Archives for posts with tag: life

IMG_1725

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.

IMG_1726

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?

IMG_1703

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.

IMG_1707

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!

IMG_1680

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.

pig and prof

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).

IMG_1566

Lots has happened, but nothing exciting. Just little things here and there indicating the wheels are falling off the competition. The last week of the Super Dede competition was – to say the least – a flop. I wouldn’t call it a total flop, but a flop nevertheless. We had a couple of questions from readers and Top Dog was obviously waiting to twist one of the questions so he could turn the spotlight on himself. Remember, he isn’t even a contestant. But he really managed to throw a spanner in the works. Not a good ending to the week.

Saturday is usually a day of rest for the Dedes. Except for Mouse, who seems to run on long-life batteries and by the looks of it doesn’t need a break. She used the day to discuss what happened the previous week and what to do next with the external consultant, Millie.

IMG_1496

But Mouse couldn’t find Millie for ages. When she finally spotted her, she was – with all her belongings packed – abseiling down the cabinet.  “I have had enough of you Dedes” Millie called out to Mouse. And then she said she had read on Instagram that the 2nd of July is the toy traveller day. So she wanted to go and find some friends more suitable to her. (Now this is a story in itself. The toys she met were mainly Russian and she didn’t know she had to find a fountain. This somehow got lost in translation. We’ll keep that story for another rainy day).

But one thing is for sure, the exit of Millie left Mouse in the lurch. Then on Sunday Devil chucked it in as well. He headed for the door mumbling that Top Dog had really spoilt it for him. Meanwhile, Rob D Light had carried a hat full of names into the headquarters. Remember that any comment made during the competition is entered into the draw for a signed copy of the first dedepuppet book “Hermit’s Web or the few friends I need, I hand-craft myself.” Rob has been keeping track of the commenters and wrote their names on pieces of paper to go into the green hat in which we usually keep our spare cash. The hat has never been so full.

IMG_1552

Mouse is determined to see the competition through to the end. After all, she was the proud winner of the inaugural Super Dede Competition and she knows all too well how exciting it is to win this title. A real Super Dede will do anything for the Dede community. So, this morning she fronted up to the followers and announced sternly that this Friday the Super Dede 2016 winner will be crowned, come hell or highwater (looking out the window, highwater is more likely).

So this week, images of all the contestants will appear one more time, complete with a summary of their performance. The followers are invited to Like their contestant. Any comment about a contestant will add another 5 likes. And of course,  all the comments will also go into the draw for the signed dedepuppet book.

 

 

contestant discussion

Today is the last day of the competition. It was working well until Top Dog grabbed the limelight yesterday and turned it into a show about himself. He tried to expose the artist’s shoddy character and dug up a very old story. Our Instagram reader wizened_gnome obviously read the background information and asked a question last night. “Pretty manipulative…. don’t the contestants understand his motivation?” Devil, who secretly agrees, put the question straight to the contestants. All five contestants wanted to talk at once.

“Yeah, when you dive into the background, you get the full picture, the artist was asked by other Dedes…”

“No, Top Dog has a point. The treatment was very harsh and uncalled for.”

“No, no, no, she did some legitimate scientific research for the benefit of us all. She had to choose someone!”

“But no way should she have used a dog for that. Animals, even nasty ones, have rights too!”

“You are wrong, it’s not about animal rights at all, it is about his persona….”

“Whoo hoo” interrupted Devil, the MC who was supposed to moderate. The discussion had quickly become too heated. “We are running a talent show here, not an ethics committee! Please don’t mix entertainment and politics. Keep in mind, the readers will  have to vote soon, so don’t confuse them!”

The contestants stopped and looked at each other wondering how a simple question about wind could have become so political.

IMG_1469

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.”

 

IMG_1463

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.

clown headstand

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!”

devil bun

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

snippedy drinking

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.

Lapdog intro

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?”

“I thought I just did!”