Thursday, November 12, 2009

Getting older every day

Did you guys hear that Sesame Street turned forty this week? It hit me kinda hard, and I'll tell you why.

Many of you have heard me at one time or another express my fear of characters in childrens' programming. Like Teletubbies. They scare me!



Am I really alone in this? What if you isolate the face?



Scary, huh? And does anyone else think that disembodied infant in the sun is going to rain down judgment any minute?

Teletubbies aren't new though. I know this cause I have nephews, see. The cool kids watch Yo Gabba Gabba now.




This show scares me slightly less. Yeah, the monster teeth look sharp, but really the only terrifying thing on this show is DJ Lance.




I'm sorry, folks. That's just weird. What is he supposed to be? I do remember carrying these large radios we called "jamboxes" over our shoulders during the eighties, but I don't remember dressing like a Push Up.




Incidentally, doesn't Fred Flintstone look like a real man's man compared to DJ Lance?

I'm rambling. I really wanted to talk about how old I feel. At several points as I caught bits of Caillou, Barney, or whatever, I've thought to myself, "Whatever happened to Sesame Street?"

Well, if Sesame Street is forty, and I'm thirty-six, what does that tell you?




That's right. Sesame Street was NEW when I was a kid. Come to think of it, those Muppets look pretty scary, don't they? Sometimes I look at pictures from the seventies, and find it hard to believe I was really alive back then. And then I think about how long I've been alive.

It's crazy to think that it's been a full eighteen years since I was eighteen! Here's a few more random facts for you:

1. By the time Augustine was my age, he was already working on his autobiography. Think about that. How much do you have to have accomplished in life to think, "Gee, maybe it's time to recount my life for the sake of posterity?"

2. By the time Mozart was my age, he was dead. He'd been dead for more than a year, too.

3. By the time Jesus was my age, he'd payed for the sin of humanity, conquered death, and sitteth at the Father's right hand!

Me? I guess I'm just a late bloomer. As long as we're talking Sesame Street though, let me point you toward a really cool YouTube video. I have such a vivid memory of this episode! Soooo sad.


4 comments:

  1. I'm with you on Teletubbies. Those dudes are freaky. And my kids like Yo Gabba Gabba, but it bugs me. For my money, you can't beat "Olivia" and "Backyardigans".

    What's amazing to me is how long most of the human cast members have been on Sesame Street! Gordon and Maria and Alan...I think since the '70s!

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  2. But none as scary as Barry Manilow.

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  3. This is the pinnacle of all children's television. And, of course, it came on Sesame Street.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ul7X5js1vE

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  4. Wow. I'm wholeheartedly in agreement.

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