HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!

The Man At The Gate

I said to the man
Who stood at the gate of the year,
“Give me a light that I may tread safely
into the unknown.” 

And he replied,
“Go out into the darkness
and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you
Better than the light
And safer than a known way!” 

So I went forth
And finding the hand of God
Trod gladly into the light. 

- by M. Louise Haskins
The prose was used at the funeral of Her Majesty the Queen Mother on 2 April 2002.
Her husband, King George VI, started his Chrismas address to the nation in 1939 with it also.

Thank you to Canon John Jordan for forwarding this most appropriate
piece for this first day of a New Year.

Bizzaro

Maher Student Honor Roll

December 2011 HONOR ROLL

GRADUATES

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NEW MILLENNIUM BASIC MAHER COURSE:

Donnie Beck (NC)

Jim Chaput (CO)

Gerilyn Dawn Doss (VA)

Takako NAGAMINE (Switzerland)

* * *

NEW MILLENNIUM ADVANCED MAHER COURSE:

Takako NAGAMINE (Switzerland)

Steven A Pataky (PA)

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For more information, or to purchase the

Maher 30 Lesson Home Study Course of Ventriloquism:

http://mahercourse.blogspot.com/  

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

Doll Restoration

Question: I'm a young ventriloquist and I am very interested in the art of restoring vintage ventriloquist dolls, and one day hand carving my own. I recently ordered and recieved a Dapper Dan (below) which I believe to be from the 1920s or '30s. His description said that he was composition, and I was wondering if you might know what kind of composition? There is some damage on his head, face, and one of the hands. I was also wondering if you can recommend a wood-filler and/or advice on how I can restore my vintage buddy. Here is an example photograph of his current condition. After cosmetics, I'm going to make him a new suit identical to his original. Thank you for your time.  -Tony

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From Mr. D: I still have some Plastic Wood dough from the '70s that I use to patch the vintage composition dolls.  I'm sure there's some similar product on the market today - try Home Depot.

The "wood composition" from the era of which Dapper Dan came seemed to be some sort of pressed sawdust or similar.  It is bound together with a glue that is water soluble, so clean with great care.  And be certain the head is well sealed before you repaint.  Use Gesso (or similar) to seal the head.  I've also used several light coats of "spray on" shellac to seal these heads.

Two more requirements:  Time and great patience...

This season - or any season

From James Tucker: Todd's character has a little British accent. I took him to Walmart to get a reaction from the public. We went into the Subway sandwich shoppe to get a bite to eat and they were overly busy that evening. The line was very long and seemed to not move at all but, the costumers didn't seem to mind because they were so engrossed with Todd and his charm. Children as well as adults were entertained. Lots of fun!
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From Mr. D: The gift of smiles and laughter - perfect for any season but especially appropriate this month!  Thanks for sharing!

Peas in a pod?

From Audrey Albert

I can't tell you how much fun it was to surprise my husband on Christmas Day with Mr. Right Jr. who is now been renamed "Amos."

  While my husband ( Wil)  was out of the room,   I quickly set up "Amos" on  our bed.  When Wil came in he nearly dropped laughing when he saw a miniature of himself sitting in the bed.  He was even more surprised when he realized  that this was not just a doll but a professionally crafted vent figure. that looked like him.   He immediately bonded and named him "Amos" and they had a nice chat together.   Being an actor,  my husband was readily  able to give your wonderful figure a character of his own.

Mr. D, I have to say that your  creation was way beyond my expectation. I just kept looking back and forth from my Wil to Amos and was astounded at how much they resembled each other.  From the facial lines and forehead furrows to the little details above the mouth, and even  the shape of his nose ........ just so many details that you captured .  He truly is a work of art.  I can't thank you enough for this making this
wonderful figure.  And my husband is grinning from ear to ear.
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From Mr. D:  "Amos" is an adaptation of an "Uncle Earl" casting from Braylu.

Future star?

 I know for a fact there were several thousand youth across the USA who received ventriloquist dolls for Christmas this year.   Zac L. from Austin, Texas was one of those.  I had the honor of lending a hand with Zac's doll, so when on the afternoon of Christmas Day I received the following note from Zac's mother, I was pleased:

"My son loves Scotty. We are all very exited about Scotty's shoes too.  They are Denver Bronco colors!  We are Bronco fans in our house."

Must have been destiny!  My hope is that Zac's ventriloquist career will prove to be a long and successful one!  And I wish the same for every youth who now has a new doll or figure in their hands.  Realistically, most will turn to other interests.  But a few will have embarked on a lifetime hobby, or career.  It does happen...I remember clearly when a Mr. Fator contacted me about his 9 year old son who was "Quite good at ventriloquism, but needs some better material."  You know how that turned out - and continues!

The Fourth Wise Man

Today, the day after Christmas, I want to share with you the little known legend of The Fourth Wise Man.  It is told that the group of wisemen who followed the star to Bethlehem that early Christmas long ago, actually began as a foursome.  But tradition has it that only three wise men completed the trip to see the baby Christ child.  So what happened?  Why was the fourth wise man missing? 

Scholars agree that it is likely his camel was not trustworthy to make the trip;  some believe the beast may even have refused to stand.  But why a stately animal would act in such an uncooperative manner, no one knows.  Perhaps the saddleback skills of this rider were lacking.  Several scholars surmise the fourth rider wasn't so wise after all, even going so far as to refer to him as a "dummy" (a bit extreme).  Others think the animal was weak from the frightful sight of this spirited man who refused to wear the robes and turbans of the day, preferring to dress in his futuristic, guady mod-garb, proudly worn, much to the chagrin of his peers.

It has been surmised the camel balked, sensing its human burdan carried no packages or precious gifts for the journey, a bit farfetched to think an animal could know such things.  But those who hold this position do so, believing the rider's hands were empty other than the ropes with which he planned to guide his ride.   No gifts he carried, for you see, he had no plans to present a visible hands-on gift.  Rather, he planned to present to the newborn king his very own self - his life and his service, with his desire to become a lifetime subject of this promised King of kings. 

Personally, I prefer this final summary to the legend of The Fourth Wise Man, because I can then conclude the fourth wise man was most certainly no dummy; rather, it may just be possible he was the wisest of the wise.

While I leave the historical truth of this legend for you to decide, let me assure you it is God's promise that any person who presents himself or herself as a gift to the Christ of Christmas will receive peace and life everlasting - the greatest gift of all, and that's the truth. (Re: Holy Bible, John 3:16)

Merry Christmas, 2011



"And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.'"  Luke 2:10



"Wishing you a very merry Christmas
and a joyful new year!"
Clinton and Adelia

Find Mr. D.

We're in the midst of the season of choir concerts, carolers, and joyful music, especially this Christmas Eve day.  I love it!  During my lifetime I've been blessed to be a part of several choirs, at church and schools.  Even a couple family choirs.  I had forgotten about one early choir until a cousin sent me this picture last week.  This was an all city choir made up of middle school students from our small community of Harper, Kansas.  At the time some of us weren't all that thrilled to wear those white angelic concert robes, but looking back, it was a great experience!  So, here's your challenge...which "cherub" (I use the term loosely) in this photo is Mr. D?   (See my post for Jan. 6, 2012 for the correct answer.)

Have a wonderful Christmas.

My very best wishes to all the readers of this blog.

Dave Showler (and Haywood).

Simon Sez:

"Season's Greetings to all,

and to all a good day. 

What fun to do Mr. D's bidding,

 laughing all the way."

"Holiday alert - avoid Mr. D's shop this time of the year - he'll
put you to work ... and you have to dress for the season!"

Note:  This fellow is newly completed and available for purchase: http://mrdsfigures.blogspot.com

Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season, and a very merry new year!

 

Melissa & Phil

Charlene, Bosworth and Charlie

Check out "Santa and Harvey"

From Greg Claasen:

Just wrapped up a 16 show tour of corporate Christmas events-was as far north as Regina, SK, Canada and as far south as Pampa, TX. Thankful to be home and just in time to miss the winter blizzard that has passed through.

To get you in the Christmas spirit, I thought you might like to see another project with which I've been involved. Several months ago Mary Ann Taylor created "Harvey Jingles, the Christmas mouse for the pilot episode of a children's Christmas TV show called "Santa and Harvey." I provided the voice and manipulation for Harvey which was filmed this past fall in Tulsa, OK. The producers hope to sell a series of episodes to various markets around the country for Christmas 2012. You can visit the website with several short clips of Santa and Harvey here:

http://santaandharvey.com/toy_shoppe.html

Have a blessed Christmas.

   Greg 

Phil Nichols and Charlie dressed for their Holiday VENT-gnetts
to be posted on YouTube this week. 

Reader comment: Clothes for puppets

I just read the post asking about where to buy clothes for vent figures or puppets. The places mentioned, discount retail stores and children's used clothing stores are my favorite resources too. But I also keep an eye out in the local 99 cents stores. This year I found a couple of Christmas items sold as 20 ounce soda bottle covers. They worked perfectly as outfits for a couple of my smaller puppets. Here are Lanolin The Lamb (Lambchop's cousin) and Sandy the Sugar Glider in their holiday apparel. So keep your eye out. You never know where you'll find clothes for your puppets. Merry Christmas and God Bless.
Ron Havens

Photo Caption Contest

Here are several reader suggested captions for the above photo.

  1.  "Yep! Definitely a chip off the old block!" - Darl Bennett
2. "Yea, but mommy loves me best." - Donald ?
3. "How do you like my new hairdo?" - Doc Lowery
 4. "I didn't say 'skin', I said 'twin!" - Canon John Jordan
3rd place (tie)5."Toupee or not toupee - that is the question." - Tom Basso
 6. "Think of the money we save on shampoo." - Tom Basso
 1st place 7. "I guess Clinton didn't get the memo about wearing plaid today." Cheryl Keene
3rd place (tie) 8. "Will the real Clinton Detweiler please stand up!" - Bob Albano
4th place 9. "Hmmm, I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something familiar about you two." - Bill Matthews
10. "Geez, I thought seeing double was bad enough ..." - John Degel
2nd place 11.  "Three D's in a Pod." - Pearce Columb

THANK YOU to all who participated by voting and/or submitting captions!
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners!

Another "Detweiler" figure report

From Bill Matthews: 

Just looked around your site. Nice. I thought you might like to have 
a picture of Larry. Another testimony of your handiwork. He was built 
in 1972 and is still going strong.

I'm a Maher Grad from back in 1978. I've been active in gospel Vent ever since, performing in schools, churches, nursing homes,  jails, prisons, and so forth. Larry (Larry lack-O-Witz) and I have been together the whole time. God has richly blessed our efforts over the years as a youth worker, pastor, and correctional chaplain.

I just got done putting up our Christmas tree and Stanley wanted to sit by it!

John Cassidy