Category: bliefs

Vote For Mermaids

It’s that time of year again!
The Mermaids and I all made a movie a couple weeks ago and submitted it to the Renton Film Frenzy VI.
Now we are voting on The People’s Choice.

Once you register you can vote once per day for your favorite Mermaids.

There were three “curveballs” this year.

  1. We must have a character named Gene Coulon
  2. We must film in the Renton Piazza
  3. We must have an airplane represented in the film

See if you can spot all three.

The synopsis this year:
A family night of singing takes a turn into the 21st century when two sweet violets record their Grampa singing his favorite song and turn it into one of their own.
http://pnwlocalnews.upickem.net/engine/SubmissionWidget.aspx?PageType=VOTING&ContestID=108652&SubmissionID=45711981

Renton FilmFrenzy 2013

Renton FilmFrenzy 2013
Not So Sweet Violets Synopsis: An innocent family night of singing lurches forward into the 21st century when two sweet violets share their new-age creativity and technological know-how with their Grampa.

There will be a public free screening of all of the films on Oct 19th at 7PM at the Renton Civic Theater.

Come see us defend our 2012 Peoples Choice Award!

—
Note: The Mermaids were awesome this weekend. They were actresses and choreographers and hair dressers and editors and all around excellent movie makers.
Kudos to them and thanks to BopOp for joining in the fun – and being the foil.

A BangBang Cafe Barstool

20130924-184316.jpg

This I did break today, just sitting there – well okay flexing and stretching ever-so-slightly backwards and in full view of every patron in the restaurant, a couple of co-workers, and the staff.

What does it say about me that I wasn’t embarrassed (at all) and instead added to the event by going back into the kitchen to snap this picture?

It says, at least, that I’ve been outed to my coworkers (and some residents of Belltown) and that I break things often enough not to think of it as all that unusual; so much so that I didn’t even think to snag an immediate pic
…of the pile of firewood
…left on the floor
…at my feet
…grovelling in a heap
…in abject awe
…at the Overlord of Breakishness!

MUAHAHAHA-Ha!

Nez Perce and inter-tribal Tamkaliks celebration.

We took this trip to Wallowa (wa ‘la wa) in July because TheWeeOne wanted to meet an Nez Perce indian friend just like her American Girl doll named Kaya (whom she brought in complete pow-wow regalia).
Two little girls gone native.
I’m not sure she met with what she expected at this event;

I thought there’d just be lotsa teepees.

…but the weekend proved to be anything but lacking.
We did see, hear, and experience a fair amount of authenticity.
This image is taken from a short video presented on my Instagram account, where you can also listen.
Nez Perce and inter-tribal Tamkaliks celebration.

Authentic dancing
The costumes, singing, and dancing were definitely a high point and a focus of the weekend.

They clearly took their rituals VERY seriously.
Tradition

Impressive array

The grounds, where the majority of events took place, was well designed…
Tamkaliks grounds

…and the view out of the south entryway was amazing at sundown – especially so with the teepees on the river.
Teepees at Sundown

A horse parade happened one morning, recognizing several individuals who had followed a traditional path to the encampment from Pendleton, on horseback.
Horse Parade
Tribal Elder

TheWeeOne even got a very brief encounter with two of the performers her age.
Mermaids and NezPerce

And the rest of the weekend was spent either driving to and fro…
LaGrande - Thattaway.

…or walking on water, near the cabin we reserved, just outside of Joseph.
Who knew that Mermaids CAN walk on water.

It was a great little place called Trouthaven. The sunset on the hills even reflected gold in the water
Waterskiing on liquid gold.
(NO retouching here)

And we even saw some hard-to-find wildlife.
This guy took about 30 minutes to track down

TheMermaids, ever the chameleons, went a little native themselves in a very short time.
Girls gone native
Girls gone native II

Quiet Cloth

This past weekend we drove to North-Eastern Oregon to see the 23rd Annual Nez Perce Tamkaliks celebration.
It is a PowWow and friendship gathering filled with their rich oral tradition, stories, dancing, prayer, and the appropriate pomp and circumstance. I’ll get to more of that later.

First, a vignette from the ride home.

We drove a lot, 909 miles over 4 days, and near the end of the tired drive home The Mermaids were mostly good, their DVD player was malfunctioning (overuse?) and TheDaddy purt-near ran us out of gas between Yakima and Ellensburg when we stopped for dinner. The Mermaids were half asleep and somewhat delirious – bordering on cranky – a good time to stop.

The WeeOne was strangely holding out for Subway sandwiches until she tasted the pancakes and syrup which TheMommy had ordered with her meal. She ate roughly one-fifth of the short stack but the shot of sugar to her system was obvious – like three big swigs of whiskey on an empty stomach.

She started free-associating.

This carried over into the van, back on the read, where she was (mis)quoting lyrics from songs, beating her sister with a pillow-pet and just generally getting the jitters out.

Finally her sister had enough and after the n’th iteration of some lyric LaGrande loudly SHHHH’d her; WeeOne whispered her refrain this time.
We laughed and TheWeeOne got more ‘gas in her tank’.

Again the refrain
SHHH! (Laughing)
Again this time, but different.
(more Laughing)
SHHHHHHHHt!

The car fell momentarily silent – LaGrande held her mouth for a second and then said

Oopsie, (still laughing) I just said ‘SHHHHHHt’?!
It’s okay, it was an accident.
Okay.

But TheWeeOne was still going, hair on fire, and hearing this nominal acceptance she gave a testing whisper.

shhhhht.(giggles)
SHHHHHHHt. (this time louder)
Hey?!
SHHHHHH…………….t!
Hey now, that’s enough! I know it sounds funny but that’s still like saying a bad word.

Then, with TheMommy’s reprimand still hanging in the air, TheWeeOne paused; and queued her zinger.

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHirt!

I don’t remember the next 2 miles of road, nor could I see it through my laughing tears; all four of us were delirious..

The Mommy and I agreed we are pretty much on defense from here on out.