Tuesday Treasures #1: Kermit the Frog

Dear Loyal and possibly (by now) disturbed reader,

It has been a taxing week. In fact I would go so far as to describe it as being one of those weeks you wish you could forget about. I would go in further by saying that I wish I had a time machine and could travel back in time by fourteen days, find myself and quietly whisper into my younger self’s ear ‘My God Man, if you only take one piece of advice from me please, for both of us, skip over the next fourteen days. Here, take my time machine.’

Of course the problem here would be that I would be stranded fourteen days in the past without a time machine and my lucky past self would have travelled forwards in time, skipping over this miserable time. I, however, would then have to live through the god awful mess all over again.

Anyway, it’s hypothetical anyway.

———————————————————- note to editor: possibly delete the above copy before posting. Remind me to remind you later.

I came home from work to find my gorgeous wife taking photos outside and beginning what looked like another inspiring blog post over at her fabulous ‘Green_Ink’ website. Check it out, it’s fabulous.

The idea behind it is ‘Tuesday Treasures’ in which you pick something in your home and tell the story behind it. The idea of this project is to simply ground yourself with possessions you already have instead of constantly searching for new ones that you simply don’t need.

I have chosen my oldest and most favouritest teddy bear, Kermit The Frog. He is an official cuddly toy from the year 1976 during the time of the original Muppet Show and produced by Fisher Price. He is to this day the only accurate cuddly toy version of Kermit I have ever seen. The colouring, even now that he is in his thirty-fifth year, is like the Kermit you see on the telly! I loved him as a child and still love him now and go through sudden panic-attack moments of ‘Where’s Kermit?’.

He wasn’t always my Kermit. I was born in 1980, when this Kermit was 4! I have no idea of his history before we met but what I do know is that he ended up in Hughenden Valley’s Playgroup that resided in the town hall. My memory of this period is very clear but also vague. I have no idea how old I was, but I can only assume I was three years old.

Mum would drop me off and I would disappear into a world of chases, puppets, cartoons and other such magical creations all summoned inside my head. I loved going to Playgroup  because that’s where I played (and possibly hogged all day long) a Kermit the Frog teddy and a giant life-size puppet of the original Emu. The three of us were inseparable and Kermit was my most favourite toy EVER!

Then something tragic happened. I left playgroup.
Years went by and I always searched for my own Kermit but they all looked like ‘fake’ Kermits. The green of these imposter’s skin was lighter and their eyes were all wrong and his hands and feet were just too big. I searched hopelessly for years to no avail and I resigned myself to being Kermit-free for the rest of my life.

Then Mum and Dad were going to a party one night in 1985. As it happened it was at the town hall where my old playgroup used to be. As I remember I pestered Mum to at least ask if Kermit could be released from the bondage of the playgroup and into my loving care. I knew it would be fruitless to ask, but felt there was no harm in asking anyway. I remember going to bed sad, but annoyingly optimistic, a trait I stupidly haven’t grown out of (possibly because of this experience).

I woke up in the morning to find THE Kermit from playgroup sitting next to my bed smiling at me. Mum had asked and the lady who ran the playgroup and she actually told her that the kids didn’t play with Kermit so she was glad to give him away! I was the happiest kid in the world right there and then I’m sure.

Since then Kermit and I have been inseparable. We have moved house countless times and once in the late eighties, having read that he was wash-proof, even had a bath together! I still have him and even though he is not on display he comes out occasionally to comfort me. It seems highly appropriate that he should come out and be with me now.
It may sound a bit soppy to say this, but Kermit reminds me that it is important always to hope and look forward to things you want to do. If you want something badly enough and you are patient enough, then ultimately you will get it. That is certainly how my life has been and Kermit reminds of that part of me that I do forget about sometimes.

Myself & Kermit in 1986

Myself & Kermit in 2011

Possibly Interesting Fact: this blog post was written whilst listening to George Harrison’s ‘All Things Must Pass’.

Albert Speer reference in new Harry Potter?

OK – firstly let me preface this post by saying; these are my thoughts – I am not after world domination nor am I starting a fight. I am simply reading too much into a scene from the new Harry Potter film.
In fact, the true title of this post should be:

TOM READS TOO MUCH INTO A SCENE FROM
‘HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1’

Albert Runcorn in Harry Potter 7: Part 1

Here is a promotional shot (alas, used without permission) of David O’Hara as Albert Runcorn, one of the unfortunate Ministry of Magic workers knocked out by Harry Potter and co. from the new film.

Now, I know I’m reading too much into this, as always, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Albert Speer when I was watching this scene from the film. I know I shouldn’t, but in Hollywood films everything is obvious and usually done in a ‘traditional’ bad-guy way.

In this case, we have the give-away leather trench coat and a stern bad-guy-turned-good (or in this case used as a pawn) who is then used as a trojan in order to infiltrate the evil nest!

So, Runcorn looks like a stereotypical bad-guy, even though he’s actually just an ordinary Wizard going about his every day job. He’s also called Albert! Now, this is probably a coincidence, but I was already thinking about Speer before Umbridge even mentioned it!

To continue the Speer symbolism (for want of a better word) we have Harry use Runcorn’s identity in order to descend into the bunker-like Ministry for Magic (which I love the design of, by the way!).  Once he’s well and truly in the bowels of the building, Runcorn then snoops around, finds what he’s after (causing an explosion on the way) and then leaves – with a bit of a fight from that nasty bastard who was also in ‘Children of Men’!

Speer, from my hazy history, left Hitler’s bunker an ally only to return weeks later (much to Hitler’s delight) only to reveal that he had changed sides and was merely returning to the bunker to say good-bye.  Any one else would have been executed, but Speer walked out having broken Hitler’s heart.

Althought this scene in HP7.1 is not a literal translation – I loved seeing this, even if it is all in my head. The following scene in the Ministry if even a trial where someone is being prosecuted for not being of ‘pure blood’. Now, even in the books we get the message that Voldemort’s thirst for purity stems from the Nazi-ideal, but to see it displayed in this final film so vividly was a triumph in my opinion.

Runcorn (or Harry as Runcorn) walks into the ministry, undetected, causes a huge problem and then leaves. This is a busy scene and Runcorn’s identity or symbolism is irrelevant really. The fact that his first name is Albert and he looks like a typical Spielberg bad-guy leaves me thinking that it was done deliberately and in my opinion flawlessly.

So, my over-the-top analysis of this scene:

Albert Runcorn = Albert Speer.

I am probably wrong and will almost certainly be corrected by people who know their films and history better than I.
Thankfully, no body reads this blog so I should be OK!

Enjoy the film – it’s great, if you haven’t seen it. Personally I would have preferred a five hour version with an old-style interval.

TS

Surprisingly motivating…

Batman misses The Joker

I just finished watching Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ last night having not watched it for almost ten years! It reminded me of why it garnered so much critical praise back in 1989.

What separates this from other comic book films is that Burton inserted some excellent metaphors and subtexts to stir things up a bit.

I was reading through a message board on IMDB about the film and someone asked the question; how did Batman miss the Joker in the scene towards the end of the film? The scene in question, in which Batman fires a whole arsenal at the Joker and misses completely, only for the Joker to then destroy the Batwing with one shot, is one such scene that has a subtext that is worth mentioning.

Previous posters on the message board had said that this scene is a joke and not to be taken too seriously and they are correct, on the surface at least.

Batman and the Joker from Tim Burton's 'Batman' (1989)

This is my view of the scene:

When you strip away the surface you are left with a much more interesting view of the scene. Batman, the hero, is struggling. His battle is certainly not easy and he is even having trouble keeping the girl interested.

The fact that all of Batman’s weapons do nothing to the Joker is, for me, a symbol of the former’s impotence against the world. Everyone hates him, the police are after him, he can’t seem to catch/kill his parent’s killer and he can’t satisfy (mentally at least!) the girl of his dreams.

After the hail of bullets and bombs is over, the Joker calmly pulls out a long gun from his trousers. Now, you can’t deny that a gun is phallic at the best of times, but to be produced from the trousers and to be an exaggerated length makes it even more so. I am not claiming that the scene is purely about sex, but it is about our basic instincts.
The Joker is essentially saying ‘mine is bigger than yours’. The symbolism is complete when one single shot takes Batman down.

This scene is basically a metaphorical way of Burton showing us the personal struggle between Batman and the Joker. Batman is the nerd in the playground while the Joker is the bully stealing his lunch money.

It works on a different level in that it is hilarious and rude at the same time – while still actually driving the story forward to its ultimate climax. In the finale Batman kills the Joker (after barely over-powering him) and in doing so removes the threat to his status, thus allowing him to rescue the girl, winning her once and for all and proving himself to the city of Gotham. In a sense he gets his libido back, or more precisely his power to use it.

I am not saying that I am right, this is just my opinion.

TS

Cloudy with a chance for Tesla

My better half and I recently had the pleasure of seeing the animated film ‘Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs’ (2009) a few weeks ago. Aside from being fantastic fun and a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously (a growing problem with Disney/Pixar), it is noted as the first film aimed at children that I have seen that features the great Nikola Tesla as a ‘hero’.

In the film, Tesla is one of the famous inventors depicted in posters on the young Flint Lockwood’s wall. In fact, out of all of the inventors (Edison and Einstein being among them) Tesla’s poster is the one on which Flint draws the most inspiration.

Tesla's depiction in 'Meatballs'

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking – this is going to be one of those preachy blogs where someone goes on and on about their heroes! Maybe, but I’m hoping it won’t be. Please read on…

In my opinion, Tesla is a tragic example of genuine and compassionate innovation taken down by corporate greed and the matter of money over progress. I strongly believe that if we had taken on more of his ideas and inventions the world would not be in such a mess right now and we certainly would not have had that giant oil spill recently that BP are desperately trying to brush under the rug.

Tesla’s inventions and theories behind wireless electricity into our homes is in evidence today with rechargeable toothbrushes that require no physical connection and recently I noticed in The Carphone Warehouse that a new form of phone-charger has been developed whereby you simply place the phone on the ‘pad’ and it charges the phone without having to plug anything in. Purely wireless.

So, with technology like this in existence and Tesla himself having run tests to prove their safety and reliability a hundred years ago – why are we still using cable to transmit everything? This is also briefly touched upon in another film that I was impressed with, ‘The Prestige’ (2006), in which David Bowie plays Tesla with understated dignity.

With Edison doing his best to put his rival out of business, it was just a matter of time before the government and the banks realised that Tesla’s inventions had no money making potential. How could you charge people for using electricity that came freely from the air?

And this brings me back to the subtle brilliance behind ‘Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs’. Our protagonist Flint Lockwood invents a way of producing any ready-made food to order using a machine that turns water from the air into food particles.

The machine is a huge success as hamburgers, fried eggs and bacon fall like rain from the sky. There is never at any time a mention from the powers-that-be about making money from selling the food. This is dealt with by using the mountains of free food as a tourist attraction which, of course, goes disastrously wrong.

The food falling from the sky is still free. This is exactly the sort of invention that Nikola Tesla was working on a hundred years ago and the reason why this film gets me very excited. With oil being spilled into our oceans and our governments invading other countries simply to obtain more of the precious liquid – is it time we gave Tesla a posthumous second chance? Is it time we moved everything over to wireless? We can do it with mobile phones, the internet, battery powered toothbrushes and the like…so why not electricity?

If we started taking electricity from the air – as Flint takes water from the air to make his food – we could power our homes, cars, computers, hospitals. The list would be endless and the Earth has enough power for everyone.

Now, I know that this post isn’t technically about art – but at the same time it may be thanks to recent films such as ‘The Prestige’ and ‘Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs’ (both based on books, by the way) that our future gets the saviour it so desperately needs – from the past.