Does Charlie Brown Have a Secret Cousin?

Sunday night I watched Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (And Don’t Come Back!!) and its follow-up animated special, What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown. Given the subject matter and the time (Veterans Day weekend), it seemed appropriate. In the movie and the special, Charlie Brown and three of his friends (Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie) travelContinue reading “Does Charlie Brown Have a Secret Cousin?”

Boldly Going Where No Beagle Has Gone Before

A couple of weeks ago Facebook showed me an ad. Usually I ignore ads on Facebook, but this one caught my attention. A Snoopy t-shirt commemorating the Apollo 11 landing! Fifty years ago come Saturday! The shirt is, naturally, unlicensed and unofficial. The Charles Schulz estate is receiving nothing from this shirt. And Snoopy, frankly,Continue reading “Boldly Going Where No Beagle Has Gone Before”

Of Stumptown and Opening Day

It’s April. Spring is officially here. Baseball is back. Opening Day is more like “Opening Days” — three games yesterday, a few more today, a few more tomorrow, and then the season and the daily grind begins in earnest on Wednesday. Nothing says baseball more than Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, what with Charlie Brown and hisContinue reading “Of Stumptown and Opening Day”

Fifteen Influential Authors

I saw this on Facebook a few days ago, meant to answer it, and got sidetracked into other things. That happens. The rules: Don’t take too long to think about it. List 15 authors (poets and comic writers included) who have influenced you and who will always stick with you. List the first 15 youContinue reading “Fifteen Influential Authors”

On the Eve of Garrison Keillor’s Final Prairie Home Companion

Tonight, Garrison Keillor is recording his final A Prairie Home Companion, to be broadcast tomorrow night in its regular time slot. There’s a certain sadness to this. My parents have listened to A Prairie Home Companion for decades, and I seem to recall that they went to a live show in the early 90s. IContinue reading “On the Eve of Garrison Keillor’s Final Prairie Home Companion”

Link Round-Up: December 22

I was stupidly busy today with work, so I have little idea what’s happening in the world. Nonetheless, some things that caught my attention today… The Essay, Religion in the North, Norse Mythology: Karl Seigfried – An interesting personal essay on the continuing emotional pull of Norse mythology, a millennium after Scandinavia was Christianized. BBCContinue reading “Link Round-Up: December 22”

Party of Eight

This year I’ll be spending Thanksgiving by myself. I don’t have family nearby, and publishing doesn’t stop just because there’s a holiday; Friday I’ll be hip deep in getting January’s catalog out the door, long-distance travel to see family (only to have to turn around) simply doesn’t make sense. Don’t worry about me. I haveContinue reading “Party of Eight”

Thoughts About Endings

This morning I was working on text for the UK edition of January’s catalog. (The UK has a special version of PREVIEWS with more pages and UK-specific items.) And I worked on the text for Canongate’s edition of The Complete Peanuts Volume 25: 1999-2000. The final volume. A wave of emotion washed over me thatContinue reading “Thoughts About Endings”

The Peanuts Movie

Last night after work I went to see The Peanuts Movie, the new CGI animated film based on Charles Schulz’s characters. I had tracked this movie pretty carefully over the last year and a half, from the first trailer to the second, and last month I even read the kids novelization. The Peanuts Movie isContinue reading “The Peanuts Movie”

Things I’ve Been Reading: Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron

Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron Fantagraphics Books Written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz Coinciding with the release this week of The Peanuts Movie (not seen yet, though my ruminations on the kids novelization are here), Fantagraphics Books, the publishers of the Complete Peanuts, has published a collection of all of the Snoopy as theContinue reading “Things I’ve Been Reading: Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron”