More pie

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally posted by robustpuppy
So that the children are free to go off on dangerous adventures that their mothers would never permit. If the characters had mothers, real children's mothers would not be able to read the books aloud without interspersing such comments as "I don't know what Pippi Longstocking's mother is thinking, letting her spend all that time in that tree hole," and "Harry Potter's mother should spend less time at her PR job and more time finding out what's going on at that school!"

My mom bought me my first lighter when I was 6, right after dad bought me a hunting knife.

[robustpuppy]

Originally posted by greatwhitenorthchick
Aha. That makes perfect sense.

Also, note the total uselessness of the fathers in many stories. Cinderella's father is blind to the mistreatment of his beloved daughter by his horrible second wife; Nemo's father is an anxiety-addled twit; the kids who grow up in those books in Minnesota (I can never remember the name of the series) have a dad who is always away on business; Jane and Elizabeth's father, Mr. Bennet, is as ineffectual as they come (luckily, Elizabeth manages to marry someone quite unlike papa; although Lydia ended up with a cad and Jane, a gay). Perhaps some authors are working out their issues with daddy?

[NotFromHere]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch

I'm pretty sure Tom Sawyer had a mother, though.

And what you say about his company
Is what you say about society.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by patentparanyc
amazing where do you find these links?

A free web-based service called "Google." It has a relatively simple interface that's easy to learn. You type some text -- say, "Astrid name origin" -- into the window, and hit "Enter" on your keyboard, and within seconds it gives you list of websites of some relevance to your query. It's a great service. I wish I'd thought of it. Someone is going to make a lot of money with it, I'm thinking. Do you want the link?

[greatwhitenorthchick]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
It's a good literary device for creating tension -- alienation, loneliness, enemies (in the form of the evil stepparents or orphan-keepers), etc. The things that make a story interesting. It's also a good device for getting the kid into "adventures," by not having mom around to keep an eye on him/her.

I'm pretty sure Tom Sawyer had a mother, though. As did all the kids in The Great Brain series.

Indeed. That makes sense as well.

I have a hard time with children's movies. A few weeks ago, I watched Spirit with my nephew and couldn't stop crying about 2/3 of the way into the movie because it was so sad. My nephew is a little trickster, too. He kept saying "don't worry, Auntie [me], it's a happy ending." But then, he said "Actually, I just *think* it's a happy ending, it's probably a happy ending." I can safely report that it was indeed a happy ending and that my nephew and I are still on speaking terms.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by greatwhitenorthchick
Are they all motherless? or orphans?

I am just thinking of Harry Potter, the kids in the lion, witch & wardrobe and little orphan annie.

I suppose Nemo and Bambi do not have mothers. Also Cinderella.

Is the skew more towards motherless than orphan?

And why are they motherless/orphans? Is it so they are more heroic? Or because people like killing off mothers?

The girl in Labyrinth had a father and an evil stepmother. The Princess Bride appears to have been orphaned. The Little Princess was orphaned. Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Ariel (I'm so very, very excited that the Little Mermaid is going to be rereleased on DVD next month) only had their dads. Alladin, orphaned. Cinderella, evil stepmother. Snow White, evil stepmother. Sleeping Beauty, parents cursed. The Land Before Time dinosaurs, orphaned. Bambi, orphaned. The Lion King, orphaned.

Wendy in Peter Pan had both parents, though Peter appears to be orphaned.

ETA: Dumbo has a mom, but I can't watch the movie because of what happens to her. I've never seen Bambi for similar reasons. And I was traumatized by the mothers' deaths in the Land Before Time.

[robustpuppy]

Originally posted by NotFromHere
And what you say about his company
Is what you say about society.

You're going to hell.

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally posted by NotFromHere
And what you say about his company
Is what you say about society.

Damn you.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by robustpuppy
Also, note the total uselessness of the fathers in many stories. Cinderella's father is blind to the mistreatment of his beloved daughter by his horrible second wife; Nemo's father is an anxiety-addled twit; the kids who grow up in those books in Minnesota (I can never remember the name of the series) have a dad who is always away on business; Jane and Elizabeth's father, Mr. Bennet, is as ineffectual as they come (luckily, Elizabeth manages to marry someone quite unlike papa; although Lydia ended up with a cad and Jane, a gay). Perhaps some authors are working out their issues with daddy?

Ariel didn't have a mom, but her dad was on the ball.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by robustpuppy
So that the children are free to go off on dangerous adventures that their mothers would never permit.

On the other hand: No mercury poisoning!

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
He was raised by Aunt Polly. Did Hank steal your log-in?

Nah. It's just been a few years since I've read it.

I've moved on to more grown-up literature, like My Darling, My Hamburger.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
The girl in Labyrinth had a father and an evil stepmother. The Princess Bride appears to have been orphaned. The Little Princess was orphaned. Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Ariel (I'm so very, very excited that the Little Mermaid is going to be rereleased on DVD next month) only had their dads. Alladin, orphaned. Cinderella, evil stepmother. Snow White, evil stepmother. Sleeping Beauty, parents cursed. The Land Before Time dinosaurs, orphaned. Bambi, orphaned. The Lion King, orphaned.

Wendy in Peter Pan had both parents, though Peter appears to be orphaned.

I had Flinty's mom. And Penske's dad used to come on to me, but ineffectually.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Sparklehorse
If there are parents, usually they are inattentive or away from home.

Or too busy. But, sometimes, the great instigator of adventure -- Dads in particular get to play that role.

Danny, The Champion of the World. Great case in point. (I love Roald Dahl, except not his freaky adult books)

[robustpuppy]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
The girl in Labyrinth had a father and an evil stepmother. The Princess Bride appears to have been orphaned. The Little Princess was orphaned. Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Ariel (I'm so very, very excited that the Little Mermaid is going to be rereleased on DVD next month) only had their dads. Alladin, orphaned. Cinderella, evil stepmother. Snow White, evil stepmother. Sleeping Beauty, parents cursed. The Land Before Time dinosaurs, orphaned. Bambi, orphaned. The Lion King, orphaned.

Wendy in Peter Pan had both parents, though Peter appears to be orphaned.

In Land of the Lost, it was Dad who caused them to be stuck among the sleestaks. You can just see their mom at home, pacing and seething and cursing her luck for having such a dolt of a husband. Hmm, maybe Land of the Lost was really a story about a custody dispute.

[Alex_de_Large]

Originally posted by patentparanyc
Hubby found depending on computer on the Gateway site, free yes free software to protect our corrupted, now wiped clean hard drive. So if you have a Gateway try the free stuff. If you don't doesn't Dell offer same?

Short answer: buy a Mac.