I Have a Lot to Share

If I had my own wayback machine right now, I’d ship myself back to the early 1960s … ready why in today’s High 5:

PASSING OF AN UNKNOWN LEGEND: The passing of Alexander Anderson, 90, was missed by many this weekend. But for those baby boomers who grew up watching Rocky and Bullwinkle many probably observed a moment of silence. Anderson created the characters Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle Moose for the 1959 animated program Rocky and His Friends and its 1961 spinoff The Bullwinkle Show, commonly known as Rocky and Bullwinkle. Writer Richard Corliss of Time notes, “This mega-funny enterprise set a standard for wild comic invention, jam-packed narratives and merciless punnery (as in Bullwinkle’s alma mater Wossamotta U., or its arch-rival college, Heckwith U.). The talking cartoon animals suggested it was a kid’s show; the smart humor, delivered at warp speed, clued adults that the series was really for them. The trick that The Simpsons, South Park and Family Guy try to master 14 to 24 times a year — populate a cartoon world with indelible characters — Rocky pulled off five times a week. ‘From watching that show when I was a kid,’ Simpson creator Matt Groening told Louis Chunovic, author of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Book, ‘it was one of my fantasies to grow up and have my own cartoon show. It was a big influence.’ The middle initial J. in Homer’s, Bart’s and Abe’s names is Groening’s tribute to Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose.” (Many of today’s youngsters have never seen Rocky and Bullwinkle, and probably wouldn’t appreciate it anyway. And that’s kind of sad. It was edgy television in a time when controversy on the tube was a no-no. The show was so far ahead of its time many of that era’s censors had no clue about some of the quips that got through. Along with Rocky and Bullwinkle, there were some great supporting characters liek Sherman and Peabody — plus the “wayback machine” — and Boris and Natasha. Those were the days, my friend.)

FOUND ON FACEBOOK: “Just saw the cutest breast cancer awareness sign: Help save second base. Love it!”