Poppety Peregrinations

Poppets play games #eleventy-three

2011-01-17T14:19:00.001-08:00

The Captain is pretty sure..., originally uploaded by Geekgirl ~ Stacey.

The Captain is pretty sure this game would be a LOT more fun if you would just tear your shirt a little bit before you get started. See? Right there, on the shoulder, just rip it just a tiny bit.

That's great. See? Told you it would be better.

Invasion?

2010-03-24T21:49:00.001-07:00

Invasion?, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

"No Dude, immigration! We have our papers and everything. We're Satellite Expats from the Planet Strangeland."

Little Red Ella pondered for a moment. She had, in the past, been inexplicably human in her bias against "foreigners." Poppets, in general, are rather more curious than suspicious, but for some reason, she had been having a difficult time with succumbing to what the human referred to as "xenophobia." She believed it might have been related to being put in charge of an ever-growing and diverse population of small and active citizens.

Maybe she had taken her new job a bit too humanly and seriously. Besides, these new Oddjects were kind of cute, seemed nice too, and had such fancy colors. Maybe everything would be fine after all.

Showing the latest arrivals the ropes.

2010-03-22T22:34:00.001-07:00

Showing the latest arrivals the ropes., originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

"Tea?" asks the Jacabunny, "I really don't think it's good for us to be around this much liquid."

"Nonsense," pipes Poppet. "Tea keeps the human happy."

"And plus Tea Party is when she brings out the Photographic Equipment. We are all Stars!" says the other Poppet.

Sweet Tater the baby burble wonders how they will all be stars, since stars are so very hot. (Burbles know a lot about stars.) "I wonder what the spontaneous combustion point is for wool? I don't think I will like being a star."

The Aftermath

2010-03-21T09:11:00.001-07:00

The Aftermath, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

What are we looking at?

Our human.

What happened to her?

She went to a Par Tea.

I thought Tea was good for the human.

Not "Par Tea" - Party. She said she was going to be drinking "The Good Shit."

EWWWWW!

I think it's Euphemism.

Ohhhhh! What's that black stuff smeared on the side of her face?

It's her eye paint that she calls Maskscareya.

Mascara.

Yeah, I like my way better.

Wow, her breath really stinks.

That's why we borrowed these gasmasks from the steampunks.

Do you think she had fun? She's taking medicine and groaning a lot.

She claims to have had fun.

Hmm. Silly Humans.

Yeah. Silly Humans.

Bigger on the inside *

2010-03-14T19:24:00.001-07:00

Bigger on the inside, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

"Dude, what is your major malfunction?" **

"I agree, you really should calm down a little, maybe have a cup of tea, put your feet up, you know?" ***

*Poppets are bigger on the inside. That's why Trolls don't really scare them.

**At least, I've never seen one scared.

***Note the total absence of gasmasks.

****Although they are asking about Evil Henchmen, who might be scarier.

*****Especially if there are sharks with fricken' laser beams attached to their heads

******Or even some ill-tempered sea bass. Those could also be scary.

*******They admit to a certain curiosity regarding Warlocks too.

Note to self: Must set TV watching limits for Poppet Satellite residents.

The new arrivals

2010-03-05T18:17:00.001-08:00

Arrival I, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

One day, a small package arrived in the mail. Little Red Ella C. Poppet was on hand to investigate, since small packages often mean robot additions to the Poppet Satellite. Unfortunately Little Red Ella is still harboring wisps of xenophobia... at least when it comes to robots.

Remembering the Mini-Dalek troubles, Little Red Ella brought her two Steampunk Sheriffs for an admittance interview. (She couldn't help it that several of the other Poppet residents tagged along out of curiosity. Poppets are VERY curious.)

It did nothing to reduce her discomfort to discover that the passengers in the little paper box were fuzzy and squishy. She was suspicious that they were disguised. What is more, RattyD had become very enamoured of the new guests.

"I especially like this tiny one here. Maybe he could assist me with my tasks?" RattyD said.

"And what tasks would those be, RattyD, hmmm?" asked Little Red Ella.

"Oh... nevermind, forget I said anything," answered RattyD, with his typically unsettling grin.

"What's your designation, robot?" Little Red Ella thought she could trick this new arrival into revealing a serial number, or at least a brand name.

"My name? I think it's QDNA. But you can call me QD. And the little guy is called Grapenut. I'm not sure what you mean by 'robot.'"

"Cutie? That's a GOOD name! Like Wally!" the curious poppets whispered among themselves. New arrivals were always exciting, especially when they had such good names to share. "What's a 'grapenut?'" "shhhh, Ella's interoggerating." "Don't you mean 'interrogating?'" "Sure, whatever."

"Why did you come here? What is your purpose?"

"Well, a nice lady poked me over and over with a needle, and I arrived looking like this. Then she wrapped me in plastic and shoved me in a box."

"oooh, that doesn't sound nice. " "maybe it's like getting poured into a lego and jabbed with paintbrushes." "oh yeah, good point, that wasn't so bad."

Little Red Ella started again: "What exactly is your PLAN on the Satellite."

QD said: "Well, I thought I might start with a nice cup of tea, then a wee bit of jam."

Little Red Ella relaxed. He just might be okay if the first thing he does is ask for tea.

"And maybe a ham, or a pork chop. Eggs and sausage would be nice, do you have any corned beef? or a pot of stew?"

"Stew." piped Grapenut.

Little Red Ella looked at her Steampunk Sheriffs.

"Oh Dear."

"Oh dear"

2010-02-18T10:07:00.001-08:00

"Oh dear", originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

"She's started up again."
"Started what?"
"Bringing home strays."
"What's a stray?"
"I think it's a type of robot."
"They don't look like robots."
"Maybe they're robots in disguise"
"You mean there's more than meets the eye?"
"Precisely."

Fairy GodPoppet magicks some snow

2009-12-31T21:21:00.001-08:00

Fairy GodPoppet magics some snow, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Well, happily she just magicked a little snow. We are not fond of snow around here, Poppet.

"But a slight dusting, everyone could use a slight dusting. How about some fairy dust too?"

We're poppets and we approve this weather

2009-09-22T23:02:00.001-07:00

We're poppets and we approve this weather, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

The Most Adventurous Red Poppet and her friend Shamrock went to the Coast yesterday.

"Are we telling this story before the baking story?"

"Well there's not much story to tell."

"There were birds and it was sunshiney, and people rode giant boards on the waves. That's a story."

"Yes it is."

The Documentarian

2009-07-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

Almost everybody at the Satellite eventually finds their place. Danbo has been searching for hers. She’s not much of a “performer,” preferring to be quiet and observant, rather than flamboyant, or a leader.

One day, she happened upon a tiny camera. Intrigued, she spent some time looking through the viewfinder and wondering if she had the right stuff to be the Satellite’s filmographer.

She decided the best thing was to practice. First she had to find a willing subject, and who else would be better to ask than her BFF Spring.

Spring brought a little friend.

Danbo thinks she might have “it.”

*click*

.

Robots, robots everywhere

2009-07-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Since the arrival of the PME a couple of weeks ago, things have been quiet around the satellite. Poppets are busy with their own books and projects, as well as watching with interest the goings-on of the caretaker and her outdoor efforts.

"We're going to have new grass?"
"That's what I hear. Once the great big wooden structure is gone, there will be grass."
"And flowers?"

"Maybe there will be a nice track for the Persistence Engine."
"And flowers."

A few days ago, there was some excitement at the satellite, with the arrival of a new resident.

Little Red Ella Capitan was a little non-plussed at the new addition.

"I thought we talked about the robots."

This is a very sweet robot, Ella. He's a cleaning robot.

"He looks kind of dirty to me, but the Steampunks seem to like him."

The Steampunks were indeed interested in the new robot arrival, and might have been intimidating in their curiosity, except, well... it was a robot.

"Can you do projects?"
"How much can you lift?"
"Can you go up stairs by yourself?"
"What's in your pocket?" (This from mini-Pop, who is always looking for tiny things she can fit into.)
"What's your name?"

WALL-EEEE

"Wally? That's a GOOD name, we don't have anyone here named Wally!"
"Hi Wally! Do you want to see my engine?"
"Wally, what's in your pocket?"

Wall-E, being the kind of robot who gives robots a good name, obligingly opened his cargo pocket. Mini-Pop stood on the door and debated whether she might fit inside if she turned sideways.

The Steampunks unanimously decided that "Wally" was the most interesting and delightful thing that had happened to them in weeks. Little Red Ella was satisfied with their assessment, and carefully dismounted from her High Horse.

Welcome to the Satellite, "Wally."

Persistence Mechanical Expert

2009-07-04T11:52:00.001-07:00

The poppets have been dealing for awhile with a very frustrated and exhausted caretaker. Even though things have not really been going wrong, most things are just vaguely not right.

The Steampunks have been wearing their gasmasks around the clock, "just in case."

Things are beginning to look up, with the assistance of a very kind Doctor (the human kind,) and his two human Doctors-in-training. Poppets (and Robots,) have been acting up and getting silly, hoping the Photographic Machine will make an appearance. Poppets like to be Photographed.

The Steampunks are still a bit reserved, and had recently pointed out to the caretaker that there was still a tiny Unresolved Issue with their Persistence Engine.

Earlier in the week, a Persistence Mechanical Expert arrived to deal with the Unresolved Issue. She brought her own tools and parts.

Persistence Mechanical Expert, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

After a thorough walk around with one of the Steampunks, the Persistence Mechanical Expert suggested that the Issue could be resolved with just a touch of enamel, and that a full-scale overhaul was really completely unnecessary, and perhaps everyone should stop worrying so much, and that her fee could be paid with shrimp. And a BBQ party.

The Persistence Engineer was satisfied with the inspection.

Vacation's over, back to work guys.

2009-06-21T20:52:00.001-07:00

Road trip, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

vacation?

2009-06-11T17:25:00.000-07:00

"Are we on Vacation yet?"

Not quite, little one.

Poppets go marching two by two

2009-06-07T11:03:00.001-07:00

Poppets go marching two by two, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Hurrah! Hurr... Hey! what's all this then? I said "two by two." I'm seeing "fours" and "ones" and a couple of pile-ups. What's with the curve? We're supposed to be marching! In a line! Straight line!

I give up. You can't herd poppets.

This poppet would like to emphasize that point by pretending to be a cat. So there.

Can a Dalek Change Its Rivets, Part IV

2009-06-01T17:26:00.001-07:00

Reading is fundamental!, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

On the first day of School, the Ambassadors - Dor and Dora - determined that the best idea was to start mini-Dal out with the regular reading group. It seemed that mini-Dal had much more indoctrination than education, and reading seemed to be the best way to introduce him to new ideas.

Baby Red was enjoying a rousing reading of "Red Fish Blue Fish," her favorite story - "It's so exciting! I NEVER walked with 10 cats on my head! How would you fit 10 cats on your head? I really don't think they stack very well. Maybe if you tied them with a string..."

Little Baby Blue was reading Wind in the Willows, which was of special interest to everyone, as it had just been released in Poppetvision, and nobody else at the Satellite had read it yet. - "There's a 'Ratty' in here. He rows a boat! I wonder if our RattyD knows how to row boats? I've never been in a boat. I would not like to crash in a car though, Toad seems a bit irresponsible..."

It turned out that mini-Dal was quite a good reader, and had, in fact, read a great many books about machines, and engineering, and tactical planning. The Ambassadors decided that, given his background in science, but relatively little knowledge of social dynamics, it would be good to start him on classic fiction. He settled right in to the reading, and things were very quiet for awhile. The Ambassadors left mini-Dal and the poppets to their reading, and wandered off to do paperwork and drink tea.

Soon, though, Dora grew concerned.

"Dor, darling, do you smell something?"
"No dear, what is it?"
"It smells like smoke! I think there is a fire in the dojo!"

The ambassadors hurried in to investigate the smoke smells. Mini-Dal was standing in front of a small firebowl, where a blaze was crackling merrily, with his "classic fiction" as fuel.

"Dal, what are you doing?"
I READ OF FIREMEN. IT SOUNDS LIKE A FINE JOB. I WANT TO BE A FIREMAN SO I'M PRACTICING.
"Oh dear."

"What book did you give him?"
"Fahrenheit 451"
"That may not have been one of your better ideas, darling. Dal, dear, how much of the book did you read?"
I READ 3 PAGES. I LEARNED: 'IT WAS A PLEASURE TO BURN.'
"Hmmm, well, you see, that wasn't exactly what I wanted you to get from this book... Oh dear."
EXTERMINATE? mini-Dal whispered his comfort word to himself.

He got the impression that things had gone wrong, again. He was beginning to like these strange little creatures, and for the first time in his nuts and bolts and fissiony existence, he felt accepted instead of feared. He didn't want to disappoint the Ambassadors, and he also hoped he wasn't going to be scolded, or made to wear his mitts again. The mitts itched.

"Dal, dear, the Ambassador and I would like to apologize for starting you off on a complicated classic. I'm sorry the book is burnt, but we don't burn books. We read them."
"Sometimes we argue about them in book club, but we don't burn them."
BOOK CLUB?
"Nevermind dear. We can worry about book club later. Right now, lets get you something else to read. Here we are: Grimm's Fairy Tales!"
"Dora, I don't know if that's such a good choice for unsupervised readings, either."
"Oh Dor, silly goose, what harm can it do? It's a classic!"

A discovery

2009-05-30T16:16:00.001-07:00

A discovery, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Yesterday, Little Red Ella and Patina P. Poppet took a walk down to the creek. Along the way, they spied something in the dirt.

"What is it?"

"I think it's a treasure chest."

"A Treasure Chest? How fantastic! I'm going to open it!"

"Wait! You can't open it, maybe it contains a curse!"

"Pah, I'm not afraid of any old curse."

"Well, maybe there are bones in it."

"Bones? Goody, I can make a windchime out of them and hang them in the garden."

"Yucko. Also, intriguing. But maybe there are SPIDERS in there."

"Spiders?"

Patina P. backed up a few inches.

"I'm NOT fond of spiders, especially hairy spiders with eight eyes and loooong fuzzy legs..."

"I KNEW it! You HAVE been spending too much time with Pollyanna Poppet."

"Nothing wrong with that, she's nice."

"I rest my case. Now, what are we going to do with this Treasure Chest?"

"I say, let's OPEN IT! Maybe it will be jewels, and gold, and dollars!"

"What would you do with dollars?"

"Why, I'd buy Poppetropolis, they have a Merry Go Round now."

"I do NOT think Poppetropolis is for sale."

"Well, then I'd visit, and have coffee in the rooftop Cafe. I'll bet that's fun."

"Hmmm... yes, that could be fun. Okay, let's open it."

After a bit of struggling, Patina P. and Little Red Ella managed to unlatch the Treasure Chest. It did NOT contain what they expected.

"Well, I guess it's KIND of like bones..."

"Yucko. Why do people do things like this? Poppels are NOT that foolish."

"Yuh-huh, sometimes we are. But I agree that old teeth don't seem much like Treasure. At least there should have been some Peppermints in there."

"Yeah, or Junior Mints!"

"What are those?"

"I dunno, our human likes them."

"Silly human."

"Yeah. Silly human."

Swimming?

2009-05-09T15:45:00.001-07:00

Swimming?, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Patina Poppet: "I don't understand the point of this. Back home on Poppet Planet, swimming was done in a LARGE puddle of COOL water."

Birthday Poppet: "I know, what is the point of a little puddle like this? And hot water?"

Little Purps: "It's too steamy in here. I can't see."

Little Orange: "Oh, I want to try this 'swimming.' How is it done?"

Poppet Day Poppet: "I know, you just jump in from a thing called a 'diving board.' Or else somebody can throw you."

Poppet Lavender: "I'LL throw you!"

Patina Poppet: "How do you know all of this?"

Poppet Day Poppet: "I've been swimming before."

Little Blue: "You have not! You got your topcoat then got stuffed in a mailer, just like us!"

Poppet Day Poppet: "Okay, fine. One of the House Reds told me before I went on transport."

Patina Poppet: "hmmmph. Hearsay. Well I don't think there's room in this little puddle anyways. She's hogging up the whole thing with her giant feet and her giant..."

Birthday Poppet: "BE NICE!"

Patina Poppet: "Okay. Sorry."

If I could change the world

2009-05-06T13:03:00.001-07:00

If I could change the world, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

with a little help from my friends.

words matter

2009-05-05T23:13:00.001-07:00

words matter, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

toxic word association. My day hurts. Poppets help, they are bigger inside than out.

hate gasmask apocalypse toxic prejudice fear tears cry break worthless nothing devalue unreal unworthy cruel wrong disordered problem dangerous silence

hope peace acceptance support equality freedom openness optimum healthy human
love

Silly humans.

.

Clean up this mess!

2009-04-26T10:59:00.001-07:00

clean up this mess!, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Sorry to report there are no Satellite Stories this weekend. As you can see, we are experiencing "technical" difficulties.

Can a Dalek change its Rivets? Part III

2009-04-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

Little Red Ella escorted mini-Dal to meet the Ambassadors, Dor and Dora. Their pet Dragon was in the tearoom, and mini-Dal felt a bit nervous. He had heard that Dragons are sometimes capable of breathing fire and belching smoke. Being newly outfitted with mitts on his rayball and laser beam, he felt that in a fire-fight he might be slightly disadvantaged.

He noticed, however, that Little Red Ella did not seem at all concerned, and that the Pet Dragon, who the Ambassadors referred to as Pee Shoe, was not even on a leash.

Mini-Dal didn't think that Pee Shoe was a very encouraging name, especially for a house-pet that was so very large. He was also glad that he didn't wear shoes.

DO YOU WEAR SHOES? he inquired.

"Why do you ask?"

PEEING ON SHOES IS INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR.

The Ambassadors giggled, which wasn't very ambassadorial, but certainly understandable.

"Dal, dear, Pi Xiu is his native name. He is imported."

IMPORTANT?

"Well, yes, that too."

WILL HE ROAST ME?

"Oh no, he's harmless!"

"MOSTLY harmless."

"Yes, MOSTLY."

EXTERMINATE? mini-Dal whispered to himself. He was beginning to lose the urge to exterminate, but he still found the word comforting when he was nervous.

"Now," said Dora, or was it Dor? Mini-Dal hadn't yet figured out who was whom. They did look so very much alike, it was one more confusing thing about this place. They did seem pleasant though, and not at all threatening. He looked askance at Pee..., he corrected himself, Pi Xiu, who seemed content to stay where he was, smiling at them with all of his sharp, sharp teeth.

"Now, I believe the first thing we must do is to call in Azi and Crow. Dal is going to need a little help with his conscience, and I'm afraid we're fresh out of crickets."

CRICKETS?

"Nevermind. One moment, they communicate on an open channel..."

Far away, where they had just finished up lunch at the Ritz, in Another Place, Crow stood still for a moment, receiving the latest transmission...

"Well, Azi, you had better put down your book, here's one that dear old Agnes Nutter never mentioned. It seems we're on conscience duty."

The Not So Demonic Crow, who smelled of old leather, cigars and fine, fine whiskey, had a car with a telephone in it. At one time, this was an astonishing fact, now it was a relic. But Crow was attached to it, in an unusual display of sentimentality he never knew he possessed.

"Yes, old chap," Azi pretended to be English, and had a reputation for wearing light loafers, (although he never understood the idiom.) Neither was rumor was true. He was an Angel. "I received the same transmission. I believe the Ambassadors are having trouble with the language again. They mentioned something about a Robot."

"Robot... that can't be right..."

Azi and Crow arrived on Poppet Satellite some few minutes later in Crow's vintage Bentley, (he was sentimental about the car too, naturally.) Crow was not very good at obeying traffic laws, and had been known to bend rules in the space-time continuum when he was in a hurry.

They entered the Charm School meeting room together and were astonished to find that there was indeed a very tiny, very shiny robot waiting. The robot was wearing mitts, and standing meekly before the Ambassadors. That is, if robots are capable of being "meek."

Dora addressed mini-Dal, "Mr. Azi and Mr. Crow are here to help you. They will be accompanying you in public until you have completed your first few lessons here. I trust you will get to know them, and I trust they will stay out of trouble themselves while here on the Satellite." She directed this last bit toward Azi and Crow, with a Very Stern Expression. Dor was doing his best to look Equally Imperious.

EXTERMINATE. I MEAN, VERY PLEASED TO MEET YOU. Said mini-Dal, who was feeling a bit nervous again.

"So," began Crow, "I suppose we are here to instruct you in the ways of good and evil..."

Azi looked uncomfortably at Crow.

"Well," amended Crow, "more like: Not So Bad, but Not Horribly Good Either."

Dor and Dora simultaneously cleared their throats. Crow and Azi looked at the floor. Mini-Dal waved his rayball, which didn't do any good, being covered with a mitt. Instead he said very quietly: SUBMIT... PLEASE, which made him feel a little better, and seemed to be fairly polite at the same time.

The Ambassadors exchanged a worried glance. Crow, Azi and mini-Dal left for the Town Square, where they were sure to find some Socializing to practice.

Dor peered anxiously after them. "Maybe we should have looked more diligently for a spare cricket," said Dor.

"It's too late now," replied Dora, with more than a little trepidation.

Go to Part IV

Rattus Norvegicus

2009-04-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say how much I love these little guys! (well, the "ratbag" version.) Now, I'm not much of a rat person... at least I wasn't.

When I was a teenager, my "boyfriend" (not much of a boyfriend, but kinda - loooong story explained partially in the first half of this post,) had a rat he named Babe. Babe was a darling little brown rat, with cunning little whiskers. She liked to ride on shoulders and she'd snuggle down in your hair or collar.

Babe was very well cared-for, and soon grew to her full size at about 10" long (not including the tail,) and probably a full pound. At that point, she was Not So Cute. His siblings and I referred to her as "Babe the Sewer Rat." Since that time, I've been pretty much "not about the rats, thank you."

Then I read Terry Pratchett's "Reaper Man," and met the Grim Squeaker, who is the Death of Rats. One day, shortly thereafter, I read a blog of Neil Gaiman's that pointed me to Lisa's blog and store. She had a Chester Jester in the store, and another rat, which I thought were kind of cute, but weren't really my cuppa. In poking around on her blog and Poppet Planet, I finally landed on the Ratbag page, where I saw...

PLEASED TO MEET YOU, he said, because of course, he's much smaller than Mort or DEATH HIMSELF. And I thought, "that's exactly what my home is missing, there's no Grim Squeaker living here. How could we have overlooked that tiny detail, when we have two pouncy cats in residence?"

I wrote Lisa, and Grimmy became my first ratty little ratbag rat.

Naturally, like Poppets, that opened the floodgates, or rather, it breached a tiny hole in the beaver dam.

HA HA. GOOD ONE. BEAVERS, RATS, WE GET IT. VERY FUNNY.

Sorry.

As I was saying... more rats. I love these guys! I'm certain there will be stories, and oh yes, there will be rats. Lots of rats.

Naturally, (or perhaps I should say "raturally,") Easter Bun-, er... Ratty, wants to say hello on this fine, rainy and windy Easter afternoon. She hopes you have all the hollow chocolate bunnies you need for some lovely, and deeply satisfying ear biting. What is it her fluffy cousins say? Oh yes...

OM NOM NOM NOM.

(This is cross-posted to the Poppet Planet Forums.)

Can a Dalek change its Rivets? Part II

2009-04-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

RattyD and mini-Dal paid a visit to the Poppet Satellite Brainy Council to ask Drs. Byrd and Brown, and councilors Spike Migraine and Sunrise to approve mini-Dal's application for residency.

Councilor Sunrise was a little concerned about mini-Dal's rayball.

"See? I told you that was a word!"
"shhhh! Don't interrupt the story!"

While RattyD offered assurances of mini-Dal's "niceness" and described several of the ways the lasers and plunger arm could be very useful to the Satellite community, the Robot Investigative Team quietly approached from behind, with information relevant to the inquiry.

"Oh dear," RattyD's smile dimmed a few watts, "mini-Dal, what is all of this?"
"exterminate"
"No, no, NO! We talked about all of that. These are not foes, these are friends!"
"The Dalek do not understand 'friend.' You must submit to the power of the Dalek!"
"Oh, good grief. Shush now."

Poppet Ambiguity stepped down from the Investigative Robot.

"I have reason to believe that this bird might have been deliberately wheeled over! Of, course, it might not have been..."

"It can't BE!" RattyD started, "Why, that's not civilized!"

Councilor Sunrise questioned mini-Dal, "what are we going to do with you?"

RattyD whispered to mini-Dal, "How could you do this to me, Dal-baby?! My reputation as Bad, Bad Rat, (but Not TOO Bad Rat,) is seriously hanging in the balance here!"
"Obey the Dalek!"
"Would you just quit all of that? There are no Time Lords here. We've been over and over this."
"SUBMIT!"
"sigh"

Meanwhile, the two Doctors and Councilors set about devising solutions to the recent incidents. Dr. R. Brown, with the competent assistance of Spike Migraine, had remarkable success with some brilliant restorative procedures. After straightening and folding, bird was nearly as good as freshly folded, with only the faintest of creases to show where the wheel tracks had been.

Dr. Byrd, being more the Creative sort of Doctor than the Healing sort, felt a "tough love" approach was needed. Nobody wanted to exile mini-Dal, the general consensus being that he could be rehabilitated, and taught some manners too, and his laser, plunger and rayball might indeed come in handy.

"We don't tolerate trash behavior around here Mr. mini. For the present time, you will be on probation, RattyD will supervise you, and you must visit the Embarrassed Ambassadors for a full course on manners and social etiquette.

In addition, we will ask you to keep your 'tools' wrapped up until you finish your classes. Little Red Ella Capitan, the head of our security around here, may pay you a surprise visit to see that your shields are in place."

"We hope these conditions are satisfactory. Let me be the first to welcome you to Poppet Satellite."

"See? I TOLD you he'd look ADORABLE in bows!"
"I wonder if that rayball could sear some tuna for our picnic tomorrow?"

Go to Part III

There's a Disturbance in the Continuum

2009-04-01T09:07:00.001-07:00

Little Red's Posse, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Little Red Ella and her Posse have just been informed that Others will be arriving soon from the Poppet Planet. There was some instinctive grouping into defense formations, but now that they know that "Others" doesn't mean "robots" this time, they've relaxed.

"Are you SURE it's not a bunch of new robots?"
   "Yes, they are soooo hard to train, what with the laser beams and disrupter rayballs."
"Rayballs? that's not a word."
   "IS SO, mini-Dal has a rayball."
"You just made that up."
   "Did not."

The caretaker of this particular Poppet Satellite just got the invoice and bill of lading from Poppet Planet, and is feeling slightly 'hungover' from the effort of arranging the expedition.

The caretaker would also like to apologize to readers whom she should have informed of the emigration efforts that were underway, but she's pretty sure all the readers saw the announcement over at Poppetropolis.

Little Red Ella's Posse is currently concerned that there is unfinished business with mini-Dal and the injured bird. They plan to wrap that business up before the new residents arrive. Little Red Ella is also looking at a possible re-org, with a small contingency of her crew taking up residency at the business operations office of the caretaker. Just to keep an eye on her, you know. Ella suspects that's how the robots are getting in.

geeks need to stick together

2009-03-30T18:00:00.001-07:00

geeks need to stick together, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

(A message from the caretaker of this particular Poppet Satellite regarding brains.)

All of my life, I've been a bit of a geeky, nerdy, dorky, brainiac. At least, I've been called each of those things too often to count. And yet, it never seemed like such a bad thing to me. I love my brain, not that it never gives me any trouble, but it's my "happy place" to know that I can reason things out. Cognitive skillzzzz, I haz dem.

Yeah, sure, I'd love to be the athletic type, I'm always a tiny bit jealous of friends and clients who play sports, go on backpacking trips, the runners and the dragonboat racers, but I wouldn't trade being brainy for anything.

Naturally, there's some family history and various psychological reasons for embracing my smarts, but that's a story for another day, and a few margaritas.

It's not all sunshine and lollypops with the ol' brain though. Sometimes it takes a time-out to beat me up. I've suffered my entire life with migraines.

A few months ago, when I first noticed Lisa Snellings' brain art, I was tickled at the whimsy of the brain as an entity. I mean, who views it that way? Maybe a lot of people, but it was truly the first time I had seen art that expressed my relationship with my own brain.

When I saw the Spike Brain, my first thought was: "How could someone create such a perfect representation of a migraine?"

And yet, there it is. The dark and drab colors, the red shades, the spikes, oh the spikes. Spike came to live here, and earned the addition to his name: Spike Migraine.

Not long after, I met Dr. Byrd Brain. I love this brain because of my other physical limitation. (I have so few actual physical limitations, thankfully.)

When I was a kid, I needed glasses. My Dad was always pointing out wildlife that I couldn't see. But I could see the silhouettes of birds shadowed against the sky, and learned to ID many of them by the shape and flight characteristics.

This lovely little brain, with his Sunrise caretaker and friend, both of them are adorned with the silhouettes of birds. Poppet has her glasses, and now she can see raccoons in the underbrush, butterflies on flowers, and deer at forest edge, but she still loves looking up at the darkened figures of birds flying high overhead.

I know just how she feels.

mouths

2009-03-28T19:21:00.001-07:00

mouths, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

"Is that your mouth?"
"No, it's my nose."
"Where's your mouth?"
"Where's YOUR mouth?"
"I'm pursing my lips at the moment."

Poppet thinks this could be useful

2009-03-22T10:43:00.001-07:00

Poppet thinks this could be useful, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Friendly robots have great value as scouting vehicles, plus they are not too shabby at long division. Poppet and RoboRob set off on mini-Dal's background check...

Can a Dalek change its Rivets?

2009-03-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

Ratty the Debil believes it's likely that the only thing wrong with mini-Dal's temper is that he desperately needs a good cuppa. Because RattyD doesn't do anything by halves, he offered a very large bowl of perfectly whisked superior Japanese green tea.

"Matcha is always good for what ails you.

What's that? Oh, no, you won't rust..."

After the tea, RattyD deems it safe to approach mini-Dal for a bit of parlay.

"We're really rather nice, well, a few of us are really rather not nice, but in a very satisfactory and pleasant way. You'll fit right in!"

Mini-Dal accepts the offer of friendship and puts a disrupter ray arm around RattyD's shoulder.

"Would you mind terribly chap, to be pointing your raygun eyeball in another direction not quite so close to my devilishly cute horn? There's a good lad..."

RattyD speaks with the advanced guard of the poppet posse. Some are apprehensive enough to feel more comfortable with armor.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say this might be a very bad idea"

"Trouble is what this is"

"*did I just hear him say 'exterminate'*?"

"oh, that is NOT NICE, and not in the nice poppety 'not nice', but seriously NOT NICE!"

"Come now, mini-Dal just needs to learn our ways! It's a social faux paux!"

"I think mini-Dal is ADORABLE! think of how he'll look in a nice bow tie!"

"OH hells bells, for fookssake, YOU'D think an apocalypse was a welcome day off for a little R&R!"

"Well it might be..."

"gaarrrrr!!! Now pay attention! We're going to need a little bit more than RattyD's word... "

"That's true."

Mini-Dal demonstrates his ability to fit in with polite society by showing off his skills with animals. Mollified, the poppets decide to introduce mini-Dal to the rest of the poppet posse.

Can mini-Dal change its rivets and overcome basic Dal nature? Is the power of the Dalek now to be used for good? Is this all a big mistake? Dun dun DAAAAAAAA...

Go to Part II

Games Poppets Play

2009-03-12T18:45:00.001-07:00

Games Poppets Play, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

"Does anyone see the 'k'? I have a 'c' an 'f' and a..."
   "YOU can't spell that in Scrabble!"
"yes I can, it's a word!"
   "it's NOT a scrabble word!"
"it's in the dictionary, so it's fair."
   "I have TWO 'k's. I'll trade you"
   "No, no NO! We're not putting that on this nice board!"
"Why? do you think they don't say that at Poppet Planet?"
   "..."
"That's what I thought."

Whoever stole that hour is going to regret it

2009-03-09T10:34:00.001-07:00

Whoever stole that hour is going to regret it, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

"I think it's quite nice to have an extra hour in the morning."
   "What are you talking about?"
   "yeah, it's 'spring forward."
   "I need some tea."
   "you always need tea."
   "well yes, but especially for daylight saving, what are we saving anyways?
   "sleep?"
"It's such a nice day, it's even snowing!"
   "hrmph, shows what you know."
   "it IS snowing, I saw it!"
   "great. lose an hour of sleep, and snow. I don't think the Persistence Engine works in the snow."
"I LOVE snow!"
   "you love everything. damn pollyanna."
"Do not, don't love spiders, well, except for the cute little green garden spiders, and the BIG hairy colory ones, and those little jumpy stripey ones, and the..."
   "ENOUGH with the SPIDERS! geez. poppets are trying to sleep."
"But you had an extra hour already!"
   "Didn't we already cover this? 'spring forward...' and all that..."
   "Yeah, we lost an hour! Now go back to sleep."
"But I'm awake now, and it's snowing, and also sunshiney."
   "I NEED TEA!!!"
"You're very grumpy.
Just saying."

Poppet Explorer Handbook pg. 43

2009-03-04T14:25:00.001-08:00

Poppet Explorer Handbook pg. 43, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

"When meeting new life forms in strange places, be sure to wear your gas mask."

Poppet Explorer Handbook pg. 44:
"If aliens choose to make contact, hold very very still."

Poppet thinks that every entity is entitled to a proper handbook, and wonders why humans are thrust into the world without even a quick start guide. Poppet thinks humans are very silly. This large furry black beast, though, has some promising potential for snuggles and ferocity, which is just the right combination of sweet and creepy to satisfy even the most demanding of poppet sensibilities.

Poppet hopes to share more of the Poppet Explorer Handbook in the future. Perhaps it will help silly humans.

Once upon a time

2009-03-01T17:29:00.001-08:00

moonlight kite, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who met a boy. Though they were only children, the girl fell in love with the boy. The boy was her friend, and she treasured the friendship. He could make her laugh, he made her think, he made her feel pretty and smart, too. Alas, the boy loved others, and didn't know the girl longed for him to look at her with the eyes that fell on the other girls.

Years passed, and the boy and the girl grew closer. One day the girl found the courage to tell the boy how she felt. The boy revealed that he had feelings beyond friendship towards her also. The girl felt like she was suddenly living in a fairytale and her prince had finally arrived. Little did she know that her fairytale love affair contained a poisoned apple.

The boy had been hurt before, and the girl was young and naive. She believed that love and friendship were enough to chase away the poisoned apple of past hurts. The girl never dreamed that the apple would poison the lovers, much less the friends.

It was a slow poison, but as it did its dastardly work, the love turned bitter and angry and hot. Harsh words were spoken, retracted and spoken again. Distance became an excuse, and the excuse was a crushing blow to their love, until one day, finally, the poison became words that neither could forget.

In its death throes, the poisoned apple reached out its tainted fruit to gather one final victim... the friendship.

Years passed, so many years that the girl and the boy have been apart for longer even than they knew one another. The love that seemed like a fairytale is now just a tiny little detour on the road of acquaintance. The girl and the boy never saw one another again, but sometimes, the girl still feels the loss of her friend.

And on rare nights,
when she dreams,
she meets him,
and things are as they were,
before the love,
before the poisoned apple,
when they were simply friends.

Alas, Babylon

2009-02-22T21:39:00.001-08:00

Alas, Babylon, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Some days you just feel like you need to be prepared. Even when things are going smoothly, there's a little voice in your head that says things could happen, things aren't right. It's not rational, it's not reasonable, it just is. That's okay.

Perhaps it's easier to appreciate a generally positive nature when you have occasional glimpses of moments of doom and gloom. Maybe it's easier to appreciate the sunshine and flowers when you irregularly feel the compulsion to don your gas mask.

"What the flimflam is this???"

2009-02-07T21:10:00.001-08:00

"What the flimflam is this???", originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

"and where are her FEET?"
"what an odd hair style... do you think it would suit me?"
"...do you think she likes pie?"

You'd think they'd be used to odd things like this showing up around here. Instead they remind me of cats, every new object or occurrence is to be investigated with all seriousness. Well, mostly seriousness. One of the poppets is now eyeing scissors and mumbling something about a "lovely fringe..."

Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare

2009-01-28T19:35:00.001-08:00

Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground Control to Major Tom
Commencing countdown, engines on
Check ignition and may God’s love be with you

Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Lift-off

This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You’ve really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare

This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I’m stepping through the door
And I’m floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do

Though I’m past one hundred thousand miles
I’m feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much (she knows!)

Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear....

am I floating round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do.?

(Ground Control)

(Rocket Man)

seven little poplings

2009-01-24T16:38:00.001-08:00

seven little poplings, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

seven little poplings that I once knew
red ones, pink ones, green ones too

but the one little poppet with the bunny in its fist
it led the others with a swish swish swish

down to the river they would go
float and glide, float and glide, to and fro

but the one little poppet with the bunny in its fist
it led the others with a swish swish swish

back from the river they would come
float and glide, float and glide, ho hum hum

but the one little poppet with the bunny in its fist
it led the others with a swish swish swish

swish swish swish swish swish swish swish
it led the others with a swish swish swish

Poppet pretends

2009-01-23T10:44:00.001-08:00

Poppet pretends, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Coraline is coming! Two weeks!
Find out about Coraline.

Poppet checks out the newbie

2009-01-22T22:40:00.001-08:00

Poppet checks out the newbie, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Poppet wonders what type of strange creature this is. It doesn't seem to notice or mind Poppet's observations.

Fish moved in a short time ago, and spent time hiding behind a log until it was safe to explore. Fish has two little tankmates, and Poppet considers whether they have an interesting life in their little box of water. She suspects that, due to their excessively short memory, they might be easy to entertain, which brings up interesting possibilities.

Mistaken Identity

2009-01-22T20:42:00.000-08:00

Mistaken Identity, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Ginger B. Poppet arrived here by mistake. She seems to have been destined for some other project, but what that was, nobody seemed to know. In preparation for project "whatever it was" she has two holes drilled in each side of her body. Since she had just traveled so far, it was decided by all that she might as well stay. She observed that she already was acquainted with some of the other residents, so she was satisfied.

We examined those holes together, and I suggested that she could be fitted for flash attachments, like my Kodak Brownie Starlet.

I don't believe she found that amusing, but it's hard to tell with Poppets.

Later, she suggested she might like some wings, or a tiara. I wondered how a tiara would have anything to do with fitting in her sides, since typically tiaras belong on the head. Poppets, of course, *sniff* at "typical."

"A tiara please. Make it very large. And twinkly."

After telling her that I probably couldn't do twinkly, we decided that shiny would be an acceptable compromise.

We came up with this design, and I apologized for my general lack of artistry, but she seemed to think it was sufficiently "fancy."

"Much specialer than any old musty flash attachments, don't you agree?"

Yes, Poppet.

Poppets take a snow walk

2009-01-22T20:41:00.001-08:00

Poppets take a snow walk, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

2009-01-22T20:37:00.001-08:00

Snowy Poppet thinks the matcha resembles Mt Fuji, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Snowy Poppet thinks the matcha resembles Mt Fuji.

Lady Latte Poppet wants to know when REAL drinks will be forthcoming.

Latte: "hrmph. tea again."

Snowy: "I like tea."

Latte: "I may be persuaded to a taste."

Snowy: "Tradition is wonderful."

Latte: "I prefer modernization. Beans are the future!"

Snowy: *sigh* "Kids these days..."

The Lost Weekend

2009-01-22T20:36:00.001-08:00

The Lost Weekend, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

I got a virus on my computer Friday night. It was a bad one.

The poppets were, of course, very helpful, and very curious. The Daleks were hopeful there would be some exterminating.

some days require more than chocolate

2009-01-22T20:35:00.001-08:00

some days require more than chocolate, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

warmth

2009-01-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

warmth, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

We are car shopping this weekend to replace the one that got crunched. The weather is fantastic here, and it seems like a travesty to be spending it on car lots. Poppet likes the machines, and thinks we should choose this one.

showdown

2009-01-21T20:49:00.000-08:00

showdown, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

Poppet questions the need for such extreme tactics.

Poppets are sweet and a little spooky

2008-11-20T23:48:00.001-08:00

Poppets are sweet and a little spooky, originally uploaded by geekgirlunveiled.

I have poppets, and poppets like to travel. They have insisted that they do not wish to be mixed in with posts about cars or cats or canaries. They like black backgrounds.

They are understanding when human lack imagination and begin muttering about anthropomorphizing. They would like everyone to know that they know bigger words than anthropomorphizing, but aren't sharing. They would also like everyone to know that sometimes smaller words are better. In fact, most things are better when they are smaller. (This human might disagree with that, but I'm not telling.)

Poppets do like to travel, oh yes they do. This poppet is the original, Little Red Poppet. Around here she is also known as Ella Capitan. She is the most well-traveled of the poppet crew that lives with me, and she intends it to stay that way, although she's always happy to have company her size.

We'll see what adventures she can get up to. She also wants you to know that she especially likes gin, and one more thing - she has a kitty fuzz tickling her, so I must go now and take care of it.

Good night.