PEANUTS: ‘Paper Boy’, 1952
Posted: January 22, 2015 Filed under: Art & Culture, Comics, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: Charles M.Schultz, Charles Schultz, Charlie Brown, Comic strip, Paper Boy, Peanuts Leave a comment
“PEANUTS” (April 9, 1952)
By Charles M. Schulz
Hong Kong’s Charlie Brown Cafe
Posted: February 11, 2014 Filed under: Art & Culture, China, Food & Drink | Tags: Asia, Cameron Road, Charlie Brown, China, Health, Hong Kong, Hongkong, Peanuts, Snoopy, Sunday, Tsim Sha Tsui, Victoria Harbour 4 CommentsA travel and food blog, Bitten by the Wanderlust Bug, has a great little photo series featuring an unlikely theme for a Hong Kong restaurant. The Charlie Brown Cafe. View the whole series, it’s fun. Here’s some samples:
From the Department of Petty Controversies: Schools Cancel Halloween
Posted: October 18, 2013 Filed under: Mediasphere | Tags: Charlie Brown, Education, Elementary school, Halloween, Nick Gillespie, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States Supreme Court Leave a commentOf all the conflicts to roil our educational system, this one is pretty absurd
Nick Gillespie writes: In the latest example of small-mindedness plaguing our educational system, schools around the country are attempting to ban costumes and candy on what is surely one of most kids’ favorite days of the year. The excuses range from vague concerns about “safety” to specific worries about food allergies to—get this—fears of breaching the wall of separation between church and state.
But whatever the motivation, the end result is the same as what Charlie Brown used to get every time he went trick-or-treating: a big old rock in the candy bag. What sort of lesson are we teaching our kids when we ban even a tiny, sugar-coated break in their daily grind (or, even worse, substitute a generic, Wicker Man-style “Fall Festival” for Halloween)? Mostly that we are a society that is so scared of its own shadow that we can’t even enjoy ourselves anymore. We live in fear of what might be called the killjoy’s veto, where any complaint is enough to destroy even the least objectionable fun.
Consider Sporting Hill Elementary School in Pennsylvania. Earlier this month, the school sent parents a note explaining that wearing Halloween costumes was was canceled because, well, you know, “safety is a top priority.” A spokesperson further explained, “We recognize that the education about, and celebration of, seasonal festivals is an important aspect of the elementary setting…[but] we must do so in a manner that is safe and appropriate for all children.” You’d think it would be easy enough to craft basic guidelines on what’s safe – only fake blood, no trailing ghost or ghoul fronds that might get tripped on– but such a simple task is apparently beyond the powers that be in Sporting Hill. Read the rest of this entry »