Lolly Lolly Lolly

There are many commercials out there that I don't much care for, but now and then I come across commercials which irritate me to no end, because they have dreadful implicit messages, many of which seem counter-productive to their own goals. This evening I came across one such commercial.

You see, the commercial in question (whose creators I would like to shake) is for Rogers Cable On Demand. Here's the basic gist of it:

We pan through a room in disarray whilst the sounds of bickering children are heard. Finally we settle on a dad with his three kids (daughters all, I believe) and he puts on Fairly Odd Parents (which is a surprisingly enjoyable little show, by the way). Everything grows quiet and mom arrives to ask how the day was, and dad says fine, or somesuch. First of all, there's the stereotype of a dad whose kids run free until he slaps them in front of a TV. Heaven forbid we should encourage real parenting in which we actually address behaviours rather than just shutting them up. But here's the real clincher, which makes me wonder what they're really trying to say is so great about their product. As the kids watch that brilliantly on-demand programming, they are literally slumped there, unblinking and slack-jawed and essentially in a walking coma. Seriously. If you get a chance to see this commercial, pay attention to them. It's not exactly a glowing advertisement for stimulating pasttimes. What are they thinking? "Get Rogers On Demand so you can fall back on ineffective parenting, limited familial interactions, and to undernourish your intellect." Idiots.

On a more positive note, I came across this curious little on-line article today. It seems that someone somewhere has created Kool-Aid Pickles. I can't quite decide whether to be mortified or intrigued. They look so ridiculously disconcerting, with their whacked-out colouring, and I'm not sure if pickles should have cherry-flavouring at all. I will admit that I once bought these Raspberry Vinaigrette pickles, and though pleasant enough, I can't imagine eating them all that often.

A Bridge I May Not Be Able to Negotiate

So, a friend of mine sent a link to the trailer for Bridge to Terabithia, the movie slated for release next year.

Now here's what you need to know, should you not know it already.

Bridge to Terabithia tops my list of all-time favourite books. Yes, it's a wonderful book. Yes, it deservedly won the Newbery Medal in 1978. More importantly, though, it was the book that changed the way I looked at books forever when I first read it as a kid. It was the book that made me realize the power of books. It was the first to make me think, "Oh my. A book can actually affect me. It can be more than a pleasant diversion." I've read it a multitude of times since then and I still love it with each reading. Katherine Paterson is a queen among authors, who refuses to talk down to her audience simply because they're young. (For more on Katherine Paterson, with whom I would love to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea, visit her site here.)

So I clicked on the link and watched the preview.

Oh dear. The preview makes it look like The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe or Lord of the Rings or something. It focuses entirely on the fantasy of Terabithia that Jesse and Leslie create in their imaginations (bringing it, quite possibly, much too literally to life rather than allowing for the simplicity of the fantasy the characters share in the book) and completely sweeps under the rug the fact that it's not a fantasy adventure story at all. It's realistic fiction for kids.

Now I'm not trying to dismiss the movie out-of-hand. I'm hoping it's a (horrible) marketing ploy (though I suspect it would just lead to people being unfairly disappointed if they go in expecting the fantasy adventure fare) and that the movie is a wonderously faithful adaptation of a modern classic. I'd love to hear Katherine Paterson's thoughts on it.

After all, I'm still a bit reeling from the issues I had with Tuck Everlasting a few years back.

Assorted Affair

I stink at keeping a Fount of Wisdom Located Online.

There. I said it. I've thrown it out into the world for all to see. Judge me if you wish.

Things are a tad hectic, due in part to my apparent inability to say "No" to people, and let me assure you that sounds much more exciting than it really is.

I'm in the midst of rehearsals, which are going well, but are a tad tiring. Remember those crunches? Yeah. Fun. Then yesterday, we were working on a number that involves singing while literally jumping up and down. Over and over and over. Hour after hour. Singing. And dancing. And jumping. And doing all three at the same time. Ug.

Then there's the fact that (due to the aforementioned inability to say "No") I'm the program designer for the show. So, I'm in there yesterday before the rehearsals for the cast and crew photo shoot. And I'm collecting / hounding people for bios. At some point I actually have to sit down at the computer and work out all of the layout and start typing everything in, to boot. In my wealth of free time, of course. "No" would have been so much less demanding.

This Saturday, I'm supposed to put in an appearance at a charity show. Again, why didn't I say "No"? Beats the heck out of me.

I won't even get into the committees and such that I'm on with work. Three more meetings this week. Yeesh.

Now that I've whined and griped, let me focus on more positive things. I watched HEROES tonight and am really enjoying it more than expected. I'm also officially a fan of STUDIO 60. An obnoxious couple was eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE last night, so that was just icing on the cake.

I also read THE END, the end of the Series of Unfortunate Events. I'm not sure how I feel about the way things wrapped up. There are a few things to which I would have liked answers, but I'm sure I'll survive. In any case, I feel like I should now go back and reread the whole series to see what I notice, pick up, and remember, since I read them all in such a spread out timeline. I also made the mistake of going to Chapters again the other day, so I bought more books. My "To Be Read" list is VERY long already, so I'm just wholeheartedly digging my hole a whole lot deeper by making new purchases.

On one final note, you've heard me whine periodically about the Subway experiences I've had. (That's Subway as in sandwiches, not Subway as in an underground mode of transportation.) Well, my thought for today in regards to the old Subway is not about the quality of my service (no Alternate Girl mention anywhere in this entry ... oh wait ... darn!) or of my sandwich (which was made without any creepy scoop incident, for a change). It is rather about the troublesome slogan they employ, which has bothered me for some time. Subway likes to toss around the phrase, Eat Fresh! like candy at a scramble, but anyone visiting their handy little counters will see piles upon piles of pre-cooked meat products waiting to be slapped on a bun and reheated in their high-speed ovens. There they are: pre-cooked steak and chicken strips in little paper trays, and rectangles of chicken (?) wrapped in paper. What's so darn fresh about that? I'm thinking their slogan should be Eat Fresh Bread with Assorted Things, Some of Which are Also Fresh, On It!. (Go ahead. Imagine Jon Lovitz saying that. Imagine it. I'll wait.)


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Quite frankly, I've even had a few unfresh bread experiences I could write about, but I won't. Still, the whole Eat Fresh! is just a bit of a misnomer.

Hey. I just realized that I shouldn't have had a sub today anyway. Since I didn't have rehearsal, I was supposed to eat the lasagna in my freezer so I'd have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Darn.

Dubble Dubble Toil and Trubble

Know what I hate? Commercials in which there has been clear (and poorly executed) rerecording of voices. They've been around forever. Some seem to have been dubbed from the get-go, as though they'd accidentally cast some beautiful face with a voice like sandpaper and had to replace the sound, not unlike Singin' in the Rain

The latest offenders include a commercial for Bam cleaner, in which it appears the name of the product has been changed. The spokesman is ranting along about the product and all seems well until he names the cleaner and then *Bam!* it's like watching a kung fu movie. I know, I know, it would cost a lot to reshoot the commercial, but it drives me nuts. Are we not supposed to notice? Could they not have settled on the name before shooting?

The other offender I've noticed is an ad for Toronto's 104.5 CHUM FM. The original version of the commercial featured some fine fellow looking out his window across to a facing building. He notices people dancing, singing into a brush, and the like. His female companion (I don't wish to make assumptions about their relationship) enters, turns on the radio (to CHUM FM, of course) and he realizes that everyone across the way is listening to CHUM, too. How does he know? Because their dancing and lipsynching match the music! Now that they've substituted more current music in the commercial, it just doesn't make sense. "Hey! It's Toronto's most popular station, but judging from their actions, those people over there are listening to something else!"

What's that all about? It causeth me distress.