10 PRINT “Do you have a problem? (Y or N)”
20 INPUT $A
30 IF $A = “N” GOTO 120
40 PRINT “Can someone else help? (Y or N)”
50 INPUT $B
60 IF $B = “Y” GOTO 120
70 PRINT “Can you find them? (Y or N)”
80 INPUT $C
90 IF $C = “N” GOTO 120
100 PRINT “Maybe you can hire… the A-Team.”
110 GOTO 130
120 PRINT “You cannot hire the A-Team.”
130 END
The Secular Xmas season starts earlier every year–I swear I heard bells jingling over the mall PA at the beginning of November. Pretty soon Santa will be out on Labor Day, welcoming kids back to school.
If you’re like us, you aren’t busy today running from big box store to big box store, over-consuming as many goods as the rapidly expanding trade imbalance will allow. You’re on the computer, googling for ever more obscure pop cultural ephemera and wondering if you should change out of your pajamas.
So join us around our metaphorical Festivus pole, and see what the Overthinkers™ overthink you overwant this holiday season. (Oh, and we get a kickback when you buy these things–or, for that matter, buy anything–when you go to Amazon after clicking on our links. Sneaky, huh?)
Let’s shop.
You people have probably already seen this. But just in case:
Obviously, I like it. But what, exactly, was the Cartoon Network thinking? Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends isn’t The Venture Brothers. It’s a show for kids, not net-savvy hipsters. And besides, most hipsters aren’t tuning in at 9 am for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I’m guessing 95% of NBC’s viewers were simply mystified by the surprise appearance of Rick Astley. Then again, this is making headlines all over the net, reaching people who have no interest in the parade itself. Then again, I’m betting most people who are amused by Rickrolling don’t have kids.
So, thoughts? Is the Cartoon Network brilliant, or did they just indulge their own geeky fantasies without helping their show?
Happy Thanksgiving from Overthinking It! We know, there’s plenty of popular culture to be thankful for, but in the spirit of Overthinking It, I though I’d put a slightly different spin on giving thanks. Let’s take a look at the latest trends in popular culture that we should be thankful for, but now just accept as the norm. Dig in for a three-course Overthinking It Thanksgiving Feast after the jump (warning: Synecdoche, New York spoiler follows).
In a special supplement to the Overthinking It Podcast, Matthew Wrather, Matthew Belinkie, and Peter Fenzel consider the last episode of The Shield.
WARNING: Contains spoilers.
Download Shield Supplement 3 (MP3)
So today I decided to cash in my Y chromosome once and for all by going to see Twilight. First, let me share the song I would have played over the opening credits if I were the director. Just start the clip and let it run in the background while you read the post.
Was the movie any good? I’ve got no complaints, although I suppose I should warn you that I’m notoriously easy to please. Compared to other movies reviewed by this site, it’s neither good enough to merit one of our flagrantly overthought rave-ups, nor anywhere near bad enough to deserve an increasingly histrionic series of pans. Still, there are a couple of things worth examining here.
A freeze frame from the game's launch commercial, as the motto scrolls by. Click the photo to watch.
Little Big Planet is one of the marquee titles for the PS3 this Fall. Basically, imagine a Marioesque 2-D sidescroller, but with tricked-out graphics and the ability to design levels. I’ve played it a little, and it is too cute for words.
The back of the LBP planet box, with the slogan at the top.
But recently, I got a look at the back of the box, and something made me raise an eyebrow. The game’s motto is apparently “Fun Shall Overcome.” A little clicking around revealed that they’re pushing the slogan pretty aggressively. For instance, an official press release announcing the street date was titled, “Fun Shall Overcome on October 21.”
But isn’t “Fun Shall Overcome” an obvious riff on “We Shall Overcome?” As in, the slogan of the Civil Rights movement?
It’s entirely possible that I’m just being a typical liberal, seeing controversies where there aren’t any. But I’m not offended, just curious. This wasn’t picked as the slogan by accident – what’s Sony up to here?
Matthew Wrather hosts a panel including Peter Fenzel, Mark Lee, Josh McNeil and Jordan Stokes to overthink the role and appeal of stories like Twilight and to relate this latest take on the vampire story to the OTI horror muse, the zombie.
Warning: Twilight spoilers. Inconsequential spoilers, since if you care about that kind of thing you’ve probably read the books already, but still.
For another take on vampires, be sure to visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_von_Count
OVERTHINK THIS
Our Weekly Picks Return
Download Episode 21 (MP3)
“Man can only endure a certain degree of unhappiness; what is beyond that either annihilates him or passes by him and leaves him apathetic.” —Goethe
Why the long face? Must be because you’re watching too much TV. A recent study by the University of Maryland suggests that “unhappy people watch more TV, while people who describe themselves as ‘very happy’ spend more time reading and socializing.”
Now, as we all know, correlation does not prove causation, and it is of course possible to maintain a normal social life while regularly following several TV shows (especially with TiVo and TV on the interwebs). Also, this argument has surely been made before in the past, and it’s not particularly shocking. Nevertheless, I bring this up here in this grand forum dedicated to Overthinking(tm) popular culture, including television, since both our writers and our readers presumably watch a lot of TV. We have a whole category devoted to television on this site. One whole category.
So what say we? Are we a bunch of sad sacks?
Discuss while I watch the next episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. By myself. Followed by episodes 4-6 of The Wire. Also by myself. I’m so happy I have all this great TV to watch.
[You may find it helpful to read this post first.]
- One-third of an oreo and two ounces of cold milk.
- Clean, dry socks.
- Guessing Wheel Of Fortune phrase before any of the contestants.
- Happy Birthday wishes (via Facebook) from high school aquaintance.
- On crowded subway, next to man listening to his iPod, you can kind of hear the guitar solo from “Sweet Child of Mine.”
- Finding three dollars wadded up in the pocket of your jeans.
- An isolated room where you can fart vigorously without fear of censure or reprisal.
- Being told “I’m just not ready to be in a relationship with anyone right now.”
- Tivo records House rerun that you have not already seen.
- That cute barrista is working today, the one with the tattoo. Jenny–her name tag says Jenny. She smiles as she hands you your order, and says “Thanks, have a nice day!”
- “Thank you, Jenny,” you whisper–to yourself–as you walk out of the Starbucks and back into the sad, cruel everyday of our solitary lives.
