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kakeochi_umai February 11 2013, 09:42:38 UTC
At the zoo, there are protesters with signs picketing not the cruel conditions of the Bedford Zoo, which frankly sounds like a dump, but of zoos in general.
Did zoos still tend to be like that when this book was written, or is this another example of Ann not knowing shit about shit?

STACEY is there, babysitting. Kristy asks how she can babysit outside of the club, and Stacey says that the J's called her privately.HA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I feel kind of like how I felt when I was working for an evil, vindictive, bullying shitbag who finally fired me on a technicality, then six months later she drove the company to bankruptcy and retired with her tail between her legs (along with her armpit hair, which she often displayed with sleeveless tops) while I was making enough to support myself doing freelance work that I loved ( ... )

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lippian February 11 2013, 14:59:45 UTC
As for the zoo question... this is one of the later books, like right before Abby. Which means I was in the third or fourth grade. I remember going to the zoo even in Kindergarten, and the animals were in nice enclosures with glass walls-- someone like the apes might be behind chain link, but with a moat and everything. And this was in Columbus in the backward Midwest, not in wonderful modern ritzy New England. I guess Ann hasn't been to a zoo since the 50s.

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author_by_night February 12 2013, 01:06:36 UTC
Actually, there's still some pretty bad ones... I went to Hershey Park a few years ago and was appalled. Although even that may have changed.

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lippian February 12 2013, 01:44:26 UTC
I've never been to the Hershey zoo, just the theme park. Now I don't usually eat their chocolate because I'm scared of gluten contamination, plus I was appalled when I found out they're one of the companies that refuses to switch to Fair Trade and still uses slave-harvested chocolate, so it turned from not-buying-for-health-reasons into a full-blown boycott. I guess it doesn't surprise me that they're also cruel to animals!

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aceattorneysho February 12 2013, 00:01:38 UTC
...but Kristy reminds them that that would involve talking to Stacey, and she can't do that because then Kristy's penis would fall off. They're not allowed to talk to Stacey until she apologizes for whatever it was she did.

Dying. I'm also pretty sure I've done that before. I just can't remember when.

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road_baby February 12 2013, 01:06:10 UTC
Good on the Johanssens for hiring outside the club. It's nice to see someone putting their kid's feelings before Kristy's rules.

MA begs Logan to say nothing to Alan, and Logan looks pissed.

Just what is Logan's problem with Alan? I never thought they had any animosity between them. What's up with that?

Man. Reading about all the animals in little cages makes me so sad. I had to give my kitty much kisses.

Claudia says she hates it when couples dress alike. "It's so geeky."

Claudia, honey. You have dressed as a watermelon and two seperate cartoon chararecters. You don't get to call other people's fashion choice geeky.

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lippian February 12 2013, 01:45:33 UTC
Logan's in a rivalry with Alan in this book because of the special prize for best report... also I think there's a subtext that he's a dick because MA is obligated to spend so much time with another boy.

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julietvalcouer February 12 2013, 01:26:46 UTC
I would love to see someone try to smuggle an Emu out. (They're kind of mean. And they kick hard when they're mad. The barn I boarded my old horse at had Emus for meat and they are not exactly parrot-level intelligence. The ones at the zoo liked to do stuff like run into the chain-link. Or chase each other into the chain link; Blue was kind of mean. They were named for the color of their leg bands.)

Has Ann/Ghosts ever even SEEN a zoo? Animals don't live in cages with easily accessible "doors". Even the cheap places. You can, a lot of times, get pretty close, but come on. As for feeding and stuff, in the real world there are usually chutes leading into holding areas so animals can come off exhibit.

As far as the bus goes...we ARE talking about the middle school that expects its sixth-graders to fund raise for charitable endeavors like fixing the roof, putting mirrors in the bathrooms, and painting over graffiti....

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lippian February 12 2013, 01:49:20 UTC
I KNEW emus weren't docile!!! There was one in a nasty State Fair petting zoo I went to when I was younger that angrily pecked a carrot out of my hand, and I never trusted them since. The baby giraffe was sweet, though; it gently looped its scary blue tongue around a carrot and tugged it away.

I've never seen a zoo with accessible, clearly distinguishable doors except for the zoo in "Where's Wallace," but that book was written in the 30s and meant to be a cartoon.

Now I'm sad thinking of the giraffe in that little cage at the petting zoo, but I don't care about the emu.

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egadthearchaeo February 15 2013, 05:42:50 UTC
A)Yes, I'm reading this snark backwards
B)Are we sure this is a zoo and not an 18th century circus?
C)How has the zoo not gotten fined or in trouble over half this stuff yet?
D)I'm amazed they even have more than one zookeeper
E)If Mrs. Wolfsie is treating her assistant like a trained animal, I can't really blame him for being bitter

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