Damn you Hoots!

If you're my age or slightly older/younger, you likely have fond memories of Sesame Street. I for one recall it being the one show I was allowed to watch for some time, and how I would eagerly await it's airtime. Kermit the pansified singing frog, The Grouch, who most closely represents actual people, the disturbingly over-lashed Snuffy, the pimpish Count, the ravenous Cookie Monster and the partially paralized and aptly named "Big Bird" were all mainstays of my childhood, and doubtless countless others. Well bit by bit they're changing this fine old show, for the worse.

Cookie monster no longer lives up to his extravagently amusing name. He is, I suppose, still a monster. Some things never change. But now they're phasing in a healthier, less cookie-centric version of our beloved friend. "C", it would appear, is not always for "cookie". In a bid to make the Monster more health conscious for the sake of the wee tykes watching, he's recieved a makeover. In place of his classic tunes, there's a new song "A Cookie Is a Sometimes Food," where Cookie Monster learns there are "anytime" foods and "sometimes" foods. Sacralidge I say! Spurred on by his new buddy "Hoots" (pictured above), Cookie Monster (CM) is losing touch with his roots, and in so doing, upsetting the fragile balance of Seseme Street. For you see, it was through Cookie's indulgences that we learned what not to do. CM stood as a foil to the other characters, and his deranged, sugar induced escapades stood as a grave warning for all. Without him being hepped up on Cookies, the show loses its "immoral compass", and in so doing becomes more generic and pandering. For shame I say, for shame.