Here we see Bob Garfield and Brooke Gladstone of On the Media, trying hard to look like they never received a Peabody Award
I get it, I really do. There are only so many humorous coffee mugs and tote bags with which to tantalize your listeners. Plus, you’re radio, and it’s difficult to compete visually. My mom has a coffee mug she got from a PBS pledge drive that pictures the TARDIS from Doctor Who; it disappears when you pour a hot beverage into it. You cannot compete with that kind of brilliant novelty!
But temporary tattoos? I know traditional tattoo flash has been appropriated and saturated to the point of white noise, especially to irreverent ends, but this is literally the last crowd I wanted to see it on. I love NPR! And I have traditional tattoos, too (as does my father), but this is not a chocolate and peanut butter situation for me.
I don’t care if this idea came from the golden brain of Ira Glass, himself. You can’t sell me on an NPR crowd that plays dress-up with working-class aesthetics. It’s just… not cute.
Really? REALLY?!?