"A blue cloud of smoke wafted over the Famous Five statue that sits just east of the Senate doors. No one seemed to be going insane or looking like they were about to personally invade the United States. There were people of all colours in the crowd, but if any of them were members of The Ring, they hid it well. The peaceful demonstrators were, however, breaking the law, smoking a banned substance that could in theory have landed any one of them in prison." Emily Murphy’s legacy lives on in more ways than most care to remember.
posted by mannequito on Oct 1, 2012 - 14 comments

Five go adventuring in Disneyland. Enid Blyton, beloved British children's author, created tales of child detectives Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog in the 1940s. Deemed outdated, or at times downright offensive(.pdf), stories abound that the author's work has been banned from libraries or school reading lists in the past for being sexist and/or racist. Debate sprang up earlier this year over the publisher's attempts to update the books for a modern audience (read: American), which some interpreted as a politically correct attempt at sanitisation. The Famous Five was nevertheless voted by adults as their favourite series for children in 2005.
Now owned by brand business Chorion, the historic characters are being reimagined as Cole, Dylan, Jo and Allie in a 26-episode animated series from Disney. Some are delighted, others are not amused. Pour yourself some lashings of ginger beer, and remember Kirrin Island fondly. It may be the end of an era.
posted by szechuan on Dec 5, 2006 - 19 comments