HANDi

This past Saturday, we went out to Caine's Arcade. If you don't know about Caine and his cardboard arcade, check out this amazing short:

It was the first weekend after the video had been released so when we got there, it was jam packed full of all kinds of people. An ABC 7 Eye Witness News crew was there as well. The wait in line was a little over an hour. During that time, we met a French woman named Valerie and her creative son Teo who showed us his stop-motion animations on their iPad.

We also got to talk to Nirvan, the filmmaker behind Caine's Arcade. I personally thanked him for his short because it touched a very precise part of my past that I didn't know was still there. I'm sure we've all had fun with cardboard as children. Caine's Arcade took me back to one particular day when my best friend and I were given complete freedom by his father and let loose on a giant pile of empty cardboard boxes. We spent the whole day running around his garage constructing an elaborate tunnel system, fitted with high security entrances and secret passage ways. When I got home at the end of the day, my mom scolded me because the heels and toes of my socks were completely worn off from running around in the garage without shoes.

Nirvan said that this explosion of support had turned Caine's Arcade into a mecca for people returning to their childhood. He shared a story that someone from The Simpsons came and when they saw the arcade, broke down and wept. He described it as a Ratatouille, Anton Ego moment - a rush of nostalgia.

Caine was just being a kid when he made his arcade. Stumbling upon that arcade invited Nirvan to just be a kid. The world's gonna tell you to grow up but when you're brave enough to say no and just be a kid, everybody wants to join you. I interviewed Bumblebee yesterday and he talked about that same child-like wonder and innocence that he expresses through his art. Look forward to our piece on him coming in a few weeks. Keep that inner child alive.

Greetings

Welcome to the new HANDi website! Our slogan is "handmade, human stories" because we want to hand craft stories that focus on our common struggles and highlight the human qualities that unite us all. If you haven't already, check out our stories.

Please take the time to write a comment or share a story with a fellow human being. We would love to hear your thoughts!

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What's next?

We currently have two stories in the works. Here's a map of things to come:

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