The Cosby Effect

Recently, beloved former sitcom character, Bill Huxtable... I mean, Bill Cosby was in a trial for sexual assault, drugging and raping women.  This wasn't his first foray, having been accused of this crime multiple times throughout the years, including when he was on his definitive show.  And even earlier.  Such claims were later dismissed or later silenced through intimidation, as is tends to be when a successful show is in syndication.  The feelings of a single traumatized violated woman means nothing in the face of entertaining millions of viewers and millions of advertising dollars.  Why spoil a good thing?

Apparently, it seems that the best way to avoid being prosecuted is to make yourself known in the public consciousness to such an extent that they feel implicit in making any verdict against a favored and loved Celebrity character.  Even if said celebrity's sell-by date has long since expired past any point of relevance.  They don't want to have the reputation of punishing someone who gave so much joy (themselves included), and being responsible for jailing a comedian.  (Leaving out the fact that they'd be further remembered as someone who let a serial rapist go free)

There was a time when Cosby was a beloved figure, which I wasn't entirely aware of, but still absorbed via osmosis and his saturation in media alone.  The rare critic who dared to speak out against Cosby would've been called out for daring to defy against the common status quo, and trying to break new ground.  Ground that nowadays seems more like pandering to safe tastes.

The Cosby Family was a well-behaved Black family, back when the sheer concept of such a notion was considered outlandish.  The general consensus for minority representation was being Snarky, Angry or a Token Male for "diversity".  Having a normal Middle Class Black family engaging in the same outrageous situations as other white people was considered revolutionary.  A formula that would be shamelessly copied through other Black sitcoms such as Family Matters & Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  Though you'd be hard-pressed to recall any scenes of the parents being involved at their jobs.  Much like Tintin's Reporting, it was more of a title than an ideal to live up to.

And even now, trying to increase minority representation is an uphill struggle despite audience outreach and identification.  If it doesn't instantly appeal to Media Mongels (who are overwhelmingly white) then it won't appeal to All Audiences.  This is all speculation, from not having personally seen a single episode (and certainly not planning to).

An instance of Cosby's influence was mainly felt by the constantly chuckling Dr. Hibbert in The Simpsons.  Apart from a few perfunctory scenes involving occasional appearances of his family, we really don't know that much about the good doctor.  In terms of Immigrant representation, we know more about Apu's background - an Indian convenience store manager, than a competent good-natured doctor.  It's the sleazier doctors such as Dr. Nick (Hi!) and to a lesser extent, Dr. Monroe, who get more screentime, which is understandable, given the constraints of humour.

AND to further add ironic abuse to the case, after the mistrial, Cosby plans on giving lectures on Sexual Assault.  Not solely aimed at Women, mind you - that would be considered tasteless - but for Men who would be accused of Sexual Assault.  Certainly something he would have experience in.

I'm really the wrong person to even cast stones in this direction.  For starters, I'm not Black, and didn't grow up Religiously watching his show.  I don't have very strong feelings for the man in one way or another.  I have a book or two of his amusing anecdotes (which feel slightly poisoned and possibly ghost-written by now), but otherwise, don't really care about him one way or another.  It's probably a major reason why I'm not suitable for being a reporter.  I'm not angry enough at the issues to be suitably outraged at the sheer unfairness of delayed justice.  All I can do is find relevant caricatures and comic images referencing the man back when he was a household name and figure.  It's all I know what to do.

Making Some Good Points

Arcade centers may have fallen to the wayside, thanks to the proliferation of the home console market exploding in popularity, making quarter munchers something of a rarity, appealing only to the few outlets that still allow access to the mainstays that haven't been converted to the home video treatment yet.  Not that there aren't some diehards who won't stop at the opportunity to top the latest world record in terms of useless challenges.

This has led to multiple instances of other media implementing their references without really understanding their appeal, such as Tony Soprano "playing" a lap of N64 Mario Kart one-handed just by handling the joystick without actually pushing any buttons.  (You need to use both to move)



including the Star Trek episode, The Game, where the whole crew was being subjected to being brainwashed by an addictive game that basically consisted of mentally throwing discs down funnels.
somewhat unusual for a futuristic utopia that prides itself on

Probably the biggest insult would be the cameo appearance of Toru Iwatani, the creator of the instantly identifiable Pac-Man, who quashed his moment of immortality in an Adam Sandler movie.  (I'm not even gonna justify naming it - you can find it yourself)

Then there's an outer-space Spider-Man story from Electric Company, that may or may not have been inspired by The Last Starfighter, where an average kid who's really good at a Space Invaders-esque game finds himself roped into an intergalactic war, because reasons.




And yet, despite dozens of genres ranging from Platformers, Street King Fighters, Puzzle Droppers, Rail Shooters and the lot, the go-to representation of console games seem to be the ol' blast-em-Commies-outta-the-sky edition.

The demonization of Videogames is nothing unusual.  People have been complaining about how the latest newfangled devices these ungrateful younglings are abusing to their whim will bring about the downfall of civilization as we know it.  Well, they're technically correct, since these lawn-standing children are rewriting the rules of the previous generation that will pave the route to the NEXT batch of unforeseen upgrades, which will carry their own baggage of complaints from future Luddites.

But it's not so much the rush of playing the games themselves as is the sense of accomplishment of actually succeeding in a monumental repetitive task.  After all, if Video Games were as mindless as everybody says they are, everybody would be passively pushing buttons waiting for their turn.  In The Game Believes In You by Greg Toppo, an adult tried his hand at playing a typical gateway game, and was surprised at just how difficult it was.  (Granted, most beginner console games were Nintendo Hard)

It wasn't just the learning curve of having to readjust his preconceived notions of hand-eye coordination, but also the intense amount of concentration needed to get through a typical level.  He was surprised that despite his apparent smarts, that he was having great trouble at re-learning new traits that for all intents and purposes, should've been deceptively easy.  If you pay attention to a gamer's expression while they're playing, they intensely focused on the action happening on the screen.  (Unless it's an unskippable cutscene, at which point, they're just waiting for the mini-movie to finish so they can get back to the action)

Indeed the purpose of a good game is to force the player to keep trying over and over, compensating for their mistakes until they succeed in overcoming their surmountable tasks.  The very first Mario game level is easily recognizable and iconic, but it was actually designed near the end, so Shigeru Miyamoto could properly showcase everything the beginning player needed to learn about the basics of playing.  (Though it took a computer ages to learn what came naturally to grade-age kids)

Despite their high degree of difficulty, the game allows you to try again over and over until you manage to succeed, all for the sake of that elusive A WINNER IS YOU! end screen.  This is accomplished by memorizing dozens of patterns, calculating various formulas, testing strengths and weaknesses, using items in every conceivable combination possible and deferring to the game's internal logic, usually consisting of warped reality that naturally appeals to kids.  (And resorting to cheats when they're ultimately desperate)

In fact, because of the way games are made, the techniques and tricks you use to get past creative enemies, obstacles and traps in later hair-pulling stages are designed to gradually teach the player how to develop these traits and integrate them into their playing without being fully aware that they're learning.  In this sense, videogames are actually better teachers than most schools.  (And more fun too)

Another worthwhile quote - If schools were relied on to teach children about Pokémon, they would lose interest almost immediately.  Part of the reason is because when schools were first designed, they were intended to be suitable for children whose highest aspirations were to become factory assembly line workers, whose iteration of input and fixed formulas was a necessity.  But the latest appliances and digital devices have largely supplanted that need, resulting in teachers having to dictate an authoritarian stance over unruly children.  The earliest concept of a school worked just fine in the early 20th Century, but their model no longer applies to the modern world.  Everybody learns in a different way, and expecting everybody to conform to a single model is just asking for trouble.  Nowhere is this more clearly stated than in Japan's schools, which is more suited to produce Businessmen who are more likely to be brown-nosers and yes-men than innovative trailblazers.  In fact, the lack of harmony between Sega USA and Sega Japan was because one company was willing to take risks, and the other wasn't.  (As seen in the Sega Vs. Nintendo book, Console Wars)

Rather than demonizing the infantile traits of empowering videogames, scholars should be using the traits of videogames that best appeal to their senses.  Rather than have everybody in the class compete with each other over who gets the highest marks or best memorization, singling out the class pets, fostering an epidemic of cheating and stress, it would benefit greatly using a Warcraft model where struggling students can get farther ahead by working together.  Instead of grading students over an outmoded grading system where mistakes are seen as a black mark demerit that'll follow them for the rest of their lives.  They should be given the chance to experiment with alternate solutions that best suits their needs, substituting calculating methods with more adequate means, where they can take their time to fully understand the logic ingrained behind the theory.  Following formulas is good for starters, but shouldn't be strictly restricted to only that if the students already understand the basics, and compensate by using similar models closer to their line of thinking.  There's not just one way to calculate algebraic math.

In one instance where a student was failing in a particular field, another student offered themselves up to compensate for her loss, even though it meant losing some points himself.  The purpose was to teach how to game the playing field so that everybody gets their fair share.  In other words, compensating for their weaknesses until they're able to confidentially assert it themselves.

Secret Stanza

This is the last month of alloted Not-Far Side Cow Ads, and as such, I don't have anything special planned for the begining of the month for next year.


As you can tell, there's a consistent Christmas theme running throughout these.

"Your lunch!"
"Don't get so upset!  At least I've got a job!"
"ONE JOB!  Yeah, one day a year, and it falls on Christmas Day!!"

"You finished your Christmas shopping?"
"No, I' haven't had time."
"You bringing your recycling bags?"
"No, they're for efficiency."
"So long!"

"You didn't think a glass of milk and cookies would do the trick?"

As an added bonus, here's the ad that showed up for the first month of 1994, which was also the last Cow Milk Ad that ever appeared.

"Waiting for a call?
"Yup.  The Principal of the school wants to talk to me about dropping out."
"Ah!  Finally!"
"Aren't you going to answer?"
"Nope!  I'm not letting him off the hook!"

 While this was the last commercial appearance, they also showed up in an earlier School special, devoting attention to CEGEP, which is a tution-free precursor school before University in Québec.  Here's a (very) rough translation of the following nonsensical text:

Everything you ever wanted to know about CEGEPs that L'actualite never wanted to write

Bebeef College is a Bubble Box and the Gaspe CEGEP swimming pool is open at all times to the populace. Wow! Such news! What a prize! The first thing, everyone already knew and the second, nobody cares... And besides the direction of concerned CEGEPs, did you know that the French College comes 15th in natural sciences? Well, at CROC, with half the number of journalists in the news, we wrote this specific list catering to the student's tastes. Because in the background, it's you who go to CEGEP.

This special feature also had various cards sprinkled throughout its satirical article, which I meant to rotate and crop, but never got around to doing.  Here's the  last of the Cows you'll ever see around here.

The Secret is in the Saws

It's the start of another month, and we all know what that means...

Mom, do Cows lay eggs?

You're a month late.  Halloween's over!
I dunno.  I'm preparing for winter.
For winter?  Normally, you'd stock up on hay!!
No, that wouldn't be good enough.
I don't get it.
You'll understand when the first snow falls.

Taurus: An influx of cash will be coming your way...
Hee hee hee!  Hee hee hee!
We haven't run out of hay yet!

You can rest your arms.  All the birds have flown to the south!

Secret Haunt

This month's allotment of not-Far Side Cow ads is easier than previous entries, since not many of them have captions in them.

The one ad that does have text is rather self-explanatory in itself:

Contemplate??
Why should I??
After all...
'Tis naught but a birthmark!! 

The other exception being this comic below:

...which I scanlated for someone else a long time ago.  I would've done the others, but was too lazy to get around to doing it.

Last but not least is what I consider to be the definitive of Paul Brazeau's Milk Ads.

In closing, the penultimate of the UFO Labatt Bleue beer ads.

Back to Secret School

"Watch out for crossing cows".

Sandalwood hay bales on sale
"She takes everything literally!"

Aw No!  Not again!
What?  Calm down!
They have to harvest the wheat every year, don't they?
Yeah, but...
...how would he like it if I walked all over his plate?!

Where does Milk come from?
"The supermarket?"

Whut?  You're going on a great vacation?
Yup!  I'm wandering the countryside.