a shorthand way to a Merry Christmas

What’s that Linus is saying in that panel from 40 years ago, yesterday? Well, he’s talking in shorthand… Gregg shorthand, to be precise. Schulz used shorthand a number of times in the strip, when Woodstock (and occasionally Linus) was acting as secretary. And being one to pay attention to the details, Schulz got it right. The shorthand in the strip is accurate (or so those in the know tell me), sometimes just recounting what’s being dictated, sometimes with little jokes of its own. The one above? It says “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.”

And that seems the right message for the moment, in this the last pre-Santa AAUGH Blog entry.  If you’re worrying about getting a gift, well, of course there are still gift certificates.  One thing which I do when I’m running late on gifts is order something shipped, and then on the day just give a picture of the item which will soon arrive. (It also lets you fool them into thinking their getting something dinky and then they’re surprised that it’s truly a big gift on the way.)

And if you don’t celebrate Christmas? Have a Merry one anyway. Hang out at the 7-11 and watch all the frantic folks coming in trying to find walnuts or some sort of suitable present for Aunt Clara whose voice mail sure sounded like she was saying that  she wasn’t going to show up…

General

  As these two ads, from 1954 and 1961 respectively, show, Patty and Violet had a rather consistent relationship… living on slightly different planes, and not introducing themselves, but giving a name to each other. 40 SHARES Share Tweet this thing Follow the AAUGH Blog

General
The Untouchable Charlie Brown

If you look at this ad, you may be wondering (as I did when I stumbled across it) why Charlie Brown is advertising a television show in 1963… and why, of all shows, he’s advertising The Untouchables. (Or you may be one of the many people now populating the earth too …

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Peanuts First Edition guide

As proud as I am of my Peanuts Book Collectors Guide, it is not the be-all and end-all guide…. and as much as I have visions of making it so, the real life of being a father of two, the runner of a business, a make of dinners, and a …