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- Steve and Amy

Audio: Good Grief, Charlie Brown!
Posted by Tannerman on September 4th, 2008 03:58 PM

Before Charlie Brown had a voice in a 1963 documentary film or the first TV special (1965's A Charlie Brown Christmas), he was given spoken word on a Columbia Records release in 1962 called Good Grief, Charlie Brown!. "Good Grief, Charlie Brown!" LP from 1962 This recording features back-and-forth banter between Charlie Brown and Lucy in voices that you definitely don't associate with the Peanuts TV specials. Unlike later specials, the voices on this album are adults, not kids, something that was later changed. In this case, the voice actors are comedy writer Arthur Siegel as Charlie Brown and stage and screen actress Kaye Ballard portraying Lucy. According to the Children's Records & More blog, the music that surrounds the comedy bits was composed and orchestrated by Fred Karlin. I bring up this odd juxtaposition of Charlie Brown history because it's not what we remember when we think of these characters in action. No, we rather envision the visuals and voices pulled together through animation. And with that I'm sad to mention that the guy who made that all happen -- animator Bill Melendez -- passed away on Tuesday at the age of 91. He worked with Charles Schulz and television producer Lee Mendelson to bring these characters to life in ways that we now hold so dear, even though they originated in flat comic strip form. Animator José Cuauhtemoc "Bill" Meléndez Melendez was the only person authorized to oversee the animation of the Peanuts characters. Prior to doing his work with Charlie Brown, he worked at all the top animation studios, including Disney, Warner Bros, and UPA. Over his career he earned four Emmy Awards, an Oscar nomination, and two Peabody Awards. You know when you watch the credits at the end of a Peanuts TV special and it mentions "Graphic Blandishment"? Yeah, Bill was responsible for that. He was also the "voice" of Snoopy. He will be missed, that's for sure. In tribute to what Bill Melendez eventually crafted into what we remember today (and to show just how much influence he had in changing the way Peanuts was represented in video/audio media), you can download the audio from that original 1962 record -- Good Grief, Charlie Brown! -- here on SteveandAmySly.com in MP3 format... but only for a limited time! Once September 20 comes around, it's gone! Enjoy! Download Good Grief, Charlie Brown! (1. Introducing Charlie Brown and Lucy) (MP3, 9:13, 21.3MB) Good Grief, Charlie Brown! (2. Bugs and Birds) (MP3, 5:24, 12.6MB) Good Grief, Charlie Brown! (3. Political Cartoons) (MP3, 3:57, 9.2MB) Good Grief, Charlie Brown! (4. Playthings) (MP3, 4:52, 11.3MB) Good Grief, Charlie Brown! (5. Snowflakes and Stars) (MP3, 4:32, 10.6MB) Good Grief, Charlie Brown! (6. Just Peanuts) (MP3, 10:05, 23.3MB)

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Mac assimilation in progress
Posted by Tannerman on September 2nd, 2008 09:09 PM

So, as I mentioned, we've bought a Mac. A 24" iMac, to be exact. Steve's reaction after first turning it on It arrived last Tuesday, so the following day I lugged it out of the Kidology office to work with my boss Karl on getting some general things setup, since he's been at this Mac thing far longer than I have. It's now at home and I'm sitting here with 3 computers on my desk... my old desktop PC, my laptop PC, and the Mac. At this point, the hardest part that I see is really the migration of stuff off my previous machine to the new one... including all those playlists, ratings, and counts for the thousands and thousands of songs in my iTunes library -- and that's just Christmas music! The other biggest challenge is re-learning how to type. My fingers want to go "Control-C" when they now need to be reaching for "Command-C". My high WPM typing rate is taking quite a beating so far! The assimilation continues...

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Chicago Outdoor Film Festival: "Grease"
Posted by Tannerman on August 31st, 2008 05:17 PM

At the end of July, we had a good time catching The Blues Brothers as part of the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival. Well, last week, the Festival wrapped up with a showing of 1978's Grease. Title card to the movie Ah, yes, how can you say no to John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John? It's people dancing and singing! Amy really wanted to go to this event. Myself... I can't say that I've ever seen Grease start to finish. Go figure. We were joined by Amy's former co-worker Catherine and her roommate. Catherine came for the fun (For those keeping track of history, Catherine is NOT a fan of Jones Soda Wild Herb Stuffing Soda!) Her roommate preferred to view the iPod instead of camera As we have been doing quite a bit lately, I hopped the 'L' downtown to grab a spot over at Butler Field, battling the very-territorial crowds who had the same thing in mind. The crowds piled in! Amy was working with a client downtown already and dropped by about and hour or so later. And so continued the ongoing Chicago Outdoor Film Festival battle between those who bring lawn chairs and those who prefer to sit on blankets (and complain that the lawnchair folks are blocking their view). Skyline as the sun sets As I mentioned when we saw The Sound of Music last year, they really should create sections for these two types of viewers. It would solve a LOT of problems. Video: Does this song sound familiar? Unlike our experience during The Blues Brothers, it did not rain! It actually got a bit chilly, but it was a good night for a film. I'd have to say that the place was probably the busiest we had seen. Everyone must have been in attendance to catch the last film before the summer "ended". Steve & Amy wrap up outdoor movies for the summer After the film, we packed up and Amy & I walked a few miles up Michigan Ave. to find her car. Good night for a walk. Fun time!

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American Flag and CNA Plaza
Posted by Tannerman on August 26th, 2008 03:00 PM

Over Independence Day here in the States (July 3-4), CNA Plaza showcased an American Flag via a lighted window message. Given that Chicago had their big fireworks show on July 3, it was probably viewed by hundreds of thousands. "Flag" on CNA Plaza (Simulation by Steve Tanner) The flag design was actually a stripped-down version of the setup previously used for 9/11 Rememberance. In this design, the flag stayed but the "9/11" branding was removed on the North/South Sides of the building. Official plan for "Flag" message (Source: CNA) In case you are counting, there are only 7 stripes on the CNA flag... along with a questionable amount of stars. It's more of a general interpretation of the United States flag! "Flag" details (Source: CNA) Thanks again to the folks at CNA -- as well as my Dad and his boss Neal -- for providing a information about the July 4 lighted window message. For more building images, visit our... CNA Plaza Lighted Window Message Archive

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Toys R Us MasterCard gets a facelift
Posted by Tannerman on August 25th, 2008 11:48 AM

Back in April 2007, I wrote about how Toys R Us and Chase had redesigned their credit card to look rather ugly. 2007 "Ugly Baby Montage" Version We tried calling them numerous times to see if an alternative option was available for the card (they said no). I mean, seriously, it looks like some kid who was taking a Photoshop class used it as his class project... and failed. Using the card over the past year, we also found that retailers had a very hard time actually reading the numbers on the card, as they were printed in silver on a light-colored background. Well, the other day I got a fraud control call from Chase to verify a large purchase I had just made. I confirmed the charge. They then followed up with the standard, "is there anything else we can help you with?" Well, as it turns out, my Toys R Us MasterCard actually had started to crack a little due to the way it was situated in my wallet, so I asked for a replacement card for both Amy and myself. This is what arrived: New 2008 Version! It appears that the Toys R Us MasterCard has a new look and it's no longer ugly as heck. This past year, Toys R Us actually revised their logo a little to remove the "center star" and quotes from the "R". That revised logo is reflected on the new card, which finally is back to the simple look that it originally had. 2006 Version There is also an improved level of contrast between the numbers printed on the card and the background image. Overall, thumbs up. Thanks Toys R Us and Chase!

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