Frazier is the Uber-Sitcom

What a show! Every possible sitcom convention is used--and perfected. There's no reason to do a conventional sitcom after Frazier. After this, shows had to start going in new directions--using narrators, abandoning the laugh track, etc. Frazier was simply the culmination of a great sitcom tradition of zany capers, overheard (and misunderstood) conversations, two characters thinking they're talking about the same thing when they're actually talking about something different, secrets and deceptions, characters named but never seen, characters trying to extricate themselves from embarrassing situations (and usually failing), and romantic relationships gone awry. The big distinction is that the two characters are pretentious fellows that are difficult to like.

Cheapy gets an iPod (free, of course)

The frugal approach to credit cards is pretty obvious: only use it for things you were going to buy anyway, and always pay off the balance monthly to avoid giving away money for nothing in interest.

But credit cards also come with some perks. I'm about to get a free iPod because of the points added up by the use of my credit card for things I would have purchased with or without the card. I'm also getting a free Minnesota Vikings flag on a pole, but it's the iPod I'm really excited about.

I have no idea how it works. I'm going to have somebody help me to load showtunes onto it so that when I go for long walks in the summer, I can listen to Wicked and Les Miserables and Jesus Christ Superstar. That's actually the only reason I even wanted the iPod.

Canned Green Beans

To live a life both frugal and healthy, canned green beans are pretty prevalent in my life. I'll never buy a can of green beans for more than 50 cents, and then there's a low calorie, nutritious meal for quarters.

Long live canned green beans!

Super Fruit and Veggie Lockdown

There's Lockdown--that's easy. There's eating mostly fruits and vegetables--that's OK. There's Super Lockdown--that's a bit of a challenge.

And then there's Super Fruit and Veggie Lockdown. Coming in Summer 2008: stay tuned.

More pretty thoughts

When it comes to matters of war and peace, The Star Tribune's Katherine Kersten insists that pretty thoughts don't work.

When it comes to matters of sex and policy, though, Kersten certainly likes pretty thoughts.

She likes to believe that you can convince large groups of people, including horny adolescents, not to have sex simply by telling them why they ought not to. Forget teaching teenagers about how to have safe sex if they choose to have it: according to Kersten, "young people"

"need to hear from us -- their parents, teachers and medical caregivers -- that self-restraint is not only possible, but desirable, and that real happiness comes from respecting your own dignity and that of others."

You know what? I agree. Self-restraint is possible and in many cases desirable. Respecting one's own dignity and the dignity of others should be a lesson we pass on to all young people. On this I agree with Kersten.

But I thought "pretty thoughts didn't work." According to Kersten, when it comes to peace and violence, "pretty thoughts" are ineffective and we have to be more realistic. When it comes to teens and sex, though, Kersten is quite the idealist. She wants to believe that we can address the problems of teen sex (such as STDs) by simply teaching teens not to have sex. In this case, perhaps a more realistic approach would be more helpful. Many human beings are going to have sex with each other no matter what you teach them. Perhaps, while teaching values such as self-restraint and self-dignity, we could also teach safe sex methods. Perhaps, as we inform teenagers of the pitfalls of unrestrained sex, we could teach them how not to get a venereal disease should they choose to have sex. Of course, in this column Kersten (the supposed* realist on matters of war) mocks those attempting to take a realistic attitude toward sex and teenagers.

But perhaps Kersten could extend her ethic of respecting the dignity of others. Kersten has defended torture (with some "ends justify the means" logic). Does the torturer respect the dignity of the person being tortured? I find that difficult to believe.

(*I say "supposed" because I don't believe advocating war to solve serious problems is a realistic approach. As John Howard Yoder says, "There is no more utopian institution than an idealistic war." But further explorations of the meaning of pacifism and the ineffectiveness of violence is a discussion for another blog).

(For a more amusing take on the issue, see Rich Goldsmith's piece in The Rake. I don't mean to discuss serious things at this blog--really. But I write about Minnesota media here, so sometimes I'll write serious things).

For those still taking TV news seriously

How does Kare 11 help you to understand Minnesota's bonding bill? Go to their website and watch the video to find out. From John Croman:

"It would be a lot easier to explain it if only they were talking about a different kind of 'bonds.' Say Barry Bonds, or James Bond, Gold Bond Powder, or denture bonds, even U.S. Savings Bonds or classic rocker Gary 'U.S.' Bonds."

This list of punny uses of "bonds" certainly helped me understand the issue more clearly. Actually, I'd like to be one of the staff writers that came up with a list of alternate meanings of "bond." And was it too much trouble getting the stock photos for those different "bonds"? That's fine, that's fine: that's just what you should be using your news budget for.

The segment ends with mention of a possible governor's veto:

"You might say the governor hasn't 'bonded' with this bill."

Puns are awesome.

This segment also features Croman holding up pieces of paper with words on them (because we wouldn't know what he's talking about if he just said them), and footage of a polar bear swimming around.

This isn't a Sesame Street bit. It's not even for a middle school Civics class. It's real news, targeted to real adults.