THIS IS GREAT IF YOU LACK THE ESSENTIALS

If you lack charisma, talent, and magnetism, you should consider a career in public access television. I think public access is a great way to showcase the boring, unbelievably dull members of society. Every time I watch a minute of public access I feel like my life would be improved through the practice of chain smoking.

Part of my reason for saying this is the fact that I've noticed that public access not only gives the talentless an opportunity but it also makes them far more self righteous and arrogant than they should be. I once met the host of one of those shows and I thought the guy was a total asshole, I called him fat man, yes I was a kid. The man was host of a local drawing show for kids. I remember it like it was yesterday that the dude was eating escargot like it was going out of style. I think the fucker is dead now, as a consequence of being alive.

At any rate I say let's do the right thing and piss on the cars of public access stars.

THE FASCINATING NATURE OF THE STRING

You ever have one of those innocent memories from childhood just come at you? I have those from time to time and I guess it's okay because it makes me think back to a simpler time in my life. I used to watch quite a bit of PBS which is a good explanation for my education. My favorite show was the classic Sesame Street. Watching sesame street was like watching my imaginary friends come to life to teach me lessons. I loved Big Bird because he was like that sensitive friend that is always there to listen and give a word of encouragement. I remember I would also watch spanish Sesame Street and I loved that feeling of being able to have fun by myself. I grew up a fairly lonely kid since my siblings were older and I did not really have a ton of friends. I was a bit of a gregarious little oddball of a person.

One thing that I used to do for therapeutic purposes was play with string. I loved string because I learned I could shape it into anything I wanted. I learned in Sesame Street that, while string was normally a straight line, my imagination could shape into anything. I was fascinated with the idea of a puppet shaping string and making it into something cool. Every day after I got home from school I would find string and turn it into an abject.

I recall I had planes, cars, hand turkeys, and even dogs made from string. All of these creations were silhouettes on a table but to a lonely boy like me they were something else. To me string was a silent companion that amused me with its bendable nature. Anytime I see string I smile because it takes me to a time when being lonely did not feel like falling through an endless opening at the bottom of the deepest ocean. Sometimes the greatest comfort lies in the most unexpected objects.

SAY IT AIN'T SO ELMO

Sometimes you hear news that just rock the hell out of your world. To me one such piece of news is the scandal with Kevin Clash being accused of sex with teenage boys. I have no real place to begin with this. This really bugs me because it was someone that I grew up watching. Okay I did not know who Kevin Clash was but I knew his work. You are talking about someone who created and shaped characters that became icons for millions of children.

Sesame Street was destination viewing for millions of children around the world. Every day I would watch both Plaza Sesamo ( Mexican version) and the English version. To me Sesame Street was a way to learn, enjoy the art of puppetry and on top of that the lessons that were taught by the characters for the purpose of creating a solid foundation through the use of media.

Kevin Clash has a right to his personal life but to be accused of sex with underage boys and to roll over and destroy 28 years without an apology or some manner of defense just breaks so many hearts. You are talking about little kids that are going to ask about Elmo and the parents will likely respond with disgust. Sesame street was an american cultural icon and Elmo was a part of that icon that shone like the brightest light.

So what now? All that innocence and goodwill is destroyed. This is an accusation of taking advantage of underage kids claiming to "groom" them for a career in the business. A resignation does not really fix the situation nor does it make it better. I am not overly conservative but I am not so liberal that I think there is nothing wrong and this can be ignored. I guess Kevin was really enjoying himself when he was getting tickled.