Do you like balloon animals? Oh, of course you do. Take a look at this balloon animal. You can also check out this website if you want a preview of what Stephen and his guest will most likely be talking about.
Hint: It has something to do with tonight's guest. I'm looking forward to it. And of course, we will also get to see Part Two of Stephen's Dressage Training. One can only imagine. You don't want to miss tonight's episode.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Stephen Colbefrajilympic Expealacoverage '012
Stephen is correct. They do open the Olympics with the Half Time Show. Everyone is waiting for Dressage, so they should open with that event.
Of course Rafalca will be in London, and lest anyone wonders, Dressage is Legal!
When Stephen was in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, we got to see him do Speed Skating. On Tuesday, we will get to see him do Dressage. (Horse Ballet) To accomplish this sport, he traveled to Hawthorne Hill in Long Valley, New Jersey and met with former Olympian Michael Barisone. Stephen dressed appropriately. He asked appropriate questions of Michael Barisone, such as "What is it?" and "What are you doing?" and "How do you get the skates on the horses?"
I think you are going to want to watch on Tuesday for sure or else catch that episode at Colbert Nation on Wednesday. Stephen is going to get his Dressage on. And just so you know, dressage sort of rhymes with massage. I would hate for you to be embarrassed down at your local bar by pronouncing it wrong.
Tony Robbins is a motivational speaker, which I guess means come listen to me talk and oh by the way, give me lots of money. Well, I don't know, maybe it's not a lot of money. But Stephen did remind us that if we were going to attend one of his conferences, not to settle for the cheap general admission seats at $595, but to go for the diamond premiere seats at $2595. Those seats are in front sections and you get a free lunch on Friday and Saturday. So, well worth it. I know how much I hate having to buy my own lunch when I go to seminars, conferences and workshops. You may also have heard about Tony Robbins being in the news lately. It seems 21 people were burned when they walked on coals. Who knew? Except I did notice in the Wikipedia entry on Tony Robbins this quote about the incident: "A representative of the fire department said they discourage people from walking over hot coals." Like I said, Who knew?
Not to be outdone, Stephen will soon have his own set of seminars, "Roll in a Pit of Broken Glass." Sounds like fun. Go on over to http://www.seminaroutsiders.com to learn more.
Joan Rivers was Stephen's guest and would you believe, it was one joke after another. She has a new book out, "I Hate Everyone ... Starting With Me."
I wonder what it would be like to have Tony Robbins and Joan Rivers do a seminar together. One presenter would be telling the audience that they can do anything they put their mind to. The other one would be telling the audience she hates them. Now that would be worth the $2595 seats!
Of course Rafalca will be in London, and lest anyone wonders, Dressage is Legal!
When Stephen was in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, we got to see him do Speed Skating. On Tuesday, we will get to see him do Dressage. (Horse Ballet) To accomplish this sport, he traveled to Hawthorne Hill in Long Valley, New Jersey and met with former Olympian Michael Barisone. Stephen dressed appropriately. He asked appropriate questions of Michael Barisone, such as "What is it?" and "What are you doing?" and "How do you get the skates on the horses?"
I think you are going to want to watch on Tuesday for sure or else catch that episode at Colbert Nation on Wednesday. Stephen is going to get his Dressage on. And just so you know, dressage sort of rhymes with massage. I would hate for you to be embarrassed down at your local bar by pronouncing it wrong.
Tony Robbins is a motivational speaker, which I guess means come listen to me talk and oh by the way, give me lots of money. Well, I don't know, maybe it's not a lot of money. But Stephen did remind us that if we were going to attend one of his conferences, not to settle for the cheap general admission seats at $595, but to go for the diamond premiere seats at $2595. Those seats are in front sections and you get a free lunch on Friday and Saturday. So, well worth it. I know how much I hate having to buy my own lunch when I go to seminars, conferences and workshops. You may also have heard about Tony Robbins being in the news lately. It seems 21 people were burned when they walked on coals. Who knew? Except I did notice in the Wikipedia entry on Tony Robbins this quote about the incident: "A representative of the fire department said they discourage people from walking over hot coals." Like I said, Who knew?
Not to be outdone, Stephen will soon have his own set of seminars, "Roll in a Pit of Broken Glass." Sounds like fun. Go on over to http://www.seminaroutsiders.com to learn more.
Joan Rivers was Stephen's guest and would you believe, it was one joke after another. She has a new book out, "I Hate Everyone ... Starting With Me."
I wonder what it would be like to have Tony Robbins and Joan Rivers do a seminar together. One presenter would be telling the audience that they can do anything they put their mind to. The other one would be telling the audience she hates them. Now that would be worth the $2595 seats!
Friday, July 27, 2012
It's Not a Contest, But I'm Winning
Stephen totally enjoys the Olympics, but finds the sweet sound of victory to be the best part. It can sometimes be difficult for sound technicians to do their job. For example, trying to get the sound of oars in the water while a helicopter is buzzing overhead. So, they cheat. Wait, wait, it's not all that bad. They just get good samples of the sounds before the competitions and then use that during the games. No problem. Also no fun. Stephen had fun sounds for many of the competitions. I think ratings would soar if they used his ideas. We also found out what a fun place the Olympic Village is.
We learned more about Mitt Romney's visit to the UK and got to see video clips of him putting his best foot forward. Stephen can't wait to see him in Israel. I'm sure we will hear about that leg of the journey.
Is there such a thing as a fake teenager? Apparently, yes there is. Here's the story. In short, Chick-fil-A's president Dan Cathy only supports what he says is the biblical definition of marriage and family. Then the Muppets stopped supporting the restaurant. Then a Facebook account of one Abby Farle appeared suddenly and the photo looked exactly like a stock photo of a teenage girl. You know, one of those photos of smiling people that you can buy and use in your magazine ads and save the expense of having to hire a photographer and model. Wow, Chick-fil-A really fowled up!
Sir Peter Westmacott, British Ambassador to the U.S. was the guest tonight. First off, I have to say that I loved his red socks. The two cleared up how to address each other. Sir Peter is just a Sir, while Stephen is a Sir in addition to many other things, including Heavyweight Champion of the World. We Americans do enjoy a special relationship, (lot of that going around lately) with the British in that we share a language, a culture, and business dealings to name just a few things. The two Sirs talked a lot about the Olympics and also about how to be an ambassador. So it was an interesting discussion with no conflict. It's a great way to head into the Olympics.
We learned more about Mitt Romney's visit to the UK and got to see video clips of him putting his best foot forward. Stephen can't wait to see him in Israel. I'm sure we will hear about that leg of the journey.
Is there such a thing as a fake teenager? Apparently, yes there is. Here's the story. In short, Chick-fil-A's president Dan Cathy only supports what he says is the biblical definition of marriage and family. Then the Muppets stopped supporting the restaurant. Then a Facebook account of one Abby Farle appeared suddenly and the photo looked exactly like a stock photo of a teenage girl. You know, one of those photos of smiling people that you can buy and use in your magazine ads and save the expense of having to hire a photographer and model. Wow, Chick-fil-A really fowled up!
Sir Peter Westmacott, British Ambassador to the U.S. was the guest tonight. First off, I have to say that I loved his red socks. The two cleared up how to address each other. Sir Peter is just a Sir, while Stephen is a Sir in addition to many other things, including Heavyweight Champion of the World. We Americans do enjoy a special relationship, (lot of that going around lately) with the British in that we share a language, a culture, and business dealings to name just a few things. The two Sirs talked a lot about the Olympics and also about how to be an ambassador. So it was an interesting discussion with no conflict. It's a great way to head into the Olympics.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
American Experience
I never get tired of hearing the audience chanting, "Stephen. Stephen. Stephen." And neither does Stephen. It goes right to his heart, almost keeping it beating. He seems to have a special relationship with his audience that is special.
Not unlike what Mitt Romney said on the first leg of his World Tour about a special relationship. He started in the UK (United Kingdom or England or Britain, whatever) and made headlines there at the Guardian. "Disconcerting" is what he said about the Olympics being held in London. Oops.
Mitt Romney's campaign also talked about the special relationship Romney would have with the UK because of his Anglo-Saxon heritage. Stephen explained that that could be code for WASP, meaning White Anglo Saxon Protestant, but since Romney only said Anglo Saxon, Stephen suggested you could leave off the W and the P when referring to Romney.
Every time I play Scrabble, I always try to get the word "that" on the Scrabble board and then I claim that "that" refers to Quiznos and try to claim the score for that word instead of for "that." That strategy never works. Oh, well. But now there is confusion, some of it intentional about the word "that" in presidential politics. You can read about "You Didn't Build That" over at Huffington Post. President Obama was talking about, basically, working together to get things done. Funny story. Stephen showed clips of Mitt Romney saying almost the exact same thing that Barack Obama had said. It's hard to bash someone if you keep agreeing with him.
However, Stephen was also a bit upset about that comment as it relates to him personally. He built the show, The Colbert Report, by himself. To prove it, he sent his whole staff on a permanent break and was able to do "The Word" with just a simple desk lamp, his iPhone, and a dry erase board. The dry erase marker, well that was a bit of a problem. I'm happy to report that everyone, including Stephen, came back after the break.
Stephen's guest tonight was Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. While Stephen suggested that a moment of silence is fitting after a gun violence tragedy, Dan Gross suggested that there are ways that we can prevent people from being killed by guns while still protecting our Second Amendment rights. Go on over to WeAreBetterThanThis.org to read more.
Not unlike what Mitt Romney said on the first leg of his World Tour about a special relationship. He started in the UK (United Kingdom or England or Britain, whatever) and made headlines there at the Guardian. "Disconcerting" is what he said about the Olympics being held in London. Oops.
Mitt Romney's campaign also talked about the special relationship Romney would have with the UK because of his Anglo-Saxon heritage. Stephen explained that that could be code for WASP, meaning White Anglo Saxon Protestant, but since Romney only said Anglo Saxon, Stephen suggested you could leave off the W and the P when referring to Romney.
Every time I play Scrabble, I always try to get the word "that" on the Scrabble board and then I claim that "that" refers to Quiznos and try to claim the score for that word instead of for "that." That strategy never works. Oh, well. But now there is confusion, some of it intentional about the word "that" in presidential politics. You can read about "You Didn't Build That" over at Huffington Post. President Obama was talking about, basically, working together to get things done. Funny story. Stephen showed clips of Mitt Romney saying almost the exact same thing that Barack Obama had said. It's hard to bash someone if you keep agreeing with him.
However, Stephen was also a bit upset about that comment as it relates to him personally. He built the show, The Colbert Report, by himself. To prove it, he sent his whole staff on a permanent break and was able to do "The Word" with just a simple desk lamp, his iPhone, and a dry erase board. The dry erase marker, well that was a bit of a problem. I'm happy to report that everyone, including Stephen, came back after the break.
Stephen's guest tonight was Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. While Stephen suggested that a moment of silence is fitting after a gun violence tragedy, Dan Gross suggested that there are ways that we can prevent people from being killed by guns while still protecting our Second Amendment rights. Go on over to WeAreBetterThanThis.org to read more.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
This Week in Dim Light
"Watching late night TV causes depression." That's what some scientists over at Ohio University are saying. Hamsters viewed dim lights at night and then they were unhappy. Maybe I don't have that exactly right. Go read about it over here at Reuters. What I wonder about then is, if I am a hamster, should I be staying up to watch The Colbert Report? And should I then sit at my computer typing away? Of course, I do have the bright overhead light on, so maybe it will be okay.
Stephen admitted that his main reason for doing the show was to depress hamsters. To do this, he has included segments such as "Elusive Water Bottle," "That Wheel is Getting You Nowhere," and "This Week in Dim Light." That's strange. I watch all the time and I don't remember ever seeing those segments. Oh great! Now I'm losing my memory. That is depressing.
It's hot. Not right now and not right here, but I think you all know it has been a hot summer. In fact, some say it even rivals the droughts of the Dust Bowl. Stephen had Stormy Nimbus on with an update about the heat this summer and then welcomed Bruce Babcock of Iowa State to the show through the miracle of some kind of a satellite hookup. He knew a lot about corn. The corn crop has not done well this summer in Iowa because of the hot dry conditions. Stephen is not too worried because he doesn't eat a lot of corn. However, there's more to the story than that. Cows eat corn and cows give milk which is made into cheese which goes on pizza. Ahhh. Now Stephen is paying attention. And chickens eat corn and we get eggs from chickens. So, we can expect the price of eggs to go up. Luckily, the vast majority of farmers in Iowa have crop insurance, so it won't be total disaster for them. Stephen pointed out to Babcock that it seems like that is Obamacare for Corn.
James Fallows was Stephen's guest on the show tonight. He came on the show just like he was supposed to. No backing out for him at the last minute. I am sure Stephen was relieved that his guest showed up. It can't be fun when someone cancels at the last minute.
The two of them discussed "China Airborne," the latest book by James Fallows. Both Stephen and James Fallows had an interest in the airplanes flying over China. For James, it seemed to be the fact that the stewardesses were all basically quite new to the industry and therefore quite young. For Stephen it was that whole taking off and landing part that intrigued him. China has the airlines but is trying to get into the aircraft business. They are working very hard on getting all of this off the ground so to speak, and have plans to build 100 new airports in the near future.
That was about it for the show which was sad because the two of them had just gotten started discussing honey roasted peanut technology. If only Stephen had asked about that first thing into the interview, we could have learned he secrets of that tempting snack. That gives me an idea for a late night treat.
Stephen admitted that his main reason for doing the show was to depress hamsters. To do this, he has included segments such as "Elusive Water Bottle," "That Wheel is Getting You Nowhere," and "This Week in Dim Light." That's strange. I watch all the time and I don't remember ever seeing those segments. Oh great! Now I'm losing my memory. That is depressing.
It's hot. Not right now and not right here, but I think you all know it has been a hot summer. In fact, some say it even rivals the droughts of the Dust Bowl. Stephen had Stormy Nimbus on with an update about the heat this summer and then welcomed Bruce Babcock of Iowa State to the show through the miracle of some kind of a satellite hookup. He knew a lot about corn. The corn crop has not done well this summer in Iowa because of the hot dry conditions. Stephen is not too worried because he doesn't eat a lot of corn. However, there's more to the story than that. Cows eat corn and cows give milk which is made into cheese which goes on pizza. Ahhh. Now Stephen is paying attention. And chickens eat corn and we get eggs from chickens. So, we can expect the price of eggs to go up. Luckily, the vast majority of farmers in Iowa have crop insurance, so it won't be total disaster for them. Stephen pointed out to Babcock that it seems like that is Obamacare for Corn.
James Fallows was Stephen's guest on the show tonight. He came on the show just like he was supposed to. No backing out for him at the last minute. I am sure Stephen was relieved that his guest showed up. It can't be fun when someone cancels at the last minute.
The two of them discussed "China Airborne," the latest book by James Fallows. Both Stephen and James Fallows had an interest in the airplanes flying over China. For James, it seemed to be the fact that the stewardesses were all basically quite new to the industry and therefore quite young. For Stephen it was that whole taking off and landing part that intrigued him. China has the airlines but is trying to get into the aircraft business. They are working very hard on getting all of this off the ground so to speak, and have plans to build 100 new airports in the near future.
That was about it for the show which was sad because the two of them had just gotten started discussing honey roasted peanut technology. If only Stephen had asked about that first thing into the interview, we could have learned he secrets of that tempting snack. That gives me an idea for a late night treat.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Heavyweight Champion of the World
Mike Tyson was supposed to be on the show tonight, but he was a "no show." Tyson canceled this morning and Stephen had an excellent explanation for us about why Mike Tyson did not show up for an interview on The Colbert Report. Because of this, Stephen can now legitimately claim to be the Heavyweight Champion of the World. Mike Tyson has a one-man show on Broadway and Stephen urged folks to go see the show, or better yet, promise you will for weeks and then don't.
Moving on. Stephen played a short clip from Fox News of Shepard Smith asking Carl Cameron if Mitt Romney was wearing Mom Jeans. Stephen admitted that he was a long time fan of Fox News, and also of the walk-in bathtubs that are advertised on that network. But I sure did not expect to hear a reference to Mom Jeans in political reporting on Fox News.
Stephen also talked briefly about the recent shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Folks can go over to GivingFirst.org to support victims of the Aurora Shooting.
Stephen's guest tonight, his actual, on-the-set guest, was Vikram Gandhi. This part gets kind of confusing for me and I think even Stephen was a bit confused. Kumare is a real film about a fake documentary about the true story about a false prophet. Maybe it's just better if you go to the website and see the movie trailer. You can also head over to Kumare.org and read a bit more about, well, about Kumare.
Now comes the time when I put the labels on this post and I have a dilemma. Do I put Mike Tyson in as one of the labels? He did not show up to be on the show. However, Stephen did talk about him. What to do .... what to do. Oh, I'll just put his name out there and you can ignore it if you want to. Problem solved.
Moving on. Stephen played a short clip from Fox News of Shepard Smith asking Carl Cameron if Mitt Romney was wearing Mom Jeans. Stephen admitted that he was a long time fan of Fox News, and also of the walk-in bathtubs that are advertised on that network. But I sure did not expect to hear a reference to Mom Jeans in political reporting on Fox News.
Stephen also talked briefly about the recent shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Folks can go over to GivingFirst.org to support victims of the Aurora Shooting.
Stephen's guest tonight, his actual, on-the-set guest, was Vikram Gandhi. This part gets kind of confusing for me and I think even Stephen was a bit confused. Kumare is a real film about a fake documentary about the true story about a false prophet. Maybe it's just better if you go to the website and see the movie trailer. You can also head over to Kumare.org and read a bit more about, well, about Kumare.
Now comes the time when I put the labels on this post and I have a dilemma. Do I put Mike Tyson in as one of the labels? He did not show up to be on the show. However, Stephen did talk about him. What to do .... what to do. Oh, I'll just put his name out there and you can ignore it if you want to. Problem solved.
Friday, July 20, 2012
John McCain, Michele Bachmann, and Baloney
Senator John McCain took to the Senate Floor recently and talked about the character, reputation and patriotism of one person and how it relates to the very soul of America. Politico posted a clip of parts of the speech by Senator John McCain defending Huma Abedin.
Jon Stewart, Michele Bachmann, and Bacon
I admit it. I also watch Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. I hope this does not offend Stephen. I am still able to laugh, cheer, and applaud Stephen's show even though I typically just laughed, cheered and applauded Jon's show. I found this over at Huffington Post so that now you too can watch part of last last night's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Don't you just love charts?
I'm Melting
Stephen's top story tonight was his encouragement of senior citizens to become more tech savvy. He also presented some excellent rationale for why this is important. So come on seniors, learn how to surf those internets.
But on with more pressing issues. LIBOR - London Inter Bank Offered Rate. It's a big deal. It's good and bad. And Stephen had Dave Leonhardt, New York Times Washington Bureau Chief, on the show to explain it all to Stephen. Stephen then condensed it down to Cupcakes Good, Terrorists Bad. So, that helped me understand it.
Canada has new polymer hundred dollar bills. This is great news. Unfortunately, if they get too hot, they can melt. Talk about your money burning a hole in your pocket. I'm going to recommend that Canadians start putting ice cubes in their pocket or wallet from now on to take care of this minor inconvenience of a shrinking dollar.
Stephen's guest was Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Stephen has a nice automobile with a button or knob to control the climate within his car. So he doesn't quite understand Ms. Jackson's fascination with keeping the environment so clean and pure. Ms Jackson state that back in Richard Nixon's time, we had rivers that would burn. Thus the catalyst for the EPA. (Of course Stephen thinks that a burning river is just a good source of alternative energy.)
To help Stephen understand, she talked about mercury. It is toxic to the brain and is manifested in children. What we get is a loss in IQ for those of the younger persuasion. She had other examples and there is a whole lot of info at the website.
Stephen made a prediction of sorts at the end of the show. Whether or not it comes true , I don't know, but it did get a grin and a slight chuckle from guest Lisa Jackson.
But on with more pressing issues. LIBOR - London Inter Bank Offered Rate. It's a big deal. It's good and bad. And Stephen had Dave Leonhardt, New York Times Washington Bureau Chief, on the show to explain it all to Stephen. Stephen then condensed it down to Cupcakes Good, Terrorists Bad. So, that helped me understand it.
Canada has new polymer hundred dollar bills. This is great news. Unfortunately, if they get too hot, they can melt. Talk about your money burning a hole in your pocket. I'm going to recommend that Canadians start putting ice cubes in their pocket or wallet from now on to take care of this minor inconvenience of a shrinking dollar.
Stephen's guest was Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Stephen has a nice automobile with a button or knob to control the climate within his car. So he doesn't quite understand Ms. Jackson's fascination with keeping the environment so clean and pure. Ms Jackson state that back in Richard Nixon's time, we had rivers that would burn. Thus the catalyst for the EPA. (Of course Stephen thinks that a burning river is just a good source of alternative energy.)
To help Stephen understand, she talked about mercury. It is toxic to the brain and is manifested in children. What we get is a loss in IQ for those of the younger persuasion. She had other examples and there is a whole lot of info at the website.
Stephen made a prediction of sorts at the end of the show. Whether or not it comes true , I don't know, but it did get a grin and a slight chuckle from guest Lisa Jackson.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Jay the Intern
Stephen jumped right into politics and showcased Mitt Romney and his empathy for the average American worker. Recently at a fundraiser dinner in Mississippi, he said this:
"I know that people in this room are probably doing relatively well ... but not everyone in America is doing so well right now. ... The waiters and waitresses that come in and out of this room and offer us refreshments, they're not having a good year."
Sometimes people like Mitt just need to connect with the common people. Stephen has the same need to connect. He invited Jay the Intern to come out so that Jay could get some of that great Stephen Colbert sympathy. See, this really is just not good for either Mitt or Stephen. When you talk about people in front of them, especially if you are showing sympathy because you think their life is so miserable, it kind of ticks them off. Jay the Intern is doing quite well thank you very much. Other than the fact that he is paid Zero dollars each week and gets no lunch breaks. But at least he is around Stephen Colbert, so that must count for something.
Edifi. No it's not a way to use up your last five Scrabble tiles. It's a Christian tablet. No, not something you bring to Sunday School to draw on. Okay, let me explain. Stephen had a short segment about it. It's like an iPad, except it's for Christians. It's already family friendly in that there is a safe browser. It has lots of Bible translations. It's an e-reader. I'm not explaining it very well. Here's a YouTube video that shows more about it. It even comes with buttons, such as Power and Volume. You might want to turn off the music while you watch the video. It's a bit, ummm, a bit, well, just turn it off when you watch the video.
"I'm all about formality. Anise..." A little humor there to welcome the mayor of Houston, Texas. Anise Parker was Stephen's guest. Did you know that Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States? Did you know that Mayor Anise Parker is one of the first openly gay mayors of a metropolitan center? Houston is doing quite well according to Stephen. No wonder if you listen to Mayor Anise Parker. They have jobs, good food, Johnson Space Center, jobs, large medical center, air conditioning, jobs, large port, and jobs. Sounds like a good place to visit. And obviously, lots of people live there.
"I know that people in this room are probably doing relatively well ... but not everyone in America is doing so well right now. ... The waiters and waitresses that come in and out of this room and offer us refreshments, they're not having a good year."
Sometimes people like Mitt just need to connect with the common people. Stephen has the same need to connect. He invited Jay the Intern to come out so that Jay could get some of that great Stephen Colbert sympathy. See, this really is just not good for either Mitt or Stephen. When you talk about people in front of them, especially if you are showing sympathy because you think their life is so miserable, it kind of ticks them off. Jay the Intern is doing quite well thank you very much. Other than the fact that he is paid Zero dollars each week and gets no lunch breaks. But at least he is around Stephen Colbert, so that must count for something.
Edifi. No it's not a way to use up your last five Scrabble tiles. It's a Christian tablet. No, not something you bring to Sunday School to draw on. Okay, let me explain. Stephen had a short segment about it. It's like an iPad, except it's for Christians. It's already family friendly in that there is a safe browser. It has lots of Bible translations. It's an e-reader. I'm not explaining it very well. Here's a YouTube video that shows more about it. It even comes with buttons, such as Power and Volume. You might want to turn off the music while you watch the video. It's a bit, ummm, a bit, well, just turn it off when you watch the video.
"I'm all about formality. Anise..." A little humor there to welcome the mayor of Houston, Texas. Anise Parker was Stephen's guest. Did you know that Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States? Did you know that Mayor Anise Parker is one of the first openly gay mayors of a metropolitan center? Houston is doing quite well according to Stephen. No wonder if you listen to Mayor Anise Parker. They have jobs, good food, Johnson Space Center, jobs, large medical center, air conditioning, jobs, large port, and jobs. Sounds like a good place to visit. And obviously, lots of people live there.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
321-781-9999
Rachel is apparently in Florida now. That's what the caller ID said when she called. And what a surprise to hear from her again since she always says it will be the last notice to get such a wonderful rate.
If you haven't looked at the other posts about telemarketers, you may not be aware of how often she calls. It always sounds urgent, that's because she says that it's urgent. Credit Card???? Final Notice???? Whaaaaaaaaaaaatttt? (Just check out some of the other phone numbers in Labels.)
Rachel keeps moving to different phone numbers. But she is always up to her old tricks. Don't buy into it. If it was a good deal, she wouldn't keep calling after claiming it was the final notice.
Here's an idea. I don't know if it works or not, but when Rachel is done talking, stay on the line. Wait until the operator talks about "If you want to make a call, hang up and try again. If you need assistance, hang up and then call your operator." Well, it's something like that. For sure hang up when the operator starts her recorded message, because soon that very loud and annoying ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah will come on and scare the pants off you. But maybe, maybe, it keeps one of Rachel's phone lines tied up for a few seconds longer and she can't make quite as many telemarketing calls.
So, stay on line after Rachel talks, but hang up when you hear the operator talk.
This is just another service I offer to the readers here. You're welcome.
If you haven't looked at the other posts about telemarketers, you may not be aware of how often she calls. It always sounds urgent, that's because she says that it's urgent. Credit Card???? Final Notice???? Whaaaaaaaaaaaatttt? (Just check out some of the other phone numbers in Labels.)
Rachel keeps moving to different phone numbers. But she is always up to her old tricks. Don't buy into it. If it was a good deal, she wouldn't keep calling after claiming it was the final notice.
Here's an idea. I don't know if it works or not, but when Rachel is done talking, stay on the line. Wait until the operator talks about "If you want to make a call, hang up and try again. If you need assistance, hang up and then call your operator." Well, it's something like that. For sure hang up when the operator starts her recorded message, because soon that very loud and annoying ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah will come on and scare the pants off you. But maybe, maybe, it keeps one of Rachel's phone lines tied up for a few seconds longer and she can't make quite as many telemarketing calls.
So, stay on line after Rachel talks, but hang up when you hear the operator talk.
This is just another service I offer to the readers here. You're welcome.
None of the Above
Did you know that in Nevada, you can vote for "None of the Above?" Republicans in Nevada are worried that Romney would lose votes to the ever popular Mr. Above and are trying to get that taken off the ballot. Personally, I think they should be careful. They could wind up getting it changed to All of the Above which would be just as bad. And besides, there just isn't enough room in the White House for everybody to be the winner.
Stephen is a big fan of the Youth. He pointed out that Obama is winning the Youth vote, 43% over Romney's 26%. We learned in The Word that Texas has a way to fix that. Luckily the Texas Board of Education has helped by re-writing textbooks. Now the 2012 Republican Party Platform in Texas has many ideas for fixing education. They oppose the teaching of Critical Thinking Skills. I guess it is just to confusing to have all those children learn how to look at facts, look at opinions, and think. Much better and way easier to just be told what to think. If you want to read the whole Report of Platform Committee, go to this article in Talking Points Memo and click on the link at the end of the article.
Stephen blames all this support for critical thinking skills on Galileo. Everything was going fine, everybody was feeling happy until Galileo got a telescope for Christmas and wrecked it for everyone. It used to be good enough to believe that the Earth went around the Sun. Now, thanks to Galileo, we have had to change our thinking in order to believe that the Earth goes around the Sun!
If you did indeed watch The Colbert Report, you were in for a nice surprise about Stephen and his many awards. If you did not watch it, I won't spoil the surprise. But you can read about it here.
Stephen's guest was Nas. It was about five years ago that Nas was on the show and received the famous Colbert Bump. His album went to number one. Stephen hopes that this time, his album will go to number zero. Stephen is trying to be sincerely kind, but I don't think he understands the concept of Number One.
Stephen is a big fan of the Youth. He pointed out that Obama is winning the Youth vote, 43% over Romney's 26%. We learned in The Word that Texas has a way to fix that. Luckily the Texas Board of Education has helped by re-writing textbooks. Now the 2012 Republican Party Platform in Texas has many ideas for fixing education. They oppose the teaching of Critical Thinking Skills. I guess it is just to confusing to have all those children learn how to look at facts, look at opinions, and think. Much better and way easier to just be told what to think. If you want to read the whole Report of Platform Committee, go to this article in Talking Points Memo and click on the link at the end of the article.
Stephen blames all this support for critical thinking skills on Galileo. Everything was going fine, everybody was feeling happy until Galileo got a telescope for Christmas and wrecked it for everyone. It used to be good enough to believe that the Earth went around the Sun. Now, thanks to Galileo, we have had to change our thinking in order to believe that the Earth goes around the Sun!
If you did indeed watch The Colbert Report, you were in for a nice surprise about Stephen and his many awards. If you did not watch it, I won't spoil the surprise. But you can read about it here.
Stephen's guest was Nas. It was about five years ago that Nas was on the show and received the famous Colbert Bump. His album went to number one. Stephen hopes that this time, his album will go to number zero. Stephen is trying to be sincerely kind, but I don't think he understands the concept of Number One.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Bain Pain
Everything fell apart, apparently, while Stephen was on vacation. Case in point. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got divorced. Also, Anderson Cooper acknowledged that fact that he is gay. Stephen could not believe that. "If that man is gay then I'm secretly a liberal," is how he put it
Quickly Stephen moved on to politics. The hot topic now is Mitt Romney's elusive answers about his job at Bain Capital. Mitt Romney says he left Bain Capital in 1999 to work on the Olympics in Salt Lake City. But in filings with SEC in 2002, he listed himself as sole shareholder, sole director, Chief Executive Officer and President at Bain. But if you know how to phrase it, it is easy. He retroactively retired in 2002 back to 1999, according to Ed Gillespie. So, that couldn't be any clearer, could it?
Stephen's guest last night was Anne-Marie Slaughter. She wrote an article for the Atlantic, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." For most working women, the demands are too much, she said. Women still do 2/3 of the housework and 2/3 of the child care. Stephen solved her problem. He told her to just not do it. Don't do so much of the housework. Don't do so much of the child care.
Is there any problem he can't solve?
Quickly Stephen moved on to politics. The hot topic now is Mitt Romney's elusive answers about his job at Bain Capital. Mitt Romney says he left Bain Capital in 1999 to work on the Olympics in Salt Lake City. But in filings with SEC in 2002, he listed himself as sole shareholder, sole director, Chief Executive Officer and President at Bain. But if you know how to phrase it, it is easy. He retroactively retired in 2002 back to 1999, according to Ed Gillespie. So, that couldn't be any clearer, could it?
Stephen's guest last night was Anne-Marie Slaughter. She wrote an article for the Atlantic, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." For most working women, the demands are too much, she said. Women still do 2/3 of the housework and 2/3 of the child care. Stephen solved her problem. He told her to just not do it. Don't do so much of the housework. Don't do so much of the child care.
Is there any problem he can't solve?
Monday, July 16, 2012
People Matter
I was going to write a blog on procrastination before Stephen comes back from vacation because I have actually been, yes, procrastinating on posting here. After thinking about what I should write, and somehow linking it all together into a post on procrastination, I changed my mind. That doesn't change the fact that I have been, I admit it, a bit lazy in not being as prolific as someone like Stephen Colbert. On the other hand, it is summer and it is nice to just sit back and watch the flowers grow and the clouds move across the sky.
But, on with the show. First, Ann Curry. She is gone from the Today Show. You can read all about it all over the web so I won't go into detail. I will just say that I admire her quite a lot. A Lot. I remember some years back I noticed that her hair was sure getting long. Well, turns out she grew it long enough to have it cut and donated to Locks of Love. She is brave enough to bungee jump (Tom Hanks gave her a score of 9.8) and she has been around the world to most of the trouble spots so that we are informed of conflicts and wars, hurricanes and earthquakes. I don't know Ann Curry, but she does seem to me to be someone who is quite gracious, humble, intelligent, upbeat and professional. That sounds a lot like Stephen Colbert, doesn't it? So, Ann Curry, you matter.
Wait a minute. Not quite done yet on that subject. I went over to see what Ann Curry had to say at Twitter. I scrolled down a few entries to 29 May where she wrote: "What love looks like." Go look. Isaac and Amy, you matter. So do your friends and family.
Before he went on vacation, I assume to help this great country celebrate Independence Day, Stephen had Melinda Gates on as a guest. (You may know her as the wife of Bill Gates.) Melinda and Bill have lots of money and Stephen graciously offered to take $100 million from her for his Super PAC or Spooky PAC and no one would ever have to know. But, that's not what she had in mind. She prefers that her money and her work be quite a bit more transparent than a Super PAC. The type of thing that she likes to do is saving people's lives by providing great vaccinations, or bed nets so people in tropical areas don't get malaria. She also wants to provide family planning for people around the world. This is important -- Women die if they can't space their children further apart or if they have them when they are too young. Stephen gave her an opinion of contraception and she reported to him that 90% of Americans find contraception morally acceptable. So, go visit the website no-controversy.com and read the stories. If you don't like the format of horizontal scrolls, simply go to the bottom of the screen and click on "View All." Sometimes, it is really eye-opening to read the stories of people from other cultures and other countries to get a better perspective of why this is so important. Melinda Gates, you matter. Girls of the world, you matter.
Monday night Stephen will be back on The Colbert Report. It seems like it's been forever since he was on the air. Patience is a virtue I know. I'm just saying it will be nice to see him again so we can find out what is happening in our country and in the world. Stephen, you matter too. And to those people reading this, you also matter. A lot.
But, on with the show. First, Ann Curry. She is gone from the Today Show. You can read all about it all over the web so I won't go into detail. I will just say that I admire her quite a lot. A Lot. I remember some years back I noticed that her hair was sure getting long. Well, turns out she grew it long enough to have it cut and donated to Locks of Love. She is brave enough to bungee jump (Tom Hanks gave her a score of 9.8) and she has been around the world to most of the trouble spots so that we are informed of conflicts and wars, hurricanes and earthquakes. I don't know Ann Curry, but she does seem to me to be someone who is quite gracious, humble, intelligent, upbeat and professional. That sounds a lot like Stephen Colbert, doesn't it? So, Ann Curry, you matter.
Wait a minute. Not quite done yet on that subject. I went over to see what Ann Curry had to say at Twitter. I scrolled down a few entries to 29 May where she wrote: "What love looks like." Go look. Isaac and Amy, you matter. So do your friends and family.
Before he went on vacation, I assume to help this great country celebrate Independence Day, Stephen had Melinda Gates on as a guest. (You may know her as the wife of Bill Gates.) Melinda and Bill have lots of money and Stephen graciously offered to take $100 million from her for his Super PAC or Spooky PAC and no one would ever have to know. But, that's not what she had in mind. She prefers that her money and her work be quite a bit more transparent than a Super PAC. The type of thing that she likes to do is saving people's lives by providing great vaccinations, or bed nets so people in tropical areas don't get malaria. She also wants to provide family planning for people around the world. This is important -- Women die if they can't space their children further apart or if they have them when they are too young. Stephen gave her an opinion of contraception and she reported to him that 90% of Americans find contraception morally acceptable. So, go visit the website no-controversy.com and read the stories. If you don't like the format of horizontal scrolls, simply go to the bottom of the screen and click on "View All." Sometimes, it is really eye-opening to read the stories of people from other cultures and other countries to get a better perspective of why this is so important. Melinda Gates, you matter. Girls of the world, you matter.
Monday night Stephen will be back on The Colbert Report. It seems like it's been forever since he was on the air. Patience is a virtue I know. I'm just saying it will be nice to see him again so we can find out what is happening in our country and in the world. Stephen, you matter too. And to those people reading this, you also matter. A lot.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Higgs Boson
Higgs Boson has been in the news a lot lately. A lot! What would big (oops, small) exciting news be without a good joke to go along with the news? I found this over at Motleynews. Enjoy or groan, as you wish.
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