R. Sargent Shriver, R.I.P.

There are a few who spend their careers on the good side of the light. There is never a hint of darkness in their lives. They serve their country so well that when it is their time to take the exit, they leave behind so many who mourn their passing.

R. Sargent Shriver, the founding director of the Peace Corps, the architect of President Lyndon B. Johnson's war on poverty, the United States ambassador to France and the Democratic candidate for vice president in 1972, he was one of the few. He died Tuesday, He was 95.

Mr Shriver stepped into the public spotlight as a member of the Kennedy Administration He was a Kennedy in-law, that was a label, not the definition of who he was. He was a man who answered America's call for us to do and to be better.

R. Sargent Shriver, R.I.P.

Item from the Associated Press -- "He was often known as a member of the Kennedy family, through his late wife, Eunice. But Sargent Shriver had his own share of historic achievements. Shriver died Tuesday at a hospital in suburban Washington. He was 95." See the video.

Just Call Me a Gleek

After a lot of peer gushing (though not so much peer pressure) and, okay, the lure of so many Golden Globe Awards, I decided to watch the TV show Glee last night. I had declined from watching it for so long because of my disdain for television programs in general (particularly comedies, as I’ve never found TV comedies to be funny in the past—especially when my parents watched crap like Friends or Everybody Loves Raymond) and for its popularity. I’m not one to despise something just because it’s popular (otherwise I’d hate my loves in life—Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings), but with something this mainstream and popular, I suspected that it had to suck.

Whether it’s my age (transcendence into true unconventional adulthood rather than a post-adolescent surly nonconformist) or the transformation of modern television, I’m not sure, but I’m now a giant fan of Glee. Call me a Gleek and wrap me up in a Journey sheet music sheet—I watched six episodes last night (to my horror, chagrin, and sleepiness) and nearly kept watching them well into the dawn, except that my eyes kept shutting themselves.

Okay, I was also scared, because I’ve recently become addicted to another TV show—Supernatural—that my best friend got me watching. Though I’d watched the episode days before, I still had trouble sleeping—so why not watch Glee instead?

The show is fabulous. It’s got the singing and music that Americans crave—and I knew most of the songs, which could make me old or contemporary, depending on which episode it was—along with a bit of drama, a ton of comedy, and the always-hilarious Jane Lynch. What I really loved about it was its humanization of teachers. We always look at them like they are gods that can do no wrong when we are children, when they are really just as human as we are—with just as many problems as we have.

Of course, the main reason I love the show is how it handles the people on the bottom rungs of the social ladder—though I would argue that they don’t go far enough. Sure, the outcasts get thrown into the garbage, a port-a-potty, and even doused with drinks, but they’re mostly good looking, which is annoying. Real outcasts have zits and braces and plenty of other differences in the looks department; these outcasts—most of them, anyway—would never have been outcasts in my high school. (Then again, our swing choir, its equivalent, was pretty popular.)

However, I can feel a resonance with each character on the original Glee team—before the cheerleaders join—which is why I think it’s so popular to begin with.

Art from Lint?

Item from the Associated Press -- "A northern Michigan lady has put her own spin on Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper by making a replica out of laundry lint. Laura Bell of Roscommon collected lint from her dryer and fashioned it into a 14-foot-long, 4-foot tall reproduction of the Italian Renaissance painter's masterpiece."

Well, I've heard that from the trash can come art. Now it's from lint? The lint caught in the laundry dryer? Well, from anywhere can come something very interesting, if one has the talent.

Ms. Bell said that she had to do a lot of laundry to get the lint, eight hundred hours. She brought towels of the colors in the painting to get lint in the colors that she needed, and she spent two hundred hours perfecting her lint "masterpiece."

Ms, Bell's art is bound for one of the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums, where already on display is a replica of da Vinci's Last Supper, made from a grain of rice, a dime and burned toast.

Hawaii Lei Guinness World Record Beaten

It is a sad day for us all.

It has been reported by Radio New Zealand International that the title held by Hawaii in regards to longest length of lei has been officially beaten. The new title holder, Tahiti, officially produced a record breaking lei that was approximately 8,840 feet this past September 2010.

It is a sad day for all Hawaiians, and indeed all Americans. What is Hawaii without having the world record for longest lei? I guess all we have now is chocolate covered macadamia nuts, bright floral shirts, and spam sandwiches.

The Hockey Crowd and the Little Girl

There is a video on the net of this hockey crowd that helps a young girl with the National Anthem, after her microphone turns off in the middle of her performance.

The little girl, eight year old Elizabeth Hughes, was singing the anthem beautifully, until the problem with the microphone. The crowd reacted beautifully, giving her an assist. See the video.

My take on this? A hockey crowd? America, this shows maybe three important things about hockey fans.

Number One: All hockey fans aren't like that crowd in the days of ancient Rome, who went to the games in the Coliseum to see fights, blood and mayhem, and didn't care about anything but seeing fights, blood and mayhem.

Number Two: If a time machine was possible and if a fight could be arranged between Attila the Hun and Saint Francis of Assisi, not all hockey fan could be counted on to root for Attila the Hun.

Number Three: Hockey fans may have little girls in their families too.

Why Take a One-Way Trip to Mars?

NASA announced last year that it plans to send people to the planet Mars in the near future, but because Mars is so far away, a trip to Mars would be so expensive, so that the best way to send people to Mars would be on a one way trip. Well, a few days ago ABC's Ned Potter did a feature on settling the Red Planet. See the video.

My take on a one way trip to Mars?  Question 1: Would I go?  Question 2: Do I think anyone should volunteer?

To the question would I go? No.  To the question: Do I think anyone should volunteer? Well, if  a person owes the IRS and can't afford to pay? Maybe?  If a person has no life on this planet? Perhaps. If a person has a condition that would improve on a planet with less gravity? Why not? Other than that, I wouldn't recommend a one-way ticket to LA for anybody. Certainly not a one way ticket to Mars.

The strongest man in the world?

The NBC Today show reported on a man who broke two world records. The man, who the NBC report says is nicknamed Dallas, is from Morocco. Check out the Today show video. The man pulls three buses and one SUV with his hair, and then has 350 concrete blocks broken over his head. The stunts? Accomplishments are hard to believe.

I do try to rationalize things. Maybe a bit too much. I saw this video and my first response was to gasp, "fake!"

I thought: That just has to be a fake.

But the man set two world records. Two verified records. The man looks stout enough, and just the sort of dude who could do what he is on record as doing. Then I thought: why would anyone want to do this? The strain on his head has to be more than a little strain. Of course, I knew the answer. They man is hoping to be paid. Some people don't mind straining or hurting themselves for money, for attention, for appreciation.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

David Nelson, R.I.P.

How did this happened? An era ended, The pages closed on 1950s TV.

David Nelson, the last member of the very talented family of Nelsons of the hit series The Adventures of Ossie and Harriet, has died. He was 74.

David Nelson died Tuesday at his Los Angeles home. He was the last remaining member of America's central TV family of the 1950s, which included his father, the actor and bandleader Ozzie, his mom, the singer and actor, Harriet, and his younger brother, the teen idol; Rick. Ozzie Nelson said years ago that some of the story lines of the series were taken from the lives of the family..

David Nelson and his brother Rick grew up on television. The Nelsons family show ran from 1952 to 1966 for 320 episodes. Yes, it was hokum, fun, no problems in the family, just good clean humor. There is nothing wrong with wholesomeness. There is nothing wrong with spending a half hour with light entertainment. Yes, I spent many of half hours enjoying the TV adventures of the Nelsons.

David Nelson, R.I.P.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rest in Peace, Peter Postlethwaite

While looking up the schedule for this year’s new films (as I tend to do every January), I was sad to learn that Peter Postlethwaite, an actor I’ve admired over the years, passed away just last week on January 2, 2011. Apparently he’d been battling testicular cancer since 1990 and died of the disease after over twenty years of fighting.

Fans will remember the English actor from his long line of starring and supporting roles throughout the last three-plus decades. Most recently, those who saw the popular blockbuster movie Inception will recall him in his role as Maurice Fischer. He had two other roles in large movies in 2010, including playing Spyros in Clash of the Titans (perhaps the best played role in the film) and Fergie Colm in the creepy thriller, The Town.

But me, I’ll always remember him as one of those versatile, amazing character actors I love so much, up there with my other favorites—Vincent D’Onofrio, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Giamatti, Kevin Spacey, and Gary Oldman. He’s one of those guys that everyone wants in their movie (obviously!); he could bring a depth to any character; any minimal or two-dimensional role could come alive when played by Postlethwaite. Remember the priest in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet? (I realize many people hated that movie; I was quite in love with it upon its release—and continue to be with Luhrmann’s films.) The role itself wasn’t a phenomenal one; consult any text of Shakespeare’s to remember that. With Mr. Postlethwaite in the role, however, it easily rivaled the roles of the other legendary characters created by the Bard (perhaps even the epic Mercutio himself).

Postlethwaite also received some critical acclaim in his life—including a well-deserved Academy Award nomination for his role in In the Name of the Father—but for the most part he wasn’t well lauded around the globe. In fact, I’m sure outside of England, if mentioned in conversation, many people wouldn’t know who you were talking about. My own husband couldn’t recall him by name when I mourned him upon learning of his death; of course, when I reminded him of a few of his roles, he too was saddened, remembering his favorite films of Postlethwaite’s (such as The Shipping News and The Constant Gardener).

Mr. Postlethwaite, actors of your caliber are hard to come by in these modern times, and you will be deeply missed. Thank you for your contribution to the arts throughout your life; you will also be well remembered.

Older Men: Who is this Gaga Person?

 

Despite the increasing popularity of Lady Gaga and her extra-ordinary ability to both woo politicians on gay rights issues, sell magazines, wear meat, and remain abstinent from sex, in a recent survey of men sixty years old and above, 97.3% of the respondents could not correctly identify her on a magazine cover. Of the 97.3% who could not identify Lady Gaga, 42% of them believed that she was a very bad Marilyn Monroe impersonator. The surveyers speculated that most of the men would NOT be able to identify Lady GaGa in a police line-up either.

When asked for comment, Lady Gaga replied. “What’s the deal with old men and big glasses?” She further speculated that maybe she just wasn’t on the covers of the right magazines.

Lady GaGa’s publicists are working to correct the problem as a majority of the senators she is attempting to influence are men above the sixty. Some of the strategies mentioned by her publicists to fight her image problem (the image problem being zero name recognition with older crowds) are concerts with old-time crooners, a closer relationship with the AARP (American Association of Retired People), and requesting that magazines use larger print when writing her name so that the elderly will be able to read her name.

Her lack of name recognition among older men has not transcended to either older women or younger people in general. Her publicists are expecting that she will remain a household name for years to come as “Ga-ga” is often the first word spoken by children. (Call me cynical if you will, but I truly believe either she or her publicists thought of that before choosing the moniker “Lady GaGa.”) Others believe that despite what PETA may say, wearing meat will help get you noticed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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