Ken, Barbie's Hero



the Blue Knight

Ken is a bit of a cipher;  strong, silent, impeccably dressed but an afterthought.

Still,  I thought  a series of archetypical heroes would be a suitable theme for his appearances in this blog.

The Blue Knight is  Ken the Warrior in all his guises.  He's  dressed as a  Knight in Shining Armour, but he could just as easily be a soldier, a airforce pilot, or a sailor.  He stands for the young men who, throughout history, have left their homes and families to join the military and wear a uniform.

I have made this outfit three times now.  The Black Knight was for my brother, the Red Knight was for my son, and the Blue Knight was for Ken.  My daughters accuse me of humiliating their male friends by making them try on the Red Knight costume.

I don't think it was humiliating.  I think it was illuminating. 

Barbie Piaf

Barbie Piaf

Why do we wear clothing?  Protection.  Modesty.  Disguise.  Allure.  And everything we wear falls within those parameters in varying degrees.

Firefighters' clothing?  Emphasis:  protection.

Burqa?  The focus is on modesty.  (I know, that is a very extreme example.)

Girdle? Someone wants to disguise a perceived figure flaw (another extreme example).

And for allure?  Aah, that's a multimillion dollar industry. 

Firefly Ken

I'm sure you all know the sad story of Firefly, Josh Whedon's excellent space western series.   Former Fox Entertainment president Gail Berman cancelled the show prematurely and is still trying to defend her decision.  I think the lady doth protest too much.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds was a heroic figure with a strong if slightly skewed set of morals.  His brother, Ken Reynolds, fought with the Independent Army too.  After the Unification War, Ken bought a ranch on Persephone where he and the missus, Yolanda Saffron Bridget Barbie, raise longhorn steer.

Ken Reynolds

Malcolm Reynolds

Barbie Peaslip

Barbie Peaslip

This outfit was fun to make.  I used  a leaf as a pattern and cut out lots of gauzy pieces from a scarf and then I painted them with glitter glue.  Barbie Peaslip's hair was inspired by Botticelli's Birth of Venus.  The shoes were found in a mishmash of My Little Pony accessories.  Sometimes Barbie hangs out with them.

The stage has many traditions and superstitions.  Never say "good luck" to an actor.  Never say the name of the play Macbeth, say 'the Scottish play'.  Never practice taking your bows until the final dress rehearsal.  Do not whistle, use real money, carry peacock feathers or a real bible on stage and always leave a light on in an empty theater.

I love live theater.  The second live play I ever saw was A Midsummer's Night Dream at Neptune Theater in Halifax.  To start, everyone was dressed in drab and brown shades.  The perimeter of the stage looked like an Elizabethan village street of unpainted cottages.  But then, scene change, all the actors threw jerkins on over their earth-toned costumes.  At the same time flower-shaped pillows were tossed across the floor, the actors all made a whispery swish sound and the black lights were turned on. We were in fairyland.


Some of the minor cast members for A Midsummer's Night Dream are Peaseblossom, Cowslip, Moth, Mustardseed, first fairy and second fairy.  I'll let you in on a superstition sacred to  Shakespearean actors.  First Fairy is always played by Barbie Peaslip.  I know, cool, right!  She is never listed on the credits. So, ta-da! You are now a member of the cognoscenti and you know the secret tradition too.

Time to Get Married Again, Barbie

Sparkly Wedding Barbie

I did not have a pattern for this dress, just some pretty fabric and a handful of beads. 

Barbie really does love getting married.  She's lucky Ken is so amenable.  Most men would balk at having to wear a tuxedo and repeat the same old vows every month or so.  Most of the men I know would balk if asked to repeat their vows at their 50th wedding anniversary.  I wasn't happy saying them the first time.  "I promise to obey".   There's a foundation for  a partnership!  And anyway, I had my fingers crossed.

Little Black Dress Barbie

Little Black Dress Barbie

TGIF!  A thousand blessings should be heaped on the head of the genius who decreed that school should start on the day after Labour Day.  It means the first week of school is only four days long and let's face it, that's long enough.

Barbie is going out in a little black dress.  She's earned a night on the town.

Back to School Barbie Day 3

Back to School Barbie Day 3

Things are settling down at school.  All the students know the schedule for coffee break and lunch.  They have established their territory at the tables in the classroom and in the lunchroom.  They have figured out the bus routes and bought a bus pass for the month.

They are making new friends.  The people in my class represent many different countries and speak many different languages.  In the lunch room,  they tend to gravitate to people who share their first language but in the classroom, proximity shapes and limits their choice of friends.  Sometimes the friendships extend into their personal lives and that makes me very happy.

I'm not sure why Barbie wore gray clothes again on day 2.  The clothes were very simple and completely unadorned save the necklace and the ribbon in her ponytail. She seemed to be trying to fade into the mist.  That's a funny attitude for someone who is the center of attention for a classroom full of people all day.

Back to School Barbie Day 2

Back to School Barbie Day 2

Well, honestly, what was Barbie thinking!  Her first day outfit made her look like she was the kindergarten student instead of the teacher.  Rickrack, a ruffle, too babyish!  But it was a blistering hot day and many schools are not air-conditioned.  Still, that empire waist and full skirt will have all the parents speculating that Barbie is pregnant.  And white sneakers are for gym class.  Really, Barbie! 

Unlike the school system for kids where attendance is mandatory, my adult students choose to attend school and they can choose to go a different school.  Usually, there are as many people on the waiting list for my class as there are on the register.  But the fact remains, my students vote with their feet.  If they don't like me, they leave.

This makes Day 2 much more frightening than Day 1 for me.  The question is not how many come the first day.  The question is how many come back the second day.

Back-to-School Barbie

Back to School Barbie

I have never understood the excitement over New Year's Eve.  When you wake up on January first, nothing has changed except, temporarily, your health.  And if you didn't imbibe the night before, not even that!  It is much ado about nothing.  Now, the first day of school, that is significant.

I love back to school time.  The air is changing to cool and clear.  No more hot, sticky, icky, muggy summer weather.  The geese are gathering in the river in my back yard and they honk loudly at dusk and dawn.  The trees show the first signs of colour change and a good breeze litters the lawn with fallen leaves.  The apples at the store are so crisp, they snap when you bite into them and they are tangy and juicy.  There is no apple better than a Cortland straight off the tree in the fall.

The day after Labour Day, most students head to the classroom. Tiny kindergarten children are filled with excitement and fear on their first day of school ever. "Just 16 years until graduation, sweetie."  First-year university students are at least as excited and fearful as many of them move into residence in new cities.  Continuing education classes begin.  Would you like to learn how to knit, build a coffee table, speak German, line dance?  Anything is possible in September.  

I confess, I am a very lazy student.  I didn't finish high school, I squeaked through university.  Even now I suspect they only gave me a degree to get rid of me.  I tortured my piano teachers by coming to my lesson carrying music books that hadn't left their bag even once all week.

Further confession, I am a teacher.   I have a class of 20 adult learners.  They are new Canadians and I  teach them how to speak English and how to survive in Canada. I also supervise student teachers from Carleton University, Algonquin College and (twice) distance-learning students from the University of Regina.  I am a preceptor for the University of Ottawa 4th-year nursing students who are working on a credit in Public Health.  The irony does not escape me.

Barbie is going back to school too.  She agonized about what to wear.  First impressions are so important.  Clothes convey so much about us.

I am looking forward to the start of school.   I learn as much from my students as they do from me.  I love coffee break and lunch with my colleagues.  I am very grateful to the wonderful volunteers who join my class on Tuesday morning for conversation.  Most of all, I look forward to pay day.