July 20, 2025 • 29 mins
Margaret got talked into doing something fun for book club this week.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Cool Zone Media.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Book Club book Club, book Club book Club. Hello and
welcome to the Cool Zone Media book Club, the only
book club where you don't have to do the reading
because I do it or you.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
I'm your host, Margaret Kildoy, and usually I bring you
stories that I can point to some political reasoning behind.
But this week I wanted to do something fun and
my idea of fun which still means weird, old timey shit,
but fun nonetheless. And one of my friends said to me, well,
(00:36):
Winnie the Pooh's in public domain, you could do Winnie
the Pooh. And I thought, ha ha ha, that is
a funny joke. And so I looked up some Winnie
the Pooh and I started reading it to two of
my friends this morning, and I was like, wait, no,
this is really fun to read. It's just fun. It's
very well written in a kind of interesting way. It's
(00:58):
just literally, like the words roll off the tongue in
a fun way. So that's what I'm going to read
to you today. I'm going to read you some chapters
from the book Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh was
written by a guy named AA Milm and it was
written for his son Christopher Robin, who's the sort of
main character, well, Winnie the Pooh's the main character, but
the main human character. And it's basically a bunch of
(01:21):
children's stories that an incredibly talented author wrote for his
kid about his kids stuffed animals, and it did it
in a really interesting way. And so then I had
to do this thing where I was like, ah, I
need to look up Miln's like to figure out if
he's just like an absolute bastard. And I don't know
(01:41):
everything about him yet. This is like not something I'm
incredibly well versed in, but I spent several hours reading
about Milm this morning, and I can tell you that,
if nothing else, he was a pacifist. Although he was
a pacifist who fought in both World Wars, and he
fought the First World War because he felt like he
got tricked into thinking it was the war to end
all wars. And then he wrote this book, this anti
(02:04):
war book called Peace with Honor in nineteen thirty four
that was basically like, hey, we shouldn't go to war,
like propacifism argument. But then as the Nazis came to power,
he was like, you know what, well, and the Nazi's
already come to power in nineteen thirty four, but as
things got real obvious, he actually changed his mind and
he was like, in nineteen forty he wrote a book
(02:26):
called War with Honor, and I don't think that book
is a particularly important radical text or anything. It's all
about how the atomic bomb is good because it'll end
the war. But either way, he came around on anti fascism. Well,
I think he was always anti fascists as best as
I can tell. But basically he was like, you know what, like,
(02:46):
I'm anti war, but Hitler is essentially the devil and
needs to be stopped. And personally, I don't think he's
wrong about that. I don't feel pacifist about World War
two at all. So he's really interesting quotes, right, like
when the Austrian Archduke Fernadad or whatever the fuck gets
(03:08):
off and it starts World War one, his quote about
it was that this has quote resulted in the death
of nearly ten million men who were not archdukes. And
he also wrote wars are fought for economic reasons, but
they are fought by volunteers for sentimental reasons. And he
talks about how propaganda machines like work to create cultural
(03:29):
consensus that we should all go off and sacrifice ourselves
into the war machine. None of that has anything to
do with Winnie the Pooh, and I don't know what
he feels about colonialism or any of that stuff, but
I do know that after he survived World War One,
he was like, I am so lucky that I survived
World War One, so I'm going to work very very
(03:50):
hard to try and create art. And he did. He
was just an incredibly hard working author. And then the
Winnie the Pooh books just kind of like took off
rather than like ride them into the sunset. He did
them for a while, and then he was like, you
know what, I don't really want to do this anymore.
And I have so much respect for that. So I
don't know enough about him to really say anything one
(04:12):
way or the other, but the stuff I've read about
him is interesting. Aa Milne, Winnie the Pooh, everyone, thanks
for doing something fun with me. Chapter one, in which
we are introduced to Winnie the Pooh and some bees
and the stories begin. Here is Edward Bhaer coming downstairs.
(04:34):
Now bump bump bump on the back of his head
behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows,
the only way of coming downstairs. But sometimes he feels
that there really is another way, if only he could
stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And
then he feels that perhaps there isn't anyhow. Here he
is at the bottom and ready to be introduced to you,
(04:55):
Winnie the Pooh. When I first heard his name, I said,
just as you were going to say. But I thought
he was a boy, so did I said Christopher Robin.
Then you can't call him Winnie. I don't. But you
said he's Winnie their Pooh.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Don't you know what there means?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Ah?
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Yes, now I do, I said quickly, And I hope
you do too, because it is all the explanation you
are going to get. Sometimes Winnie the Pooh likes a
game of some sort when he comes downstairs, and sometimes
he likes to sit quietly in front of the fire
and listen to a story this evening. What about a story,
said Christopher Robin. What about a story? I said, could
(05:37):
you very sweetly tell Winnie the Pooh one? I suppose
I could? I said, what sort of stories does he
like about himself? Because he's that sort of bear. Oh,
I see, so, could you very sweetly? I'll try, I said, so.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
I tried.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, now
about last Friday, Winnie the Pooh lived in a forest
all by himself, under the name of Sanders. What does
under the name mean, asked Christopher Robin. It means he
had a name over the door in gold letters and
lived under it. Winnie the Pooh wasn't quite sure, said
Christopher Robin. Now I am, said a growly voice. Then
(06:18):
I will go on, said I. One day, when he
was out walking, he came to an open place in
the middle of the forest. And in the middle of
this place was a large oak tree, And from the
top of the tree there came a loud, buzzing noise.
Winnie the Pooh sat down at the foot of the tree,
put his head between his paws, and began to think.
First of all, he said to himself that buzzing noise
(06:41):
means something. You don't get a buzzy noise like that,
just buzzing and buzzing without its meaning something. If there's
a buzzing noise, somebody's.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Making a buzzy noise.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
And the only reason for making a buzzy noise that
I know of is because you're a bee. Then he
thought another long time and said, and the only reason
for being a bee that I know of is making honey.
And then he got up, and he said, and the
only reason for making honey is so that I can
eat it. So he began to climb the tree. He
(07:12):
climbed and he climbed, and he climbed and he climbed,
and he sang a little song to himself. It went like, this,
isn't it funny how a bear likes honey? Buzz buzz buzz.
I wonder why he does. Then he climbed a little further,
and a little further, and then just a little further.
By that time he had thought of another song. It's
(07:33):
a very funny thought that if bears were bees, they
build their nests at the bottom of trees, And that
being so, if bees were bears, we shouldn't have to
climb up all these stairs. He was getting rather tired
by this time, so that is why he sang a
complaining song. He was nearly there now, and if he
just stood on that branch, crack oh, help, said pooh,
(07:57):
As he dropped ten feet on the branch below him.
If only I hadn't, he said, as he bounced twenty
feet on to the next branch. You see what I
meant to do, he explained, as he turned head over
heels and crashed onto another branch thirty feet below. What
I meant to do? Of course it was rather, he admitted,
as he slithered very quickly through the next six branches.
(08:18):
It all comes, I suppose, he decided, as he said
goodbye to the last branch, spun round three times, and
flew gracefully into a gorse bush. It all comes of
liking honey so much. Oh help. He crawled out of
the gorse bush, brushed the prickles from his nose, and
began to think again. And the first person he thought
of was Christopher Robin.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Was that me?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Said Christopher Robin in an awed voice, hardly daring to
believe it.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
That was you.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Christopher Robin said nothing, but his eyes got larger and
larger in his face got pinker and pinker. So Winnie
the Pooh went round to his friend Christopher Robin, who
lived behind a green door in another part of the forest.
And do you know what was plastered on that door?
Dear listener, nothing but ads. It just the ads are
just always there. They just interject themselves into all of
(09:08):
your childhood favorites.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Here they are, Andrew back.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Good morning, Christopher Robin, he said, good morning. Winnie the
Pooh said you, I wonder if you've got such a
thing as a balloon about you.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
A balloon.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Yes, I just said to myself, coming along, I wonder
if Christopher Robin has such a thing as a balloon
about him. I just said it to myself, thinking of
balloons and wondering, what do you want a balloon for?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
You?
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Said Winnie the Pooh, looked round to see that nobody
was listening, put his paw to his mouth, and said,
in a deep whisper, honey. But you don't get honey
with balloons, I do, said Pooh. Well, it just happened
that you had been to a party the day before
house of your friend Piglet, and you had balloons.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
At the party.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
You had a big green balloon, and one of Rabbit's
relations had had a very big blue one and had
left it behind, being really too young to go to
a party at all, And so you had brought the
green one and the blue one home with you. Which
one would you like, you asked Pooh. He put his
head between his paws and thought very carefully. It's like this,
(10:24):
he said, when you go after honey with a balloon,
the great thing is to not let the bees knows
you're coming. Now, if you have a green balloon, they
might think you were only part of the tree and
not notice you. And if you had a blue balloon,
well they might think you were only part of the
sky and not notice you. The question is which is
most likely. Wouldn't they notice you beneath the balloon, you asked?
(10:46):
They might or they might not, said Winnie the Pooh.
You never can't tell with bees. He thought for a
moment and said, I shall try to look like a
small black cloud.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
That will deceive them.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Then you had better have a blue balloon, you said,
And so it was decided. Well, you both went out
with the blue balloon, and you took your gun with you,
just in case, as you always did. And Winnie the
Pooh went to a very muddy place that he knew of,
and rolled and rolled until he was black all over.
And then when the balloon was blown up as big
as big, and you and Pooh were both holding on
to the string. You let go suddenly, and Pooh Bear
(11:17):
floated gracefully up into the sky and stayed there, level
with the top of the tree, about twenty feet away
from it. Hooray, you shouted. Isn't that fine? Shouted Winnie
the Pooh down to you. What do I look like?
You look like a bear holding on to a balloon,
you said, not, said Pooh anxiously. Not like a small
black cloud in a blue sky. Not very much. Ah well,
(11:40):
perhaps from up here it looks different. And as I say,
you never can tell with bees. There was no wind
to blow him nearer to the tree, and so there
he stayed. He could see the honey, he could smell
the honey, but he couldn't quite reach the honey. After
a little while, he called down to you, Christopher Robin,
He said, in a loud whisper, Hello, I think the
(12:02):
bees suspects something. What sort of thing, I don't know,
but something tells me that they're suspicious. Perhaps they think
you're after their honey, and maybe that you never can
tell with bees. There was another little silence, then he
called down to you again, Christopher Robin. Yes, have you
an umbrella in your house? I think so I wish
(12:27):
you would bring it out here and walk up and
down with it and look up at me every now
and then and say tut tut. It looks like Rain.
I think if you did that, it would help the
deception which we are practicing on these bees. Well, you
laughed to yourself, silly old bear, or you didn't say
it aloud because you were so fond of him, and
he went home.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
For your umbrella.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Oh there you are, called down, Winnie the Pooh. As
soon as you got back to the tree, I was
beginning to get anxious. I have discovered that the bees
are now definitely suspicious. Shall I put my umbrella? You
said yes, But wait a moment. We must be practical.
The important bee to deceive is the queen bee. Can
you see which is the queen bee? From down?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
There?
Speaker 3 (13:10):
No a pity. Well, now, if you walk up and
down with your umbrella saying tut tut, it looks like Rain.
I shall do what I can by singing a little
cloud song, such as a cloud might sing.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Go.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
And so while you walked up and down and wondered
if it would rain, Winnie the Pooh sang this song,
How sweet to be a cloud? Floating in the blue.
Every little cloud always sings aloud, How sweet to be
a cloud floating in the blue. It makes them very
proud to be a little cloud. The bees were still
(13:43):
buzzing as suspiciously as ever. Some of them indeed left
their nests and flew all around the cloud as it
began the second verse of the song, and one bee
sat down on the nose of the cloud for a moment,
and then got up again. Christopher ow Robin called out
the cloud. Yes, I have just been thinking, and I
have come to a very important decision. These are the
(14:05):
wrong sorts of bees? Are they quite the wrong sort?
So I should think they would make the wrong sort
of honey, shouldn't you? Would they?
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (14:15):
So I think I shall come down, how asked you?
Winnie the Pooh hadn't thought about this. If you let
go of the string, he would fall bump and he
didn't like the idea that, so he thought for a
long time, and then he said, Christopher Robin, you must
shoot the balloon with your gun, if you got your gun.
Of course I have, you said, But if I do that,
(14:36):
it will spoil the balloon, you said. But if you don't,
said Pooh, I shall have to let go, and that
would spoil me. When he put it like this, you
saw how it was, and you aimed very carefully at
the balloon and fired ow, said Pooh, did I miss?
Speaker 1 (14:53):
You asked.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
You didn't exactly miss, said Pooh, But you missed the balloon.
I'm so sorry, you said, And you fired again, and
this time you hit the balloon, and the air came
slowly out, and Winnie the Pooh floated down to the ground.
But his arms were so stiff from holding onto the
string of the balloon all that time that they stayed
up straight in the air for more than a week.
And whenever a fly came and settled on his nose,
(15:16):
he had to blow it off. And I think, but
I am not sure, that that is why he was
always called Pooh. Is that the end of the story,
asked Christopher Robin. That's the end of one. There are
others about Pooh and me and Piglet and Rabbit and
all of you. Don't you remember? I do remember, It's
just that when I try to remember, I forget that
(15:38):
day when Pooh and Piglet tried to catch the heffalump Oh.
They didn't catch it, did they No, Pooh couldn't because
he hasn't any brain. Did I catch it? Well, that
comes into the story, Christopher Robin nodded, I do remember,
he said, Only Pooh doesn't very well. So that's why
he likes having it told to him again, because then
it's a real story and not just a remembering. That's
(15:59):
just how I feel, I said. Christopher Robin gave a
deep sigh, picked up his bear by the leg, and
walked off to the door, trailing Poo behind him. At
the door, he turned around and said, coming to see
me have my bath? I might, I said, it didn't
hurt him when I shot him? Did it? Not a bit?
He nodded and went out, And in a moment I
heard Winnie the Pooh bump bump bump going up the
(16:22):
stairs behind him, and what he also heard was the
sweet serenade of advertisers singing an evening song, unless you
have cooler zon media, in which case you just hear
the interjections and we're back, all right. I'm a skip
(16:51):
chapter two because it's just literally about Winnie the Pooh
getting stuck in a door and being too fat, and
so they starve him because that sucks. I mean whatever,
I'm not trying to canceled Winnie the Pooh, but I'm
not going to read it. I'm going to read chapter three,
which is in which Pooh and Piglet go hunting and
nearly catch a woozle. And I'm totally reading this one
(17:13):
because of the name that comes up in the first paragraph,
because it's so sick. The Piglet lived in a very
grand house in the middle of a beach tree, and
the beach tree was in the middle of the forest,
and Piglet lived in the middle of the house. Next
to his house was a piece of broken board which
had Trespasser's W on it. When Christopher Robbin asked the
(17:35):
Piglet what it meant, he said it was his grandfather's
name and had been in the family for a long time.
Christopher Robin said, you couldn't be called Trespasser's w and
Piglet said, yes, you could, because his grandfather was and
it was short for Trespasser's will, which was short for trespassers. William,
and his grandfather had had two names in just in
case he lost one, Trespassers after an uncle and William
(17:57):
after Trespassers. I've got two names, said Christopher Robin carelessly.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Well there you are. That proves it, said Piglet.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
One fine winter's day, when Piglet was brushing away the
snow from the front of his house, he happened to
look up and there was Winnie the Pooh. Pooh was
walking round round in a circle, thinking of something else,
and when Piglet called to him, he just went on walking. Hello,
said Piglet. What are you doing? Hunting, said Pooh. Hunting?
(18:27):
What tracking something? Said Winnie the Pooh, very mysteriously, tracking what,
said Piglet. Coming closer. That's just what I ask myself.
I ask myself, what what do you think you'll answer?
I shall have to wait until I catch up with it,
said Winnie the Pooh. Now look there, he pointed to
the ground in front of him. What do you see there, track,
(18:50):
said Piglet. Pall marks. He gave a little squeak of excitement. Oh, Pooh,
do you think it's a a woozle? It may be,
said Pooh. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. You
can never tell with pall marks, But these few words.
He went on tracking in Piglet after watching him for
a minute or two ran after him. Winnie the Pooh
(19:11):
had come to a sudden stop and was bending over
the tracks in a puzzled sort of way. What's the matter,
asked Piglet. It's a very funny thing, said Bear. But
there seems to be two animals now, This whatever it was,
has been joined by another, whatever it is, and the
two of them are now proceeding in company. Would you
mind coming with me, Piglet, in case they turn out
(19:33):
to be hostile animals? Piglet scratched his ear in a
nice sort of way and said that he had nothing
to do until Friday, and he would be delighted to
come in case it really was a woozle. You mean,
in case it really is two woozles, said Winnie the Pooh,
and Piglet said that anyhow, he had nothing to do
until Friday, so off they went together. There was a
(19:55):
small spinney of larch trees just there, and it seemed
as if the two woozle so if that's what they were,
had been going round this spinney. So round the spinny
went Pooh and Piglet after them, Piglet passing the time
by telling Pooh what his grandfather Trespasser's w had done
to remove stiffness after tracking, and how his grandfather Trespasser's
(20:15):
W had suffered in his later years from shortness of
breath and other matters of interest, and Pooh wondering what
a grandfather was like, and if perhaps this was two
grandfathers they were after now, and if so, whether he
would be allowed to take one home and keep it,
and what Christopher Robin would say, And still the tracks
went on in front of them. Suddenly Winnie the Pooh
(20:36):
stopped and pointed excitedly in front of him. Look what,
said Piglet, with a jump, And then to show that
he hadn't been frightened, he jumped up and down once
or twice more in an exercising sort of way. The tracks,
said Pooh. A third animal has joined the other two.
Pooh cried Piglet. Do you think it's another woozl No,
(20:57):
said Pooh, because it makes different marks. It is either
too woozles and one as it might be whizzle, or
two as it might be whizzles and one. If it
is so woozle, let us continue to follow them. And
so they went on, feeling just a little bit anxious.
Now in case the three animals in front of them
were of hostile intent, and Piglet wished very much that
his grandfather tw were there instead of elsewhere. And Pooh
(21:20):
thought how nice it would be if they met Christopher
Robbin suddenly, but quite accidentally, and only because he liked
Christopher Robin so much. And then all of a sudden,
Winnie the Pooh stopped again and licked the tip of
his nose in a cooling manner, for he was feeling
more hot and anxious than ever before in his life.
There were four animals in front of them, do you see, Piglet,
look at their tracks, Three as it were woozles, and
(21:42):
one as it was whizzle. Another woozle has joined them,
And so it seemed to be. There were the tracks
crossing over each other here, getting muddied up with each
other there, but quite plainly every now and then.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
The tracks of four sets.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Of paws, I think, said Piglet, when he had licked
the tip of his nose too and found it brought
very little comfort. I think that I have just remembered something.
I have just remembered something that I forgot to do yesterday.
And I shan't be able to do tomorrow, So I
suppose I really ought to go back and do it now.
We'll do it this afternoon, and I'll come with you,
said Pooh. It isn't the sort of thing you can
(22:19):
do in the afternoon, said Piglet quickly. It's a very
particular morning thing, and it has to be done in
the morning, and if possible, between the hours of what
would you say?
Speaker 1 (22:26):
The time was about.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Twelve, said Winnie the Pooh, looking at the sun between
as I was saying, the hours of twelve and twelve five.
So really, dear old Pooh, if you excuse me, what's that?
Pooh looked up at the sky, and then he heard
the whistle again. He looked up at the branches of
a big oak tree, and he saw a friend of his.
It's Christopher Robbin. He said, Ah, then you'll be all right,
(22:48):
said Piglet. You'll be quite safe with him. Goodbye, and
he trotted off home as quickly as he could, very
glad to be out of all danger again. Christopher Robin
came slowly down this tree, silly old bear, He said,
what were you doing? First? You went round the spinny
twice by yourself, and then Piglet ran after you, and
you went round again together, and then you were just
(23:10):
going round.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
A fourth time.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Wait a moment, said Winnie the Pooh, holding up his paw.
He sat down in thought, in.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
The most thoughtful way he could think.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Then he fitted his paw into one of the tracks,
and he scratched his nose twice and stood up. Yes,
said Winnie the Pooh. I see now, said Winnie the Pooh.
I have been foolish and deluded, said he, And I
am a bear of no brain at all. You're the
best bear in all the world, said Christopher Robbin soothingly.
(23:41):
Am I said Pooh hopefully, and then he brightened up suddenly. Anyhow,
he said, it is nearly luncheon time, so he went
home for it.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
The end.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
I did read Winnie the Poo as a kid.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
You know.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
The stories are sort of like familiar and unfamiliar to me.
I had no idea how often you all have read it.
I just have really enjoyed when I read it to
my friends, singing weird little songs, and so I thought
you all would too. And the other thing that I
think about, because I know what you're thinking. You're thinking,
Margaret but how are you going to tie Winnie the
Pooh into Lord of the Rings. And I have an
(24:18):
answer for you, and that answer is very British because
it involves three British men. It involves Milne who wrote
Winnie the Pooh, it involves Tolkien, who wrote Lord of
the Rings, and involves a man named Michael Moorecock, who's
a pulp anarchist fantasy author writing more in the sixties
and seventies, and who's still alive today, most famous these
(24:38):
days as the person who created the chaos start. He
wrote an essay called The Epic Pooh in which he
just trashes on Lord of the Rings. He's it's like
a well written, just absolutely eviscerating critique of Lord of
the Rings, which I obviously therefore completely disagree with, because
Lord of the Rings is perfect in every way and
specifically a critique the idea. So Winnie the Pooh is
(25:02):
being used to represent like the ultimate British cozy fantasy,
where like, you're not worried about shit, and I think
that's fair. That's what Winnie the Pooh represents. But it's
about fucking stuffed animals and it's for a kid. So
I don't think you can get mad at Winnie the Pooh,
(25:23):
but to claim basically the argument that Morecock makes. It's
been a little while since I read this essay. The
argument he makes is that the Hobbits represent the rural
British and basically the like, you know, stick your heads
in the sand attitude of the world, where you're like, well,
my life is fine, So everyone's life is fine despite
(25:44):
all of this like horror and bloodshed happening just outside
the Shire or just outside you know, England or whatever.
And so basically Morecock critiques Lord of the Rings as
being like too cozy, too neat, to like, ah, we're
off to the war and we come back again. And
I think that there's parts of this that are fair
(26:05):
and parts of that aren't. I think that Lord of
the Rings is actually specifically like at least Tolkien and
Milne fought in World War One, right, and Milne actually
fought in World War Two also in the same way
that Orwell did, which was as part of the Home Guard,
which was the people who were running around in case
and were like training to fight in case the Nazis
(26:27):
invaded England, which was a very real possibility that did
not happen. And so even though he was in his
I want to say, fifties or sixties, Milne was Captain Milne,
although he made all of the people under him, and
just call him mister Milne because he's like that. And
so to accuse Tolkien now, I'm just standing up for
Tolkien's honor. It's sorry, more cock. If you're listening, you
(26:47):
might have been more right than me. I don't know
whatever to accuse Tolkien of. Like sanitizing war is a
very interesting thing, because trench combat in World War One
is like kind of the worst thing I seen imagine
having happen in your life, and it's usually the end
of your life. It's often the end of your life,
you know. And actually one of the core ideas I
think on some level, I think Tolien is aware that
(27:08):
the Hobbits are representing this, you know, sort of British
attitude or whatever. Right, but they come home again changed.
That's like one of the core parts of it, right.
Some of them come home like braver and stronger, but
some of them just come home like fuck them broken,
you know. Anyway, That's how I can tie Winnie the
Pooh into Lord of the rings, you're welcome, have a
good week. And also there's exciting stuff coming around the
(27:31):
bend for cools on Media Book Club that we're gonna
be able to change up the content pretty soon. I've
been enjoying this sort of content, but we've got like
a bunch of ideas and it's going.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
To be good.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
And also, if you like anthropomorphic animals and you like
my storytelling, you might like a book that came out
this very last week, unless you're listening to this in
the future in which it came out a while ago.
Came out in July and twenty twenty five. It's a
book called The Defender's Almanac, and it's a tabletop role
playing game set in the world of the board game
Defenders of the Wild. And if you're thinking, but I
(28:05):
don't know that board game, or even I don't play
tabletop roleplaying games, you actually still might like this book.
It's from Outlandish Games, and it is a standalone thing.
You don't need the board game to play it. But
it's also an almanac. That's why it's called The Defender's Almanac.
And it's basically I wrote. I didn't write the game
mechanics or anything like that other people who are better
(28:26):
at that did it. I wrote a lot of stories
of anthropomorphic animals coming together, finding bravery and fighting machines
because I like doing that sort of thing, and you
can get it now. It's out, it's available. That's what
I got. I'll see you all next week for another
episode of pool Zone Media Book Club. It could Happen
(28:47):
here as a production of cool Zone Media. For more
podcasts from.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Cool Zone Media, visit our website cool zonemedia dot com,
or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can find sources
for a happen here updated monthly at coolzonemedia.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
Dot com slash sources.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Thanks for listening.
Cool Zone Media.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Book Club book Club, book Club book Club. Hello and
welcome to the Cool Zone Media book Club, the only
book club where you don't have to do the reading
because I do it or you.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
I'm your host, Margaret Kildoy, and usually I bring you
stories that I can point to some political reasoning behind.
But this week I wanted to do something fun and
my idea of fun which still means weird, old timey shit,
but fun nonetheless. And one of my friends said to me, well,
(00:36):
Winnie the Pooh's in public domain, you could do Winnie
the Pooh. And I thought, ha ha ha, that is
a funny joke. And so I looked up some Winnie
the Pooh and I started reading it to two of
my friends this morning, and I was like, wait, no,
this is really fun to read. It's just fun. It's
very well written in a kind of interesting way. It's
(00:58):
just literally, like the words roll off the tongue in
a fun way. So that's what I'm going to read
to you today. I'm going to read you some chapters
from the book Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh was
written by a guy named AA Milm and it was
written for his son Christopher Robin, who's the sort of
main character, well, Winnie the Pooh's the main character, but
the main human character. And it's basically a bunch of
(01:21):
children's stories that an incredibly talented author wrote for his
kid about his kids stuffed animals, and it did it
in a really interesting way. And so then I had
to do this thing where I was like, ah, I
need to look up Miln's like to figure out if
he's just like an absolute bastard. And I don't know
(01:41):
everything about him yet. This is like not something I'm
incredibly well versed in, but I spent several hours reading
about Milm this morning, and I can tell you that,
if nothing else, he was a pacifist. Although he was
a pacifist who fought in both World Wars, and he
fought the First World War because he felt like he
got tricked into thinking it was the war to end
all wars. And then he wrote this book, this anti
(02:04):
war book called Peace with Honor in nineteen thirty four
that was basically like, hey, we shouldn't go to war,
like propacifism argument. But then as the Nazis came to power,
he was like, you know what, well, and the Nazi's
already come to power in nineteen thirty four, but as
things got real obvious, he actually changed his mind and
he was like, in nineteen forty he wrote a book
(02:26):
called War with Honor, and I don't think that book
is a particularly important radical text or anything. It's all
about how the atomic bomb is good because it'll end
the war. But either way, he came around on anti fascism. Well,
I think he was always anti fascists as best as
I can tell. But basically he was like, you know what, like,
(02:46):
I'm anti war, but Hitler is essentially the devil and
needs to be stopped. And personally, I don't think he's
wrong about that. I don't feel pacifist about World War
two at all. So he's really interesting quotes, right, like
when the Austrian Archduke Fernadad or whatever the fuck gets
(03:08):
off and it starts World War one, his quote about
it was that this has quote resulted in the death
of nearly ten million men who were not archdukes. And
he also wrote wars are fought for economic reasons, but
they are fought by volunteers for sentimental reasons. And he
talks about how propaganda machines like work to create cultural
(03:29):
consensus that we should all go off and sacrifice ourselves
into the war machine. None of that has anything to
do with Winnie the Pooh, and I don't know what
he feels about colonialism or any of that stuff, but
I do know that after he survived World War One,
he was like, I am so lucky that I survived
World War One, so I'm going to work very very
(03:50):
hard to try and create art. And he did. He
was just an incredibly hard working author. And then the
Winnie the Pooh books just kind of like took off
rather than like ride them into the sunset. He did
them for a while, and then he was like, you
know what, I don't really want to do this anymore.
And I have so much respect for that. So I
don't know enough about him to really say anything one
(04:12):
way or the other, but the stuff I've read about
him is interesting. Aa Milne, Winnie the Pooh, everyone, thanks
for doing something fun with me. Chapter one, in which
we are introduced to Winnie the Pooh and some bees
and the stories begin. Here is Edward Bhaer coming downstairs.
(04:34):
Now bump bump bump on the back of his head
behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows,
the only way of coming downstairs. But sometimes he feels
that there really is another way, if only he could
stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And
then he feels that perhaps there isn't anyhow. Here he
is at the bottom and ready to be introduced to you,
(04:55):
Winnie the Pooh. When I first heard his name, I said,
just as you were going to say. But I thought
he was a boy, so did I said Christopher Robin.
Then you can't call him Winnie. I don't. But you
said he's Winnie their Pooh.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Don't you know what there means?
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Ah?
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Yes, now I do, I said quickly, And I hope
you do too, because it is all the explanation you
are going to get. Sometimes Winnie the Pooh likes a
game of some sort when he comes downstairs, and sometimes
he likes to sit quietly in front of the fire
and listen to a story this evening. What about a story,
said Christopher Robin. What about a story? I said, could
(05:37):
you very sweetly tell Winnie the Pooh one? I suppose
I could? I said, what sort of stories does he
like about himself? Because he's that sort of bear. Oh,
I see, so, could you very sweetly? I'll try, I said, so.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
I tried.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, now
about last Friday, Winnie the Pooh lived in a forest
all by himself, under the name of Sanders. What does
under the name mean, asked Christopher Robin. It means he
had a name over the door in gold letters and
lived under it. Winnie the Pooh wasn't quite sure, said
Christopher Robin. Now I am, said a growly voice. Then
(06:18):
I will go on, said I. One day, when he
was out walking, he came to an open place in
the middle of the forest. And in the middle of
this place was a large oak tree, And from the
top of the tree there came a loud, buzzing noise.
Winnie the Pooh sat down at the foot of the tree,
put his head between his paws, and began to think.
First of all, he said to himself that buzzing noise
(06:41):
means something. You don't get a buzzy noise like that,
just buzzing and buzzing without its meaning something. If there's
a buzzing noise, somebody's.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Making a buzzy noise.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
And the only reason for making a buzzy noise that
I know of is because you're a bee. Then he
thought another long time and said, and the only reason
for being a bee that I know of is making honey.
And then he got up, and he said, and the
only reason for making honey is so that I can
eat it. So he began to climb the tree. He
(07:12):
climbed and he climbed, and he climbed and he climbed,
and he sang a little song to himself. It went like, this,
isn't it funny how a bear likes honey? Buzz buzz buzz.
I wonder why he does. Then he climbed a little further,
and a little further, and then just a little further.
By that time he had thought of another song. It's
(07:33):
a very funny thought that if bears were bees, they
build their nests at the bottom of trees, And that
being so, if bees were bears, we shouldn't have to
climb up all these stairs. He was getting rather tired
by this time, so that is why he sang a
complaining song. He was nearly there now, and if he
just stood on that branch, crack oh, help, said pooh,
(07:57):
As he dropped ten feet on the branch below him.
If only I hadn't, he said, as he bounced twenty
feet on to the next branch. You see what I
meant to do, he explained, as he turned head over
heels and crashed onto another branch thirty feet below. What
I meant to do? Of course it was rather, he admitted,
as he slithered very quickly through the next six branches.
(08:18):
It all comes, I suppose, he decided, as he said
goodbye to the last branch, spun round three times, and
flew gracefully into a gorse bush. It all comes of
liking honey so much. Oh help. He crawled out of
the gorse bush, brushed the prickles from his nose, and
began to think again. And the first person he thought
of was Christopher Robin.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Was that me?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Said Christopher Robin in an awed voice, hardly daring to
believe it.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
That was you.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
Christopher Robin said nothing, but his eyes got larger and
larger in his face got pinker and pinker. So Winnie
the Pooh went round to his friend Christopher Robin, who
lived behind a green door in another part of the forest.
And do you know what was plastered on that door?
Dear listener, nothing but ads. It just the ads are
just always there. They just interject themselves into all of
(09:08):
your childhood favorites.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Here they are, Andrew back.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
Good morning, Christopher Robin, he said, good morning. Winnie the
Pooh said you, I wonder if you've got such a
thing as a balloon about you.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
A balloon.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Yes, I just said to myself, coming along, I wonder
if Christopher Robin has such a thing as a balloon
about him. I just said it to myself, thinking of
balloons and wondering, what do you want a balloon for?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
You?
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Said Winnie the Pooh, looked round to see that nobody
was listening, put his paw to his mouth, and said,
in a deep whisper, honey. But you don't get honey
with balloons, I do, said Pooh. Well, it just happened
that you had been to a party the day before
house of your friend Piglet, and you had balloons.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
At the party.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
You had a big green balloon, and one of Rabbit's
relations had had a very big blue one and had
left it behind, being really too young to go to
a party at all, And so you had brought the
green one and the blue one home with you. Which
one would you like, you asked Pooh. He put his
head between his paws and thought very carefully. It's like this,
(10:24):
he said, when you go after honey with a balloon,
the great thing is to not let the bees knows
you're coming. Now, if you have a green balloon, they
might think you were only part of the tree and
not notice you. And if you had a blue balloon,
well they might think you were only part of the
sky and not notice you. The question is which is
most likely. Wouldn't they notice you beneath the balloon, you asked?
(10:46):
They might or they might not, said Winnie the Pooh.
You never can't tell with bees. He thought for a
moment and said, I shall try to look like a
small black cloud.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
That will deceive them.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Then you had better have a blue balloon, you said,
And so it was decided. Well, you both went out
with the blue balloon, and you took your gun with you,
just in case, as you always did. And Winnie the
Pooh went to a very muddy place that he knew of,
and rolled and rolled until he was black all over.
And then when the balloon was blown up as big
as big, and you and Pooh were both holding on
to the string. You let go suddenly, and Pooh Bear
(11:17):
floated gracefully up into the sky and stayed there, level
with the top of the tree, about twenty feet away
from it. Hooray, you shouted. Isn't that fine? Shouted Winnie
the Pooh down to you. What do I look like?
You look like a bear holding on to a balloon,
you said, not, said Pooh anxiously. Not like a small
black cloud in a blue sky. Not very much. Ah well,
(11:40):
perhaps from up here it looks different. And as I say,
you never can tell with bees. There was no wind
to blow him nearer to the tree, and so there
he stayed. He could see the honey, he could smell
the honey, but he couldn't quite reach the honey. After
a little while, he called down to you, Christopher Robin,
He said, in a loud whisper, Hello, I think the
(12:02):
bees suspects something. What sort of thing, I don't know,
but something tells me that they're suspicious. Perhaps they think
you're after their honey, and maybe that you never can
tell with bees. There was another little silence, then he
called down to you again, Christopher Robin. Yes, have you
an umbrella in your house? I think so I wish
(12:27):
you would bring it out here and walk up and
down with it and look up at me every now
and then and say tut tut. It looks like Rain.
I think if you did that, it would help the
deception which we are practicing on these bees. Well, you
laughed to yourself, silly old bear, or you didn't say
it aloud because you were so fond of him, and
he went home.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
For your umbrella.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Oh there you are, called down, Winnie the Pooh. As
soon as you got back to the tree, I was
beginning to get anxious. I have discovered that the bees
are now definitely suspicious. Shall I put my umbrella? You
said yes, But wait a moment. We must be practical.
The important bee to deceive is the queen bee. Can
you see which is the queen bee? From down?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
There?
Speaker 3 (13:10):
No a pity. Well, now, if you walk up and
down with your umbrella saying tut tut, it looks like Rain.
I shall do what I can by singing a little
cloud song, such as a cloud might sing.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Go.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
And so while you walked up and down and wondered
if it would rain, Winnie the Pooh sang this song,
How sweet to be a cloud? Floating in the blue.
Every little cloud always sings aloud, How sweet to be
a cloud floating in the blue. It makes them very
proud to be a little cloud. The bees were still
(13:43):
buzzing as suspiciously as ever. Some of them indeed left
their nests and flew all around the cloud as it
began the second verse of the song, and one bee
sat down on the nose of the cloud for a moment,
and then got up again. Christopher ow Robin called out
the cloud. Yes, I have just been thinking, and I
have come to a very important decision. These are the
(14:05):
wrong sorts of bees? Are they quite the wrong sort?
So I should think they would make the wrong sort
of honey, shouldn't you? Would they?
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (14:15):
So I think I shall come down, how asked you?
Winnie the Pooh hadn't thought about this. If you let
go of the string, he would fall bump and he
didn't like the idea that, so he thought for a
long time, and then he said, Christopher Robin, you must
shoot the balloon with your gun, if you got your gun.
Of course I have, you said, But if I do that,
(14:36):
it will spoil the balloon, you said. But if you don't,
said Pooh, I shall have to let go, and that
would spoil me. When he put it like this, you
saw how it was, and you aimed very carefully at
the balloon and fired ow, said Pooh, did I miss?
Speaker 1 (14:53):
You asked.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
You didn't exactly miss, said Pooh, But you missed the balloon.
I'm so sorry, you said, And you fired again, and
this time you hit the balloon, and the air came
slowly out, and Winnie the Pooh floated down to the ground.
But his arms were so stiff from holding onto the
string of the balloon all that time that they stayed
up straight in the air for more than a week.
And whenever a fly came and settled on his nose,
(15:16):
he had to blow it off. And I think, but
I am not sure, that that is why he was
always called Pooh. Is that the end of the story,
asked Christopher Robin. That's the end of one. There are
others about Pooh and me and Piglet and Rabbit and
all of you. Don't you remember? I do remember, It's
just that when I try to remember, I forget that
(15:38):
day when Pooh and Piglet tried to catch the heffalump Oh.
They didn't catch it, did they No, Pooh couldn't because
he hasn't any brain. Did I catch it? Well, that
comes into the story, Christopher Robin nodded, I do remember,
he said, Only Pooh doesn't very well. So that's why
he likes having it told to him again, because then
it's a real story and not just a remembering. That's
(15:59):
just how I feel, I said. Christopher Robin gave a
deep sigh, picked up his bear by the leg, and
walked off to the door, trailing Poo behind him. At
the door, he turned around and said, coming to see
me have my bath? I might, I said, it didn't
hurt him when I shot him? Did it? Not a bit?
He nodded and went out, And in a moment I
heard Winnie the Pooh bump bump bump going up the
(16:22):
stairs behind him, and what he also heard was the
sweet serenade of advertisers singing an evening song, unless you
have cooler zon media, in which case you just hear
the interjections and we're back, all right. I'm a skip
(16:51):
chapter two because it's just literally about Winnie the Pooh
getting stuck in a door and being too fat, and
so they starve him because that sucks. I mean whatever,
I'm not trying to canceled Winnie the Pooh, but I'm
not going to read it. I'm going to read chapter three,
which is in which Pooh and Piglet go hunting and
nearly catch a woozle. And I'm totally reading this one
(17:13):
because of the name that comes up in the first paragraph,
because it's so sick. The Piglet lived in a very
grand house in the middle of a beach tree, and
the beach tree was in the middle of the forest,
and Piglet lived in the middle of the house. Next
to his house was a piece of broken board which
had Trespasser's W on it. When Christopher Robbin asked the
(17:35):
Piglet what it meant, he said it was his grandfather's
name and had been in the family for a long time.
Christopher Robin said, you couldn't be called Trespasser's w and
Piglet said, yes, you could, because his grandfather was and
it was short for Trespasser's will, which was short for trespassers. William,
and his grandfather had had two names in just in
case he lost one, Trespassers after an uncle and William
(17:57):
after Trespassers. I've got two names, said Christopher Robin carelessly.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Well there you are. That proves it, said Piglet.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
One fine winter's day, when Piglet was brushing away the
snow from the front of his house, he happened to
look up and there was Winnie the Pooh. Pooh was
walking round round in a circle, thinking of something else,
and when Piglet called to him, he just went on walking. Hello,
said Piglet. What are you doing? Hunting, said Pooh. Hunting?
(18:27):
What tracking something? Said Winnie the Pooh, very mysteriously, tracking what,
said Piglet. Coming closer. That's just what I ask myself.
I ask myself, what what do you think you'll answer?
I shall have to wait until I catch up with it,
said Winnie the Pooh. Now look there, he pointed to
the ground in front of him. What do you see there, track,
(18:50):
said Piglet. Pall marks. He gave a little squeak of excitement. Oh, Pooh,
do you think it's a a woozle? It may be,
said Pooh. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. You
can never tell with pall marks, But these few words.
He went on tracking in Piglet after watching him for
a minute or two ran after him. Winnie the Pooh
(19:11):
had come to a sudden stop and was bending over
the tracks in a puzzled sort of way. What's the matter,
asked Piglet. It's a very funny thing, said Bear. But
there seems to be two animals now, This whatever it was,
has been joined by another, whatever it is, and the
two of them are now proceeding in company. Would you
mind coming with me, Piglet, in case they turn out
(19:33):
to be hostile animals? Piglet scratched his ear in a
nice sort of way and said that he had nothing
to do until Friday, and he would be delighted to
come in case it really was a woozle. You mean,
in case it really is two woozles, said Winnie the Pooh,
and Piglet said that anyhow, he had nothing to do
until Friday, so off they went together. There was a
(19:55):
small spinney of larch trees just there, and it seemed
as if the two woozle so if that's what they were,
had been going round this spinney. So round the spinny
went Pooh and Piglet after them, Piglet passing the time
by telling Pooh what his grandfather Trespasser's w had done
to remove stiffness after tracking, and how his grandfather Trespasser's
(20:15):
W had suffered in his later years from shortness of
breath and other matters of interest, and Pooh wondering what
a grandfather was like, and if perhaps this was two
grandfathers they were after now, and if so, whether he
would be allowed to take one home and keep it,
and what Christopher Robin would say, And still the tracks
went on in front of them. Suddenly Winnie the Pooh
(20:36):
stopped and pointed excitedly in front of him. Look what,
said Piglet, with a jump, And then to show that
he hadn't been frightened, he jumped up and down once
or twice more in an exercising sort of way. The tracks,
said Pooh. A third animal has joined the other two.
Pooh cried Piglet. Do you think it's another woozl No,
(20:57):
said Pooh, because it makes different marks. It is either
too woozles and one as it might be whizzle, or
two as it might be whizzles and one. If it
is so woozle, let us continue to follow them. And
so they went on, feeling just a little bit anxious.
Now in case the three animals in front of them
were of hostile intent, and Piglet wished very much that
his grandfather tw were there instead of elsewhere. And Pooh
(21:20):
thought how nice it would be if they met Christopher
Robbin suddenly, but quite accidentally, and only because he liked
Christopher Robin so much. And then all of a sudden,
Winnie the Pooh stopped again and licked the tip of
his nose in a cooling manner, for he was feeling
more hot and anxious than ever before in his life.
There were four animals in front of them, do you see, Piglet,
look at their tracks, Three as it were woozles, and
(21:42):
one as it was whizzle. Another woozle has joined them,
And so it seemed to be. There were the tracks
crossing over each other here, getting muddied up with each
other there, but quite plainly every now and then.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
The tracks of four sets.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Of paws, I think, said Piglet, when he had licked
the tip of his nose too and found it brought
very little comfort. I think that I have just remembered something.
I have just remembered something that I forgot to do yesterday.
And I shan't be able to do tomorrow, So I
suppose I really ought to go back and do it now.
We'll do it this afternoon, and I'll come with you,
said Pooh. It isn't the sort of thing you can
(22:19):
do in the afternoon, said Piglet quickly. It's a very
particular morning thing, and it has to be done in
the morning, and if possible, between the hours of what
would you say?
Speaker 1 (22:26):
The time was about.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Twelve, said Winnie the Pooh, looking at the sun between
as I was saying, the hours of twelve and twelve five.
So really, dear old Pooh, if you excuse me, what's that?
Pooh looked up at the sky, and then he heard
the whistle again. He looked up at the branches of
a big oak tree, and he saw a friend of his.
It's Christopher Robbin. He said, Ah, then you'll be all right,
(22:48):
said Piglet. You'll be quite safe with him. Goodbye, and
he trotted off home as quickly as he could, very
glad to be out of all danger again. Christopher Robin
came slowly down this tree, silly old bear, He said,
what were you doing? First? You went round the spinny
twice by yourself, and then Piglet ran after you, and
you went round again together, and then you were just
(23:10):
going round.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
A fourth time.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Wait a moment, said Winnie the Pooh, holding up his paw.
He sat down in thought, in.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
The most thoughtful way he could think.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Then he fitted his paw into one of the tracks,
and he scratched his nose twice and stood up. Yes,
said Winnie the Pooh. I see now, said Winnie the Pooh.
I have been foolish and deluded, said he, And I
am a bear of no brain at all. You're the
best bear in all the world, said Christopher Robbin soothingly.
(23:41):
Am I said Pooh hopefully, and then he brightened up suddenly. Anyhow,
he said, it is nearly luncheon time, so he went
home for it.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
The end.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
I did read Winnie the Poo as a kid.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
You know.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
The stories are sort of like familiar and unfamiliar to me.
I had no idea how often you all have read it.
I just have really enjoyed when I read it to
my friends, singing weird little songs, and so I thought
you all would too. And the other thing that I
think about, because I know what you're thinking. You're thinking,
Margaret but how are you going to tie Winnie the
Pooh into Lord of the Rings. And I have an
(24:18):
answer for you, and that answer is very British because
it involves three British men. It involves Milne who wrote
Winnie the Pooh, it involves Tolkien, who wrote Lord of
the Rings, and involves a man named Michael Moorecock, who's
a pulp anarchist fantasy author writing more in the sixties
and seventies, and who's still alive today, most famous these
(24:38):
days as the person who created the chaos start. He
wrote an essay called The Epic Pooh in which he
just trashes on Lord of the Rings. He's it's like
a well written, just absolutely eviscerating critique of Lord of
the Rings, which I obviously therefore completely disagree with, because
Lord of the Rings is perfect in every way and
specifically a critique the idea. So Winnie the Pooh is
(25:02):
being used to represent like the ultimate British cozy fantasy,
where like, you're not worried about shit, and I think
that's fair. That's what Winnie the Pooh represents. But it's
about fucking stuffed animals and it's for a kid. So
I don't think you can get mad at Winnie the Pooh,
(25:23):
but to claim basically the argument that Morecock makes. It's
been a little while since I read this essay. The
argument he makes is that the Hobbits represent the rural
British and basically the like, you know, stick your heads
in the sand attitude of the world, where you're like, well,
my life is fine, So everyone's life is fine despite
(25:44):
all of this like horror and bloodshed happening just outside
the Shire or just outside you know, England or whatever.
And so basically Morecock critiques Lord of the Rings as
being like too cozy, too neat, to like, ah, we're
off to the war and we come back again. And
I think that there's parts of this that are fair
(26:05):
and parts of that aren't. I think that Lord of
the Rings is actually specifically like at least Tolkien and
Milne fought in World War One, right, and Milne actually
fought in World War Two also in the same way
that Orwell did, which was as part of the Home Guard,
which was the people who were running around in case
and were like training to fight in case the Nazis
(26:27):
invaded England, which was a very real possibility that did
not happen. And so even though he was in his
I want to say, fifties or sixties, Milne was Captain Milne,
although he made all of the people under him, and
just call him mister Milne because he's like that. And
so to accuse Tolkien now, I'm just standing up for
Tolkien's honor. It's sorry, more cock. If you're listening, you
(26:47):
might have been more right than me. I don't know
whatever to accuse Tolkien of. Like sanitizing war is a
very interesting thing, because trench combat in World War One
is like kind of the worst thing I seen imagine
having happen in your life, and it's usually the end
of your life. It's often the end of your life,
you know. And actually one of the core ideas I
think on some level, I think Tolien is aware that
(27:08):
the Hobbits are representing this, you know, sort of British
attitude or whatever. Right, but they come home again changed.
That's like one of the core parts of it, right.
Some of them come home like braver and stronger, but
some of them just come home like fuck them broken,
you know. Anyway, That's how I can tie Winnie the
Pooh into Lord of the rings, you're welcome, have a
good week. And also there's exciting stuff coming around the
(27:31):
bend for cools on Media Book Club that we're gonna
be able to change up the content pretty soon. I've
been enjoying this sort of content, but we've got like
a bunch of ideas and it's going.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
To be good.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
And also, if you like anthropomorphic animals and you like
my storytelling, you might like a book that came out
this very last week, unless you're listening to this in
the future in which it came out a while ago.
Came out in July and twenty twenty five. It's a
book called The Defender's Almanac, and it's a tabletop role
playing game set in the world of the board game
Defenders of the Wild. And if you're thinking, but I
(28:05):
don't know that board game, or even I don't play
tabletop roleplaying games, you actually still might like this book.
It's from Outlandish Games, and it is a standalone thing.
You don't need the board game to play it. But
it's also an almanac. That's why it's called The Defender's Almanac.
And it's basically I wrote. I didn't write the game
mechanics or anything like that other people who are better
(28:26):
at that did it. I wrote a lot of stories
of anthropomorphic animals coming together, finding bravery and fighting machines
because I like doing that sort of thing, and you
can get it now. It's out, it's available. That's what
I got. I'll see you all next week for another
episode of pool Zone Media Book Club. It could Happen
(28:47):
here as a production of cool Zone Media. For more
podcasts from.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Cool Zone Media, visit our website cool zonemedia dot com,
or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can find sources
for a happen here updated monthly at coolzonemedia.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
Dot com slash sources.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Thanks for listening.
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Robert Evans
Garrison Davis
James Stout
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