Misplaced Pages

#237762

70-451: Targeting Japanese people with an affinity for "corners", such as the corner seat of a café or the corner of a room, the characters are anthropomorphised animals and food items. The characters are split into "Sumikko", the main characters, and "Minikko", the smaller side characters. The main characters have common traits: they have a slightly negative personality, they are castaways in everyday life, and they feel most relaxed when they are near

140-423: A dog cone after he gets stitches in his arm. The PBS Kids animated series Let's Go Luna! centers on an anthropomorphic female Moon who speaks, sings, and dances. She comes down out of the sky to serve as a tutor of international culture to the three main characters: a boy frog and wombat and a girl butterfly, who are supposed to be preschool children traveling a world populated by anthropomorphic animals with

210-458: A frozen yogurt retailer and franchisor with 40 locations, as well as Preferred Growth Properties, which develops and manages commercial real estate investments. It owns and operates American Wholesale Book Company (AWBC), an e-commerce division operating as booksamillion.com; and an internet development and services company, NetCentral, in Nashville, Tennessee . In December 2015, the company

280-402: A one hit wonder on a popular 1990s sitcom Horsin' Around , living off the show's residuals in present time. Multiple main characters of the series are other animals who possess human body form and other human-like traits and identity as well; Mr. Peanutbutter , a humanoid dog lives a mostly human life—he speaks American English , walks upright , owns a house , drives a car , is in

350-405: A romantic relationship with a human woman (in this series, as animals and humans are seen as equal , relationships like this are not seen as bestiality but seen as regular human sexuality ), Diane , and has a successful career in television—however also exhibits dog traits —he sleeps in a human-size dog bed , gets arrested for having a drag race with the mailman and is once forced to wear

420-714: A circus run by their parents. The French-Belgian animated series Mush-Mush & the Mushables takes place in a world inhabited by Mushables, which are anthropomorphic fungi, along with other critters such as beetles , snails , and frogs . Sonic the Hedgehog , a video game franchise debuting in 1991, features a speedy blue hedgehog as the main protagonist. This series' characters are almost all anthropomorphic animals such as foxes, cats, and other hedgehogs who are able to speak and walk on their hind legs like normal humans. As with most anthropomorphisms of animals, clothing

490-573: A corner. In contrast, some of the Minikko characters have a more positive outlook, like Zassou, the weed with big dreams. Yuri Yokomizo was a new designer when she developed the Sumikko Gurashi characters in her first year of joining San-X . Before getting hired at San-X, Yokomizo studied graphic design at Tama Art University where Hikaru Suemasa, creator of the San-X character Tarepanda ,

560-515: A feeling of pity for that which is left over. In 2019 Yokomizo said that some parts of the books are based on her own experiences, like a scene where the characters are afraid of answering the phone. In 2019, The Japan Times described Sumikko Gurashi as being part of a trend which first began with the release of the San-X character Rilakkuma in 2003, where characters have more negative personality traits compared to earlier kawaii (cute) characters which were more cheerful or bland. Marceline Smith,

630-426: A greater size than the original, Oldenburg created his sculptures out of soft materials. The anthropomorphic qualities of the sculptures were mainly in their sagging and malleable exterior which mirrored the not-so-idealistic forms of the human body. In "Soft Light Switches" Oldenburg creates a household light switch out of vinyl. The two identical switches, in a dulled orange, insinuate nipples. The soft vinyl references

700-405: A main character role, but ultimately the lone character was deemed too gloomy and lonely, and a group setting was used instead. The cat character Neko was added to the group after winning a survey San-X did with children in elementary school. The addition of the leftover pork cutlet character Tonkatsu shifted the focus. Yokomizo said in 2015 that characters like Tonkatsu and Tapioca were inspired by

770-401: A normal dog in other ways; for example, he cannot resist chasing a ball and barks at the mailman, believing him to be a threat. In a similar case, BoJack Horseman , an American Netflix adult animated black comedy series, takes place in an alternate world where humans and anthropomorphic animals live side by side, and centers around the life of BoJack Horseman ; a humanoid horse who was

SECTION 10

#1732775445238

840-492: A price of $ 13 per share. In 1998, the company launched its website , booksamillion.com. On November 25, 1998, during the dot-com bubble , the stock price soared from $ 3 per share to $ 38.94 on November 27, 1998, and an intra-day high of $ 47.00 on November 30, 1998, after the company announced an updated website. Two weeks later, the share price was back down to $ 10. By 2000, the share price had returned to $ 3. Those days included suspenseful times for day traders , such as when

910-490: A stage", Fer interprets the artists in Eccentric Abstraction to a new form of anthropomorphism. She puts forth the thoughts of Surrealist writer Roger Caillois , who speaks of the "spacial lure of the subject, the way in which the subject could inhabit their surroundings." Caillous uses the example of an insect who "through camouflage does so in order to become invisible... and loses its distinctness." For Fer,

980-402: A sub-culture known as furry fandom , which promotes and creates stories and artwork involving anthropomorphic animals, and the examination and interpretation of humanity through anthropomorphism. This can often be shortened in searches as "anthro", used by some as an alternative term to "furry". Anthropomorphic characters have also been a staple of the comic book genre. The most prominent one

1050-592: A year. Eight million plush toys and 3 million books had been sold. Sumikko Gurashi was ranked #10 in 2016, and #5 in 2018 on character popularity charts from Bandai , based on surveys of parents of children under 12 in Japan. In 2019, Sumikko Gurashi won the Grand Prize at the Japan Character Awards . For the 10th anniversary in 2022, San-x started the "Let's connect through Sumikko project" where

1120-503: A yellow sea sponge , living in the underwater town of Bikini Bottom with his anthropomorphic marine life friends. Cartoon Network 's animated series The Amazing World of Gumball (2011–2019) are about anthropomorphic animals and inanimate objects. All of the characters in Hasbro Studios ' TV series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010–2019) are anthropomorphic fantasy creatures, with most of them being ponies living in

1190-560: Is a bookstore chain in the United States, operating 260 stores in 32 states. Stores range in size from 4,000 to 30,000 square feet and sell books, magazines, manga, collectibles, toys, technology, and gifts. Most Books-A-Million stores feature "Joe Muggs" cafés , a coffee and espresso bar. Stores operate under the names Books-A-Million, Bookland, Books & Company, and 2nd & Charles. The company owns Yogurt Mountain Holding,

1260-468: Is a human activity and to attribute it to nature misconstrues it as humanlike. Modern criticisms followed Bacon's ideas such as critiques of Baruch Spinoza and David Hume . The latter, for instance, embedded his arguments in his wider criticism of human religions and specifically demonstrated in what he cited as their "inconsistence" where, on one hand, the Deity is painted in the most sublime colors but, on

1330-407: Is a series of plush items, consisting of palm-sized plush dolls and plush dollhouses, furniture, outfits, etc. in size for the dolls. As of 2018, it includes over 300 different items. Sumikko merchandise has been released with different themes, like seasonal items, depicting Sumikko wearing hats and mufflers in the winter, or depicting them at a beach holding watermelons in the summer. Other themes show

1400-561: Is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to abstract concepts such as nations, emotions, and natural forces, such as seasons and weather. Both have ancient roots as storytelling and artistic devices, and most cultures have traditional fables with anthropomorphized animals as characters. People have also routinely attributed human emotions and behavioral traits to wild as well as domesticated animals. Anthropomorphism and anthropomorphization derive from

1470-768: Is of little or no importance, where some characters may be fully clothed while some wear only shoes and gloves. Another popular example in video games is the Super Mario series, debuting in 1985 with Super Mario Bros. , of which main antagonist includes a fictional species of anthropomorphic turtle -like creatures known as Koopas . Other games in the series, as well as of other of its greater Mario franchise, spawned similar characters such as Yoshi , Donkey Kong and many others . Claes Oldenburg 's soft sculptures are commonly described as anthropomorphic. Depicting common household objects, Oldenburg's sculptures were considered Pop Art . Reproducing these objects, often at

SECTION 20

#1732775445238

1540-697: The Aggretsuko series. It was directed by Mankyū, with the script written by Takashi Sumita and Kaori Hino was the art director. It opened in 114 theaters in Japan in November, ranked #3 on opening weekend, and rose to #2 the week after. It grossed a total of 1.45 billion yen in 2019 and won Best Animation of the Year at the Japanese Movie Critics Awards . In 2021, a second movie was released, Sumikko Gurashi The Movie: A Magical Child of

1610-472: The Genesis creation myth : "So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them". Hindus do not reject the concept of a deity in the abstract unmanifested, but note practical problems. The Bhagavad Gita , Chapter 12, Verse 5, states that it is much more difficult for people to focus on a deity that is unmanifested than one with form , remarking on

1680-753: The World's Fair and the Olympics . These personifications may be simple human or animal figures, such as Ronald McDonald or the donkey that represents the United States's Democratic Party . Other times, they are anthropomorphic items, such as " Clippy " or the " Michelin Man ". Most often, they are anthropomorphic animals such as the Energizer Bunny or the San Diego Chicken . Books-A-Million Books-A-Million, Inc. , also known as BAM! ,

1750-719: The prophets , who explicitly rejected any likeness of God to humans. Their rejection grew further after the Islamic Golden Age in the tenth century, which Maimonides codified in the twelfth century, in his thirteen principles of Jewish faith. In the Ismaili interpretation of Islam , assigning attributes to God as well as negating any attributes from God ( via negativa ) both qualify as anthropomorphism and are rejected, as God cannot be understood by either assigning attributes to Him or taking them away. The 10th-century Ismaili philosopher Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani suggested

1820-697: The 1920s to the present day. In the Disney/Pixar franchises Cars and Planes , all the characters are anthropomorphic vehicles, while in Toy Story , they are anthropomorphic toys. Other Pixar franchises like Monsters, Inc features anthropomorphic monsters and Finding Nemo features anthropomorphic sea animals (like fish, sharks, and whales). Discussing anthropomorphic animals from DreamWorks franchise Madagascar , Timothy Laurie suggests that " social differences based on conflict and contradiction are naturalized and made less 'contestable' through

1890-511: The 1960s, anthropomorphism has also been represented in various animated television shows such as Biker Mice From Mars (1993–1996) and SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (1993–1995). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , first aired in 1987, features four pizza-loving anthropomorphic turtles with a great knowledge of ninjutsu, led by their anthropomorphic rat sensei, Master Splinter. Nickelodeon 's longest running animated TV series SpongeBob SquarePants (1999–present), revolves around SpongeBob ,

1960-1061: The 5th anniversary in 2017, San-X released birthday-themed merchandise and held different events around Japan, like pop-up cafes and exhibitions. Also, a commemorative train decorated with Sumikko Gurashi characters ran on the Yamanote Line in July and August 2017. Sumikko Gurashi is also promoted in Taiwan and is known as Jiǎoluò Xiǎohuǒbàn (角落小夥伴, lit. "Little Corner Partners") or Jiǎoluò shēngwù (角落生物, lit. "Corner Creatures") in Chinese. In 2017, Sumikko Gurashi merchandise started selling in North American stores such as Books-a-Million and Barnes and Noble . According to San-X, in 2015, Sumikko Gurashi stood for 30% of sales of their original merchandise or about 5 billion yen. As of 2019, sales of Sumikko products were worth about 20 billion yen

2030-489: The Blue Moonlit Night ( 映画 すみっコぐらし 青い月夜のまほうのコ , Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Aoi Tsukiyo no Mahou no Ko ) . It was directed by Takahiro Omori with a screenplay by Reiko Yoshida . Like the first movie, it was produced by Fanworks with art directed by Kaori Hino. The theme song was performed by the alternative rock group Bump of Chicken . Yuri Yokomizo made rough sketches for character designs and collaborated with

2100-732: The Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testaments , as well as in the texts of some other religions. Anthropomorphism, also referred to as personification, is a well-established literary device from ancient times. The story of " The Hawk and the Nightingale " in Hesiod 's Works and Days preceded Aesop 's fables by centuries. Collections of linked fables from India, the Jataka Tales and Panchatantra , also employ anthropomorphized animals to illustrate principles of life. Many of

2170-547: The Rabbit as research. Adams returned to anthropomorphic storytelling in his later novels The Plague Dogs (1977) and Traveller (1988). By the 21st century, the children's picture book market had expanded massively. Perhaps a majority of picture books have some kind of anthropomorphism, with popular examples being The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969) by Eric Carle and The Gruffalo (1999) by Julia Donaldson . Anthropomorphism in literature and other media led to

Sumikko Gurashi - Misplaced Pages Continue

2240-522: The Sumikko characters, among other things, act as tourism ambassadors for selected towns and areas in Japan. For the seventh anniversary in 2019, an anime film was released, called Sumikko Gurashi The Movie - The Pop-up Book and the Secret Child ( 映画すみっコぐらし とびだす絵本とひみつのコ , Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Tobidasu Ehon to Himitsu no Ko ) . The film was produced by the studio Fanworks who previously made

2310-853: The Sumikko participating in various activities, like studying or sports, or in locations like a cafe or a dagashiya candy store. Some of the themes are reflected in short stories featured in books and magazines, on the San-X website, and in short promotional films with simple animation San-X published on their YouTube channel. As of 2019, San-X had a team of about 25 people working on Sumikko Gurashi product development. As of 2023, 60 different design themes had been released. The first Sumikko Gurashi books were released in 2014, and as of 2018 over 30 different books have been released, including story books, fan books, activity books, and mooks with enclosed items. There have also been several Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch games, and several mobile games , including Sumikko Gurashi—Our Puzzling Ways and SumiSumi . For

2380-514: The Tank Engine and other anthropomorphic locomotives . The fantasy genre developed from mythological, fairy tale, and Romance motifs sometimes have anthropomorphic animals as characters. The best-selling examples of the genre are The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955), both by J. R. R. Tolkien , books peopled with talking creatures such as ravens, spiders, and

2450-669: The Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908); Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928) by A. A. Milne ; and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950) and the subsequent books in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis . In many of these stories the animals can be seen as representing facets of human personality and character. As John Rowe Townsend remarks, discussing The Jungle Book in which

2520-492: The aging process as the sculpture wrinkles and sinks with time. In the essay "Art and Objecthood", Michael Fried makes the case that " literalist art " ( minimalism ) becomes theatrical by means of anthropomorphism. The viewer engages the minimalist work, not as an autonomous art object, but as a theatrical interaction. Fried references a conversation in which Tony Smith answers questions about his six-foot cube, "Die". Q: Why didn't you make it larger so that it would loom over

2590-476: The anthropomorphic qualities of imitation found in the erotic, organic sculptures of artists Eva Hesse and Louise Bourgeois , are not necessarily for strictly "mimetic" purposes. Instead, like the insect, the work must come into being in the "scopic field... which we cannot view from outside." For branding , merchandising , and representation , figures known as mascots are now often employed to personify sports teams , corporations , and major events such as

2660-483: The author of a book about kawaii , described Sumikko Gurashi as "characters that feel left out or anxious" which makes them "more relevant for a generation who face greater uncertainty in their lives". San-X released the first Sumikko Gurashi products in September 2012, which included stationery and plush toys. A variety of merchandise followed, such as clothing, kitchenware , and bags. The Sumikko Gurashi Collection

2730-655: The basis of their story. Examples include Squid Girl (anthropomorphized squid), Hetalia: Axis Powers (personified countries), Upotte!! (personified guns), Arpeggio of Blue Steel and Kancolle (personified ships). Some of the most notable examples are the Walt Disney characters Mickey Mouse , Donald Duck , Goofy , and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit ; the Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny , Daffy Duck , and Porky Pig ; and an array of others from

2800-402: The boy Mowgli must rely on his new friends the bear Baloo and the black panther Bagheera , "The world of the jungle is in fact both itself and our world as well". A notable work aimed at an adult audience is George Orwell 's Animal Farm , in which all the main characters are anthropomorphic animals. Non-animal examples include Rev. W. Awdry 's Railway Series stories featuring Thomas

2870-546: The characters in Walt Disney Animation Studios ' Zootopia (2016) are anthropomorphic animals, that is an entirely nonhuman civilization. The live-action/animated franchise Alvin and the Chipmunks by 20th Century Fox centers around anthropomorphic talkative and singing chipmunks . The female singing chipmunks called The Chipettes are also centered in some of the franchise's films. Since

Sumikko Gurashi - Misplaced Pages Continue

2940-517: The classificatory matrix of human and nonhuman relations ". Other DreamWorks franchises like Shrek features fairy tale characters, and Blue Sky Studios of 20th Century Fox franchises like Ice Age features anthropomorphic extinct animals. Other characters in SpongeBob SquarePants features anthropomorphic sea animals as well (like sea sponges, starfish, octopus, crabs, whales, puffer fish, lobsters, and zooplankton). All of

3010-497: The company opened Yogurt Mountain locations in its bookstores. In September 2010, the company launched 2nd & Charles , a trader of used media, with its first store in Hoover, Alabama across from Riverchase Galleria . In December 2015, the company was acquired by its chairman, Clyde B. Anderson, and his family, for $ 21 million. In November 2016, the company began to sell self-published books. In 2014, Books-A-Million

3080-584: The divine as deities with human forms and qualities. They resemble human beings not only in appearance and personality; they exhibited many human behaviors that were used to explain natural phenomena, creation, and historical events. The deities fell in love, married, had children, fought battles, wielded weapons, and rode horses and chariots. They feasted on special foods, and sometimes required sacrifices of food, beverage, and sacred objects to be made by human beings. Some anthropomorphic deities represented specific human concepts, such as love, war, fertility, beauty, or

3150-472: The dragon Smaug and a multitude of anthropomorphic goblins and elves . John D. Rateliff calls this the " Doctor Dolittle Theme" in his book The History of the Hobbit and Tolkien saw this anthropomorphism as closely linked to the emergence of human language and myth : "...The first men to talk of 'trees and stars' saw things very differently. To them, the world was alive with mythological beings... To them

3220-587: The earliest ancient examples set in a mythological context to the great collections of the Brothers Grimm and Perrault . The Tale of Two Brothers (Egypt, 13th century BCE) features several talking cows and in Cupid and Psyche (Rome, 2nd century CE) Zephyrus , the west wind, carries Psyche away. Later an ant feels sorry for her and helps her in her quest. Building on the popularity of fables and fairy tales, children's literature began to emerge in

3290-550: The earliest known evidence of anthropomorphism. One of the oldest known is an ivory sculpture, the Löwenmensch figurine , Germany, a human-shaped figurine with the head of a lioness or lion, determined to be about 32,000 years old. It is not possible to say what these prehistoric artworks represent. A more recent example is The Sorcerer , an enigmatic cave painting from the Trois-Frères Cave , Ariège, France:

3360-482: The figure's significance is unknown, but it is usually interpreted as some kind of great spirit or master of the animals. In either case there is an element of anthropomorphism. This anthropomorphic art has been linked by archaeologist Steven Mithen with the emergence of more systematic hunting practices in the Upper Palaeolithic. He proposes that these are the product of a change in the architecture of

3430-592: The founder's son, inherited the store and expanded it into a chain. The company incorporated as Bookland in 1964. By 1980, the company had 50 stores. In 1988, Bookland acquired the Gateway Books retail chain based in Knoxville, Tennessee . The same year, the company opened its first superstore format store. In 1992, the company changed its name to Books-A-Million, Inc. and became a public company via an initial public offering of 2.6 million shares at

3500-473: The gods' shapes and make their bodies of such a sort as the form they themselves have. ... Ethiopians say that their gods are snub–nosed [ σιμούς ] and black Thracians that they are pale and red-haired. Xenophanes said that "the greatest god" resembles man "neither in form nor in mind". Both Judaism and Islam reject an anthropomorphic deity, believing that God is beyond human comprehension. Judaism's rejection of an anthropomorphic deity began with

3570-432: The human mind , an increasing fluidity between the natural history and social intelligences , where anthropomorphism allowed hunters to identify empathetically with hunted animals and better predict their movements. In religion and mythology, anthropomorphism is the perception of a divine being or beings in human form, or the recognition of human qualities in these beings. Ancient mythologies frequently represented

SECTION 50

#1732775445238

3640-481: The idea of a separate inside; an idea mirrored in the human form. Fried considers the Literalist art's "hollowness" to be "biomorphic" as it references a living organism. Curator Lucy Lippard 's Eccentric Abstraction show, in 1966, sets up Briony Fer 's writing of a post-minimalist anthropomorphism. Reacting to Fried's interpretation of minimalist art's "looming presence of objects which appear as actors might on

3710-457: The method of double negation; for example: "God is not existent" followed by "God is not non-existent". This glorifies God from any understanding or human comprehension. In secular thought, one of the most notable criticisms began in 1600 with Francis Bacon , who argued against Aristotle 's teleology , which declared that everything behaves as it does in order to achieve some end, in order to fulfill itself. Bacon pointed out that achieving ends

3780-463: The movie design team in creating the concept. Much of the work on the movie was done remotely, using screen sharing . It opened in 184 theaters and was #2 at the weekend box office, going up to #1 the week after. As of January 2022, the total box office was over 1 billion yen. These are the smaller Minikko characters. Anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It

3850-531: The nineteenth century with works such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll , The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Carlo Collodi and The Jungle Book (1894) by Rudyard Kipling , all employing anthropomorphic elements. This continued in the twentieth century with many of the most popular titles having anthropomorphic characters, examples being The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901) and later books by Beatrix Potter ; The Wind in

3920-450: The observer? A: I was not making a monument. Q: Then why didn't you make it smaller so that the observer could see over the top? A: I was not making an object. Fried implies an anthropomorphic connection by means of "a surrogate person – that is, a kind of statue." The minimalist decision of "hollowness" in much of their work was also considered by Fried to be "blatantly anthropomorphic". This "hollowness" contributes to

3990-582: The other, is degraded to nearly human levels by giving him human infirmities, passions, and prejudices. In Faces in the Clouds , anthropologist Stewart Guthrie proposes that all religions are anthropomorphisms that originate in the brain's tendency to detect the presence or vestiges of other humans in natural phenomena. Some scholars argue that anthropomorphism overestimates the similarity of humans and nonhumans and therefore could not yield accurate accounts. There are various examples of personification in both

4060-425: The perspective of adherents to religions in which humans were created in the form of the divine, the phenomenon may be considered theomorphism , or the giving of divine qualities to humans. Anthropomorphism has cropped up as a Christian heresy , particularly prominently with Audianism in third-century Syria, but also fourth-century Egypt and tenth-century Italy. This often was based on a literal interpretation of

4130-534: The pony-inhabited land of Equestria . The Netflix original series Centaurworld focuses on a warhorse who gets transported to a Dr. Seuss -like world full of centaurs who possess the bottom half of any animal, as opposed to the traditional horse . In the American animated TV series Family Guy , one of the show's main characters, Brian , is a dog. Brian shows many human characteristics – he walks upright, talks, smokes, and drinks Martinis – but also acts like

4200-413: The seasons. Anthropomorphic deities exhibited human qualities such as beauty , wisdom , and power , and sometimes human weaknesses such as greed , hatred , jealousy , and uncontrollable anger . Greek deities such as Zeus and Apollo often were depicted in human form exhibiting both commendable and despicable human traits. Anthropomorphism in this case is, more specifically, anthropotheism . From

4270-421: The several animals and think of some of them as royal animals, of others as silly, of others as witty, and others as innocent. Apollonius noted that the fable was created to teach wisdom through fictions that are meant to be taken as fictions, contrasting them favorably with the poets' stories of the deities that are sometimes taken literally. Aesop, "by announcing a story which everyone knows not to be true, told

SECTION 60

#1732775445238

4340-536: The stereotypes of animals that are recognized today, such as the wily fox and the proud lion, can be found in these collections. Aesop 's anthropomorphisms were so familiar by the first century CE that they colored the thinking of at least one philosopher: And there is another charm about him, namely, that he puts animals in a pleasing light and makes them interesting to mankind. For after being brought up from childhood with these stories, and after being as it were nursed by them from babyhood, we acquire certain opinions of

4410-480: The stock moved up 6 points in 13 minutes. During this time, insiders sold hundreds of thousands of shares. In 1999, the company acquired NetCentral, the designer of its website, and began operating American Wholesale Book Company, a book wholesaler and distributor. In April 2010, the company paid $ 3 million for a 40% stake in Yogurt Mountain , a frozen yogurt retailer and franchisor. Six months later,

4480-482: The truth by the very fact that he did not claim to be relating real events". The same consciousness of the fable as fiction is to be found in other examples across the world, one example being a traditional Ashanti way of beginning tales of the anthropomorphic trickster -spider Anansi : "We do not really mean, we do not really mean that what we are about to say is true. A story, a story; let it come, let it go." Anthropomorphic motifs have been common in fairy tales from

4550-636: The usage of anthropomorphic icons ( murtis ) that adherents can perceive with their senses. Some religions, scholars, and philosophers objected to anthropomorphic deities. The earliest known criticism was that of the Greek philosopher Xenophanes (570–480 BCE) who observed that people model their gods after themselves. He argued against the conception of deities as fundamentally anthropomorphic: But if cattle and horses and lions had hands or could paint with their hands and create works such as men do, horses like horses and cattle like cattle also would depict

4620-632: The verb form anthropomorphize , itself derived from the Greek ánthrōpos ( ἄνθρωπος , lit. "human") and morphē ( μορφή , "form"). It is first attested in 1753, originally in reference to the heresy of applying a human form to the Christian God . From the beginnings of human behavioral modernity in the Upper Paleolithic , about 40,000 years ago, examples of zoomorphic (animal-shaped) works of art occur that may represent

4690-535: The whole of creation was 'myth-woven and elf-patterned'." Richard Adams developed a distinctive take on anthropomorphic writing in the 1970s: his debut novel, Watership Down (1972), featured rabbits that could talk—with their own distinctive language ( Lapine ) and mythology—and included a police-state warren, Efrafa . Despite this, Adams attempted to ensure his characters' behavior mirrored that of wild rabbits, engaging in fighting, copulating and defecating, drawing on Ronald Lockley 's study The Private Life of

4760-515: Was Neil Gaiman 's the Sandman which had a huge impact on how characters that are physical embodiments are written in the fantasy genre. Other examples also include the mature Hellblazer (personified political and moral ideas), Fables and its spin-off series Jack of Fables , which was unique for having anthropomorphic representation of literary techniques and genres . Various Japanese manga and anime have used anthropomorphism as

4830-493: Was acquired by its chairman, Clyde B. Anderson, and his family, for $ 21 million. Books-A-Million was founded in 1917 in Florence, Alabama , as a newsstand by 14-year old Clyde W. Anderson, who dropped out of school to support his family after his father died. Anderson saw a business opportunity after workers on the nearby Wilson Dam complained that they could not get their hometown newspapers. In 1950, Charles C. Anderson,

4900-415: Was one of her professors. Yokomizo based the Sumikko Gurashi characters on doodles she made in the corners of her notebooks as a student. They were first conceived as a series of cute animal characters, and early concept art included a sheep and a giraffe . The polar bear character Shirokuma was originally conceived as a flawed white rabbit stuffed toy with ears that are too short. It was also considered for

#237762