It's no secret. The Commodore grew up with an almost unhealthy love of Sesame Street and the Muppets. In fact Sesame Street was an integral part of my early education. I mean the only reason I can count past the number 5 is because of the Count (ah ah ahhhhh), and my cynical, semi-crotchety nature that you enjoy in this very blog is directly related to my childhood adoration of one Oscar the Grouch. (on a side note, this would also explain my affinity for animal facsimile, squeaky, bathtime toys. Rubber ducky, you're the one... Thanks Ernie.) You see Sesame Street means a lot to the Commodore and I'd never try to diminish the importance of it's significance in the education of youngsters. But I have to ask... Google, two weeks of celebrating the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street? Really? Lemme take a step back for a second.

 

Perhaps you are one of the 17 hundred billion people (approximate value) that use Google on a daily basis? Well the Commodore sure does. In fact, I've found it extremely helpful for any number of applications. I use it for email, chat, calendar, searching, research, todo lists, documents, group management, and any number of other various and sundry purposes that just make my life easier.

 

For those of you that live under rocks, illuminate your house with candles, and are accessing this blog from a 1990 laptop equipped with one of those new fangled mo-dems, I'll tell you that from time to time, Google alters their no-frills, plain and simple Google logo at the top of their homepage to include a "Google Doodle" image. These doodles are click-able, allowing the user to find further information about the subject depicted in the doodle, and are generally included on Google to commemorate certain dates or achievements around the world. Kind of a cool idea I think. They can throw in entertaining images that don't alter the function or complexity of the search engine while also offering an avenue for people using the engine to learn more about dates of historical significance. Nothing wrong with a little education on the side as long as it doesn't interfere with my online shopping I always say.

 

Google has not failed to recognize events like the first moon landing, the invention of the barcode, and holidays like Haloween, or Christmas. But they've missed a few events that I'm wondering about in the midst of our Sesame Street celebration. What about September 11th? What about Veterans Day? What about the fall of the Berlin Wall (which does manage to score a mention on the page underneath a hilarious doodle of the Count counting numbers that represent the google logo... perhaps the count is from a former Soviet country where counting frowned upon)? These things are less important to Google than a TWO WEEK celebration of Big Bird??? Seems kinda skewed to me.

 

Look, Google is a private company. And as such they have every right to put on their website whatever the hell they like. I would never challenge their right to choose content for their own site. They've also stated publicly that they try to keep the doodles "lighthearted" meaning I suppose that they want to spare us the hassle of commemorating those pesky troubles of life like say the most horrific attack on American soil. But as an American company, it just seems to me that they should try to get it a bit more evenly spread. I mean even Microsoft commemorates 9/11 on bing... and they're evil! :) Before I head too far off on a tangent here, let me tie this up for you.

 

I learned a lot from Sesame Street. It is one of the most endearing shows from my childhood and I am thankful that wonderful people spent time, energy, and money to bring it to me as a child. But it taught me a lot more than just school subject lessons. Big Bird helped to teach me that people like Oscar should never get you down. Grover taught me that we should always be thankful for the things that make us who we are. And even Elmo helped to teach me that facing problems head on is always better than running from them. It just seems to me like the true spirit of Sesame Street would be better served by commemorating the events that have shaped us as a society, even if those memories aren't all bubbly and rosy. I'm sure even Oscar the Grouch would agree, right before he muttered something grumbly under his breath and disappeared back into his trash can. Maybe Google needs to spend a bit more time actually watching the show that it is commemorating.

 

UPDATE: Have to give credit where it's due. Google has a very fitting doodle on their homepage for Veteran's Day which clearly they have not missed, but are in fact celebrating openly. Doesn't change my point, but major kudos to Google for celebrating this tremendously important holiday.