Imagination, story telling, and life

I’ve always loved stories.  As a kid, I loved to hear stories and books, watch movies or see shows.  As I’ve grown, I came to find the stories in video games, comic books and visual (graphic) novelizations.  Even listening to an album front to back is to hear a story and if you doubt that, reach out in the comments and I can make you some suggestions.**

Kiddo is the same way.  She loves to hear stories.  J reads to her most nights.  Her and I play video games and she really gets into those stories and worlds.  Before bed she has a bunch of kid podcasts that she listens to that are kids stories.  Lucy Wow.  Bobby Wonder.  And more.  She loves stories.  I hope she will come to find them in music, but she can get there when she does.  

She will ask for stories and if she can’t get them or it’s rest time and she’s alone, she will invent them.  She has, more than once, written a “book” at rest time or while playing.  She wants stories in the morning, after school, at night, before bed.  Stories and then more and one more and on and on.  Once she really commands reading, we had better win a lottery, because we are going to need to funds to keep up with her.  “Oh, you need new books?  It’s only been 3 days and we just got you 4000 books.  Read them all?  Of course you did!”  HAHA

But, that is also a problem.  She is losing interest in video games right now because she doesn’t want the simplicity in story that is PJ Masks or PAW Patrol, but she’s not coordinated (nor are her hands big enough to really command the controller) enough yet to play the games and get the stories she wants.  She’ll ask me to play video games just so she can watch and absorb the story.  I’ve now beaten Shadow of the Colossus 3 times for her.  She knows the open.  She knows the close.  She’s better at knowing the next Colossi than I am.  She will remember weakness better than I can in some cases.  The only thing stopping me from just turning her over to this world is that some actions require a lot of buttons and she’s just not there yet.  Come Colossi require a shoulder button to be held, while using both control sticks (one to move, one to adjust views) and up to three button actions, either in combo or in quick succession.  

She’s sat through The Princess Bride more than once.  The Sonic Movie more than once.  She is a fiend for stories.  J and I do all we can to feed that beast and stay out of the way as she grows and explores.  We do very little to steer and direct, we more manage.  The other day when J was at the doc to get her med, I was with Kiddo and she was on EPIC which has a “read to me” section, but it’s a read along type thing.  You can see the words and text, it even highlights as it reads along, while the story is played.  What a cool tool and good way for her to learn.  However, she was just reading along and that day it was Mummies and Ancient Egypt, that lead to a food book, which lead to a book on snakes, and that lead to a Cat Ninja Graphic Novel.  Her thirst is vast and she wants to explore subjects.  

All of this kind of leads to the point of today’s blog.

She is curious, explorative, inquisitive, and willing to try things.  It also, we think, informs her as a person.  Some of her expressions and how she can express herself and convey thought and emotion in just looks.  Some deep part of her just knows this, but she can tell a story with just her face.  All of this may mean nothing more than she loves books and that’s not a bad trait (in our opinion) for her to have, but she knows she can write books or movies as a career, if she has the talent and want to do that.  She knows that she can act and use her face or voice as a career as well.  She also has me, who will do Poley’s voice, read to her in silly ways (Pigeon Wants a Cookie, Dragons Love Tacos) and will make up voices and stories with her and I’m just a Dada who loves and cooks and used to work in Pharmaseat.  So, she also knows that sometimes it’s just fun to do.

Then again, maybe I should put together a voice reel and send it out.  Maybe I should write a book.  Maybe I should write a movie.  Or maybe that’s in the cards and fate for her.  The point is, she knows it’s possible, just like being a chef, a teacher, a doctor, or just a mumma and dog lover, if that what fate holds.  She explores, both the world and herself, to find new and interesting or old and fun, but she is allowed to explore and test and try.  

And so she does.  Dada, what does the bandana you wear on your head feel like?  Well, let me show you.  Or, how she can convey herself with just looks on the balcony while eating an ice cream (and how could you not just want to smooch the ice cream goatee off of her) and talking with J.  

Let’s go, Kiddo… we’ve seen less than 1% of all the stories and places in the world.  We gotta get busy, but Mumma and I can’t wait to see how much of it we can see and experience and explore with you.

** I've gotten two texts and two emails offline asking for these suggestions and I'm just going to put that here for all.

1. Poe - Haunted  Note on this album, the recordings, answering machine messages, and lecture snippets are real.  They are from Poe to her mother or her actual father in his lectures (he was a professor of Theater and Dramatic arts) and includes her brother Mark Z Danielewski reading from his book, House of Leaves

2. George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice Just an incredibly honest look at life and an exploration of self

3. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots  Funky and strange, but a great story

4. Radiohead - Kid A  Again, strange and moody, but the mood and theme and story is fun and really ranges

5. Depeche Mode - Memento Mori  This is the newest from DM and (imo) tells the story of a career.  Maybe you would need to know DM better to really hear the story here, but is still can be appreciated by all

More music, less pontificating.

Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Miles Davis- 'Round About Midnight

The Cure - Disintegration

Pearl Jam - Ten

The Sundays - Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic 

The Cranberries - Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can't We

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication

Eminem - Revival (personal to me) or Recovery

Digital Underground - Sons of the P

NWA - Straight Outta Compton - WARNING: This is a very graphic album, very raw, and very angry, but very honest and an insiders look at life in LA in the 70/80s as a black man.

TuPac- Me Against the World or Makaveli - The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory -- Both are Pac, but he released a final album under the Makaveli name shortly before he was gunned down in Las Vegas.  Some very personal stuff here.

And if any of you have suggestions, pop them into the comments, I always love a new album.