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justforbooks · 28 days ago

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Alive in the Merciful Country by AL Kennedy

A primary school teacher navigates lockdown in an ambitious novel that asks potent questions about abuses of state and personal power

A.L. Kennedy has made no secret of her despair about post-Brexit Britain under the “rage-tweeting, Nazi-curious” Tories. “My government has become more radical, and that is difficult to explain to someone living in a European democracy,” she told the Swiss German-language newspaper NZZ in 2023. “Very dark people are at work here.” Kennedy, the author of acclaimed short stories and novels including Paradise, Everything You Need and the Costa-winning Day, has claimed that her views make her work less welcome in Britain. In her book The Core of Things, published in German, she writes: “I may not be the kind of writer our media watchdogs like.”

Alive in the Merciful Country, her 10th novel, was first published in translation in Germany and Switzerland back in 2023. As the book opens it is 2020 and, with her London primary school in lockdown, Anna McCormick is teaching her year 5 class online and doing her best to keep their spirits up. Together they discuss the story of Rumpelstiltskin, the “tricky wicked goblin with a secret name”. They invent Stiltskin dances and do Stiltskin sums about spinning and the weight of gold. For thousands of years, Anna tells the children, people have told versions of this story about lying and the misuse of power, reminding themselves “that the way to defeat all monsters is by knowing who they really are”.

Anna, a single mother to a 20-year-old son, is determined to model to her pupils “functional adulthood of a type that can still insist on expecting a better world”. But Anna’s own faith in that world has been fundamentally broken. As a student in the 1980s, she fell in love with Buster, a fellow performer in the UnRule OrKestrA, an activist street theatre collective. It was only after he vanished without trace that Buster was revealed to be an undercover cop. Decades later, Anna encounters him, her very own “Stiltskin among Stiltskins”, at the Old Bailey trial of five of her OrKestrA colleagues, exhuming long-buried anguish. Then, as the Covid crisis deepens, she discovers an unaddressed envelope propped outside the gates to her flat. It contains a manuscript: Buster’s own story in his own Stiltskin words.

The spine of the novel is Anna’s private journal as she struggles to make sense of both past and present. Traumatised by Buster’s betrayal and a subsequent abusive partner, Anna is furious and fearful in equal measure, raw with pain and paralysed by self-doubt. But although her country is “trapped in a national Bad Relationship”, bullied and gaslit by its Stiltskin government, she still believes in kindness and hope and silly jokes. She wants desperately to believe in her new partner. She tells her year 5 pupils the story of the murderer who kills 99 people and finds forgiveness. She knows that “the Stiltskins must get mercy, because the acting out of mercy cleans and saves us all”.

Into her account Anna interleaves extracts from Buster’s manuscript, detailing his shift from spy cop to self-funded vigilante killer targeting sex traffickers and racist Tory MPs with predilections for cocaine and underage sex workers. “The narrator is part of the bargain when you let a story in,” Anna warns, and Buster – who has as many names as he has stories – is far from reliable. Perhaps he is, as Anna insists, an out-and-out villain. Perhaps, like her, he is on the side of righteousness, his violence an inversion of her own valiant efforts to mend a broken system. Or perhaps his story is like the story of Rumpelstiltskin, a fable to reinforce our faith that goodness will ultimately triumph, and his words do not belong to him at all.

Alive in the Merciful Country is an ambitious novel that asks potent questions about abuses of state and personal power. It is also something of a curate’s egg. At her finest – and there are many fine moments in this book – Kennedy combines a beadily bleak eye with a standup’s comic timing and a profound humanity that breaks open the heart. Too often, however, she shows her political workings. For all her anguished contradictions, Anna is simply too perfect, her sensibilities – and those of all her friends – unwavering and irreproachable. As for Buster’s wearyingly long sections, they all play the same dogged tune. While he remains opaque, his targets are caricatures, numbingly unremitting assemblages of every cliche of their type. The effect is not eased by his stilted writing style: Buster claims to be Scottish but “I am small indications of self-harm and limp aloneness. I am a perfected personality and also clean effective within my truth in a place where I rest and play” reads more like Google Translate.

Whatever game Kennedy is playing with the reader, and she deliberately leaves that question open, it is a game that demands a primary school teacher’s patience. The tilt of her politics is not the problem here – anger at the toxic Tory legacy and the act of national self-harm that was Brexit is hardly unique among British novelists. The frustration of this novel is that she has allowed her absolutism to compromise her remarkable literary talents.

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#just for books #AL Kennedy #Alive in the Merciful Country #book review

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vampseraph · 10 months ago

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puppy npts! (for anon)

names

indy, jack, bella, max, luna, charlie, lucy, cooper, milo, zoey, rocky, chase, daisy, bailey, coco, molly, roxie, lola, maisie, alex, leo, bear, teddy, archie, ash, ace, scout, joey, poppy, ruby, frankie, collie, russel, kelpie, buster, alfie, chip, buddy, spot

2. pronouns

pup/pups, bark/barks, woof/woofs, yip/yips, jump/jumps, walk/walks, paw/paws, chew/chews, fluff/fluffs, fur/furs, ruff/ruffs, tail/tails, wag/wags, dog/dogs, cute/cutes, soft/softs

3. titles

the cheerful pup, prn who barks, the lapdog, the cutest puppy, prn who chases prns tail, prn who loves to play, the playful one, prn with soft fur

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iconuk01 · 12 days ago

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youtube

As I've mentioned before my memory for theme tunes is frankly baffling, and I grew up in the 70's, a time where you only got one episode of a show a week on one of the three TV channels (only two of which showed cartoons) so it wasn't thanks to streaming or repeated exposure over a short period of time.

But this is one that has stuck in my memory longer than most.

From 1972, one of the more.. frenetic cartoons from DePatie-Freleng

A global roller skate race between competing teams where there seem to be no rules beyond "No actual murder, but manslaughter is probably okay if it looks like an accident"

Every episode has them in a different country (Well, thin animation budget version of a foreign country) looking for the next clue to the final big prize of a million dollars.

Bailey's Comets (let by Barnaby Bailey) were the main characters consisting of the usual assortment of stereotypes, with an oddity or two

Barnaby - The leader, good at his job, though he never really wanted to have to be the brave one, which made a nice change.

Candy - The level headed girl on the team. Also probably involved with Barnaby. She is the one who coaxes him to be brave

Sarge - Interestingly, for 1972, the motivaional and aggressive one is a woman. She is only ever known as Sarge

Bunny - The sweet natured girl on the team, not terribly bright, though always well meaning one. Also accident prone etc etc.

(If it was being remade I can imagine Sarge/Bunny shippers begging for it to be made canon)

Wheelie - The tech genius who produces suitably insane skate based technology every episode.

and finally we have Pudge - And we have a sweet natured, but not too bright guy on the team too. His primary character trait is (as you might have guessed from the name) to be a little on the heavy side, but he's never shown to be less healthy than the others, and keeps up with all of them without effort. The rival teams mentioned in the opening titles are, in order;

The Texas Back Hats (Their horses are the one's on skates) The Ramblin' Rivets (mad scientist and his robots) The Duster Busters (Bikers without bikes... it's a subculture thing I guess) The Roller Coasters (Circus themed) The Stone Rollers (Cavemen and a dinosaur) The Cosmic Rays (actual aliens because... I dunno) The Gargantuan Giants (actual giants so large we only ever see their enormous feet on screen. Theor coach is a normal human though) The Rockin' Rollers (rock band) The Broomer Girls (Actual witches) The Roller Bears (Actual BEARS!!! But at least in safety gear) The Mystery Mob (Probably my favourite as they are simply a skating fight cloud with no explanation given as to why, nor do we ever see any of them) The Yo-Ho-Ho's (Pirates) The Hairy Mountain Red Eyes (Hillbillies)

Here we see an episode set in Scotland

youtube

#bailey's comets #70's cartoons #70's tv #Youtube

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 1 year ago

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TODAY'S FROZEN MOMENT - Today marks the 65th Anniversary of this phenomenal photo - August 12th, 1958 - this now-famous photo was taken… later to be given the title "A Great Day in Harlem" when it was published in Esquire magazine. Art Kane, an art director for the magazine, was finally allowed to do a photo assignment... A jazz lover, Kane said he wanted to assemble the best in jazz for a shot, at 10 in the morning... Most people laughed at him...but...somehow he pulled this off; they showed up...as requested, to 17 East 126th Street...astonishing really... Subsequently, a documentary about the photo added to the magic... as did the allowance of the neighbors, the kids in the front and the folks in the windows… just so special… See below for a list of who's who... of the 57 musicians here, only 2 remain: Sonny Rollins and Benny Golson... but the shot, like all of the music, is eternal…

[01 – Hilton Jefferson, 02 – Benny Golson, 03 – Art Farmer, 04 – Wilbur Ware, 05 – Art Blakey, 06 – Chubby Jackson, 07 – Johnny Griffin, 08 – Dickie Wells, 09 – Buck Clayton, 10 – Taft Jordan, 11 – Zutty Singleton, 12 – Red Allen, 13 – Tyree Glenn, 14 – Miff Molo, 15 – Sonny Greer, 16 – Jay C. Higginbotham, 17 – Jimmy Jones, 18 – Charles Mingus, 19 – Jo Jones, 20 – Gene Krupa, 21 – Max Kaminsky, 22 – George Wettling, 23 – Bud Freeman, 24 – Pee Wee Russell, 25 – Ernie Wilkins, 26 – Buster Bailey, 27 – Osie Johnson, 28 – Gigi Gryce, 29 – Hank Jones, 30 – Eddie Locke, 31 – Horace Silver, 32 – Luckey Roberts, 33 – Maxine Sullivan, 34 – Jimmy Rushing, 35 – Joe Thomas, 36 – Scoville Browne, 37 – Stuff Smith, 38 – Bill Crump, 39 – Coleman Hawkins, 40 – Rudy Powell, 41 – Oscar Pettiford, 42 – Sahib Shihab, 43 – Marian McPartland, 44 – Sonny Rollins, 45 – Lawrence Brown, 46 – Mary Lou Williams, 47 – Emmett Berry, 48 – Thelonius Monk, 49 – Vic Dickenson, 50 – Milt Hinton, 51 – Lester Young, 52 – Rex Stewart, 53 – J.C. Heard, 54 – Gerry Mulligan, 55 – Roy Eldridge, 56 – Dizzy Gillespie, 57 – Count Basie.]

[Mary Elaine LeBey]

#Mary Elaine LeBey #Jazz #music #hall of fame #history

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venuscnjunctpluto · 2 years ago

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short true crime observations:

(Credits: @venuscnjunctpluto )

* a lot of female victims have Venus-Pluto or a strong square so pls recognize this energy in your own chart and learn red flags, boundaries and alll that (Emma Walker has Venus square pluto, Gabby Petito had Venus square Neptune, and Tristyn Bailey had Venus conjunct pluto) rest in peace to all of them they didn’t deserve to have their life cut short by monsters❤️!

* paul murdaugh and his brother buster have Aries suns (conjunct in fact) and they had fiery red hair

*charles manson was a Taurus rising and I notice a lot of male Taurus rising have women in a chokehold. Thinking about the whole team Edward vs team Jacob well both Taylor and rob have Taurus in the 1st. They can very easily put women under a spell.

*also Jodie Arias and Travis Alexander had Venus-pluto double whammy and they repeatedly came back to eachother after mutiple attempts to break it off

*pluto/lilith in the 4th were present in ted bundy and Charles manson’s birth charts. Something in their childhood/ their relationship w their mother triggers them esp since Bundy attacked women who resembled his mother

#astrology #true crime #astro observations #astro notes

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hoperays-song · 11 months ago

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Salukis and Personalities

I don't know if I've ever mention this before, but I worked as a dog trainer and caretaker for years. Like a really long time. And I have worked with a lot, and I mean a lot, of dogs. Even in fact, three Salukis (Ezra, Bailey, and Leo).

Why do I bring this up? Because we should talk about the personalities of these dogs, especially in relation to a character in Sing, Suki Lane.

Now this is all clearly going to be based on my experiences with these dogs, who could be outliers for all I know. However, after chatting with several Saluki owners as well, I'm pretty sure I got a decent grasp on them. Namely one thing,

Saluki's aren't timid.

They are classic sighthounds, yes, but I wouldn't call most of those dogs timid, with the exception of Whippets. Sighthounds by nature are cautious breeds, it can take a while to build their trust. This can extend into them being shy at times yes, but in my experience, it was more like meeting a new cat for the first time. It doesn't know what to think of you yet so it sits back, watches, and then makes it's judgement.

Why does that sound familiar? Oh yeah!

Because that's what Suki was doing to the troupe throughout the second movie. She didn't make her decision on them until she had been watching them for awhile, deciding to ultimately side with them after deeming them trustworthy.

That's what happened when she saved Buster from the office and when she lowered the stage lift, she was making her judgment of them known. For me, one of the Salukis I worked with, Ezra, did essentially the same thing. He acted indifferent to me for a week or so and then seemingly out of nowhere decided we were cool now and I could play with him. And because Salukis aren't particularly demonstrative typically, that's huge.

So, she wasn't being timid, she was being cautious. Something her type of dogs are known for. She would wait and see how things turn out before picking a side. That makes sense. And no, there wasn't any big apology scene or anything like that because, again, Salukis aren't typically demonstrative.

And while they are cautious, that's not actually what the breed is known for. You know what is?

Being aloof.

And that is a word that perfectly sums up Suki's personality. She's aloof. She isn't particularly warm or friendly and neither are most Saluki's unless they like you, and like you a lot. Which also makes sense with her character! She's a higher up at a major entertainment enterprise. She can't be nice to every single hopeful that shows up at their doors. She has to be realistic for the company's sake. So she's aloof and it fits her perfectly.

Saluki's also are known to be quiet and intelligent. The quietness something that isn't extremely noticeable in Suki's character when Jimmy is in the scene since he's so loud, or Buster because his personality is so big, but it's definitely there. Her answers are brief and straight to the point. And other than those few interactions, she doesn't talk much. She doesn't need to, as she is still perfectly filling her role in the scenes she's in through expressions. She might be a verbally quiet character, but like actual Salukis, her actions speak for her.

And the intelligence? We know this girl is smart. She's in her early to mid twenties and is already one of the right hands of an entertainment empire's CEO. She knows what she's doing. Suki was also able to call the police and betray Jimmy without him ever expecting it, which she had to have planned out for it to go that smoothly.

So in short, Suki and Salukis as a whole, aren't timid. They're cautious. They wait things out. And most notably, they are known to be aloof. A character trait that perfectly sums up Suki's personality that we see. Salukis from my experience act more like the stereotypical cat stuffed into a dog's body. It takes time for them to like you and even if they do, they aren't usually demonstrative of this fact. Which again lines up perfectly with Suki's character, much like the other traits Salukis are known to exhibit.

She's aloof and cautious, showing clear intelligence, but definitely not timid.

#sing 2 #sing suki #suki lane #sing 2021 #aroace suki lane #i mean i don't mention it but it would be wrong not to tag it imo #saluki dogs are very cool to work with #and yes this is all based in my experience and my contacts #and these are breed traits. each dog is different of course #but timid? not the word for this dog. they can seem shy i guess? but that's really them being cautious typically #so yeah. suki is quite literally her base species note for note #its honestly impressive #is this targeted at one thing in particular? yes. yes it is.#we don't mischaracterize dogs in this house

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blueikeproductions · 12 days ago

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So a new mobile game collab for Transformers came out based on a game I’m sure most of us have never heard of.

-sung to the tune of Clayfighters theme song- Wing Fighters~!

From what I can gather it’s an on rail shooter game with jets. It’s really nothing to write home about but what it offers I still find interesting.

The Autobot team consists of Optimus and Jetfire, while the Decepticons have Megsy, Screamer and Devastator. Unicron is a major boss, coming to eat Earth…

How that works when he’s just a disembodied head I don’t know. Either he’s come to literally chew us out out of spite, or it works on Futurama head in jar logic.

What’s most interesting is despite using the Evergreen designs everyone hates, they let Optimus and Megatron have new designs to better fit the game. Megatron in particular gets to turn into a space plane.

Optimus gets a jet pack in Robot Mode meanwhile.

The jet pack evokes Sonic Wing Mode and Beast Hunters beefy Optimus.

But Optimus, at least in the trailer, still turns into a truck. No special space truck ship thing for him.

Indeed, in game animation shows Megatron as the only one able to Transform in the game, with his Robot Mode also having a jet pack.

Starscream and Jetfire are only in Vehicle Mode.

Devastator appears to be a boss of some kind, but I can’t personally find footage of what such a fight looks like in gameplay.

I’m actually kinda sad Devastator doesn’t have his own jet pack. I just think it’d be funny since he feels left out.

The trailer is voiced, with Jon Bailey clearly doing Optimus, but I’m not sure who is doing Megatron; it’s not Frank Welker, but it’s a remarkable impression of him. Some think that might be AI which … might be, but I hope not. Maybe Bailey can do Megatron’s voice now, I’m not sure. It still sounds like a human doing it to me, it’s not robotic, no pun intended.

Still I think it’s neat, the collab. If nothing else, a lot of the recent collabs like Squad Busters have a certain charm to them I can appreciate even though this isn’t what fans want game wise.

#blueike productions #blueike #transformers #maccadam

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clover-warriorcats-main · 5 months ago

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All Named Animal Characters In Warrior Cats A–Z (PART 1)

COPIED OFF OF THE WARRIORS WIKI

(UPDATED AS OF IVYPOOL'S HEART)

* MAY CONTAIN NAME BASED SPOILERS *

* THIS LIST CONTAINS ALL NAMED CHARACTERS ASIDE FROM HUMANS *

* I DON'T THINK I MISSED ANYONE? *

* LONG LIST BELOW CUT *

PART 2

- A -

Acorn Fur

Acornpaw

Acorntail

Adderfang

Adderkit

Adderpaw (WC)

Ajax

Alder

Alderheart

Algernon

Amberclaw

Amberleaf

Ambermoon

Antfur

Antpelt

Apple Blossom

Appledawn

Appledusk

Applefrost

Applefur (OOTS)

Applefur (TF)

Appleshine

Arc

Arc Shadow

Archeye

Ashfoot

Ashfur (ShC)

Ashfur (TC)

Ashheart

Aspenfall

Aspentail

- B -

Bacon

Badgerfang

Bailey

Barkface

Barley

Bayshine

Beach

Bee (CotP)

Bee (Ro)

Beech

Beech Tail

Beechfur (RC)

Beechfur (TC)

Beechpaw (SkC)

Beechstar

Beenose

Beepaw (SkC)

Beetail

Beetle

Beetlenose

Beetlepaw (SkC)

Beetlewhisker

Bella (KP)

Bellaleaf

Benny

Berryheart

Berrynose

Bess

Betsy

Bigteeth

Billystorm

Birch

Birchbark

Birchface

Birchfall

Birchpaw (ASC)

Birchstar (RC)

Birchstar (SkC)

Birchstar (WC)

Bird That Rides The Wind

Birdflight

Birdsong

Birdwing

Birdy

Black Ear

Blackbee

Blackclaw

Blackstar

Blade

Blazefire

Blizzardstar

Blizzardwing

Bloomheart

Bloomkit

Blossom

Blossomfall

Blossomheart

Blossomkit (ShC)

Blue Whisker

Bluebellkit

Bluestar

Bob

Bone

Boots

Boulder

Boulderfur

Bouncefire

Bound Hunt

Bracken

Brackenfoot

Brackenfur

Brackenheart

Brackenpelt

Brackenwing

Bramble

Brambleberry

Brambleclaw(star)

Branch (DotC)

Branch (HJ)

Branchkit

Brandy

Braveheart

Breeze That Rustles The Leaves

Breezeheart

Breezepelt

Briarlight

Brick

Bright Stream

Brightflower

Brightheart

Brightsky

Brightspirit

Brightwhisker

Brindleclaw

Brindleface

Brindlestar

Brindlewing

Bristlebark

Bristlefrost

Bristlepaw (ASC)

Broken Feather

Broken Shadow

Brokenstar

Brook Where Small Fish Swim

Brookkit

Brownpaw

Brushpaw

Bubbling Stream

Bug

Bugeater

Bumble

Bumblestripe

Bunny (Dog)

Burr

Buster

Buttercup

Buzzardkit

Buzzardstar

- C -

Casper

Cedarheart

Cedarpelt (RC)

Cedarstar

Chalk

Chasing Clouds

Cheddar

Cherryfall

Cherryfeather

Cherrypaw

Cherrytail

Chester

Chestnut

Chestnutkit

Chirp

Chiveclaw

Cinderfur

Cinderheart

Cinderpelt

Cinders

Cinnamontail

Claw

Claw Stretch

Clawface

Clawwhistle

Cleo

Cloud (Sister)

Cloud Spots

Cloud With Star In Belly

Cloud With Storm In Belly

Cloudberry (RC)

Cloudberry (TC)

Cloudmist

Cloudpelt

Cloudrunner

Cloudstar

Cloudtail

Cloudy

Cloudy Sun

Clover (TC)

Cloverfoot

Cloversplash

Clovertail

Coal (FQ)

Coal (TNP)

Cobweb

Coco (DK)

Coco (PK)

Cody

Conefoot

Copperpaw

Cora

Coriander (BrS)

Coriander (DK)

Cow (MFV)

Creek

Creekfeather

Crest Of Snowy Mountain

Cricket (DotC)

Cricketkit

Croak

Crookedstar

Crouchfoot

Crow Muzzle

Crowfeather

Crowfrost

Crowfur

Crowtail

Crystal

Curlfeather

Curlypaw

Curry

Cypresspaw

- D -

Daffodil

Daisy (DK)

Daisy (TC)

Daisyheart

Daisytail

Daisytoe

Dancing Leaf

Dandelionkit

Dangling Leaf

Dappled Pelt

Dapplenose

Dappletail

Dappletuft

Dark Shadow On Water

Dark Whiskers

Darkflower

Darkfoot

Darkstar (CotC)

Darkstar (MV)

Darkstar (SkC)

Darkstripe

Darktail

Dart

Dash

Dawn Mist

Dawn River

Dawnbright

Dawncloud

Dawnfeather

Dawnflower

Dawnpelt

Dawnstar

Dawnstripe

Deadfoot

Deerdapple

Deerfoot

Deerleap

Deerpaw (PC)

Dew

Dew Nose

Dew Petal

Dewkit (ShC)

Dewnose

Dewspots

Dewspring

Dewstar

Dewy Leaf

Diesel

Dodge

Doespring

Doestar

Domino

Dotty

Dove's Wing

Dovestar (RC)

Dovestar (WC)

Dovewing

Downkit

Dragonfly

Driftkit

Drizzle

Duckpaw

Dudley

Duke

Dusk Nose

Dusk Smoke

Duskfur

Duskkit

Duskpaw

Duskwater

Dust Muzzle

Dustpelt

Duststar

- E -

Eagle Feather

Eaglekit (WC)

Eaglestorm

Eaglewing

Ebonyclaw

Echomist

Echosnout

Echosong

Eeltail (CotC)

Eeltail (MV)

Egg

Eggs

Elderkit

Ember

Emberdawn (LH)

Emberdawn (TBC)

Emberfoot

Emberkit (CJ)

Emberkit (DotC)

Emberstar

- F -

Falcon Swoop

Fall

Fallen Leaves

Fallensnow

Falling Dusk

Falling Feather

Falling Rain

Fallowfern

Fallowkit

Fallowpaw

Fallowsong

Fallowstar

Fallowtail

Fang

Fawnstep

Feather (GC)

Feather Ear

Feather Of Flying Hawk

Featherkit

Featherpelt

Featherstar

Featherstorm

Feathertail

Featherwhisker

Featherwing

Fennelstar

Fern Leaf

Ferncloud

Fernleaf

Fernpelt

Fernshade

Fernsong

Fernstripe

Ferretclaw

Ferris

Fidgetflake

Fierce

Filou

Finch Song

Finchflight

Finchkit (WC)

Finchlight

Finchstar

Finleap

Fircone

Fireface

Firefern

Firefly

Firestar

Firkit

Fish Leap

Flailfoot

Flame

Flamenose

Flamepelt

Flametail

Flashnose

Flaxfoot

Fleck

Fleetfoot (Leopard)

Flick

Flickerkit

Flight Of Startled Heron

Flintfang

Flipclaw

Floatkit

Floss

Flower (KP)

Flower (Lo)

Flower (Ro)

Flower Foot

Flower Stream

Flowerpaw (TC)

Flowerstar

Flowerstem (AVoS)

Floyd

Flurry

Flutter

Flutterfoot

Fluttering Bird

Flystar

Flytail

Flywhisker

Fog

Foggy

Fognose

Fox (DotC)

Foxclaw

Foxheart

Foxleap

Foxnose

Foxwhisker

Foxy

Frecklewish (SkC)

Frecklewish (TC)

Fringewhisker

Frisk

Fritz (KP)

Fritz (Lo)

Frog (Ro)

Frogleap

Frogtail

Frondwhisker

Frost

Frostclaw

Frostfur

Frostpaw (RC)

Frosty

Furled Bracken

Fury (GV)

Fury (Boar)

Furze

Furzepelt

Fuzz

Fuzzball

Fuzzypelt

- G -

Galekit

Galestar

Goldenflower

Goldenstar (Lion)

Gooseberry

Goosefeather

Gorseclaw (RC)

Gorseclaw (TC)

Gorseclaw (WC)

Gorsefoot

Gorsepaw (WC)

Gorsestar

Gorsetail (PoT)

Gorsetail (TNP)

Grass

Grassheart

Grasskit (WC)

Grasspelt

Grasswhisker

Gravelnose

Gray Sky Before Dawn

Gray Wing (WC)

Graymist

Graypaw (RC)

Graypaw (TC)

Graypool

Graystripe

Graywing (RC)

Greeneyes

Greenflower

Gremlin

Growler

Grub

Gullswoop

- H -

Hailstar

Hal

Half Moon

Halftail

Hareflight (FQ)

Hareflight (TR)

Harelight

Harepounce

Harestar

Harley

Harrybrook

Harveymoon

Hatchkit

Hattie

Havenpelt

Hawk (RH)

Hawk (Sister)

Hawk Swoop

Hawkfoot

Hawkfrost

Hawkfur

Hawkheart

Hawksnow

Hawkstar

Hawkwing

Hayberry

Haze

Hazel Burrow

Hazelstar

Hazeltail

Hazelwing

Heatherstar

Heathertail

Heavystep

Henry

Heronwing (RC)

Heronwing (TC)

Hickorynose

Hillkit

Hollow

Hollow Tree

Hollowbelly

Hollowflight

Hollowspring

Holly

Hollyflower

Hollykit (TNP)

Hollyleaf

Hollypelt

Hollystar

Hollytuft

Honey Pelt

Honeyfern

Honeyfur

Honeyleaf

Honeytail

Hoot

Hootwhisker

Hop Scratch

Hopekit

Hopper

Hopwhisker

Houndleap

Houndstar

Hunt Growl

Hunt Leap

Hunter

Husker

Hussar

Hutch

- I -

Ice (Sister)

Icecloud

Icewhisker

Icewing

Icicle

Ivypool

Ivystar

Ivytail (RC)

Ivytail (ShC)

- J -

Jack

Jackdaw's Cry

Jacques

Jagged Lightning

Jagged Peak

Jagged Rock Where Heron Sits

Jaggedtooth

Jake (IH)

Jake (TPB)

Jasper

Jay

Jay Frost

Jay's Wing

Jayclaw

Jayfeather

Jessamy

Jessy

Jester

Jet

Jigsaw

Jingo

Jumper

Jumpfoot

Juniper Branch

Juniperclaw

Juniperkit

- K -

Kestrelflight

Kestrelwing

Kinkfur

Kinktail

Kite Wing

Kitescratch

- L -

Lakeheart

Lakeshine

Lakestorm

Lapping Wave

Larchkit (MV)

Larchkit (TNP)

Lark (CotP)

Lark That Sings At Dawn

Larksong (AVoS)

Larksong (BP)

Larksplash

Larkwing (BrS)

Larkwing (FQ)

Lavenderkit

Leaf (Lo)

Leaf (TC)

Leafkit (WC)

Leafpool

Leafshade

Leafshine

Leafstar

Leafstorm

Leaftail

Leap Growl

Leopardfoot

Leopardstar

Lichen

Lichenfur

Lightleap

Lightning

Lightning Stripe

Lightning Tail

Lightningpaw

Lightningpelt

Lily (FQ)

Lily (GV)

Lilyflower

Lilyfur

Lilystar

Lilyheart

Lilystem

Lilywhisker

Lion's Roar

Lionblaze

Lioneye

Lionheart

Lionstar

Little Mew

Littlebird

Littlecloud

Littlekit (YS)

Littlestep

Livy

Lizardfang

Lizardstripe

Lizardtail

Logfur

Loki

Longtail

Loudbelly

Lowbranch

Lulu

Luna

Lynxkit

- M -

Macgyver

Madric

Mae

Magda

Maggottail

Magpie

Mallowfur

Mallownose

Mallowtail

Mapleshade

Maplestar

Maplewhisker

Marigold (GV)

Marigold (TS)

Marigoldkit

Marlow

Marmalade

Marshcloud

Marshkit

Marshpaw

Marshscar

Max (KP)

Max (Ro)

Meadowpelt

Meadowslip

Melody

Melting Ice

Merry

Micah

Midge

Midgepelt

Milkfur (MV)

Milkfur (WC)

Milkfur (YS)

Milkweed

Millie

Minnowkit (CotC)

Minnowkit (CP)

Minnowtail

Mintfur (RC)

Mintfur (SkC)

Mintkit (ShC)

Mintpaw (CJ)

Minty (KP)

Minty (Ro)

Misha

Mist (CP)

Mist (RH)

Mist Where Sunlight Shimmers

Mistcloud

Mistfeather

Mistkit (TC)

Mistlekit (SkC)

Mistlekit (TC)

Mistmouse

Mistpaw

Mistpelt

Misty

Misty Water

Mistystar

Mittens

Mitzi (KP)

Mitzi (Lo)

Mole

Molepaw

Molepelt

Molewhisker (RC)

Molewhisker (TC)

Molly

Monkeystar

Moon (Sister)

Moon Shadow

Moon Shining On Water

Moonflower

Moonlight

Moonpaw (CS)

Morning Fire

Morning Star

Morning Whisker

Morningcloud

Morningflower

Morningkit

Morningmist

Morningstar

Moss (KP)

Moss Tail

Moss That Grows By River

Mossfire

Mossheart (ShC)

Mossheart (TC)

Mosskit (TC)

Mossleaf

Mosspaw (ShC)

Mosspelt

Mossyfoot

Moth (CotP)

Moth Flight

Mothpelt

Mothwhisker

Mothwing

Mottlepaw

Mouse (MFV)

Mouse Ear

Mousefang

Mousefur

Mousewhisker

Mousewing

Mouthclaw (Snake)

Mud

Mud Paws

Mudclaw (ShC)

Mudclaw (WC)

Muddyclaw

Mudfur

Mudpuddle

Mudthorn

Mumblefoot

Myler

Myrtlebloom

- N -

Nami

Nectarsong

Needleclaw

Needletail

Nettle (AVoS)

Nettle (DotC)

Nettlebreeze

Nettleclaw

Nettlepad

Nettlepaw (RC)

Nettlesplash

Nettlespot

Newtspeck

Night (Ro)

Night Of No Stars

Nightcloud

Nightfur

Nightheart

Nightkit (TC)

Nightmask

Nightsky (TBC)

Nightstar (RC)

Nightstar (ShC)

Nightwhisper

Nightwing

Nutmeg (OC)

Nutmeg (Ro)

Nutmeg (TPB)

Nutmeg (TR)

Nutwhisker

- O -

O'Hara

Oakfur

Oakheart

Oakleaf

Oakstar

Oakstep

Oatclaw

Oatpaw (RC)

Oatspeckle

Oatwhisker (TC)

Oatwhisker (WC)

Oddfoot

Olive

Olivenose

Oliver

One Eye (DotC)

One-eye (TPB)

Onestar

Onion

Oscar

Otterheart

Ottersplash

Owl

Owl Feather

Owl Song

Owlclaw

Owlfur

Owlnose

Owlstar

Owlwhisker

- P -

Pad

Pale Sky

Palebird

Palefoot

Palesky

Pancakes

Parsleyseed

Parsnip

Pasha

Patch (KP)

Patch (RF)

Patch Pelt

Patchfoot

Patchkit (MV)

Patchpelt

Peanut

Pearnose

Pebble Heart

Pebble That Rolls Down Mountain

Pebblefoot

Pebblefur

Pebbleshine

Peg

Pepper

Perchkit

Perchpaw (MV)

Perchwing

Percy

Petal (DotC)

Petal (Sister)

Petaldust

Petalfall

Petalfur

Petalkit (Lion)

Petalkit (TC)

Petalnose

Petunia

Pickle

Pigeonflight

Pigeonfoot

Pikepaw (BotC)

Pikepaw (MO)

Piketooth

Pine (TS)

Pine Needle

Pine That Clings To Rock

Pineclaw

Pinefur

Pinenose

Pinestar

Pink Eyes

Pip (Dog)

Piper

Pipsqueak

Pixie

Plumclaw

Plumstone

Plumwillow

Pod

Podlight

Polly

Poolcloud

Poppycloud

Poppydawn

Poppyfrost

Pounce (RP)

Pounce Whisper

Pouncestep

Pouncetail (RC)

Pouncetail (ShC)

Prickleface

Pricklekit (RC)

Pricklekit (WC)

Pricklenose

Primrosepaw

Princess

Prowl Sleek

Puddleshine

Pumpernickel

Pumpkin

Purdy

Purr Roll

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b1lliesb1ues · 10 months ago

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📸 Art Kane

Front row, from left: Bill Crump, Stuff Smith, Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins. At their back you can spot George Wettling, Bud Freeman, Pee Wee Russell, Buster Bailey, Oscar Pettiford. Behind them, Sonny Greer, Jimmy Jones, Charles Mingus, Osie Johnson

#bill crump #sonny rollins #Coleman Hawkins #Mingus #Stuff Smith #George Wettling #Bud Freeman #Pee Wee Russell #Buster Bailey #Oscar Pettiford #Sonny Greer #Jimmy Jones #Osie Johnson

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jazzdailyblog · 10 months ago

Text

Harry Carney: The Baritone Saxophone Titan of Duke Ellington's Orchestra

Introduction: In the pantheon of jazz musicians, Harry Carney stands out as one of the most influential and enduring figures in the genre’s history. As the baritone saxophonist for the Duke Ellington Orchestra for over four decades, Carney’s deep, resonant tone and unparalleled musicianship helped to define the sound of one of the greatest big bands in jazz history. In this blog post, we will…

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#Big Band Jazz #Buster Bailey #Don Murray #Duke Ellington #Duke Ellington Orchestra #Harry Carney #Jazz History #Jazz Saxophonists #Sidney Bechet

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pupsmailbox · 3 months ago

Note

hi me again.

do you have names similar to Buck or Callahan?

asking for a friend.

BUCK︰ aaron. ace. alan. alayna. alison. allie. amelia. ava. axel. babs. baja. bak. baker. baki. baqia. bash. basia. bass. basye. baz. bear. becca. beck. becka. beretta. bessie. bevis. beyza. biagio. bice. bijou. bijoux. bo. boaz. booker. boone. bosco. boyce. boyko. boyne. boys. bozica. bret. brock. bronco. brooks. burke. buse. bush. buster. busy. buz. buzz. cash. chea. clayton. colt. crash. cupid. damon. danner. delilah. delta. denim. diana. diesel. doe. draven. dublin. evelyn. fallow. felix. flat. franken. grayson. gunner. hunter. isabella. jake. janna. jayce. joe. john. kaitlynn. kamina. kevin. king. laura. lollia. lucky. lux. mace. maile. mary. moose. mycah. nike. nora. ranger. remington. rhett. ripp. rocket. sargent. sawyer. shooter. slide. striker. tabitha. tank. tesa. tucker. uda. walker. whitney. wolf. wyatt.

CALLAHAN︰ acey. adelaide. ahlia. alen. allan. allen. amelia. anders. asher. avary. bailey. beckett. bellamy. benjamin. bennett. brady. branigan. brennan. brina. brooklin. brooks. caelum. cailean. caillen. cailyn. calan. calhoun. callaghan. callan. callen. calloway. callum. calum. calvin. camira. canaan. cannon. carrington. carter. cayleen. caylin. celaeno. celie. celine. celyn. chailyn. chalina. charlotte. chelan. cheslyn. chilion. chisholm. cholena. clem. cleme. cleon. coilin. coleman. colin. colleen. collin. colm. colman. colon. conal. conifer. connolly. connor. corin. cullen. declan. deimos. delaney. donovan. dorie. driana. eleanor. elixir. ely. emerson. emma. emmett. eszti. evelyn. everett. exa. finley. finn. finnegan. finnian. finnigan. fletcher. griffe. griffin. harper. harrison. hudson. itai. jack. kalvi. kannon. kason. kelan. kellan. kieran. killian. kimmie. kincaid. kylan. lachlan. lady. larami. liam. lile. lincoln. macaulay. madigan. maeve. magdala. makena. matthias. melitta. melrose. mozelle. murry. oakley. oliver. ottie. owen. parker. ponk. quest. quinn. rorie. rowan. salomon. sawyer. seamus. sebastian. shanti. sloane. sophia. sullivan. talen. tetra. theodore. thursday. tryphena. vick. violet. wren. xil.

#pupsmail︰names #name suggestions #name ideas #name list

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madamlaydebug · 1 year ago

Text

{A Great Day in Harlem}

Red Allen

Buster Bailey

Count Basie

Emmett Berry

Art Blakey

Lawrence Brown

Scoville Browne

Buck Clayton

Bill Crump[2]

Vic Dickenson

Roy Eldridge

Art Farmer

Bud Freeman

Dizzy Gillespie

Tyree Glenn

Benny Golson*

Sonny Greer

Johnny Griffin

Gigi Gryce

Coleman Hawkins

J.C. Heard

Jay C. Higginbotham

Milt Hinton

Chubby Jackson

Hilton Jefferson

Osie Johnson

Hank Jones

Jo Jones

Jimmy Jones

Taft Jordan

Max Kaminsky

Gene Krupa

Eddie Locke

Marian McPartland*

Charles Mingus

Miff Mole

Thelonious Monk

Gerry Mulligan

Oscar Pettiford

Rudy Powell

Luckey Roberts

Sonny Rollins*

Jimmy Rushing

Pee Wee Russell

Sahib Shihab

Horace Silver*

Zutty Singleton

Stuff Smith

Rex Stewart

Maxine Sullivan

Joe Thomas

Wilbur Ware

Dickie Wells

George Wettling

Ernie Wilkins

Mary Lou Williams

Lester Young

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dalt20 · 7 months ago

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Tooning in 18 Greg Bailey part 6 of 10

DL:So, on Arthur did AKOM do anything off model? Because the studio had a reputation for being off model or lacking in their animation.

GB:I can't remember any series where someone wasn't complaining about a character being off-model from time to time to time. I'm not even sure what that means anymore. In the end, I preferred that something might be off-model a little instead of looking like a cutout of the same model sheet in every frame. At least that gives some character and exaggeration. Generally, I felt Akom was fairly on model though. Though in the 15 years they did the show I'm sure there are lots of off-model freeze frames out on the web. Mostly Akom was great because they moved the character and it wasn't all traceback stuff all the time. When things switched to digital 2D like Flash or Toon Boom it became on model but it looks really dead compared to hand-drawn animation. You are literally looking at the same model sheet position on every frame so it definitely creates significant deadness in the animation compared to hand-drawn where the character seems to almost breathe in comparison.

DL:Ah, ok. So AKOM brung their A game I guess.

GB:I really appreciated the work we got in those early seasons from Akom. Nelson had some respect for the show and he made sure the studio did a good job on the show. We weren't exactly the highest-paying studio that was sending work there but Nelson and also Frank Shinn would put more into the shows that had some integrity to them. If the series was just some generic series they might not have been so attentive. We did a really complete and tight pre production work to send over to Korea so I think they saw that and realized we meant to do a better show than the rest of stuff out there.

DL:So, About the CiNAR scandal, did the feds storm in like The Wolf of Wall Street? With everyone destroying documents and everyone being rounded up?

GB:It's more slo-mo than that, but I guess it wouldn't have made a very exciting movie for things to unravel as slowly as it did. It was so slow that basically, the media was doing all the prosecuting faster than the police. It was more of a legal assault like from the different agencies like Telefilm that were looking to get their funding money back or the archives getting a refund for one reason or another. But yes the RCMP did interview people like writers and regular staff to see if the names matched the documents they had about who did what. I don't remember a lot of destroying documents but I was on the wrong floor to see that, and there wasn't a round-up of the usual suspects where they marched a bunch of people out to a paddy wagon. I don't think anyone got taken out in handcuffs because I would have heard the rumours of that. It was strange to see the media assault and what the public was accusing them of because it wasn't what was happening or what the issue was. There was a very strange perception of it in the public. Even now everyone just says the Cinar scandal but they don't know what it was all about.

DL:So, Did you work on any other projects other than Arthur in the early 2000s post scandal, like Creepschool, Potatoes and Dragons, Treasure, The Baskervilles? Before Michael Hirsh came to CiNAR?

GB:did because I was the supervising director. I supervised the other directors. I didn't have much to do on Creepschool, or Baskervilles. Potatoes and Dragons was all done in France before it came in and it was more of an acquisition for us. I had a great model sheet with like 100 cute characters on it. I did at one point try to re-edit all those shows into a different show so they made more sense and weren't so slow. It looked very cute but it wasn't easy to sell the show. Even on Treasure, I was only brought in occasionally to look at how the show was going or meet with the terrific clients from the UK who created the series. Francois Perrault directed the show. I did start up Postcards From Buster at that time before handing off the series to Nick Vallinakis after a few episodes. During that time I was working on the development of all new series and so I designed the style or look of the show and animation style. We developed a lot of shows. The one that stands out the most was developing Mona the Vampire which Graham Fault did the initial design work on while we were in development. I think Graham did that just before creating the Untalkative Bunny in Ottawa. That was the period of Animal Crackers development and probably even Caillou. A lot of shows that I worked on in development actually made it into a series during that period. A lot of others were involved in it but hopefully, I made some meaningful contribution to it. I am probably mixing up my years there but usually, I was developing a show a few years before it hit the small screen and it was also a really insane time in the studio. After the scandal hit in fact there was not really any more development. We were still finishing off the shows that were developed earlier. Postcards from Buster was

the only series that got developed and greenlit after the scandal and before Michael Hirsch. Postcards was the one series that began under Stuart Snyder (or any of the other interim CEO's) thus fulfilling one of the major terms of Stuart's contract that allowed him to receive his bonus of tens of millions of dollars before he stepped aside.

DL:So, What's your thoughts on the studio who co-produced Animal Crackers, Alphaim? They replaced France Animation as the main co-producers in 1998.

GB:I didn't have much interaction with them. I was founded Christian Davin. I met Christian a few times and he seemed like a nice guy. Gaumont bought them out after that time. The thing that makes it hard for me to answer is that in these co-productions with France there were 2 types of shows. One that the majority partner was in Canada and the other series that the majority partner was in France. So Animal Crackers was a show that we had the lead and we did most of the work. And something like Potatoes and Dragons had the majority in France. So on the ones with majority in France we often only did the post production or maybe some of the production-like layouts. If it was our majority we did most of the work in Canada. It seemed to get more and more like that over time. So I think it is really more of a financing issue or question that you would ask to an executive producer rather than looking for a creative perspective. It wasn't on my radar very much once I knew what the work split was.

PS. Christian Davin was involved with the Robinson Sucro copyright infringement.

DL:Ah, so Thoughts on Wang Film Productions, They animated on season one on the Little Lulu Show.

GB:You mean Cuckoos Nest owned by James Wang. They did a nice job on the animation on season one. We started putting a lot of work into Cuckoo's nest at one point. Like City Mouse Country Mouse was also there. That was the really crazy period at Cinar when we just had so many series going through that studio and the place was growing like crazy. Lulu was a hard show for animation because of that super thick line was all done in traditional animation. But the look of the show was great, especially the first few shows. One thing that is not well known is that initially that show was going to be 5 specials on HBO. Tracy Ullman was doing the voice of Lulu. It was the only time I went to the pitch session that we did in NY at HBO. I only directed those first 5 episodes then supervised the director Louis Piche when the show went into a full series. To be more on topic, I had visited Cuckoo's Nest back in 1986 or so when I was at DIC Tokyo. The Japanese studio was going to visit the studio in Taiwan and they very nicely brought along the foreign staff as well.When they did City Mouse Country Mouse it wasn't so beautiful but I remember they were contracted by Cinar to churn out one episode per week through the animation department. It was usually one episode every 2 weeks at that time. But I don't think the show was well funded and we just needed to make a lot of shows quickly probably to impress the shareholders. So it was an ugly show but I can't blame Cuckoos Nest for that.Wang Productions also did the Richard Scarry series after episode 26. It was far less good than what we had been getting from Hanho on the first 26 shows.

DL:So, The Arthur episode, The Contest. How did you animated the episode in the Three styles of the segments parodying South Park, Beavis and Butthead, Dexter's Laboratory and Hulk Hogan?

GB:And Little Lulu and Richard Scarry but that was more of an in-joke. It's interesting how that episode came together. I think it was one of the best shows overall. The weirdest one at least.The South Park section was actually done under an old Oxberry film camera and shot on film. Peter Huggan who was the layout supervisor at the time made all the models out of felt. He was kind of doing the felt characters in his spare time while checking layouts. Then we rented the one last Oxberry in Montreal and we shot the sequence under the camera. It was just the way we made the films when I was a student at Sheridan College.Beavis and Butthead was just a different drawing style so it took a lot of new design . I really liked how the AC /DC logo on Beavis' shirt made a good change into AB/CD on the Arthurized version. Dexter’s lab again was just a lot of new design. We could not reuse anything from the regular series and that one had a thick line. Also the color design was new and we had lots of references from the real show.The Hulk Hogan was just styled on the many 1980's series I worked on at DIC. In fact I worked a few shows of Hulk Hogan when I first went to Tokyo for DIC.We also did a spoof of Richard Scarry and we had Lowly Huckle were bats hanging upside down. I even got Sonia Ball to do the voice of the bat in the voice she used to do Huckle. There was a Lulu parody there as well using that thick line. I used to worry about getting fired at Cinar for using R. Scarry and Lulu styles in that Arthur show. But I was just banking on that the producers never really watch the shows they are producing. I lost a lot of sleep over that idea but never heard anything from the producers at Cinar. But in general, when we would parody a different style, like we did on that Ulysses episode, it took a lot of new design and being extra careful with the storyboard, and most of all, it was traditional animation so there was no problem with changing style because we didn't have to do rigging in order to animate. The ideas for what to parody just came from suggestions I could make to Joe Fallon and Ken Scarborough about which styles we could do to give us a different look for each sequence. I loved doing all those special style things in various Arthur shows. It was something really nice about the series that we could do parodies. Usually Canadian animation companies do not do parodies in their shows. But because the scripts were produced by WGBH we would do it once their lawyers would sign off. We also based one segment on Dr Katz Psychiatrist but I don't think our squiggle vision animation was very recognizable. That was a cool episode. When Peter was making all the South Park figures no one knew what he was doing and his crew thought he was making dolls on company time like he was losing his marbles.

DL:That's so Funny! 😄

GB:yeah.

DL:So, at Cookie Jar did you work on Gerald McBoingBoing, Johnny Test, Kung Fu Dino Posse, Busytown Mysteries, World of Quest, Will and Dewitt, etc?

GB:No I didn't. Actually I helped out for a very short time on Busytown Mysteries but the other shows I had nothing to do with. That was after they closed down the Montreal studio and opened up in Toronto. I didn't move.

DL:So, I couldn't find anything on the move to Toronto when Michael bought CiNAR can you tell me what time period that was?

GB:It went in stages. In 2005 Michael and Toper and the bank bought Cinar. Renamed it Cookie Jar of all things after Huck Scarry suggested the name. They started closing up the Montreal studio that year by consolidating the 3 floors of office space onto one floor. I developed a few shows then like Bronco Teddy and that Santa Clause special. Then just a small animation crew and 2 producers moved to a new but small building in downtown Montreal . I think it was an old Canada Cement company building from the sign embossed over the front door. It had a lot of marble and brass on the main floor and an ancient elevator. Anyway we were there for a year before they shut down entirely in Montreal, and they opened up a Toronto office in that time. We did Arthur out of that new office in downtown Montreal. So by 2006 or early 2007 they were set up in Toronto on King Street. I remained on the Cookie payroll but no one else from Cinar remained after 2007. In fact I worked at Cinar/Cookie Jar full time from 1991 to 2011. I was the longest running employee of that company.

DL:Wow! So, you were demoted to the Arthur guy at that point?

GB:Yeah pretty much. They would try to keep me busy with stuff during the off-season. I developed a few shows but nothing really stuck and I would get busy again with Arthur so they would take it away from me and give it to another director. Like I was starting on a remake of Caillou and then that happened. Someone else took over the series. Or I helped out a director on Busytown for a few months. I even tried getting the director position on a series with Disney near the end of my time there but I purposely blew my application so I could go elsewhere to do Arthur. The Disney show was very preschool and the producers at Disney were in disarray. It looked like it would be really unpleasant. But yeah I guess all I really did of any significance was Arthur. We did Arthur out of Oasis Animation company in Montreal. They hired some of my old crew from Cinar while I remained on the Cookie Jar payroll. So at one point, I did some work setting up the studio to do the Arthur series.

DL:So, how was the downfall of Cookie Jar/ the DHX media purchase went for you in 2012?

GB:I was there for the downfall like when they laid off all the animation staff and pretty much everyone else. I wasn't there when DHX actually bought them. I was there when CJ bought DIC and that terrible purchase of Strawberry Shortcake. It seemed ironic to me when they bought DIC because I was there when they fell apart 20+ years earlier.The big layoff was very sudden and shocking for the people in Toronto. I don't know why they seemed so surprised. The shows were terrible. They blew a ton of money buying DIC which was even more in debt than after DIC broke up with Charlopin. They said they bought DIC to get the Saturday morning hours that DIC owned. But Saturday morning doesn't mean anything like it did when I was a kid or when I worked at Hanna Barbera. No one gets up to watch animation on Saturday morning anymore. The Strawberry Shortcake scandal was going on at that time but I wasn't paying attention to it. You probably know more than I do. But my view was - who would want to watch anything to do with Strawberry Shortcake. It was the most ugly and trite property when it came out in the 80's and it was even more horrible in the 2000's. But that was CJ's corporate culture. From the top down the company management spewed marketing jargon when they spoke about anything including creative things like animation. They would never make a great new show because they were not trying to make a show that people would want to watch. They were basing decisions on values like branding and marketing. They never spoke of things that drive other producers that try to make something kids enjoy or benefit from in some meaningful way. I understand the sense of trying to capitalize as much as possible on everything in the world, but in a creative field like animation, it's disappointing to see people only equate a good show with good merchandising. They could be happily selling stickers or really tacky toys like Strawberry Shortcake or Elf on the Shelf. They are not patient enough to make a good show first and then sell stuff because the show is popular like SpongeBob. They only want the show made in order to sell the toy.

DL:Well Michael tried to create that workspace mentality from Nelvana. Remember when we talked about the program slate from Nelvana from 1995-1996?

GB:Yes! Nelvana was also a 3 way partnership. Clive Smith was coming from animation production in the UK before they started Nelvana. So there was more push in the direction of the art at one time at Nelvana. This time his partner Toper Taylor was a marketing person. When he speaks it's a lot of marketing jargon.I shouldn't really say that Clive did this or that at Nelvana. I was never working at that studio and I've only met him briefly. Michael has been a great businessman there is no doubt about that.

DL:Yeah, I saw that the only thing that was making money at the studio was Arthur, the Doodlebops and Johnny Test. Everything else was a co-production at the company.At Cookie Jar , that is.

GB:They made a horrible mess out of Richard Scarry and the Caillou properties that had generated a lot of money at Cinar. But the versions they made at CJ were terrible. They were so commercially exploitative looking. It's true that you don't make money just selling the show to broadcasters. At least it's not a big part of the income in TV animation. I'm not sure Arthur was making much money for them either. Eventually, they quit doing it because they either had to make a totally horrible different-looking show or lose money making it. Like there was no toy licensing or books or anything to make money on with Arthur. The Arthur series never had a really high budget compared to other big animated series like WB or Disney or Nickelodeon shows and the amount coming in for production kept getting smaller year by year.

#animation #animation interview #tooning in.#greg bailey #90s cartoons #cinar #arthur #cookie jar #busytown #richard scarry #country mouse and the city mouse adventures #wang film productions #akom

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