So far, I've written some (pretty good, I think) diatribes about the cartoons of my youth. But, today I'm going to talk about a newer generation's favorite cartoon. The era of SpongeBob SquarePants.

SpongeBob's rose to power near the turn of the 21st century. Within a year of the first season, every kid between the ages of 5 and 11 had a SpongeBob backpack, a SpongeBob lunch pail, a SpongeBob pillow, and a SpongeBob secret decoder wrist watch. The little yellow fellow was everywhere. One of the executive producers of the show delivered an economics speech at my college. The money generated from that show was astronomical.

So, I watched it.

A 20 year old man, I watched SpongeBob almost religiously, more so than any other television show in college. It was genius. Spongebob was the height of whimsy. It was colorful, and quick, and sincere. It was not morally grounded like most Saturday morning cartoons (Goof Troupe, G.I. Joe), nor was it malicious like the rest (Ren & Stimpy, Tom & Jerry). It alluded to very adult themes while staying grounded in kids' playfulness. There was a mild self-awareness, plenty of childish puns, and broad conceptual problems. In one episode SpongeBob is sucked into a time vortex and creates a paradox when he meets his future self, he becomes self aware and comes to the conclusion he might only exist because he believes he exists. The show just made college level philosophy 101 accessible to children. Another episode is pointed satire at the absurdity of modern marketing, yet delivered in easy-to-chew chunks of humor for the under 10 crowd. Another episode centers around karate chopping addiction. Painfully funny, but also painfully similar to (and most likely derived from) the real life problems of sex/alcohol/gambling addiction.

Overall, SpongeBob is one of the best kids cartoons ever inked.

Okay, now time for the washboard abs stuff. This week learn about omega 3 supplements and buy some omega 3 capsules. You'll be glad you did.

I was very young when the care bears were popular. My sister and I owned several, we loved the cartoon, and I believe we developed a fine taste for the care bear candies, or fruit chews, or whatever sugar-loaded care-bear shaped substance our mother found at the shop-and-go.

The care bears were a group of multicolored bears, each with a different picture on their tummy. I don't remember the significance of the picture, I guess it was an easy way to distinguish their personalities. The care bears battled all sorts of grumpy, gremliny, malicious baddies, and they always prevailed with the wonderful weapon of choice, the "Care Bear Stare." The Bears would line up, hold hands, and then light would shoot out of their tummies at the hideous villain. Eventually the villain would cry, or grow a heart, or start to care, and the day would be won. Bizarre and a bit creepy.

Then came a video where the care bears fought an evil carnaval. Bad idea. First, the carnival was REALLY evil. It devoured children. Yeah, no stops pulled, kids died. Second, the care bear stare was useless against the evils of the carnival. And finally, the story played off of every gypsy stereotype ever known. Nothing like caring to push forth prejudice. Way to go, care bears.

Also, way to go orthorexia nervosa, just for being you. And way to find person, find a person website, your person has been found.