TV

As Sesame Street turns 40, the media is brimming with think pieces about the groundbreaking show. From its educational impact to its unprecedented portrayal of racially diverse urban life, the show changed the face of not just children's TV, but the medium of television in general.

There's a lot to talk about when we talk about Sesame Street, and people are doing just that. Time magazine postulated that Barack Obama is the first "Sesame Street president," writing that "The Obama presidency is a wholly American fusion of optimism, enterprise and earnestness — rather like the far-fetched proposal of 40 years ago to create a TV show that would prove that educational television need not be an oxymoron." (The show's creator, Joan Ganz Cooney, is happy to support this theory, saying "I like to think that we had something to do with Obama's election). Newsweek pondered Sesame Street's global reach, reporting that among the world's Sesame-friendly regions are Kosovo and the Palestinian territories; the South African SS features an HIV-positive character. And New York magazine revealed that 75-year-old Carroll Spinney, who has played Big Bird for all 40 seasons, spends his days with one arm raised above his head, manipulating the puppet's eyes and beak and not even once grumbling that he could be playing shuffleboard on a Carnival cruise ship.

And then there are the videos -- like "Women Can Be," a hilarious feminist ode to the world of beyond-nurses-and-ballerinas careers that I was reminded of this morning, courtesy of my friend Tina. (Rita Moreno, voicing the surgeon, is especially awesome.)

Jane Lynch has been doing great comedy for a long time -- Best in Show, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Party Down, the list goes on and on. She may be an out lesbian with a decidedly butch demeanor, but her projects range from the L-Word to Two and a Half Men. Even if people don't know her name, everyone knows she was great in something they liked. And with Fox's Glee, Lynch has finally achieved the celebrity status she deserves. How? By suddenly being the funniest person on television.

For the last several years, Dove has been busily branding itself as a socially conscious company on a mission to improve women's self-esteem. Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty strives " to free ourselves and the next generation from beauty stereotypes." This is supposedly done through thought-provoking ads, confidence-building programs, and messages that embrace all definitions of beauty (except for those that eschew using beauty products, I assume).

But Dove tested my patience with "30 Rock Beauty Moments" at NBC.com, in which they insinuate themselves into the hilarious work of Tina Fey...