Bert and Ernie:Let's Get Real

Those who read my review of The Kids Are All Right know my feelings concerning alternative lifestyles (basic recap: It takes all kinds to run the world, and I would not want to miss out on a great conversation because of someone's sexual orientation).

And I will stand by that till the day I die.

But that does not mean that I am embracing the movement to have Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie get married.

And here is why:

1) They are puppets.
2) They are not the Teletubbies.
3) Sesame Street is a show with a 42-year track record for teaching preschoolers their ABCs, 123s, and concepts like near and far.

4) The Children's Television Workshop, which produces Sesame Street, has so far resisted all calls to send Bert and Ernie down the aisle, with good reason. They were created, paraphasing a CTW statement, to show kids that people with different personalities and backgrounds could still be friends.

5) In the late 90s or early 2000s, Sesame Street wrote and (if memory serves) partially shot an episode dealing with divorce, but decided not to air it after kids were confused at early test screenings. Divorce can be confusing enough for kids. CTW made the right choice then (and with Katy Perry's cleavage recently), and are making the right one now. Likely they decided that kids would be traumatized by images of their beloved pals Bert and Ernie embracing, kissing, or walking down an aisle.

And hey, when the preschoolers have learned their ABCs and 123s, and have grown into teenagers and young adults who want to discuss alternative lifesyle issues with someone they trust, I'm all for it.

But for now, let's let kids be kids.

MTMG

Elvis Presley Last Song Performed On Stage 6/26/77

The last song Elvis ever performed at Indianapolis's Market Square Arena on June 26, 1977. A true professional as he sings traditional show closer "Can't Help Falling in Love, he has my respect forever.

MTMG

Elvis - It's A Dog's Life

A prime example of how Elvis's movie career - and career in general - had literally gone to the dogs by 1966, two years before the '68 Comeback Special on NBC.

MTMG