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bnix
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 645
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2003 11:33 pm Post subject: Setting the Record Straight on Henny Penny............ |
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On a recent newscast,an obviously exasperated Donald Rumsfeld referred to the "henny penny' reporting of media sources who were only emphasizing the looting of Baghdad...and other negative factors..."using "henny penny" to indicate doomsayers...negative Cassandras...paranoid,negative naysayers...
Actually,the fairy tale character Mr.Rumsfeld had in mind was probably Chicken Little.Chicken Little,after being conked on the noggin by a falling acorn,ran about squawking to other denizens of the forest(Turkey Lurkey,Goosey Loosey,et al.)"The sky is falling!The sky is falling"...until that ubiquitous fairytale guilester the fox(Foxy Loxy) took advantage of their paranoia....
Henny Penny was a character in a completely different fairy tale.She found a grain of wheat and planned to plant it and ultimately bake bread from the wheat.She tried to enlist the help of other animals "Who will help me plant this grain of wheat?'"Not I" said the cat....and so on,until she finally does all of the work herself and reaps the rewards.
Of course,in the heat of battle,I suppose it is easy enough to confuse one's fairy tales....I know you were all waiting with bated breath to hear that one Oh,well, it makes for a little diversion from the usual backpacker vs.qualified teacher topic, those who are desperately searching for Mr.(or Ms.,as the case may be) Goodbar....etc,etc.
By the way,does anybody else out there remember a group of cartoons called "Fractured Fairytales"?.Same show as Rocky and Bullwinkle...Boris and Natasha...and Mr.Peabody(a dog) and His Boy(what WAS the boy's name?) |
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Irish
Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 371
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2003 11:39 pm Post subject: |
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bnix wrote:
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...and Mr.Peabody(a dog) and His Boy(what WAS the boy's name?) |
His boy Sherman! Ah, fond memories of my dear old dad asking rhetorically, "How come you can't wake up at 6:30 to get ready for school but you can hop outta bed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to watch Bullwinkle at 5:30?"
Yeah, those were the days. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2003 5:44 am Post subject: Alma Mater |
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Dear Irish and bnix,
To this day, I still proudly wear my Bullwinkle " Whatsamatta U " T-shirt.
Regards,
John
P.S. And let's not forget " Dudley Doright " ( hmm, or was that hypenated? ). Another piece of trivia - the way Sherman and Mr. Peabody travelled through time was via the " Wayback Machine ". |
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Shaman
Joined: 06 Apr 2003 Posts: 446 Location: Hammertown
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2003 12:30 pm Post subject: |
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Let's not forget Underdog. What was his girlfriend's name? Pearl Pureheart, if memory serves... |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2003 2:52 pm Post subject: Pearls before swine |
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Dear Shaman,
Underdog, while a fine cartoon, wasn't part of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. And" Pearl Pureheart " didn't sound quite right. But heck - you can find just about anything on the Net:
" Underdog, which first aired on U.S. TV in 1964, was heavily influenced by The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, using a combination of extremely limited animation, broad satire, and a brilliantly named cast of characters that appeared to come straight out of a Victorian melodrama, including Underdog's girlfriend, Sweet Polly Purebred and the villains led by consummately evil Simon Bar Sinister and the gangster kingpin, Riff-Raff.
The show was parody of all types of superheroes -- Underdog had an alter ego, a mild-mannered Shoeshine Boy (voiced by uber-wimp Wally Cox), and used a telephone booth to change into his Underdog costume, which included a giant letter "U" on his chest as well as a flowing cape. Underdog had to take a vitamin pill to unleash his super powers, and like Popeye with his spinach, Underdog was constantly forgetting or misplacing his pills. "
Regards,
John |
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Shaman
Joined: 06 Apr 2003 Posts: 446 Location: Hammertown
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Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2003 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks, johnslat. I stand corrected. Guess I pulled the wrong rabbit out of my hat... |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2003 3:25 am Post subject: Under-Stand-able |
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Dear Shaman,
Good heavens Sharman - you don't have to stand. Have a seat. Besides, as the quote indicated, Underdog was inspired by the style of Rocky and Bullwinkle. So it was a most understandable mistake. But it's nice to get some " fan mail ", even if it's not " from a flounder ".
Regards,
John |
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