I was touched by a story I saw on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer this evening. The story was about how Oregon State University conferred 23 honorary degrees to Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps during WWII. These students were never allowed to graduate from OSU. I know that some people think that apologizing for past behavior (discrimination, racism, slavery, etc.) is unwarranted. I think that these people don't realize that we cannot hide from the sins of our fathers. By expressing remorse, we let the victims of racism and hate know that they are not forgotten, that their pain and suffering has meaning.
You can listen to the MP3 podcast on the NewsHour's PBS site.
7.29.2008
7.27.2008
Highlights of the Day
A few noteworthy events for Saturday:
1. I attended the opening of the St. Peters Obama Campaign office this morning. The turnout was incredible. The number I heard was 125 people, and that's on a Saturday morning. I was happy to be in a room full of Democrats. I've lived in St. Peters for 24 of the 32 years of my life and the Republicans have ruled as long as I realized the difference between the two parties. So I was excited to see the great turnout this morning and to feel the tremendous amount of positive energy. And, I will tell you right now that, at least in St. Peters, people of every age support Barack Obama. There were only a few young people, but the average age was about 50. One of the speakers mentioned that we should be proud to stand up and support Barack Obama. We don't have to hide in the shadows anymore, because we are not alone in this fight.
2. After three years of living in my condo, my dad finally installed the ceiling fan in the guest bedroom. My sister and her family are visiting in two weeks and it gets a bit stuffy in that room. There wasn't too much yelling, which is a bonus, especially since my mom acts as the foreman on the job. =)
3. The gals and I celebrated Laura's birthday a few days early. Laura is working on the Obama campaign and she really needed the break to just hang with friends. The seven of us had a great time. I'll post our photo booth picture tomorrow.
1. I attended the opening of the St. Peters Obama Campaign office this morning. The turnout was incredible. The number I heard was 125 people, and that's on a Saturday morning. I was happy to be in a room full of Democrats. I've lived in St. Peters for 24 of the 32 years of my life and the Republicans have ruled as long as I realized the difference between the two parties. So I was excited to see the great turnout this morning and to feel the tremendous amount of positive energy. And, I will tell you right now that, at least in St. Peters, people of every age support Barack Obama. There were only a few young people, but the average age was about 50. One of the speakers mentioned that we should be proud to stand up and support Barack Obama. We don't have to hide in the shadows anymore, because we are not alone in this fight.
2. After three years of living in my condo, my dad finally installed the ceiling fan in the guest bedroom. My sister and her family are visiting in two weeks and it gets a bit stuffy in that room. There wasn't too much yelling, which is a bonus, especially since my mom acts as the foreman on the job. =)
3. The gals and I celebrated Laura's birthday a few days early. Laura is working on the Obama campaign and she really needed the break to just hang with friends. The seven of us had a great time. I'll post our photo booth picture tomorrow.
7.26.2008
Mad Men
Oh, Mad Men, why did I wait so long to be lured in by your smoky rooms, cool 50's furniture, and smart writing? Seriously, this show is the best drama on TV right now. Kudos to my friends Jenna and Laura for griping at me for not watching this show. I love TV, as you know if you have kept up with the blog, and they wondered why I wasn't drawn in right away. I don't have a good answer for it, but now I'm in like flynn. I just finished watching the season one finale and it was a doozy. I won't ruin it for those of you still planning on jumping on the Mad Men bandwagon.
What I love about the whole show is the cool vibe it has. The set and costume designs are spot on and the casting is perfect. But, the perfect parts are the writing and acting. The tone of the whole show is understated, which I believe is in keeping with how we perceive the 50's and early 60's. The show actually takes place in 1960 and the season finale was set at Thanksgiving of that year. This is the time period before the counter culture of the mid-60's, so everyone was still "straight-laced" and hiding within themselves. The writers understand this perfectly and the actors' execution is flawless.
Most of the dramas out there are so in your face (CSI) or overly dramatic (Desperate Housewives). Mad Men is refreshing in it's quiet tone and desperation, and it's almost painful to watch. The suppression of feelings and desires is so prevalent throughout the show that when someone has a strong reaction the connection to the character feels more real. Tribune TV critic Maureen Ryan goes into more detail on one of her latest blog posts about Mad Men. As mentioned on her blog post, the "slow burn" is the intriguing part of the show and is what definitely captured my interest. I want the build up...the anticipation. I've always found that the best shows don't give you instant gratification.
Plus, for your viewing pleasure, here is the star of the show, Jon Hamm.
What I love about the whole show is the cool vibe it has. The set and costume designs are spot on and the casting is perfect. But, the perfect parts are the writing and acting. The tone of the whole show is understated, which I believe is in keeping with how we perceive the 50's and early 60's. The show actually takes place in 1960 and the season finale was set at Thanksgiving of that year. This is the time period before the counter culture of the mid-60's, so everyone was still "straight-laced" and hiding within themselves. The writers understand this perfectly and the actors' execution is flawless.
Most of the dramas out there are so in your face (CSI) or overly dramatic (Desperate Housewives). Mad Men is refreshing in it's quiet tone and desperation, and it's almost painful to watch. The suppression of feelings and desires is so prevalent throughout the show that when someone has a strong reaction the connection to the character feels more real. Tribune TV critic Maureen Ryan goes into more detail on one of her latest blog posts about Mad Men. As mentioned on her blog post, the "slow burn" is the intriguing part of the show and is what definitely captured my interest. I want the build up...the anticipation. I've always found that the best shows don't give you instant gratification.
Plus, for your viewing pleasure, here is the star of the show, Jon Hamm.
7.25.2008
Tidbits
A couple notes:
Many thanks to Pam for making her own mixtape on Mixwit and inspiring me to make my own.
The live (free) stream for the Dr. Horrible webisodes is over as of July 20. You now have to buy them on iTunes -- good business sense by Joss Whedon and Co.
I've been hooked by Mad Men. I watched six episodes of season 1 tonight and I need to cram in the remaining seven before Sunday night's season premiere. Last year, I caught an episode in the middle and I didn't grasp the nuances of the show (and there are a lot of them). So, if you're going to pick up this show, watch it from the very beginning.
Many thanks to Pam for making her own mixtape on Mixwit and inspiring me to make my own.
The live (free) stream for the Dr. Horrible webisodes is over as of July 20. You now have to buy them on iTunes -- good business sense by Joss Whedon and Co.
I've been hooked by Mad Men. I watched six episodes of season 1 tonight and I need to cram in the remaining seven before Sunday night's season premiere. Last year, I caught an episode in the middle and I didn't grasp the nuances of the show (and there are a lot of them). So, if you're going to pick up this show, watch it from the very beginning.
7.20.2008
Terminator Salvation
Awesome. I'll write more about The Dark Knight a little later today. It's been a long day. I will tell you that one of the highlights was the trailer for the new Terminator movie, Terminator Salvation. I was so shocked. I didn't even know that a new Terminator film was on the books, although I should keep up with my friend Pam's blog. She listed this fact a few weeks ago. Anyway, Christian Bale plays John Connor, and I think he will be perfect for the role. Of course, I think Christian Bale is perfect in anything.
7.18.2008
Dr. Horrible is not horrible.
In fact, Dr. Horrible is fantastically funny. I can't wait for the finale, which will be released tomorrow. I don't want to give it away, but I had a laugh-out-loud moment near the end of Act Two. Neil Patrick Harris is an undeniably talented actor and I never knew that Nathan Fillion could play such a smarmy character with such conviction. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Nathan Fillion, you may know him from his Han Solo-esqe character on the short-lived Fox show Firefly, or the follow-up movie Serenity. Both Firefly and Serenity sprung from the brain of sci-fi genius Joss Whedon, who also happened to produce Dr. Horrible. Oh, he also had a hand in two other mildly successful TV series, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel.
7.17.2008
Colbert on Bud
It's Thursday and I've been running around all week. So, I'm behind on my TV watching, and I missed this great bit by our friend Stephen Colbert on the A-B buyout.
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