"...I haven't seen this kind of outrage since... um... oh yeah, me on September 11th.."
Puppies and Muslims, February 7 2006
I love living in a world that airs the Puppybowl.
Last year, some genius over at Animal Planet made a pint-sized football field, threw a bunch of puppies in it and made the cheapest, most adorable three hours of television. On Superbowl Sunday, the puppies just hang out on the field, playing, fighting, wagging, sleeping, eating and crapping. When a puppy pees or poops, a human ref enters the field and calls a foul. There are action shots from the puppy cam and the water bowl cam, plus instant replay. All the puppies have stats. A crowd cheers the entire time. And this year, at Puppy Bowl II, the half time show stars kittens.
Unfortunately, the observant Muslim may not be able to enjoy the Puppybowl because Islam teaches that dogs are impure . In fact lately, the observant cannot even enjoy a political cartoon without having to wake the kids and burn the flag of Denmark. The new Hamas government in Gaza has said that the Danish cartoonists who drew cartoons of Mohammed deserve to die. Gee, I haven't seen this kind of outrage since... oh yeah, me on September 11th.
The reality show I've been working on is about to kick into action. The participants move into the house they'll be sharing for two weeks. Despite restrictions from the network and very tight timeframe, I think there'll be some funny moments and good stuff. It's all a big "what if" until the flesh and blood human beings you've been talking about finally show up.
I'm disturbed and I don't know why. I look forward to going on the road so I can figure it all out, but that may not be the answer either. Maybe I should go to India for a year, feed some untouchables. I love comedy, and I'm irritated by it. I have illusions, I have no illusions. I love to write, but only under perfect circumstances. The more I know about comedy, the more I want a sabbatical from it. My third eye is near-sighted. I need some sort of corrective lens on my soul. But there's no time for all that, so I just keep squinting, not seeing anything with clarity.
At least the Puppybowl's on.
