It’s a fabulous alternative, I tell you. I’ll admit that Fang and I are actually going to a Superbowl Party, b/c our delightful next door neighbors take it as an opportunity to invite friends over and feed us delicious cajun food (they’re both from Louisiana, and this fest originated last year, to celebrate the Saints’ participation.) But there’s no question that I’m going for the food (we’re donating a wheel of brie cheese baked in phyllo dough) and the good company; my heart will be over at the Animal Planet Channel, where they’ll be televising Puppy Bowl VII in a continuous loop (it’s 3 hours long, but I could watch it all damn day) from 3 p.m. this afternoon till 3 a.m. tomorrow. Check it out: it’s nothing but adorable puppies frolicking around on a miniature football field, with “chicken cheerleaders” walking around, pecking the sidlines, and the ever-popular Kitty Halftime Show (they turn down the lights, drop streamers and stuff from the ceiling, and let a bunch of kittens run around.) I honestly think if there were more entertainment like this, people would be more relaxed and nicer to one another.
February 7, 2011 at 11:20 am |
I wish I got Animal Planet! I never heard about the Puppy Bowl until yesterday, it sounds hysterical. There was a cute meme on Twitter yesterday with some amusing comments, #JaneAustenAtTheSuperbowl. I liked the one that someone sent out, “I have not had the pleasure of understanding football.” That was my amusement in between errands and housework
I’d go to that Superbowl party you went to, that sounds like fun. It’s all about the food and the company for me. ES1 did not have a SB party (that I’m aware of), I suspect he had to work as he generally does on Sundays.
February 7, 2011 at 11:53 am |
I’m with Jane Austen – I never have the vaguest clue what’s going on, even if I watch the whole game. My neighbor’s gumbo was outstanding, tho, and the puppies were still on when we came home. My mother doesn’t get Animal Planet, either, and she drove 30 miles to my house so she could watch it in the afternoon.
February 7, 2011 at 10:03 pm |
I love the Puppy bowl too! But did they read the Bill of Rights before the puppies kicked off? Seriously, my eldest called me while she was watching some pre-game TV and found the NFL players reading the Declaration of Independence and wondered if this was a tradition she missed in previous years….. did anybody else notice this faux patriotism?
February 7, 2011 at 10:37 pm |
???? Never heard of that before. I didn’t hear anyone talking about it at work, but there wasn’t much sports talk today at all, come to think of it. Was someone accusing the NFL of being Communist sympathizers or something? Sports in this country is capitalism run amok.
February 8, 2011 at 9:29 am |
I wish it wasn’t so faux – IMO, they should read the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights before every public event, and then make people talk about what it means, instead of playing football (god knows I would have the pleasure of understanding it a little better!). But you’re both right, it’s being used these days as a marketing tool for Tea Party types who have adopted the Constitution without reading OR understanding it, as their substitute for that little cartoon of Calvin taking a pee. As I said to my brother however, the other day, about great art and music being used to shill during TV commercials:
one of my first aural memories is the commercial that used Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture to sell Puffed Rice cereal, and all these years later, Pyotr Ilyich T. is still da bomb, and I do kinda like puffed rice. Strong content like the Overture and the Declaration can survive a little manhandling in the name of capitalism.
February 8, 2011 at 2:57 pm |
once again Dr. Blog — you get it right. if it gets even one person talking about these documents’ substance I can get over myself. i mean, not everybody had the grand and empowering experience of Mr. Suhousky’s 7th grade social studies class where he told us kids we could read (and understand) these documents ourselves. Thank you, Mr. Suhousky, wherever you are!
February 8, 2011 at 3:02 pm |
but speaking of capitalism, what commercials did you find the most clever or engaging? On the whole I was disappointed by Madison Ave’s money shots this year — altho i did like the Snickers “you’re not yourself when you’re hungry” and the little kid as Darth Vader in the Volkswagon spots.
February 8, 2011 at 6:10 pm |
Darth Vader boy was cute but nothing remarkable, and I was disappointed that there were no Budweiser Clydesdale narratives – those are usually my favorite. Geez, wherever Mr. Suhousky is, I hope he’s warm and healthy and happy.
February 8, 2011 at 6:24 pm |
Geez, I can’t believe you guys remembered his name!
Wow, that’s going back a lot of years. I still haven’t seen the pint-sized Darth Vader spot, but it’s been posted all over the place. I should pull it up and watch it. I’ve seen some of the Snickers ads, where the one guy turns into Aretha Franklin, that was cute.
February 8, 2011 at 6:26 pm |
Oh we talk about Mr. S. all the time. He’s one of my role models as a teacher, and his foundation re: the Constitution was seriously a big help to me when I studied Con Law in law school.