Norman T Newbie III had to go and see Sunny, the artist’s assistant, to get his protective coating. He quite liked the young aspiring artist and thought they had much in common. At least they both wear a baseball cap. He wasn’t afraid to ask “Hey, do you want to work with me? I am head of security for Top Dog.”
Sunny didn’t even have to think. “No thanks” he said, “I am definitely not working for that guy!”
“You can say what you want about Top Dog, but he certainly keeps his promises!” Norman T Newbie III said contentedly.
“What makes you think that?” Sunny asked surprised.
“He said I will get my final coat, and here I am already.”
Sunny sighed. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but the coating is common procedure for Dedes!”
After Norman T Newbie III had left Sunny went to see his teacher L’Artiste.
“Is he really Head of Security?” asked Sunny quite depressed now. He knows he is considered one of the losers because he wants to be an artist.
“No way” said L’Artiste to console him. “He has just fluffed up his CV to make himself more important. He is no more than a common thug who does Top Dog’s dirty work!”
The Dedes are a bit wary of the new one after his gaffe with the gun, but they try to stay open minded and will watch him for a while.
Well, while they were watching, Top Dog jumped into action and slidled up to the youngster.
“I could use a young lad just like you” he said to Norman T Newbie III and put his arm around his shoulder, “You could be in charge of security at my rallies.”
The young one was flattered but didn’t want to look too keen. “I am not completely finished yet” he said half-heartedly. “Don’t worry, I’ll look after you. I know what you need and I will give you exactly that” replied Top Dog and offered his hand to seal the deal before Norman T Newbie III could think of another excuse.
Not surprisingly, Top Dog’s confidence was renewed by the support of the two puppets. Yesterday he came out shouting “Vote for me, vote for me. I have the balls” and to proof it he rolled two juggling balls into the room. Mouse was not impressed and asked whether we shouldn’t be worried about what is going on. At least she is. She is very scared indeed! Though the majority of Dedes still don’t seem to take Top Dog seriously. I wonder if they all think he is simply a nutcase. The fronts are getting more defined though and both camps want more supporters.
It happened that it was very stormy yesterday, so the Dedes sent me into the studio to make a new puppet. I recorded a film to show how I do it. Okay, I cheated a little and I had the shape of the head prepared earlier, but you see how I put the skin on. Of course, I am not working that fast. To be honest, I am extremely slow.
(PS: Please don’t ask me what the cocoa powder is doing in the middle of the work bench. That is just dada.)
Even before the newbie had his final protective coat on he ran into trouble. He went to Devil and said “I need a gun.”
“What for?” asked Devil.
“To protect myself from all these weird Dedes!” was the answer
“But you are a Dede yourself!”
“But I am not weird!” he said adamantly.
Devil shook his head, put his hand on the new puppet’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “oh boy, what you need is an open mind and a brain.”
On a different note, can anyone suggest a name for the new puppet?
Should we be concerned? This morning Bossman showed up and screamed “Don’t give me this ‘Embrace Diversity’ crap” There was no need to shout, as everyone else was quiet anyway. But he continued to bluster “Our times call for a strong leader. I vote for Top Dog.”
Nobody took much notice, who believes a screamer anyway? The Dedes just quietly continued doing what they were doing so far, business as usual. But then the thin voice of Mr Vague became audible. “I don’t have anything to say” he uttered “I need someone you speaks loudly for me. Top Dog does that!”
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.
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.
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 :)).
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.
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.
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?
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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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