Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Virginia TV

OK, so I know I never blog. I've hardly even read this one. But I felt I needed to share this priceless Virginia moment.

Because I am now alone here, I have nothing to do with my evenings other than 1) work, or 2) rip classical CDs I've checked out of the library. Since I was sick of writing and have milked the poor libraries dry, I found myself tonight, mouth agape, watching the two-hour long "So You Think You Can Dance" marathon extravaganza, otherwise known as "The Gayest Thing On Television." In the midst of this fascinating experience, the following commercial aired:

http://www.vahealth.org/wic/bfwic/BreastfeedingPromotion/vbs-0006B.mpg

Now, I don't watch much television, but... breastfeeding? I can understand dairy farmers promoting milk, or even a breast pump manufacturer encouraging mothers to feed their children breast milk, but why advertise something that has no commercial gain or political significance? Who cares if you breastfeed? Maybe we should start a new ad campaign: "Circumcise!" Should mothers even be getting medical advice about their children from a television commercial? I, for one, know that my older sister was jaundiced as a baby and my mother was told to stop breastfeeding because it was making the jaundice worse. I was thus spared the fate of having to suck that teat, and look at me! I'm fine...

Then, shortly afterwards, I see this:

http://www.forbetterlife.org/be-inspired/tv.asp?id=3204

Optimism! Are they serious?! People must be really miserable here to need this kind of encouragement (unless it was just a vocabulary lesson, in which case I completely understand). Here are a few more ideas for the better life gurus: "Punctuality!" "Cleanliness!" "Table Manners!" (never mind the more ethically relevant "Kindness," "Tolerance," and "Compassion" ) This is a red state, right? I thought Republicans wanted the government to stay out of people's business. . .

Corbett

P.S. Laurie gets here tomorrow! Woo-hoo!

by Corbett at 9:06 PM |