Tag Archives: candy canes

Katy Perry and Snoop Dog do Candyland!

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Katy Perry and Snoop Dog (and some very sweet back up singer/dancers) do Candyland like it has never been done before! Throughout the recently released California Gurls video, a provocative Katy Perry travels through a Candyland of candy cane, ice cream and peppermint trees. She lounges naked in a cloud of pink cotton candy and plays amidst other tasty performers, all sporting candy colored hair and bikini costumes representing various candy creations, from cupcakes and doughnuts to ice cream scoops.

In the lighthearted spirit of the video Katy Perry also comes across a gang of rude gummy bears and takes part in eating a gingerbread man, who doesn’t seem at all happy at first but is content after the first few bites, and remains so until he is a pile of crumbs. Hmm, could that be a metaphor? Katy climbs candy cane snakes to clouds of candy floss and finishes on a sugar beach littered with gummy bears.

At the end of the video Katy Perry guns down Snoop Dog with canisters of whipped cream shot from interesting point blank range. In Katy’s own words, “After jumping on marshmallows, eating gingerbread men, going through candy forests, climbing a peppermint stick, popping a girl out of a bubble, unwrapping some caramel (also a girl), making a girl come out of jello and hanging out with Snoop Dog, it’s a wrap!”

The video is undoubtedly based upon the traditional American Candy Land game in which kids move around a Candy Land board. In fact the opening scene shows an opening board game (called “Candyfornia”) just as the song begins and Snoop Dog puts a Katy Perry play piece on the board. Katy Perry then moves along gingerbread paths, crosses twizzle bridge and the dice are repeatedly rolled.

This fun and frivolous video through Candyland is a sweet treat and a welcome respite from artists without a sense of showmanship, who often take themselves way too seriously.

Candy Stripers

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While the term candy striper may conjure up visions of young women dressed in red and white handing out sweet chocolate candy trifles, the term candy striper actually and surprisingly, has nothing to do with candy (except that they make people happy!). Candy stripers are actually hospital volunteers who go around cheering patients up by offering a friendly face, a happy disposition and some company to those who are sick and possibly depressed or lonely. While the candy striper’s were a common sight in hospitals in the past it is only recently, with increased understanding about the relationship between psychological and physical well being, that they have once again begun to take on the role in hospitals.

Candy stripers are often young people who are able to lighten the atmosphere with their youthful vitality. They often also have an interest in entering the health care field. The candy striper job offers them excellent insight to what it is like to care for the sick and gives them a better idea as to whether they are suited to a caring profession. While candy stripers were traditionally female, the modern candy striper may be male or female without raising eyebrows.

The term candy striper of course comes from the outfit these girls traditionally wore which was a red and white striped, candy cane colored, uniform. Today candy stripers generally wear their own street clothes or if appropriate for the hospital area, regular hospital greens. While the primary job of a candy striper is, and always has been, to cheer up and spend time with patients most candy stripers also help with practical duties, usually under the supervision of the hospital nursing staff.

While the job of a candy striper is a volunteer position, for a student interested in health (or a student who has not yet held paid employment) it is also an excellent achievement to have on a CV.  Of course there is also the satisfaction of helping others which is fulfilling in its own right.