My Advice to Conan

It’s been way too long but finally this week Conan is back in my life, but I can’t help but feel slightly let down (don’t get me wrong I’ve enjoyed his show thusfar I just have concerns). Let me start off my saying that I have been a semi-avid watcher of Conan since around 2003-2004 give or take around the time my parents stopped caring what time I went to bed, and I was able to make my own late night television choices. I never liked watching the Daily Show, I never liked Jay Leno or for that matter David Letterman but Conan had something different, a looser more “fun” approach to his show. And after finally going through a short stop at the Tonight Show and the whole “NBC debacle” Conan is now back and better than ever (or is he?)

I can’t help but feel a little like Conan is still clinging on to the show he was trying to build with the “Tonight Show” . A quick visual glance at the new set of “Conan” one can see some striking resemblance’s to his last set. But really the potential problem I see with his show is the fundamental idea that traditional late night talk shows are dying. As politically  polarizing as he is, John Stewart, has a wining formula with the Daily Show. It’s a half-hour, it usually features one guest, and its tailored to showcase John Stewart doing what John Stewart does best, the same could also be said for Stephen Colbert and his “mock” talk show. Even Jimmy Fallon is changing the way late night tv is done by using tools such as twitter and facebook and other mediums to connect to todays audience.

Conan seems to be stuck in his post-Late Night performance. And I know that it’s way too early to tell what direction Conan’s show will take, but I can’t help but feel that he’s not “reaching his full potential”. I don’t know if it’s the advice he’s getting or if he just does things the way he wants to do things but I don’t think he’s utilizing all of his brilliant comedic skills.

I think if Conan can refocus his show to showcase him doing what Conan does best, he might be able to beat the enormous amount competition he faces. Things he does best like his hilarious pre-taped segments, the “Walker Texas Ranger Lever”, and maybe  even limiting his show to one guest. I’m not saying he should carbon copy things that have worked before, but more the creativity it took to do things like that. I just feel that he’s not really doing anything different other than the same old talk show formula.

the fundamental problems surrounding the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Vote

Ok so wether you agree or disagree with the issue of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” you cannot deny that the topic is divisive. I’m not gonna take a side as there are people way more qualified than me that actually know what they’re talking about, and the purpose of this post is not the intellectual argument of the vote.  In my opinion there is a fundamental problem with the way “Washington” approached this vote. The party in power decided that instead of simply voting on this singular issue that they would try to cram in literally dozens of other issues in, in an attempt to have a “blanket” vote.

What the Democrats who pushed this bill forward fail to understand is that if they had simply stuck with this issue as a singular vote, they could have passed it. Instead they decided in their infinite wisdom that they had enough political savvy to sneak in something like amnesty for illegal immigration into the vote. The one Republican that tipped the balance is actually in favor of passing the bill, it was the democrats vote to lose. They had in the bag. Now again let me reiterate I’m not pointing this out because I prefer one side or the other (at least not for this post) I’m simply trying to point to one of the core reasons why Democrats have failed (and believe me they have failed). They fail to see that the American voter hates B.S. and they hate feeling like their being swindled. And not to say that Republicans haven’t been guilty of similar mistakes but right now the Democrats in power have presented a massive failure to understand the average American and his/her concerns.

Whether it be Obamacare, the trillion $ “stimulus”, cap and trade, illegal immigration or even the ground zero mosque, they fail to see what voters want. I actually believe that the people we have elected into office are so blind to what the people want that they genuinely think that they are right no matter what we say and that eventually everyones gonna come around and kneel down before them and beg for forgiveness. Again, you can debate the intellectual merits of all these issues (and I often do) what I’m trying to point out is that politically they have done some very odd things. And come November they will know what the American people have to say about it.

I’m Sorry Sarah Palin

I’m gonna start this off by probably ticking of some conservatives out there by saying that Sarah Palin won’t, can’t, and shouldn’t be the Republican Nominee for President for 2012. I know its way to early to start seriously looking at candidates but being somewhat of a political junky I enjoy speculating. First of all I like Sarah Palin I think she’s a great person, she was a great governor of Alaska, and if I personally knew her I’m sure I would like her. But that being said I will not vote for her should she run in a Republican primary.

The most basic reason is I don’t think she could win. Between some bad moments from the last campaign and her being absolutely taken to the woodshed by the media she is viewed by most Americans and independent voters as a joke. It’s not all her fault but its just the way it is. The second reason is we just disagree on the importance of policy issues. For me personally, conservative social issues like, abortion, same-sex marriage, prayer in schools, and gun rights are just not as important to me as fixing the economy and foreign policy. And finally the third reason is I just can’t see her having enough experience to run this country. The last thing this country needs is another “mascot” that advisors and lobbyist groups control. We need someone who has real solutions and experience who is going to be fiscally conservative and strong on foreign policy.

So Sarah Palin go ahead and write your book, sign copies, go on Oprah, and be the media figure that you seem to want to be. But if you run for President, you will lose. You may win the Republican nomination because of some the neo-cons in the party but you will lose to the Obama machine and we will be stuck yet again with another four years of Obamamania.

Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are

This book is the one I remember most from my childhood, and when they announced a feature film would be made I was skeptical. From past pieces of garbage  such as”The Cat and the Hat” and other less than impressive adaptations, I think everyone was. Rest assured this movie blew me away, Not only is this film a visual masterpiece but the story taken from just a few words translates wonderfully into a full length movie. Now what’s important to remember is that this is not a children’s movie, but a movie about childhood. Instead of going down the rout of your typical brain-dead kids movie full of fart jokes and crappy acting this movie decides to brush all of that away and treat kids seriously. Watching this movie as a 20 year old, the film does a tremendous job of conveying the emotional roller coaster of what it means to be a kid. If I were giving advice to parents I would say not to bring kids to this, they won’t be able to really understand some of the emotions of the different characters and it is a little dark for some ages.

Things I liked:

everything.

Things I didn’t like:

nothing. (I did feel bad for the kids and parents expecting this to be a “kid” movie, PG rating aside, it’s definitely not)

Everyone who has read this book as a child will love this movie. 10/10.

We’re Going Green!

So unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past few years “going green” is the “in” thing to say now or I should say ADVERTISE. It seems like every commercial you see on t.v. these days is all about “we’ve gone green” and “low carbon emissions”. It has almost now trickled into every era of marketing (seriously try watching finding a car commercial that doesn’t mention any thing “green”) . Whether we’re talking about toasters or air conditioners  it’s everywhere. Now before you pen me as one of those Earth-hating- redneck-types that hates recycling, let me assure you I’m not. I firmly believe that taking care of this Earth is not only a “good” thing to do, but I also see it as a biblical cornerstone of our role here on Earth. What I do have a problem with specifically is this ludicrous notion of Global Warming and different people using that as an excuse to exploit people. Global Warming flat out, scientifically has been proven to not exist. Scientists have recently discovered that we haven’t observed any (zip, zero, nada) rise in global temperatures in the past 11 years. ( see this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8299079.stm) There are an overwhelming amount of scientists and meteorologists who all agree that there are natural cycles, over which we have no control, that dictate how warm the planet is. Lets look at another set of facts.

One of the biggest spokespersons for Global Warming as been none other than our friend Mr. Al Gore. While Mr. Gore has been spouting his mouth off over ManBearPig (I mean Global Warming), he has conveniently forgotten to mention a few things. Every time he travels to one of his speaking events he arrives in luxury in his private jet that happens to use 20 times more energy than an average American ever will. He makes statements like, “The world must embrace a “carbon-neutral lifestyle.”, and “We have just 10 years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tailspin.” And yet as he lectures us for our lifestyle he and his wife Tipper live in two properties: a 10,000-square-foot, 20-room, eight-bathroom home in Nashville, and a 4,000-square-foot home in Arlington, Va. (He also has a third home in Carthage, Tenn.) For someone rallying the planet to pursue a path of extreme personal sacrifice, it seems to require little for himself.

I’m sorry if this comes off as a rant but I want make it clear that I have no problem with taking care of the Earth, recycling, or finding other means of energy in fact I think those are things we MUST do. And I’m not saying that everyone who’s a part of the “going green” movement is completely sold out for Global Warming. I’m talking about people who create an imaginary problems and use it as a means to gain political power. (ie: using Cap and Trade as an excuse to further tax an American people that are already suffering in tight times)

The Art of Manliness

I came across a website/blog that I thought was really cool and I wanted to share. The site really reminds me of stuff my grandfather used to say or do, and seems to want to bring back that nostalgia of being a gentleman. The articles can be pretty funny and informative and I wanted to pass it on. You can check it out here: http://artofmanliness.com/

some articles you’ll see on the site:

–how to carve a thanksgiving turkey

-how to shave with a straight razor/ find a good barbershop

-how to score a baseball game with pencil and paper

How High, How Low? [What Grinds my Gears]

I have to drive a lot. Since I commute to school I get to enjoy the amazing experience of driving in rural Georgia. One thing thats had me thinking lately are people that either jack their truck up really high and put on these monster tiers and the people who jack their car down way low where they would be lucky to get through a speed bump. I just don’t get this at all. I mean Why? This is one part of southern heritage that I just cannot connect with at all. This need to have as some people I know have put it, “Jack up your truck”. I mean I can understand if your truck is used with your job and you need to have it jacked up, or something like that but if you don’t it just makes you look like a wannabe poser. I’ve grown up in the south my whole life, and while I certainly have some “redneck” family members, I definitely do not want to be a part of that legacy. Does this bother anyone else but me?

perceptions

I’m still trying to process what happened last week (see previous post) and I came across a book by Rabbi Irwin Kula. In speaking on our perceptions of God he brings up a conversation he had with a scientist which the scientist tells him he doesn’t believe in God. Rabbi Kula responds with “Thats ok, I don’t believe in the God that you don’t believe in either.” He makes the point that in order to reject something you must have an image to reject. For the scientist it was the image of God he was taught growing up, a God who sits in the heavens and judges his every move. The irony in this was that he was no different from the fundamentalist that believes in a judging, angry God, ready to strike him down with a lighting bolt. They’re the same in that they both have the same deffiniton of God. We each have a projection of God. The scientist who trying to explain string theory will tell you not to take this literally in the same way neither are our scared projections to be taken literally.  Rabbi Kula goes on to say that, “Definitions of God should never be confused with God anymore than the description of an orange can capture the taste of an orange.

It’s interesting to look at different  religions names for divinity. In Judaism the most common one is also the most mysterious, it of course is YHWH. Which in English is all consonants and no vowels while in Hebrew it’s all vowels and no consonants. Both ways are unpronounceable, when you try to say it you hear the sound of breath. a simple exhale. It’s supposed to teach us that the name of God is not meant to be spoken. It’s meant to be breathed. The name YHWH comes from the same root in Hebrew as the word becoming. God is always becoming, We will never understand reality in all it’s dimensions. But somehow this not knowing causes us this worried feeling which is why our perceptions get the better of us. Rabbi Kula put its this way, “the challenge is to remember, even in our moments of turbulence, that God is always just outside of our perception, just ahead of where we are.”

where do we go from here?

I had an experience the other day that I now look back on as possibly  the most awkward moment of my life. Basically some “friends” of mine from my old school decided that I needed a faith intervention and when I declined to participate they decided that we no longer needed to hang out anymore. It was pretty tough to hear coming from people that I’ve known almost all of my life. The thing that gets me is that I know they’re good people. I have to believe that they have good intentions. But where did they get this world view of God? This view that because I was baptized differently from them, because I have beliefs that are different from theirs, that I am somehow incomplete. This view that gives them absolute truth that everyone can either join the party or burn. I have come to the conclusion that you can not debate, reason with, or even just politely talk with people like this. Because what we (I) believe is viewed by them as offensive. So where to do we go from here? I honestly don’t know anymore.

A Trip through Time with the David Crowder Band