So Long, Papa Bear

Oh. Stan Berenstain died. That's sad. Man, I loved the Berenstain Bears when I was little. Haven't read those books in a while . . . Maybe I'll go hole up in the kids' section of a Barnes & Noble and do some reminiscing.

It's Peanut Butter Jelly Explanation Time!

Aah, some clarification at last. Here is an explanation (or as close to an explanation as you're gonna get) of the genesis of the whole "It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!" schtick on this past Sunday's episode of Family Guy. Turns out that I've seen the dancing banana before--one of my friends has it as a buddy icon--but, without the accompanying song, I didn't recognize it. I'm still not sure I get it, but it's still pretty hilarious.

Congrats, David Edelstein!

Evidently David Edelstein will become the new film critic for New York as of January. Fantastic. He writes excellent reviews for Slate and I think he's going to be a great addition to the staff at New York. I venture to guess that his reviews will be slightly more structured and less conversational than those he writes for Slate. But that's just an educated guess. Adam Moss has been doing one helluva job since taking over as editor and I thoroughly applaud his hiring of David Edelstein.

Rock Out With Your Cock Out, the Columbia Edition

Yo. YO. Where were the naked parties when I was at Columbia? Especially naked parties involving beads and fairy wings? I have beads. I have fairy wings. I have naked.

To be honest, I probably wouldn't have been a regular attendee. Freshman year, hell yeah. Sophomore year, maybe. By junior and senior year, no bloody way. I'd be far more likely to stay in my room, curled up on my bed, watching dvds and nursing a bottle of gin.

Women in Ad(s)vertising

This article in today's Times proved particularly thought-provoking, not primarily because it pointed out that women have made progress in the advertising world but still have far to go, but more because it reminded me of a related topic: women in ads. It mentioned:

The Advertising Women of New York points out what it regards as offenders with a yearly presentation of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Awards, identifying ads that the group contends depict women in a negative or stereotypical manner. In 2003, Miller Lite won the Grand Ugly Award for its "Catfight" ad that featured two scantily clad women wrestling each other.

I remember that ad; it was spectacularly stupid, but I didn't find it particularly offensive, as it was so obviously one of the "overblown male fantasy" genre. What I find much more upsetting are the ads I see numerous times a day, every time I turn on the television, in which a wife/mother is horribly grateful for some fabulous new product because it makes her happy-but-harried life with the hubby and kids just a little bit easier. Or, conversely, the hapless husband is grateful for the existence of such a product that miraculously prevents even his ineptitude from allowing the household to go to hell in his wife's absence. Over and over again, the husband/boyfriend/father figure is portrayed as good-natured but completely and totally inept; without such modern marvels as tightly-sealing Tupperware, microwavable meals, and disposable toilet brushes, the carpet would be eternally stained, the kids would starve, and the toilet bowl would be coated in grime. The wife/girlfriend/mother, on the other hand, is always frazzled but good-natured, and thoroughly competent at navigating the domestic sphere.

I suppose what I find so bothersome about these commercials is that they're so regressive and I'm not sure why. Are we as consumers and viewers supposed to relate to the family dynamic portrayed in such ads? I don't. I don't know many people who do. In my family and among my friends, relationships tend not to be structured along these barely-modernized 1950s ideals. My grandfather cooks, my grandmother cleans. My dad cooks and cleans, my mom (who's disabled) helps when she can. When we're together, my boyfriend cooks, I clean and do laundry. (But he carries the laundry. Well, it's heavy.) One of my coworkers has the opposite arrangement with his wife; she cooks, he cleans and does the laundry. Pretty much everyone I know has some such arrangement to keep things fair. Sure, there may be squabbles, but it's not this unending battle of the sexes in which women are forever harping about their husbands' infidelity and tendencies to leave the toilet seat up while men dream of beer, boobs, and football while sitting in their easy chairs.

So do I just live in a rare mecca of civilized couples who treat each other with consideration? (Well, this is New York.) Does the rest of the country actually identify with these backward, stereotypical ads? I don't know. I hope not. I doubt it. Personally, I think that advertisers need to give viewers, especially husbands/boyfriends/fathers, more credit.

Know Why It's the Goblet of Fire? 'Cause Harry Potter's Flaming.

This is the gayest thing I've seen in a long while. Not the dancing per se, although the ending, in which half of the performers dance around with broomsticks between their legs, is spectacularly flaming, but the concept. No offense to the Hogwarts Dancers. Lovely moves, gals. I just find the conceit pants-wettingly funny. (From Waxy.)

Amazing Paper Creations

This is some of the most awesome, gorgeous papercraft I've ever seen. I wish I could read the page, but it's all in Korean. (Thanks, Afshin.)

Revenge of the Sith, Abridged and Improved

I don't suppose I should still find Star Wars prequel-related humor so damn funny, but I do. The prequels--hell, let's be honest, the whole series--is a comedic goldmine. The latest contribution to the treasure trove is this script, an abridged and heavily rewritten version of Revenge of the Sith. It's sheer genius.

I Heart Tegan & Sara

I have the most overpowering girlcrush on Tegan & Sara. I saw them in Berkeley and they're adorable. They rocked my little socks off. So, for everyone who doesn't yet know who I'm talking about, take a gander at the video for one of their more popular singles, "Walking with a Ghost."

Changes

As you can see, my blog looks different. It's too busy, and I'm well aware of that, but there's not much I can do at the moment. At least you can see the post titles, which was a problem with my last template. Not that I can possibly complain about my former template, as Afshin made it for me all by his little lonesome. But, because the internet is a sham, there were unnecessary spaces and my new post titles weren't appearing properly. So screw that. I've now got a default Blogger template. Not crazy about it, but it'll have to do for now.

Whatever. I'm on a reduced posting schedule anyway.