Hello Kitty - Happy 50th anniversary!

Today, November 1st, Sanrio’s beloved character Hello Kitty celebrates her 50th anniversary. Befitting a pop icon at midlife, the bubble-headed, bow-wearing character's fictional birthday has brought museum exhibits, a theme park spectacle and a national tour. And that's just in Japan, her literal birthplace... but not the one listed in her official biography. 

Hello Kitty didn’t start as a cartoon. A young Sanrio illustrator named Yuko Shimizu drew her in 1974 as a decoration for stationery, tote bags, cups and other small accessories. The design made its debut on a coin purse the next year and became an instant hit in Japan. 

Sanrio permits anyone to use the Hello Kitty design for any purpose, as long as they pay the licence feel. It didn't take long for her to become emblazoned on various types of clothing, although the item shown here is probably an unlicensed knock-off.

As Hello Kitty’s commercial success expanded beyond Asia, so did her personal profile. By the late 1970s, Sanrio revealed the character's name as Kitty White. Her height is 5 apples and she weights 3 apples. She was born in suburban London [Bet you didn't know that! Ed.], where she lives with her parents and twin sister Mimmy. 

At some point, Sanrio designated Kitty's birthday as November 1st, the same as that of Ms Shimizu. Her background was embellished with hobbies that included playing piano, reading and baking. Her TV appearances required co-stars, including a pet cat named Charmmy Kitty that made its debut 20 years ago. 

Hello Kitty's 40th birthday brought an update that astonished fans. Sanrio clarified to a Los Angeles museum curator that Kitty, despite her feline features, was a little girl. A company spokesperson repeated the distinction this year, renewing debate online about the requirements for being considered human.

Part of the confusion stems from a misunderstanding of "kawaii", which is Japanese for "cute" but also connotes a lovable or adorable essence. The word is used often in Japanese society, not only to describe babies and puppies, but also: an elderly man (ahem, ahem), something as innocuous as an umbrella, a subcompact car or a kitchen utensil. Even a horror movie monster can be labelled "kawaii".

The idea may seem terribly girly-girly to us Westerners, but it’s taken seriously in Japan, where the concept is linked with the most honourable instincts. The complexity of "kawaii" may help explain Hello Kitty's enduring appeal across generations and cultures, why Avril Lavigne released a song titled "Hello Kitty" a decade ago, and why King Charles wished Hello Kitty a happy 50th birthday when he hosted Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at Buckingham Palace last June.

Happy 50th, Kitty! We love ya!

Gramatical footnote from Ed.: We continue to be appalled at the degradation of the language of Shakespeare. The apostles of DEI tell us, over and over again, that speaking and writing proper English is racist. (See Walt's comments on the apostrophe error in "The Great Garbage controversy", WWW 30/10/24.)  

We have noticed, and condemn, the trend in the broadcast meeja to use phrases like "fifty-year anniversary" instead of "50th/fiftieth anniversary". Puleeze peepul! The word anniversary is derived from the Latin word "annua", which means "year". Saying "fifty-year anniversary" is a horrendous redundancy. As for "six-month anniversary", that's just ridiculous.

VIDEO: Best Babylon Bee sketches of 2021

About a year ago we did a year-end review, noting the passing of notable people in politics, sports, and so on. Nobody cared, at least not that we noticed. So we're not going there this year, except to say that the passing of Betty White, Archbishop Tutu, and Prince Philip -- all of whom died in their 90s -- makes me think that a certain president and a certain pope may not be on next year's list after all. I'm offering 5:2 on Bergoglio and 5:1 on Brandon. Get your bets down now.

So then... rather than focusing on people, let's just take a look back at the events which drew our attention in the Year of Woke 2021. Here's the Babylon Bee highlight reel.

 

Now for a look forward. As the sun rose today, I saw a robin -- a big fat robin -- sitting in the juniper amongst the pines behind my cabin. A sign of global warming? An early spring? The sight of the robin, in the brilliant sunshine, blue sky, dark green of the tree and gleaming white snow, gladdened my heart. 

After yesterday's divine liturgy, Father said that pretty soon everyone will have Covid, and then we can stop fussing about it. He wasn't being totally facetious. By this spring, I'm guessing, the virus will become endemic and we will be able to go back to something like the old normal. We will get through this winter and the coming year holds promise of real change. Am I right? You know it!

Last gay toon standing? - Part 2

As detailed in Part 1 (above), South Park has (or had) its pervert named Herbert -- Herbert Garrison, the queer school teacher and sometime homosexual lover of Mr. Slave. Sure enough, Family Guy has one too. That would be John Herbert, US Army (retd) and neighbour to the lovable Griffin family. Well, maybe you don't find the Griffins lovable, but Herbert the Pervert does. Well, not all of them. Just Chris, the stupid teenage son.

"Mr. Herbert" is an elderly pedohebephile (you can look it up) who lives alone with his old, crippled dog, Jesse. He has a high-pitched, very soft, effeminate voice and speaks with a slight whistle lisp -- pretty tricky for the voice actor to do. He is often seen wearing a light blue robe and slippers and gets around with the aid of a zimmer-frame walker.

The old bugger became fixated on Chris in "To Love and Die in Dixie", in which Chris had a newspaper route that included Herbert's house. As he tries to persuade Chris to come inside, he gives his views on women -- "Who needs 'em?" -- revealing himself as a misogynist and/or gay as 18 balloons. When the Griffins returned from the South, Herbert left 113 messages asking what had happened to the nice boy who used to deliver his newspaper.

But that was nothing new, for Herbert frequently makes "inappropriate, sexually-tinged comments" to and about teenage boys. Here's a sample.



After first appearing in "To Love and Die in Dixie", Herbert became a major character, having a part in four to six episodes every season through the end of Season 12 last spring. But so far this season, he has had only a cameo in September's crossover spectacular "The Simpsons Guy".

Walt wonders why the writers didn't go for the obvious gag, and have Herbert develop a crush on Waylon Smithers... or vice versa... a very apposite phrase in this case. Could it be that Seth MacFarlane has finally figured out that pedophilia (or pedohebephilia) really isn't very funny?

Will we ever see Herbert the Pervert again? Stay tuned. As for Smithers, see Part 3, below.

Acknowledgment of source: Much of the information in this post was taken from the Family Guy Wiki. Thanks again!

Hello Not-a-Kitty!

You already knew, didn't you, that there's no Santa Claus. No Easter Bunny. No Tooth Fairy. And now it can be revealed that Hello Kitty is... wait for it... not a kitty!

No indeed. She may look like a kitty, be cute like a kitty, and even have the word "kitty" in her name, but Sanrio's beloved and iconic character is, in fact, a girl! This picture suggests as much, but don't take Walt's word for it. Believe instead Christine R. Yano, an anthropologist from the University of Hawaii (and currently a visiting professor at Harvard) who has spent years studying the phenomenon that is Hello Kitty.

Culture: High & Low quotes Ms Yano to the effect that Sanrio would adamantly refute any claims that the character is feline. Ms Yano once made the mistake of referring to Hello Kitty as a cat while preparing texts for an exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum. "I was corrected — very firmly," she says. "That's one correction Sanrio made for my script for the show. Hello Kitty is not a cat. She's a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She's never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature."

And what does Sanrio itself have to say? They told Kotaku "It's going too far to say that Hello Kitty is not a cat." A Sanrio spokesthingy added, "Hello Kitty is a personification of a cat," using the word "gijinka" which means "anthropomorphization." ["Gijinka" is a lot easier to spell, eh. Ed.]

As his final exhibit, Walt submits the official Hello Kitty profile.
"Hello Kitty is a cheerful and happy little girl with a heart of gold. She lives in London with her mama (Mary White), papa (George White), and her twin sister Mimmy. Hello Kitty loves to bake and she can make really delicious cookies. She learned her baking talents from her mama, who makes scrumptious apple pies that are enjoyed by the whole family.
"Hello Kitty's hobbies include traveling, listening to music, reading, eating cookies and mama's apple pies, and making new friends. One of her most popular mottoes is 'You can never have too many friends.'"

So true. Walt is proud to be one of Hello Kitty's friends. Aren't you?