Mr. Rogers: Can there be a better subject for a feature article?

It's really not even fair. I mean what other person can you read about that will have teh same emotional significane for an adult audience as Mr. Rogers? Nobody! He was just so connected to the childhood of so many Americans, that to see (or read technically) him as a actual human being, stepping out of the television and having scars, and flaky skin is truly and absorbing experience. In case you can't tell, I liked this article, even the part with Koko.

It also got me thinking about what my weight could possibly mean... 152... 152... I loved it! HEY HEY!

Anyway, this article is extrememly well written and does a great job painting the character of Mr. Rogers as a real human being, but not just as a regular joe but as an individual. You see his ticks, his interests, his beliefes, his childhood and a million other tiny little details that help the rosy-voiced character from Public Television come to life on the page. It'd be easy to read Mr. Rogers actions in the article as kinda creepy but the author does a good job of giving you the evidence to see that Fred Rogers' is more relaxed and friendly than creepy.

I also like the actual style of the article, all the "Once Upon A Times", the Bold Rogers, the sort of Hero Worship that rings throughout (New Best Quote Ever, "Holy shit! It's Mister Fucking Rogers!" ) And it had a very sombre style towards the end, but it never got sentimental which I think it easily could have. I didn't get choked up or anything (GRRR, I'M A MAN) but damn was that sad when he told his minister he wanted her to be there when he died.

Good read Dr. Z, keep 'em coming!

An American Male at age 21's thoughts on an American Male at age 10

I am either in love with New Yorker articles from the moment I start reading them or I look at them as putrid piles of indulgent bourgeois crap. This one falls somewhere in between. I generally love the New yorker articles that go super indepth on subjects, such as the drug war in Mexico or the whistle language of a remote tribe in Zimbabwe but its the ones that inject their own opinion on top of what could be a good story I feel like Miss Orlean really wanted to project her ideas of innocence onto this poor little Wyoming kid. I feel like she builds him up to be "DAW" worthy cute and then asks him tough questions about polution or Magic Johnsons having AIDS to show that childlike innocence all grownups romanticize and wish they still had.

I couldn't hate the whole article though because, c'mon, he's so damn cute!!!!

"What's the most important thing in the world?"
"Game Boy." Pause. "No, the world. The world is the most important thing in the world."

Personally, the answer to that one is easy. Screw the world.

But something that bothered me the way the story was written that I realize isn't a huge deal but I still feel like pointing out. If the genders were flipped and a middle age writer for the New Yorker spent all his time following around a 5th grade girl adn her friends and asking them questions he'd get locked up and have his van and all its candy confiscated.

I loved the big blocks of quotes she threw in but like a lot of New Yorker articles this thing really could have used a more concise editor to trim it down a little. I also get that sense of condescenion on the middle class you get in some of their articles such as when Colin's talking about how expensive college is and how his mom was in the 4th tier of the publisher's house sweepstakes. I feel like she could've left that out and still maintained his innocence without making him look stupid and poor.

I would've preferred an article from Nintendo Power personally.