Thursday, October 9, 2008

freedom's home for imaginary friends

Raising a three year old is like unveiling a JR Tolkien soul on a teaspoon of butter.

Lately, we have been becoming master storytellers to put our son Freedom to sleep or to keep his relatively short attention going. Being so totally engrossed with the series Thomas the Tank Engine, we are also trying to give him a variety of toys to play by as not to stagnate his imagination... and this is the best we can come up with. It's not much but hey, we're trying to be creative parents here!

So ladies and gentlemen, we bring you our collection of bears and stuffed creatures... amassed through the years and brought to life by our futile efforts to entertain the dragon emperor of the house!


Panda Bear is a scholar on Chinese literature and communist idealisms propagated by the late Mao Tse Tung. Brought from China by my wife's former boss Donald, Panda Bear is the serious one among the brood. Here he is trying to compare the Chinese version of Mao's revolutionary little red book into the newly released English version sold for dime-a-dozen in front of Tiananmen Square...


Bear Lao (no pun intended for Beer Lao) is a gift from Freedom's cool designer ninong - Don. Like his donor, Bear Lao is a cam whore (a trait he also got from mommy Kawadjan) and is an avid subscriber of Vogue - Paris. He also loves designing (a true fashion vulture) and is supposed to show his latest collections in Bryant Park for the New York Fashion Week!


Kroma Bear is a true blooded Cambodian bear from the kingdom's most luxurious residence - the Amansara. His other brothers and sisters were adopted by a doting couple named Brad and Angelina and were given to their three children - Maddox, Zahara and Shiloh. They now live in hollywood but they still write to Kroma Bear and remit money back home to support several foundations for the betterment of the lives of Cambodia's cotton weavers.


Best friends BaaBaa Sheep (a gift from my buddy Karl) and Kiwi Bear (another gift from Donald) both hail from New Zealand and are the adventurous backpacker types. One morning, you see them prancing around the grass, and the next morning, they are clambering up the steps to the studio. Although notorious for finding only dirt cheap haunts and restaurants, they know how to differentiate a trying hard Australian Chardonnay from an opulent New Zealand Shiraz.


Polar Bear was a creature rescued from the harsh effects of global warming when the polar ice caps melted somewhere in Alaska. Given as a bday gift from Freedom's tita Wena, he survived the rising waters by clinging on a floating Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag which got dropped from a passing luxury cruise liner one summer. Eats only prime Norwegian Salmon and Japanese Wagyu steaks.


Pinoy Bear on the other hand is a devout Roman Catholic. He has worked one time as an engineer in Saudi Arabia, as a waiter in Dubai, as a cultural performer in Tokyo, as a teacher in Thailand, as a caregiver in London and a manager in a restaurant in New York. These diverse experiences have taught Noypi Bear invaluable lessons in life and so far has given him enough savings to put up his own convent back home. He also drives a jeepney during weekdays.



Greenie Bear is a certified alcoholic and party animal. Always a fixture in the hottest parties, Greenie used to be BFF's with Paris Hilton and the Olsen Twins until her parents, the Vanderbears, moved their steel factories to Cambodia. Greenie has also recently released her own lingerie and perfume line.




Angel Bear is a distant cousin of Pinoy Bear. Also deeply religious, they promote only natural conception and family planning methods for the ethnic minorities of Southeast Asia. Young as she is, Angel Bear is the chapter president of the Catholic Women's League in the upper Cambodian region... Her favorite perfume is tea-rose.




Yellow Bear loves spending time in the bathroom. Came free from a spa product set that mommy purchased from U-Care Pharmacy a few years back. Always mistaken as a scrub by dad, Yellow Bear lives in the presence of water an was formerly a pearl diver on a pearl farm somwhere in Vietnam... a true Pisces in every sense of the word.




Ranger Bear, a certified naturalist from Chattanooga, Canada was a gift from Ninang Sarah, probably on one of her trips from North America. Current president of the World Wildlife Federation, Ranger Bear is lobbying people here to turn him into the official mascot for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver... also a die-hard vegetarian...




Huggie Bear and Nappy Bear were both freebies from packs of diapers. They love to snooze around and simply sleep the day away. This is because of a curse endowed on them by their evil stepmother who thinks they are more absorbent than her.



Brother Bear bears the most beautiful story of all. After Freedom was born, we used to go to the Old Market on weekends to buy our food. While browsing around a sea of tomatoes, fresh prawns and imitation underwear, we found Brother Bear on a pile of second hand toys, with such droopy eyes that seem to scream "Adopt me!". With Brad and Angelina's exploits reaching far and wide, we decided to adopt Brother Bear for a cost price of 2,000 riels (US$0.50)! Brother Bear has since become Freedom's loyal sibling until Thomas and Friends came along...



33 comments:

Anonymous said...

i really like that sheep. :O

the spool artist said...

thanks... he's really very adorable!

Megan said...

very cool, Freedom's a lucky child!

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you come back again. I think that you'll like Banksy's work a lot, he's really cool.

I'm looking forward to digging into your blogs!

Luis Batchoy said...

i like sheep too...oh and that mary statue is so glam! Beads and everatheng! So psychedelic!

The Dork One said...

awwww so cuuute!

i remember as a kid i also had tons of toys! and all of them had voices!

i miss that

the spool artist said...

@megan: it was great discoverig another artist through your blog! i'm putting you on my blog roll if you don't mind so i can check out more artists you're posting!

@luis batchoy: thanks, that mary statue is one of my artworks... part of the series Faith of Our Fathers...

@alex: yeah, i believe toys on our generation as kids were more inventive and more conjucive for imagination!

Anastasia said...

Thank you for the kind words... it's the most honest thing I've written in a while.

the spool artist said...

@anastacia: keep it up! :-)

KRIS JASPER said...

si greenie bear, yung position niya parang... (NVM)

cute collections though.

secret ta ni ha.... mga paryentes sang bears mo ari d sa apartment. Damu di sila. lol

the spool artist said...

hahaha, i knew it... you harbor a secret wanting to have A's child! hehehe... well, baby or no baby, bears are absolutely adorable...

grabe, pati position ni Greenie Bear ginadumtan... lol

Looking For The Source said...

ang cute nung mga bears.

what made it cuter eh ung mga stories nila! ha ha..

the spool artist said...

nauubos ang barya namin sa storytelling just to invent these stories! lol

rainboy said...

xpjxii want "Panda Bear" and Polar Bear
plzzzzzzzzzz

Kroma Bear has perfect background ;D

great stories to go with them.

rock on mate

take care

chezza said...

I bet Freedom wouldn't get tired hunting all his bears! "Free the bears" Freedom!

the spool artist said...

@rainville: we can barter bears if you can offer us bears from India! cheers!

@chezza: We're cherishing the time when he's still enjoying them... sooner or later, he'll grow tired of these when he has girlfriends! lol.

Stella said...

Thanks for your visit and comment(stylist Valentine's post)!

Beautiful stories, all the bears are adorable!

RedLan said...

grabe stuff toy collection mo ba? collection mo ni? wala ko pa nabasa pero balik ko di karon para mabasa ang whole post. medyo tuyo nako. passed one am na di sa pinas.

taga lean ka gle. nami lugar nyo. mas bugnaw, mas green, mas damu prutas kag vegetables, damu falls. i am originally from tigbauan gle.

ill be back here later.

the spool artist said...

@stella: will sure come back for more! enjoyed reading your blog!

@redlan: these are all my baby boy's bears... simply making up stories for him! taga tigbauan ka gale? i have relatives sa Bitas and barkadas who lived sa Bliss... lapit na sa baybay

rainboy said...

hehe ..

the spool artist said...

rainboy: was checking on nainital's tourism website further and am definitely smitten by its charm! i'm now convinced to go there on my india sojourn!

rainboy said...

ohh man it's just 70 km from my home..i would surely come to meet you.. :D

by the way i am still a student(i am 26)
i am in last year of my masters in computer science..once a get a good job and start earning i am gonna buy those bears ;D

that's a deal.
just make me remember when i get a job :D

the spool artist said...

cool, i'll give you a headstart if ever my dream trip pushes through!

wow, good to know you're finishing up your masters degree... i'm sure you're gonna go far dude. soon you'll even afford to buy a real bear! lol.

kawadjan said...

si beer lao ang fave ko kase fierce sya.

the spool artist said...

kawadjan: so very you...

pusangkalye said...

the bears made me feel young again. they are very cute. and fun to know that they have their own stories. You are lucky to have a son with such a rich imagination....

the spool artist said...

i should get a cat stuff toy din para i can name him salingpusa din!

Anonymous said...

United Nations ang stuff toys ni baby Freedom ah..mauwerteng bata!!

RedLan said...

sa wakas nabasa ko rin siya ng buo. maganda ang pagka introduce mo sa mga collection of bears nyo. i like yellow bear most kasi piscean rin ako. hehehe. maganda ang message na ipaparating ng post na 'to. keep it up!

bitas kag sa bliss sa banwa na dapit. lapit kami ya sa parara.

the spool artist said...

@sherwin: we accept donations for bears of which countries do not cover the post... hehehe... nagpaparinig lang! lol

@redlan: thanks, i'm glad you went back and read the bear stories! where is pararra? is it before or after sa banwa when you drive from iloilo city?

RedLan said...

after na siya sang banwa. dira na da nag land si mc arthur. hehehe. basta interesting ang post ginabalikan ko gid na kag basahon. busy gid bi ko these last few days. ara ka naman sa blogroll ko ti macheck ko gid ni ang blog mo indi permi pero regularly.

the spool artist said...

I'm sure ma-agyan ko na siya pirme before kay we regularly go to Anini-y, Antique (sa hot springs) and San Joaquin before. My sister had her debut there 2 years ago in one of the beaches sa Tigbauan... i just couldn't remember where exactly! Do you live near the beach?

fuchsiaboy said...

Bear Lao is defintely the most fasyon!

His fave designers are Dries Van Noten and Christian Lacroix.

He started a weaving center in Vang Vieng, recently.

He will invade Bangkok soon with his ethno avant-garde creations. He plans to outdo Titipon Chitsihanook, Sretsis and Tipayapong Potsanayaphong in popularity.

He plans to show his collection soon and use his bear friends as models.

the spool artist said...

ang duda ko, Bear Lao is going to put up a big designer label called BearHound and Bear Now in Bangkok! That is according to my very reliable sources...