Frameline in San Francisco was fabulous! Dottie performed with Uncanny and Motilda and backup dancer/singer (also our composer) Allyson Newman after running a festival-only version of “Beat Beet” and our brand new music video. The kids had a blast – and so did we!

The Dottie Crew converged on SF two days before:
Andrea, our Director and tech guru drove up from LA with Dottie; Wayne, our Creative Director also drove up from LA with his camera and the portable Dottie couch to assemble pipe and drape for performances, plus his boyfriend Micheal who handed out Dottie coloring books; Karena, our Communications Head who lives p/t in SF was there to support Motilda; Ally, our Composer and back-up singer/dancer drove up with her girlfriend Laura who supported the funny, gassy Uncanny; and I flew down from Portland to help with crowd control and introduce the show.

After hours running through the “Let’s Be a Bat” song and new dance (thanks, Karena’s neighbors!!), we hit the Castro Theater stage and – with the wonderful support of the Frameline crew – had a really fun show with only one kid rushing the stage to dance with Dottie (so cute!).

Always amazes me how much time and crew is needed to make a show look simple!

More good news – Dottie is flying to the Austin Gay Lesbian Film Festival to perform for the kids! So please spread the word to any and all families you know in Austin to save September 11 at 11:30am for a great day with the kids… Thank you!

Karena and I went to the opening night of Frameline Film Fest last night and I was (as I always am) blown away by how gorgeous the place is! And to think that Dottie will be performing there this Sunday… amazing.

I want to pass the info along to everyone in the SF area about the show this Sunday, June 20th. It starts at 11am. We’ll be showing our world premiere of out “Who’s In Your Family” video right before Dottie takes the stage with Uncanny and Motilda!

Every time Dottie performs it is like watching a kiddie version of the Beatles, except with less tears and pushy broads.

If you are in the area, come on down! We’ll have a surprise take-home for the kids and, of course, some new dance steps…

And thanks everyone for passing this along – sending a link, posting on Facebook, tweeting, stenciling on forehead… It is all about engaging the kids in a fun show that reflects the fabulous diversity of our world (and, of course, magic glitter).

Five years I ran into two free felting opportunities in two weeks – strange since I had never heard of felting before, or if I did, I assumed it meant something entirely different… since then I have gone through waves of addiction.

Last year, during a hefty wave, I gave this ornament to Karena, needle felted in the true holiday spirit.

Watch this YouTube clip for a more detailed explanation how to do it yourself (it’s a pumpkin, not an ornament, but same concept):

Oliver is in Waldorf and they crazy love felting. For Mother’s Day he made his two moms a necklace with such a fabulously unusual use of felt (or at least it is to me) that I decided to share. It’s EASY AND GREAT FOR KIDS (and adults)!

Take strips of colored felting wool and roll it into one sushi-like roll. Dip the sushi roll into soapy water and squeeze a bit, kneeding gently (not to ruin the shape though). Roll tightly then let dry.

The next day, simply cut the strip into pieces then string them onto a necklace – in this case, with beads separating the sushi-felt (excuse the weird photo).

You could also glue the pieces face up onto a ring base – or make fridge magnets – or whatever. So next rainy day, give it a try… Have fun!

yup.

here is the Bio:
Welcome to the official twitter page of the Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

now how did i find this? well, i started by sleuthing around lindsay lohan’s page – noting that at first i spelled her name wrong, and came on a page that had 30,000+ followers – er. then i went to samathan ronson (of course), who commented on john mayer (jabbing boi fun)… and in the process i noticed that many of these celebrity types are following some dude named Adam Mckay (aka Ghostpanther).

i don’t know who Ghostpanther is… but i noticed that he only follows a few dozen people, so i clicked his list and low and behold – one of them is the Dalai Lama. strange.

most recent Ghostpanther-Tweet: Does the phrase “more cushion for the pushin” apply to having a lot of actual cushions? Cause I have like 24 cushions.

most recent Lama-Tweet: Deep down we must have a real affection for each other, a clear realization or recognition of our shared human status.

yup.

Karena and I are thinking about doing a vlog. Inspiration: Jeffery and Cole Casserole and my love of playing characters. This one typing now is way too close to who I really am. . .

So I googled “Funniest Vlogs” and got some responses that proved how subjective humor is, then “Top Ten Vlogs” – which pulled up the beloved Kelly (of “Shoes” fame) with Heather the Vampire, then “Ten Most Popular Vlogs” just to see what the world outside of Jeffrey, Cole, Kelly, and Heather were doing (that and I have a cold and thinking beyond this makes my skull thump like the energizer bunny on excessive Kombucha).

Ten Most Popular Vlogs (note: of 2007) – first (horrifyingly), a baby cow walking along with its group is taken by surprise by two charging lions, pushed in the water, and attacked – I stopped at the first few bites (noting that in the background of the car from where the video was shot were the voices of children, shocked the calf was caught – I know it is nature but, well, so is a whole lot of other “natural” stuff best kept in the wild or behind closed doors).

Next: some musical prodigy vlogs, some celebrity-inspired vlogs (crazed woman begging people to leave Britney alone, spoof on Timberlake, singing love-crush to shirtless Obama… we all might remember that one), and then, of course, the animal vlogs. There was a cat playing the piano (me thinking: doesn’t a vlog have to be done by and about humans, or isn’t it just a video?) and a clip of Otters Holding Hands.

It’s the otters that got me. Watched start to finish, all 1:40 minutes.

Open on: Two otters were peacefully sleeping, floating around their little pool area while a video camera was trained on them and an increasing crowd of people cooed (camera closing in) with the realization that the otters were holding hands! (me wondering why animals are cutest when they are doing “human” things…)

A minute into the video, one of the otters (let’s call him Ted) is woken up by the coos and releases the other otter’s hand, sending his friend (let’s call him Jeremiah) drifting into the side of the pool wall. Ted looks to the camera in what seems like, if i may anthropomorphize, irritation. This was a private moment between consenting adults. He then swims out of the shot, perhaps being kind enough to drift away from Jeremiah (never Jerry) while tending to some personal business, so as not to sully their shared waters.

And a minute later, crowds quieting, Ted swims back over to Jeremiah (now bumping pleasantly against the pool side) and reaches in to proudly grab his hand (well, paw really but…).

It was cute but for some reason I felt a little silly and, well, a little embarrassed watching – maybe like a chaperone at prom or a maid who doesn’t hear the shower running… or a human watching otters minding their own ottery business. (Still, it really is cute…)