Blog by Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset founder
TiVo = 48-Pack of Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups
Hi, reader. I wrote this in 2006 and it's now more than five years old. So it may be very out of date; the world, and I, have changed a lot since I wrote it! I'm keeping this up for historical archive purposes, but the me of today may 100% disagree with what I said then. I rarely edit posts after publishing them, but if I do, I usually leave a note in italics to mark the edit and the reason. If this post is particularly offensive or breaches someone's privacy, please contact me.
My hometown paper, the Stockton Record, is now "The Record: First In San Joaquin!" Like many papers, they had lots of forgettable strips, and a few likeable ones. The neat trick is that this formulation works no matter who you are, because you might like "Mary Worth" and "Gil Thorp" while I'm a fan of "Beetle Bailey." (I'm not.) TV has hundreds of channels and 48 half-hour slots in the day, while the ordinary newspaper funnies page has to satisfy just as diverse a demographic with twenty syndicated strips. Pop quiz: would you rather buy the variety pack, or just the flavor you like best? I think the chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast, like "Zits," was better because it was next to the vanilla (or "Garfield").
