Plans of Puppetry

I'm planning a shadow-puppet bike tour down the pacific coast!

here's the website: http://cycle-poweredpuppetry.blogspot.com/

Here's our current route for the tour:

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Puppetworthy Inspirations

The Flying Rutabaga Cycle Circus!

 BIKE CARAVAN CIRCUS ACROSS THE CORNBELT!

DEPARTURE: May 19, 2003 World Agricultural Forum, St. Louis, MO.
ARRIVAL: June 19, 2003 Biotechnology Industry Organization Convention, Washington, DC
"We are members from the Puppetual Motion Cycle Circus, Liberty Cabbage Theater Revival, and a few more clown coalitions, who together comprise a rag-tag ensemble of circus acts, puppet shows, jugglers and musical numbers. Join in on the low-tech, high-energy, rough-and-tumble action that will spring up in unlikely places: street corners, farmers markets, farms, community centers, the steps of your city hall, or the National Mall. We’ll also offer lectures, debates, panel discussions and workshops for the heady and information hungry."


"Lets make one thing clear, this is not a ride for sport. This is transport. We will move approximately 40-50 miles a day, while carrying loads of puppetshows, musical instruments, and other gear that we will need for survival. But most importantly, we are carrying a message to the people and to Washington to say to say, “Stop Playing With Our Food!” Everyone knows that Monsanto’s former execs now sit pretty in the FDA. We challenge them to a food fight! "
"We are a group of concerned bicyclists, puppeteers, musicians, farmhands, clowns, cheerleaders, activists, eaters of food and drinkers of water. We are united in a quest to seek out food (thats our fuel) that is not tampered with by biotechnology corporations. We ride for diversity, organic farming, and biojustice everywhere!"
-The Flying Rutabaga Cycle Circus
Photos by: BxB


CYCLOPS : cycling-oriented puppet squad based in Toronto
Written & Directed by David Anderson & Amira Emma Routledge
Design by Amira Emma Routledge
Music Direction by Chris Wilson & Nuno Cristo

Clay & Paper Theatre proudly presents our first ever bicycle-based mobile play: The Pedaler’s Wager. This original comedy features puppetry, live music, and our very own CYCLOPS: Cycling Oriented Puppet Squad. Each weekend audience members are invited to cycle from act to act alongside performers, literally following the troupe to the show’s conclusion.
We invite you on a journey through an epic tale of modernity, as spun by a peddler and his troupe who risk their livelihoods to tell this story of societal transformation. When a small family is forced to leave their riverside home, cajoled by developer Baron Boots, his consort Lady Grabsome, their disastrously hungry son Otto, and a smooth-talking PR Department, where will they go? Pushed into the new life of the Future, how will the family survive?
This ambitious undertaking is the culmination of three years of development establishing Clay & Paper Theatre’s CYCLOPS: Cycling Oriented Puppet Squad. This show will take Clay & Paper’s unique brand of theatre to the streets; animating and energizing Toronto’s public spaces, promoting active living, and drawing attention to urban environmental issues through original bicycle-infused theatre.

Macrobiotics for Moms

Here are some photos I've taken and information about food I've made since coming back to Houston to visit dear ol' mom.
Umeboshi Rice Balls


Ingredients:
(leftover) brown rice
sesame seeds
umeboshi plums (or other filling)
toasted/sushi nori (optional)

1.) Steam or warm leftover brown rice.
2.) Place it in a deep tray or large shallow bowl and pound/mash with the bottom of a bottle until sticky.
3.) In a frying pan,  pour enough sesame seeds to cover the bottom of the pan with a thin layer when you shake the pan. Turn the heat on medium and stir/shake the pan frequently for a few minutes. Carefully watch the color and smell of the seeds as they roast, and quickly take them off the heat when they are fragrant and slightly tanned. Careful, it's easy to burn them!
4.) Wet both hands and place about 2 heaping spoonfuls of rice into one hand. Press rice partially flat on your hand and place an umeboshi plum in the middle. Wrap the rest of the rice on your hands around the plum carefully to begin to form a triangle or a ball. Keep hands wet. Place more rice on top if needed to cover the plum. Work the riceball in your hands until you form the desired shape.
5.) Place a small rectangle of nori on the bottom of the rice ball and wrap around the sides like a taco shell. Roll the rest of the exposed rice in the toasted sesame seeds until covered. Done!


Pitaya (Dragon Fruit)
a cactus fruit native to Mexico, Central America,
and South America.

 a cooling plant, not very good for a Northeastern winter food, but good for a leap to Southern Texas!

Lotus and Cabbage soup
with Fried Rice and Veggies
Soup Ingredients:
Vegetable Stock
Fresh veggies (onions, carrots, cabbage, radish, or other)
Lotus root (fresh or dried), sliced
Maitake Mushrooms (fresh or dried), sliced or ripped
Kombu (or other seaweed), cut
Miso paste

Method:
Make broth by bringing a large pot of water to a boil, and adding sweet vegetable roots, ends & skins. Simmer for about an hour and strain. Cut up fresh vegetables to a relatively uniform size. Soak seaweed and other dried mushrooms and veggies in water in a separate bowl for a few minutes. Add all vegetables and mushrooms to the simmering broth. Continue to simmer for about 30 minutes or until roots are soft. Turn off heat and add miso to taste.

Fried Rice:
Cook brown rice by preferred method. Water sautee fresh carrots, green beans, and onions (or others) in a covered wok by adding a little oil and water at the bottom of the wok on medium heat. Stir occassionally until almost fully cooked and water is evaporated. Momentarily push vegetables to the side of the pan to heat a little more oil in the wok. Turn heat to medium high, add brown rice and a little tamari soy sauce, and stir frequently until done.


Blackberry Buckwheat Waffles with Barley Malt Syrup
(gluten-free with low glycemic index)


 Ingredients (makes 4 servings)
2 Cups Buckwheat Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 1/2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 Cups of Water
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce

Use a whisk to combine the first 5 ingredients, then stir in the water and applesauce until you have a thick, but smooth batter. Lightly oil your waffle iron or skillet, and pour on the batter.

recipe source: http://www.edibleexistence.com/2011/04/buckwheat-waffles.html


Brown Rice Sushi with asparagus pickle,
steamed carrot and steamed lotus root
Ingredients:
brown rice (leftover)
pickled asparagus
fresh carrots
fresh lotus root
sushi nori

Method:
Cut carrots and lotus root into thin strips. Steam leftover brown rice, and steam carrots and lotus root separately. Allow to cool. Lay out nori paper on a sushi rolling mat or other rollable flat surface (optional: cover mat with plastic wrap). Make sure the perforated lines in the nori sheet (if there are any) are going up and down, not left to right. Wet hands and spread about a half-inch-thick layer of brown rice onto the nori, leaving about a one-inch horizontal strip blank on the top end. Use a rice paddle or spatula to make the surface even. Line up a few carrot, lotus and asparagus pieces into a horizontal strip about an inch away from the bottom of the sheet. Roll up the sushi tightly starting at the bottom end near the filling. Cut into 3/4 in pieces with a sharp, wet knife, or along the perforated lines. Serve with pickled ginger and a mixture of wasabi, whole-grain mustard, and umeboshi plum paste, to taste.


Coconut Mung Bean Pudding
with roasted pistachio

Ingredients:
4 cups        hulled mung beans
3 1/2 cups  water
3/4 cup      barley malt
3/4 cup      water
1/3 cup      tapioca starch
1 cup         coconut cream
1/2 tsp       salt
1 cup         pistachio pieces

  1. Place the mung beans in a large container and cover with several inches of warm water; let soak for 2 hours; drain.
  2. Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and pour enough water to reach just below the bottom of the steamer. Cover and bring the water to a boil. Wrap the mung beans in cheesecloth and place in the steamer insert; cover the saucepan and steam the beans until tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
  3. Stir 3 1/2 cups water and the barley malt together in a saucepan; bring to a boil. In a separate bowl, stir 3/4 cup water and the tapioca flour together until the flour is dissolved; pour the mixture into the boiling water and stir until the syrup becomes clear and thickened. Gently stir the mung beans into the syrup; remove from heat and divide into 4 serving bowls.
  4. Heat the coconut cream and salt together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until warmed, but do not allow to boil. Roast the pistachio pieces in a frying pan on medium heat until fragrant, stirring frequently. 
  5. Spoon coconut cream over the mung bean mixture and sprinkle with toasted pistachios to serve.

recipe adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/yellow-mung-bean-pudding-with-coconut-cream/

Crankie Box Theater

Crankie Box

  A method for creating a scrolling backdrop for a puppet show!

Front
Crankie Box Front
Crankie Box Top / Crankie Box Bottom Inside
crankie top crankie bottom inside
Crankie Box Side View / Reel Side View
crankie side view reel side view
Crank Side View
crank side view
Crank Top View
crank top view 
Diagrams by George Konnoff



Featured Crankie Shadow Box Artist:
Katherine Fahey
Former Black Cherry Puppet Theater puppeteer in Baltimore, MD
"I alternate between doing papercut, painting and print commissions, shadow puppet shows, craft shows, teaching, and designing and printing posters, shirts, and CD covers."



sources:

Shadow Puppets

 

 Originating in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), Chinese shadow puppets were made from donkey and ox leather, carved until transparent, dyed bright colors, and finally lit from behind by lantern light.


This is a Wayang Kulit puppet from Java, Indonesia. It is made from buffalo skin with rods made from cow horns.







Lotte Reiniger, influenced by Chinese shadow puppet plays, wrote and directed The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1923), the oldest surviving full-length stop-motion animated film, and used the first multi-plane animation camera a decade before Walt Disney.

Prince Achmed (1923)

Papageno (1935) by Lotte Reiniger



Puca Puppets presents Roisin agus An Ron in Ireland

Kushi Institute

 Sunrise after the first snow of the year, October 27th!

  in the dining hall on Friday night


 Pear Kanten and Almond Pudding

It's been my job lately to write the menu on the board

Kamishibai







The storytelling method endured for centuries, but is best-known for its revival around the 1930's during the worldwide depression, when storytellers would travel from village to village by bicycle with their miniature stages, making money by selling treats to their audience.



.
They would announce their arrival with wooden clappers called hyoshigi, and would often tell their stories as a series, arriving with a new episode on each visit to the village.




a contemporary:

sources: