Twitterpated

• 08:09 Just because you're ALLOWED to turn right on red doesn't mean you HAVE to, does it? #
• 12:41 @bclevinger Since I don't know her, there's no way I COULD tell her, is there? #
• 12:42 @JaredofMo Morning or early afternoon for me, I guess. #
• 12:44 @3x1minus1 Dumb question, but which edition of Monopoly is that? #
• 12:45 @JaredofMo I should be. #
• 12:47 @oz_
  diggs Yeah, I can't say I see where there's any libel in that review. #
• 12:52 @eehouls By buying their cannoli, you're supporting the death panels! Or something like that. #
• 12:57 @eehouls When I first read that, I thought Jay was asking Miley questions about Star Trek. Now THAT might be worth watching. #
• 13:17 You know, despite his famous quotation, Kanye actually DIDN'T let Taylor Swift finish. #
• 13:56 @JaredofMo Use it to mash up some potatoes for soup? #
• 13:58 Photo:
  Those chickens really ARE pretty vicious. They don’t attack unless you attack them first, though, so I... tumblr.com/xpy35bpa5 #
• 14:50 Photo: I loved “The Phantom Tollbooth” as a kid! prismcell: tumblr.com/xpy35c8a1 #
• 19:34 I just realized that Baum's Master Mariner of the World has the same name as Obama's Portuguese WATER Dog. Coincidence? Probably! #
• 19:42 Some radio preacher was making the tired point that other people don't believe what he believes because they don't WANT to. #
• 19:43 Whatever happened to believing what's most likely, rather than what you think is teh kewlest? #
• 20:21 Photo: Yeah, this was part of the little bit of Leno I watched last night, and I noticed that as well. I have... tumblr.com/xpy35go79 #
• 21:10 My topical Barenaked Ladies parody: "Lying in Congress, just like Joe Wilson did." #
• 21:11 Photo: I’m surprised these kids aren’t running for their lives. mudwerks: tumblr.com/xpy35hdmd #
• 21:15 Photo: Does that mean Ganon was responsible for devaluing the dollar? thedailywhat: tumblr.com/xpy35hflj #
• 21:19 Photo: Gi
  ving Jack Pumpkinhead a new view on life. samuraifrog: tumblr.com/xpy35hhwt #
• 22:30 Dane Cook, I commend you for trying to put your hyperactivity to a productive use, but I don't think comedy is your thing. #
• 22:30 Maybe Dane should try giving stock tips. It works for the other famous hyperactive guy. #
• 22:31 Seriously, what's Dane Cook's appeal? And how can he have such a big audience, yet I don't know a single person who likes him? #
• 22:32 I mean, for most celebrities I don't like, I usually know at least one or two people who do. Not so for him, unless someone won't admit it. #
• 22:42 Just how long IS Leno's opening monologue? It seems eternal, but maybe that's just because it's not funny. #
• 22:45 @3x1minus1 Thanks! #

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A Real Candyland...of the Mind

Two young children's board games that have withstood the test of time are Chutes and Ladders (originally Snakes and Ladders, and still known by that name in other countries, but apparently Americans don't like the idea of kids sliding down serpents) and Candy Land. I can only recall playing the latter once, in kindergarten, and being upset when I ended up getting sent back a considerable distance. But that's actually what both of these games have in common, aside from the fact that literacy isn't required. I guess the lesson for kids is that, no matter how successful you are, one little thing can ruin everything. Maybe the American banking industry should have spent more time playing these games. In Chutes/Snakes, the spaces specify what bad things you're doing that result in taking a slide--breaking a cookie jar, tormenting a cat, blowing up a bus full of nuns--but Candy Land has no such embedded moral lessons. I guess life in a country made of candy is just random, which I suppose makes a certain amount of sense.


The Wikipedia article on Candy Land has some interesting information on different versions of the game. I guess it would have been around 1983 that I played it, so the version with the characters would have been available, but I think I can only remember the locations. I do find the character changes over the years interesting. Apparently, in this decade, Frostine was demoted from a queen to a princess, and Lolly totally lost her royal title. Maybe in the next edition, King Kandy will change to a democratically elected president. Also, the fat green Plumpy no longer graces the game board.


Also worth noting is that Hasbro (which now owns Milton Bradley) sued an adult site called candyland.com over the domain name, and won. The domain name now redirects to Hasbro's page on the game.


Incidentally, I have to wonder if Candyland has any diplomatic relations with the food-related people of Oz. Maybe the reason that the Marshmallow Twins haven't appeared in an Oz book is that they're busy working as ambassadors to King Kandy's court. {g}