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Momo372764
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Name: Maureen
Country: United States
State: California
Birthday: 3/21/1985
Gender: Female
Interests: Everything Hello Kitty, everything music, everything Filipino, everything singing, everything politics and law, everything kosher. All in all everything fabulous! ^_-
Expertise: Stocking up my pantry (not my college dorm closet), "acquiring" lost items in Calruega Dining Hall, catching a flick on the weekends, inflicting pop culture, making everyone I come in contact with deaf, giving pop quizzes, hiding boys in trunks, collecting sex books, and having sex on pool tables. (Just kidding I am Catholic!)
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  sm4lawgal
Member Since:
2/5/2004
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| I was reading the New York Times on-line (of course I subscribe...I am such a nerd) and I found this article about SESAME STREET. Holy crap...after I was done reading it I found myself yearning for the Sesame Street days of old and when it was ok to take warm cookies from an oven from a 45 year old Black man w/ of course a cold glass of milk alone in his apartment, no less. WTF it's like Old Sesame Street is the equivalency of raunchy Avenue Q...DOUBLE WTF...you can do whatever the hell you want on Sesame Street and that's how I liked it. FYI: I am buying those Old School Sesame Street DVDs and hosting a social kickback to review them...STAY TUNED! Enjoy! *Mo
The New York Times
November 18, 2007
The Medium
Sweeping the Clouds Away
By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
Sunny days! The earliest episodes of “Sesame Street” are available on digital video! Break out some Keebler products, fire up the DVD player and prepare for the exquisite pleasure-pain of top-shelf nostalgia.
Just don’t bring the children. According to an earnest warning on Volumes 1 and 2, “Sesame Street: Old School” is adults-only: “These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.”
Say what? At a recent all-ages home screening, a hush fell over the room. “What did they do to us?” asked one Gen-X mother of two, finally. The show rolled, and the sweet trauma came flooding back. What they did to us was hard-core. Man, was that scene rough. The masonry on the dingy brownstone at 123 Sesame Street, where the closeted Ernie and Bert shared a dismal basement apartment, was deteriorating. Cookie Monster was on a fast track to diabetes. Oscar’s depression was untreated. Prozacky Elmo didn’t exist.
Nothing in the children’s entertainment of today, candy-colored animation hopped up on computer tricks, can prepare young or old for this frightening glimpse of simpler times. Back then — as on the very first episode, which aired on PBS Nov. 10, 1969 — a pretty, lonely girl like Sally might find herself befriended by an older male stranger who held her hand and took her home. Granted, Gordon just wanted Sally to meet his wife and have some milk and cookies, but . . . well, he could have wanted anything. As it was, he fed her milk and cookies. The milk looks dangerously whole.
Live-action cows also charge the 1969 screen — cows eating common grass, not grain improved with hormones. Cows are milked by plain old farmers, who use their unsanitary hands and fill one bucket at a time. Elsewhere, two brothers risk concussion while whaling on each other with allergenic feather pillows. Overweight layabouts, lacking touch-screen iPods and headphones, jockey for airtime with their deafening transistor radios. And one of those radios plays a late-’60s news report — something about a “senior American official” and “two billion in credit over the next five years” — that conjures a bleak economic climate, with war debt and stagflation in the offing.
The old “Sesame Street” is not for the faint of heart, and certainly not for softies born since 1998, when the chipper “Elmo’s World” started. Anyone who considers bull markets normal, extracurricular activities sacrosanct and New York a tidy, governable place — well, the original “Sesame Street” might hurt your feelings.
I asked Carol-Lynn Parente, the executive producer of “Sesame Street,” how exactly the first episodes were unsuitable for toddlers in 2007. She told me about Alistair Cookie and the parody “Monsterpiece Theater.” Alistair Cookie, played by Cookie Monster, used to appear with a pipe, which he later gobbled. According to Parente, “That modeled the wrong behavior” — smoking, eating pipes — “so we reshot those scenes without the pipe, and then we dropped the parody altogether.”
Which brought Parente to a feature of “Sesame Street” that had not been reconstructed: the chronically mood-disordered Oscar the Grouch. On the first episode, Oscar seems irredeemably miserable — hypersensitive, sarcastic, misanthropic. (Bert, too, is described as grouchy; none of the characters, in fact, is especially sunshiney except maybe Ernie, who also seems slow.) “We might not be able to create a character like Oscar now,” she said.
Snuffleupagus is visible only to Big Bird; since 1985, all the characters can see him, as Big Bird’s old protestations that he was not hallucinating came to seem a little creepy, not to mention somewhat strained. As for Cookie Monster, he can be seen in the old-school episodes in his former inglorious incarnation: a blue, googly-eyed cookievore with a signature gobble (“om nom nom nom”). Originally designed by Jim Henson for use in commercials for General Foods International and Frito-Lay, Cookie Monster was never a righteous figure. His controversial conversion to a more diverse diet wouldn’t come until 2005, and in the early seasons he comes across a Child’s First Addict.
The biggest surprise of the early episodes is the rural — agrarian, even — sequences. Episode 1 spends a stoned time warp in the company of backlighted cows, while they mill around and chew cud. This pastoral scene rolls to an industrial voiceover explaining dairy farms, and the sleepy chords of Joe Raposo’s aimless masterpiece, “Hey Cow, I See You Now.” Chewing the grass so green/Making the milk/Waiting for milking time/Waiting for giving time/Mmmmm.
Oh, what’s that? Right, the trance of early “Sesame Street” and its country-time sequences. In spite of the show’s devotion to its “target child,” the “4-year-old inner-city black youngster” (as The New York Times explained in 1979), the first episodes join kids cavorting in amber waves of grain — black children, mostly, who must be pressed into service as the face of America’s farms uniquely on “Sesame Street.”
In East Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant in 1978, 95 percent of households with kids ages 2 to 5 watched “Sesame Street.” The figure was even higher in Washington. Nationwide, though, the number wasn’t much lower, and was largely determined by the whims of the PBS affiliates: 80 percent in houses with young children. The so-called inner city became anywhere that “Sesame Street” played, because the Children’s Television Workshop declared the inner city not a grim sociological reality but a full-color fantasy — an eccentric scene, framed by a box and far removed from real farmland and city streets alike.
The concept of the “inner city” — or “slums,” as The Times bluntly put it in its first review of “Sesame Street” — was therefore transformed into a kind of Xanadu on the show: a bright, no-clouds, clear-air place where people bopped around with monsters and didn’t worry too much about money, cleanliness or projecting false cheer. The Upper West Side, hardly a burned-out ghetto, was said to be the model.
People on “Sesame Street” had limited possibilities and fixed identities, and (the best part) you weren’t expected to change much. The harshness of existence was a given, and no one was proposing that numbers and letters would lead you “out” of your inner city to Elysian suburbs. Instead, “Sesame Street” suggested that learning might merely make our days more bearable, more interesting, funnier. It encouraged us, above all, to be nice to our neighbors and to cultivate the safer pleasures that take the edge off — taking baths, eating cookies, reading. Don’t tell the kids.
Points of Entry
Caveat teletor: Volumes 1 and 2 of “Sesame Street: Old School” are available on DVD, which you can sample and buy on Sesameworkshop.org. With a few episodes, extras and celebrity appearances by the likes of Richard Pryor and Lou Rawls, “Old School” sounds harmless enough. But are you ready to mainline this much ’70s nostalgia?
The Way Old: YouTube is great for performance art. If 1969 is not far back enough for you, how’s 1935? The Oscar-winning short film “How to Sleep,” by the Algonquin Round-Tabler Robert Benchley, can be found here in sumptuous black-and-white; search for his name and the film’s title on YouTube.
Come of Age: Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the men of “My So-Called Life” and “thirtysomething,” have at last introduced their online-only young-adult series, “Quarterlife.” It started Nov. 11 on MySpaceTV.com, and it marks the first time a network-quality series — a long indie film, really — has been produced directly for the Internet. If the old times unnerve you, welcome to the new times. | | |
| I was at Dennis and Morris's house on Sunday...there on their coffee table was a stack of "The Onion" newspapers. In one issue there was an editorial article about the GAP that I just had to share. This article resonates with me (I am looking at you Cassandra) because when I shop....I shop EXACTLY in the same manner as the author of this article...ENJOY! *MO
The Onion
This Gap Sweater Is Fucking Awesome
By Garrett Alford
August 22, 2007 | Issue 43•34
So, I'm in the Gap, right? The new fall line is out, and I'm looking at the standard fit, straight-leg jeans. And these fuckers are just awesome. They sit real nice just below the waist, are slightly loose through the leg, and come in four stellar washes—even though as far as I'm concerned, the lighter washes are complete bullshit, but whatever. We'll save that for another time.
Now, I'm not going to say there was anything supernatural involved, but all of a sudden it was like the clouds parted and the angels started trumpeting hallelujah or something and my eyes just slammed in the direction of a mannequin wearing the sweetest fucking navy blue V-neck sweater I have ever seen.
Talk about a perfect goddamn sweater. I may have been 20 feet away from the display, but I was already thinking about how I would wear that fucker. Would I go classic Garrett Alford and wear a white T-shirt underneath, or would I maybe get a little crazy, wait for the perfect fall day, and bust out my plaid shorts? Sweater with shorts. Pretty awesome, right? Most people would balk at such a combination, but I wasn't fucking around. And with its unbelievably versatile wool polyblend, dry-clean-only material, the sweater wasn't fucking around, either—especially not at $39.95.
You gotta love the Gap. Got to!
At first I played it cool, as if the sweater were just some stupid fucking American Eagle T-shirt. But when the sales associate told me he didn't have my size in the back, I seriously almost flipped my shit. I should have seen this coming because—and I'm not trying to brag or anything—I wear medium, which is a pretty popular size. So I went to check the mannequin, and, lo and behold, the son of a bitch was wearing a medium. But he wasn't just wearing the sweater. He was doing everything right with that sweater. Everything. It was as if the mannequin intrinsically knew all the nuances of how the sweater should be worn and understood on a deeper level exactly why I would be attracted to that particular garment. What became completely fucking undeniable at that moment was that the sweater worked on two levels. I'll say it again: two levels.
Let me explain.
The mannequin had on a pair of jeans with a couple small rips in the denim, and a button-down white shirt that wasn't tucked in. Now, you see these two pieces of clothing on their own and you think, "This guy's a dickhead." But throw in that navy blue V-neck, and suddenly we got an interesting fucking dichotomy going on. Did this guy wake up, throw on some clothes, and just happen to look awesome? Or—or—is he about to go out to a bar and be the envy of everyone who is too dressed up or not dressed up enough? Either way, the guy's golden. He cares, but he doesn't. Two levels.
But as good as the mannequin was, he could never figure out how to amp up those two levels enough to take that sweater to the max. That's where I come in like a fucking freight train. See, even though I am in no way gay, I knew the sweater had the potential to make me look handsome: By tucking in the shirt and adding a tie, I become this suave gentleman who your parents are going to lose their shit over. Or, I go the complete opposite direction by wearing tennis shoes and a baseball cap, and keeping the cuffs of the collared shirt unbuttoned, in plain view, so everyone can see that I'm a guy who doesn't give a flying fuck if his cuffs are buttoned or not.
Understand? We have here an entire look, a fully formed lifestyle, flowing directly from that navy blue V-neck sweater.
I asked the Gap employee if I could have the mannequin's sweater. Though he insisted it was against store policy, he listened to all the things I wanted to do with the sweater, and how I needed it for a date I was going on later that night. He must have really appreciated my passion because he pissed all over that store policy and let me buy it. Of course, I didn't really have a date, but now that I've got this sweater, I'm sure it won't be long. That's a fucking guarantee. | | |
| Wow. I can't believe it is over...
I have been at the Youth
Leadership Institute in Marin for almost two years now and I am so
blessed to be able to continue at YLI San Mateo as a CMCA Coordinator!
I
just want to say special thanks to Matt, Mike, Mrs. C (and our mascot
Ronald!), Little K, Scott, Kim, Big Mo, Gail, and of course Uncle Dave.
Everyone at the YLI Marin office contributed a lot to our Marin family.
Also
I want to thank all the other YLI youth and interns, especially those
from APA, CMCA, MYHAC, NYRAP, BTL, HEY, BLING, and YEA. You know who
you are...(don't worry...I tagged you in this note : D)
I
started at the YLI as a youth prevention council member for the Alcohol
Policy Alliance, a group of Marin 18-24 year olds dedicated to reducing
underage and binge drinking in the County. I stayed on to become an
intern, program assistant, and eventually the "coordinator" of the
program (awww Jane). It was a unique experience to start as a youth
member then transition to staff.
I just want to say thank you again and again! REMEMBER: This is not the end...only the beginning!
I will close out with a letter I wrote for my APA youth that sums up everything....
Dearest APA Members,
I
apologize for creating a standard letter, but just know that all of you
are stellar individuals who have taught me something in my first “REAL
WORLD” job. Awww…the end of APA…les lame.
Jagpal: You taught me to always question EVERYTHING. I swear that every other word out of your mouth was “WHY?” I loved it.
Veronica:
You taught me that you can take the negative parts in your past life
and turn it into something positive and more constructive…I’ll leave
the details out for when you and I have dinner…lol.
Renee: You
taught me that no matter how stressed one person can get, that there is
always time to “slow down and smell the roses.” I am less stressed
because of it.
Gregory James: You taught me that it is always
good to be prepared to think on your feet, in more ways than one. There
have been many situations this summer when both of us had to do it, but
we prevailed!
Dolores: You taught that music is the driving
force of life and to never forget it. Now I walk every day as if the
soundtrack of my life is playing in the background. Oh yeah…and it’s
playing an AMY WINEHOUSE song for sure…you know which one, haha.
Thank
you all for your hard work. I plan to have a get together soon (on
YLI’s tab of course). We can be low key about it and just go out for
dinner, but it won’t be until next month. Until then, do well with all
that you do, GO TO CLASS (I am looking at you Gregory), and just have
fun. REMEMBER: Even though I am at my new CMCA Coordinator position at
YLI San Mateo, each of you including myself are still part of the YLI
Marin family.
Live long and kosher,
Maureen "Mo" De Nieva
Alcohol Policy Alliance
Prevention Program Consultant
Youth Leadership Institute (YLI)
mdenieva@yli.org | | |
| My bestie Nicole had her wedding in San Luis Obispo (SLO) at the Madonna Inn a few weeks back and it's only now that I am recapping about it. I had been invited to about 12 weddings in the year 2007 alone, but Nicole’s wedding was different…it was the first wedding of a best friend.
In my family’s van Jeremy (the Flea), Sahir, Leilani, Alexandria and I (the Broke Van Hookah 5) traveled to SLO and back that included the following: flashing of certain body parts to each other and other truck drivers, cigarette smoke, misread directions, a pit stop in Fresno, practicing Arabic in a Mexican market, iPod music, Sahir’s depression mix CD, the autograph book, comparing chests/breasts, worrying about being late to SLO for the wedding rehearsal only to be really early, trying to build my friend army, Nicole’s wedding dress almost catching on fire!, seeing DUC friends again, reuniting Denise & Nicole and their “Edgars” Marlisa & Mo, complimentary wine bar at Nicole’s wedding, trying to connect with certain individuals (*wink*), DANCING!, Cha-Cha Slide, Mo getting cut off by the bartender, Mo stumbling and getting cake smashed into her face, “singing” karaoke w/ Nathan, Alexandria hiding out in Osama Bin Laden’s famous cave that had a public telephone in it, the themed rooms at the Madonna Inn that swingers could use, the Broke Van Hookah 5 pretending to pee so the Madonna Inn’s waterfall men’s urinal could work, Sahir calling Nathan at 6am from his cell to get hookah tobacco back from his room…then running to Nathan’s room to tell him he was looking for his cell and then grabbed the missing tobacco (smart one Sahir), hookah, 3am drive to Pismo Beach, getting our palms read by a psychic, playing MASH, hot-boxing hookah in our family van, little sleep, hot tubs/swimming pools, AAA towing our broken van from nowhere Kettleman City to Fresno only for my dad to come up from San Jose to rescue us.
I think that list summarized everything, but I might be missing a couple of things, oh well. Alexandria also noted our trip, but it was Leilani that created a screen play draft. If our weekend was turned into a movie the following screen play draft would apply…
Synopsis from the the screen play draft of BROKE VAN HOOKAH:
Location: Fresno, SLO and San Jose
Five friends road trip to a wedding and find themselves making memories they will never forget as they begin to notice an uncanny resemblance to Mystery Inc.
Starring
*Leilani De Neva as Velma - the quantitative genius with the power of HUNGER
*Jeremy Green as Fred - the suggestive man with a red scarf and BLOWING POWER
* Alexandria Cronin as Daphne - the sultry insomniac with a knack for dropping coals and using her powers of PERSUASION
* Sahir Gharib as Shaggy - the quasi-house boy who provides brute man power along with a mean COCK SLAP
*Maureen "Mo" De Nieva as Scooby Doo- the seemingly benign mutt who manages to stealthily consume Jeremy's chocolate chip pie with her TIGER CLAW
and...
Dodge Caravan as The Mystery Machine who manages not to go up in flames but needs a new battery, thus momentarily stranding the friends in ...FRESNO!
Will they ever make it home? Will they ever stop laughing enough to sleep?
The craziness ensues another day. Emotions run high, oxygen runs low. Can our mystery capers solve this unfortunate happenstance?
The answer is yes, yes indeed. Jenky!
Memorable qoutes:
"Arrwr? Arrwr?" - Scooby Doo ~ Means: "Is that pie I smell?"
"And then I saw these three green lights, three feet off the floor! Then a ghost flew right through me!" - Shaggy
"I shouldn't be moving these coals....I mean....ahhhhh!!!!" - Daphne
"WWWWWaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!WWWWWaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" ~ Means: "Look out it's on fire! Put it out!" ~ Shaggy
"You are so cut off! Brett make sure she doesn't have any more please!" ~ Velma to Scooby Doo
Check out the photos from Nicole and Steve’s Wedding! :
http://previewgallery.com/franklyyours/nicole_n_steve_wedding/
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| I am feeling really good right now. I have a stellar support system of
family and friends (near and far). I just graduated from college in
May, but have a great job with the Youth Leadership Institute that I am
passionate about.
All in all I feel awesome...special thanks go to everyone (you know who you are).
I am just excited that I got accepted to Dominican's MBA program in Strategic Leadership! I start this FALL! | | |
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