Monday, May 05, 2008

Subtraction

Sometimes you can succeed by simplifying, by cutting through the preconceptions, by taking a leap of faith.

And if you do that you can find something new, something interesting.

For instance, what would you find if you took a classic movie and removed the motivating factor?

Well, you would get this oddly weird version of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. (You can learn more about this project and see some more edited videos here.)

Or you could view this oddly mysterious view of the lonely life led by Jon Arbuckle. You know him. He's the owner and comic butt of jokes in the Garfield comic strip. But, let's take the titular cat out of the picture and you get a bizarre--and MUCH better--comic about loneliness and insanity. (This site has gotten lots of press, which you can review here.)

Or, you could throw caution to the wind and give your child a push. That's what Lynda did on Saturday while helping Sarah practice her bike riding. And lo and behold . . . she stayed upright! She even started pedaling and almost executed a turn. She hasn't challenged herself with biking up a hill (and we are staying away from uneven grounds so far), but there is no doubt that she faced the challenge, faced the fear, and came through.

2 comments:

Sven Golly said...

My inner copyeditor stands corrected on the redundnancy of 'oddly weird'. After watching the birdless Birds, I see your point. It is oddly weird. Besides, I always liked Suzanne Pleshette(?). Nice pergola, too.

lulu said...

Hooray for Sarah!

It must've been a good day for bikes. Marky figured out his two wheeler (with training wheels). If you keep pushing forward, you will go. This is better than pushing backward and braking 37 times every linear foot. He was sporting his little helmet and a tie-dye t-shirt, pedaling all over the house.

Again, way to go, Sarah! That is a wonderful milestone, and a sweet taste of freedom.