"I do not envy whoever they try to put in that chair." So said Stephen (way last week) about the retirement of late night TV host David Letterman.
As you may know, I get nearly all my news from Stephen Colbert, so it was a shock to learn that Dave is retiring. And yes, I can't imagine who they will get to replace him. Stephen has been on vacation this week, so there was virtually no way for me to find out if CBS has found a replacement yet. (I don't know, maybe I should have looked at some other news shows or read a newspaper, just in case there was any important info.) This retirement announcement does make me sad. Although I don't watch Dave as much as I watch Stephen, I have sort of a routine at night. I get my news from Stephen and then flip over to CBS sometimes to see what Dave is talking about. Somehow I'll get used to this change in some of my late night viewing habits.
Stephen talked about Botox which is being used to treat depression, but one of the side effects can be sadness, so, duh? Prescott Pharmaceuticals has better products, Vacsa-Meh and Vac Daniels.
Stephen and Bill O'Reilly have a Mutual Appreciation Society going on. Said Stephen, "I admire Bill and so does he." But Bill has a problem with equality or inequality or something like that. He says no one is equal to anyone else. (Wow, didn't he read the Declaration of Independence, the part about "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," ?) Anyway, Stephen had many examples to share about Bill O"Reilly and explained that he "agrees with every word Papa Bear says, even if the words he (Bill) says don't agree with each other." Papa Bear has many words to explain the ways of the world: Bing bing bing, bing, bing, bing, bing.)
Sting, who has had a musical career stretching, what, about 70 years or so, was on the show to talk about and sing about The Last Ship. I think the song sounds exactly how a song about the "last ship" should sound. Good job Sting.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Executive Leadership Skills
I sort of feel like there's not really that much happening lately. Of course there is always news, but nothing that really jumps out and grabs everyone's attention. Oh, well.
There is the Heartbleed cyber attack on computers. I don't even want to talk about it much in case that would be how my computer catches it. And for sure I'm not putting up a link because I don't know if it is safe or not. Yikes.
Andrew Sullivan, author of The Dish, was on to hash it out with Stephen about various matters as it pertains to Gay Rights. He was actually quite civil and cordial and it took Stephen by surprise.
Sheryl Sandberg was Stephen's guest last night to talk about her new book, "Lean in" and also to talk about the importance of encouraging young girls to be all they can be.
So, maybe there will be some news that hits the media waves soon, but for now, not that much happening.
There is the Heartbleed cyber attack on computers. I don't even want to talk about it much in case that would be how my computer catches it. And for sure I'm not putting up a link because I don't know if it is safe or not. Yikes.
Andrew Sullivan, author of The Dish, was on to hash it out with Stephen about various matters as it pertains to Gay Rights. He was actually quite civil and cordial and it took Stephen by surprise.
Sheryl Sandberg was Stephen's guest last night to talk about her new book, "Lean in" and also to talk about the importance of encouraging young girls to be all they can be.
So, maybe there will be some news that hits the media waves soon, but for now, not that much happening.
Where in the World is Ukraine
Some Americans do not know where Ukraine is. Actually a lot don't know. According to one survey, only about 1 in 6 (16 percent) could put the mark in Ukraine on a map of the world. Of course, readers of this blog would do much better because they are most certainly smart and also because people from all over the world, including Ukraine, read this blog.
Some people say that "enhanced interrogation" is a great way to get information. Others say that we got little information that was useful.
But here's what Newt Gingrich had to say back in February: "Anybody who's seen Oh Dark Thirty knows that there are pretty good arguments that those interrogations gave us a lot of intelligence information..."
Jane Goodall stopped over to chat with Stephen and to encourage him to let out his inner chimp. He did it well. It was a wonderful interview and rather than detail it here, go watch the show online if you did not see it or check out some links here, or here, or here.
Some people say that "enhanced interrogation" is a great way to get information. Others say that we got little information that was useful.
But here's what Newt Gingrich had to say back in February: "Anybody who's seen Oh Dark Thirty knows that there are pretty good arguments that those interrogations gave us a lot of intelligence information..."
Jane Goodall stopped over to chat with Stephen and to encourage him to let out his inner chimp. He did it well. It was a wonderful interview and rather than detail it here, go watch the show online if you did not see it or check out some links here, or here, or here.
Always Have Been ... 2/3 or 3/5? What...
John Ellis Bush (Jeb) shot himself in the foot, figuratively not literally, by appearing to have a soft place in his heart for some illegal immigrants. The New York Times is printing some divorce announcements in order to, I guess, provide equal time with marriage announcements. Alaska is not in favor of using drones for hunting. Mazda is recalling vehicles because spiders spin webs in the car and that could cause fire problems.
Here's how I would solve one of those problems. Alaska should consent to having drones hunt spiders in Mazdas. Hunters, drones, Mazdas and to a lesser degree, spiders will thank me.
Mitch McConnell. Okay, I'm going to say it. Look at his name. He is using MM, cC, nn, and ll to spell his name. No wonder all the youngsters today are just using 140 characters to write stuff. Mitch McConnell is hogging letters, using them twice when he could get by just using them once. Well, I'll admit he probably does need an M for Mitch and an M for McConnell, but he is being a bit selfish with the rest of the letters. He could just spell it Mconel, right?
Anyway, his primary opponent, Matt Bevin, got pecked by Stephen for speaking at a controversial event. In his defense, he didn't know what he was doing. Stephen explained it well. Also, people did it in the past, so it's patriotic. "I mean the Founding Fathers were all, many of them, very actively involved in this and always have been."
Great. I solved one problem in this post. Now Matt Bevin has created one. Just imagine those illegal immigrants coming here and they decide to learn English. They listen to what Matt Bevin said and try to learn from it. They learn that "all" and "many of them" can be used interchangeably. They learn that people who lived more than 200 years ago may have done something in the past but they continue to do it even now. No wonder people have a hard time learning the English language. They are listening to Americans speak it.
Stephen interviewed Edward Frenkel, Professor of Math at Berkely, and it got somewhat steamy. I won't go into detail because I do not have any photos. You know what I mean. Although they talked about a lot of stuff, including Edward Frenkel's book, "Love and Math - the Heart of Hidden Reality," let's just summarize by saying that if you love Stephen Colbert, and we all do, then you should love math. I only wish Stephen could have had Edward Frenkel on the show on 3/14. They could have shared a nice apple pi.
Here's how I would solve one of those problems. Alaska should consent to having drones hunt spiders in Mazdas. Hunters, drones, Mazdas and to a lesser degree, spiders will thank me.
Mitch McConnell. Okay, I'm going to say it. Look at his name. He is using MM, cC, nn, and ll to spell his name. No wonder all the youngsters today are just using 140 characters to write stuff. Mitch McConnell is hogging letters, using them twice when he could get by just using them once. Well, I'll admit he probably does need an M for Mitch and an M for McConnell, but he is being a bit selfish with the rest of the letters. He could just spell it Mconel, right?
Anyway, his primary opponent, Matt Bevin, got pecked by Stephen for speaking at a controversial event. In his defense, he didn't know what he was doing. Stephen explained it well. Also, people did it in the past, so it's patriotic. "I mean the Founding Fathers were all, many of them, very actively involved in this and always have been."
Great. I solved one problem in this post. Now Matt Bevin has created one. Just imagine those illegal immigrants coming here and they decide to learn English. They listen to what Matt Bevin said and try to learn from it. They learn that "all" and "many of them" can be used interchangeably. They learn that people who lived more than 200 years ago may have done something in the past but they continue to do it even now. No wonder people have a hard time learning the English language. They are listening to Americans speak it.
Stephen interviewed Edward Frenkel, Professor of Math at Berkely, and it got somewhat steamy. I won't go into detail because I do not have any photos. You know what I mean. Although they talked about a lot of stuff, including Edward Frenkel's book, "Love and Math - the Heart of Hidden Reality," let's just summarize by saying that if you love Stephen Colbert, and we all do, then you should love math. I only wish Stephen could have had Edward Frenkel on the show on 3/14. They could have shared a nice apple pi.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Bill O'Reilly is No Einstein
There have now been at least 200 Holy Grails found, but Stephen found the original actual real one. He drank from it and other than burning his tongue, nothing happened, so he will live forever. Yea!
Bill O'Reilly is the first one to admit his own flaws. He is a weakling compared to Shaq O'Neal, who is, according to Bill O'Reilly 'bigger and stronger than I am by nature." He's also no Einstein, no Mozart or no Mother Teresa. Did anyone else wonder what he meant by the phrase "by nature?" Stephen went on to complete Bill O'Reilly's list by comparing him to other people and objects. I never realized before how many people and things Bill O'Reilly isn't.
Basically, it seems as if Bill O'Reilly is not in favor of equality. Of course, the presence of equality is very different than the absence of inequality. But again I remind you that Bill O'Reilly admits he is no Einstein, so that probably is the reason for the confusion on Bill's part.
Stephen's guest last Thursday was Mark Mazzetti, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and New York Times security correspondent. He and Stephen talked about Mark Mazzetti's new book, "The Way of the Knife - The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth."
Bill O'Reilly is the first one to admit his own flaws. He is a weakling compared to Shaq O'Neal, who is, according to Bill O'Reilly 'bigger and stronger than I am by nature." He's also no Einstein, no Mozart or no Mother Teresa. Did anyone else wonder what he meant by the phrase "by nature?" Stephen went on to complete Bill O'Reilly's list by comparing him to other people and objects. I never realized before how many people and things Bill O'Reilly isn't.
Basically, it seems as if Bill O'Reilly is not in favor of equality. Of course, the presence of equality is very different than the absence of inequality. But again I remind you that Bill O'Reilly admits he is no Einstein, so that probably is the reason for the confusion on Bill's part.
Stephen's guest last Thursday was Mark Mazzetti, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and New York Times security correspondent. He and Stephen talked about Mark Mazzetti's new book, "The Way of the Knife - The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth."
Thursday, April 3, 2014
10% Happier
Last night Stephen talked about Climate Change and how Tennessee plans on executing prisoners on death row.
So it was with much relief that his guest was Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier" How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works -- A True Story.
Reading that title meant that Stephen had almost no time left for the interview. But Dan Harris did tell Stephen and the audience members how to meditate.
1. Sit with your spine straight.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Concentrate on your breathing.
I always had trouble meditating. I would worry about all the things we worry about. Dan Harris talked about that. If your mind starts wandering, bring it back to just concentrating on your breathing.
Good advice. Everyone try it. You probably will be 10% happier.
So it was with much relief that his guest was Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier" How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works -- A True Story.
Reading that title meant that Stephen had almost no time left for the interview. But Dan Harris did tell Stephen and the audience members how to meditate.
1. Sit with your spine straight.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Concentrate on your breathing.
I always had trouble meditating. I would worry about all the things we worry about. Dan Harris talked about that. If your mind starts wandering, bring it back to just concentrating on your breathing.
Good advice. Everyone try it. You probably will be 10% happier.
Sí, Se Puede
Sometimes I spend so much time researching the topics that Stephen covers on the show that I lose track of the time. I have been learning more about the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) and also Cesar Chavez.
Over 7 Million Americans have signed up for Private Health Coverage. (At this point, Stephen took time to give a shout-out to Karl Rove and his life partner, Boardie.) Good news, yes, but now there will be 7 million people in the waiting room when Stephen goes to the doctor.
And I got distracted again reading something about Karl Rove by Wayne Madsen. It's from a few year's back so I won't put the link here. You can Google those two names if you want to read about it.
Stephen also talked about Unionized Football. Most interesting to me was what he said about Northwestern University. He noted that Northwestern University graduates some quality people with excellent educations. He has a bit of history there, considering he went there and he spoke there.
Stephen's guest was John Malkovich. He is an Executive Producer for the movie "Cesar Chavez - History is Made One Step at a Time" and also has a part in the movie. Cesar Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona. You may know Arizona as the state where Senator John McCain, who was born in Panama Canal Zone, lives.
Stephen had many questions for John Malkovich about Cesar Chavez. Other than the answers to the fashion questions, I would sum up his answers in one word - Fairness. So, go see the movie and enjoy that lettuce in your dinner salad and the grapes in your fruit salad tonight while you are eating supper.
They ended the interview by talking about the stylish Technobohemian clothes that John Malkovich was wearing. I looked at the SS 2014 collection and there's a lot of neat stuff there. Nice drawings on that scarf, too.
Over 7 Million Americans have signed up for Private Health Coverage. (At this point, Stephen took time to give a shout-out to Karl Rove and his life partner, Boardie.) Good news, yes, but now there will be 7 million people in the waiting room when Stephen goes to the doctor.
And I got distracted again reading something about Karl Rove by Wayne Madsen. It's from a few year's back so I won't put the link here. You can Google those two names if you want to read about it.
Stephen also talked about Unionized Football. Most interesting to me was what he said about Northwestern University. He noted that Northwestern University graduates some quality people with excellent educations. He has a bit of history there, considering he went there and he spoke there.
Stephen's guest was John Malkovich. He is an Executive Producer for the movie "Cesar Chavez - History is Made One Step at a Time" and also has a part in the movie. Cesar Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona. You may know Arizona as the state where Senator John McCain, who was born in Panama Canal Zone, lives.
Stephen had many questions for John Malkovich about Cesar Chavez. Other than the answers to the fashion questions, I would sum up his answers in one word - Fairness. So, go see the movie and enjoy that lettuce in your dinner salad and the grapes in your fruit salad tonight while you are eating supper.
They ended the interview by talking about the stylish Technobohemian clothes that John Malkovich was wearing. I looked at the SS 2014 collection and there's a lot of neat stuff there. Nice drawings on that scarf, too.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
The Twit Hit the Fan
Horror of horrors. I turn away for just a day or two and the The Colbert Report is in danger of being canceled. AHhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
The show started off last night with the awning being taken down from the studio, with the staff removing their desk belongings in cardboard boxes and leaving the studio, and scenes of despair. (By the way, for those of you who are of the Playdate Plaza generation, that Native American with the tear, well, he was from a famous ad campaign to stop people from littering.)
Luckily, it was just a nightmare Stephen was experiencing due to stressful events in his life.
In "Who's Attacking Me Now?" Stephen exposed that some have called for his show to be canceled after he aired information about his Foundation that he started. #CancelColbert was trending all weekend long. The misunderstanding arose because of a character on the show that is not Stephen Colbert. And it is strange, explained Stephen, that communicating via 140 characters, could cause misunderstanding.
Now, there have been misunderstandings and innuendo and excuses and news reports and calls for the The Colbert Report to be canceled and claims of racism. Any of you out there who need clarification should do what Stephen did to learn about tolerance, read Michelle Malkin's book, "In Defense of Internment - The Case for 'Racial Profiling' in World War II and the War on Terror."
Stephen pointed out that all of this happened over the weekend when the show does not air and so in essence he was canceled for three days. Who else was canceled for three days? Jesus.
Stephen shut down his Foundation and pledged that the money would be donated to Dan Snyder's "The Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation." Stephen also fired JaMes, or James as he likes to be called. He immediately offered JaMes an new intern opportunity.
Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, was Stephen's guest and admitted that at one time he said about hashtags that it was the nerdiest thing he's ever heard and that no one would do that. Biz and Stephen obliterated @ColbertReport. Twitter fans should now go to @StephenAtHome.
Biz Stone came back for yet more interview. They talked about Jelly which is wonderful on a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. They also talked about Biz Stones new book, "Things a Little Bird Told Me - Confessions of the Creative Mind."
The show started off last night with the awning being taken down from the studio, with the staff removing their desk belongings in cardboard boxes and leaving the studio, and scenes of despair. (By the way, for those of you who are of the Playdate Plaza generation, that Native American with the tear, well, he was from a famous ad campaign to stop people from littering.)
Luckily, it was just a nightmare Stephen was experiencing due to stressful events in his life.
In "Who's Attacking Me Now?" Stephen exposed that some have called for his show to be canceled after he aired information about his Foundation that he started. #CancelColbert was trending all weekend long. The misunderstanding arose because of a character on the show that is not Stephen Colbert. And it is strange, explained Stephen, that communicating via 140 characters, could cause misunderstanding.
Now, there have been misunderstandings and innuendo and excuses and news reports and calls for the The Colbert Report to be canceled and claims of racism. Any of you out there who need clarification should do what Stephen did to learn about tolerance, read Michelle Malkin's book, "In Defense of Internment - The Case for 'Racial Profiling' in World War II and the War on Terror."
Stephen pointed out that all of this happened over the weekend when the show does not air and so in essence he was canceled for three days. Who else was canceled for three days? Jesus.
Stephen shut down his Foundation and pledged that the money would be donated to Dan Snyder's "The Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation." Stephen also fired JaMes, or James as he likes to be called. He immediately offered JaMes an new intern opportunity.
Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, was Stephen's guest and admitted that at one time he said about hashtags that it was the nerdiest thing he's ever heard and that no one would do that. Biz and Stephen obliterated @ColbertReport. Twitter fans should now go to @StephenAtHome.
Biz Stone came back for yet more interview. They talked about Jelly which is wonderful on a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. They also talked about Biz Stones new book, "Things a Little Bird Told Me - Confessions of the Creative Mind."
Snakes on an Ark
All the major news shows are trying to appeal to young viewers by enhancing their studio with tons of bells and whistles that should bring in the youth. Really though, when they do that, they are just daring Stephen to do it better. And of course he does, with help from Charlie Rose. His Playdate Plaza is something everyone wants a part of.
Darren Aronofsky, director of the movie Noah, about a man and his boat, was on last Thursday. Noah is a guy who had a whole bunch of animals on his boat. I wonder if he had any black swans...
Darren Aronofsky, director of the movie Noah, about a man and his boat, was on last Thursday. Noah is a guy who had a whole bunch of animals on his boat. I wonder if he had any black swans...
The Washington Redskins Redskins Foundation
Stephen talked sports and politics last Wednesday, so a change from the previous night when it was religion. One of these days he will get around to the weather. The game of Golf is losing golfers. Face it, kinda boring. Stephen had a way to spruce it up, jazz it up, and make it exciting again. His idea is good. I hope someone will grab the ball and dribble with it, so to speak, and change the game of golf to make it interesting again.
Also in sports, Dan Snyder. He has a new foundation. I did some quick Googling and picked one of the results at random here. Stephen also talked about his new own new Foundation that has some similarities but also some differences from that of Dan Snyder. Neither one of these Foundations is likely to generate much news beyond initial announcement, so I'll move on.
Errol Morris was Stephen's guest. He has a film out soon, "The Unknown Known". It is about "What you didn't know you didn't know." Okay, it's starting to sound spooky. I hope there isn't any spooky music in the film. The film is about Donald Rumsfeld, so probably not going to be a romantic comedy.
Grab some popcorn and get ready to be entertained/informed.
Also in sports, Dan Snyder. He has a new foundation. I did some quick Googling and picked one of the results at random here. Stephen also talked about his new own new Foundation that has some similarities but also some differences from that of Dan Snyder. Neither one of these Foundations is likely to generate much news beyond initial announcement, so I'll move on.
Errol Morris was Stephen's guest. He has a film out soon, "The Unknown Known". It is about "What you didn't know you didn't know." Okay, it's starting to sound spooky. I hope there isn't any spooky music in the film. The film is about Donald Rumsfeld, so probably not going to be a romantic comedy.
Grab some popcorn and get ready to be entertained/informed.
Billy Beer
It's getting to be the busy time of year for me. So much to do, so little time. And of course that's when the important stuff happens. So, catching up again.
President Jimmy Carter was the focus of an entire show. That doesn't happen very often. Stephen talked about Jimmy Carter and the Jimmy Carter Library & Museum, but unfortunately, he kept getting confused and talking about Ronald Reagan. Eventually he was able to stay on track and talk about Jimmy Carter.
Jimmy Carter has yet another book out, "A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power" twenty-eight books and counting!!! I found this about him doing a book signing. (I bet he could write a blog entry pretty darn fast also.) You may also be aware that he builds houses for Habitat for Humanity. In fact, the two men talked about that on the show. These houses are not just given away to people. The recipients of the house have to help build them and they have to buy the houses. Talk about your "teaching a man to fish" story. I think Stephen was gaining a lot of respect for this man who is a lot more liberal that Stephen is. Note to readers: Stephen Colbert is a Conservative. Just ask him.
No interview would be complete without a discussion of religion and so Stephen Colbert, who is Catholic, waded into the subject of religion with Jimmy Carter who is Baptist. Although the two did not try to convert each other, Jimmy Carter did reveal he would consider becoming Catholic if the current Pope Francis stays in office and if a female Catholic priest invited him to join her church. (Awkward.)
You can read a lot more about Jimmy Carter over at Wikipedia. We all know Stephen has a lot of awards but you should take a look at how many Jimmy Carter has! Also interesting over at that Wikipedia link is a memory young Jimmy Carter had of a sermon. "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" That has influenced how he lives his life and why he continues to help people around the world including working to eradicate Guinea worm disease..
President Jimmy Carter was the focus of an entire show. That doesn't happen very often. Stephen talked about Jimmy Carter and the Jimmy Carter Library & Museum, but unfortunately, he kept getting confused and talking about Ronald Reagan. Eventually he was able to stay on track and talk about Jimmy Carter.
Jimmy Carter has yet another book out, "A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power" twenty-eight books and counting!!! I found this about him doing a book signing. (I bet he could write a blog entry pretty darn fast also.) You may also be aware that he builds houses for Habitat for Humanity. In fact, the two men talked about that on the show. These houses are not just given away to people. The recipients of the house have to help build them and they have to buy the houses. Talk about your "teaching a man to fish" story. I think Stephen was gaining a lot of respect for this man who is a lot more liberal that Stephen is. Note to readers: Stephen Colbert is a Conservative. Just ask him.
No interview would be complete without a discussion of religion and so Stephen Colbert, who is Catholic, waded into the subject of religion with Jimmy Carter who is Baptist. Although the two did not try to convert each other, Jimmy Carter did reveal he would consider becoming Catholic if the current Pope Francis stays in office and if a female Catholic priest invited him to join her church. (Awkward.)
You can read a lot more about Jimmy Carter over at Wikipedia. We all know Stephen has a lot of awards but you should take a look at how many Jimmy Carter has! Also interesting over at that Wikipedia link is a memory young Jimmy Carter had of a sermon. "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" That has influenced how he lives his life and why he continues to help people around the world including working to eradicate Guinea worm disease..
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