Thursday, December 16

The Fucking Little Town Of Austria‏

 Just a little place in Austria.



There it is, on a map. it makes me wonder…

Are the residents called Fuckers?
What are the mothers called?

What would you be learning at the Fucking High School?

Does the Fucking Hospital help you with anything else?

If your friend came from another town, wouldn't they be your Fucking friend?

NOW YOU CAN FORWARD THIS TO ALL YOUR FUCKING

FRIENDS WHO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE

FUCKING TOWN!


A laff from the internet past. Look it up, it's true!

Keep On Bloggin'!

Tuesday, August 17

After Being Put Into A Coma I Haven't Felt Better

What Happens When Someone Is Put Into A Coma:

Sometimes someone is so ill they are put into a coma to save their lives. That is what happened to me. I had two seizures before getting to the hospital and my left lung was filled with puke and had collapsed. I was spiking a high fever and phenomena was setting in already. The Doctor's decided that a coma was the best way to save my life. I was put into a drug-induced coma. Luckily I never needed a ventilator after they cleared my lung out.

Someone who is in a coma is unconscious and will not respond to voices, sounds, or any sort of activity going on nearby. Not even intense pain will bring forth a response. The person is still alive, but the brain is functioning at its lowest stage of alertness. You can't shake and wake up someone who is in a coma like you can someone who has just fallen asleep.

I can tell you from first-hand experience that you can't hear people when in a coma-like some believe you can. Reading to someone in a coma from a book is just for your own comfort, not theirs. All I remember from being in my coma was my never-ending very strange dream that I had.

My dream was unlike any other dream I ever had while sleeping normally at night. The dream was probably based on my brain functioning at such a low level and all the drugs in me but it was very eerie. I dreamed about people in my life, and some that weren't yet. I wish I could have remembered the imagery it was very creepy and when I woke up I was totally freaked out until I realized I was awake and where I was.

My dream drove me to question what really happens when you die? If I would have passed away would I have dreamed until the very last brain cell gave out? And then what? For me, being so close to death was not an empty time that I couldn't remember and ever since then it's caused me to rethink my prior beliefs. But to what?

Then there's the way I have felt since being out of the coma and hospital. As soon as I came out of the coma and the doctors started telling me what happened it was hard to believe it was so serious because even with the tubes sticking out of every orifice and then some I felt surprisingly well. I even left the hospital faster then they wanted me to. I really shocked my doctors especially since they still can't find out what caused all this to happen!

I remember reading stories about coma patients who claimed that being in a coma 'reset' their brains and bodies in a new way that hadn't expected. I felt this way too and after having people who knew me tell me this I decided to look into it. Unfortunately for me I couldn't find much. Most of the articles were just about comas and were all very similar. People awakening from comas did not feel this way, often having to relearn even the most basic of functions. I was very lucky indeed!

People may emerge from a coma with a combination of physical, intellectual and psychological difficulties that need special attention. Recovery usually occurs gradually....patients acquire more and more ability to respond. Some patients never progress beyond very basic responses, but some can recover full awareness. Regaining consciousness is not instant: in the first days, patients are only awake for a few minutes, and duration of time awake gradually increases. In reality, the coma patient wakes sometimes in a profound state of confusion, not knowing how they got there and sometimes suffering from the inability to articulate any speech, and with many other disabilities.

This is unlike the situation in my life where I awoke from my coma and was instantly able to continue my normal life. Of course, I was not in a coma for a long period of time. When I woke up I was up for good and didn't relapse back into unconsciousness. I was anxious to walk, speak and do everything I could to go home from the hospital. The doctors were very surprised at my state after being on death's door. I was not confused in the beginning but I couldn't remember anything that happened to me and had to be told what transpired that week and why I was at the hospital.

This is a statistic that really freaked me out! The most common cause of death for a person in a vegetative state is a secondary infection such as pneumonia which can occur in patients who lie still for extended periods. For me I got pneumonia right away from swallowing my vomit and an ultra-high fever so I was very lucky I had the best staff working on me at Kaiser. They saved my life.

So what I found out after researching this is that I'm a lucky person to have come out of it like I did. It was very hard on my body and I took a month to recover from all of it fully. Even the day after I came home I felt so much better than I had in years! I couldn't put my finger on it but when other's noticed it too it confirmed what I had thought had happened. I was somehow a new person! I even looked better and I couldn't believe it.! A lot of my old pain was gone and my wrist that I had pinched a nerve in before had healed! The numbness was gone and I could move my fingers again. It was like a miracle! I felt so well that I was being more active than I had before this happened to me! (Bear with me on the use of "!".)

The odds were against me and I survived. The fact that I didn't go into a coma on my own and they induced one is like arguing apples and oranges. A coma is a coma and they are very dangerous. I had several medical problems that alone could have killed me, but no. I had my dream during these goings on that must of helped my brain deal and I really believe this! I also think that the coma reset my brain, not unlike an electrical circuit can be reset. Everyone knows the brain runs on electrical impulses. My brain got reset to a time before my injuries before I felt so bad, it went back to a happier mental pattern in my life and all I can say is I'm super lucky and it's very awesome! I'm thankful I'm not learning how to tie my shoes again or speak. I'm truly blessed and will not squander this new chance I have been given!

Thank you, my higher power!

Keep On Bloggin'!

Friday, July 23

Back From The Dead

Let us pray....

By now most of you got the gist of what happened to me last week. I am one lucky woman to still be alive and writing this blog to tell you about it. To tell you the truth, I think it's finally sinking into my fevered brain just how gone I was before they got me back. Here's what happened in two weeks and why I disappeared without a word.

The week before last I wasn't feeling well. I was tired, wasn't hungry, didn't have much of an interest in anything and it was so unlike me. I just figured I was depressed since it felt so much like depression. I wasn't getting enough sleep. I kept wondering why I wasn't so happy with my move and why I felt so bad. Nothing stuck out that I could put my finger on but I was having some fluid retention in my my feet and hands. I gained 10 pounds before I knew it even though I eat healthy foods and watch my weight. I keep my weight around 138 and it soared upwards in a half a week. Still, I thought it would pass and didn't have a clue.

Last week I got up on the 12th , it was just like any other day but I was tired. I decided to go back to bed. James (my roommate) was getting ready for work. That's the last thing I remember!

I woke up in the hospital with tubes coming out of every opening and then some. Two days had gone by already. When I came to there was a tube down my throat and they had to remove it quickly because I was chocking on it. I didn't remember anything and this is what I was told by the hospital staff as they explained things to me.

They said I had been found in my bed by James. He had come into the bedroom to get his shoes for work. I was lucky that he did! I had puked and was choking on it. I was gurgling in the throat. My left lung was filled with it and I was having a seizure. I had bit my tongue and it was bleeding. My eyes were opened and rolled up in my head.

James dialed 911 and they got there within minutes. They bagged me and couldn't get the ambulance into our little parking lot so they ran out with me on a bed sheet. I was dying on the way to the hospital.

They induced coma to treat and save me. I had gotten pneumonia and my organs were failing. I was brought back from the dead in Intensive Care while in the coma. I was there a day.

After that they moved me to the Pulmonary Care Unit where they dealt with my organs malfunctioning. They had put a tube down my lung to take out the fluid and while in there I woke up. I was shocked to find myself in the hospital and that it was 2 days later! I was really freaked out when they told me what had transcribed. All very sobering!

I'm Alive!

Kaiser Permanente had saved my life! They were excellent and very professional the whole time I was there. All the personal were very nice and went out of their way to make my stay comfortable. They took good care of me when I was in the Coma.

I was taken out of Intensive Care and moved to a room in the hospital proper with another woman where I stayed for two more days. Then only 4 days later they released me to come home. I was never so happy to go home! I felt like the Bride Of Frankenstein, brought back to life.

I have to have an MRI next week and take it to Neurology but I was very lucky that they haven't found anything wrong with me as of yet. Still, I don't have a history of seizures like they thought originally so I don't know what is better. To have them find a reason for this, or not have them find a reason at all! LOL! Nice to alive and kicking indeed!

While there I was treated for:

♦Severe Sepsis W Acute Organ Dysfunction, Septicemia, Final ID Pending

Elevated lactate may be related to infection (left infiltrate) or possibly as a consequence of seizure earlier today.

♦Aspiration Pneumonia

♦Priority 1,HIGHEST Extensive left sided infiltrate associated with seizure and emesis in the ED. Major concern is for aspiration.

♦Seizure

Etiology not clear. Per report, there is a possible history of seizures, so this may be recurrence. No lesions on head CT. Would proceed with LP to r/o CNS infection.

♦Chronic Pain

What a lucky break for me to be home and relatively okay.

I'm glad to be back home and online. Thanx again for all your best wishes! I am doing really well now so no worries. See you around very soon!

Keep On Bloggin'!

Thursday, June 17

Nerve Damage To My Left Hand

I fell asleep at my desk after a long night on the computer and woke up with a numb left arm. Thinking it fell asleep I tried to wake it up. My arm got feeling back but I couldn’t control my left wrist or hand. I was dumbstruck as to what was wrong.

I have fallen asleep at my computer a zillion times and never had a problem like this no matter if I woke up with keyboard lines on my face. (Which has happened before.) Why this time? I had no good answer.

As I continued to look at my new problem I kept trying to control what couldn’t be controlled. My wrist would flop around as I tried to lift my hand up and down. It looked awful! My fingers wouldn’t work and my wrist wouldn’t turn. I really did it this time.

I'm used to touch typing and right now I can't do it with my left hand so I have to do half and half. No using my finger to type either. It is really scaring me, this time I pinched my hand and it caused my wrist and fingers to lose some function.

I already have bad knees and now this! I have never been so scared in my life, only some function has come back...I'm trying to get into my Doctor's for tomorrow but they aren't known to be fast. We will just have to see I guess. I'm in God's hands now.

To do anything that takes any finesse with my fingers fails and my wrist flaps around like the boneless man at a freak show. I can move it only not very fast with some control. Losing even some hand/wrist motions is very sobering. I hope it’s not permanent!

I can’t write so that’s why I haven’t been posting much lately. I’m lucky to get this up and it took me awhile to do it. I’ll update you on this new problem as soon as I find something out. I can only pray that it will go away.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Tuesday, May 11

Today's My Birthday And I'm Leaving San Francisco


This is a really old photo from when I was in Junior High School and you could still get a nice Raccoon Coat from Good Will for only 10 dollars. I was still living in Michigan City, Indiana where I was born. I got put in the newspaper quite a bit back then. I young wasn't I?

Yes, today's my B-Day and on a Tuesday, the day I was born on! Some of you know how old I am and others don't. I don't want to talk about my age much less think about how old I'm turning today, (OMG!) I just want to have a good day and enjoy my life! At least I'm looking really good for my age, I work hard at it and am proud of it!

Yesterday it was dark and drizzling outside but today it's sunny and beautiful...just in time for my B-Day of course. Whoo hoo! I've been out once already and I'm going to go out again today and enjoy San Francisco because if things keep going well I'll be leaving this great city and moving down to San Mateo this very week! Can't wait although I hate moving.

Today I'm waiting to see if I got my new apartment so I'm hoping I hear soon it will be an awesome B-Day present!

My roommate gave me an AIW T-shirt (made by Disney from their new movie) and it's so cool! It's all black and has the black Cheshire Cat's smile on it.

I also got a bobble-head White Rabbit and he's sitting on my desk. He's so cute and I really like it! He's holding his watch which reminds me to watch the time. I guess my friends know what I like that's for sure.

Another gift I received was a Sony PSP which I enjoy playing very much!

I've gotten so many nice Happy Birthday messages and I thank you all! What's strange is that so many people in my network (folks I really like and get along with really well) are also Taurus's just like me. Of course, I have many great friends who aren't but there's a lot to Astrology which is why I believe in it like I do.

I just got a call telling me I got my apartment and can move in tomorrow! So I got everything I wanted for my B-Day and am so stoked! As cool as living in SF is, I'm looking forward to getting out of the city because everything is cheaper! Even car insurance as I'll be getting my car out and running tomorrow. No more taxies for me! I get to drive my little sports car again, I have a nice place to park it now and I'm so happy!

This means I won't be online for a week and I'll be changing my ISP to another address so don't know how fast I'll be hooked up at my new place but I’ll be back as soon as possible.

Well, I have things to do because I need to move out of here starting tomorrow so I need to go. I'm really happy things turned out the way they did! See you soon!

Keep On Bloggin'!

Tuesday, May 4

Robots Creepy & Cool

Robots are becoming a reality and soon they will replace us at work. There are many different kinds with varied functions. It's truly amazing how they work and the things they are doing with them. 

Let's take a fun look at some of the robots that are being manufactured, they are really cool although some of them are downright creepy. I'll let you decide for yourself as you watch these video's from YouTube as to how you feel about them.

 
Akiba Robot Festival-2006: Actroid Female Robot
 

 
 
A performance artist from Japan has built a weird crawling robot that looks like an elderly businessman.
 

 
 
Creepy Child Robot
 

 
 
Robot With A Mind Of Its Own
 

 
 
A Robot Housekeeper
 

 
 
 
QRIO (Sony Killed This Robot)
 
I love robots and although these aren’t very sophisticated Robots are getting more complicated and are doing more jobs every day. I can’t wait until I can have my own robot in my home.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Wednesday, April 21

Trouble In My Neighborhood


Usually, my neighborhood is quiet without much crime. Once they found a dead homeless guy across the street but he wasn't murdered just unlucky in life. I live on the bottom of Nob Hill, about 5 blocks away from the beginning of the Tender Loin which is a bad neighborhood full of live sex clubs, bars and other places you wouldn't want to walk through. The trouble usually stays down there so it hasn't been a worry. Until now.

Sunday night one of my building's tenants, a woman was outside across the street. She got her purse taken by gunpoint and if that wasn't shocking enough we had to have our front (security gate) retooled because they also got her keys. So yesterday I received my new key and was glad to have it done so quickly before someone tried to get in and rob us or worse. Again!

I have lived here since 1998 and in all of that time, only one crack head cat burglar broke in (we still don't know how) gaining entrance to our roof. Lucky for me I was home that day watching TV because I heard someone running around in the then empty apartment upstairs from me. Then I heard someone on the fire escape so I walked into my kitchen to the window and got a real shocker!

My window (which I only leave open on top) was open on the bottom and as I got up to the window a girl appeared on my windowsill. First I saw her hands were empty as she was grabbing the sides of the window to get in and she had a huge backpack on so I grabbed the straps and yanked her in. This made her fall to the floor. Not knowing she was on crack she jumped up right away and the fight started. My kitchen knives where right there but I didn't feel like killing someone that day so we fought, knocking things over in the kitchen as I asked her who she was and what was she doing on the fire escape.

Her eyes told the whole story, her pupils huge as she mumbled; "I gotta get out of here!" Over and over, in fact, it sounded like a chant. Since she had been in the apartment above me and it was the same as mine she was pulling me towards my door to get out. I couldn't hold her so I let her go and dialed 911.

Wouldn't you know it there had been a policeman across the street and he had seen her coming in my window so he was already on his way here. The front door was being guarded so I figured she was hiding in our huge basement somewhere. By then the manager came to take over and they told me to stay put and went off looking for her. They didn't find her anywhere but I figured she was still in the building in the basement. They got my report on it and left.

Not much later the manager went to his workroom in the basement to get something and she was hiding in there and she jumped out at him. He started yelling at her and she walked up and slapped him in the face! I wasn’t there so I don’t know how he kept her until the cops came back but they came and took her off.

They came back later and had me pick her picture out of a "line up" on a piece of paper (not at the police station like on TV) and although she had her eyes all scrunched up in her mug shot I picked her out easily. Thank God I was home or my apartment would have been trashed and everything would have been taken.

I found out she had been in jail for this before, not only that but she had another woman who was in jail at the time and they had both been cat burglars for crack money together in this neighborhood and the surrounding area for a while! I thought it would be cut and dried. She would be in jail for a while this time. The police said she would get drug treatment which they didn't make her do last time.

When I got to court the first thing the prosecutor asked me was why I didn't shove her out of my window! There's a huge hole in fire escapes and I'm on the 4th floor which is why I didn't do it when she broke in. So I told him; "Yeah, that way I'd be in jail for manslaughter if she died when she hit the cement!" What assholes! I told him; "You know it's true!" So the prosecution decided they didn't want me involved in the court case and instead had our building manager do it.

This girl didn't get anything! I went to her last hearing and sat in the front row to make sure she saw me and when our eyes met I gave her a look she sure did understand! (I'll just let you imagine that one!) Then I heard her sentence and couldn't believe it! She had been in jail for 2 weeks by then. She only got a month in jail (time served included) so she was getting out in two weeks! And she didn't get any drug treatment program either! She wasn't even put on probation! OMG, my friends no wonder people keep breaking the laws over and over. It's because the state doesn't want to pay for them to get the treatment they really deserve so they keep getting off. Makes me ill!

Thank god I didn't shove her out of my window or it would have been me in jail I just know it!

So my nice neighborhood is getting worse, we have rent control and the courts are letting them do whatever they want so it's about time for Bekkie to move out of here and take her Wonderland somewhere better. Especially now that criminals are coming this far down with guns to rob us or worse!

Good-bye San Francisco I'm getting out of this place and moving to San Mateo. I will not pay $1,200.00 for an efficiency apartment where they are getting away with screwing us out of our last pennies while the rental court helps! When I moved in here it was only $735 a month! I'm done with it, time to move.

Keep On Bloggin'!

Sunday, April 18

How's Your Brain Working, Or Is It?

♦ THIS IS A TEST ♦

Let me know how you do! If you can do ALL of them within 10 seconds you're doing great! Can you find ALL of them? No cheating now! (It should be easy!) The younger you are of course the better you should do. Wake up those brain cells and get cracking!

1- Find the C below...do not use any cursor help.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2- If you already found the C, now find the 6 below.
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
69999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

3 - Now find the N below. It's a little more difficult.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

This is NOT a joke. If you were able to pass these three tests, you can cancel your annual visit to your neurologist. Your brain is great and you're far from having a close relationship with Mr. Alzheimer. Congratulations my friends!

I got this in an email and had to share it here. I did really well on it so here's to good brain health! I think genes have a little to do with it too. The main purpose is to have fun with it.

♦ CAN YOU READ THIS ♦

Eonvrye who can raed tihs rsaie yuor hnad!
To my all my Network wonderful minded friends:
If you can raed the flolnig pagarprah, tehn geart mdins not olny tnhik aklie, tehy wrok akile.
Tihs is wried, but ieertntnisg.
If you can raed tihs, you hvae an ieertntnisg mnid too.
Can you raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. (Hrad to bleveie ins't it?)
I cuold not blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to the rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy syas it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer of ecah wrod is in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sltill raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Brain training is good for you it keeps the sludge in your brain at bay. For more about brain training check out Luminosity.

Keep On Bloggin’!

Saturday, March 27

Tenniel's Drawing Of Alice Was Not Correct

When Lewis Carroll had John Tenniel draw Alice for him he had a model and girl in mind. Alice Liddell was a neighbor girl who Carroll had photographed before. He was quite taken with her and based his heroine's name on her, starting his book with her name.

When he first saw the drawings that Tenniel had done he was mortified that it didn’t look at all like Liddell and he had drawn her body totally out of proportion. The artwork stayed in the book and became a part of history, even though Carroll proclaimed his dislike for it publicly.


Alice Pleasance Liddell was born May 4th, 1852 in Westminster, London.

Tenniel's pictures of Alice are not pictures of Alice Liddell, who had dark hair cut short with straight bangs across her forehead. Carroll sent Tenniel a photograph of Mary Hilton Badcock, another child-friend, recommending that he use her for a model, but whether Tenniel accepted this advice is a matter of dispute. That he did not is strongly suggested by these lines from a letter Carroll wrote some time after both Alice books had been published. The letter is quoted by Mrs. Lennon in her book on Carroll;

"Mr. Tenniel is the only artist who has drawn for me, who has resolutely refused to use a model, and declared he no more needed one than I should need a multiplication table to work a mathematical problem! I venture to think that he was mistaken and that for want of a model he drew several pictures of "Alice" entirely out of proportion-head decidedly too large and feet decidedly too small."

In "Alice On Stage," an article cited in the first note on the prefatory poem, Carroll gave the following description of his heroine's personality:

What art thou, dream-Alice, in thy foster-father's eye? How shall he picture thee? Loving, first, loving and gentle: loving as a dog (forgive the prosaic simile, but I know no earthly love so pure and perfect), and gentle as a fawn: then courteous-courteous to all high or low, grand or grotesque, King or Caterpillar, even as though she were herself a King's daughter and her clothing of wrought gold: then trustful, ready to accept the wildest impossibilities with all that utter trust that only dreamers know; and lastly, curious-wildly curious, and with the eager enjoyment of Life that comes only in the happy hours of childhood when all is new and fair, and when Sin and Sorrow are but names-empty words signifying nothing!

Hearing Carroll describes his creation, "Alice" in his own words is such a treat!

Although many people think Carroll a pedophile that couldn’t keep away from 7-year-old girls there is no proof that he ever took advantage of Liddell or any other young girl. He was a photographer, writer and a true artist that based his fiction on fact like many others before him and had a great interest in children and childhood.

Through the many years since his writings "Alice" has held the imaginations and fantasies of more people than even he could ever have imagined. Through fan art, movies, books and video games "Alice" has had many personalities and faces and will continue to be with us forever.

Lewis Carroll has taught me that everyone has their own Wonderland that resides in each and every one of us in our imaginations.

 Keep On Bloggin'!

Will The Real Alice Please Stand Up?


Lewis Carroll had many talents besides his famous books. He was a mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon, poem writer, a good artist and photographer. Lewis Carroll is the pseudonym of Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. 

Before Lewis Carroll wrote his books about Alice In Wonderland he already had a girl in mind for his character. She was actually a neighborhood girl he was infatuated with and her name was Alice Liddell.

Alice Liddell was not at all like the “Alice” we now are used to seeing with golden locks of hair brushed back from her blue eyed face. When Carroll thought of his Alice he pictured Alice Liddell. And his book was to start with her name.


Even thought Carroll was an artist and did his own drawings for the very first book that he presented to Alice Liddell, when he finished his book to be published he had John Tenniel do the artwork for it.

John Tenniel was a cartoonist and his work was satirical, often radical for doing a book like Carroll’s but he did the drawings for Carroll’s works nonetheless and Carroll was not happy with the results.

Tenniel's pictures of Alice were not pictures of Alice Liddell, who had dark hair cut short with straight bangs across her forehead. Carroll sent Tenniel a photograph of Mary Hilton Babcock, another child-friend, recommending that he use her for a model, but whether Tenniel accepted this advice is a matter of dispute. That he did not is strongly suggested by these lines from a letter Carroll wrote some time after both Alice books had been published. The letter is quoted by Mrs. Lennon in her book on Carroll;


"Mr. Tenniel is the only artist who has drawn for me, who has resolutely refused to use a model, and declared he no more needed one than I should need a multiplication table to work a mathematical problem! I venture to think that he was mistaken and that for want of a model he drew several pictures of "Alice" entirely out of proportion-head decidedly too large and feet decidedly too small."

From The Life Of Lewis Carroll by Florence Becker Lennon


The symbol at the lower right corner, which you see on all of Tenniel's drawings, is a monogram of his initials, J.T.

I must say that I can see what Carroll means about Tenniel’s drawings. It does look like a “caricature” of Alice although I rather liked the strange drawings from the books. When I first read Alice In Wonderland I had no idea that a “real” Alice existed nor that Carroll didn’t like the art in the book.

The comparison with the fictional Alice has been a very controversial one. There are at least three direct links to Liddell in the first two books. First, he set them on May 4th, (Liddell's birthday) and November 4th, (her "half-birthday") and in Through the Looking-Glass the fictional Alice declares that her age is "seven and a half exactly", the same as Liddell on that date. Second, he dedicated them "to Alice Pleasance Liddell". Third, there is an acrostic poem at the end of Through the Looking-Glass. Reading downward, taking the first letter of each line; spells out Liddell's full name. The poem has no title in Through the Looking-Glass, but is usually referred to by its first line, "A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky".

A Boat Beneath A Sunny Sky

A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily In an evening of July--
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear--
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die.
Autumn frosts have slain July.
Still she haunts me, phantom wise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream--
Lingering in the golden gleam--
Life, what is it but a dream?

In "Alice On Stage," an article cited in the first note on the prefatory poem, Carroll gave the following description of his heroine's personality:

What art thou, dream-Alice, in thy foster-father's eye? How shall he picture thee? Loving, first, loving and gentle: loving as a dog (forgive the prosaic simile, but I know no earthly love so pure and perfect), and gentle as a fawn: then courteous-courteous to all high or low, grand or grotesque, King or Caterpillar, even as though she were herself a King's daughter and her clothing of wrought gold: then trustful, ready to accept the wildest impossibilities with all that utter trust that only dreamers know; and lastly, curious-wildly curious, and with the eager enjoyment of Life that comes only in the happy hours of childhood when all is new and fair, and when Sin and Sorrow are but names-empty words signifying nothing!

Hearing Carroll describe his creation, "Alice" in his own words is such a treat! Through the many years since his writings have been out "Alice" has held the imaginations and fantasies of more people than even he could ever have imagined. Through fan art "Alice" has had many personalities and faces and will continue to be with us forever.

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Tuesday, March 16

The New Alice In Wonderland Movie




Before writing my review I read some other reviews from the news and was delighted to see that Alice In Wonderland, released on 3/5/10 is not only extremely popular to this day but also killed all the other opening movies released on that date. It just goes to show that Lewis Carroll’s stories are still loved and just as popular today. the movie is drawing in a huge amount of people loving the old story told anew.

As far as the other movies that opened on the same day this is how they faired against AIW. Green Zone, teaming Matt Damon with Paul Greengrass (his director in the last two very popular Jason Bourne films) earned only $14.5 million in the first 3 days. That's way below industry predictions (which were in the low to middle $20 million mark) unlike less than a quarter of the $62 million made this weekend by the defending champ, Alice In Wonderland. AIW has leapt like a White Rabbit past the $200 million mark in just 10 days and it's gaining. The Tim Burton-Johnny Depp effort was also a war movie, at least partly but with the Red Queen and the White Queen.

How did Carroll get his idea for his books in the beginning? It started as a child's story created by a young man during his time spent with his bosses children in the 1850s. It has become a cherished classic and time and again, it's likeness has proven that it has staying power.

Lewis Carroll (pen name for Charles Dodgson as he was known then) first spotted a nearly 4 year old Alice Liddell in 1856 while she played in a garden. During a boat trip in 1862 he began a story about an adventure in a dizzying world full of peculiar creatures, a place called Wonderland. The star of the tale was none other than Alice Liddell the child who had sparked his fascination to a degree that some people would call an obsession.

On Christmas of 1864 Carroll presented Liddell with a completed manuscript, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Though Liddell and Carroll's time together would come to a mysteriously abrupt end sometime during the summer she turned 12 but Liddell would forever carry around the identity of the little girl who fell down the rabbit hole.

Carroll's story of little Alice rose to worldwide fame that had spawned an eclectic mix of adaptations. Some are demure childish romps while others are soaking with psychedelia.

Since the first stage show we have found Alice in film, musicals, comic books, video games and even porn. We seem to be just as obsessed with Alice as Carroll was and Hollywood certainly seems to have a never ending supply to meet the demand of the masses.

We've taken a look at the many faces of Alice throughout her history in Wonderland, from the unknown to Academy Award winning actresses and are hopeful that at least one can tell us exactly why a raven is like a writing desk.

I figured out what a raven is like a writing desk. Because they both carry notes! (Just my take on it.)

I saw this movie in 3D and it's also showing in 3D at Imax besides the regular movie fare. I was apprehensive at first because this movie was a long time coming and changed directors, actors, and was to be a gory American McGee Alice movie made like the popular video game. When it went to Disney I thought it would not please adults expecting the prior movie plans. I was pleasantly surprised!

The movie starts out with an older Alice who see's the white rabbit at her engagement party. She does not want to marry the man that her relatives want her to so she escapes and follows the white rabbit to the rabbit hole. As she is looking into it the dirt gives way and once again she finds herself in Wonderland. Only this Wonderland has gone wrong and is called Underland. Not only that but she can't remember being there the first time as a child and is very confused.

She is told by the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat and White Queen that she had been there before and only she can change Underland back into Wonderland. She doesn't receive the news well especially the fact that to do this she has to go up against the Red Queen and fight her Jabberwocky to the death.

She fights against this and just wants to go home. Then she starts to feel for the Underland inhabitants. After being convinced she was there as a child she finally remembers her first visit and knows she must go through with it and change it back to the Wonderland they all knew and loved.

I liked the movie very much but I’m warning you now it’s not all in 3D which disappointed but didn’t ruin the movie for me. The actors were excellent and Johnny Depp didn’t steal the whole movie away from his co-actors although when he is in a movie it’s hard to ignore him, especially as the Mad Hatter.

It should appeal to all ages and with Tim Burton directing was very entertaining. The story of Alice’s comeback to Underland turning it back into Wonderland was a psychedelic trip and beautiful to behold.

Have fun seeing it and if you miss it on the big screen then it’s your loss.

I hope you enjoyed my review and background information. I don’t usually give movie reviews but it being Alice In Wonderland I had to. I must say the movie should have been about Alice from the McGee’s Alice video game it would have been much bigger and better but with Disney on board I’m not surprised it never happened.

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Saturday, January 16

My Homeless Friend Letica

I met a girl in her 20’s that I liked although I didn’t know she was homeless until we got to really talking. Actually she wasn’t “homeless” anymore because she had just received a place of her own to lay her head through the state of California.

Her story though is the story of a lot of homeless people these days. They never planned to end up on the street it just happens. No friends or family to help you and the economy in the gutter and all of a sudden, there you are homeless with no where to go and no money in your pockets.

She had a bed at a homeless shelter even though she got beat up there. It was still a positive thing because she finally got housing through that shelter the beginning of the New Year. I went to see her place and it's smaller than mine but it's not a bad place. They have counseling, art classes, 2 kitchens they all share, a nice laundry room and more.

She didn't have any sheets, clothes, pillows or blankets so she's sleeping on a bare bed now. I have a “free box” in the basement of my building so I gave her a bunch of things I got from there. I gave her some old sheets of mine and some cloths. At least she has a room to herself and a bed to sleep on in a warm, safe place.

Wednesday of this week I took her out and we went down to Pier 39 in SF and walked around then I bought her lunch. (She was worried about me spending too much money on her for that!) After a great lunch we walked around some more (it's so pretty down there) and then took the cable car all the way back up to the end of the line. It was so much fun! All this time I have lived here and never rode the cable cars so it was awesome! It was a good day for the both of us!

I had her over my place on Thursday. We watched TV and she used my computer to check email and stuff. She usually does it at the library since she doesn't own a computer.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out she played guitar, writes wonderful poems, songs and sings like an angel! She has a lot of talent so I hope she stays on the right path. The girl I went out with was so sweet, she just needed a friend. I could tell she was very lonely and as long as we are friends I'm helping her out. Just until she learns to get her life back the way she wants it. She had become lost for awhile.

We have all been lonely at times right? I don't know about you, but I myself was homeless once in the 70's. Luckily I found a job and got my life back together quickly but you feel so helpless.

I was living in Madison, Wisconsin then, (this was before I went to school or worked at the Geology Museum) and was on welfare. For me it was only two weeks before I got a job and got off welfare. I sure am glad it wasn't longer because it was in the Winter so I was lucky that welfare got me a place to live right away. I was living in my quarter-ton van before that but it was too cold. That first Winter the snow was up to my knees when I had to walk around looking for a job!

So I know what it’s like although I never got beat up or had to stay one night in a shelter. I had a twin bed mattress in my van and it was nice really. Too bad it had to snow.

So that's where things stand now and she could benefit from some good thoughts and prayers because she still has a long way to go. We are still in touch.

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