Not crazy about clowns. Ketida expressed my feelings. They were mildly entertaining running around waaaay down there in those far far away 3 rings, on trikes and whatnot.
I like good mimes. I very much liked Marcel Marceau. Saw him perform in Washington when I was in high school. A real master. He was, he said, inspired to become a mime by his interest in Charlie Chaplin who was, in fact, basically a mime minus the classic mime makeup.
Back in the late 1990's there was a Christian punk/rockabilly band called This Train. They have a song that became a favorite of mine.
Mark Robertson, who wrote the song, came up with the idea this way: "I was talking with someone about the scripture, "Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me." I was asked "Who are the least of these?" "MIMES!!!"
MIMES OF THE OLD WEST
They'd throw imaginary ropes around imaginary cattle
No one was amused
They'd get themselves all trapped inside invisible boxes
At best they seemed confused
Yeah but you've got to respect them
Sure they were weird
These were the true pioneers
(Chorus)
No one had it harder
These boys passed the test
No one got beat up more often
Than the mimes of the old west
Well people these days they feel so sorry for themselves
They think they've got it hard
Try walking through Dodge City in the 1800's
Dressed in a unitard
And though the odds were against them
They would prevail
They knew they just couldn't fail
(Chorus)
No one had it harder
Rightfully so I guess
No one got beat up more often
Than the mimes of the old west
They stood there blind to the hatred
On with the show
They paved the way for the great Marcel Marceau
Wash your hands. Cough and sneeze in your sleeve. Stay home if you are sick. Stay informed. http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu for more info.
emmline wrote:He was, he said, inspired to become a mime by his interest in Charlie Chaplin who was, in fact, basically a mime minus the classic mime makeup.
I never liked or disliked them- except this one- and I did like to watch Emmit Kelly Jr. on tv when I was a kid. My grandmother had a doll like this one- it use to have the hat too- and now I have it in my bedroom.
"Let low-country intruder approach a cove
And eyes as gray as icicle fangs measure stranger
For size, honesty, and intent." John Foster West
A fellow I know is a clown. Our small town is big on festivals of all kind, and ten years ago the new theatre hosted a clown concert of sorts for kids. Imagine an arts theatre jam packed with 702 people (yep, mostly kids). Maybe they were giving away free welder's helmets with each admission? Anyway, backstage, some of the clowns are warming up. You've got your typical unicycles, jugglers, machete wielders (oops, wrong festival), and my buddy Art. Art is practicing his newest balancing trick.
Well, to make a long story even longer, the fire alarm goes off. Clears the entire building right before the show even starts. Everyone is outside, in the rain, while the firefighters clear the alarm and check the source. Turns out, they report, that some unknown thing tripped a heat sensor back stage. Art quickly hides a feint smile. Alarms off and reset, and on with the show.
BTW, Art's trick? He had a basketball spinning on top of a long pole which, in turn, was balanced high above his forehead. Practicing the real thing, even though the ceilings backstage were a little low, he had lit a sparkler and jammed it in the basketball's valve.
Tell us something.: I've picked up the tinwhistle again after several years, and have recently purchased a Chieftain v5 from Kerry Whistles that I cannot wait to get (why can't we beam stuff yet, come on Captain Kirk, get me my Low D!)
“First lesson: money is not wealth; Second lesson: experiences are more valuable than possessions; Third lesson: by the time you arrive at your goal it’s never what you imagined it would be so learn to enjoy the process” - unknown
I never cared one way or another about clowns. That is until I saw Poltergeist at the theaters a way back when. After the movie, it occurred to me that I had a clown that looked almost exactly like the one in the movie in my bedroom. Needless to say, that clown was never seen again...and I still am a bit wary of them even today.
Someday, everything is gonna be diff'rent
When I paint my masterpiece.
Tell us something.: Mostly producer of the Wooden Flute Obsession 3-volume 6-CD 7-hour set of mostly player's choice of Irish tunes, played mostly solo, on mostly wooden flutes by approximately 120 different mostly highly-rated traditional flute players & are mostly...
Dale wrote:
"We found that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them quite frightening and unknowable."
It all dates back to You-know-who.
Clowns just never looked the same after that.
And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')
Brian Lee wrote:...which is why I've always preferred mimes.
Yeah. That's another one. Nobody likes mimes. Nobody. I always had to fight the fantasy of, you know, making one talk.
Mimes are just irritating as all get out. Oh, and pretensious. Ever notice how all the way-to-serious no-talent 'artistic' teens would gravitate to miming, and where--perhaps in compensation, in every second in which they weren't actually in facepaint and trapped in a box, they'd follow you around the party explaining that they got into miming because they wanted to find a way to work for world peace? They'd bogart any joint you were stupid enough to let them grab, too, as I recall.
The funniest comic Matt Groening ever drew contains the sterling suggestion that the best way to annoy a street-mime is to "Punch him in the mouth".
And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')
Anyone remember the movie Killer Klowns from Outer Space?
Great theme song by The Dickies.
And whether the blood be highland, lowland or no.
And whether the skin be black or white as the snow.
Of kith and of kin we are one, be it right, be it wrong.
As long as our hearts beat true to the lilt of a song.
cowtime wrote:I never liked or disliked them- except this one- and I did like to watch Emmit Kelly Jr. on tv when I was a kid. My grandmother had a doll like this one- it use to have the hat too- and now I have it in my bedroom.
I loathed all clowns except Emmit Kelly, Jr., who I was able to tolerate.
