|
 |
|
Home |
Issues | The Daily Star
Home
|
|
|
|
It's cartoons. And these are some of them, in no particular order. One of the prime examples would be Dexter's Laboratory. Dexter, boy genius, showed us that as a little boy you can have your own laboratory fitted with a computer that talks in a cool female voice, and instead of the usual garage filled with sleek cars you can have your own transformer-like robots, which can turn into sleek cars anyway, under your command with self-destruct buttons all over the place. Unfortunately, we never got any of these things. Cats are cool. I know that. You know that. Everyone knows that. They're even cooler when they're riding a black jet armed with an arsenal of weaponry and freakishly cool gadgetry like enhanced gloves and sleek bikes and a junkyard with a secret underground base. We learnt that prolonged exposure to a certain amount of g-force rendered you unconscious, and we learnt not to be a suck up and be blind idiots obeying every order from superiors like Feral hands over to us. Cats are cool. SWAT Kats in super jets and super bikes? Waay cooler. Johnny Quest introduced us to the wonders of the technological world, the infinite possibilities and potential of the computer and the price of information. And look around, what do you see? It's the Era of the Nerds. Thanks to the likes of “the Real Adventures of Johnny Quest”, along with the help of Hollywood and Madison Avenue, we are ready to take over the world, poised with our cynical and alienated peers, because you (you know who you are, you wretched mongrels) are now old and weak. Who can forget that little spinach eating 'sailor-man' known as Popeye? Everyone one of as a kid wanted to be strong and healthy. When we saw that this little runt could do wonders after gulping down nothing except a can of spinach, we were awestruck, and thought it was worth the sacrifice. And we learnt the truth- spinach does not make you super strong. It simply does not. Yet another hard-earned lesson worthy of taking to the grave. Birdman was yet another inspiring cartoon. I mean. He had a kickass sidekick. Batman has Robin who's wearing pretty much nothing but a tight shirt and green underwear. Gawd, Bats, really? And there's Birdman with quite a fudging cool eagle called Avenger! 1-0 against Batman. Biiiiiiirdman!! The Flintstones and the Jetsons were opposite ends of an axis, the former featuring prehistoric life, and the latter postfuturistic (?) life. Insightful if not anything else. And who could forget the weirdly strange Adams Family? Suburban life can be very boring. But not for the likes of the Adams family when everyday is filled with some new sort of strangeness. Uncle Fester with his unhealthy fondness for explosives, Cousin Itt with his… it's … well, you know. Who wouldn't want to live in a house that gothic, filled with booby-traps and secret passageways? Incidentally, Neil Gaiman, writer of Sandman, does live in a place like that. Johnny Bravo is another awesome example of life lessons well taught and learnt. Clearly girls aren't all about the muscular men with a hyperinflated ego, a dim wit, gel-dumped hair and zero social skills. Never do the monkey in public, and honestly, women beating you to a pulp does NOT mean that “she wants” you. One cartoon that should not go unmentioned, ever, is of course Looney Tunes. Ah, Bugsy Bugsy Bugsy. Where art thou, dear rabbit? And Daffy? Et tu, Daffy? Where art thou? Why art thou lost to us? Why hast thou forsaken millions upon millions of children to their doom as they taint their souls with lesser cartoons and inferior quality? Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other characters of the Looney Tunes crew brought tears to our eyes, gave us so many times of laughter and joy through our tragedies and troubles, and won our hearts with all their awesome shenanigans. When we think about Bugs Bunny and Daffy, we think awesomeness to a level unheard of, we think of icons, legends, and ideas that burn within us all with an inextinguishable flame. It's very sad that kids these days, they don't know what Swat Kats is, or Johnny Quest, and most horrifyingly, who Bugs Bunny is. It appears that these great figures of awesomeness are now lost to the world in a strange land godforsaken modernism. I blame you. (Yeah, you know who you are, you wretched mongrel.) By Emil RS Mailbox  This is in response to diehard Twilight fan, Noshin Sharar's letter to Sabrina F Ahmad.
Everybody has a right to their opinion, and if Noshin Sharar had critiqued Ms Ahmad's writing technique and disagreed with her review in a mature and intelligent fashion, it would've been perfectly acceptable and I'm sure, very much appreciated. However, slinging personal attacks just because somebody doesn't share the same love for a book that you do, it seems quite juvenile. Now, from the letter in question, I have to assume that Noshin Sharar cannot be more than 16 years old, maybe closer to 14 or 15, so the childishness of it can't be fully faulted. But if by some chance, she is older, I would like to point out that saying someone lacks a heart or is not sane, is quite harsh, especially considering you don't know the person. “I bet no one ever loved you in your life”? That statement, right there is what urged me to respond to this letter. How does one even write that without first laughing at themselves, rethinking it, and then very wisely deciding to hit the delete key? Apparently Ms Ahmad portrayed a startling lack of “conscience and a heart or a fresh mind” when reviewing New Moon. I would like to conclude by advising this Twilight fan to take a deep breath, maybe do some yoga and just relax. As touching as Edward and Bella's never-ending love might be, there is no denying that Stephenie Meyer is a better story-teller than a writer, i.e., she could benefit from a few intense writing classes. Dear RS, But what about those who love Twilight? Have the haters ever wondered why they love Twilight so much? Some people may relate themselves to the characters. Others might find joy in Bella's happiness in finding her true love. People may wish to be in her place, to have someone love you so much as Edward loves Bella. They may wish to have great friends and family as Bella does. They might want their happy endings to be just like Bella's. Maybe some people want to find their destiny, just like Bella did, even if he or she is dangerous. Readers can have many resons for loving AND hating Twilight. But they should consider each other's perspectives before making any accusations. Everything has a negative and a positive side. However, I have a feeling that the Twilight fans vs. haters war will go on for a long time. Your one stop junction for love and hate for RS. Send all your opinions, queries and contributions to ds.risingstars @gmail.com Little People
None of the early Norse sources describe dwarves as particularly small beings. In artwork made during the Viking Age and even later, both dwarves and humans are the same height. Norse texts describe them with pale skin and black hair. As their mythology evolved, the most notable changes have had them become more comical and more mysterious. They adopted the modern image of short height and ugliness. Their associations with the underground became more predominant By Nishita Aurnab Kidstar Mothers Mother or Angel? By Imaan Khasru |
|
|
|
| home
| Issues | The Daily Star Home © 2009 The Daily Star |
|
A tale of some cartoons
In myths and tales, dwarfs are small human like creatures, often endowed with magical powers. Dwarves generally look like old men with long beards and are sometimes misshapen. Though usually associated with Scandinavian mythology, dwarfs appear in the myths of many cultures, along with similar creatures such as fairies, gnomes, pixies, and leprechauns. Dwarves are sometimes represented as helpful creatures or wise advisers as, for example, in the fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. More commonly, though, they are unpleasant, stubborn, and distrustful with an air of mystery about them. They may act in deceitful ways, or they may be openly hostile. In some stories, dwarfs steal food or carry off children and beautiful maidens.