Stop Making Sense

Though I haven't been writing about it, I've still been on my library kick lately, thought it's now returning to the state of being a standard part of my week, as the library should be. Anyway, in my latest stack of check-outs was a DVD of Pee-Wee's Playhouse episodes. Along with being one of the greatest shows ever on television, it has one of the greatest theme songs, which I shall now quote in full:

Come on in, and pull yourself up a chair (like Chairry!)
Let the fun begin, it's time to let down your hair!
Pee-wee's SO excited,
'cause all his friends have been invited (that's you!)
To go wacky, at Pee-wee's Playhouse!

There's a crazy rhythm, comin' from Puppetland (what that?)
Dirty Dog, Cool Cat, and Chicky Baby are the Puppet Band (yeah!)
He's got a couple of talkin' fish,
and a genie who'll grant a wish -
Golly, it's cuckoo at Pee-wee's Playhouse!

Globey's spinnin', Mr. Window's grinnin',
'cause Pterri's flyin' by (hello!)
The Flowers are singin', the Picture Phone is ringin',
and the Dinosaur family goes, "Hi!"
Mr. Kite's soarin', Conky's still a snorin',

there's the flashing Magic Screen,
The Cowntess is so classy, Randy's kinda sassy -
A nuttier establishment you've never seen!
Spend the day with Pee-wee and you'll see what we mean! (Come on!)

Get outta bed, there'll be no more nappin'! (Wake up!)
'Cause you've landed in a place where anything can happen -
Now we've given you fair warnin'!
It's gonna be that kind of mornin' -
For bein' wacky!
For getting nutty!
Golly, it's cuckoo!
At Pee-wee's Playhouse!

(Thanks to Paul-Reubens.net for the lyrics)

Now, obviously, the song is riddled with direct references to characters from the show, but beyond that, what a great way to start your Saturday morning! What a fantastic message for kids or anyone else! It's a message that's carried throughout the whole show - life is fun, so spend some time with your friends and go crazy. That is a real positive message. It seems like all the Saturday morning shows these days try so hard to be serious and tell dramatic stories and teach moral lessons, but what message is better than "let down your hair... anything can happen"?

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To close out E3 week, here's a game I don't think I've ever mentioned on this site, but one that I've been following for quite some time. It's called Scribblenauts, and I'm incredibly impressed by it. For all the talk lately of 3D cameras and "Vitality Sensors," it appears the thing that's impressed me most on a technical level is a game with a keyboard and simple graphics running on the DS. It's a type of puzzle game in which you must help your character reach... something. I don't know. How do you accomplish this goal? Anyway you want. Type in almost any noun and that thing will appear on the screen for your character to use. You might wonder what "almost any noun means," and it means just that. There's nothing which might be considered innapropriate for some age groups, and no copyrighted items, but short of that, you can seriously write almost anything. Apparently, the big challenge at E3 has been to try to stump this game. Not easy: