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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
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Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
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Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
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Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
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Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
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Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
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Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
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Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
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Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
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Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
April 5, 2005
/ 25 Adar II, 5765
I regret finally learning how to get to Sesame Street
By
Joel Stein
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
I could tell you how to get to "Sesame Street" but, trust me, you don't want to go. I thought I did after I saw the show recently and noticed that, 30 years later, almost the entire human cast was still there: Maria, Luis, Bob, Susan and Gordon.
Their 36th season began yesterday, so I figured I'd use my journalist powers to stop by and thank them before it's too late. It would be a kind of a media-age version of visiting my grandmother, with a fairly equal chance of being recognized.
I am not proud to say that on the subway to Queens, I still believed that "Sesame Street" was on some actual city block. A block where everyone is equal and respected and no one makes fun of a nice little boy for having "girl hair." (Why my parents couldn't take me to the barber once every few months is beyond me.)
But Sesame Street is a small soundstage. A soundstage where Carroll Spinney sat in the bottom half of his Big Bird costume that he's been wearing since 1969, reading old New York Posts. Where two guys crawled out of the Snuffleupagus costume, like it was the morning after a rave. Where Mr. Hooper's Store was stocked with goods labeled with the kinds of bad puns symptomatic of writing for 3-year-olds: Dooty Free Diapers and Hinee Poo Toilet Paper. Where and this would have the most massive psychological repercussions Maria was wearing leather pants.
The cast members were all really nice, but they seemed less like the people who raised me and more like a bunch of lefty actors from the '60s who have become oddly comfortable talking to puppets. Maria, whose real name is Sonia Manzano, was in the "Vagina Monologues." She says men buy her martinis in bars because they remember her from "Sesame Street," though I'm guessing it has less to do with counting to 12 than wearing leather pants.
Roscoe "Gordon" Orman wore a sweater with a Beverly Hills logo and told me a story about how Barbara Bush rubbed his head and he responded, "Is there anything else you want to rub?"
Loretta "Susan" Long said she once sang "A Policeman Is a Person in Your Neighborhood" to get out of a ticket. And Bob "Bob" McGrath told me that, not long ago at Disneyland, "this mom got all excited and shook her 6-year-old and told her to go get her little brother. And the boy looked at me and said, 'Ma, he's only on public television.' "
More harrowing still, I saw Oscar, who is also voiced by Spinney, flirt openly with Alicia Keys."You're supposed to be mean," Keys said after a while. "Well," Spinney responded, "it's difficult at this moment."
I don't think Marvin Gaye could be that smooth with a puppet in his hand.
The cast, which is only signed up for one-year contacts, is disappointed that their fame has waned from their Wiggles-like heyday in the '70s, when they regularly visited the White House and were mobbed on the streets. Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel and the Cartoon Network have sliced into "Sesame Street's" ratings, and the show is down from 130 shows a season to 26.
PBS wanted to cut the shows to 25, at which point executive producer Lewis Bernstein said: "Which letter of the alphabet do you want me to fire?"
Doesn't No Child Left Behind address this kind of stuff?
Sadder, I noticed a huge chest of familiar-looking, nameless creatures that were all known as "anything Muppets." And a spare Grover, which they rotate through every year when the current Grover starts to wear out. I could look no more.
On my way out, I ran my hand through Big Bird's costume, which, in retrospect, wasn't so smart, considering the woman holding the costume was wearing white museum gloves. White gloves are the universal warning for "stay away." At least that's what I've gleaned so far from the Michael Jackson trial.
Sometimes it's better just to store things away where they belong.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Joel Stein is a Los Angeles Times columnist. Comment by clicking here.
03/21/05 Counting curses and blunt-force injuries
© 2005 Los Angeles Times
Distributed by Los Angeles Times Syndicate
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