The Modern Little Red Hen
Author unknown, published in Gulf Islands Driftwood, June 30, 1976, page 4.
Once upon a time there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered some grains of wheat. She called her neighbors and said ‘If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?’
“Not I, ” said the cow.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Not I,” said the pig.
“Not I,” said the goose.
“Then I will,” said the little red hen. And she did. The wheat grew tall and ripened into golden grain. “Who will help me reap my wheat?” asked the little red hen.
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Out of my classification,” said the pig.
“I’d lose my seniority,” said the cow.
“I’d lose my unemployment compensation,” said the goose.
“Then I will,” said the little red hen, and she did.
At last the time came to bake the bread. “Who will help me bake bread?” asked the little red hen.
“That would be overtime for me,” said the cow.
“I’d lose my welfare benefits,” said the duck.
“I’m a dropout and never learned how,” said the pig.
“If I’m to be the only helper, that’s discrimination,” said the goose.
“Then I will,” said the little red hen.
She baked five loaves and held them up for the neighbors to see.
They all wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, “No, I can eat the five loaves myself.”
“Excess profits,” cried the cow.
“Capitalist leech,” screamed the duck.
“I demand equal rights,” yelled the goose.
And the pig just grunted.
And they painted “unfair” picket signs and marched round and around the little red hen shouting obscenities.
When the government agent came, he said to the little red hen, “You must not be greedy.”
“But I earned the bread,” said the little red hen.
“Exactly,” said the agent. “That’s the wonderful free enterprise system. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations productive workers must divide their products with the idle.”
And they lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, “I am grateful, I am grateful.” But her neighbors wondered why she never again baked any more bread.
As read by President Ronald Reagan, November 16, 1976:
Storybrooke: Watch for Witches and Flying Monkeys
Attention, residents of Storybrooke, Maine. The town is experiencing an increased level of supernatural activity involving green-skinned witches and flying monkeys, possibly from the Land of Oz.
The following reports are from Good Morning, Storybrooke:
March 9, 2014
http://youtu.be/XCLFsGvvE1M
The situation has continued to deteriorate. Mayor Regina Mills issued an official Witch Watch.
March 28, 2014
Madam Mayor suggests it’s going to take “a little bit of evil” to stop this new threat. We think her moral compass might be broken.
April 3, 2014
April 11, 2014
Stay tuned for further developments.
Captain America is Boring?
Helen O’Hara of Empire magazine wonders why some critics think Captain America is boring. She asks, “Many superheroes, action heroes and sci-fi stars have troubled pasts that they sometimes like to reflect upon while staring handsomely into the distance. But does it feel to anyone else like maybe we have a few too many troubled heroes these days? And that maybe this whole dark, brooding, troubled, tortured thing has gone far enough?”
So why is Captain America interesting? O’Hara makes a compelling case in her blog. Click here and see if you agree.
Smaug Alert
Dragons are born in New Zealand. It’s true! Thanks to the talented artisans at Weta Workshop, these amazing creatures come to digital life with astonishing detail.
Now, Weta has published a book that celebrates the creation of Smaug the Terrible, from Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
Here’s a page in which Weta Digital Senior Texture Artist Myriam Catrin talks about making the dragon look real:
Veteran Weta concept designers Gus Hunter and Paul Tobin provide commentary in this gorgeous spread:
Textures Supervisor and Creative Art Director Gino Acevedo talks about the brief from director Peter Jackson:
On Saturday, April 19, come to the Weta Cave in Wellington, New Zealand, at 1:00 p.m. Three of Smaug’s creators will be signing copies of the book Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon.
Joe Letteri – Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Weta Digital
Eric Reynolds – Animation Supervisor, Weta Digital
Myriam Catrin – Senior texture Artist, Weta Digital
Otherwise, copies of Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon can be ordered from here.
Bad, bad dragon, that Smaug.
Does anyone care that he’s an endangered species?
Water Surge, Japan 2011
What’s it like to experience the power of a tsunami? 601ProductionLTD provides coverage here:
Uploaded on July 27, 2013.
“This tsunami footage was recorded on CCTV cameras that were placed along Route 45 in Iwate Prefecture. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) published it in the sped-up form, because the original videos were in very low frame rate.”
Camera #1 (on the roof of Miyako City Hall)
Camera #2 (in Taro, Miyako City)
Camera #3 (in Osawa, Yamada Town)
Dog and Fish are Friends
Nick Corona uploaded a video to YouTube featuring “Spectacular footage of a Labrador Retriever (Sasha) swimming with, eating with, & then kissing a fish. Our dog, Sasha, took a break from playing fetch to befriend a carp at Lake Mead in Las Vegas Nevada. What ensues is a 2 minute frolicking as Sasha & Carp say hello, swim together, eat together, & finally meet nose to nose in a touching video of 2 unlikely friends. The carp actually makes it a point to return and play with Sasha.”
This music version was uploaded September 11, 2012.
Who has the bigger fists?
Alright, gang, who has the bigger fists? Power Ranger Jason David Frank or Superman Dean Cain?
Who has the bigger fists? Karen (Amy Pond) Gillan? Jason David Frank? Or Matt (The Doctor) Smith?
At Wizard World, Louisville Comic Con, March 29, 2014. Photos © Jason David Frank.
An Honest Trailer for Disney’s FROZEN!
With singing by the wickedly talented Adele Dazeem! Rated PG!
YouTube premiere, March 11, 2014.
Honest Trailers: Frozen
Directed by Andy Signore
Series Created by Andy Signore & Brett Weiner
Episode Written by Spencer Gilbert, Marc Muszynski, Daniel Hartley, Dan Murrell & Andy Signore
Edited by Dan Murrell
Female vocals by Emily Kron
Male vocals by Daniel Hartley
Music & Background vocals by Sean Mötley
Voiceover Narration by Jon Bailey.
Choked by Batman!
It had to happen. After taking on Spider-Man, Mighty Morphin’ Jason David Frank is strangled by the Dark Knight at Wizard World Sacramento.
Surviving that encounter, Mr. Frank is tackled by the Pink Ranger. But wait–this time he’s smiling!
Photos © 2014 Jason David Frank
Jason David Frank takes on Spider-Man
At Wizard World Sacramento, Jason David Frank is about to pummel a certain notorious wall-crawler. It’s Mighty Morphin’ Power Ranger vs. Spider-Man. Who will win?
Photo © 2014 Jason David Frank.
