Wish Bear is aqua and has a shooting star on her stomach. All Care Bears have a “tummy symbol” that represents their role or specialty. The Care Bears were created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. This very successful franchise launched with 10 characters that Kenner turned into plush teddy bears. From 1983 to 1987, the Care Bears appeared in TV specials, a television series and three feature films.
Grumpy Bear is blue and has a rain cloud on his stomach. All Care Bears have a “tummy symbol” that represents their role or specialty. The Care Bears were created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. This very successful franchise launched with 10 characters that Kenner turned into plush teddy bears. From 1983 to 1987, the Care Bears appeared in TV specials, a television series and three feature films.
Cheer Bear is pink and has a rainbow on her stomach. All Care Bears have a “tummy symbol” that represents their role or specialty. The Care Bears were created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. This very successful franchise launched with 10 characters that Kenner turned into plush teddy bears. From 1983 to 1987, the Care Bears appeared in TV specials, a television series and three feature films.
Tenderheart Bear is orange-brown and has a red heart on his stomach. All Care Bears have a “tummy symbol” that represents their role or specialty. The Care Bears were created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. This very successful franchise launched with 10 characters that Kenner turned into plush teddy bears. From 1983 to 1987, the Care Bears appeared in TV specials, a television series and three feature films.
A children’s toy talking bear. The animatronic teddy bear would move his mouth and eyes while “reading” stories played on a cassette tape deck built into his back. At the peak of his popularity, Teddy Ruxpin was the bestselling toy of 1985 and 1986. An animated TV series based on the characters in Teddy’s world debuted in 1987.
One of the most chilling moments of my 1980s childhood involved my sister’s Teddy Ruxpin. Due to touchy buttons, her Teddy would sometimes spontaneously start audio playback. Eventually, because the batteries were dying or due to some mechanical malfunction, Teddy was only capable of speaking extremely slowly. By then his motorized jaw had also been partially broken and hung agape. One night, I remember her slack-jawed Teddy Ruxpin turning himself on and trying to tell us a story of the Mudblups. His deep, drawn-out voice sounded fully demonic. We tried to turn him off but he continued spouting distorted, incomprehensible sounds. Eventually we removed the batteries. Evil Teddy Ruxpin.
Roger Rabbit’s buxom human wife in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the 1988 live-action/animated adaptation of the 1981 mystery novel. In the film, Jessica is portrayed as a sultry cartoon singer at a Los Angeles club. She is one of the most famous sex symbols on the animated screen. “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way,” she claims.
An English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes. Hawking has a progressive motor neuron disease that has left him almost completely paralyzed. He was born on this day in 1942.
A Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer. He is known for many revolutionary developments in the field of electromagnetism. Tesla’s patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems and commercial electricity. He invented the radio, experimented with wireless electricity and designed a death ray. He died on this day in 1943.
I love this Funny or Die episode about Nikola Tesla and the evil Thomas Edison: “This is awful. I am inventing electricity and you look like an asshole.” Tesla was a badass.
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer. His genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo is the archetype of the Renaissance Man.
Isaac Newton was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist and theologian, and is considered one of the greatest and most influential scientists who ever lived. Newton described universal gravitation, the three laws of motion and built the first practical reflecting telescope. He was born yesterday in 1643.
Mama Quilla is the moon goddess, according to the Inca mythology. She rules marriage, the lunar calendar and the menstrual cycle, and is considered a defender of women. The most common origin story says she is the daughter of Viracocha (the god of civilization) and Mama Cocha (the sea goddess). Inti (the sun god) is her brother and husband.
After 33 days in Peru, we are finally due to return home to Oregon on January 6.
Inti is the sun god, according to the Inca mythology, as well as a patron deity of the Inca Empire. The most common origin story says he is the son of Viracocha (the god of civilization) and Mama Cocha (the sea goddess). Mama Quilla (the moon goddess) is his sister and wife.
The sea and fish goddess in Inca mythology in the Andes region of South America. She is the protectress of sailors and fishermen. In one legend she mothered Inti and Mama Quilla with Viracocha, the Inca supreme god.
The great creator god in the pre-Inca and Inca mythology in the Andes region of South America. Viracocha was one of the most important deities in the Inca pantheon and seen as the creator of all things (the universe, sun, moon and stars, time and civilization itself). He was intimately associated with the sea and worshiped as god of the sun and of storms.
P.S. Happy New Year!
Father Time is an elderly bearded man who carries an hourglass or other timekeeping device (not unlike the Grim Reaper or Chronos). On New Year’s Eve, this personification of time passes his duties to an allegorical Baby New Year. The annual ritual is depicted in the stop-motion children’s special Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, produced by Rankin/Bass in 1976.
Note: After the passing of a few more grains of sand we shall have a Happy New Year!
An American rhythm and blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He was known as “The Originator” because of his key role in the transition from the blues to rock & roll. His driving rhythms and hard-edged guitar sound were highly influential. His trademark rectangular guitar is one example of his technical innovations. He was born on this day in 1928.
The name of the mummy of a warrior and ruler found in Sipán, an archaeological site in northern Peru, in 1987. The Lord of Sipán tomb is a Moche culture site and important archaeological discovery because the main tomb was found intact and untouched by thieves. The Moche Empire’s refinement of art and technology rivaled the Maya Empire.
A French chemist and microbiologist remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. He created the first vaccines for rabies and anthrax and is best known for inventing a method to stop milk and wine from causing sickness, a process now known as pasteurization. He was born on this day in 1822.
When I was a kid, a memorable book for me was The Value of Believing in Yourself: The Story of Louis Pasteur (1977) by Spencer Johnson. I refuse to believe that Louis Pasteur did not look like a bizzaro Uncle Sam.
Funshine Bear – No. 323
Funshine Bear is yellow-orange and has a smiling sun on her stomach. All Care Bears have a “tummy symbol” that represents their role or specialty. The Care Bears were created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. This very successful franchise launched with 10 characters that Kenner turned into plush teddy bears. From 1983 to 1987, the Care Bears appeared in TV specials, a television series and three feature films.
Funshine Bear was female in the original 1980s series, but has been portrayed as a male since the 2000s. A cartoon transgender bear?