possum

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Kids’ Show: Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest- Webisodes 12 & 13: Beanie the Bat and Petey the Possum

Kids’ Show: Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest- Webisodes 12 & 13: Beanie the Bat and Petey the Possum

As part of my plan to quickly build the library of my newest web series, Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Kingdom, I am now shooting new webisodes during my lunch breaks at work.

One of my coworkers just happens to be one of my most faithful watchers, so I didn’t really have to twist his arm in order to convince him to be my camera man/assistant director on these “during our lunch break at work” video shoots.

Last Thursday, we shot two new webisodes; during one 60 minute period.

First is “Webisode 12: Beanie the Bat”, where Uncle Nick serves as a real estate agent to a bat who likes to live in trees; with a sort of “House Hunters: Animal Edition” style of plot line.

During the shoot, I sliced my hand on the tree I was climbing. I just wrote it into the script.

The other webisode we filmed is “Webisode 13: Petey the Possum.” There is no doubt this is one of the most stand-out webisodes of Uncle Nick.

Very close to where I work, there is a drain tunnel the same height as me. I decided it would make the perfect setting. I am so pleased with how it turned out.

Not only do I feel the plot line is captivating, but the tunnel itself is intriguing because it’s a rare event to get a tour down into something so mysterious.

I’ll say this; I wouldn’t be willing to walk in there alone.

So now I can make videos throughout the week, instead of having to just wait for the weekend.

I feel my Uncle Nick series has so much potential and that kids would really like it if they watched it. But for now, it remains undiscovered in the corner of YouTube.

But that doesn’t stop me from continuing to grow my collection.

Uncle Nick has plenty more up his sleeve!

Here’s an overview of what some previous webisodes are about:

Webisode 7: Paulie the Puppy– When Uncle Nick decides to hike a new trail, it leads him to an empty old building and a mysterious barking sound.

Webisode 8: Pokey the Pot-Bellied Pig– Uncle Nick must figure out a way to cross the river to save the little pot-bellied pig who is stuck on the other side.

Webisode 9: Ralph the Red Panda– While hiking later in the evening, Uncle Nick discovers a rare animal as it begins getting dark outside.

Webisode 10: Slither the Snake– Freddie the Fox gets trapped by a hungry snake at the top of a large rock. It’s Uncle Nick to the rescue!

Webisode 11: Barry the Bear– When a scary-looking bear is soon in the Enchanted Forest, Uncle Nick decides to investigate; leading to a lesson about not judging a bear by his cover.

Barry the Bear was first introduced 4 months ago in my other series, Jack-Man:

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Dear Jack: You Saved a Cricket, I Saved a Possum

4 years, 8 months. 

Dear Jack,

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Yesterday morning as I was driving you to school, you shared your thoughts with me:

“Daddy, if everybody was vegan and vegetarian, then the animals wouldn’t have to die.”

With a statement like that, an outsider might assume I brainwash you daily with those sorts of thoughts.

But that’s not how I believe in parenting you. I sincerely want you to come to your own conclusions, based on daily observations, regarding the reasons why our family doesn’t eat meat.

I don’t feed you information like this- I only explain it after you think to ask these questions on your own first.

Your epiphany was all your own crafting.

After all, you are truly an animal lover; or at least a stuffed animal lover. Between stuffed animals and Legos, you really don’t play with much else. Those are the things you spend your money on.

My response to your “animals don’t have to die” comment was this:

“Most people still believe that in order to get enough protein, they have to eat meat. But you and I are obvious proof that’s not the case. We’ve lived without meat for years. And we’re both very healthy; as our family doctor has recently confirmed. And that’s why I made that Green Meanie video about it last week.”

I carried our deep discussion with me to work. As I took my first 10 minute walk of the day during a break around 9:00 AM, in which I walked to the end of the cul-de-sac of where I work, I discovered a young possum in a cage trap.

By noon, it was still there, in the horrible summer heat. So I walked into that building and informed the lady at the front desk. She called the building manager, who freed the possum by the time I left work.

Apparently, foxes and possums have been getting into the dumpster behind that building.

But I’m no specist- I don’t care what kind of animal it is: a domesticated dog, a wild dog, or even a lowly scavenger possum…

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I don’t want to see any animal suffer. So I made sure the possum was freed.

When I came home from work, I was excited to share my “I saved a possum!” story with you.

You then shared your own story with me:

“Daddy! I saved a black cricket today. I saw it crawling on the floor in my class at school, so I picked it up and took it outside! And then after my nap, I got to feed our class pet frog two crickets!”

Yes, there is some certain irony in saving one cricket from being stepped on, yet feeding two other crickets to a frog; all in the same day.

Ultimately, you and I share a love to protecting animals.

But really, you rub off on me more than I do you, I think.

Love,

Daddy

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Different Kinds of Bad Breath: Cigarettes, Sinuses, Sour Milk, Garlic, Dorritos, McDonald’s…

There are certain things I could keep myself constantly preoccupied with if I allowed it. Like the fact that my nose is peripherally visible. Not everyone constantly sees their own nose any time that their eyes are open. But I do. It’s not a nuisance, though. Not like that weird red thing chickens have hanging off their beaks. That would be awful.

One of the major “preoccupiers” I think about is breath. The bottom line is this: Unless someone is chewing gum, chances are that if another person smelled their breath, the air that came out would be classified as “bad breath.” Naturally good breath is a rare genetic miracle. The best we can really do is mask the air we breathe out.

 

And even then, it can be a tricky situation. Sugar only makes a person’s breath worse. Peppermints and cough drops make for some of the worst bad breath once they are eaten. (I personally endorse Trident sugar-free gum with Xylitol as it actually helps fight cavities.)

Since the 3rd grade (for the past 20 years), I have been keeping a sort of mental collection of some of the variations of bad breath I have encountered. In the likeness of wine tasting, in parenthesis is the hint of the scents found in each type:

Morning Breath (dead possum and scrambled eggs)
Stale Breath (work coffee and library books)
Sinus Breath (draining mucus and goat cheese)
Snack Cake Breath (sour milk)
Garlic Breath (the garlic, the whole garlic, and nothing but the garlic)
2:00 PM Breath (muddled lunch aftertaste and the onset of Morning Breath)
Didn’t Brush Teeth Today Breath (rotting log and outdated cinnamon gum)
Smoker’s Breath (ashtray, gasoline, pesticides, and a diesel mechanic shop)
15 Year-Old Boy Breath (Dorritos and Mountain Dew)
McDonald’s Breath (ketchup, diced onions, “meat”)