Yes, it's not our Sesame Street anymore

Happy Birthday Sesame Street! The pioneering children's show recently turned the big 4-0. I honestly don't remember watching a lot of the show -- my babysitters growing up were more into watching the soaps on CBS than Sesame Street -- but I do remember a lot of the old episodes.

I know I've talked about Sesame Street before and that I like it, but I thought a recent article by the New York Times was interesting:

The pedagogy hasn’t changed, but the look and tone of “Sesame Street” has evolved. Forty years on, this is your mother’s “Sesame Street,” only better dressed and gentrified: Sesame Street by way of Park Slope. The opening is no longer a realistic rendition of an urban skyline but an animated, candy-colored chalk drawing of a preschool Arcadia, with flowers and butterflies and stars. The famous set, brownstones and garbage bins, has lost the messy graffiti and gritty smudges of city life over the years. Now there are green spaces, tofu and yoga.

I totally understand what they're talking about, and I think that for a lot of us who grew up with the old version of Sesame Street (not "your mother's Sesame Street" but MY Sesame Street -- cripes. Am I that old?) it is a bit like when Times Square in NYC changed to something...more wholesome.

But to me, this version of Sesame Street reflects some of the changes that we see in our society. Gentrification of what was previously considered the "bad part of town" is more and more common. When people become parents, they aren't fleeing to the suburbs -- they're staying in the city. As a result of these things, the city changes and becomes something different. It's not he home we remembered as a child.

I find it funny that the New York Times -- which to me sometimes screams of upper middle class white privilege -- is so critical of the change. I wonder if it's because a lot of us are looking at this and not finding the same things we had growing up on Sesame Street. Perhaps nostalgia is tinting our world viewpoint with a "Things aren't as cool as when we were kids," view.

I know the article's charting the change of the show, but there's something kind of sneering in the way the writer describes the characters. Like Abby Cadabby: "(A) pink and sparkly fairy with a button nose and long eyelashes was taken as yet another sign of the ascent of third wave feminism — or a concession to the commercial appeal of Disney-style princess."

I like Abby Cadabby. And I know most girls go through a very girly phase where it's all about pink and lavender, fairy wings and other such things. Looking back, when I think about how all the monsters on Sesame Street were mostly guys when I was growing up (I just remember Prairie Dawn being a regular, but not anyone else), I'm glad to see Zoe, Abby Cadabby and Rosita. There are girl monsters and Muppets too!

But you know something? I don't mind the change. As a show that's been going strong for 40 years, Sesame Street has to evolve and change to reflect our history and our times. Otherwise kids won't find it relevant to their world viewpoint. While nostalgia is nice and all, we (as adults) have to remember, we're not the target demographic anymore. Kids are. And to keep an effective show going, you have to reflect the changes in the audience.

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if 30 years from now, my kid is complaining about how Sesame Street isn't as good as when she was a kid. "WE HAD ABBY CADABBY! SHE WAS AWESOME! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SHIT? KIDS TODAY!"

Sesame Street, children's programming and the electronic babysitter

One advantage of being the mother of a two-year-old is that you can watch Sesame Street and be like, "SEE! IT'S STILL AWESOME! I'M WATCHING THIS WITH MY KID! DON'T JUDGE ME!"

I remember when K. posted something about old school Sesame Street and how awesome it was. While she does have a point, I have to say that some of the new Sesame Street is pretty damn awesome.

Case in point: The Shoe Fairy!



How often do you see Neil Patrick Harris wearing fairy wings and singing about shoes? It's just been one of those little things that makes me want to keep watching the show, even though I'm using the TV as a momentary getaway so I can get chores done.

I've also found myself sitting enraptured watching this:



And even though it's buried in Elmo's World (WHICH IS CRACK FOR TODDLERS), Mr. Noodle is pretty awesome:



Bill Irwin has some great silent physical comedy. And the Mr. Noodle segment is totally a haven for Broadway stars like Michael Jeeter and Kirstin Chenoweth.

YES. I SAID IT. I USE MY TV AS A BABYSITTER SOMETIMES. You try making dinner with a tiny howler monkey attempting to pants you or climb up to see the stove and add sugar as a spice. Or take apart the coffee maker. Or pants you. Try it. Then come back to me and tell me how I shouldn't use TV as a babysitter.

But all of this discussion has a point -- sort of. Bear with me.

I remember discussing this with K. about how some children's media (TV, music, whatever), seems more aimed to the parents than the kids. I don't mind a little nod and wink to the parents (see the Mad Men skit on Sesame Street), but sometimes I wonder if some of the children's media is being marketed more to the adults than the kids.

This doesn't mean that children's programming is watered-down drivel that makes you want to drive an ice pick into your brain. Some of my favorite children's books have some rather deep themes. Neil Gaiman has some great children's books (The Day I Traded My Dad for Two Goldfish is a SCREAM). Wallace and Gromit are a lot of fun for adults and children.

But I think that there's a line -- when the majority of the children's stuff has content going over the kid's head and is aimed at the adult in the room, I think that's a sign that you're not making children's programming. And I feel like I see a lot of that, which bugs me. Because really, who are you marketing to? If you're not including my kid in the conversation, my kid is going to be bored and I will notice that you're not catering to her.

It's easy being green

Kermit the Frog You scored 56% Organization, 58% abstract, and 69% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables. First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean. Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type. Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself. You are mostly organized, both concrete and abstract, and more extroverted. Here is why are you Kermit the Frog. You are both somewhat organized. You have a good idea where you put things and you probably keep your place reasonably clean. You aren't totally obsessed with neatness though. Kermit is also reasonably tidy. He'll even dress up for interviews. You both are sometimes concrete and sometimes abstract thinkers. Kermit spends a lot of his time as a reporter collecting facts, but he is also the author of the dreamy song "The Rainbow Connection." You have a good balance in your life. You know when to be logical at times, but you also aren't afraid to explore your dreams and desires... within limits of course. You are both extroverts. Kermit gets along with everyone. Sure a few folks annoy him, but that's just because they are annoying. Kermit likes to meet new people when he does his job as a street reporter. You definitely enjoy the company of others, and you don't have problems meeting new people... in fact you probably look forward to it. You are willing to take charge when necessary or work as part of a team. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Kermit starred on Sesame Street years before The Muppet Show. The other possible characters are Oscar the Grouch Big Bird Snuffleupagus Ernie Elmo Cookie Monster Grover The Count Guy Smiley Bert If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also if you want to tell me your favorite Sesame Street character, I can total them up and post them here. Perhaps your choice will win!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 49% on Organization You scored higher than 73% on concrete-abstra You scored higher than 69% on intro-extrovert

Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test written by greencowsgomoo on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Happy Turkey-Eating Day!

So I have a moment to breathe before the next act of THANKSGIVING: THE TURKEYING! and I figured that I'd take a moment, sit down and write out a list of everything that I'm thankful for. A lot of these things are obvious: Health, family, friends, love, etc. Some of them not so much. But it's always a reminder that no matter what, there are things to be grateful for:

Sesame Street online for giving me enough time to cook while my kid surfs the web and plays games. Jeff for being a sweet husband, with enough push to remind me that I don't rule the roost all the time. My daughter for being the shortest and funniest partner in crime I've ever had. Afternoon naps. U2 -- always U2 for inspiring me to be a better person. Green and Black's organic dark chocolate bars. Good wine. Snarkfest and forum folks like Genevieve, Kiran, Brainchild, Bookworm, Particle Person, Laurien_Kit, MollieWollie and many others who make me laugh and give me a place to go crazy with my pop culture ideas. Craig Ferguson's dancing puppets. Keidra for encouraging my insane ideas. Sid for her thoughtful discussion on race, gender and hot men. Christina for quick medical advice and NKOTB insanity. My sister and her family for being awesome (and my sister for those late night conversations that give me perspective on life). My mother, while she may drive me crazy, the woman will help me out when I ask for it. My grandmother for always being amused by my granddaughter. Funky socks. A good backrub. The Tudors (aka Ye Olde Yellye Sexe Showe). Henry Cavill for being a hot geek. My friends -- Abby, Joe, Heather, Aaron, Sarah, Erich, Jenno, Alan, Eva and many more for welcoming my daughter and doting on her. My neighbors and their kids who offer good laughs and have taught my daughter many things about playing with others. The fact that the Verona Public Library's self checkout comes with a "Pirate" language option. Spa Pedicures. Pumpkin Lattes. Sleeping in until past 9 a.m. The fact that Netflix is streaming on our Tivo. My mother-in-law for being a friend as well as a family member. My in-laws in general for being family. My nieces, Ally, Jena and Sami, for bringing that girly touch of pink when you need it. Tea parties. Mo Willems. Reginald Von Hoobie Doobie. Kevin Henkes. Lily and her purple plastic purse. Maddie, Elliott and Mali for being generally awesome. How I Met Your Mother. Twitter. Blogger. Journalists who still go out and get the story, despite the shitty pay and insane hazards. Sunny days. Hot chocolate. Threadless t-shirts. Legos. Sonic's Cherry Limeade. Popcap games. Dinosaurs. Totoro. Tea and cookies. Ninjas and Pirates. Webcomics. A quiet moment before the child wakes up from a nap.

There are many more things I am thankful for, but right now I can't remember them all. However, I would like to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving/four-day-weekend. May your day be filled with family and fun.

Monthly report: 36th Month -- Where does the time go?

Dear Benevolent Dictator --

Today you turned three years old. It's been a funny day for me because I keep flashing back to when you arrived in the hospital, small enough to be carried on my forearm with long toes and ears that looked vaguely elvish. I remember your little mewling cry and just how small you were.

And now, you're a little girl -- an outgoing, chatty, smart, charming little girl who loves to draw, climb on things that she's not supposed to be climbing on, playing with her friends and the neighborhood dogs. You've got one hell of an imagination, telling me stories about when you were a little horsie.

Your current favorite show is Mythbusters. You told me once that you had Grant Imahara sleep over (apparently he was also shrunk down to about fist size) and we've had dance parties with Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman. You also love watching Sesame Street, Ni Hao Kai Lan and Wallace and Gromit. This summer, you did tell us you hate the World Cup and would rather watch Mythbusters. However, you know how to pronounced "vuvuzela." My job at mother is complete.

The funny thing is that I saw all this in you when you were a baby. You'd make eye contact with people and smile at a very young age and you always liked checking out people's faces. I've seen the hot temper in you (even though it gets louder now and a little more extreme with the flailing) and how you calm down.

Parenting is a weird thing sometimes. It's tough and sometimes tiring as hell. I've ranted about how it feels like sometimes I'm just so tired of having to play cruise director, jailer, friend, chef and maid.

But then there's these moments that take my breath away. Like when you do pronounce "vuvuzela" or when you giggle hysterically because we're having fun. Then there was the time when you hugged me and said "You're my best friend in the whole wide world."

I never expected that one. I'm a parent. We're not friends. Parents are supposed to be the enemy. But seriously, that was proof positive that whatever I did growing up, I must've done something good.

Love you,

Momma

Monthly report: Second month -- big firsts and big steps

BD --

Right now I'm attempting to write this letter to you as you doze fitfully by my side in the pack and play. Technically I should be napping too, but really, the times that you sleep are so rare that I'll take any moment I can get to get some work done. Today you turn two months old and it's been a month of big firsts and we're preparing
for some big steps.

This was the month that you smiled at me for the first time, which was very sweet. You've got a smile that lights up a room. While it wasn't visible at first -- much like Sesame Street's Aloysius Snuffleupagus, it only appeared to me (which had the added benefit of making Momma look like a lunatic when she said you smiled). But then you bestowed your grin onto Daddy and soon, everyone else could see what a smiley, happy baby you can be.

You're also showing interest in toys and playing -- Po Po's black and white horsey is one of your favorites. However, you still hate tummy time and will continue to lodge complaints as you do your reps. But I have to say that I'm proud of your attempts at push-ups. I can't even do one rep, so this is my way of living vicariously through you.

I also learned that despite the fact that you like being awake, you need your sleep. No really. You do. The bags under your eyes make it look like you've been on an all-night coffee bender with Auntie Keidra. While she may say sleep is for wussies, you're a baby. More importantly, you're my baby and I like sleep. So I will force you to like sleep so I can also get some sleep.

The noises that you're making now are also moving away from the petting-zoo variety. Instead of sounding like a baby elephant, you're saying things like "goo" or "ho" in a nice little British accent. It's very adorable and you're becoming quite the chatty little girl.

This month you met Uncle Greg and Aunt Susan, mind-melded with Auntie Stella and also met Uncle Dan and your cousins, Maddie and Elliott. This was also the month that we all went to Gen Con. While Momma was worried and had visions of you screaming bloody murder in the hotel as Social Services paid a visit, her fears were unfounded. You slept alright (after a rough first night) at the hotel, enjoyed seeing the Dealer's area and were nearly scarified to a Beholder. Zonk got a picture of that. I'm not sure if it'll drive you into therapy as you get older, or if you'll find it funny.

Your Auntie Stella's the one who finally drove it into my thick skull (which your Daddy is probably thankful for) that you need more sleep than the hour or so curled up around me after a feeding. I don't know what kind of voodoo she worked, but at her house in Champaign, you napped for TWO HOUR STRETCHES. TWO HOURS. Even with Elliott and Maddie running around and hollering. That's like manna from heaven. I feel like I can't reproduce those results unless I give you Scotch.

And that's what we're going to try to work on this coming month -- getting you into a regular sleep cycle and not so dependent on me or Daddy to have you sleep. We made the fatal error of trying to do that without reading books and it didn't go so well. Which is an understatement. You screamed bloody murder and later that night, screamed at the sight of the crib.

Which makes me feel like the worst mom on Earth. Doing this without some research is a bad idea, to say the least. Of course, I should've realized that cuddling you to sleep instead of putting you to bed when you showed signs that you were tired was opening the door to you needing to be cuddled until you slept. In short, I created a cuddlemonster.

This coming month may be rough for all of us as we try and break you of your cuddle addiction. It's going to be hard and you're probably going toscream a lot, but really, it's for the best. You need to learn that you don't need to be cuddled as a sleep talisman and I need to be able to get stuff done around the house. It may seem hard-hearted and selfish, but I want to tell you that this is going to break my heart as much as yours. But part of the trick of growing up is to learn that sometimes the right thing to do doesn't always initially feel good, but the results are worth it in the end.

Love,

Momma

Sunday U2 Sermons: Genesis of a fangirl

Over this weekend, I was at a party, when a friend of mine looked at me and my Vertigo Tour T-shirt and asked me, "Were you always a U2 fangirl?"

My sister launched a similar question at me too, when she found out a couple of years ago that I had gotten a hardcore U2 addiction. I think now, she just kind of humors me and realizes that it's a quirk that I have. At least its safer than a crack or meth addiction.

The funny thing for me is that is seems to be a logical progression of where I've always been. I can't say that I've been with the band ever since I was a kid (since Boy was released in 1980 -- a year that I was more interested in Sesame Street and show tunes instead of post-punk and new wave bands) and I will confess, that as a child, I HATED With or Without You. The video scared the living dickens out of me, with psycho Bono stare and the moody lighting and music.

But the one song that hit me in the chest as a 10-year-old, and still makes me swoon is I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. It sounds stupid and melodramatic, but the lyrics about not finding redemption, rest, peace, whatever, after searching everywhere rang true to me then and now. I was a messed-up 10-year-old.

Fast-forward to high school. As a junior, Achtung Baby and Zooropa came out. While I couldn't appreciate at the time Achtung Baby, Numb and Stay were the two songs that pierced through my rap and crappy pop listening phase. Numb's little conga-line beat overlaid with the Edge -- not singing -- but chanting a list of commands sounded like a list for life and high school. It still sounds like some sort of warped list for someone moving through life without feeling.

Stay -- fuck, I wrote some really bad fiction my senior year inspired by that video of angels living amongst us -- is just a piece of sheer beauty for me. Melancholy in lyric and tone, there's just something about it that got under my skin and stuck with me.

The thing is that when I was a kid, I really didn't buy much music at all. I didn't own a CD player and tapes were too expensive. I had the radio, where I created mix tapes with my sister. So I didn't own U2 stuff and consequently, I didn't know about the songs that weren't played frequently like Until the End of the World or Running to Stand Still. I just heard their songs and knew I liked them. I didn't have money for magazines or anything like that, so I couldn't really create an addiction without the cash.

In college, I met Jeff (and in a way, I blame him for my habit). He had the hook-up for me. I had access to Achtung Baby, Joshua Tree, Boy, October and Zooropa. And at that age, I could appreciate the lyrics and music more than as a kid. I wrote a 12-page college paper about Asian fetish porn that I'm still proud of, listening to Achtung Baby on repeat on my computer. I wanted POP, but never bought it (lack of cash -- which also prevented me from attending the concert).

But as an adult, I now have the money and means to have my addiction and fangirl come out full-tilt. In an earlier essay from 2002, I confess my fangirl addiction. I think that it's also that I don't care about acting cool and detached about what I like anymore and so I'll just be open about my love for the band.

I have a confession to make -- in 2002, I went to Barnes and Noble, 10 minutes before they closed, to try and get my hands on Bill Flanagan's U2: At the End of the World. I didn't get it there, but ordered it online. It was one of the more enjoyable books that I've read in awhile. Reading that book, was like satisfying an itch.

Most of the time, the addiction is hibernating and I'm just learning more about the band -- catching up for lost time I guess. But with the release of How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb and the tour this year, the fangirl -- like a raging werewolf -- it out in full force.

See, when I like something, I want to learn EVERYTHING about it. Coming into U2 fandom late, I now have the means and money to learn about the group and appreciate what's out there. Now there's a plethora of information, news articles and videos for me to watch and critique.

This is part of me now. There's other bands and musicians that I love also -- Garbage, Jay-Z, Eminem, Annie Lennox, Bonnie Raitt, Modest Mouse -- but for now (and I think always), U2's going to surpass all of those bands. Like Keidra's love for Metallica, I think that my love for U2 is always going to be there. The band may do stupid stuff (pre-date ticket sales mess), Bono may shove his foot in his mouth and the tickets may be expensive, but I can't deny my affection for the Irish lads.