Sixty years of Green Eggs and Ham
brianjayjones.com
brianjayjones.com
Here's the text, but the original illustrated version is so much better: https://www.poetrygrrrl.com/oh-the-places-youll-go-by-dr-seu...
"After a few unproductive months, he happened to read a headline in the San Francisco Chronicle that read, "450 Dead Pets Going To Napa Valley". Morris left for Napa Valley and began working on the film that would become his first feature, Gates of Heaven, which premiered in 1978. Herzog had said he would eat his shoe if Morris completed the documentary. After the film premiered, Herzog publicly followed through on the bet by cooking and eating his shoe, which was documented in the short film Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe by Les Blank. ...Critic Roger Ebert was and remained a champion of the film, including it on his all-time top ten best films list."
(It was not Hemingway.)
The primary lesson is that almost every famous quotation has been misattributed, inevitably to someone more famous. It's surprisingly unusual to find a famous quote that the famous person actually said.
I disagree that laugh tracks make things funnier, though.
I once thought it was an issue of intelligence, but my wife has helped me see the careful thought I put into every word, every stroke of the pen, every movement I make. The time I take is deliberate, purposeful. The issue I've recently faced is justifying the time spent to create a certain quality of art and work.
It feels quite normalizing to read about Dr. Seuss and his year-long struggle to create this book. Inspirational, even. Look at all the joy this man has brought into the world. Look at how his time spent has served everyone well.
Look at the fun he had along the way.
You can't quantify that against time. If you find a way, perhaps you shouldn't.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhuWipIDhwI
*not actually Dylan but it's a great take on him and there's six more Seuss songs on the album.
Some days I really want to read this book to my kid: https://www.amazon.com.au/You-Have-F-king-Eat/dp/1501238663
It's weird. When parents watch kids sleep they think "Aww, aren't they cute..."
but when the kids watch the parents sleep it's "...Holy motherfucker!!! ... oh, don't do that to me kiddo."
We wish he would learn the "try it" strategy for food, like the end of the book does. Once he tries it, he stuffs himself!
But he seems to have learned the "deny eating strenuously" strategy of the whole story.
Maybe we should apply authoritarian censorship and read him only the last few pages...
Also, serving the same thing many times over (not necessarily frequently) helped too - extended exposure.
My kids are all picky eaters but they all love broccoli, I'll take that as a win.
Semi-related, my favorite cheese is Swiss because it has holes in it, and that's how cheese is portrayed in comics.
More a lesson on "See how much time he wasted refusing it when he could have simply tried it to begin with?"
I was trying to make scrambled eggs. I put some Cayenne pepper in. I dumped a bunch. I realized it was hot. I had heard that mint would make food taste less hot. So I dumped in more and more and more and more.
Eventually it turned green. But didn't stop being waaay too hot to my 10 year old self. (I'm sure that my 50 year old self would find it mild.)
At our local library newer books sometimes make an attempt but mostly limit themselves to token depictions of a head coverings, black kids, and wheelchairs.
I hope even the somewhat sanitized recent edition will have the staying power of the other more well known stories.
At this point, the character has realized that his quite firm refusal is having no effect. Growing weary of being ignored, he makes a show of capitulation and eats, exclaiming faux appreciation to Sam for his efforts.
After this episode, he never eats green eggs nor ham again. In adulthood, he would often think back to this moment with regret for having failed to stand up for himself.
Or maybe it's money and a gentleman's honor.
It took a few years to get to a second one though.
Speaking of creepy kids’ books, what gives with Marianne Dreams? It felt like real nightmare material when I read it as a mature adult.
For the those who don’t want to read a twitter thread but want a posting by the original author.