moose, moose, bear

When I received Hatley the Moose as a birthday gift two weeks ago, little did I realize what mischief would ensue.

He began leaving me little notes expressing his displeasure:

(click to enlarge)

Seems Hatley has an identical twin brother named Butler, who is a tad slimmer. Both were adopted by my 12-year-old niece Julia on a summer trip to Epcot Center. The Moose Brothers are decidedly Canadian, but with Indonesian flair.

Hatley (left), Butler (right)

Despite the lavish attention bestowed upon Cornelius the entire time he was in Hawai’i, he was jealous of Hatley from the start — doubly jealous when he realized there was not one, but TWO meddling mooses. So he decided to spy on them Thanksgiving Day. The rascal.

Beware meddling mooses!

If you’d like to see Cornelius the Villain (naughty, naughty boy) in action, please read, “The Missing Meal” at Julia’s brand new blog, Julia Talk. Herbivores will likely enjoy this tasty tale of stealth and surreptitious salad lightly seasoned with ursine silliness. Cornelius moonlighting? Boy, has he got a lot of explaining to do!

My only solace is that now the Moose Brothers are separated — one in Virginia, one in Hawai’i. That should keep Cornelius out of trouble, right? Right?

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Copyright © 2011 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

it’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

*Guest post by Cornelius

It happens every year. Right around Halloween, the Green Hand gets restless. Goes off in search of adventure. Some folks are afraid of him. But not me!

Come along if you dare!

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soup of the day: bookspeak by laura purdie salas and josée bisaillon

Speaking of books, BookSpeak!, a brand new poetry collection written by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Josée Bisaillon, is officially out today!! WooHoo!

You’re gonna love all the quirky, illuminating poems (a veritable cacophony of wonderful voices) and the exuberant pictures that go with them. Talky talky talky!

But before we proceed any further, some party favors. First, a bookplate in honor of Laura (this one is not to be confused with the bookplate in Poem #12, who reminds us: “I don’t need your napkin./I’m not your soup bowl’s mate.”)

 

Next, in honor of Josée, a unicycle! You have your pick of colors. Feel free to cruise around the rest of this post on it.

 

Of course, to show both Laura and Josée just how excited you really are, you should balance your bookplate on your head while atop your uni! ☺

Okay, back to BookSpeak!

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alphabetical impressions

#35 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.

To get your week off to a good start, a Celebrity Alphabet compliments of actor/comedian Jim Meskimen. Love that Letter C! I was thinking that if you invited Jim to dinner, it would be like having at least 26 famous people at your table. He probably does a good Dylan impression,too. ☺ Thanks to Diane deGroat for the link.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to talk like someone you admire all day. Who will it be?

♥ More alphabetica here.

HAPPY MONDAY!

Certified authentic alphabetica. Made by hand with love and admiration for people with good vocal chops.

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Copyright © 2011 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

friday feast: happy birthday e.e. cummings!

“It takes courage to grow up and be who you really are.” ~ E.E. Cummings (1894-1962)

It’s his fault I sign my name in lower case. Ever since I first encountered his “little lame balloon man” in high school, Cummings has remained one of my top five favorite poets of all time.

I find it interesting that while he loved to experiment wildly with form, diction and syntax, his subjects were pretty traditional — nature (especially Spring), childhood, and love.  He was such a great champion of individuality, someone who believed poetry was a process rather than a product, and since he was also a painter, it makes perfect sense that he created poems as visual objects on the page. How could I not love such an out and out lyricist who toyed with typography? A playful innovator with a joyous childlike perception, Cummings infused his poetry with his own brand of vitality that never loses its freshness.

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