The Day Sesame Street Tried to Destroy My Sense Of Reality
Here's an article about what Sesame Street is doing to Cookie Monster. Knowing that there was a monster who "ate cookies" didn't make me want to eat cookies any more than I already did as a child. So, to me, having Cookie Monster change his character just so little kids know not to eat cookies at every meal is ridiculous! *Cliched battlecry* "Where are the parents?!" No, seriously... where are the parents? Aren't they the ones that are buying the food. It's not like the kids really have a lot of say into what groceries are purchased, do they? Have I been missing something? Have children now been given the chore of grocery purchase and I'm just horribly unawares of the global shift in grocery power? If that is indeed the case, I apologize for my unwarranted Ranting. But my guess is that parents still do most of the shopping and could just NOT buy cookies if this is really a problem. I can understand Sesame Street not wanting to "promote" negative characteristics, but are we going to make him "Oscar the Nice Guy" now? Please. Let's stop being ridiculous and find the heart of this issue: childhood obesity. And that stems from what? My personal belief is that childhood obesity comes from two different sources: one, not having a parent home because of this society's emphasis on money... and our dollar's disgusting inflation leading to both parents HAVING to work to mantain our horrific materialistic lifestyle; and two, the lack of funding to afterschool programs that do things like "exercise" and "build teamwork skills." But if someone thinks my personal favorite childhood character, Cookie Monster, is the root of all childhood evil then let's stomp it out at the source. That bastard.
On Tuesday night I had my writing class. Our assignment had been to write a Desperate Housewives pitch... and so I had. Only five members of the class showed up, my guess being that the assignment had been a "turn off" for everyone else (no offense to watchers of the show). In a move of sheer brilliance, Scruggs made me go first. I hate going first... I prefer, always, to go second. I want to see how things are going to play out before I go... but I also want to get it over with so that I can relax for the rest of the time. This has been my way since high school speech class (at the very least). Regardless, I went first. I gave my pitch and I think she was actually impressed. I set the tone for a good evening of pitches... everyone's pitch seemed pretty good. There were a few things about my pitch that weren't the best writing ever, but I'm still learning and I think everything was believable enough. The class was light-hearted and fun... and we learned a couple of things about writing for TV that we wouldn't have if we had pitched for a show we liked (sorry to the watchers of the show): 1) You can't always choose what show you write for... so it shouldn't matter whether you like the show or not; and 2) If you come across a show you don't like, deconstruct it... what is it about the show you don't like? How would you do it better? Valuable lessons, indeed.
Thursday night I had my Conservatory class. A really funny scene about a white guy who moves in next to a black woman and is confused because he thought the whole neighborhood was "white" spurned an intelligent, honest race discussion. I was floored at some of the racist comments my classmates have to deal with on a regular basis. Up North? In Chicago? Surely we're more progressive than that... aren't we? Apparently not. I couldn't believe what they were saying... how they were regularly treated... and the perpetuation of the class system that is alive and very well in this "Great American City" of Chicago. I didn't have much to say... I was just sitting and soaking it all in... but man oh man, I felt so bad for the blatant stereotypes my classmates, my friends, have to put up with on a regular basis. Who's teaching this shit to people? Where is it coming from? How can crap like this be perpetuated? I got so angry for them... and felt so guilty for being the "majority"... once again, I'm the bad guy. I didn't ask to be born white or male... don't look at me like it's my fault. They didn't do any of that... but I projected my own fears that maybe someone would. I was a little upset when other people chimed in and were saying "I know how you feel because people treat me, as a *fill in blank*, the same way." I think everyone likes to be the victim from time to time. I think this is when my Conservative girlfriend would chime in about affirmative action being a dumb idea and I'd have to punch her in the foot. That I should be looking for a Conservative woman makes no sense to me. Stupid quiz thing!
Hey! Conservatives... right, so, speaking of people I almost hate as much as the British, I'm reading "The War Of The Worlds." Huh? Where did that come from? I don't know... but I have historically disliked the British. One of the reasons I can't wait to head to England. No, not to hate people, but to destroy whatever mental thing I've got about the British... so I can go ahead and like the people I like, hate the people I hate, and be indifferent to the people I don't know. Regardless, The War of The Worlds is one of the most ethnocentric novels you're likely to find. To take over the Earth, the Martians (all of them) land in England. Wells speaks of English towns nonchalantly, figuring his entire audience will know exactly where he's talking about. "Then we heard firing from Shoeburyness" he'd say. "Not Shoeburyness! Those heartless aliens! What's next? Pyrford? The surely wouldn't attack Leatherhead!" I assume he thinks the reader will exclaim. Yes, I understand this novel is from the turn of the LAST century... and I'm willing to give Wells the benefit of the doubt. I'm just letting you know my experience of his novel. For someone reading this book in 2005 in America, the book's a little "where?" from time to time.
And, finally, in the most disgusting thing I can think of category, Darren Sharper is going to play for the Vikings next season. This happened a while ago, I just wasn't paying attention. Good riddance to Sharper, an amazing natural athlete with very little upstairs... I just know he'll single-handedly do something to beat us next year. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.