Archives for the month of: June, 2016

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Talking about the weather seemed to have been the cue for Top Dog. He jumped on stage waving a placard shouting “I can tell you about the wind and rain. Remember when the artist sent me into exile last year?” Devil sprang into action and wanted to shuffle the disruptive Dede off the stage, but the others formed a ring around him. They looked at the picture he was carrying. Here they could see raindrops all over his face. Furthermore, there was, undeniably, the hand of the artist knocking on his head. “What happened? Please tell us.” Now that Top Dog had their attention he wasn’t in a hurry anymore. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes” “yes” “yes!”

He sat down and looked at the picture. Tears welled up in his eyes, but then abruptly he pulled himself together and said, “Yes, the artist is an evil character, don’t trust her.” He continued, and told the captive audience that last year around Easter time, the artist decided, out of the blue, that he would have to go to Beach Haven Siberia (the garden behind the house) and stay there until he is mush. “So what did you do to deserve that?” asked Milky Bar Devil. “Me?”  Top Dog was surprised .”Nothing!”

Devil rolled his eyes when he heard how Top Dog recounted the story.  He knows the other side of the story too well, as he was part of the team who begged the artist to get rid of Top Dog. It would take too long to recount the entire story now, but if you are interested,  here is the story, as told by the artists. It consists of four consecutive blog posts and then you can form your own opinion. In the end, Top Dog was saved by Flip’s Top Dog Training Centre (A real place and as far as I know an excellent training centre). They wanted to take the unruly dog in. However, the handlers never showed up. In the meantime I have come to believe Top Dog answered the door when they came round and he send them on their way again, as there was no need for further training (in his opinion). And so we still have the narcissistic Dede living amongst us.

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Another one of our instagram followers,  from_delphine sent in a question last night. She asked: “Dear Dedes… do you like to go outside and feel the wind on your skin?” Lapdog wanted to cry when she heard that question. She would just love to go outside and romp around the garden. But all she could do is jump off the stage and look out the window. Okay, it is raining heavily today, but that is not the main reason that holds her back. “To feel the wind would be amazing” she said dolefully, “but we Dedes are very sensitive to the sun and we have to stay out of it as much as possible.” Then she admitted quietly, “sadly the only wind I feel is the one that rumbles in my tummy.”

 

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One of our Instagram followers @wizened_gnome confessed in a comment yesterday, that she would love to ask a question, but she doesn’t know the Dedes well enough yet. The Dedes were surprised and told her, that they are only puppets and they don’t take anything personally. They haven’t invented the word puppetally yet! Anyway wizened_gnome said the Dedes seem to be pretty thick skinned. This promped Mouse to ask a question this morning. “Now this is an easy one” she said “the Dedes are thick skinned – True or false?” Snippedy laughed out loud and said “It’s not easy at all.” Then he explained, that the Dedes like to look at everything from all angles and they always endeavour to see both sides of the coin. But they often run into trouble, because disagreement is frequently interpreted as dislike. They know very well, that disagreement is on issues and dislike is personal. While the Dedes like to challenge beliefs and feel comfy in the position of Devil’s Advocate, they still want to walk away as friends.  If this doesn’t work, they might just walk away and focus on something else.

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It was a sad day for the Dedes. They had received no questions whatsoever. No one, absolutely no one wanted to know more about them. Mouse and Detail conferred with the external consultant Millie again. She was adamant, that the show must go on and suggested the floor should be open to the other Dedes to ask questions.  This morning Devil rounded up all the contestant on stage. They are supposed to work as a panel this week. Any one of the contestants can answer the questions if they feel like it.

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“Here is a question for you” said Devil “what are we actually doing here, if no one wants to know more about us.” He had hardly closed his mouth when all hell broke loose. The contestants got agitated “OMG” said one, “Oh dear, we are still no bodies” the other. “There is no base for our exist….” the next. Granddad Max found the reactions too emotional. “Shush. We will discuss the question” he said and then turned to Devil “and we will come back to you.”

Then he shuffled everyone off stage into the kitchen for lunch. It was a very loud and long lunch.

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Finally they came back onto the stage. They had decided Granddad Max, the eldest, would be their spokesperson. He stepped forward and of course the audience expected to hear their reason for being there. Granddad sighed and said “To be honest, we have no idea! The question is one you have to ask the artist!” Devil wasn’t happy with their cop-out. “You have to do better than that! The artist is not in the competition. I can’t ask her.”

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Mouse had a very long conversation with Granddad Max after the show yesterday. She was so happy to have found someone who was prepared to listen. Quite often the others are more interested in talking and telling Mouse what to do. And Mouse just works and shuts up. But like many of our Instagram followers she reckons listening is a very rare skill.

Anyway, the week has gone so fast again and Mouse has forgotten to remind everyone that next week is Q&A week. The contestants will have to answer questions the readers post. So far we have not had a single question asked. We are sure there are readers out there who want to know more about the contestants, so Mouse drew up a sign to remind everyone. The Dedes are really curious to find out what the readers would love to know about them. And according to the rulebook they are obliged to answer as honestly as possible. So don’t be shy :)

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The last contestant to show his skills was Granddad Max. He has recovered well from his illness last week and loafed onto the stage. Lil’Devil ran to fetch a chair for the old man to sit down on. Then nothing happend! Devil didn’t want to push him and settled at his feet and watched for a little while, but Granddad didn’t move. Still nothing happened. “In your own time” Devil said finally, getting a little impatient now. “But” said Granddad Max “I am in the middle of showing my skill. I am listening!” Devil rolled his eyes. “Oh no, we all have ears, so what is so special about listening!” Then he turned to the audience. “Is this really a legitimate skill? What do you think?”

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Today Lapdog skipped on stage and announced “I don’t know exactly what I’m doing, but I seem to have a special skill. Maybe you can tell me.” Without further hesitation and a cajoling smile she hopped on Devil’s lap. “It’s working very well for me. I get toys, I get the most expensive dinners and have the most comfy bed. I have everything I need and more!” Then she put her paw on Devil’s cheek. It obviously made him a little ill at ease and he didn’t know where to look. If he recalled correctly, in the rulebook it said he shouldn’t fraternise with the contestants. But Lapdog just ignored Devil’s unease and continued chatting away.  “All I need to do is sit still and let people put their hands all over me. And if they don’t want to at first, I just wiggle my tail a little and they’ll come right!” Devil, too, relaxed a little and even patted her on the head. “You seem to be quite good at it. Yes, it is definitely a skill!”

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Snippedy bounced on stage and explained to Devil that he has plenty of skills and it was difficult to decide what to show. He could juggle all sorts of things, much more than Chambermaid, obviously. He could also laugh out loud, not a skill many have. Unfortunately none of his capablilities seem to make a huge impact on the world. Therefore, he has recently started standing on his head. He had hardly spoken the words when he turned up side down. “You should try it one day” he recommended to the audience. “You get a totally different perspective!”

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Milky Bar Devil is a caring sort of guy. He loves to work in the kitchen, cooking, baking, and of course making a mess. So for his skill performance he baked his famous hamburger buns and brought them to the stage. They are so easy to make and take all of 40 mins from start to finish. He has done them so many times and they always have been popular. Devil, the MC, was not impressed: “That is such an old hat” he said sneeringly “We all know you were the poster boy of the Artist’s Survival Cookbook*.” Milky Bar Devil was surprised “No one told me it needs to be a new skill!”

Ah well, the others ate the buns and didn’t complain.

*The Dedepuppet cookbook with recipes from flour and water is available from Amazon.com

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This week is skills week and the name of the contestants are pulled randomly out of the hat. As fate had it, it was poor Chambermaid whose name came up first. She complained to Mouse. “That is so unfair. I was on on Friday, had to work all week because of the party and now I am on again.” Mouse isn’t particularly flexible when it comes to schedules and suggested Chambermaid should simply show some creative ways of cleaning. Chambermaid threw her arms in the air and said “there is no such thing! Give me at least until lunch time.”

She really only had two hours, so she went off to rummage through her belongings hoping to come up with a brilliant idea. Finally she found this little man she had felted earlier. She wanted him as little helper but he never worked out. At least it showed she had some creativity in her. So she took him on stage and showed him to the audience.

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“I made this little man to help me with my chores” she explained to Devil. “But it never worked out. He simply can’t see the dirt!” Devil looked at the poor creature for a little while and commented, “how can he? You have forgotten the eyes.”

At this point I want to let you know that next week is question week. If you have any questions for the contestants please write a comment!