Sound of the Day: Short U as in 'ugh' and 'humph'
Back in college, when we didn't have cable and half the broadcast channels didn't come in very well, I watched a lot of PBS. And not just any PBS, but PBS Kids (on the lovely lovely WGBH Boston, generally Channel 2), in the afternoon. I'd put it on and take naps, because the way the shows were made, with most segments lasting a mere 15 minutes, I could tell more or less how long I'd been asleep by noting what the last show I had consciousness of had been and what show I was waking up to. A lot of the times, I'd already seen the episodes that were airing, so I even knew what happened in all of them. It was extremely comforting, especially when I was stressed, like mac and cheese.
Well, I was graduated, came home for a while, where we have more than a hundred channels of glorious cable, and no WGBH. It's been ages since I watched any PBS Kids. Today, though, I was flipping through the channels, feeling completely stressed out (still am, but tv's a good way to avoid it), and what do you know, Between the Lions is on. It's one of my favorite PBS Kids shows, sort of like Sesame Street, only it focuses entirely on reading and stars a family of lions in charge of a fictional library (but they are SO the Boston Public Library lions).
Between the Lions loves to make fun of itself and popular media. In the episode 'Stop That Chicken' about the hapless Chicken Jane, who flies out of her book, she falls into a Molly Stewpot cookbook, clearly a parody of Martha Stewart: "And I just love cooking with the short 'e' sound, don't you?"
And then there are the segments where they have mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves come in to sing the sounds of vowels. I can't help adoring that.
Anyway, one of the segments on the show is all about an animated adventurer by the name of Cliff Hanger. "Cliiiiff Hanger, hanging from a cliff!" sing the tux-wearing men on the passing chopper, "And that's why he's called Cliff Hanger!" He's hanging from a cliff, see. And things like magic rugs come along, and he uses them to escape (after using his expert decoding skills to read about how to do so in his trusty survival manual), only to be thwarted by unfortunate catches, like the bug that's also rolled up in the rug (who asks for a hug from the big lug. Cliff: "Ugh!"). At the end of the segment, he's back on the cliff, hanging from a slippery branch yet again. "Can't! Hold! On! Much! Longer!"
*sings* And that's why he's called Cliff Hanger!
Of course, having turned into an inveterate fangirl (I always had been, but not actively, because my fandoms weren't active), I now find myself thinking...Wouldn't Cliff Hanger make great angsty fanfic? He's always hanging from the cliff: So much emo! Why do the chopper singers never hear him when he so-politely hollers, "Excuse me. Excuse me!" at them as they pass? Why does he always end up back on the cliff, after the cruel flare of hope and possible escape? Why does his trusty survival manual always fail him?!?!?
If I ever get bored, I might just do it.
Well, I was graduated, came home for a while, where we have more than a hundred channels of glorious cable, and no WGBH. It's been ages since I watched any PBS Kids. Today, though, I was flipping through the channels, feeling completely stressed out (still am, but tv's a good way to avoid it), and what do you know, Between the Lions is on. It's one of my favorite PBS Kids shows, sort of like Sesame Street, only it focuses entirely on reading and stars a family of lions in charge of a fictional library (but they are SO the Boston Public Library lions).
Between the Lions loves to make fun of itself and popular media. In the episode 'Stop That Chicken' about the hapless Chicken Jane, who flies out of her book, she falls into a Molly Stewpot cookbook, clearly a parody of Martha Stewart: "And I just love cooking with the short 'e' sound, don't you?"
And then there are the segments where they have mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves come in to sing the sounds of vowels. I can't help adoring that.
Anyway, one of the segments on the show is all about an animated adventurer by the name of Cliff Hanger. "Cliiiiff Hanger, hanging from a cliff!" sing the tux-wearing men on the passing chopper, "And that's why he's called Cliff Hanger!" He's hanging from a cliff, see. And things like magic rugs come along, and he uses them to escape (after using his expert decoding skills to read about how to do so in his trusty survival manual), only to be thwarted by unfortunate catches, like the bug that's also rolled up in the rug (who asks for a hug from the big lug. Cliff: "Ugh!"). At the end of the segment, he's back on the cliff, hanging from a slippery branch yet again. "Can't! Hold! On! Much! Longer!"
*sings* And that's why he's called Cliff Hanger!
Of course, having turned into an inveterate fangirl (I always had been, but not actively, because my fandoms weren't active), I now find myself thinking...Wouldn't Cliff Hanger make great angsty fanfic? He's always hanging from the cliff: So much emo! Why do the chopper singers never hear him when he so-politely hollers, "Excuse me. Excuse me!" at them as they pass? Why does he always end up back on the cliff, after the cruel flare of hope and possible escape? Why does his trusty survival manual always fail him?!?!?
If I ever get bored, I might just do it.