A while back I said that Canadian politics was less interesting than Rebecca Black. Apparently somebody decided that this merited a truly horrible combination.

And of course Jack Layton doesn’t merit a mention. It’s probably because of the moustache.

(h/t Carl Sack)

(oh god this probably makes me old and creepy doesn’t it)

(but she’s so good)

All we need is to do is hook up a generator to this perpetual motion machine!

(Although now I must know what the trick is.)

Multiple readers have asked that I show support for a democratically elected government in Egypt, and to say that the alternative is not between Hosni Mubarak and Iran II: Radical Islamic Boogaloo. Which is obbviously the case. So here is a pretty decent Youtube making the rounds that sums up a lot of imagery from the Egyptian revolution (does it have a color-coded name yet? Get on that, Egyptians).

Personally, I tend to think that “new Egypt” will probably end up politically resembling Turkey more than anything else, and that would be entirely okay.

Also, the recent CRTC decision to meter internet usage in Canada is bullshit, moneygrubbing of the worst kind. Here is a second Youtube. Featuring George Strombopoulos, who, and I say this as someone who has poked fun at Strombo on a regular basis in the past, is really becoming a national media treasure. The petition of which he speaks is here; if you’re Canadian you should go sign it right now if you have not already.

And if you sat through all that, here is a reward.

(Well, it made me laugh.)

I’ve been deathly ill the last few days, hence the lack of content, but since it is the season and all:

Best wishes to all, and I’ll be back to posting when I am done opening my presents.

And for those who are going to complain about Gwen Stefani, well, here:

My weekly TV column is up at Torontoist.

I am happy because this week I had the chance to reference the old “Give Like Santa, Save Like Scrooge” commercials Canadian Tire did every Christmas when I was growing up:

And we may joke about the prices back then for a Commodore 128 (and I had a Commodore when I was growing up and it was the best computer ever, dammit), but what strikes me is that this advert dates itself not by what’s being sold so much as the fact that they actually mention the specific prices in the ad. That just doesn’t happen any more.

(Man, George Martin really does have a fire under his ass now.)

Like most people, when I saw the Youtube video of Grover parodying the Old Spice Man, I thought it was wonderful: cute and hilarious and a bit educational all at once. But it made me think about how, back in my second year of university, a girl in one of my classes insisted that Sesame Street was a bad thing because it trained children to watch television. By making children familiar with the form of the thing, she said, it indoctrinated them into passively accepting different elements in the same form. One of her favorite arguments in this regard was the presence of Guy Smiley as a tool to help kids learn how to watch game shows.

At the time I thought the idea ridiculous. I grew up with Sesame Street longer than most because I was the oldest of four siblings, so if they were watching Sesame Street while I did older-kid play in the background, I was watching Sesame Street as well. The reason I thought the idea ridiculous was that I knew full well that Sesame Street challenged authority on a regular basis. I mean, Bert and Ernie alone should be enough to make that point; every Bert and Ernie sketch is basically Ernie being a bit of an asshole to poor old Bert. But see also the treatment of Herry Monster as a sensitive, gentle giant who likes playing with dollies; Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster in toto; the realistic treatment of Mr. Hooper’s death, which went against every children’s TV convention in the book.

But of late I grow less sure. Part of it, of course, is probably just things-were-better-when-I-was-a-kid-itis. There is no innate need for Herry Monster on Sesame Street as compared to other monsters. Bert and Ernie still do the same schtick, which is the best thing you can hope for. Cookie Monster is still Cookie Monster. (Although Grover is superior to Elmo. I will not concede this point. Ever.)

But of late, the trend in the show seems to be one of parodying not just the general form of culture (as Guy Smiley did) but of specifics: 30 Rock, Mad Men, Law and Order. Although Sesame Street has never been too complex for kids, these sketches seem even simpler. They don’t seem as designed to teach kids; they seem instead designed to reinforce the brand for adults, and to allow kids to understand the cultural references their parents make. (The Law and Order sketch is the best example of this – there’s no reason to make fun of the CHUNG CHUNG noise because the CHUNG CHUNG jokes really only make sense if you understand what the CHUNG CHUNG noise’s significance is.)

Or maybe I’m just kvetching. One thing of which I am more sure, though: Feist’s re-writing of 1234, cute as it may be, is no Lena Horne singing “It’s Not Easy Being Green.” I can’t help but think that there is something to that point.

Note: lyrics that are about more than just a general description of the ostensible topic, general aura of professionalism, musical skill.

So in lieu of actual original content, here is Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ waltz from Swing Time, one of the finest dances on film ever:

I have always held that this is an excellent test to see if a person has a soul or not. If you do not like this, strongly consider the possibility that you are an emotionless android, secretly tasked to destroy all humans.

Attacking Mister Rogers? Seriously. Mister Rogers, for crissake.

It’s rare that I would quote a Youtube comment as eloquent, but:

Even 4chan doesn’t talk shit about Mr. Rogers. That’s how low Fox news has become.

…so here is something I consider amusing.

EDIT TO ADD: Oh be quiet you people with your “where is the thingy”