within a few days these images had gone global. Soon demonstrators were using her blood-spattered face on posters protesting against the Iranian regime. Even though she had not intended to be a martyr, her death was turned into a martyrdom in Iran and around the world.
Many reports also placed another photo, purportedly of her looking healthy and flourishing, alongside the one of her bloodied face. It turns out that this was not actually her face but an image taken from the Facebook page of another Iranian with a similar name, Neda Soltani. This woman is still alive, but being incorrectly identified as the martyr has radically changed her life. She later described on BBC World Service (Outlook, 2 October 2012) and on BBC Radio 4 (Woman’s Hour, 22 October 2012) how she received hate mail and pressure from the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence to support the claim that the other Neda was never killed. The visual error made it almost impossible for Soltani to stay in her home country. She fled Iran and was recently granted asylum in Germany. Neda Soltani has even written a book, entitled My Stolen Face, about her experience of being mistaken for a martyr.
The caption should therefore read something like: ‘A protestor holds a picture of a blood spattered Neda Agha-Soltan and another of a woman, Neda Soltani, who was widely misidentified as Neda Agha-Soltan.’ This mistake underlines how significant the role is of those who are left behind after a death. Martyrs are made. They are rarely, if ever, born. Communities remember, preserve, and elaborate upon fatal stories, sometimes turning them into martyrdoms. Neda’s actual death was commonly contested. Some members of the Iranian government described it as the result of a foreign conspiracy, while many others saw her as an innocent martyr. For these protestors she represents the tip of an iceberg of individuals who have recently lost their lives, their freedom, or their relatives in Iran. As such her death became the symbol of a wider protest movement.
This was also the case in several North African countries during the so-called Arab Spring. In Tunisia, in Algeria, and in Egypt the death of an individual was put to use soon after their passing. This is by no means a new phenomenon. Ancient, medieval, and early modern martyrdom stories are still retold, even if they were not captured on film. Tales of martyrdom have been regularly reiterated and amplified through a wide range of media. Woodcuts of martyrdoms from the sixteenth century, gruesome paintings from the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries, photographs of executions from the nineteenth century, and fictional or documentary films from the twentieth century all contribute to the making of martyrs. Inevitably, martyrdom stories are elaborated upon. Like a shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean, they collect barnacles of additional detail. These details may be rooted in history,unintentional mistakes, or simply fictional leaps of the imagination. There is an ongoing debate, for example, around Neda’s life and death. Was she a protestor? How old was she when she died? Who killed her? Was she a martyr?
Martyrdoms commonly attract controversy. One person’s ‘martyr’ is another person’s ‘accidental death’ or ‘suicide bomber’ or ‘terrorist’. One community’s ‘heroic saint’ who died a martyr’s death is another’s ‘pseudo-martyr’ who wasted their life for a false set of beliefs. Martyrs can become the subject of political debate as well as religious devotion. The remains of a well-known martyr can be viewed as holy or in some way sacred. At least one Russian czar, two English kings, and a French monarch have all been described after their death as martyrs.
Neda was neither royalty nor politician. She had a relatively ordinary life, but an extraordinary death. Neda is like so many other individuals who are turned into martyrs: it is by their demise that they are often remembered. In this way even the most ordinary individual can become a martyr to the living after their deaths. Preserving their memory becomes a communal practice, taking place on canvas, in stone, and most recently online. Interpretations, elaborations, and mistakes commonly cluster around martyrdom narratives. These memories can be used both to incite violence and to promote peace. How martyrs are made, remembered, and then used remains the responsibility of the living.
Jolyon Mitchell is Professor of Communications, Arts and Religion, Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues (CTPI) and Deputy Director of the Institute for the Advanced Study in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh. He is author and editor of a wide range of books including most recently: Promoting Peace, Inciting Violence: The Role of Religion and Media (2012); and Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction (2012).
The Very Short Introductions (VSI) series combines a small format with authoritative analysis and big ideas for hundreds of topic areas. Written by our expert authors, these books can change the way you think about the things that interest you and are the perfect introduction to subjects you previously knew nothing about. Grow your knowledge with OUPblog and the VSI series every Friday!
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Image credit: A protestor holds a picture of a blood spattered Neda Agha-Soltan and another of a woman, Neda Soltani, who was widely misidentified as Neda Agha-Soltan, used in full page context of p.49, Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction, by Jolyon Mitchell. Image courtesy of Getty Images.
The post Making and mistaking martyrs appeared first on OUPblog.
Got a Twitter account? You need to upload a new header image before December 12th!
AllTwitter explained why: “Twitter started rolling out its Facebook-a-like header photos to profiles back in September, and users who haven’t yet implemented this new functionality have until tomorrow (December 12th) to upload a suitable image. Otherwise, Twitter is going to force the change upon you, and you’ll be left with a default grey box. This isn’t permanent – you can change your header photo at any time. But, as Twitter says, the grey background isn’t exactly fun.”
We’ve embedded a video above that shows you how the new profile pictures work. Below, we’ve collected a few easy steps for how to add a Twitter header photo to your account.
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
By: AlanaP,
on 12/6/2012
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By Barbara Zelizer
A New York Post photographer snaps a picture of a man as he is pushed to his death in front of a New York City subway. An anonymous blogger photographs a dying American ambassador as he is carried to hospital after an attack in Libya. Multiple images following a shooting at the Empire State Building show its victims across both social media and news outlets. A little over three months, three events, three pictures, three circles of outrage.
The most recent event involved a freelancer working for the New York Post who captured an image of a frantic Queens native as he tried futilely to escape an approaching train. Depicting the man clinging to the subway platform as the train sped toward him, the picture appeared on the Post’s front cover. Within hours, observers began deriding both the photographer and the newspaper: the photographer, they said, should have helped the man and avoided taking a picture, while earlier photos by him were critiqued for being soft and of insufficient news value; the newspaper, they continued, should not have displayed the picture, certainly not on its front cover, and its low status as a tabloid was trotted out as an object of collective sneering.
We have heard debates like this before — when pictures surfaced surrounding the deaths of leaders in the Middle East, the slaying of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians, the shattering of those imperiled by numerous natural disasters, wars and acts of terror. Such pictures capture the agony of people facing their deaths, depicting the final moment of life in a way that draws viewers through a combination of empathy, voyeurism, and a recognition of sheer human anguish. But the debates that ensue over pictures of people about to die have less to do with the pictures, photographers or news publications that display them and more to do with the unresolved sentiments we have about what news pictures are for. Decisions about how best to accommodate pictures of impending death in the difficult events of the news inhabit a sliding rule of squeamishness, by which cries of appropriateness, decency and privacy are easily tossed about, but not always by the same people, for the same reasons or in any enduring or stable manner.
Pictures are powerful because they condense the complexity of difficult events into one small, memorable moment, a moment driven by high drama, public engagement, the imagination, the emotions and a sense of the contingent. No surprise, then, that what we feel about them is not ours alone. Responses to images in the news are complicated by a slew of moral, political and technological imperatives. And in order to show, see and engage with explicit pictures of death, impending or otherwise, all three parameters have to work in tandem: we need some degree of moral insistence to justify showing the pictures; we need political imperatives that mandate the importance of their being seen; and we need available technological opportunities that can easily facilitate their display. Though we presently have technology aplenty, our political and moral mandates change with circumstance. Consider, for instance, why it was okay to show and see Saddam Hussein about to die but not Daniel Pearl, to depict victims dying in the Asian tsunami but not those who jumped from the towers of 9/11. Suffice it to say that had the same picture of the New York City subway been taken in the 1940s, it would have generated professional acclaim, won awards, and become iconic.
At a time in which we readily see explicit images of death and violence all the time on television series, in fictional films and on the internet, we are troubled by the same graphic images in the news. We wouldn’t expect our news stories to keep from us the grisly details of difficult events out there in the world. We should expect no less from our news pictures.
Barbie Zelizer is the Raymond Williams Chair of Communication and the Director of the Scholars Program in Culture and Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of About to Die: How News Images Move the Public.
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The post Why we are outraged: the New York Post photo controvery appeared first on OUPblog.
By: AlanaP,
on 12/6/2012
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By Barbie Zelizer
A New York Post photographer snaps a picture of a man as he is pushed to his death in front of a New York City subway. An anonymous blogger photographs a dying American ambassador as he is carried to hospital after an attack in Libya. Multiple images following a shooting at the Empire State Building show its victims across both social media and news outlets. A little over three months, three events, three pictures, three circles of outrage.
The most recent event involved a freelancer working for the New York Post who captured an image of a frantic Queens native as he tried futilely to escape an approaching train. Depicting the man clinging to the subway platform as the train sped toward him, the picture appeared on the Post’s front cover. Within hours, observers began deriding both the photographer and the newspaper: the photographer, they said, should have helped the man and avoided taking a picture, while earlier photos by him were critiqued for being soft and of insufficient news value; the newspaper, they continued, should not have displayed the picture, certainly not on its front cover, and its low status as a tabloid was trotted out as an object of collective sneering.
We have heard debates like this before — when pictures surfaced surrounding the deaths of leaders in the Middle East, the slaying of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians, the shattering of those imperiled by numerous natural disasters, wars and acts of terror. Such pictures capture the agony of people facing their deaths, depicting the final moment of life in a way that draws viewers through a combination of empathy, voyeurism, and a recognition of sheer human anguish. But the debates that ensue over pictures of people about to die have less to do with the pictures, photographers or news publications that display them and more to do with the unresolved sentiments we have about what news pictures are for. Decisions about how best to accommodate pictures of impending death in the difficult events of the news inhabit a sliding rule of squeamishness, by which cries of appropriateness, decency and privacy are easily tossed about, but not always by the same people, for the same reasons or in any enduring or stable manner.
Pictures are powerful because they condense the complexity of difficult events into one small, memorable moment, a moment driven by high drama, public engagement, the imagination, the emotions and a sense of the contingent. No surprise, then, that what we feel about them is not ours alone. Responses to images in the news are complicated by a slew of moral, political and technological imperatives. And in order to show, see and engage with explicit pictures of death, impending or otherwise, all three parameters have to work in tandem: we need some degree of moral insistence to justify showing the pictures; we need political imperatives that mandate the importance of their being seen; and we need available technological opportunities that can easily facilitate their display. Though we presently have technology aplenty, our political and moral mandates change with circumstance. Consider, for instance, why it was okay to show and see Saddam Hussein about to die but not Daniel Pearl, to depict victims dying in the Asian tsunami but not those who jumped from the towers of 9/11. Suffice it to say that had the same picture of the New York City subway been taken in the 1940s, it would have generated professional acclaim, won awards, and become iconic.
At a time in which we readily see explicit images of death and violence all the time on television series, in fictional films and on the internet, we are troubled by the same graphic images in the news. We wouldn’t expect our news stories to keep from us the grisly details of difficult events out there in the world. We should expect no less from our news pictures.
Barbie Zelizer is the Raymond Williams Chair of Communication and the Director of the Scholars Program in Culture and Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of About to Die: How News Images Move the Public.
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The post Why we are outraged: the New York Post photo controversy appeared first on OUPblog.
Today is my birthday!
I’m SIX years old. I think that is the perfect age. Mom agrees. She says if I could go to school, I’d be a first grader, and would be learning to read. How fun would THAT be? Then, I would help Mom with her writing work. Sometimes, she writes stories that are perfect for first graders, but they’re not books, yet. It’s just as well, since I can’t read yet.
To celebrate my birthday, I will have treats,
and I’ll finally get to play with my new birthday hedgehog, which has been hidden in the closet.
I knew about the hedgehog, because I picked it out at Petco last week. It’s been a looong wait, but I am sure it will be a blast to bite it and throw it and catch it and lick it and cuddle with it.
Mom says, “Writers are experts at waiting.” and “We have to wait for our big break. And then wait for our big break again!” and “Don’t break your new toy!”
I don’t know about Mom, but I’m tired of waiting!
REALLY tired of waiting. Let’s party!!
I’m tired of reading picture books. Well, maybe “reading” is a poor choice of words. Mostly, Mom reads them. I sleep on top of them so she can’t turn the page.
Sometimes I try to eat them, so she has to hide them in the closet.
She’s almost reached her goal of reading 212 books this year. Maybe when she gets to that magic number she’ll stop. Ha! Who am I kidding? When she reaches her goal, she’ll make a new goal.
Mom says, “I love reading stories!” and “I need to read in order to write right. Right?” (Huh??) and “Move your bony head! You’re drooling on the book.”
Mom has finished writing nine stories for her 12×12 challenge. She is ready to start something new. That’s always fun. Something new for a writer is exciting because they get to start with a clean page and have millions and millions of possibilities in front of them, just ripe for the picking (like when somebody spills a whole bag of popcorn in the field where I walk). One of those possibilities might be The Idea that leads to THE ONE.
For Mom THE ONE means the elusive Book #2. She will look at the list of ideas in her phone for a long time. She will probably mumble to herself for a while. When she starts typing, she will stall around, looking for just the right names for her characters. She’ll look in her phone at her list of names, and maybe look online at a name-your-baby website (or a name-your-puppy website if it’s a dog story – which I hope it is). From start to finish, she’ll mind write a lot, talk to herself a lot, type on the computer, and drink coffee (that’s my favorite part).
Yesterday, I did something new, too. If I were a writer, this might become my Favorite Idea for MY elusive Book #2.
Sometimes, I’m just plain tired. Belly-up-worn-out. Head-upside-down-exhausted. Desperate for a nap.
Click to view slideshow.
Resting is good. Recently, I had a busy day visiting friends, almost eating stones (till Mom yanked them out of my mouth), and almost eating an ant trap (till Mom dragged me out from under the chair and picked up the trap). I also dodged the treacherous air conditioner vents in the floor which I’m pretty sure were trying to kill me, and I navigated my way past the dangerous grill, which had a mysterious cover on it to disguise the perils underneath. So clearly, after such a difficult day, I needed to clear my head and get some rest.
Writing is like that, too. If Mom has too many perils to navigate, too many imaginary friends to visit, some close calls, danger, strangeness, and pressure, she gets tuckered out like me. She doesn’t go belly-up and nap, though. She does an hour of writer-relaxation, instead. She organizes notes and computer folders. She reads blogs and Facebook posts that her writer friends write. She browses around on the computer doing research or looking for unusual character names. If it’s a lucky day for me, we go to the park or the ice cream store or the playground or Starbucks to people-watch. If it’s an unlucky day for me, Mom says, “I’m going to the bookstore.” or “I’m going to the library.” and she drives off in the car without me to go and read millions of books. If she brings any home with her, she says, “Do NOT eat the books!”
Duh. Why would I eat books?
Be like a duck, my mother used to tell me. Remain calm on the surface and paddle like hell underneath.
~Michael Caine~
Don’t I look adorable in these pictures? It’s an act! I’m calm on the outside, but my heart is paddling like….heck on the inside. (You can kind of tell by my flat ears.) First of all, we had just arrived at the VA Home, where I work as a therapy pet, and I couldn’t wait to get in and see all my friends. Secondly, there was a loose thread on my sundress, and it was tickling me and making the strap slide down. Sexy, but annoying. Halfway through our visit, Mom took the dress off me and left me naked. More sexy, less annoying. And worst of all, Mom was making me pose at the brand new flower beds, and she didn’t even care that the sod was wet and muddy! A few Cheerios helped me settle down on the outside, but inside I stayed over-excited.
That’s how Mom feels when she’s revising a story. She reads a line (out loud to herself) and in her head she’s thinking of 20 other ways to say it better. She changes the line, reads it again (it sounds fine to me), but in her head there are 20 MORE ways to say it better. So on the outside, the story is winding along sounding finished, but on the inside, every line is being checked to see if it needs to be cut, fixed, moved, changed, or left alone. That’s why being a writer isn’t as easy as it looks!
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Inspirational Quote of the Week, last added: 6/10/2012
April is National Poetry Month. Mom likes this month, because she likes writing poems. Sometimes she writes poems about me. She has also written poems about monsters, an egg, fog, peas, a bear, a puppy named Simon, teachers, the dentist, and haircuts. And lots and lots more. She is a poetry freak.
Speaking of freaks, in honor of Poetry Month, Mom is writing a poem about my new toy. It’s a horrifying, scary battery operated hamster that rolls around in a mysterious, awful plastic ball.
Mom said, “Why are you hiding?” and “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of your new toy!” and “I want my $10 back!”
Here’s her poem….
Hamster in a ball, are you running or rolling?
I think I can use you when I practice bowling!
Hamster in a ball, with your feet made of wheels,
I cannot imagine how that plastic ball feels.
Hamster in a ball, are you sleeping or resting?
Is your battery dead, or are you just jesting?
Mom said I could write the last verse of the poem.
Hamster in a ball! OMG!! YOU ARE EVIL! GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM! I HATE YOU! STOP TRYING TO KILL ME!
What d’you know. This poetry writing is easier than it looks!
Last week, we were TAGGED by two of our blog-friends at bumpyroadtobubba and colliesofthemeadow. Thanks and cuddles to them from Mom and me. Definitely stop by and visit their blogs and tell them Cupcake sent you. They are fun and funny and adventurous and sweet all rolled into one.
The rules are to answer 10 questions when you’re tagged. Then you can tag someone else to give their answers to the same questions. Here goes…
1. Describe yourself in 7 words.
I am cute, funny, energetic, smart, cuddly, sweet, playful, well-behaved, helpful, snuggly, and lovable. Yup, I think that’s 7.
2. What keeps you up at night?
I stay awake wondering when it will be morning, so I can have breakfast. Sometimes Mom gives me a treat in the middle of the night so I won’t get too hungry.
3. Who would you like to be?
I would like to be a ballerina, so I could wear a tutu.
4. What are you wearing right now?
In reality, I’m wearing my red Martingale collar. I’m my mind, I’m wearing a pretty, pink, ruffly sundress.
5. What scares you?
I am afraid of soccer players, balloons, golf carts, cats, the mailman, empty water cooler bottles, wrapping paper, the dark, the car wash,…. And about ten million other things.
6. The best and worst of blogging?
My favorite thing about blogging is talking about myself. I also like having so many dog friends and human friends. There’s NOTHING I don’t like about blogging!
7. The last website I visited?
Chuck and the Collies was my last website! They always make Mom and me smile. Plus we needed to find the Tag Questions.
8. What is the one thing I would change about myself?
If I could change one thing, it would be learning to fetch. I keep trying to learn, but I keep bringing the ball on the couch and trying to hatch it like an egg!
9. Slankets?
Slankets sound delicious. If they are anything like sausages, I LIKE them!! Yum.
10. Tell us something about the dogs that tagged you.
The collies are mega-beautiful, and very intelligent. We love reading about their adventures, activities, memories of collies past, and history. There’s so much beauty and caring and lots of love love love there. Bella and Beary are sweet and gentle and furry, and have a little sister named Poppy Grace who is not furry at all. They live together with their mumma, and they love each other very much.
*sigh* I love love!
We’re going to tag a couple of my other dog-blog-friends: rumpydog and milkathedane.
Alone by the window, art can't compete with the wonderful late winter weather
Part of the exhibition, the same procedure as last time...
Pleasures of the dance
At last someone is coming....
Bengt buying a book,
Emelie and Björn flipping through some sketchbooks
Some trustworthy robot buyers, daughter inspecting.
One of the, if not The, deepest questions of the universe.
You have to start with what you believe is the force that is the creator of this life I believe.
Some think of GOD as a human type creature in who’s image we are created, with long flowing hair, robes to make him modest though he needs to hide nothing from his creations as I see it, and a celestial kingdom where he, or she in some cases, sits reining judgement down upon the works he designed and gave free will to.
I can not see that which created me in such limited form. I can not even envelope the concept of never ending or forever just because I am temporary in this form at least. I do however believe I was created from and by the “GOD” that has no limits and this is exactly why I think I am made in it’s likeness, BUT not in it’s totality, there are things missing if I am separate FROM God, God did not make me GOD, God, or even god, GOD made me human, GOD made everything else what it is too I believe but I think, like one atom in my body or even smaller than that, to infinity small, that part is still a part of GOD though never “GOD”, only a part, that the smallest part of me is still me, I am made in the likeness of and from GOD, I am alive, that smallest part of me is alive, GOD must also be alive if we are all part of everlasting life.
Conclusion; Life never begins, it is never ended, It IS!
Consciousness in itself does not prove to me that I am not alive.
The fact that when sperm and egg combine and the DNA messages combine to spark cell multiplication (The spark of life if you will) and a plan is put into affect to form a body which will make a human or any other living thing would seem to be life to me.
BUT it was life even before that! The EGG and the SPERM were also alive, donated by the life forms of at least two separate beings, who were made in the image of GOD, who is also alive.
GOD talks to all of us in GOD’s own way. Some hear “Him” like “He” was talking in their language and sitting having tea I suppose. Others see the “Great Spirit” manifest as all that surrounds us and all that can not be seen or even heard but that still is. I am more from that camp I suppose but still believe all is possible.
The right to life for me is hard to conceive when I believe that life is never ending. The right to life is not for me to tell you, you may or may not have though if you threaten my life I will not hesitate to use what ever is at my disposal to protect mine and stop yours!
The question to me is more the quality of the life you give rather than just letting all life happen. If all in creation is from GOD then even the worst of it is sacred and the Jaines may be correct and may have more in line with current Christian values than most think. But if we do not take into account what we offer, if a human is brought into this world through violent action that threatens the life that brings it who is the killer here? The mother who was raped or is too young and will surely die from the birth or the entity being born who would kill it’s mother, most assuredly it would be the rapist but can we take his life either? I would say it is not my place to judge any of these unless they are me. I WILL FIGHT FOR MY LIFE! But a Mother must make the call of giving herself for another in my view. It may seem selfish or unjust but it must be hers with as much help and support from all sides as she can get. Advise and support but not Judgement and in the end her decision as final carrier of that which will always be alive to enter into this world.
If you believe in eternal life you will not be sad for the soul who returns to it’s maker but wish it return another time
Back from
Rendez vu de Carnet de voyage had a wonderful time, meeting a lot of former web only friends and turning them to real life ones. Here are some images from my stay (didn't manage to photo som much so I had to borrow some images.
Why eat when you can sketch? Left to right
Roger,
Miguel "Freekhand", Monica,
Nina,
Joaquin,
Lapin, "mr R"the only non sketcher"and
Ea
The Panel discussion with
Nina Johansson far left and with
Ea Ejersbo second to the right and with the male in the center as per usual.
Clermont-Ferrand from my hotel window, more or less the only view I got of the town as I spent most of my time at the conference center.
Lapin makes a second attempt trying to sketch me, Lapin found me hard to sketch (my theory is that unearthly beauty is hard to catch)
Nearly done, trying hard to keep a straight face
The end result with a crude doodle from me destroying everything.
Is it Tuesday yet? Nope. But why wait? Mom took my picture with a new toy that I found.
Paper towel roll! Yay! I found it, brought it to the couch, took a nap on top of it, and then tried to eat it. It tasted kind of glue-y, so I just chewed it up and spit it out. That was fun.
Mom said, “What is this mess?” and “Why do I buy you so many adorable, (expensive) toys?” and “One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure, I guess.”
Mom knows all about treasure, …and garbage. A writer’s job is telling the difference between the two. And then trying to sell the garbage (I mean treasure) to a publisher. Mom says, “This story is garbage.” and “I think I can fix it up starting with a better opening line.” and “Ugh! Wet cardboard is stuck to my leg! Gross!”
If Mom wants to make any story sound better, forget the stupid opening line, and put in a dog named Peanut Butter – or Cupcake.
It's one of my most favorites of all... it's probably the best of all my books to read aloud... it's definitely the favorite with children and even though it's out of print... I know it'll come back one day. That is, if children have anything to do with it.
It's called Handbag Friends and it's a book disguised as a pink handbag which has not only a song and some little friends inside but also a nasty purply pimply monster called Clasp. This is a little clip/trailer from the book.
I regularly go into public schools to read to children (I'm part of the Learning Leaders author program--a wonderful program called Author's Read Aloud)--and my school is in Redhook Brooklyn. I go and read to the littlest ones. So they're around 4. A room full of four year olds!
And they are amazing. I'm spoiled now. They are the best ever children to read to! First of all they sit through this long book (64 pages, 3 episodes) and join in the song and they help the Handbag Friends fight the monster and they join in all the fun along the way. And then, almost without fail, every single time I get the same response at the end.
A spontaneous group hug.
I'm not sure it gets much better than that for a writer, do you?
Except maybe if it's this. One time we had Q & A after the Handbag Friends story. And a little girl's hand shot up. "Yes," I said, "What question did you have?"
"I love you" she said.
Woo woo woo, happy birthday our little far away friend! Try to save some of your treats for tomorrow because that makes your birthday last longer. And if you eat them all at once you might get a sore tummy because your tummy isn’t as big as mine Your hedgehog looks like lots of fun. 6 is right in between Bella and me, so we think it’s perfect too. Lots of loves from me (Beary) and Mumma and Bella and Bubba too xox
Happy happy happy birthday, Cupcake! Enjoy that hedgehog, and all the treats (but like Beary said, maybe have a few now and a few later.)
Happy birthday, Cupcake! I hope you have a lovely day!
Happy birthday Cupcake, you look like your going to have a great day, teats, new toys how Fab Love your Cupcake bags..bol xx000xxx
Happy Birthday Cupcake! Celebrate Large and all week long. You can never ever have too much birthday goodness!
Well HAPPY BIRTHDAY, dogfriend. Cool toy!
Patience pays…
Thanks, faraway friends. Don’t worry, every day feels like my birthday around here. It’s all about me!! XO
Love and licks,
C
Thanks, Clowie. Birthdays are fun! XO
Love and licks,
C
Thanks, Beth. I love Beary’s idea, too, but it’ll never happen. I’m a snacker, not a saver. XO
Love and licks,
C
Thanks, Mollie! So far, it IS a great day. Toys, toys, toys!
Love and licks,
C
Thanks, Robin! I will celebrate LARGE, even though I am tiny.
Love and licks,
C
Thanks, Gemma! Patience is not my specialty. I want it all NOW and then I want it all again LATER. Where did I learn this?
Love and licks,
C