Monday, August 16, 2010

It's better than bad, it's good.

Yesterday while we were out sailing, there was a good stretch of time when there was no wind to be found and we were left just bobbing around in Puget Sound, searching desperately for a breeze.

Eia told me that when out on a sailboat, your mood tends to match what's happening with the weather. If the wind picks up and you're cruising along, you're happy, carefree. If the weather turns sour, everyone gets moody. But if the sky is blue, the sun is streaming down, and there is just no wind to be had - everyone starts to go a little crazy.

And she was right.

We passed this log in our travels that was knotted on one end and just floating along in the sound, a seagull perched upon the end like it belonged there; I remember turning to Eia and saying "I bet he's the mayor of that log." This is a reference to the new(ish) social media tool called foursquare, if you aren't familiar with the terminology.

The idea, for those of you playing along at home, is that if you check into certain locations (actual locations, like the movie theatre or grocery store) more than anybody else, you gain "mayorship" of that place. You have to check in at least twice to become the mayor of a place, so we considered adding the log as a venue on the server and sailing by it a few more times to check in and… usurp the seagull… who has neither a cell phone nor thumbs nor any working knowledge of what foursquare even is… because he's a bird...

Also foursquare works on GPS locations, so adding a piece of driftwood as a venue makes absolutely no sense. It was a hot day, okay?

Anyway, the point of this story at all was that at some point in the day we started talking about old cartoons, and Eia's dad mentioned something about how much he hated Ren and Stimpy. Eia and I instantly both recoiled, insisting that "we loved that show!", but then we stopped.

Neither of us could remember anything about it, aside from the horribly disgusting looking animation (we seemed to recall that Ren's eyes always looked like he was stoned), something about leaving your hair from shaving in the sink for some holiday Yak, and the log song. ("It's log, It's log; it's better than bad, it's good!") After a few minutes of musing, we both said, "Why DID we love that show?"

And upon further introspection, I realized I never loved Ren and Stimpy. I actually hated most parts of it, because it was gross and didn't make a whole lot sense. But it was on TV at a time where in my young, pre-adolescent confusion, I assumed that cartoon = kid's show. It was a cartoon! It must be made for me! Therefore I should watch it! Every day!

This is exactly the same logic I used when I got mad at my dad for covering my eyes during Itchy and Scratchy. "Bart and Lisa get to watch it, it's not fair!" I used to say to him. "We're like the same age!"


We mostly forgot about Ren and Stimpy for the rest of the day (except for singing the log song every time we passed a piece of floating driftwood) until much, much later last night. I was upstairs, getting ready for bed and still generally complaining to Justin about how hot it was, when I heard Eia's voice from down in the living room. "Tina! Come down here right now! Ren and Stimpy is on!"

The timing could not have been better. It was playing at 1 am on that Nicktoons channel, so she and I spent the next half an hour reliving the cartoon we're not sure why either of us ever watched in the first place. It was weird, too. Really weird. Even weirder than I remembered. But I did find myself chuckling at some parts, especially the fake in-show commercials, so I suppose the show wasn't all bad. I think we're going to try to find it on TV again tonight.


Now it's Monday and I have to figure out what to make a tutorial about for fiveawesomegirls. It's how-to week, and I am lacking for ideas. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

If not, then you should tell me what shows you watched as a kid that, looking back, you have no idea why you watched it.

Last google search: "the log song"
Chipotle burritos: 17

25 comments:

Izzy said...

you should do a "how to have a good time in high school" video.it would be much appreciated

Melody said...

I had the same experience with Catdog as a kid. Looking back, I hated that show, because it was so weird and disturbing and gross sometimes. But for some reason I was still loyal to it. Nickelodeon really knows how to brainwash their children.

J said...

Personally, the best parts of Ren and Stimpy were the shorts that didn't involve Ren or Stimpy (such as the Log ads or Powdered Toast Man).

Maybe you should make a tutorial on how-to sail? Or how to use foursquare...

Willow Redd said...

This probably comes from being slightly older than you, but I honestly did love Ren and Stimpy because it was gross and weird and didn't make sense half the time. That was the humor. It's a parody of the cartoons that I grew up with, even down to using the old Raymond Scott music that all the classic cartoons used. To me, it was one of the most brilliant things on television at the time.

Sarah B-) said...

How about how to make your favourite meal? (as in your favourite)

I would suggest something musical - like, um, writing a song, but that's a little obvious. :)
I'm loving BEDA, please keep it up through September!

hjb said...

you should legit do a tutorial on 'how to be a pokemon master'. just sayin'. since you seem to be quite knowledgeable on the subject already. heehee.

i've always been a cartoon kid, but i don't think i've ever liked ren and stimpy. it was frightening animation wise, i never understood the humor and it was just all around creepy. . .

but i used to have a love-hate relationship with freaky stories, which is now something i love watching whenever i catch it on teevee. much like your experiences with ren and stimpy.

Anonymous said...

I always loved Ren & Stimpy! One of the shows I watched for no particular reason except that it was on was Two Stupid Dogs. I never really liked that show.

You think ten years from now Spongebob fans will look back and wonder why they watched?

PatrickWrocks said...

I never questioned my love for Ren and Stimpy, it was stupid and gross but it was part of my childhood.

Newt said...

I had the same experience with that show...I forget it's name now. It had a kid named Billy with a big nose...-googles it-
It's called Billy and Mandy. They played it on Cartoon Network, and I hated it so much, but my brother turned it on a lot.
A how-to video? Um...-shrug- All my ideas sound stupid enough in my head, so I'm not positive they'll be any better in text. XD

Ben Cracknell said...

You should do a 'how to be a Slytherin girl' tutorial. I'd buy that!

VicMorrowsGhost said...

I LOVED Ren and Stimpy.
I guess I'm a couple of years older than you but it's still, for me, one of the greatest shows ever made.

I actually got to see 2 episodes of it uncensored at a John K (the creator of the show) Film Festival and it was AMAZING!

Sarah said...

You should do how to be a college graduate, that could be funny.

And shows, I looooooved Rugrats and Fairly Odd Parents which I still like but I used to adore watching Gula Gula Island and I found that on tv a few months ago and after watching it....I can not for the life of me understand why I loved it so much. But most kids show I still love (Hey Arnold! All That! The Amanda Show! Aaaaand now I just wish I had netflix so I could rent all these shows and watch them all again ^_^

Maggie said...

"how to decide what to order at Chipotle."

Anonymous said...

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/HowTo:Fit_Inside_a_Dryer

^Best how-to EVER. :D

Ellen B said...

Ugh I hated Ren and Stimpy. Hmm...I guess I didn't watch a whole lot of shows that I have no idea why I liked them other than maybe Catdog...which isn't good at all...I actually don't think I liked it that much when I was younger either, but I watched it anyway. Don't you miss old Nickelodeon shows?? Clarissa Explains It All, Alex Mack, Are You Afraid of the Dark, and Legends of the Hidden Temple were among my favorites. Wonder if they are anywhere to be found on the air still?

Maggie said...

Urg, I saw that show a couple times when I was a kid and it freaked me out. I see Jeremy C's point, though. Since it was parodying something, it probably only made sense if you were familiar with what it was parodying.

As for a "How To..." hmm. How to be productive without actually doing what you meant to get done. AKA: The art of procrastination. Although I suppose you might not be terribly good at that... Ah well, it's the best I've got.

Alex Dahlberry said...

I was an EXTREMEMLY big goody-two-shoes as a child and I remember being like "my mommy wouldn't want me watching that" and hiding my eyes, when my friend tried to show me Austin Powers or something. Itchy and Scratchy freaked me out too. I just knew my parents would be awkward about it, so I refused to watch it. xD Weird child.

Sydney said...

There are several shows that I feel that way about, but then I remember why I watched them: My older sisters made me. I got stuck watching plenty of things that creeped me out or weren't funny to me because, well, there wasn't much I could do to change what we watched without getting in trouble.The main show that I feel that way about is Hey Arnold. I never really liked it, but I seemed to watch it a lot.

Anonymous said...

I've pretty much come to the conclusion that any show I watched as a kid had a lot of adult innuendo that completely went over my head. I am shocked at how bad it really was sometimes, but when you're 7,8,9,or 10 you don't even think in those terms yet. I will say that I loved watching Pinky and the Brain...and you know what? I still watch it! =)

Molly said...

How about a tutorial on how to make a tutorial?

Steven said...

I was a very big fan of "Hey Arnold" when I was younger. The story was just compelling to me, and I loved it. (Not that I was thinking of that when I was five, but whatever.)

The Vagabond said...

Basically any cartoon. I don't really know why I watched them cause I wasn't really ever a cartoon loving kind of kid but I watched them cause the kids at school did and I wanted something to talk to them about. After a while I gave up though and just watched stuff I wanted to watch. Like the travel channel. I freaking LOVED the travel channel! Great hotels with Samantha Brown was my favourite. Also Food Network with my mum. I did like a few cartoons I suppose. Like Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. That was the best.

Also, I look forward to hearing about more boat adventures. My friend has a lake house and some jet skis so we started a jet ski gang. Except not really. We just pretended to be all hardcore and called ourselves the Jets of Anarchy. Which gave me a good opportunity to sing West Side Story. "The Jets are gonna have their way toniiigght."

: )

slinkyT1991 said...

I'm glad your doing good. I like BEDIA its fun reading your blog.

Could u blog about the most embarrassing thing that happened to you, or if you heard back from ANTM or whats going to be coming up in your life thats really big?

I hope you have a lovely day.

Kari Kristine said...

A tutorial on how you made the costumes for the Don't Unplug Me music vid:D Just for the luls!

Newt said...

I lied in my last comment.

It was Courage the Cowardly Dog.
Most scarring show for a little kid EVER.