Friday, February 19, 2010

WTD?: Ghostwriting

The word that came out of the random word generator this week for What the Doodle? was GHOSTWRITING. Here's what the FableVisionaries came up with.


Keith Zulawnik


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Ryan McNulty


Bob Flynn


John Lechner


Hannah O'Neal


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Taryn Johnson



* * * * *

Etta

My Grandfather and I were fixing
a white closet door;
I propped and held and pushed as he hammered
and ho-hummed and pondered, until
he stopped mid-bang and turned to me: you
have my mother's hands, he said, and he took
them, held them, turned them over
in his strong, aged palms.

His mother was Etta, Etta Fisk until
Mark Munson sauntered in and swept her up
to the Berkshires, where her memories began as vividly
as mine, as my mother’s, as my grandfather’s:
clumpy dirt roads, the Westfield river
with its slippery rocks and sunfish, the wind
through the grasses, stirring up
the mosquitoes, the smell of chimneys and rain.

In the evenings, my mother, very young,
would beg Etta, beg
and plead to brush her hair, her long
long hair, longer than long.
And Etta would smile and her hands
would reach for her braids,
two of them, wound up
and around, every day.

Her fingers would unwind, unbind,
pour the softness so it fell like
water, and my little girl mother would run
through it, play peek-a-boo, pretend inside.
Then she would brush and brush and brush it,
until Etta, with her long fingers,
would tickle her away.

My Grandfather held my hands and shook
his head, smiled. I wanted to tell him that
I would wear them proudly, that I was honored,
that I would make a difference
with her hands, and he squeezed
them as if to press in love, as if to say only
one thing: Remember.

A poem by Kate Cotter

* * * * *



Check back in a few weeks for the next word!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Vintage Valentines from the 1970s

If a child wants to buy a pack of valentines these days, their choices are limited and mostly uninspiring. They are nearly all designed around famous TV or movie characters (Harry Potter, Tinkerbell, etc) and usually follow the same format: rectangular, small, featuring a colorful scene of the character and some catchphrase. They seem less about expressing one's feelings and more about free advertising for Disney.

I was recently cleaning out some old boxes from childhood, and found these vintage valentines that date back at least to the 1970s. I was amazed at not only the range of characters, but the clever little concept behind each one, right down to the apple you cut out and put into the basket. I also scanned the back of some, which are great little one-color adaptations of the front.

Of course, as kids we also made our own valentines with construction paper and sparkles. But these were certainly inspiring for creative young minds – they sure don't make them liked they used to!



Friday, February 5, 2010

WTD?: Welcomed

The word that came out of the random word generator this week for What the Doodle? was WELCOMED. Here's what the FableVisionaries came up with.


Bob Flynn


John Lechner


Renee Kurilla


Keith Zulawnik



Allie Biondi


Jay LaCouture


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Ryan McNulty

Check back in a few weeks for the next word!