A Pining Pumpkin and Tim Curry Props

Let me sum up:
It's a Halloween two-fer, with...

"The Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile"


and "The Worst Witch"




Let me splain:
Wow, finding the first video was a total nostalgia trip for me. This movie was one of our trusty, VHS recorded TV specials growing up. My big sister's room was Raggety Ann and Andy themed when she was little. My mom actually made really cool Raggety costumes for herself, my dad, and my sister for my sister's very first Halloween. Anyhoo, I don't remember jack about the plot, except that it centers around an unwanted pumpkin (picture the tree from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" if it were a pumpkin, and could talk, and CRY FRICKIN' PUMPKIN SEEDS!!!)

I first saw the second movie, "The Worst Witch," in 5th grade. Which was right around the time I realized that Rooster in "Annie," Darkness in "Legend," Hook in an after school "Peter Pan" cartoon running at the time, and Dr. Frankenfurter (who theatre pals had just introduced me to) were all the SAME AMAZING ENGLISHMAN. The scene I've posted above is the ending. I know that I would cry if a wizard played by Tim Curry declared it a half-holiday thanks to my awesome heroism, and then asked me to go flying with him. With Mrs. Garrett's blessing, of course. Jump to 2:12 in the clip above for optimal Curry smarm-tastic-ness. X-Entertainment did an amazing run down of this movie many years ago. If you're going for chuckles, not tears, please enjoy this mind blowing song:



~Geek out
(You're not the worst witch, anymore!)

Finding Meaning in Pain--Doh!

Let me sum up:
This awesome bit from Simpsons episode "And Maggie Makes Three."





Let me splain:
So if you're a heathen and haven't seen the episode...it starts with Lisa asking why there are no photos of Maggie in the family photo albums. In a series of flashbacks, we learn that after Bart and Lisa were born, Marge and Homer got their finances under control and Homer quit his job at the power plant to take up his dream job of working at a bowling alley. However, celebratory snuggles led to Maggie's conception. Homer had to beg for his job back. Mr. Burns complies, but places a demoralizing "DON'T FORGET YOU'RE HERE FOREVER" plaque above in Homer's work station. In the final shot we learn that Homer used Maggie's photos to transform the plaque.

I described this scene last week during a seminar I'm taking on Logotherapy--I barely got through the punch line. Logotherapy was devised by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, and focuses on the human ability to seek meaning in life, even in suffering. Taking a page from the books of Logotherapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, kicking it about values is a major part of what I try to do with clients. Values tend to be tricky because they go hand in hand with pain--typically you aren't hurting unless there's something in the picture you really care about. And the things we care about give us all the reason we need to walk through hell. Or Mr. Burns' yard. Release the hounds.

~Geek out

Rorschach

Let me sum up:
Rorschach's death in "Watchmen"







Let me splain:
This one comes at the request of Smeagol92055 who asked for a reaction to "Watchmen." Rorschach's the biggest source of tears for me here...though The Comedian comes in a close second, especially now that I'm working at the VA.

The picture is from me watching Rorschach's death scene in the movie--Jackie Earle Haley is friggin amazing--but the book has a similar impact on me. Rorschach has some obvious pulls for a psychology geek (every now and then I get someone who is sad I don't throw ink blots at them). Mask aside, his tie to the Kitty Genovese murder is a slick backstory facet.

I have some pretty inflexible notions of how I'd like the world to be. And I've seen glimpses of how this rigidity can get in the way of life. When Rorachach invites death, it's clear he sees it too.

~Geek out

Ghostly Flash Mob

Let me sum up:
Improv Everywhere's stunt at the New York Public Library.



Let me splain:
It's rare for me to encounter a flash mob video that doesn't reduce me to tears. Doesn't matter if it's essentially a commercial for a new reality show or a performance for a wacky talk show mogul. Synchronized human movement is sexy as hell...but this only really applies to musical mobs. With musical mobs, I get a kind of perverse delight from the fact that a group of people are countering my husband (and many other folks') main objection to musical theatre--when do people ever burst out into song and dance in unison?

But whether your mob is musical, riddled with zombies, or simply absurd, the common delightful thread seems to be introducing the possibility of the impossible into everyday life. And when everyday life seems to be overrun with fear and apathy, there's something really neat about the way spectators in these videos gradually overcome their surprise and confusion and buy into the whimsy. I was super bummed last winter to miss an adorable mob of high school kids at our local grocery store (love the old guy who just wants to keep picking out apples). I'm confident that if I ever do find myself witnessing a flash mob I will be reduced to a puddle of laughter and tears. And I look forward to it.

~Geek out

PS--If you enjoyed Improv Everywhere's Ghostbusters video, check out their Star Wars Subway video.