Lots of people have been linking to this story about CBS considering a sitcom (!) about a man and a woman who meet and fall in love after their spouses are killed at the WTC. So I guess I will too.

But while this is crass and just plain icky, it occurs to me: why aren’t we more repulsed by the flood of normal junk that clogs the airwaves? Where are the protests about network executives inflicting “Emeril” on us? Why aren’t the creators of “Full House” and “Family Matters” brought up on charges? I’m only partially kidding here. For every “Alias” there are about 20 “According to Jim”s. Doesn’t this bother anyone? Are we supposed to just swallow this stuff? (Sometimes, in the case of “Family Matters” for example, we swallow it and ask for some Urkel chaser. But that’s another rant.)

The WTC sitcom idea clearly will not be made. (Famous last words.) But as a true lover of television, I think maybe we should worry more about the next cookie cutter sitcom or insulting reality show knockoff crowding out the last few things worth watching.

When I was growing up, Halloween was my favorite holiday. You got to dress up in a scary costume (OK that one I did on a daily basis), go out with your friends at night, without grownups, and troll around the neighborhood for as much candy as you could carry. We would gladly accept homemade treats – at one house I remember being served soup. My father also loved the holiday, and made a big production every year dressing up as The Church Street Monster. Then he would hide at the side door, and someone would signal to him when kids were at the door, and he would come roaring out to scare them. I also remember having a record (remember those?) of scary sounds that we would play as the trick-or-treaters would come by.

Now, Halloween is typified by a press release from City Hall stating something like:
Trick-or-treat activities will be allowed from 4 to 4:15 p.m. in the mall parking lot, between the orange traffic cones only. Costumes consisting of mostly black will not be allowed, for safety reasons. Children under 14 must hold a parent or guardian’s hand at all times when inside the trick-or-treat area. All “treats” will be x-rayed and examined by drug-sniffing dogs.

Admittedly, I grew up in rural Wisconsin in the 70s, so it is a different world now. But where’s the fun?

Here at ‘words mean things,’ we take your suggestions seriously. So when several readers suggested comments should be in a pop-up window, wmt’s team of programmers got to work immediately. The happy result – pop-up comments! Keep those suggestions (and kudos) coming!

This guy makes millions as a web and publication designer. The world just isn’t fair.

WARNING: protective eyewear may be necessary to view the above link. Click at your own risk.

Here at ‘words mean things,’ we’re always looking for ways to make your visit a happy and productive one. To that end, (after squashing a few bugs) we’ve eliminated the separate archive page and put the archive links along the left margin. Browse to your heart’s content!

I agree with Moira – I love Haidi too. Not just for creating the world’s best collaborative weblog, Top Ten Blog, and not just because she doesn’t like “The English Patient” or “The Piano” either. I love her because she can make this post to the topic “Top Ten Thoughts In Your Mind Right Now”:

4. My God, I’m sexy.

Go Haidi!

Crisis brings out the best and the worst in people, in all areas. As uncomfortable as I was with The Onion doing a whole issue about 9/11, I thought it was some of the most brilliant writing they’ve ever done. Biting, and laser-focused on the absurdities that came from this event. On the other hand, Saturday Night Live over the weekend opened with a painfully unfunny sketch of Dick Cheney opening his chest to show his bionic heart. Best and worst.

Most of the time when you poke a hornets’ nest with a stick, it turns out worse for you than it does for the hornets. Just a thought.

And I feel the need to repeat:
This. Is. Not. A. War.

A long overdue addition to the links page: Hideous Kinky. Monique is a compelling and entertaining writer. Go there now!

Pictures from the neighborhood