Yabba dabba Flintstone dispute resolved

印刷用画面を開く

Posted

Category: Lifestyle/Entertainment

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. technically / ˈtɛk nɪk li / (adv.) – according to the strict meaning of a word or explanation of a rule
    Example:

    I technically didn’t lie because I didn’t say anything.


  2. fanciful / ˈfæn sɪ fəl / (adj.) – unusual and fantasy-like
    Example:

    When I was a child, I always drew fanciful characters like flying rabbits.


  3. posh / pɒʃ / (adj.) – expensive and high-class
    Example:

    It’s not a good idea to live a posh lifestyle if you don’t have the money to pay for it.


  4. pit (something/someone) against (something/someone) / pɪt əˈgɛnst / (phrasal v.) – to make people, groups, things, etc. fight against or compete with one another
    Example:

    The TV show pits celebrities against a team of regular people for a cash prize.


  5. public nuisance / ˈpʌb lɪk ˈnu səns / (n.) – someone or something that’s negatively affecting the health, safety or peace of a community
    Example:

    My neighbor is a public nuisance. He plays loud music until 3 a.m. almost every night.


Article

Read the text below.

Fred Flintstone fought the law — and he won.


Technically, the owner of the fanciful Flintstone house in a posh San Francisco suburb settled a lawsuit with the suburb, the town of Hillsborough. But the agreement will allow Fred and his friends to remain.


In a dispute that pitted property rights against government rules, and played out in international media, retired publishing mogul Florence Fang defended her colorful, bulbous-shaped house and its elaborate homage to the Flintstone family, featuring Stone Age sculptures inspired by the 1960s cartoon The Flintstones, along with aliens and other oddities.


The town, however, called the towering dinosaurs and life-size sculptures “a highly visible eyesore” and sued Fang, alleging she violated local codes when she put dinosaur sculptures in her backyard and made other landscaping changes that caused local officials to declare it a public nuisance. Fang countersued.


The Daily Post in Palo Alto first reported news of the settlement on June 24. (AP)


This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • Fang’s neighbors called her Flintstones house and life-size sculptures a public nuisance. If you were her neighbor, would you feel the same way? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • The agreement allowed Fang to keep Fred and the other life-size sculptures. Do you think towns should be able to sue homeowners because of how they decorate their houses and yards? Why or why not? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • Fang designed and decorated her house as an homage to The Flintstones. Do you think it’s reasonable for people to decorate or design their homes in an homage to something (ex. a movie, an animal)? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • If you were to design a fanciful house, what theme would you choose for it (ex. castle, under the sea)? Why? Discuss.