It's the spring chicken's move (or is it the old sock's) - from Dean Marks

[Marie Wintzer]

 

I don't even know where to start to explain the geniusness of this piece. First of all, although hard to tell from the picture, it is completely en relief, 3D and everything, and shipped as it is without envelope. Dean got the idea for this after a comment on one of his blogs where I said that I was not a poulet de printemps anymore (direct french translation for spring chicken). To which he replied une vieille chaussette alors? (directly translated to are you an old sock then?). Anyway... it's a long story of funny direct translations which made him start this piece. A few days later I would leave IUOMA, and you'll see where this is going. What he sent is a (fantastic) replica of a japanese game called dobutsu shogi (animal chess), which introduces kids to the rules of chess. This is what the real game looks like:

 

 

In English it is called "Catch the Lion", so the aim is to catch the opponent's lion. The dots on a given tile indicate in which direction(s) the tile can be moved. The lion here is Dean, of course. And there is also elephant-Erni and Giraffe-Val. And me, I'm the baby spring chicken. According to the rules of the game, once the spring chicken reaches the other side of the board it transforms into a hen! :-)))
The wordplay on it's your move= your turn to play = you leaving IUOMA = you moving out (déménagement, french) = your movement (japanese) etc.. is absolutely priceless. I don't know how he comes up with such things! The back of the card is also very funny, with the too-dangerous-for-3-year-olds-Cheryl-Penn-piece which can move in all possible and impossible directions! :-))) I can't stop laughing. Honestly, Dean....

 

 

And a few days later, the socks :-)) good old socks with holes. I wanted to wear them but they are irreversibly glued onto the paper, so you won't see the extent of the damage. Too bad. This silver technology for fresh feet was worth testing, I think. If it's the socks that make the man, will these socks make a Super Man? Somehow I doubt it...
Well well, the spring chicken will stay with smelly feet, but she has made her move (back) (in) (I don't know anymore)
:-)
Thank you Dean!

[vizma bruns]

HA! Double Dean fun, a treat for fingers and feet! Great blog, Chicken!! ;-)

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Too funny! Penn piece being too dangerous for 3-year-olds! And everything else. GREAT piece by Dean, and GREAT blog by you, Marie. I will be reading it more than this once, tHaNk YoU ~