"YouTube is great!"

said Bo, and it was the 14,942,329th time such a sentiment was expressed.

I do applaud it for having a fine ability to distort my perception of how much time I’ve spent online. It may be better at that than anything since 1997-98 and a bezerk.com game called Acrophobia (which has seen a few manifestations since then, none matching the one-two punch of rock-solid reliability and a great collection of players the bezerk.com version had). Digressing.

I guess the hip thing to say about YouTube is that it’s a marvelous outlet for young filmmakers. The almost-as-hip thing to say about it is that it’s an unexpectedly innovative addition to mass media in general, particularly news and current events coverage. And I’ve used and enjoyed it for both of those things.

But you know what I’m doing with it when the clock gets away from me? Enjoying obscure bits of the late ’70s and ’80s again. I mean silly, “throwaway” stuff, not anything unambiguously artistically significant. It’s those goofy little bits that take me back more effectively than anything else. A selection:

• I can bring home the bacon…
• As much a part of truckin’ as CB and hot coffee
• Take CHiPs; subtract motorcycles; add Bronco and helicopter
• There was something very, very wrong with this Sesame Street short
• Loved sitting in the chair with Dad and watching this
• So it plays only Kiss?
• They showed this whole thing every week
• The plummet to LoungeLizardMobile started here
• Still love this song…and remember when women who looked like this were roaming the streets?
• I own the DVD, and it’s not as bad as you remember: it’s considerably worse

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