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!”
The first week of the competition had taken it’s toll. Devil desperately needed a sleep-in on his day off. He is a little disappointed about the calibre of the contestants this time. In the last Super Dede Competition the contestants were much more willing to talk about themselves. This bunch here seems to be quite withdrawn. Devil had to find out the hard way, that the job of MC is much more demanding, when the contestants are not forthcoming. So yesterday he put his sleeping mask on and stayed in bed all day, not caring what else happened in the world.
Mouse on the other hand wants to make the competition a success. Instead of taking it easy on her day off, she spent all day yesterday to organise a retreat for the management team. It was rather short notice, but Mouse thought the three should learn from the first week and apply their findings to the second week. She was overjoyed, when she managed to secure the external consultant Millie. Millie was hanging around a dysfunctional workplace for a long time and had observed the most outrages things there. She was bound to offer invaluable and unbiased advice from the outside.
They met in the dining room. “Look a the contestants” said Devil to fill the cow in “There is a clown hiding behind his mask, a gender-fluid little dog, a sick old codger, a too gentle devil and an undervalued servant.” Millie listend, swaying her head a little and said “What’s wrong with that? That should make for a very interesting competition.” Then she focussed on Devil and said after looking straight into his eyes for a tad too long. “Can I have a look at your neck, is it by any chance red?”
I couldn’t sleep last night because it was Granddad Max’s turn today. I was so excited that the old guy had a chance to talk. It is a bit personal as I have the feeling that the world is indeed ageist. So, I had pinned so much hope on the old fellow. And then he called in sick! What a let down. I do have to understand, he didn’t want to come on stage and share his virus around. He issued a statement about his life lessons though and sent it to Devil to read out aloud: “The young ones will be old in due time & there are more shades of love than hate.” After he had read it, Devil looked around and asked, “Does this make sense or is the fever speaking here?” Our Instagram friend wizened_gnome swiftly send us a translation of what Granddad said. “Hate is uncompromising, while love acknowledges imperfection.” So, true.
We wish Granddad Max a speedy recovery and he was right to stay in bed.
With the cancellation of Granddad’s appearance Mouse had a bit of time on hand and she used it to find out more about Lapdog. Mouse never really engaged with the little dog as she thought it is just a pretty little thing that hasn’t much grey matter between her two oversized ears. To learn more she looked on the character page yesterday only to find there is no description for Lapdog either. (Apologies: the puppets without descriptions were originally made for an exhibition and to sell. Once I develop their story I have trouble letting them go. But since I am not selling at this stage, I might as well tell their story).
So Mouse spoke to Lapdog at the stage door. Her main concern was what personal pronoun she should use when she refers to Lapdog. The little dog laughed and said, “When you talk to me, you use you. Like you would with any other person. If I am not around, you can say he, she or it. I don’t mind as I don’t hear it. You even could say the bitch, that would be right too, as I am Lapdog.” The dog is certainly not short of confidence. Good on it.
This week the contestants have to talk about themselves and Snippedy had a rather bad start. When Mouse took the rubbish out she found the clown lolling about with a bottle of schnapps behind the theatre . “You know,” Mouse said to console him, “it’s okay, not everyone wants to talk about themselves.” But Snippedy felt sorry for himself. “Yes they all do” he said recalcitrantly. “I am the only one who can’t. I stuffed up big time” and he took another gulp from the bottle.
“Well” said Mouse resolutely “this is certainly not the solution!” She grabbed the bottle and chucked it into the bin together with her other rubbish and left a gobsmacked Snippedy standing there.
Meanwhile, in the theatre Devil had to figure out who is next. There were two contestants with equal numbers: Lapdog and Granddad Max. Devil didn’t put much thought in it. “Okay, ladies first” he said and made a gesture towards Lapdog. Lapdog looked around first and then came up to the stage. “I guess you mean me” she said to Devil. “If you want me to go first, I would have appreciated it if you’d said beauty before age or something.”
Devil looked at her in astonishment. “Aren’t you a lady?” he asked.
“No I am not,” she said quite bruskly. “Just because I’m pretty doesn’t mean I’m female.” Devil didn’t know what to say and looked her up and down. “Well” he said quietly and hoped the contestant wouldn’t hear it “we Dedes are heads only, so I can’t look into your pants.”
Lapdog has obviously had this discussion before. “We Dedes still have a gender and I consider myself gender fluid.”
“What is that supposed to mean? God only made two genders” said Devil at a loss. Lapdog laughed out loud. “That is too much to discuss here in a talent show” she said. “All I can say is that in my profession it is very beneficial to be able to emphasise with both genders equally. And I can.”
“Okay we’ll leave it then” said Devil, happy to conclude the subject. After all the Dedes embrace diversity. “Can you tell us something about yourself then?”
During the competition Saturday will be the day of rest. So Devil is soaking in the bath tub today. Not entirely voluntarily though. Mouse made him have one because he has a terrible sulphur smell about him, and you know that is a horrible rotten egg smell. From next Monday on he will be the MC for the Super Dede Competition and in this capacity he has to get close to the other Dedes. I think they will be all grateful to Mouse. Mouse herself doesn’t have a day of rest. On Instagram she made a little film, reminding everyone that commenting on your favourite contestant will give them a better chance. It is really interesting how these different media work. She really wanted to try if a video makes a difference and it was the first one she took with the smart phone.
With the competition next week everything will change slightly. While the Instagram followers voted for the contestants, the blog reader will get the full story each day. The Instagram readers will only get the news clips. Before the votes closed we already got our first complaint. One of the contestants accused the organisation team of negligence. But he will withdraw his complaint if he makes it into the finals. So you have to wait until tomorrow to find out what happend.
This week is a preliminary round and you are asked to vote for your favourite puppet or puppets, those you would like to be contestants in the Super Dede Competition. Of course, not all Dedes are in favour of the competition and Detail has done a great job of rustling up these 10 brave Dedes to choose from. The five with the highest score will go on to compete. The others will be sent home. To help you with your decision the ten puppets were asked to briefly state why they are here.
It will be a bit tricky establishing the winner of the preliminary round, as the competition runs on Instagram, Facebook and this blog. Mouse will simply add the Instagram and Facebook likes to the poll result on the blog. We have until next Saturday to establish who will become contestants.
You can vote for more than one puppet and please, please, please tell all your friends to vote too :)
The Dedes work impromptu and they appreciate any comments and suggestions. We are all very excited about what is going to happen in the next four weeks. All comments will go into the draw for a signed copy of the first Dede puppet book Hermit’s Web or the few friends I need, I handcraft myself.
Now give a big hand for the applicants!
(In alphabetical order)
Alley Cat
“I am here because it wasn’t cool enough for Cool Cat, but we felines need a representative in the cast.”
Chambermaid
“I want to be in the competition because I am sick of tidying up after all the other Dedes.”
Granddad Max
“I am old but I am not dead. We seniors have something to say.”
Milky Bar Devil
“I am a devil in training and I want to learn how to become ruthless.”
Lapdog
“I am here because I’m soooo prettaay.”
Loudmouth
“Honestly, I am the only Dede who can sing. This is a singing contest, isn’t it?”
Snippedy
“I didn’t make it last time, so I’m trying again.”
Snotty Nosed Prince
“The king said I should experience what the commoners enjoy.”
Sunny
“I want to be an artist and the prize money might set me up.”
Top Dog
“I will win. I am a joker, I simply trump them all.”
First things first. In the picture above you see the Super Dede Competition management team . From left to right: Detail, Mouse and Devil. You don’t see Detail very often in a picture. She is very particular about her appearance and rarely approves a photo of herself. She is the only Dede featuring straight lines and she finds her eyes too dark for her light complexion. Ah well, she certainly won’t take part in the competition. This might be another reason why she happily volunteered to canvas for contestants.
The nicely dressed lady in the front is the director of the theatre where the competition takes place. She considered herself pretty enough to take part in the Super Dede Competition. When she auditioned the management team informed her the competition is strictly for Dedes only. Of course she is invited to participate with comments and suggestions like the rest of the audience and the readers. She was a little miffed, but still went off to reserve herself a seat in the front row. She just loves the theatre so much.
Yesterday, our reader Jessie suggested some puppets that would make an interesting addition to the cast. I gave the list to Detail and she diligently went off to talk to the nominated puppets individually and asked them if they were willing to be put on the list. (Remember, being on the list doesn’t mean they will actually partake in the competition. In the first week the readers will whittle down the list of 10 suggestions to 5 final contestants.)
From left to right: Granddad Max,Twofaced, Philosopher (lying down) and Deutsch Fraulein.
First up, Detail asked Twofaced if she wants to be a contestant. Her response was “Mhm, not sure.” Detail said “Okay then, I take it that’s a no” and crossed her of the list. Then she went on to ask Granddad Max. Granddad Max said “Mhm, not sure.” Detail nudged him with her ellbow and said “C’mon, don’t you feel flattered that someone put your name forward? And it would be great to have the perspective of an older member of society in the competition!” Granddad Max still said “Mhm not sure” but Detail put him on the list and promised if she had more than 10 applicants she would ask him again.
Next on Detail’s list was Deutsch Fraulein. “If you asked me to be a contestant on the “bachelorette” I would jump at the opportunity” the girl said arrogantly. “The Super Dede Competition, sorry, is not my thing.” Detail shook her head, crossed her off and moved on to Philosopher. Here she faced a dilemma. On the one hand she didn’t want bother this puppet as she knew what he would say. On the other hand she didn’t want to disappoint Jessie, who had put him forward. In the end she took a deep breath and asked. Sure enough, he waived the question aside. “Don’t bother me with that silly competition but I don’t want to spoil it for you guys so just leave me out of it.”
Detail was exhausted. All this hard work and she only has three contestants so far. The competition is supposed to start next Monday. Dear, oh dear! There were two more puppets suggested by Jessie. One is called Patience. Patience is the one that got lost in the process, never to been seen again. But Detail is not giving up. She couldn’t find the wannabe artist Sunny either, but he must be around somewhere. So there are still two maybe’s. Good luck, Detail.
And remember you still can get the free ebook of the previous Super Dede Competition from smashwords.com until tomorrow. Enter the code VV39S to get the ebook with a 100% discount.
Yes, the Dedes are back to normal. Unfortunately part of their normality is their struggle for survival. They don’t want to have anything for free, but for some of them it is very difficult. Look, for example, at Rob D Light. He has been looking for a job for ever and lives under a blanket of newspapers. His old one is ripped and he gratefully grabbed the discarded ransom note because it was glued on 120gsm paper. That will be a bit warmer than the thin newsprint in the approaching New Zealand winter.
Mouse said Cool Cat should do some work to get noticed, but that is easier said than done. Mouse works relentlessly. She is a workaholic to be precise, but does she earn a decent income? No! She has put together the Artist’s Survival Cookbook which is available in print, and just two days ago, she put the latest publication The Super Dede Competition as an ebook on smashwords. The problem is the marketing. Not one Dede is an expert at that.
So, Mouse has taken charge of this now as well. She put the price on US$3.99, which for an ebook might appear a bit dear, but she argued it should be viewed as a donation to the Dedes. They don’t want to have anything for free, though it is obvious they can’t survive on thin air. “Look at it” she said defending her decision. “It is the price of a cup of coffee”. Then she went on to explain where the money is going. $1 from each book goes to Rob D Light and another $1 goes to L’Artiste so he can continue his carefree work. The rest that is not withheld by Smashwords for administration will go to repay debts the Dedes have accumulated in recent years. Originally she wanted to put it in the kitty for a rainy day, but no, it is better to get rid of debts first the others said.
So here we are: click on the image, buy the book, donate to the Dedes and tell all your friends about it. The Dedes will be eternally grateful.
The Dedes are back to their old antics. The exhibition opening is over, mother’s day with all its warm and fuzzies is over. Remember in my last post I revealed I particularly like the cow, as she has my eyes, and Devil as he was the first puppet. Two of the lesser known Dedes, Magician and Eve L. took issue with the fact that I have favourites and decided to do something about it. Though they didn’t compare notes of what they are going to do and each of them approached the issue from a different angle.
Eve L. requested some old newspapers and packaging tape and disappeared into the studio rustling about all day. The next day she appeared and announced that she had figured out I obviously liked puppets with horns, therefore she adorned herself with a homemade contraption so I would love her more. Mhm. Interesting! I have to say her sample data was a little too small. She obviously looked at one post only. If she had followed the blog more carefully she would realise that there are plenty of puppets without horns who feature strongly.
Anyway Cool Cat looked at Eve L and said it is not a good idea to do things only to be loved and accepted. Right she looked pretty silly, didn’t she.
When Magician had seen the newspaper he had the idea to write a ransom note to the artist (that would be me). His announcement to do this and the proof of taking action (the picture of him fetching the scissors) had the most views on the Dede Instagram site so far. I have to ponder what this is telling me.
Anyway he demanded equal treatment of all puppets and delivered the note anonymously. Though it didn’t quite work as the hat was a give away. I was a bit confused. You might know that one of my favourite signs is the saltire (x) as it is very ambiguous. I looked at the note and wondered, if Magician is not able to sign his name or if he sent three kisses with the note.
Before I could make up my mind, Milky Bar Devil grabbed the note and ripped it up. Remember the last we saw of Milky Bar Devil was when he was ordered to read a big pile of philosophy books. And sure enough, the reading had an impact on him. He said: “Rubbish, you don’t need to treat everyone the same, you should treat everyone fairly, right?”
In the meantime Cool Cat, who is – just like any other cat – far too proud to join the crowd, asked what one HAS to do to feature in any of the Dedes stories. Mouse, who happened to walk past just said: “Do some work”
I am often asked how the Dede puppets came about and I think now is an appropriate time to tell the story as it was Mother’s Day last Sunday.
Here is the short version of the story:
When I was little, my mother used to tell us kids about a devil hand puppet she once made but left behind when moving house. I never saw the puppet but she talked about it with such passion that in my mind it must have been the most beautiful hand puppet ever. Some decades later I tried to get rid of a rather large pile of newspaper and I was quite surprised when I suddenly had a very strong desire to make a devil hand puppet. My mother and I didn’t have a particularly good relationship and when I started making the puppets I realised I was about the same age my mother was when she told me about her puppet. Anyway, the devil turned out beautifully – even if I do say so myself – and I continued making more. Within a week I had a cast of fifteen and they were received very favourably by my friends. At this stage my mother was still alive and could see pictures of the first puppets and hear how well they were received. Sadly she passed away shortly after. I can but view the puppets as my mother’s legacy to me. There isn’t a day when I don’t think about her and develop a better understanding of her life and her motivations.
In the picture above Cash Cow, who has my eyes, holds a picture of my mother. Can you see the similarity?
Below is my very first Dede puppet, Devil. He will always have a special place in my heart, even though I am sure he has nothing in common with my mother’s devil.
dedepuppets 