"Today is Winnie the Pooh Day. Personally, I’ve never been a fan, because even when I was a kid I thought it was a little too insipid."
In this, you are joined by Dorothy Parker (aka Constant Reader in the New Yorker), whose review of a Winnie the Pooh book was "Tonstant Weader frowed up."
It may have been mentioned below, but since Robyn used "insipid" to describe the stories about Winnie and his pals, I have to assume she's referring to the Disney version, and not the original books from the early 1900s. Those, readers will remember, are filled with a dry, gentle British humor. and could hardly be described as insipid.
When Disney first put out their version of Winnie, I was about 7 or 8 years old, and let me tell you, I was Very Offended Kid. Had I known the word "insipid" I would have thrown that around a lot. I could not believe the gooeyness of the characters, and hated the voice overs.
There's an account on Mastodon, Infinite Pooh (https://wonkodon.com/@pooh@mas.to) that does a sentence or two from a particular story from the books (not the stupid Disney crap), but of course when one scrolls one's Mastodon feed, the story rolls out in reverse order. I'm so familiar with the stories that I know right what's happening within a post of two. It brings a smile - wry or appreciate - every time.
- - - - - - - - - -
CHAPTER I
IN WHICH WE ARE INTRODUCED TO WINNIE-THE-POOH AND SOME BEES, AND THE STORIES BEGIN
Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh.
I also didn’t mind the Disney cartoons despite them not being faithful to the source material.
But I also think that in general, our society doesn’t do things for children very well. I was always happy to find entertainment for my kids that wasn’t either treacle or not appropriate for growing little hearts and minds.
"Being Alive" was one of those songs I would belt alone in my room as a teenager, along with Barbra, in my case. I was the right age when her Broadway Album came out.
I think Austen is a little unfair to Mary, honestly. She's the polar opposite of Lydia and Kitty, for which Austen pokes fun at her unmercifully. Lizzie and Jane are also the polar opposites of Lydia and Kitty, for which they get to be sympathetic heroines. Why is Mary such a joke? She's a serious girl who's devoted to playing the piano; is that really snarkworthy? In one of the few pieces of Austen fanfic I actually like, P.D. James's "Death Comes to Pemberley," Mary is happily married to a young clergyman, which is what the heroine of basically every other Austen novel besides P&P ends up doing, and seems like a very suitable outcome for Mary.
Mary's pride and pomposity are what Austen mostly skewers.
She has just as much of an urge for display as Lydia has, but, as the plainest and most awkward of the Bennet girls, she uses her "accomplishments" and not her looks, vivacity, or appearance of ease and good humor to purchase praise and attention. It's the same impulse, just with a different outlet.
She is as much an opposite of her two modest and unaffected older sisters as the younger two are.
I particularly "enjoyed" (while being annoyed) Brenda Blethyn's portrayal of Mrs Bennet in the 2005 film - she brought all the right notes to the character and the voice. Hard to believe the same actress played Vera; I was surprised when I figured it out.
Check out "Saving Grace." Not the TV series with Holly Hunter (though that's good too, at least up until the final season); the movie with Brenda Blethyn. It's one of those charming clever English comedies like "Brassed Off" and "The Full Monty," and Blethyn is great in it.
I agree. And her reaction to Mr. Bennet's refusal to get involved in the marriage shenanigans is also completely justified. Mr. Bennet is actually kind of a jerk. HE doesn't have to worry about what's going to happen to his family after he dies, because he's going to be dead, but it's not at all commendable for him to just hang out in his library and not take any steps to provide for them. The entail wasn't his fault, certainly, but he's the one who's in a position to do something about it, and he doesn't, and it drives Mrs. B. crazy and that's entirely understandable.
I haven't seen the 1995 version. I'll have to check that out. If you've never seen the 1940 version with Greer Garson and Lawrence Olivier, don't. It's appallingly bad.
Yes, that is one of the overriding messages from Austen: women’s paths to success and comfort were pretty damn limited, more so the farther down the economic ladder one goes. And what I think Austen did was put her characters in the middle of sorting that out. Even Lydia was making what she believed to be an advantageous (and exhilarating) choice. I suspect she was probably betrayed by her husband over the decades, but even she sought and secured a safe harbor in a dangerous world.
I don't think a bad husband provided a secure harbor. A well-married sister is a better bet. Married women were essentially their husband's property, as were their children.
Bashing Biden for not getting the ERA passed on his last weekend of being president was just a step too much for me. Seeing as we are having the man who overturned Roe sworn in as president, it's frankly nauseating.
She doesn't get feminism. She doesn't understand women's health rights.Fuck that asshole.
Biden is President and Presidents don't pass laws--they enforce the laws that Congress passes. No way a Repub Congress will support any equal rights for women.
Perhaps he thought Kamala would actually win for a minute there, and thought she'd like to take the ERA fight on with Congress and the courts. Perhaps he was very busy. Perhaps the men of the Democrats don't truly understand how vital the ERA is for everyone in this country. When women do better, everyone does better, studies have shown. I think it's clear now, though, that many men don't believe in it or else don't believe it has a chance in hell. And then there's the proposed text update, which isn't what 38 states already ratified. I am despondent, so forgive my wet blanket.
I find that one of the nice things about being an atheist is that I don't have to be dedicated--I'm just an atheist in fact. I am dedicated to cats. And chocolate. And books. And gardening.
There's a squirrel playing smorgasbord at the feeder. It munches on some peanuts, then some sunflower seeds, repeat until full. The birds are irritated.
Awww, I just wanna cuddle Rainbow and Franny, maybe we could make a blanket fort to hide from the thunder!
As a pet owner I can only assume the underside of that futon was freshly raked to eliminate the large clumps of pet hair.
If you want Pooh to make you cry, try this:
https://www.tumblr.com/ianchachere/60713443009/good-night-billy-moon-my-submission-for
I loved Lenny so, always with the dry crack to kick off L and O. And in the episode where his daughter was murdered, he broke my heart.
Or, if you are a trumpster/Repub, get your head stuck where it usually is up trumpy's rear end.
"Today is Winnie the Pooh Day. Personally, I’ve never been a fan, because even when I was a kid I thought it was a little too insipid."
In this, you are joined by Dorothy Parker (aka Constant Reader in the New Yorker), whose review of a Winnie the Pooh book was "Tonstant Weader frowed up."
The skunk sends money, but the jewels are mine!
It may have been mentioned below, but since Robyn used "insipid" to describe the stories about Winnie and his pals, I have to assume she's referring to the Disney version, and not the original books from the early 1900s. Those, readers will remember, are filled with a dry, gentle British humor. and could hardly be described as insipid.
When Disney first put out their version of Winnie, I was about 7 or 8 years old, and let me tell you, I was Very Offended Kid. Had I known the word "insipid" I would have thrown that around a lot. I could not believe the gooeyness of the characters, and hated the voice overs.
There's an account on Mastodon, Infinite Pooh (https://wonkodon.com/@pooh@mas.to) that does a sentence or two from a particular story from the books (not the stupid Disney crap), but of course when one scrolls one's Mastodon feed, the story rolls out in reverse order. I'm so familiar with the stories that I know right what's happening within a post of two. It brings a smile - wry or appreciate - every time.
- - - - - - - - - -
CHAPTER I
IN WHICH WE ARE INTRODUCED TO WINNIE-THE-POOH AND SOME BEES, AND THE STORIES BEGIN
Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh.
https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wonkodon/cache/media_attachments/files/113/836/091/607/987/797/original/147fd65037746ea0.jpg
Agree
I couldn't stand them until WINNIE ILLE POOH came out in Latin. Then at least I was getting a mental workout.
The books are darling.
I also didn’t mind the Disney cartoons despite them not being faithful to the source material.
But I also think that in general, our society doesn’t do things for children very well. I was always happy to find entertainment for my kids that wasn’t either treacle or not appropriate for growing little hearts and minds.
Why is Wonkette doing it's best to click bait trolls?
"Being Alive" was one of those songs I would belt alone in my room as a teenager, along with Barbra, in my case. I was the right age when her Broadway Album came out.
On a completely different topic, I don't think I would have dazzled at the Netherfield Ball.
I for one would have slapped Lydia silly.
ok, I wouldn't have done that, but lordy she's one irritating girl.
Mary also was annoying AF.
I think Austen is a little unfair to Mary, honestly. She's the polar opposite of Lydia and Kitty, for which Austen pokes fun at her unmercifully. Lizzie and Jane are also the polar opposites of Lydia and Kitty, for which they get to be sympathetic heroines. Why is Mary such a joke? She's a serious girl who's devoted to playing the piano; is that really snarkworthy? In one of the few pieces of Austen fanfic I actually like, P.D. James's "Death Comes to Pemberley," Mary is happily married to a young clergyman, which is what the heroine of basically every other Austen novel besides P&P ends up doing, and seems like a very suitable outcome for Mary.
Mary's pride and pomposity are what Austen mostly skewers.
She has just as much of an urge for display as Lydia has, but, as the plainest and most awkward of the Bennet girls, she uses her "accomplishments" and not her looks, vivacity, or appearance of ease and good humor to purchase praise and attention. It's the same impulse, just with a different outlet.
She is as much an opposite of her two modest and unaffected older sisters as the younger two are.
I love "Death Comes to Pemberley".
Don't even get me started on the mother.
I particularly "enjoyed" (while being annoyed) Brenda Blethyn's portrayal of Mrs Bennet in the 2005 film - she brought all the right notes to the character and the voice. Hard to believe the same actress played Vera; I was surprised when I figured it out.
Check out "Saving Grace." Not the TV series with Holly Hunter (though that's good too, at least up until the final season); the movie with Brenda Blethyn. It's one of those charming clever English comedies like "Brassed Off" and "The Full Monty," and Blethyn is great in it.
Well, I am a fan of Allison Steadman (1995). And more than one critic has pointed out that Mrs. Bennet was right.
Getting her daughters married made it possible for them to have a roof over their heads and eat. They literally had no other options.
I agree. And her reaction to Mr. Bennet's refusal to get involved in the marriage shenanigans is also completely justified. Mr. Bennet is actually kind of a jerk. HE doesn't have to worry about what's going to happen to his family after he dies, because he's going to be dead, but it's not at all commendable for him to just hang out in his library and not take any steps to provide for them. The entail wasn't his fault, certainly, but he's the one who's in a position to do something about it, and he doesn't, and it drives Mrs. B. crazy and that's entirely understandable.
I haven't seen the 1995 version. I'll have to check that out. If you've never seen the 1940 version with Greer Garson and Lawrence Olivier, don't. It's appallingly bad.
I'm not sure he could have done anything about the entail. I believe that to remove it the heir has to agree. I can't see Collins doing that.
Yes, that is one of the overriding messages from Austen: women’s paths to success and comfort were pretty damn limited, more so the farther down the economic ladder one goes. And what I think Austen did was put her characters in the middle of sorting that out. Even Lydia was making what she believed to be an advantageous (and exhilarating) choice. I suspect she was probably betrayed by her husband over the decades, but even she sought and secured a safe harbor in a dangerous world.
I don't think a bad husband provided a secure harbor. A well-married sister is a better bet. Married women were essentially their husband's property, as were their children.
Brib will have some honey today. :)
This seems like a haven. Avoid the other thread. Which sucks, btw.
I didn't read the article. I'm not fond of some of the newer writers who just seem to be trying too hard. IMHO and all that.
Bashing Biden for not getting the ERA passed on his last weekend of being president was just a step too much for me. Seeing as we are having the man who overturned Roe sworn in as president, it's frankly nauseating.
She doesn't get feminism. She doesn't understand women's health rights.Fuck that asshole.
Biden is President and Presidents don't pass laws--they enforce the laws that Congress passes. No way a Repub Congress will support any equal rights for women.
Perhaps he thought Kamala would actually win for a minute there, and thought she'd like to take the ERA fight on with Congress and the courts. Perhaps he was very busy. Perhaps the men of the Democrats don't truly understand how vital the ERA is for everyone in this country. When women do better, everyone does better, studies have shown. I think it's clear now, though, that many men don't believe in it or else don't believe it has a chance in hell. And then there's the proposed text update, which isn't what 38 states already ratified. I am despondent, so forgive my wet blanket.
Agreed.
I’m not feeling very much like fighting in the war room today.
I hope that both of you lovely people are having a good day.
I'm fond of ponies. Not so much the purity kind.
I love Winnie the Pooh, all the characters! It took me YEARS to believe that Christopher Robin wasn't a girl, though.
Christopher Milne was also an author. And described himself as "a dedicated atheist".
I find that one of the nice things about being an atheist is that I don't have to be dedicated--I'm just an atheist in fact. I am dedicated to cats. And chocolate. And books. And gardening.
My favorite Dorothy Parker quote is from a review of The House at Pooh Corner, in which she wrote that the book made her want to fwow up.
There's a squirrel playing smorgasbord at the feeder. It munches on some peanuts, then some sunflower seeds, repeat until full. The birds are irritated.