Comments on: Something here does not compute

By: MH

MH — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:53:21 +0000

I looked before I posted. Not only do the workers keep their tray, but they leave by bus.

By: Ted

Ted — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:32:52 +0000

Oh, and MH, all the hippos go berzerk – including the ones who came to work – and the tuxedos, if I’m not mistaken (I don’t have a copy here at work), are on the hippos doing the serving, not the ones being served. Seems pretty egalitarian to me. But maybe she’s being hippo-critical.

By: Ted

Ted — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:29:48 +0000

spoiler alert

In Knuffle Bunny, the titular bunny ends up in the washing machine, but since Trixie, the daughter, is “helping” her dad load it, he might or might not be the one who puts it into the machine. He does fail to realize on the way home that KB is missing, or that that’s why his daughter is freaking out, but I don’t think that’s the kind of error that would make him a fuckup – it would be a sin of omission rather than commission, right? Lord knows I sometimes lose track of the various dolls, blankets, etc my daughter is carrying around at any particular time.

And in the sequel, Knuffle Bunny Too, the error is not only not the Dad’s fault but he is willing to go across town at 2:30 AM to make things right for his kid.

Anyway, I like Mo Willems and recommend his stuff, if anyone cares what I think.

By: kid bitzer

kid bitzer — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:17:01 +0000

book event! book event!

we need a ct book event on “goodnight moon” and the entire margaret wise brown oeuvre. (the run-away bunny and extraordinary rendition).

a ct book event on the seuss corpus (hop on pop! mcelligot’s pool! oobleck!)

a ct book event on maira kalman (ooh la la! sayanora, mrs. kackleman!)

you’ve got a lot of work to do. get hopping.

By: MH

MH — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:07:05 +0000

And “Hippos Go Berserk” counts Hippos passing drinks and appetizers as “going berserk” at a party, clearly indicating that Sandra Boynton is a stooge of the rich tuxedo wearing hippo upper class.

By: Ken C.

Ken C. — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:05:35 +0000

I don’t know Knuffle Bunny, but from the synopses, it looks like it has that “Dad is a fuckup” theme beloved by sitcoms, TV ads, and the Berenstain Bears.

By: Bloix

Bloix — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:46:10 +0000

Well, we know how crocodiles who live in Africa talk, because Rudyard Kipling tells us, and they do affect a caddish sort of tone:

‘Come hither, Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘for I am the Crocodile,’ and he wept crocodile-tears to show it was quite true.

Then the Elephant’s Child grew all breathless, and panted, and kneeled down on the bank and said, ‘You are the very person I have been looking for all these long days. Will you please tell me what you have for dinner?’

‘Come hither, Little One,’ said the Crocodile, ‘and I’ll whisper.’

Then the Elephant’s Child put his head down close to the Crocodile’s musky, tusky mouth, and the Crocodile caught him by his little nose, which up to that very week, day, hour, and minute, had been no bigger than a boot, though much more useful.

‘I think,’ said the Crocodile—and he said it between his teeth, like this—’I think to-day I will begin with Elephant’s Child!’

By: Righteous Bubba

Righteous Bubba — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:59:55 +0000

Wally Gator was not a redneck.

By: nick s

nick s — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:28:49 +0000

are pigeons traditionally depicted with British accents (like say, ancient Romans)

This reminds me of a discussion I had some time ago: I’ve always assumed that crocodiles and alligators have upper-class caddish Terry-Thomas accents; Americans seem to think they talk like rednecks.

By: Dan Nexon

Dan Nexon — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:07:34 +0000

But when will we be treated to Knuffle Bunny and Zombies.

By: hrm

hrm — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:28:24 +0000

The pigeon is a Brit? I will have to adapt my readings immediately.

By: MH

MH — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:11:35 +0000

Has anybody else seen the stage production of “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” It really gives you the back-story on the bus driver and his motivation. But, I’m wondering why the pigeon had a British accent. Was that just a chance occurrence or are pigeons traditionally depicted with British accents (like say, ancient Romans)?

By: Henry

Henry — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:25:02 +0000

“jane austen and isaiah berlin and john rawls and knuffle bunny and stuff” could be our logo. As for the book event – don’t tempt us. Seriously, I want to do something on Neil Gaiman’s The Wolves in the Walls soon, and how I disagree with Farah Mendlesohn on its interpretation.

By: freight train

freight train — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:19:59 +0000

I for one would pay to read a CT book event on “Knuffle Bunny.”

By: kid bitzer

kid bitzer — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:20:00 +0000

man, whenever i come to crooked timber i’m reminded of how deficient my knowledge of the classics is. i mean, stuff i just really oughta know, if i’m even going to hold my head up in polite company.

i just feel like such an uneducated rube around here, with you guys talking about jane austen and isaiah berlin and john rawls and knuffle bunny and stuff.

could you start a thread on what every educated ct’er has read? also, maybe a book event on knuffle bunny?