You can tell how much more money the federal Corporation for Pubic Broadcasting has over such local affiliates as WNED Buffalo. Watching WNED, I saw a CPB advertisement that featured cameos from Jim Lehrer of the Newshour, the host of the American Antiques Roadshow, and the cartoon character Arthur, all reading variations on the Little Red Riding Hood story to this young girl and her (understandably surprised) father. It was professionally made, with the look only money could give.
The ad was followed by an advertisement promoting WNED specifically (or, rather, the new educational digital channel it’s starting). And it was somewhat… cheaper.
Scene opens with a young girl putting together a cheezies/candy/licorice sandwich with whipped cream on top. Then an old lady barges in just before the girl can take a bite. “That isn’t very healthy! Remember, you are what you eat!” Girl looks disappointed.
Cue pre-teen wearing Walkman, baggy pants, untied shoelaces, baseball cap pulled on backwards, the whole grunge works. He is either grooving to the funky beat, or sneaking very badly towards the front door. Either way, batty old lady stops him. “Hey! You can’t go out like that! Remember, you are what you wear!” Pre-teen looks exasperated.
Now we see the parents, glassy eyed, slumped in positions of pure exhaustion on the living room sofa while the light from the television screen plays over their pallid faces. You hear the sound of a Springer knockoff show in the background, but the parents don’t seem very interested at all.
Batty old coot leans in. “Turn that trash off,” she says. “Remember, you are what you watch!”
Point being, of course, that WNED Buffalo is good for you. Just like broccoli.
Erin: I can see the family pulling together and tossing the woman out of the house. “You are where you live!” THUMP!
How Many Times Has This Happened to You?
(Updated, since the fan site has disappeared)
What you are listening to is a skit off of a selection of skits hosted by a fan page of The Vestibules, a Montreal-based comedy troupe known for their surrealistic humour. I’ve blogged about them before, and Cameron was pointing out new skits they’d done, but after passing through the official site and this fan site, I thought I had to share, once again.
The fan site says they have permission to host these skit samples from the Vestibules themselves, but you really should also pay a visit to the official Vestibules website. They have a new album of ten skits available for download for just $3 USD. The first skit, Chest of Drawers 5.0, is quite funny, even if a little bit close to the mark…
Pastafarian Schism Appears. Can Spaghetti Crusades Be Far Behind?
As the Pastafarian movement against Intelligent Design continues to rip through the blogosphere, Mark Rayner at the Skwib reports a development that we knew had to happen sooner or later:
New sect of Pastafarians believes it is Vikings, not pirates, that cause global warming
London, Ontario (Ruetars) — The first schism within the Pastafarian religion has appeared in the sleepy Canadian city of London, Ontario, and it is caused by the charismatic preacher Dr. Maximillian Tundra.
“Other worshipers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster have claimed that it is declining number of pirates that have caused the increase in global warming, hurricanes and earthquakes. In truth it is the lack of Vikings that has caused these ills, indeed, most of our problems are because we lack Vikings,” Dr. Tundra, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the Pasta told Ruetars.
Tundra is an unlicensed physician, best known for his avant-garde work in the pharmaceutical and plastic surgery industries. Though he does not come from an evangelical background, Tundra has gathered an impressive number of worshippers of the Great Pasta.
Heh!