Your Daily...Thing!

My understanding was Charles Shultz was attempting to combat racism in Charlie Brown by fighting the publishers to get the Franklin character put in at all...

The extremes of the politically correct over the years IMHO really should not be in kids shows like this... even Sesaame Street has had its fights.... season 1 is actually listed as adults and Bert and Ernie have been in some corners labeled as gay...
The "Bert and Ernie are gay" thing got shot down hard.

One writer said he wrote them as a gay couple. He is gay himself and said he didn't have any other way to contextualize the pair.

However, the word of God came down from both Frank Oz [who created them] and the Sesame Workshop, and both said that they are just best friends and have no sexual identity because they are puppets. The entire point of Bert and Ernie is to show how two people who are very different from each other can still be friends.

Oz did say in a tweet at one point that if they had an orientation, it would be straight. It was just how he envisioned them when they were created and had nothing to do with how right or wrong being gay is. The pair being gay kind of misses the point of the lesson they were created to teach kids about friendship.
 

PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
Meh... never said I agreed with the nonsense... I still hear it bandied about from time to time though...
 
Meh... never said I agreed with the nonsense... I still hear it bandied about from time to time though...
Yeah, I'm just confirming the B&E thing as false. Word of God and all that.

The Peanuts thing, on the other hand, is actually an understatement.

The fact that Franklin was in the comic at all was Schulz really sticking his neck out. He caught all kinds of shit for having him there for years after he introduced him. This was during integration and a lot of editors weren't happy about where Franklin would frequently show up, such as in the same classroom, or otherwise hanging out in areas that would normally be segregated, with the other children.

The character was introduced as a response to Martin Luther King being shot, and a letter from a fan. It was suggested that he simply be a background character, but Schulz went the extra mile and actually made him a part of the regular cast and he frequently has speaking lines when he appears.

He's doesn't appear as frequently as the main cast, as he lives outside the neighborhood. Usually when he appears he plays the straight man for the antics of the other kids.

Schulz actually considered adding a black character prior to that, but didn't want to come off as patronizing. Another letter from a fan after a reply to the woman who initially mailed him about the subject gave him the push he needed to introduce the character.

He stuck to his guns after that and never once wavered. Even going so far as to tell his editor "Let’s put it this way: Either you print it just the way I draw it or I quit. How’s that?"
 
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chronodekar

Obsessively signs his posts
Staff member
Damn. .. about Peanuts, I had no idea that happened. Kudos to Schulz!

-chronodekar
 

Antimatter

Well-Known Member
I don't think the Franklin thing is an example of 'PC gone crazy' which is really a nonsensical bash at it's heart anyways. More, it's an example of how something that was very progressive for it's day can look very discriminatory when viewed by modern examiners who didn't live in the same era and thus have a completely different world view.

My mom and her siblings grew up as half-black kids int he 60's and 70's, and they faced a lot of flack for it. Hell, if folks in Texas had known she still would have faced flack. To this day she downplays tha part of her.

For someone like her Franklin is fine, an example of inclusion despite how 'second rate' he appears to be seated during the thanksgiving episode. It would have bee unthinkable for most kids to even invite him in a lot of areas.

For someone born in the 90's, it just looks strange, as they grew up in a multi racial environment from their youth. they just don't understand the context unless it's explained to them. You see this a lot in old movies, books, TV etc viewed from a modern world view.
 
No, it's one scene that was deliberately taken out of context.

Everyone at the table is sitting in mismatched chairs, and it was all thrown together because no one was actually invited in the first place. That's why they are eating deserts rather than a Thanksgiving meal. They all just show up unexpectedly because Peppermint Patty assumed that Charlie Brown was going to get together with everyone and invited them on her own. That's the basic plot of the special.

Franklin chose the lawn chair despite there being several other chairs available. None of the seating in the scene is assigned and he sat there on his own. The reason he takes that chair is for the sake of a sight gag where the chair collapses that happens before the meal.

Snoopy is the one who steps up and organizes it all and prepares the food for the scene in question.

Charlie Brown is sitting next to his sister, Sally is sitting next to Linus because she has a crush on him, Linus is at the head of the table because he has a long monologue, as he usually does in these specials, Peppermint Patty is thirsty for Charlie Brown, so she sits next to him, and Snoopy sits next to Pepperment Patty because he likes her, Marcy is at the end of the table because she's BFFs with Patty and wants to sit near her. Everything about the seating makes sense if you know the characters.

At the end of the special he rides along in the back of a station wagon and is shown sitting with everyone else as they travel to Charlie Brown's Grandmother's house to have a real Thanksgiving dinner, he even joins in when they sing a song along the way.

This 'racism' nonsense is exactly that. It was a deliberate lie cooked up to create outrage. Franklin isn't treated any differently than the other kids in the special. The idea that it's racist because of this single scene is the basest of stupidity.

This is just as dumb as calling Mr. Rogers a racist, and for the exact same reasons.
 
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It's that time of year again...

This year's isn't that good to be honest. It's still worth a look to recall what all went on this year, but the video just seems less "fun" than past YTR videos.

 
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zerohour

Well-Known Member
Fun fact of the day:
Methanol poisoning can be treated with Ethanol, thanks to competitive inhibition.

What this means is that a legitimate treatment for (this specific form of) alcohol poisoning is more alcohol.
 

Antimatter

Well-Known Member
No, it's one scene that was deliberately taken out of context.

Everyone at the table is sitting in mismatched chairs, and it was all thrown together because no one was actually invited in the first place. That's why they are eating deserts rather than a Thanksgiving meal. They all just show up unexpectedly because Peppermint Patty assumed that Charlie Brown was going to get together with everyone and invited them on her own. That's the basic plot of the special.

Franklin chose the lawn chair despite there being several other chairs available. None of the seating in the scene is assigned and he sat there on his own. The reason he takes that chair is for the sake of a sight gag where the chair collapses that happens before the meal.

Snoopy is the one who steps up and organizes it all and prepares the food for the scene in question.

Charlie Brown is sitting next to his sister, Sally is sitting next to Linus because she has a crush on him, Linus is at the head of the table because he has a long monologue, as he usually does in these specials, Peppermint Patty is thirsty for Charlie Brown, so she sits next to him, and Snoopy sits next to Pepperment Patty because he likes her, Marcy is at the end of the table because she's BFFs with Patty and wants to sit near her. Everything about the seating makes sense if you know the characters.

At the end of the special he rides along in the back of a station wagon and is shown sitting with everyone else as they travel to Charlie Brown's Grandmother's house to have a real Thanksgiving dinner, he even joins in when they sing a song along the way.

This 'racism' nonsense is exactly that. It was a deliberate lie cooked up to create outrage. Franklin isn't treated any differently than the other kids in the special. The idea that it's racist because of this single scene is the basest of stupidity.

This is just as dumb as calling Mr. Rogers a racist, and for the exact same reasons.
Oh, I agree completely. Just pointing out that someone with no idea of the context could read it as such. I'd wager the original source however was just trolling that was picked up and ran with by again, someone with no idea of the context.

Sadly, a lot of people do this with memes on all sides.
 

akun50

Well-Known Member
So, apparently, the reason Tumblr, Patreon and a few other platforms are going super SJW on porn and shit is because of a retarded pair of laws that slipped through US Congress earlier this year and are coming into effect December 17th. FOSTA and SESTA.

Now, the TL: DR; of these laws are that they're supposed to help shutdown sex trafficking and punish those associated with sex trafficking. Except, just like SOPA and PIPA, the definitions are such fucking dumpster fires and so poorly aimed that social media platforms will be among those punished if they are used for anything remotely sexual, INCLUDING MERELY DISCUSSING SEX OR SEXUALITY, as it could be indicative of prostitution and sex trafficking, which these laws aim to shutdown.

There's already a law that's supposed to protect the platforms for being blamed for what their users do. But these laws basically overturn that one.

As an extra layer of retardation, these laws will punish those SMPs RETROACTIVELY, hence why they're actively dumping everyone even remotely NSFW.

If you live in the US, here's a link to the site that discusses a petition to get these retarded laws overturned.
 

da_fox2279

California Crackpot
So, apparently, the reason Tumblr, Patreon and a few other platforms are going super SJW on porn and shit is because of a retarded pair of laws that slipped through US Congress earlier this year and are coming into effect December 17th. FOSTA and SESTA.

Now, the TL: DR; of these laws are that they're supposed to help shutdown sex trafficking and punish those associated with sex trafficking. Except, just like SOPA and PIPA, the definitions are such fucking dumpster fires and so poorly aimed that social media platforms will be among those punished if they are used for anything remotely sexual, INCLUDING MERELY DISCUSSING SEX OR SEXUALITY, as it could be indicative of prostitution and sex trafficking, which these laws aim to shutdown.

There's already a law that's supposed to protect the platforms for being blamed for what their users do. But these laws basically overturn that one.

As an extra layer of retardation, these laws will punish those SMPs RETROACTIVELY, hence why they're actively dumping everyone even remotely NSFW.

If you live in the US, here's a link to the site that discusses a petition to get these retarded laws overturned.
I had heard of this shit, but did not know it was this bad. Thanks for that. As for tumblr, I had heard it was started because some asshole uploaded child porn to the site, which was what got it removed from the Apple store.
 

Antimatter

Well-Known Member
The laws would never survive a court challenge if they interferes with protected speech, which yes includes the porno. An expensive fight however.

It’s is also affecting access to mobile stores and advertising, which the big content providers can’t afford to lose out on.

Between the two that’s a lot of lost money. It’s no wonder why so many are playing it safe until one of the well funded big dogs can take up the fight legally.
 

PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
Hate snowstorms... cold temps, high wind, and lots and lots of snow.

I went and took a snowblower to the driveway last night, and at that point the snowblower had a hard time with parts.

This morning, went and did it all over again, with the same issues, as we got about as much overnight as we did during the day saturday.

I look out now, and see later I'll have to do it again, as there are already a few inches down.

At least I was smart enough to get all my banking, shopping, and other errands done before 11:00am yesterday, when it started, even remembered to top off the car with gas.

If I'm lucky, it will start to tapper off later, but today and toworrow is supposed to be very cold.
 

ThreadWeaver

Beware of Dog. Cat not trustworthy either.
Hate snowstorms... cold temps, high wind, and lots and lots of snow.
While that sucks, consider yourselves lucky, in a sense. You guys at least get the snow. Where I am we've had bitter cold and what tiny amount of snow we had got melted in December with the inch of rain we got. We still don't have any more snow, and likely won't for the foreseeable future, which for MN is unheard of. The frost heaving is going to be horrifically epic this year. Next week it will be -15F ( -26C) with no snow cover. Scary.
 

chronodekar

Obsessively signs his posts
Staff member
It's a similar-ish story in Toronto too. It was just 2 days ago when we had significant snow-fall. Weather warnings were sent out. But today? Most of it's melted. There is a lot of black-ice about and walking in some spots is VERY difficult.

Just weird, man. Weird.

-chronodekar
 
While that sucks, consider yourselves lucky, in a sense. You guys at least get the snow. Where I am we've had bitter cold and what tiny amount of snow we had got melted in December with the inch of rain we got. We still don't have any more snow, and likely won't for the foreseeable future, which for MN is unheard of. The frost heaving is going to be horrifically epic this year. Next week it will be -15F ( -26C) with no snow cover. Scary.
The NWS in Grand Rapids is saying that parts of the Lower Peninsula will be dealing with wind chill temperatures of up to -35. Plus we are supposed to have another snow storm on Monday.
 

PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
We had one day this week where it was 44F, so the snow on streets and driveways melted, but then it snowed again. Last couple days the temps have been into the single and very low double digits. Today I had to scrape the inside of my car windows as they were iced up.

Ohio is due up for some even colder weather now and into next week as well, though not quite -35F.
 

ThreadWeaver

Beware of Dog. Cat not trustworthy either.
We had one day this week where it was 44F, so the snow on streets and driveways melted, but then it snowed again. Last couple days the temps have been into the single and very low double digits. Today I had to scrape the inside of my car windows as they were iced up.

Ohio is due up for some even colder weather now and into next week as well, though not quite -35F.
Whelp... It was -31F (-35C) this morning, with a -58F windchill. It's supposed to be colder tomorrow AM. Yikes.

Xcel Energy has asked the residents of one of the local communities to "Turn your thermostats down to 60°F because we're having infrastructure supply issues." In other words, the main pipes are insufficient to supply the amount of natural gas that the people are using. Whoops.

It would be amusing it it weren't happening to us I suppose but tomorrow AM will be -35F, and by Saturday and Sunday it will be +40F for a high, then next Wednesday night it will be back down to -13F again. Frigging rollercoaster.
 

PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
It's not quite that extreme in N.E. Ohio so far, thankfully... but close. Today during the day it was -4F, with Windchill somewhere around -27F. Tonight is supposed to be a good bit worse. Tomorrow during the day is supposed to be about the same. And for next week Monday/Tuesday I'm seeing 40F+, then like you, later in week to go back down again. School is closed for my nephew, and a lot of areas have shut down garbage pickup, and they are talking of stopping mail.

I've not heard any word from my utility company thankfully to turn the heat down.

Luckily, I replaced all the windows on my house in the last year and half. The side door was replaced about 3 years ago.

Unluckily, the front door needs replacing, though I only found out about it when noticed the seals failed and I have a door with a layer of ice... I'll do that in the spring, since no point having someone install a door now, they would have to remove the old, and the cold would get in.... no thanks.
 
Whelp... It was -31F (-35C) this morning, with a -58F windchill. It's supposed to be colder tomorrow AM. Yikes.

Xcel Energy has asked the residents of one of the local communities to "Turn your thermostats down to 60°F because we're having infrastructure supply issues." In other words, the main pipes are insufficient to supply the amount of natural gas that the people are using. Whoops.

It would be amusing it it weren't happening to us I suppose but tomorrow AM will be -35F, and by Saturday and Sunday it will be +40F for a high, then next Wednesday night it will be back down to -13F again. Frigging rollercoaster.
Here in Michigan Consumers Energy is asking people to lower the temperature on their furnaces as a result of a fire at the Macomb County gas compression station. Last I heard here in Jackson we are dealing with a -38 wind chill. Somebody pissed in Mother Nature's Post Toasties.
 
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