Bob Ross. The artist with the voice of a babbling brook and the hair of a filigree bush. Who, coincidentally, mostly paints babbling brooks and filigree bushes. Despite Mitt Romney's attempts to crush it, PBS remains at the forefront of cutting edge public television, and I'm sure once sales of Bob Ross' The Joy of Painting DVD set skyrocket, they're going to be rolling in enough dough that when I settle in to watch Celtic Woman specials I won't have to deal with constant interruptions by overweight middle aged women talking about how powerful and moving Celtic Woman is (like I don't already know) and grubbing for donations. Hopefully Bob Ross will get some of the kickbacks too. Oh, nope, he died in 1995. I just Googled it.

But his memory, his brushstrokes, and his Wet-on-Wet technique of laying down the paint aren't just living, but thriving, in The Joy of Painting set of 10 DVDs. Nine, one-hour instructional sessions cover subjects such as Peace Offerings of Summer, Winter Glory, Grandeur of Summer, Autumn Stream, Winter Harmony, Winter Nocturne, Seascape with Lighthouse, Times Past, and Summer Reflections. The tenth DVD includes a Getting Started session that teaches aspiring artists how to hold their brushes (hint: just like chopsticks) and squirt their paints in perfectly rotund blobs onto their Bob Ross-style palette. Yah. Tzee. Ladies, gentlemen, I'll tell you one thing for sure: anyone who gifts a Joy of Painting series to their s.o. today is getting laid tonight.

English and German tracks are included. Slightly surprising given that Bob Ross is famous for his warm and patient style, and Germans...aren't.

Bob Ross vs. Mr. Rogers in the ring. Who wins?