During the 1980's in a "media survey" class I was taking for fun and a few other things at a junior college, we had an assignment to report something that went out over the media we personally knew not to be so.

One young lady had been around a real bang-up auto crash and I don't believe there were any fatalities. A newspaper printed a picture of someone up in a tree by the site and claimed, if not someone was thrown up there, some heavy objects were. I've forgotten, but she called them on something. Said person was up there for different and not so spectacular reasons. By the way, while our class had a pleasant liberal tint all things in the cross hairs were fair game. Just like "In Living Color".

My own report, wobbly due to the fact I was not an avid television watcher and had yet to own a recorder, passed muster to a degree but concerned a morning weather observation during the NPR Morning Edition by the local affiliate. Later in class I mentioned how something on the titillating side was supposed to show up the other side of a commercial break during the evening newscast of one of our beloved local television stations. Break after break after . . . Didn't we realize, even in that era, these features end up three minutes before programs end and last even shorter than the usual American attention span? Dan, that was to have been your assignment, said the beloved pair of instructors.

I just looked out the door, warming in the muzzy sun of a flaring valley summer, and can confirm it's now 2011. I can imagine the look, at least on my face, circa 1962 or so upon hearing a prophecy it would be 2011 when the elementary school's staple, in their cubby hole of a library, "Mr. Popper's Penguins" would become a feature film. Would there still be drive-ins with the flying cars? No, and if it were made back then it would have the budget, special effects and literary values of an episode of "Dennis The Menace". According to the critics and people at the door brandishing money, one of three improvements isn't cutting it.

Ah, to have the media assignment now, as in "right". During a movie review show, or was it NPR again/gasp, or something else---Dan, too much of your titular characteristic brings diminishing returns---the reviewer spoke of how the storyline had been brought up to date but still was based around the "negligent dad".

Huh?

I remember Mr. Potter as a very well-meaning nebbish and there may have been a wife and kids but---never mind. My "happy feet" want to take me out to enjoy the day, and my "happy fingers" have had enough mischief for now. Unless the reader wants to throw me a sardine. Bleh! How about a radish?