I made tunics for the two puppets I posted about yesterday. I still need to make accoutrements for six more, and I also need to build a puppet theater. And get some gloves for the other two soon-to-be puppets I have here at the house.

I also knitted a bit more on my sock. It’s getting close to the toe now, and maybe I’ll get to that later tonight. Other than that… I got nuthin’.

One of the great Czech filmmakers, JAN SVANKMAJER was born in 1934 in Prague where he still lives. He trained at the Institute of Applied Arts from 1950 to 1954 and then at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts (Department of Puppetry). He soon became involved in the Theatre of Masks and the famous Black Theatre, before entering the Laterna Magika Puppet Theatre where he first encountered film. In 1970 he met his wife, the surrealist painter Eva Svankmajerova, and the late Vratislav Effenberger, the leading theoretician of the Czech Surrealist Group, which Svankmajer joined and of which he still remains a member.

Svankmajer made his first film in 1964 and for over thirty years has made some of the most memorable and unique animated films ever made, gaining a reputation as one of the world’s foremost animators, and influencing filmmakers from Tim Burton to The Brothers Quay. His brilliant use of claymation reached its apotheosis with the stunning 1982 film DIMENSIONS OF DIALOGUE. In 1987 Svankmajer completed his first feature film, ALICE, a characteristically witty and subversive adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, and with the ensuing feature films FAUST, CONSPIRATORS OF PLEASURE and his newest film LITTLE OTIK (OTESANEK) Svankmajer has moved further away from his roots in animation towards live-action filmmaking, though his vision remains as strikingly surreal and uncannily inventive as ever.

..

For Pathfinder Sabbath, the Friend class (my unit) will be doing a puppet show. For that, we’re going to need puppets. I went to Walmart yesterday and bought some plush toys with the intention of turning them into puppets. I must say that step one is the most satisfying, which is when you cut them off at the waist. Step two was to remove most of the stuffing (leaving it in the head). Tonight I took it to the next level (which provides a workable puppet) which is to sew a sock into it. That will hide the puppeteers arms as well as prevent the head stuffing from coming out. Here’s how two of them look so far:

Plush toy puppets

They are just about usable in this state, but shirts that say “Love you” and “Hug me” do not exactly advance the plot of our puppet skit. So they will get garments.

I sent two puppets home with two kids (four puppets in all) after giving the parents some rough instructions for making them. I shoulda given them some cloth too so they could make the costumes, but that didn’t occur to me until tonight.

It has been a long weekend. Camp-in went well Saturday evening. It was well-attended, and all the helpers showed up. The scenery was ready, though if we had started sooner, it would have been more elaborate, But it was more than sufficient. I forgot to bring my camera along, so I have no pictures of it.

When the program ended, Va suggested that she might just go to Walmart and get a couple of pillows instead of sending me home for them. The plan was for me to bring the boys home so Penny wouldn’t be all alone, grab the pillows, head back to the church, and spend the night. We didn’t have room on the car for the pillows on the first trip (it was crammed full of props and food). But Va thought I should just sleep at home. I didn’t argue.

She went to Walmart and we started taking stuff down (including the canvasses we had painted). The boys and I got home around 10:30pm I guess. I washed the dishes and then went to bed. I got up when Va got home this morning.

Then I needed to turn my attention to the next project. Pathfinder Sabbath is in two weeks, and I need to get ready for that. I went to Tilton to buy some puppet-makin’s. I read that a decent approach was to get stuffed animals and disembowel them. As it turns out, Valentine’s Day causes a flood of cheap stuffed animals to appear. I bought eight at $3.00 a pop. Mostly bears and dogs, but there’s a chimp in the mix for good measure.

At the Pathfinder meeting tonight we cut them open and removed most of the stuffing. The next step is to sew a sock or a glove into the innards to keep the rest of the stuffing inside. Then I’ll make some clothing for them.

The other part of my plan is to pre-record the audio portions of the puppet show. That accomplishes several things. First, we can edit out the mistakes. Second, I don’t have to worry about anyone flubbing their lines or ad libbing in an inappropriate way. Third, even though one of the kids was sick tonight, she will still get to participate – we won’t use her voice, but she’ll get to work a couple of the puppets. Fourth, I’ll know exactly how long the performance will be.

The only problem is that we only got about 70% of the dialog recorded before we ran out of time. We’ll finish it (and the puppets) next week. Then we’ll need to practice. Oh – and I’ll need to build a puppet stage.

My old friend Warran was back again tonight as well. He’s pitching in with the Pinewood Derby which we worked on some more. I think he’s going to stick around afterwards as well, meaning that my oldest unit will now have a counselor. Yay!

So that bring us up to date. I think I’ll spend the evening working on the sock I’m knitting.

Starting today, RIGHT NOW, and going through Sunday, you can soak up all sorts of arts activities suited for all ages and interests thanks to LexArts‘ 6th Annual Arts Showcase Weekend.

Wondering what this weekend is all about? Here’s an explanation from LexArts‘ website:

This collaboration among many of Lexington’s arts organizations is designed to acquaint residents with creative ways to live without leaving town.  The opportunity to sample so many different artistic experiences and to become familiar with the many arts organizations in Lexington is a unique and fun opportunity that should not be missed.

As part of Arts Showcase Weekend, LAL is presenting Puppet Animation with Charlie Campbell on Sat. from 2:30-5… but it’s happening at ArtsPlace, NOT at Loudoun, so don’t get confused!

Doesn’t this sound awesome???

Bring the entire family to work as a team to produce a video clip of puppet animation. Start by creating your puppet(s) with paper, ribbon and fabric. Make up a short video sequence for your puppet to act out and then join Charlie Campbell in filming snapshots of various postures for your puppet to produce an animation clip. Clips will be emailed to each family. Limit 1 animation short per family. LAL encourages participants to arrive promptly at 2:30pm, ready to receive instructions. Late arrivals welcome to participate, though some wait time for assistance may be necessary.

Click here for a complete schedule of events, which includes music, dance, visual art, literature and so much more. You DO NOT want to miss these events this weekend!

Today I got to play with my very own rod…… puppet.

But before we get into that, we first went over our projects assigned to us last week on the Wizard of Oz theme. Here is my final work:

Now, here is some explanation:

While doing research online, I found a striking relationship between Cherokee Native American culture and the realm of Oz. So, in this rendition, Dorothy is a young Cherokee woman who is confused on her heritage.

Once in “Oz”, which is really the Southeast United States back before Europeans settled here, she encounters the Yunwi Tsunsdi, “Cherokee Little People” in Cherokee folk lore. Fully matured spirits no taller than a foot or so, they lead Dorothy to the local village to meet the Cherokee Shaman. How do they get there? An old dirt trail which yellow flowers have overtaken its’ surface. Along her journey, her wolf cub is always at her side. Wolves are known in Cherokee culture to be the animal spirit for companionship and community.

Along the way, Dorothy is joined and guided by three animal spirits: the cougar, representing courage; the deer, representing love and passion (heart); and the antelope, representing mental agility.

Now, the Cherokee medicine wheel encompasses the four directions and their associated colors and meanings. What is interesting is the direction West is represented by the color black, the element water, and the meaning of death. Sounds an awful lot like the Wicked Witch of the West, huh? In this version, the animal spirit of the crow represents the evil force in this story. And how does Dorothy arrive in this time and place? Each full moon of the year has a different name. The Storm Moon occurs in March, and a fierce lightning storm traps Dorothy and brings her to this land in which she finds out how her heritage is something to be proud of.

The class seemed to appreciate my take on the project and I was happy that it turned out the way it did.

After the Oz project and a project with color, we worked on our first group project… ROD PUPPETS! Granted, they are in their early phases and will continue to grow and become more detailed in the weeks that follow, but here are a couple of pics of my rod…… puppet.

We have a 1 minute skit to do next week with a partner. My guy is a psychiatrist, note the pencil and glasses. Should be fun.

After that, we watched a piece on this guy who uses film and paper to create some very interesting installation pieces. I, personally, wasn’t a fan, but I did appreciate his work. Next week we begin to delve more into what we are going to do for PuppetSLAM. So excited! Let the Muppety Goodness start to flow!

Work tomorrow…. let’s hope the migraine stays away!

Barah Pal (subtitled) from Barah Pal on Vimeo.

Thurtinkle takes a gander at ‘T’owd Hayloft’ – the place where we store all our gear that we use to perform and educate in puppetry and visual theatre.

“Thank you so much for coming along to deliver Mrs Teapots party last Friday I feel it was a great success.  The children and Childminders (and the Early Years Staff!) thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Anne Pritchett -Childminding Co-ordinator, Sandwell Early Years & Childcare Unit

Sandwell, West Midlands, Friday 22^nd January 2010

‘’ Some good ideas.  Things that are in the home that can be fun.’’

‘’ Gave me some good ideas to use everyday objects.’’

‘’ We found the whole afternoon really helpful and interesting, and some ideas really good.’’

‘’ Interesting sticking eyes and making characters.’’

‘’ Good session and something different, nice and bright, stimulating for children.  Children’s attention span good.’’

‘’ I didn’t have any children with me personally but it was obvious that the children attending thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  I liked the idea of putting eyes on and making characters.’’

‘’ Different.  Captured younger children’s attention.  Made a nice change but had expected a drama type session, don’t know why!’’

The last couple of weeks of my life have contained nothing but happiness. I’ve met an amazing person who, I hope, becomes an active fixture in my life. I am also incredibly excited about this semester of school. I’m in love with all of my class. I mean, how many people can say they get to express themselves artistically while preparing for their career? I get to do a full technical design of ‘The Crucible’ for my Technical Design course, I get to teach a full unit on Puppetry for my Teaching Methods course, and I get to watch movies (Hollywood movies) for my Adaption for Exceptional Learners class.
I also, for the most part, am enjoying my job. I dunno what it is, but lately everything has been going very well.
Also, I am adopting another ferret. A friend of mine has to get rid of her ferret, so I’m taking the little guy in.
I found a roommate to replace Luke (who leaves the state tomorrow, thank god). She’s an older yoga instructor and she’s very nice. And shit…maybe I’ll get some free yoga lessons out of her.
My life just feels so averagely exciting right now. And I am perfectly fine with it.

- Beckie

There is complete darkness in The Pit Theatre at the Barbican. A strange and alluring soundscape fills the dark. Then somewhere ahead in this darkness, shapes emerge. A caterpillar, an old man, a plume of smoke drifting upwards. In fact, it is just a white sheet being manipulated in the darkness. My imagination is at work here, and I honestly believe that this sheet is the form of two characters sitting on a wall, their dialogue echoed in the atmospheric sounds behind.

This is the work of Belgium based Compagnie Mossoux-Bonté the collaboration between Nicole Mossoux and Patrick Bonté. Their work fuses together the crossroads of theatre and dance, but in Kefar Nahum they explore the manipulation of objects through puppetry and animation.

Kefar Nahum is a dark piece blending the creation of life in objects and material to their destruction through violence of objects. Another feature at the Barbican Theatre in association with the International Mime Festival

It is quite astonishing the way in which the mind works during this performance. It is not that the material is questioning something deep or philosophical but rather our imagination suddenly engages and gets to work. As the object manipulation takes place, narratives are formed – but not through dialogue but through voices inside the mind. There might be a watering can being moved on the stage, but to me, this is the last of the great birds of the south, finding it all rather surprising to come across another person – in this case, the puppeteer.

Whilst Kefar Nahum is a great stimulation of the mind, the ever changing scenes, the fluttering of moments between objects and narratives leaves little for through lines, and fails to completely engage me as an audience member.

Perhaps we’re not even meant to connect with the piece, for other than the puppeteer herself, everything else used are nothing more than inanimate objects, scattered items that have to be brought to life. How can we connect with something that once hands move away from it, they fall off the front of the stage onto the floor – as is the case throughout the whole performance.

If anything this makes me wonder if the piece is for an exclusive audience, and how accessible it is for a larger audience. Whilst there is no narration, and the language is formed through the movement of objects, this object manipulation isn’t for everyone. Unless you’re willing to get lost in shapes and forms that appear in the curves and folds of fabric or disused objects you won’t find much in Kefar Nahum.

It is a shame that once again we have a sinister puppetry show for adults – where are all the simple adult puppetry that don’t deal with the themes of violence and manipulation of being?

Kefar Nahum is part of the International Mime Festival and also part of the Bite 10 Festival at the Barbican Centre. The show finishes on the 23rd January 2010.

Liz-Fitzgerald-Taylor will be running our Imaginary Leaps activities this year.

“I am really looking forward to working with DNA on the Imaginary Leaps programme. I begin this month and hope to develop new avenues of work; develop my skills base and I am particularly interested in sharing my specialised skill which is working with children with learning difficulties & disabilities!”

A Russian film – “Gofmaniada” – on the subject of E.T.A. Hoffmann is due out any moment. The puppets created by the sculptor Mikhail Schemyakin look wonderful. “Gofmaniada” is the current project of what is supposedly left of the Soviet Film industry’s “Soyuzmultfilm” which since 1999 is under government control and struggling. It appears they are having difficulty finding the financing to complete the project.

Sources for the following information are as follows:

Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gofmaniada
Live Journal – http://niffiwan.livejournal.com/tag/gofmaniada.

Director: Stanislav Sokolov
Studio: Soyuzmultfilm
Budget: ? (in this 2006 interview, Akop Kirakosyan wished for $1.5 million)
78 minutes

A film based on several stories of German writer E.T.A. Hoffman, with Hoffman himself as the main character…

I quote from the Live Journal as follows: “This puppet-animated feature is the biggest project that the once-great Soyuzmultfilm studio has taken on since the fall of the Soviet Union. A pilot film of 20 minutes was released in 2006 and got positive reviews. It has a number of very talented people behind it, including veteran director Stanislav Sokolov and well-known sculptor Mikhail Shemyakin making the gorgeous puppets and sets. The actors are also talented people. By the way, Shemyakin doesn’t admit it but the Hoffman puppet – with the black hair – is a bit of a caricature of the director. Compare these two images:

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

There has been (and maybe still is) a major problem with finding funds. The release date was pushed back from 2007 to 2008, and now this month they’re saying “2009 if all goes well”. Whenever somebody says “if all goes well”, this usually means they’re doing quite a bit of wishful thinking, particularly in Russia (Melnitsa is the only Russian studio that has been consistently punctual about its announced release dates for features). With such talent behind it, though, it is going to be worth the wait.

Here are some translated words from the former official website (deleted in mid-2007 as part of a conscious effort by Soyuzmultfilm’s management to minimize their internet presence – yes, it sounds crazy to me also):

The project is intended as a widescreen movie of 78 minutes.

The wealth of characters (over one hundred), a combination of puppet and drawn animation, the use of modern digital technologies to create virtual special effects, transformations, metamorphoses, the application of new materials for the heads of the characters, extensive decorations, unusual fantastic interiors (a crystal city, Atlantis, mysterious palaces, temples) – all of this will require substantial financial investments, beyond the frame of the usual government financing of standard films.

It is indispensible to have the corresponding technical equipment, the quality record sound system Dolby Stereo, and to attract the top creative forces of Russian animation: artist-animators, artist-constructors , sculptors, painters, decorators, masters of computer graphics, animation and special effects.

Currently work is completed on a 20-minute pilot film whose mission is to test the characters and style of the movie, to allow the project’s members to visually imagine the quality and creative direction.

We are confident that the distinctive design of the “Gofmaniada” film will attract to itself demanding aesthetes, who after investing money in the project, will receive pleasure from being involved in the creation of a highly artistic work.”

See the lovely images below thanks to the Live Journal cited above:

Long long time when the word GOOGOL wasn’t even invented people already enjoyed the illusion of movement.  Ladislas Starevich, an entomology enthusiast, liked the early cinema so much that decided to create his own motion picture.  Instead of actors he used hand-made puppets of insects. Lucanus Cervus shot in 1910 was the first stop motion effort of Starevich. The animation effort was highly acclaimed one. Soon other animation shorts followed:

1913 – The Ant and the Grasshopper (Муравей и Стрекоза) based on Aesop’s fable

1913 – The Insects’ Christmas (Рождество обитателей леса)

Starevich moved to France after the Russian revolution and continued a successful career in cinema and animation becoming one of the most acknowledged directors in stop motion.

1922 - The Frogs Who Wanted a King

1933 – The Mascot

1937 – The Tale of the Fox

Got these little ideas when I got a moist towelette in my McDonald’s bag and when one of my shirts got too small for me and I decided to scrap it. Enjoy!

The Devil You Know

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW is a modern interpretation of the classic American short story The Devil and Daniel Webster about a poor farmer who sells his soul in exchange for financial prosperity. Using marionette and bunraku-style puppets, revolving stages, recorded dialogue and original music and multi-media projections, Ping Chong, Erik Sanko and Jessica Grindstaff will transform this Faustian tale into a hilarious and haunting meditation on lost souls, fool’s gold and democracy’s eternal promise for renewal. Video projections by Bessie Award winning designer Maya Ciarrocchi; sound design by Benjamin Furiga and light design by Andrew Hill.

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW is Ping Chong’s fourth puppet theatre work and his first collaboration with adventurous Phantom Limb Company. Chong’s productions KWAIDAN, OBON: Tales of Rain and Moonlight and CATHAY: Three Tales of China have toured widely and received numerous commendations including the UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence in the Art of Puppetry. The New York City-based Phantom Limb Company has been critically acclaimed for its reinvention of traditional theatrical forms, such as marionette puppetry, in order to probe issues of contemporary life and modern consciousness. Husband and wife team Erik Sanko and Jessica Grindstaff blend their artistic visions to create lush, beguiling theater and art experiences that include 2006’s THE FORTUNE TELLER, which premiered at HERE Arts Center.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Performances: January 6 – 24.
Wednesday-Friday — 7:30PM
Weekend Matinees: Jan. 10; Jan. 16-17; Jan. 23-24 — 2:30PM
Weekend Evenings: Jan 9-10; Jan. 16; Jan. 23 — 7:30PM
Benefit Performance: Thursday, Jan. 14 — 7:30PM

The Ellen Stewart Theatre at
La MaMa ETC, 74A East 4th Street
Box Office: 212 475-7710 / Online ticketing at www.lamama.org
Tickets $30.00
Suitable for audiences ages 10 and up.

Ping Chong (writer/director) is an internationally acclaimed theatre director, playwright, video and installation artist. In his 38 year career in the theater, he has been a restless explorer of new possibilities and new directions, always pushing at the boundaries of what theater is and can be. Mr. Chong’s work has been presented at major festivals and theatres around the world including: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Spoleto USA Festival, the Seattle Repertory, the New Victory Theater, the Barbican Centre, Vienna Festival, RomaEuropa Festival, Tokyo International Arts Festival, Singapore Festival of the Arts, and many others. In 1992, Ping Chong created the first work in the Undesirable Elements series of community-based oral history projects. Since then there have been over 40 productions around the world. His 2005 puppet theatre production, Cathay: Three Tales of China, created with the Shaanxi Folk Art Theater of Xian, China, was chosen as one of the top 10 productions of the 2005 season by NY Theatre Wire, and received 3 Henry Hewes Design Awards by the New York Theatre Wing. Among his many honors and awards, he has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a USA Artist Fellowship, two BESSIE awards and two OBIE awards, including one for sustained Achievement in 2000. Theatre Communications Group has published two collections of his plays, The East-West Quartet in 2006 and Undesirable Elements in 2010. His stage adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood premieres next season at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2010 with performances in BAM’s Next Wave Festival in Fall, 2010.

Phantom Limb is a New York City-based multi-disciplinary aural, visual and performance unit comprised of husband and wife team Jessica Grindstaff (Art Director / Designer / Project Manager) and Erik Sanko (Composer / Designer / Performer / Puppeteer). Past projects include THE FORTUNE TELLER with composition by Sanko and Danny Elfman, and narration by Gavin Friday. The work debuted at HERE Arts Center and extended for three sold-out months. DEAR MDME. followed as an original composition and marionette play commissioned by Kronos Quartet, premiering at BAM’s Next Wave Festival 25th Anniversary Season. PL is currently at work on numerous projects including 69 ̊ SOUTH: THE SHACKLETON PROJECT – a theatrical treatment of the 1914-1917 Trans-Antarctic Expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton; Ping Chong Company’s The Devil and Daniel Webster; and a trilogy of new works by Lemony Snicket including THE COMPOSER IS DEAD, directed by Tony Taccone and premiering at Berkeley Rep. in Fall 2010, and THE RESTAURANT OF THE TALKING SKULL with Danny Elfman.

Other Articles by this Author
Dell General Counsel Larry Tu and New York Daily News Columnist Juan Gonzalez to Receive AALDEF 2010 Justice in Action Awards
Who Shot Rock and Roll on view at Brooklyn Museum through January 31, 2010
André De Shields Celebrates Black History Month Starring in The Working Theater’s Production of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory at The Abington in February 2010
Backstage at The Lion King Las Vegas with Thom Sesma
Multimedia: Yellow Face Reading and Book Signing with David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng, Francis Jue and Special Guest Edward Albee
Multimedia: Snow in New York on New Year's Eve
Multimedia: 2009 Bellagio Holiday Botanical Display in Las Vegas
Burnt Sugar at Joe’s Pub on January 10, with special guest Melvin Van Peebles
2009-2010 Obie Awards Judges Announced, Ceremony to be held on May 17, 2010
David Henry Hwang, Francis Jue, Kathryn Layng and Edward Albee: YELLOW FACE Reading Book Signing at The Drama Book Shop on 12/10
Multimedia: Lord & Taylor 2009 Christmas Windows
New York Knicks to Honor Wat Misaka at Madison Square Garden on 12/20
Multimedia: Tino Martinez and Sherri Shepherd at Lord & Taylor Benefit Bash
Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe, MTC’s Ruined are Top Winners at 2009 Audelcos
Director Alfred Preisser Sets His Sights on a New World Stage
Multimedia: Living Colour in Concert at the Highline Ballroom Photos
Multimedia: George Takei, Nancy Kwan, Lisa Lu and Tsai Chin attend Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection Exhibition Opening Night
Audelco 2009 “The Viv” Nominees for the 2008-2009 Theatre Season
Classical Theatre of Harlem Scores 12 AUDELCO Nods for Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe and The Three Sisters
Lia Chang Multimedia: Living Colour NYC Highline Ballroom Concert Photos
Multimedia: LIVING COLOUR performs at the Highline Ballroom in New York on October 30
Multimedia: BD Wong, Anastasia Barzee, Clarke Thorell, Cindy Cheung and Orville Mendoza at Rattlestick Playwrights Theaters’ Musical Mix ‘n’ Mingle
The Chinese American Museum partners with Academy award nominated filmmaker Arthur Dong on a groundbreaking exhibition about Hollywood’s forgotten past
Georgia O’Keefe Abstraction at the Whitney Museum of Art Through January 17, 2010
Monet’s Water Lilies on view at MOMO through April 12, 2010
My Botanical Beauties for the LIU/King’s County Hospital Center Nursing School
National Asian American Theatre Festival in New York
NAATCO’s all-Asian-American cast of The Seagull features Cindy Cheung, Marcus Ho, Mia Katigbak and Orville Mendoza
Multimedia: Andre De Shields stars in Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: From Douglass to Deliverance at The YARD
Multimedia: NAATCO’s LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! with special guest Terrence McNally
David Henry Hwang’s YELLOW FACE Starring Francis Jue, Pub Bandu and Thomas Azar at Theatreworks through 9/20
Samrat Chakrabarti is featured in Claire McCarthy’s The Waiting City, which screens at the Toronto International Film Festival
ONE Musical stars Paolo Montalban, Manu Narayan, Pearl Sun and Michael Winther
The Bacchae Opening Night Photos: Andre De Shields, Jonathan Groff and Anthony Mackie
Andre De Shields receives Living Legend Award at the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival
Mid Summer Night Swing
2009 Asian American Journalists Association Awards
Dinah Eng, Corky Lee, Jeannie Park and Steve Paulus honored by Asian American Journalists Association
AAIFF 09 Closing Night Awards and H.P. Mendoza’s Fruit Fly
AAIFF Karma Calling, You Don’t Know Jack and Children of Invention
Jeff Adachi’s You Don’t Know Jack and Tzi Chun’s Children of Invention Screen at AAIFF 09
Multimedia: AAIFF 09 Opening Night Screening of Claustrophobia
BD Wong Stars in La Jolla Production of Herringbone 8/1-8/30
Multimedia: Oumou Sangare, Will Calhoun at Central Park Summerstage
Oumou Sangare on North American Tour
Photo Call: Derek Walcott’s Marie Laveau
Multimedia: Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe Opening Night Party Photos
BD Wong Stars in the La Jolla Playhouse Production of Herringbone, August 1-30
Multimedia: Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe
Camille Darby’s Lords Resistance has Reading on June 20
In Arthur Dong’s Hollywood Chinese, Chinese Tinseltown Tales told by Asian Silver Screen Icons
Multimedia: Asian Pacific American Month Celebration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
BD Wong Performs in Symphony Space’s Wall to Wall Broadway
Thom Sesma as Scar in The Lion King at Mandalay bay
Review: HBO’s China’s Unnatural Disaster the Tears of Sichuan Province
Multimedia: Francis Mbappe and the Tribe at Joe’s Pub Photos
Will Calhoun’s Native Lands Experience Live at the Blue Note in NYC
Mark Shaw: A Retrospective at Monroe Gallery of Photography in Santa Fe
Francis Mbappe Unplugged with The Tribe at Joe’s Pub
Multimedia: AALDEF celebrates 35 years of protecting and promoting the civil rights of Asian Americans
AALDEF honors Dale Minami, Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn and Sandra Leung with 2009 Justice in Action Awards on 3/26
The Dish on Susur Lee and Shang
On Ensemble, Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe in Taiko x2 at Cerritos Center
Thelonious Monk at Town Hall-The 50^th Anniversary Celebration
RED opening reception at Gouverneur Healthcare Services
AAJA member Lia Chang’s RED photographic exhibit part of Chinese New Year celebration
David Henry Hwang, Kathryn Layng and BD Wong at the Asian American Writers Workshop Literary Awards
Amuse-Bouche with BD Wong
BD Wong is a Tour de Force in Herringbone
Thom Sesma, Peter Kim and Andrew Cristi star in Durango
Spotlight on Shanghai Moon’s Thom Sesma
Nothing is Sacred in David Henry Hwang’s Comedy of Mistaken Racial Identity
Francis Jue, At Home on the Stage
NAATCO’s pitch perfect Falsettoland hits all the right notes
Flower Drum Song: An American Story

Lia Chang © Tami Chang

These puppets were not in the Solstice show, but easily could have been

I went and saw an epic shadow puppet show in celebration of Winter Solstice at Liberty Hall last night. I guess they’ve done it every year for a decade and this was the last (for the time being, anyway).

It was amazing craftsmanship, delicate and definitive. It opened with a little androgynous shadow puppet character taking mushrooms and going down the rabbit hole, where they found all kinds of beautiful plants and colorful delights. Then there was a great sushi scene, with actors profiles behind the screen, as they ate sushi and grabbed things off the conveyor belt. The finale featured a bunch of sea characters on an island of plastic that exists just off the PNW coast near Alaska. A giant octopus made of recycled objects and little plastic take-out containers with googly eyes foreshadowed the end of the organic world.

But what was the story, I wondered? The script didn’t seem too concerned with telling an overarching story, or even connecting the stories within. In fact, I’m fairly convinced there was absolutely no point to any of the stories, save for one or two of them. Hmm.

But so much WORK went into these amazingly beautiful puppets. Why wouldn’t they want to give them beautiful dialogue, peppered with anecdotal philosophy and tributes to paganism? It is the fair Solstice, after all.

That’s what you get when you throw a bunch of Anarchists together. They do amazing work, all under the banner of “Resistance”, but they forget the subtleties that speak to the human heart. The show was good eye candy, but it easily could have been so much more. EASILY. I don’t think this misfortune was lost on the audience either.

Don’t get me started on my dream puppet show…I will go on and on and on. And let’s face it, I probably couldn’t do any better. But one thing I would do is keep it simple. The greatest joy of puppetry for me, is seeing human expression magnified through other worldly doll creatures. So my focus would be on relationship, dialogue and of course a good dose of whimsy.

Secret Agent’s Hand Puppet’s  ‘Escape and Evasion’ Instruction Guide

 Excerpts from recently declassified documents from the 1940 and 1950s – originally issued to agents, selected officers, other ranks and their hand puppets.

In the Event of Capture: Under the Geneva Convention, the hand puppets of captured soldiers or downed fliers should not be mistreated, incarcerated or repatriated separately from their owners.

ESCAPE: It is the duty of you and your military issue puppet to escape given the opportunity. Always make sure that your puppet is suitably disguised as well – you would not wish him to give you away to the enemy at that crucial border crossing moment. 

Should you be caught and face the firing squad together, make sure your puppet’s eyes are suitably covered. Request a separate blindfold, should his / your hands be tied and unable to cover his own eyes.

Extract from Jules L. Macaco, Hand Puppets in Wartime – A Historical Overview

 The standard GI, ‘Military Issue’ or Volunteer hand puppet could be extremely invaluable in the event of your being captured and interned.

‘Military Issue’ hand puppets are designed with the following escape and evasion features installed, depending on the theatre of war for which they are issued:

1. Lining of your hand puppet’s body is usually a map of main towns, transport routes, borders and neutral countries in Occupied Europe / South-east Asia.

2. Concealed within the tail section; a rolled printed silk map of Italy and North Africa and sometimes flexible metal saw.

Cover stories

Many maps are marked with the position of major puppet theatres behind enemy lines or occupied areas should you get stuck and have to try and bluff it out for the rest of the hostilities. Where better to hide a needle than in a sewing box (if no haystacks are available) or a tree but in a forest?

To this end, you are recommended during the quiet periods in service life to perfect a few useful circus skills, amusing bits of business or variety routines which will pass muster in these circumstances.

3. Eyes: removable and joined by wire (flexible metal saw)

Alternative options are a magnifying glass for starting small fires or a small crystal which with special whiskers can be used as components of a small crystal radio set to listen for coded BBC radio messages) – see also maker’s label .

4. Nose: removable to reveal miniaturised compass (or gold and gemstones to buy your way to safety)

(Note: On the hand puppets of captured enemy special agents, these have been found to conceal cyanide pills).

5. Maker’s label (identity number etc.) contains coded or encrypted radio frequencies and coordinates.

6. Tongue or ear patches: dyes to help with forgery of documents  or removable / reversible as fake eyebrows, moustaches or sideburns.

7. Dyed Padding (concealed within your hand puppet’s kapok for brains): 

Available options:

• gun cotton wadding with small amounts with plastic explosive option,
• more small maps, silk-printed potted national histories, useful language phrases with pronunciation and silk printed recipes and wine buff’s guide so you can convincingly knock up a decent ‘local’ dish and pass for a native;
• small packets of survival rations in powder form
• aniseed to distract tracker dogs
• small packets of dye;
• small amount of plaster of paris (plaster de paris) and plasticine for taking copies or castings of keys
• bandages 
• useful false beard, eyebrows and moustache kit (available in a range of hair colours for you and your hand puppet).  

8. Alterable or adaptable squeaker to adapt to foreign sounding squeaks / accents

‘Volunteer’ hand puppets

Spares boxes and first aid boxes can be safely and innocuously used to provide a source of the necessary equipment and alterations along with useful needles to be magnetised etc.

 Please note that Red Cross parcels are not to be compromised by the inclusion of escape materials or messages.

Declassified from puppetgov.org.uk  c/o and copyright  Hand Puppets for Conservation, Jules L. Macaco

© Jules L. Macaco, Mark Norris and associates, Hand Puppets For Conservation HPFC 2003/2009

To be used with permission of HPFC only, c/o juleslmacaco@live.co.uk

Copyright on HPFC items, concepts and writing is protected by the threat of being followed day and night by hand puppets, both ‘alive’ and those who have ‘passed over’. Having Punch, the ghost, policeman and crocodile out of Punch and Judy on your case is not fun either. Think Captain Hook. Despite having kapok for brains, this is our intellectual property and contribution to the world.

All our proceeds go towards supporting conservation. Think of the poor rare animals you’ll be defrauding … so for the (g)love of puppets or their wrath, don’t! Even lawyers have hand puppets and hand puppets have lawyers.

Happy Christmas!

Shortly after moving to the Santa Monica area I was pleased to discover a local paper, “The Santa Monica Daily Press.” Aha!  Here was the perfect vehicle to introduce my candid reporting to all the uninformed neighbors!  The paper’s articles were dull and lacked a much-needed edge (thoughts of Des Moines’ “Juice” came to mind).  On a Friday, a few weeks later, I was meandering home from the grocery store when a cartoon-like character, peeping from a window, caught my attention.  I turned to my right and gaped, open-mouthed, at the gem in front of me.  A quaint building displayed the words, “Santa Monica Puppetry Center,” which casted a shadow over the narrow sidewalk.  I peered closer at the strange images in the windows.  Photos of puppets and what I presumed to be the puppet master filled the two large  panes.  The door read, “Puppetolio, LA’s Longest Running Puppet Show.”

This would be the story that would make my name known in the circulating small paper world! What would my angle be?  “Puppets, Santa Monica’s Silent Neighbors… A Real Boy, the Local Pinocchio… Puppet Masters Vs. Hollywood…I’ve Got An Arm Up My Ass, I Must Be a Puppet…”  I needed to see a performance of this Puppetolio and if I was lucky maybe get a behind the scenes tour. It was then that I noticed a Saturday matinee performance posted on the entrance. I skipped home with visions of puppets and journalism awards dancing in my cerebellum. 

The next day, the BIG day, I woke early and began my in-depth research via Google.  The center’s webpage, www.puppetmagic.com , introduced me to Steve Meltzer, Puppet Master, maker, owner and friend.  Normally open-minded, I had to focus on my un-biased data collection (fighting off labels such as; pervert, weirdass, loser, puppet-lover).  I invited a few girlfriends to join me but they all graciously declined (their loss!).  This was probably for the best since I was on a job, after all.

I walked the sunny four blocks and was surprised to see a line of people outside the door.  For some reason I had assumed I might be the only patron or that there’d be no more than three or four of us.  The line had at least 8 people: a few grandparents with their grandchildren, a mom and dad with an unfortunate looking child, and a girl who appeared to be around my age.  What the hell was a twenty-something doing by herself at a puppet show on a Saturday day (we were so close to the beach)?   Maybe she was on assignment as well… competition, bring it skank.  The door opened and the excitement I experienced was nothing short of a Christmas morning.  Tickets were only seven dollars to my surprise.  Steve, the puppet master (whom I recognized from the photos and website) stood behind the ticket counter and asked me if I was meeting a friend.  Nope, just taking in a mid-day puppet show solo, but thanks.  I looked around and was overwhelmed with puppet décor.  Framed photos of puppets and puppet masters lined the walls.  Puppets in un-opened packages were mounted next to antique characters on strings.  The room to the right was packed with puppet paraphernalia and I was slightly frightened.  Where was I?  What did I just willingly pay money to see?  He opened a velvet curtain and we were all ushered in the theatre. The stadium seating was impressive and it appeared that maximum capacity was twenty or so.  I took a seat in the back row and took out my yellow legal pad and pen.  I began jotting down detailed descriptions of my surroundings.  I looked to the right and saw that a middle-aged woman had joined the young twenty-something.  I suddenly felt alone.  Some of the other audience members peered up at me scribbling on my paper.  I ignored them and sat upright with journalistic pride.

The puppet master introduced himself and made a small political joke, which impressed us adults.  The main puppet, used ventriloquist style, was Freddy Mingo.  He led the group on a few songs.  The music in the show was previously recorded and featured the voice of Steve Meltzer, puppet master.  After Freddy, Steve danced a few string puppets on the stage to the delight of the children.  I found myself singing along to “On Top of Spaghetti,” with vigor.  I loved puppets!  I was reminded of my childhood days watching “LambChops.” My only real criticism was the husky voice used for the girl puppets giving the audience the impression these “ladies” on strings had smoked most of their lives and quite possibly had a hormonal imbalance. The show ended after about forty-five minutes, which was perfect for the small attention span of children.  Post-show he unveiled the “workshop” (a small corner of the theatre with puppet body parts strewn about…slightly disturbing) and a giant animatronics puppet that he turned on and made sing for us all.

I heard an elderly couple tell their grandchild that they’d come back in a few weeks.  I held my notepad and continued to take notes.  Steve watched me with curiosity.  I felt powerful.  Finally everyone began to clear out.  Steve turned to me and asked, “I hope you’re not auditing me.”  Haha, oh Steve…

“Heeheeheee Who me? No, just writing a little piece on your setup here,” I replied.

“Oh really?  What are you writing it for?  What publication?”  He asked, smiling. 

This is when I lied.  “The Santa Monica Daily Press.” Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie because I had every intention of getting my story published in there. 

“Oh fantastic, you guys have always been so good to me. Please come have a seat.”

I couldn’t believe this!  I, Leah Josephson, was going to have a one on one interview with the puppet master himself! 

“Let me give you your money back, I never make press pay.”

“No, no, I want to contribute,” I said guiltily.  I began to ask him questions pre-rehearsed from earlier in the day.  We discussed his beginnings, the love he immediately felt for puppetry, his struggle to make a living from it, all of the festivals he had appeared in and the current recession setbacks.  He told me of old puppet legends he had met and worked with (including LampChop’s lady).  He told me, off the record, about just how hard the economy was on the show (which I won’t get into in order to respect his off the record wishes).  The shows were still drawing a crowd but his main source of income was school performances and this year all of the schools cut out their entertainment funds.  He told me to make sure to include this in my article so everyone could be aware of just how critical school funding is. 

Before I left he gifted me a DVD of the show and asked when the article was set to appear.  I told him it was completely up to the editor (liar, liar pants on fire). 

I was filled with adrenaline from my puppet journalism experience and called my nana to tell her that I was the next Barbara Walters (minus the lisp). 

The next week I kept trying to write the article.  I would start and then get stuck.  I sat there at my office and in between clients I’d write a sentence or two, only to read it back and delete it.  I sent the DVD to my nephew.  I began to panic.  Who was I kidding?  I couldn’t write a full feature article that would be good enough to be published, especially by the Santa Monica Daily Press.  And poor Steve! I had duped him.  He’d be waiting and waiting, picking up the paper and searching desperately for our in-depth interview.  Maybe he’d call the paper and ask for Leah and they would say, “I’m sorry we have no such writer here.”  Maybe he would cry.  Maybe he would slam his fist down and lament all his woes to his puppets.  I felt terrible but it was done, I couldn’t write it, I was a puppet journalist failure.

A month later I walked past the puppet center and read the notice on the door, “Puppetolio CLOSED.”  I crept away from the door, shaking my head.  Closed?  It wasn’t possible.  I immediately checked their website after I got home and there it was, “PUPPETOLIO IS CLOSED.  We thank all of our friends for their support over the years.  Unfortunately the economy and other factors has made it necessary to close the Santa Monica Puppetry Center and Museum.” 

“Other factors?”  Like lying, fake journalists!?  I had ruined the puppet center! I had ruined Steve’s life!  I wanted to write a large check out to him and give him back his life and dreams… but I had no money. 

I kill puppets.  So, now I carry this burden on my back.  Like a camel with humps I traverse this desolate world secretly crying out, “I’m sorry Steve, please forgive me.”  A scarlet letter burns on my chest.  And so this blog now serves as a sort of repentance.

Puppetolio lives on! here in my blog, and here in my heart.  

Final Show *(image from official website)

Bobby goes Round and Round!

The final performances for 2009 have taken place at the New Continental venue in our home town of Preston, Lancashire, and the Wharton Children’s Centre, Winsford, Cheshire.

Shakara Louise Ahad filled in brilliantly for Tids Pickard in the dance and movement role for this combination of performance and play activities based on research into Early Years schemas.

The success of these events really goes to show that Ball Pond Bobby can make the transition from theatres and arts centres into community venues. You can watch a short promotional video of Ball Pond Bobby from the early days here.

An integrated creative play session for children’s centres called ‘Round and Round’ is available from Imaginary Leaps at http://www.imaginaryleaps.com

Delusions about Delusions

This writer, Pankaj Mishra, accuses America’s Last Black President of living in a fantasy world. In fact, Mishra also lives in a fantasy world, in which Puppet Obama has autonomy, and ideas, and policies. Obama says what Jews tell him to say, and does what they tell him to do.

Mishra writes, “Obama seems far from abandoning…,” as if Obama has the authority to abandon any path he’s been programmed to follow. Why does he write about “Obama’s idea…” and “Obama’s…decision-making,” and conjecture that “Obama could have learned,” after having correctly identified the fantastic nature of Dunham-Davis-Soetero-Obama’s role? In the very title of his column, Mishra makes it clear that Obama says and does what Jews tell him to say and do: “Kissinger’s fantasy is Obama’s reality.”

Of course “Obama’s World” is far from Ben Gurion’s fantasy (Satanyahoo’s fantasy…Rahm Emanuel’s fantasy…Goldman-Sachs’ fantasy…) but he’s doing his best to achieve their Final Solution to The Goyim Problem.

[Mishra is accused in his native India of being antihindic and of "pandering to white pro-Muslim audiences in the West". See notes on The Guardian below.]

Kissinger’s fantasy is Obama’s reality

The road to stability runs through Kashmir. With its latest surge, America has taken a terrible diversion

By Pankaj Mishra | guardian.co.uk | 2009.12.11

Meeting George Bush at the White House to discuss Afghanistan, the Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid once marvelled at how a “US president could live in such an unreal world, where the entire military and intelligence establishments were so gullible, the media so complacent, Congress so unquestioning – all of them involved in feeding half-truths to the American public“.

The masters of war and delusion are still flourishing. Widening his campaign of extrajudicial execution by drone missiles within Pakistan, Barack Obama seems far from abandoning an anachronistic American faith in superior firepower; the militarism of our new Nobel peace laureate seems constrained only by its steep financial costs.

Unabashed about their cheerleading in Iraq, many mainstream American journalists and columnists continue to resemble court scriveners of the kind the Mughal emperors employed: “intense”, “methodical” and “rigorous” were some of the adjectives used to describe Obama’s protracted decision-making on Afghanistan. As for the decision itself, Fareed Zakaria, fresh from a “small lunch” with the president at the White House, expressed the new liberal-hawk consensus when he exulted: “Obama is a realist by temperament, learning, and instinct.”

Actually, Obama’s idea of sending 30,000 more soldiers to help subdue the Taliban, reinforce the corrupt regime in Kabul, and assassinate more people in Pakistan until the inevitable American retreat, seems a particularly incoherent fantasy. Perhaps Zakaria means that Obama is a “realist” in the same way as Henry Kissinger was praised as one, doggedly pursuing “national interests” through the world’s manifold complexity. After all, Obama invoked Kissinger’s apparently prestigious imprimatur when he proposed to bomb “safe havens” for terrorists in Pakistan during his presidential debate with John McCain last year.

[Mishra seems to believe that Kissinger cares about American "national interests".]

Certainly a more historically grounded realism would acknowledge that Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation with a highly politicised postcolonial population, is not Cambodia – the hapless country Kissinger and Nixon devastated after failing to make Vietnam fall in line with American national interests. Or that the Pashtuns, though never colonised and hardly ever a nationality, have repeatedly proved more effective than the most organised anti-colonial movements in expelling foreign occupiers from their land.

Unleashing greater firepower on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama could have learned from the shrewd psychological realism of his early hero, James Baldwin. “Force,” Baldwin wrote during Kissinger and Nixon’s last desperate assault on Indochina, “does not reveal to the victim the strength of his adversary. On the contrary, it reveals the weakness, even the panic of his adversary and this revelation invests the victim with patience.”

The Taliban, predictably resurgent as a result of Nato’s blunderbuss tactics, may now choose to lie low for a while. The general respite from violence may even prove long enough for Obama’s intellectual courtiers to declare that the surge in Afghanistan has “worked”. As in Iraq, a new cycle of suicide bombings may then begin; but America, and its media, will have already turned away.

The realism of American foreign policy, it seems, can only be selective and ephemeral, as American elites endlessly calibrate their national interests – invading, bombing and abandoning vast regions as they please, leaving other people to pick up the pieces.

[Again Mishra seems confused, and believes that America's elites care about America's "national interests".]

Obama’s long speech on Afghanistan barely mentioned Pakistan, which in 2005 suffered a single suicide attack and now – after the intensified American-led or directed assaults on Afghanistan, Swat and Waziristan – suffers several such outrages in a week. In the same speech Obama did not refer even once to India, with which Pakistan has fought three wars over Kashmir, and whose military occupation of the Muslim-majority valley remains the biggest recruiting tool for jihadists in Pakistan, such as those who led the terrorist attack on Mumbai a year ago. (Not much exaggeration is needed to indoctrinate them: an Indian human rights group last week published evidence of the mass graves of nearly 3,000 Muslims allegedly executed over the last decade by Indian security forces near the border with Pakistan.) Obama will of course speak of Afghanistan’s neighbours when another jihadi assault on India, which is very likely, brings India and Pakistan closer to war, endangering America’s campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaida. But it is also true that the historical and geopolitical relationships between India, Pakistan and Afghanistan may be too fraught for American foreign policy realists to reckon with.

In 1971, India facilitated the secession of Pakistan’s easternmost province (now Bangladesh), provoking Pakistan’s humiliated army and intelligence officials to pursue a policy of creating “strategic depth” against India by seeking Pashtun clients inside Afghanistan.

[He writes as if Bangladeshis -- "East Pakistanis" -- had no say or stake in matters.]

In the 1990s, Pakistani officials who helped supply the mujahideen during the CIA-led anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan turned to fuelling the popular insurgency in India-ruled Kashmir, which since 1989 has claimed more than 80,000 lives. Throughout the decade, Pakistan’s highly secretive intelligence agency, the ISI, trained and financed militant Islamist groups for jihad in Kashmir – even as it settled on the Taliban as its proxy in Afghanistan, which had been abruptly abandoned by the US following the Soviet withdrawal.

Obama himself identified Kashmir as the rusty nail in south Asia’s body politic a month before he was elected. Discussing the situation in Afghanistan, he told Joe Klein of Time magazine that “working with Pakistan and India to try to resolve the Kashmir crisis in a serious way” were “critical tasks for the next administration”. But, assuming the presidency, Obama inherited other, more strategic as well as lucrative national interests.

The Bush administration had wished to build up India as a strategic US ally and counterweight to China in Asia. Encouraged by an assertive Indian-American lobby, and American arms manufacturers, Bush offered an exceptionally generous civil nuclear agreement to India – which, unlike Iran, has long refused to sign the non-proliferation treaty. India is now finally an open market for US defence companies: Lockheed Martin alone hopes to cut deals worth $15bn over the next five years.

Of course, as China increasingly underwrites the American economy, notions of “containing” the Middle Kingdom through pro-America allies now look like some idle cold-war game-playing in Condoleezza Rice’s state department. But the Bush administration’s decision to legitimise India’s nuclear status, and to help project the country as a rising superpower, has stoked an old paranoia in Pakistan (and indeed in China, which, breaking from its policy of befriending previously hostile neighbours like Vietnam and Mongolia, has recently assumed its harshest stance towards India in decades).

[And in Iran.]

American officials often complain that Pakistan’s security establishment is “obsessed” with India. Seen through the perspective of American national interests, the obsession seems purely irrational, a frustrating diversion from the urgent task of combating anti-American extremists. But Pakistan sees India as gaining “strategic depth” in its own backyard, using Afghanistan – where India has poured over a billion dollars in aid since 2001 and has four consulates in addition to its embassy in Kabul – to support secessionists in the troubled Pakistani province of Baluchistan.

Pakistan’s leaders – who are convinced that America will abandon Islamabad just as it did Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 – will play the same charade with Obama that General Musharraf’s foreign minister once frankly described as, “First say yes, and later say but”. They may well launch a few token crackdowns on militants but are unlikely to abandon the possibility of allowing some to remain in order to unleash them, at a later date, on India-ruled Kashmir. As always, the road to stability in Pakistan and Afghanistan runs through the valley of Kashmir; and in making south Asia’s primary conflict disappear, Obama now seems yet another exponent of that exhausted genre of magical realism.

The Guardian & Zionism

The Guardian is edited (and run, via the Scott Trust) by Alan Rusbridger, the Rhodesian heir to C.P. Scott, editor of the Guardian for 57 years, who (in Rusbridger’s words) “fought tirelessly alongside Chaim Weizmann for the creation of the state of Israel.”

Scott was a hardcore Zionist. He met Weizmann on 1914.09.16, and then introduced Weizmann to D. Lloyd George, Herbert Samuel, and other British statesmen; thereby helping Weizmann and his colleagues in their dealings with the British government that led to the Balfour Declaration.

In a letter to Harry Sacher, Scott wrote about Zionism: “To make the Jew a whole Jew…that seems to me sound, at least as an ideal, and there may be a chance now of moving a long way towards it.”

Scott stressed the importance of Palestine for British interests. Scott revealed to Weizmann the details of the Sykes-Picot treaty and thus contributed to its undoing.

Weizmann introduced Vladimir Jabotinsky to Scott, and the Manchester Guardian editorially supported the idea of the Jewish Legion and contributed substantially to its realization.

Scott remained a firm supporter of the Zionist movement and the yishuv in Palestine throughout his life.

In 2001, Rusbridger wrote that present-day Israel reminded him of the last days of Apartheid South Africa.

A hilarious response to this came from Tom Gross in the Judeo-Masonic National Review: “Rusbridger…made no reference to the many progressive elements of Israeli Jewish society…. if Israel is “an affront to civilization” — the headline given to a comment piece written by a former British defense secretary in the Guardian’s sister paper, the Observer — [then why does] Jewish state…have some of the most liberal laws in the world for homosexuals, far more liberal than those in the U.S. and Britain.” As if “some of the most liberal laws in the world for homosexuals” are not “an affront to civilization.”