Archives for category: Relationships

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I knew I was in trouble, when I opened my eyes and Devil and Mouse were sitting on my legs, so I couldn’t run away. Devil, glowing with anger, said “now, admit it this campaign is a flop! We wanted to increase our readership, and yes, we thought giving away a Dede was a good idea. Instead we lost quite a few followers!” And Mouse added “it is your fault because you want to turn a reader into a puppet! Who wants to be a puppet?” I didn’t see it quite that bad. Yes, we lost a few followers, but we also had some people who referered us to their friends and some very positive comments. Don’t forget I had just woken up, so I asked “What shall I do, shall I give up then?”

“Don’t be such a sensitive artist! But what on earth were you thinking!” Devil rolled his eyes. “I simply thought this would be a fun artistic collaboration project with one of our fans!” I replied. “Still,” said Devil, “make sure the followers know they will get a Dede, but if they don’t want it modelled on them, it won’t be.” “No problem” I said and this seemed to calm them down.

But they weren’t the only disgruntled Dedes this morning. The puppets that were lined up for the “Embrace Diversity” Project yesterday were unhappy too. They had gone to the studio and then their photo wasn’t used.

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At least the green one, Nosy Neighbour, was very vocal about it. He so would love to know what’s up with Ms Sm. He watches her from behind the curtain, but has no idea what is going on. So he happily agreed to pose with her. Ms Sm was much more reluctant to be on show. Though she totally agrees with the “Embrace Diversity” idea, she does not want to put herself on the line. She has had too many bad experiences. Gee was she relieved when she was saved by the milestone in the last minute. She happily keeps her secret to herself.

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And then last but not least, Top Dog took advantage of the current befuddled mood amongst the Dedes and continued to present himself as a victim to gain power. He finally dug out this old picture that proves the artist tried to muzzle him. Be careful, he keeps a file on everyone. In these files he documents all the mistreatments he had to endure. Perceived mistreatments, I should say, but here he disagrees again!

Devil wants to take part in the “Embrace Diversity” project as well. But he believes his counterpart should be an angel and he couldn’t find any amongst the Dedes. So he went to the artist (that would be me) to air his frustration. While he was with me, we heard a loud clunk on the table and he went to investigate. Watch the little film to find out what it is all about.

He discovered we just hit the little milestone of 500 followers on Instagram. You might know that Instagram followers are very fickle, they come and go very quickly. We can understand that, as there is so much to see. I myself have reached the maximal number I can follow and still engage with. Every so often I have to let someone go, so that I can engage with someone else. (Little hint, if you want to keep me as follower, make sure you don’t post too much on one day. The ones that chuck up 20 posts a day are the first ones I say good-bye to.)

Anyway the Dedes are interested in longterm relationships and we came up with a cunning little plan.  If you recommend the Dedes on Instagram to your friends you go into the draw of a Dede-You. That is a personalised Dede. The competition runs until the 6th of August 2016 and the winner is drawn on the 7th. If you have an Instagram account do have a look (and spread the word :)).

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This morning I quickly put together the contest ad and rules and posted in on Instagram. Sadly, something went terribly wrong and I am in trouble with the puppets again. The little film with Devil earlier today had fifty views and ten comments within the hour. The post about the competition had four. Oooppps. That is poor performance indeed, there is no denying! I tried to defend myself by telling the Dedes, that a third of our readership is actually living in America and they had just gone to bed. The Dedes didn’t accept that, they believe that the advertising was crap. Honestly, who wants to be a puppet. While many love to watch the antics of the Dedes, looking like a Dede is something else, isn’t it?

The Dedes very clearly view this exercise as an attempt to get a higher profile, while I view it as an artistic collaboration. Personally, I don’t have a problem expressing myself as a puppet, it is a well-know fact by now that Cash Cow has my eyes.  But I agree, we should have talked about it in more detail, before I jumped the gun.

We now settled that we will wait until tomorrow morning. If there is still poor participation, the Dedes will change the rules, as they so often do.

 

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These two Dedes should be commended for taking part in the “Embrace Diversity” project. The difference between Rob D Light and Bobby, the policeman poses an insurmountable dilemma, doesn’t it? But there is a real story in here and to be honest, they really would deserve a longer post.

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Hands up who thought Rob D Light is a Robber! Bobby, the policeman certainly did. Who could blame him. He has to make his decisions on the run and admittedly Rob fits the profile perfectly, doesn’t he? Thank god, Bobby doesn’t have a gun, otherwise we might never heard the full story.

The reality is Rob D Light contracted a serious lung condition in his previous job. Now he is unemployed and homeless and he has to protect himself from too much dust. The only way he can afford to do this is by wearing a kerchief. Unfortunately, if he doesn’t find a job soon, he might turn into exactly what his reputation is. But with these insignia, who will give him a chance?

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Today Lou, the puppy, and Skeleton Edeltraut braved the camera for the “Embrace Diversity” project. While their story is sort of a love story, they are nothing like Romeo and Juliet. It is really sad!

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Lou, the puppy is eternally in love with Skeleton Edeltraut. Hands up who would blame him. Edeltraut, the fragile skeleton on the other hand is terribly scared. She believes he simply desires her lovely bones. Hands up who would blame her. Unfortunately Lou seeks her out and follows her everywhere if he has the chance. As soon as she opens the closet door he is there. This impacts on her livelihood tremendously. She is pretty much confined to the closet and hardly ventures out these days. This is certainly not what life is all about and the other Dedes are at a total loss about what to do. Help!

 

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Today Mouse and Push Push, the elephant talk about their relationship for our “Embrace Diversity” series. There shouldn’t be any animosities between them, but poor Mouse has an irrational fear of elephants, simply because they are so huge. It is as irrational as having a fear of green mice.

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Elephants are indeed vegetarians and truth be told, Mouse should be more afraid of Cool Cat or Foxy Lady. Surprisingly she isn’t!

Lucky for Push Push, she is the one elephant Mouse knows personally, so of course with her it different. It is simply, the better you know something or someone the least fear inducing they are.  Mouse still reckons Push Push is a klutz, though she would never tell her to her face and as a precaution keeps her at arm’s length. Funnily enough Push Push’s friends warn her about Mouse. They believe, the little rodent could get up the elephant’s very long nose. This is nothing more than an old wives’ tale and Push Push is not worried at all. She is simply a gentle giant who sometimes can be a bit awkward. And it surely hurts when she steps on your toes, accidentally or not!

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The “Embrace Diversity” couple that faces the public today is Lapdog and Cool Cat.  Everyone knows cats and dogs don’t like each other! Really? Yes really, but they can be civil to each other. Here Cool Cat give Lapdog a little kiss on the forehead, that is as far as she will go.

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They usually don’t see eye to eye as they have totally different attitudes. Cool Cat has even called Lapdog a “slut” which curries favour with everyone. Lapdog doesn’t think much better of Cool Cat. She finds her up her self and arrogant. So, the cat is a loner who looks after her appearance and does yoga to keep fit. She does not allow anyone to touch her, particularly her tummy. Lapdog on the other hand likes rough and tumble play and you virtually have to force her to have a bath afterwards. She totally dislikes to be on her own, so she is friendly with everyone, like a little ray of sunshine and she loves to be patted on every part of her body.

With so many differences, to name but a few, it is not surprising that these two will never be bosom buddies. But they do respect each other deeply and therefore can co-exist peacefully. Their secret is that neither of them tries to force their way of life on the other.

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The motto of the Dedes is “Embrace Diversity” and when Foxy Lady suggested yesterday they should have a project to show the world what they are about they were all for it. In this project the Dedes will find an unlikely partner and take a photograph as a couple. Then the background story is given. Of course Pig and Professor, our oldest and best known couple jumped at the chance and wanted to be part of it.

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This is a match made in heaven. Most people know in the meantime that pigs are in fact very intelligent and they were simply ostracised by humans. Our poor Dede Pig got a double whammy as the farmer who owned the mother sow feed her beer to make farrowing easier. So he suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome and as a result he is very partial to the stuff (Fact: he has Elvis Presley’s eyes and sorry, they were blurry from the day he was born). Professor loves Pig unconditionally, as he not only shares his love for a good wine and art, but Pig is also very quiet while Professor loves to talk. There are more ways they complement each other excellently and the picture today is a thowback to the first Super Dede Competition in which Pig was a contestant. As he is very timid, Professor helped him to turn his weakness into strength. Unfortunately, there is not enough space here to recount the entire story, but Pig ended up in hospital having had a near heart attack (pigs are prone to that).

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The Dede’s maxim has always been “Embrace Diversity,” but not in a lovey-dovey, goody two-shoes kind of way. Like anybody else they clearly have likes and dislikes. They might hate a situation, but never the individuals in it. At the moment Top Dog annoys them. They now call him a Me-Me, rather than Dede, as he obviously flouts their values. Before he brings the Dedes into disrepute, and as a counter- balance to his behaviour, Foxy Lady proposed the Dedes take pictures with an “unnatural” friend. She made a start and asked Harvey, the gambling rabbit, to pose with her.

You need to know that Harvey is a womanizer and Foxy Lady is a very independent modern vixen. When Harvey first met her he was instantly smitten. He followed her around and showered her with attention. And this is something she really can’t stand. One day she got so upset she snapped and said she’d rather have him on her dinner plate. Gosh, he sure interpreted this the wrong way. I won’t tell you what happened, it is simply too embarassing for Harvey. (No need to go searching for it on Facebook. The story isn’t on there either.)

Never mind. They keep out of each other’s way these days. And anyway, Harvey is now married to Pavlova the lab rat and everything is forgiven and forgotten.

 

 

 

 

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Yesterday, after the summaries were completed and all the contestants had left the stage to get their deserved rest before the big finale on Friday, Mouse started to tidy up the stage. All of a sudden Top Dog came running in, balloon and flag in hand. Mouse looked at this paraphernalia, which he had obviously done through a marketing agency. Mouse doesn’t like confrontation, but she had to remind him “Top Dog, you are not in the competition.” Then she tried to move him off the stage, so she could get on with her job. “You will see,” replied Top Dog confidently waving his flag wildly, “I will get the most likes!” This was a very awkward situation for little Mouse on her own. If only her mate Devil was here, he would tell Top Dog where to go, but he wasn’t. And since Top Dog didn’t leave, Mouse decided to moved on and do some other work somewhere else for now.

First thing in the morning, Mouse checked the current results and was more than pleased to see her wait-and-see approach had worked just fine. Top Dog did not get the most votes. To be precise, he didn’t even get close to any of the contestants. No way could he argue with these facts. This was a real confidence booster for Mouse and she could face him again. So Mouse came back on stage and announced excitedly “Our readers have once again proven they are very wise. They didn’t fall for cheap election tricks and no, Top Dog, you didn’t get the most likes.” Then she very quickly turned around to scuttle off the stage. Top Dog called after her “It’s all your fault…” But she was already out of earshot.

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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?”