Silicon Valley... 的个人资料Living in the Silicon Va...照片日志列表更多  |  工具 帮助 |
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5月16日 Favorite Peanuts Characters: The Van PeltsGrowing up reading Charlie Brown comics is one of my treasured childhood moments. As other children around me were one-upping each other with their Snoopy accessory collections, I was content with my only hardcover volume of black and white comic strip collection of Snoopy and his entourage. In fact, truth be told, I didn't really like Snoopy all that much. I usually enjoyed reading the dialogues between Charlie Brown and the Van Pelts, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie. I almost completely forgot about the Peanuts until I received a cute Peanuts 2006 calendar as a Christmas present and a 2-volume hardcover collection of the Peanuts published 1950-1954 as a birthday present. I'll say that both items rank as the few best presents I've received as an adult, high up there with the first house plant book I got in high school. The 2-volume hardcover wasn't some rare collector's item but simply a collection of all Peanuts comics created/published between 1950-1954. It reminded me of my childhood, I guess, which is why I like it so much. Since receiving these items, I periodically go to the bookstores to check if new installments for the series become available. I also became quite determined to hunt down that Charlie Brown calendar for 2007. At any rate, my most recent acquisition, The Complete Peanuts (1963-64) has one of my favorite characters on the cover, Linus van Pelt. In this new volume, Linus' character has developed beyond that of a toddler and is now capable of spewing random bouts of philosophical wisdom to Charlie Brown. I understand that this is nothing more than a comic strip, but Linus is a fairly complex character. Besides the philosophical moments, coupled with a very matter of fact approach to helping Charlie Brown ride his down moments, Linus is a super cool. However, his coolness is routinely blown off by his crabby sister, Lucy van Pelt, also another favorite character of mine. Maybe I like her because she reminds me of the interactions I had with my sister growing up. Although that does not paint a very flattering picture of sibling relationships, anyone who's had an older sibling knows the routine. This is the unspoken routine where TV watching is ceded to the elder one, snack/drink fetching is a given, and artful negotiation gives way to plain old surrender. Lucy does watch out for Linus, albeit a little reluctantly. The most poignant is when Lucy statuses Linus on the different stage of the washer/dryer cycles his security blanket is going through, as Linus tremblingly waits for the ugly process to be done with. Overall, if you read enough of this comic strip, you will inevitably arrive at the sad conclusion that it is slightly misogynistic in that there are very few women portrayed as loving/tender/caring. Even Linus' grandmother, typically associated with a nurturing role, tortures him by confiscating his security blanket. Charlie Brown is endlessly teased by girls and is filled with trepidation when thinking about approaching the Redheaded Girl. Even Valentine's Day is a sad event. Maybe it's best that he never approaches the Redheaded Girl with success, as one never knows what kind of a girl she would turn out to be. Charlie Brown is better off is she just remains as the unrequited love that Beatrice was to Dante...although a bit overboard for a child's comic strip. 1月22日 Still Obsessed with the CalendarAfter yoga class today, I walked over to Borders at Santana Row and still, this year's installment of Charlie Brown's "Happiness Is..." calendar is nowhere to be seen. In all honesty, I don't really need that calendar to keep track of my activities or anything like that. But I guess I've grown used to seeing it in my office everyday. I've also grown used to having a cute Charlie Brown vignette brighten up my day. At any rate, as I was reeling from my stupidity of not purchasing the calendar I found in San Francisco, I sought to assuage the disappointment by browsing the buy-2-get-1-free book promotions. There were some pretty good titles to choose from, but given the present condition of my bookshelf currently densely populated with unread books, I decided to re-think this potentially impulsive purchase. 1月21日 Where is that Charlie Brown Wall Calendar??I have been a Charlie Brown fan since I was a child. This interest faded over the years as I got into Japanese comics and anime. However, I began to realize that American comic strips such as Charlie Brown has a different appeal in that it reaches to the young and old at different levels. There is no plot line, no ridiculously short mini skirts, and nothing excessively serious. Charlie Brown always entertained me because you have seemingly innocent children speaking like adults who have weathered the trials and tribulations of life. The most endearing character to me is Charlie Brown, underdog who plugs along, even when the going gets tough. Of course, he is by no means a superhuman and being beat down is part of that process that he shares with his friends. It always amuses me to see him as a child say, "I'm depressed..." I don't think an adult even understands that statement, let alone a child. As he shares his thoughts with Linus and Lucy, it is so heart warming seeing other characters share their deceptively simple suggestions/advice that enlightens him. Anyways, I've been collecting the hard bound Charlie Brown comic strips recently republished. I got a calendar of Charlie Brown's "Happiness Is..." series as a present last year. I have been running around the place trying to find the next 2007 installment and thought I saw a reprint of last year's calendary and didn't buy it. I saw one today in a store in the City but didn't buy it because it wasn't on sale (which is what all calendars should be by now....) Of course, I went to Borders and couldn't find that calendar. So bummed!!! I have not given up and will continue with this search... |
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