Strollerderby : mr. rogers

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood Just Got Pimped

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:29:00 GMT

It sounds like this could be a little old, but I'm always late to the party, so I'll go ahead and post it anyway. I certainly don't remember this clip from childhood -- and surely this is the real Fred Rogers -- but this still has to be the most interesting segment of the show I have ever seen.

While bereft of actual nudity or swearing, it still might not be safe for work. That said, enjoy a vintage clip from the 'Hood -- one you might not remember either ...

Thanks Jez!

Upcoming Sesame Street Guests

Brett Singer — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:00:00 GMT

If you can't stand to watch one more episode of 'Sesame Street' that you've already seen 250 times, help is on the way!

PBS might be killing off Fred Rogers, but at least the new season of 'Street' started yesterday, with special guests Jack Black and Feist. The Feist video has already racked up 750,000 views on YouTube since being posted about a month ago. Here are some of the other celebrities who will do time with Elmo and the rest:

* Neil Patrick Harris (8.12): I'm guessing more 'Doogie Howser' than 'Harold and Kumar', but who knows.
UPDATE: Here's a video preview of Neil as - hang on - the Fairy Shoe Person. No. Really.

* Heidi Klum (8.14): According to New York Magazine, Klum's exchange with Elmo is "Sexually charged," with the E man telling Seal's wife, "Ms. Heidi is very pretty." As far as we know, Seal did not whup his little monster butt.

* Jenny McCarthy (8.15): I have a question, and don't take this the wrong way. But if Jenny hadn't become an ambassador for autism, would she be appearing on 'Sesame Street'? I'm not saying that this is part of some master plan, just wondering. I also wonder if this is the first time a former Playboy centerfold has visited the Street. (Vanessa Williams doesn't count since she didn't plan on being in Playboy. Jenny was Playmate of the Year.)

* Will Arnett (8.18): 'Arrested Development' fans rejoice! According to Mike, 'AD' even had a character named Franklin in honor of the dearly departed Roosevelt Franklin, making this an above average booking.

* Jason Taylor (8.20): After 'Dancing with the Stars', this guy is really going places.

* David Beckham (8.22): This guy, who is he again? Maybe this will be what he needs to really break through to the big time.

* LL Cool J (9.22): I hope this is old-school 'I can't live without my RADIO!' LL. I would also accept 'Elmo said knock you out!'

* Chandra Wilson (9.30): I had to look her up, but that's probably because I don't watch 'Grey's Anatomy'. Since much of the rest of the country does, I'm guessing she was a good choice.

Other future guests include new mama Jessica Alba (OH YEAH!), Molly Shannon (amusing), Patrick Warburton ('The Tick' is the greatest fake-superhero-live-action-sitcom in the history of the small screen), Feijoo Sisters (Cuban ballet dancers I'd never heard of), Jonah Hill (wearing a moustache – this seems like an odd choice but I guess he's a big deal now; I would've preferred Seth Rogen), Brian Williams (who's actually fairly amusing), Gilbert Gottfried (who's f**king hilarious but will likely not be his usually filthy self), Megan Mullally (should be fun), Randy Jackson (Gee, you think he'll say "dawg?" - yawn) and Sandra Oh (who I like, despite the fact that everyone seems to think she's ugly). New sketches too, such as "30 Rocks," "Pre-School Musical" and "Are You Smarter Than an Egg Layer."

Here's a little video to whet your appetite.

It all started when Mary needed a laxative

Kid climbs into claw game to get prizes

James Blunt loves triangles

Old Jonas Brothers CD priceless

Family Movie Night – Hairspray

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More Kids Stuff I like that my kids don't care about

Brett Singer — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Here's some more stuff that makes my kids say, "Daa-aad!"

1. Old Sesame Street episodes: I detect a theme here. These don't show up on television anymore, but there was a series called "Sesame Street: Unpaved" that ran when my oldest son was born and I taped them. The older Sesame Street episodes have a much more improvised feel than the current version. Big Bird looks thinner and sometimes rambles like he's been imbibing something much stronger than a birdseed milkshake. Hey, it was the 70's, and they were still finding their way. You also get Roosevelt Franklin (eventually cut from the show because people thought he was a racist character) and no Elmo (see below).

2. Grover and Cookie Monster: OK, more Sesame Street, I know. But Elmo and Zoe are just not as much fun as Grover and Cookie Monster. Thing 2 actually finds Cookie Monster to be a little bit "scary", although he seems to be willing to tolerate him for my sake. And there's nothing better than a good Grover sketch.

3. Transformers – The Movie: I rented this 1986 animated big-screen version of the Robots In Disguise and we didn't even get through half an hour before Thing 1 got bored. After seeing the 2007 live action Michael Bay 'bots in theaters, he consented to give it another try and we made it all the way through, somewhat under protest. I was a fan of the cartoon, but had never seen the 1986 film, which is great. Voice talents include Leonard Nimoy (!), Casey Kasem, Scatman Crothers (!!), Judd Nelson (!!!), Eric Idle and even Orson Welles (!!!!!!) as evil and enormous Unicron (um, typecasting? Never mind). It also has the song "Dare to be Stupid" by Weird Al Yankovic, and the original 80's hair metal version of the title song, which is roughly 12 billion times better than the lame-o remake played over the ending credits in the new movie.

image: Amazon.com

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Mister Frickin' Rogers

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Kids Stuff I like that my kids don't care about

Brett Singer — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:00:00 GMT

One little discussed element of the entertainment industry making kiddie stuff that parents can enjoy as well is the idea that, on some occasions, the parents will like the kid stuff more than the kids. Here are a few things that are technically for my children, but I dig them more than they do.

1. Sesame Street Fever/Disco: these were both brilliant records – and they were records, the vinyl kind; as far as I know neither one has been released on CD. The first, Sesame Street Fever, featured Grover in a white John Travolta jacket on the cover, and included Bee Gee-ized versions of "C is for Cookie" (including a brief rap between Cookie Monster and Robin Gibb, who, according to the liner notes, "appears courtesy of his children - Melissa and Spencer Gibb"), and "Rubber Duckie". This was followed by the even more brilliant Sesame Disco!, which includes "Me Lost Me Cookie at the Disco" sung by "Cookie Monster and the Girls": "Me lost me cookie at the disco / Me lost me cookie in the BOO-GIE MU-SIC…" It's out of print, but you can listen to some of the tunes here, and also check out this video.

2. Born To Add: this one has had a slightly longer stay in our rotation than the Fever/Disco tunes, but I still get a "daaad" when I try to put it on in the car. Includes the Cookie Monster-as-Barry White "Me Going to Munch You, Munch You, Munch You", "(I Can't Get No) Co-Operation" by Mick Swagger and The Sesame Street Cobblestones, and the brilliant title track: "There's a lot of adders on the Jersey shore / I hear its the thing to be." (See below for video). This one is not out of print and you can buy it here.

3. Mister Rogers Neighborhood: I admit I didn't try that hard, but neither of my boys ever got into watching good ol' Fred change his shoes and venture into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe to chat with Lady Aberlin. Maybe it's just too quiet for them, but I still find it soothing.

Here are a few more.

Any kids' stuff that you like more than your children? Go ahead, leave a comment. Come on, I won't tell anyone.

image: Muppet Wiki

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Old, Dorky, Great

Madeline Holler — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:37:00 GMT

Mr. Rogers is a dork and even my kids, on some level, get this. But I like him because of his dorkiness, and they like him in spite of it. So here's to another 40 years of his dorky goodness.

The series "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" premiered Feb. 19, 1968. It's 40th birthday is being feted around Pittsburgh and includes a re-assembled Neighborhood of Make Believe set at its home, WQED. A Mr. Rogers Sweater Drive has also been planned.

Fred Rogers would have turned 80 this year, something fans will also be celebrating. He died in 2003.

The Neighborhood of Make Believe was never my favorite. I liked Chef Brocket and that guy with the music store. My favorite now is watching those video tapes of how everyday things were made in what was once a very industrial Pittsburgh.

What do you think of Fred?

Sense of Entitlement? Blame Mr. Rogers!

MetroDad — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:26:00 GMT

As many studies have reported, signs of narcissism among college students have been rising for 25 years. Today, young American adults seem to have a sense of entitlement that far exceed those of previous generations. Where did this come from? Who is to blame?

Well, according to this article in the Wall Street Journal, part of the blame belongs to children's television icon Mr. Rogers. A finance professor at Louisiana State University, Don Chance, claims that Mr. Rogers meant well and was a sterling role model in many ways but what often got lost in his self-esteem-building patter was the idea that being special comes from working hard and having high expectations for yourself.

Obviously, Mr. Rogers alone can't be blamed for this. But as Prof. Chance sees it, "he's representative of a culture of excessive doting." He wishes more parents would offer kids this perspective: "The world owes you nothing. You have to work and compete. If you want to be special, you'll have to prove it."

It's an interesting perspective and one that I think I'll begin to reenforce more with my daughter. Because now that I think about it, every day at the playground, I see parents fawning over their children and lavishing enormous praise on them for doing absolutely NOTHING! Do many of you see the same thing?

Mr. Rogers: 15 Reasons He's Still Relevant (and Awesome)

Patti — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 17:57:00 GMT

Mr. Rogers is one of those very few people that, whenever I think about him, I miss him so much. My kids have recently started watching the reruns and they're enthralled, and I'm reminded all over again that there once existed a man with no irony, no posing, who was just purely nice. I wish I could make that work for me.

Mental Floss's 15 Reasons Why Mr. Rogers Was the Best Neighbor Ever nails it pretty much right on the head. I wrote about #4, his testimony before the Senate to secure funding for public television, and #6 might be the nicest thing I've ever heard about anyone. And if you've never read them before, don't miss the links to the two Esquire articles toward the bottom of the piece.

It's always a beautiful day in the 'hood when Mr. Rogers crosses my mind.

(via Metafilter)

Happy Birthday, Mr. Rogers

Patti — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:51:00 GMT

The Reverend Frederick McFeeley Rogers would have been 79 years old today. A scholar of child development, Rogers changed the course of his career when he decided that network programming was too commercial and violent for children. He tirelessly advocated better and more effective programming for kids, and his long-running public television series "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" was a deceptively simple vehicle for quite sophisticated ideas about what children need. Rogers hid innovative and progressive ideas behind those hand-knit cardigans and moth-eaten puppets, and not just with regard to children--his support of home recording helped make the world safe for video recorders (of course, he just thought families should be able to live their lives according to their own schedule, not the networks').

In 1969, Mr. Rogers testified before a Senate subcommittee in the pursuit of funding for PBS. He wasn't yet the icon he would become, but his honest and passionate explanation of his work to a room full of crotchety old men is worthy of a Frank Capra film, and his successful melting of the senators' hearts secured the future of children's public television.