The Education Of Youth
Blood donations in Chicagoland are not handled by the Red Cross, for some reason. Instead, it’s done by this outfit called “Lifesource.” They manage to place three calls per day when your 8-weeks-between-donations period runs out; thus, in order to avoid annoyance (and be a helpful little citizen), I popped in this morning.
They have teevees and such while you sit in the chair. And being Saturday morning, cartoons were on. And they were GOD AWFUL. Each of the nets, of course, have managed it so that it is a roadblock — no winners, only losers, in the Q-rating, profit-per-minute game — of pure, undiluted drivel.
Federally-approved drivel, no less — the E/I bug in the corner demonstrates that there is a moral to the story… which kids will not get, because the stories are stupid. Race-car driving dogs. Penguins in space. And other assorted CGI nightmares. (And then there’s this — if you stick around for the credits, you will notice that each cartoon was produced with a lot of tax-credit money… from the Canadian Government (or provincial authorities). So we have to import our ostensibly-educational cartoons.)
Three things are required in this country to Make Everything Better — an end to the Teabaggers, a boycott of the NCAA tournament if they go to a 96-team field (God damn… what a horrible idea that is), and BUGS BUNNY AND OLD-SCHOOL CARTOON VIOLENCE ON SATURDAY MORNINGS. An example of which, thankfully, follows:
This is very disturbing news, of course. Chuck Jones cartoons are a masterclass in comic timing, an essential part of any child’s education.
Nothing wrong with good old fashioned cartoon fun on TV. I doubt the Teabaggers would notice their striking similarity to Elmer, Wile E and occasionally Daffy Duck.
@ManchuCandidate: “Desthpicable!”
Ali Baba Bunny and Operation: Rabbit – the two best, in my opinion.
@nojo: We only very gradually introduced the TV Eye to the biscuits: there was some Barney, sure, but that didn’t last long before Jr. realized how silly (and creepy) it was. Mr. Rogers was soothing, Sesame Street engaging (and often humorous) and Sponge Bob mildly seditious. But when we introduced Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies classics, my kids became Children.
And that’s even one of the more or less awful 60s Road Runner cartoons. Even the tripe that I disliked as a kid seems classic now.
JNOV • Hanging by a Thread @nojo: yeah. I had a feeling you’d say that.
NOJO • Hanging by a Thread @JNOV: Haven’t touched a thing — checked it the other day, worked from here. But that’s my…
JNOV • Hanging by a Thread Oh! My edits worked! Praise nojo!
JNOV • Hanging by a Thread Glad you’re feeling sunny. I have my moments which are then squashed by some shitheads’…
NOJO • Hanging by a Thread @nojo: The Long View: 1972: Nixon 61% 1984: Reagan 59% 2004: Bush 51% 2024: Trump 50%…
NOJO • Hanging by a Thread Power is power, but… About 11 million votes remain to be counted. Nate Silver (I know, I know)…
JNOV • The Values We Profess Yeah. So. When my kid came back from basically getting frog-marched from a store downtown (the…
JNOV • The Values We Profess @nojo: We love you! I was thinking, even though we don't truly celebrate x-mas, some people in…
NOJO • The Values We Profess @nojo: Also, I love saying stuff like “heading uptown”. Brooklyn is fun!
NOJO • The Values We Profess @JNOV: Speaking of which, I'm heading uptown this afternoon to film some stuff with him, including…