In a few minutes or so, the new year will start to be ushered into the United States. Those of you outside the United States, especially in countries with only one time zone, may not understand this next part. But it's something I've always wondered about.
At the end of every year, a crystal ball drops in Times Square in New York City to help count down to the new year. It's fun, and it's a festive atmosphere. It's a time of celebration and a time to look forward to new opportunities and experiences.
The problem is that, as many of you know, I live in St. Louis, which is one hour later than the East Coast of the United States. I remember in 1999-2000 because people were celebrating the new millennium, and then again in 2001-2002, because people were trying to move past 9/11, New Year's celebrations were televised live for each time zone in the United States. However, the usual practice of most television networks is that they broadcast the ball drop live on the East Coast, and then rebroadcast it in each time zone when midnight strikes. Here's the main issue: watching it here in the Midwest takes away from the excitement, knowing that the ball drop is not live, and that we're getting the retreads from New York. It's a little anti-climactic, when 12:00 AM on New Year's Day is supposed to be, again, fun and festive. That's why you see everybody with their friends, hanging out, kissing...
Actually, now that I've brought that up, I've spent more years at home watching the ball drop by myself. It's kind of lonely. And I've never had a New Year's kiss either, so those shots of couples kissing at midnight kind of rubs it in. Thing is I can never find a group to hang out with for some reason. As to why, well, that topic is for another day.
I'm sure the lonesomeness adds to the lack of excitement for me (my ex-girlfriend decided to ditch me for her friends one year and said I wasn't invited to the party, for example, when we were dating). Anyway, I've always been curious as to why networks can't just show a New Year's celebration live for each time zone. It would be cool to see something different every hour instead of the same old ball drop every year.
Update (12:03 AM CST): So this year in St. Louis, the Fox station broadcast the New York celebrations on tape delay to coincide with midnight here. The ABC station broadcast live programming, but doesn't mention New Year's CST. All other stations broadcast programming that doesn't even mention New Year's. I feel so insignificant. The Midwest is definitely flyover country, unfortunately.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Merry Christmas Already? It Feels Different Each Year
Christmas was never the biggest deal at our house. It was just another holiday that everybody else celebrated, and since we happened to get the day off as well and it was the thing to do here in America, we went along with it. We rarely made the big production of having everybody over for dinner, singing carols, roasting chestnuts on an open fire, having a huge pile of gifts under the tree. In Taiwan, when my parents were back there, Christmas was only a day off. The big break came in a couple months for Chinese New Year. Plus, it's kind of hard to have a big, raucous family gathering and whatnot when the rest of the family is half a continent and the Pacific Ocean away. But I still got gifts, and we still had a tree, albeit a tiny artificial one initially before we finally got a big artificial one because I was adamant about not wasting a tree each year.
It was always my job to set up the Christmas tree and decorate it. It was fun, but it was more hard work than fun, having to figure out which pieces go where, having to spread the branches out to make it look like a real tree. So one year, I set up the tree halfway and never get around to finishing it. I went off to Los Angeles for a conference, and when I returned the tree was gone, back into its box and never to come out of the basement again. So far anyway.
It's difficult sometimes to be part of an immigrant family. I was born in the United States, and I went to school and work here, so I identify myself as American. I speak Chinese at home, and with the black hair and the yellow skin and other habits I've learned from being a part of my family I identify myself as Chinese. But these holidays that are celebrated in America are not necessarily ones that are big in Asia, and likewise the Chinese holidays are not known here. So we forget a lot of holidays are coming up until they're here, whether it's Eastern ones like the Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, or even Chinese New Year, or Western ones like Thanksgiving or Christmas. When we realize that they've come, we're like, "Oh, it was this holiday. Oops." And for the Western ones, we add, "Well, at least we get a day off."
And that's how Christmas feels like now. I love the idea of the Christmas spirit, the build-up, the atmosphere, the romanticism, the religious aspect. Being with friends and family, giving and receiving gifts, playing in the snow and then snuggling by the fire. But now that we don't celebrate it anymore Christmas Day seems anti-climactic, especially after all the commercial build-up. As each year comes and I get more removed from when we celebrated Christmas, however little the celebration was, it feels like a distant memory that cannot be recreated; otherwise it would not be genuine. And I'm okay with that. I don't need gifts to feel good. I don't need for the reason to be a specific holiday to spend time with my family. I don't need to put up decorations that will only be taken down a month later and isn't going to be seen by anybody anyway.
But that's not to say other people shouldn't do it, because if that's their tradition and it makes them happy, by all means, please be happy. To all of you who are lucky enough to do these things, I hope you have a wonderful holiday. Enjoy it, because you are fortunate to be able to create this magic.
It was always my job to set up the Christmas tree and decorate it. It was fun, but it was more hard work than fun, having to figure out which pieces go where, having to spread the branches out to make it look like a real tree. So one year, I set up the tree halfway and never get around to finishing it. I went off to Los Angeles for a conference, and when I returned the tree was gone, back into its box and never to come out of the basement again. So far anyway.
It's difficult sometimes to be part of an immigrant family. I was born in the United States, and I went to school and work here, so I identify myself as American. I speak Chinese at home, and with the black hair and the yellow skin and other habits I've learned from being a part of my family I identify myself as Chinese. But these holidays that are celebrated in America are not necessarily ones that are big in Asia, and likewise the Chinese holidays are not known here. So we forget a lot of holidays are coming up until they're here, whether it's Eastern ones like the Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, or even Chinese New Year, or Western ones like Thanksgiving or Christmas. When we realize that they've come, we're like, "Oh, it was this holiday. Oops." And for the Western ones, we add, "Well, at least we get a day off."
And that's how Christmas feels like now. I love the idea of the Christmas spirit, the build-up, the atmosphere, the romanticism, the religious aspect. Being with friends and family, giving and receiving gifts, playing in the snow and then snuggling by the fire. But now that we don't celebrate it anymore Christmas Day seems anti-climactic, especially after all the commercial build-up. As each year comes and I get more removed from when we celebrated Christmas, however little the celebration was, it feels like a distant memory that cannot be recreated; otherwise it would not be genuine. And I'm okay with that. I don't need gifts to feel good. I don't need for the reason to be a specific holiday to spend time with my family. I don't need to put up decorations that will only be taken down a month later and isn't going to be seen by anybody anyway.
But that's not to say other people shouldn't do it, because if that's their tradition and it makes them happy, by all means, please be happy. To all of you who are lucky enough to do these things, I hope you have a wonderful holiday. Enjoy it, because you are fortunate to be able to create this magic.
Monday, December 24, 2012
In Other News...:About This Blog
I've always liked writing. Well actually, scratch that. I've always liked free writing. I never understood the point of expository essays in high school English. (Shouldn't it be called literature? We're not learning English; we're learning how to analyze stories, including those originally written in another language and then translated into English. Anyway...) Didn't the authors write the stories just to make a living? Did every symbolic thing the teachers pointed out really get thought of by these writers?
Ironically, I love writing opinion pieces. For better or for worse, I have a lot of opinions. And of course, I'm always right.
Seriously though, as much as I enjoy producing opinions, they take a while to write, especially if I'm talking about something that requires time to research so that I can get my facts straight and base my opinions on things that are concrete (and true). They will come at times.
However, I'm going to try a true blog, as in thoughts about things that pop up (that can't be shrunk into 140 characters at least). I think I'll have enough time for that occasionally. I hope.
As for that list I published a few years back of stuff I wanted to write about, considering that it's, well, a few years back, it's probably not worth rehashing. New news keeps coming, so if anything strikes my fancy, I'll put something down here that's relevant to us now.
If there are any suggestions (for the five people who may stumble upon this blog because they were bored beyond belief; if not, I am utterly grateful) leave them in the comments or feel free to tweet me. It may be my blog, but you're the one reading.
Edit: I realized I said this a few months ago as you can see below. Shows you how much I remember.
Ironically, I love writing opinion pieces. For better or for worse, I have a lot of opinions. And of course, I'm always right.
Seriously though, as much as I enjoy producing opinions, they take a while to write, especially if I'm talking about something that requires time to research so that I can get my facts straight and base my opinions on things that are concrete (and true). They will come at times.
However, I'm going to try a true blog, as in thoughts about things that pop up (that can't be shrunk into 140 characters at least). I think I'll have enough time for that occasionally. I hope.
As for that list I published a few years back of stuff I wanted to write about, considering that it's, well, a few years back, it's probably not worth rehashing. New news keeps coming, so if anything strikes my fancy, I'll put something down here that's relevant to us now.
If there are any suggestions (for the five people who may stumble upon this blog because they were bored beyond belief; if not, I am utterly grateful) leave them in the comments or feel free to tweet me. It may be my blog, but you're the one reading.
Edit: I realized I said this a few months ago as you can see below. Shows you how much I remember.
Trying to Stay Sane in a World Gone Awry
It's really funny with me. I tend to let some things roll off my back, and at other times I get pissed off easily. I don't recall a time when I've been in the middle, like being annoyed perhaps. If something bothersome happens, such as people talking behind my back or an unforeseen situation changing a well-thought-out plan, I think, "Well, that sucks. Whatever. I'll deal with it." If I get irked to no end, however, or if something really stupid or ridiculous happens, I blow. At times, if the perpetrator is not available for me to yell at, I'll internalize it and think, "What the f***. Why are people like this all the time. What did I do to deserve that from that s***head." And then I'll think about the situation to no end. I hold grudges really well. It's not good. If the perpetrator is right in front of me, I'll lay into them. Oftentimes though I'm so angry that my thoughts aren't straight and my arguments are not as effective as they could be. However, even if I feel slighted, it's my fault that I become angry, sad, or any other emotion. I'm the only person who can control my feelings, and I have to be able to do so, no matter if the other side is actually right or wrong.
When I'm annoyed, but not necessarily furious, I feel like a huge anger session to let out my emotions would be cathartic. Ironically, after I lay into someone though, I never feel better. I do think about how my arguments failed, and being hard on myself, I think about how I could've made my point better, which makes me even more infuriated. Downward spiral, vicious cycle, whatever you want to call it. Also, if I yell at people, people tend to yell back. And nobody likes to be yelled at (I forget that a lot). But most importantly, being mad is obviously a negative feeling. Negative feelings do not often directly lead to positive feelings. And then once again, I think, "What the f***. Why are people like this all the time. What did I do to deserve that from that s***head."
All too often, this has happened to me. I become irate. I think, "What the f***. Why are people like this all the time. What did I do to deserve that from that s***head." I go over the scenario some more. Again, I think, "What the f***. Why are people like this all the time. What did I do to deserve that from that s***head." And over and over until I'm pissed off at the entire world and believe I'm the only sane person alive. On the other hand, it also makes the other party angry as well. It becomes a losing situation all around.
But what if it's the opposite? What if the world is normal, but I'm the weird one for letting the everybody else get to me? Some of you may be saying, "That's not possible. The world is an infuriating, abnormal place. I'm the only one who has my head on straight." That may be true, and I wish it was for me. The problem is that the world is not going to change for me. There are too many people and too many variables. Just like the Theory of Evolution says, I have to adapt to survive. Otherwise, I'd go crazy with all my anger.
I am not necessarily admitting the opposite, that the world is perfect and I'm the nutball. We're all different, and we're all perfect and imperfect in one way or another. However, I can't control the world and fix its imperfections, as cool as that may be. Instead, I have to realize that the only person I can control is myself. I am not able to decree laying on car horns illegal. I am not necessarily able to make people feel guilty when I believe that I have been slighted. I can look at myself and find out what people are doing to make me feel this way, make me mad, make me annoyed, make me think that everybody else is stupid. It's my fault that I let myself experience these emotions, not anybody else's. Or what if I'm causing people to act this way towards me? And as hard as it is, I can learn to control myself such that I don't have to be mad or annoyed or think everybody else is stupid. Funnily enough, this is still easier than trying to take over the world.
I'm human, so being riled will come naturally. But one way to combat this is to realize that other people are going to make me angry. Think of it this way: you're not necessarily as surprised and affronted if you're expecting something to come. If the bar is set low, you expect poor quality, and if someone jumps over the bar, you're pleasantly surprised. All neutral to positive feelings; how good is that? By expecting people to be mean or stupid (in my enlightened opinion anyway), I know what's coming and I can prepare for it. And if someone isn't mean or stupid, or God forbid nice, I can feel thankful and lucky that there are people like that in the world, and I was fortunate enough to run into someone like that. I can let everything roll off my back, I won't go into my downward spiral, and I hope I won't exacerbate the situation for other people who may feel that they didn't do anything wrong. If I don't yell at them, I nip the situation in the bud, and everybody moves on.
I am not saying I am always right (I would love it if I was). But regardless of who is correct and who isn't, I can do my part to make the world a better place. The world is awry enough as it is; it doesn't need my reactions to insecurities to add onto it. I can stay sane and away from negative feelings. Others won't get madder than they need to be; they won't necessarily develop into s***heads and act like "this" all the time. The total craziness that makes up this world is kept to a minimum. Ideally, anyway. This is a long road, and there will be setbacks. But the option of easily becoming and staying angry pales in comparison to the option of not being affected by others, not affecting others, staying calm, and keeping everything as peaceful as possible.
When I'm annoyed, but not necessarily furious, I feel like a huge anger session to let out my emotions would be cathartic. Ironically, after I lay into someone though, I never feel better. I do think about how my arguments failed, and being hard on myself, I think about how I could've made my point better, which makes me even more infuriated. Downward spiral, vicious cycle, whatever you want to call it. Also, if I yell at people, people tend to yell back. And nobody likes to be yelled at (I forget that a lot). But most importantly, being mad is obviously a negative feeling. Negative feelings do not often directly lead to positive feelings. And then once again, I think, "What the f***. Why are people like this all the time. What did I do to deserve that from that s***head."
All too often, this has happened to me. I become irate. I think, "What the f***. Why are people like this all the time. What did I do to deserve that from that s***head." I go over the scenario some more. Again, I think, "What the f***. Why are people like this all the time. What did I do to deserve that from that s***head." And over and over until I'm pissed off at the entire world and believe I'm the only sane person alive. On the other hand, it also makes the other party angry as well. It becomes a losing situation all around.
But what if it's the opposite? What if the world is normal, but I'm the weird one for letting the everybody else get to me? Some of you may be saying, "That's not possible. The world is an infuriating, abnormal place. I'm the only one who has my head on straight." That may be true, and I wish it was for me. The problem is that the world is not going to change for me. There are too many people and too many variables. Just like the Theory of Evolution says, I have to adapt to survive. Otherwise, I'd go crazy with all my anger.
I am not necessarily admitting the opposite, that the world is perfect and I'm the nutball. We're all different, and we're all perfect and imperfect in one way or another. However, I can't control the world and fix its imperfections, as cool as that may be. Instead, I have to realize that the only person I can control is myself. I am not able to decree laying on car horns illegal. I am not necessarily able to make people feel guilty when I believe that I have been slighted. I can look at myself and find out what people are doing to make me feel this way, make me mad, make me annoyed, make me think that everybody else is stupid. It's my fault that I let myself experience these emotions, not anybody else's. Or what if I'm causing people to act this way towards me? And as hard as it is, I can learn to control myself such that I don't have to be mad or annoyed or think everybody else is stupid. Funnily enough, this is still easier than trying to take over the world.
I'm human, so being riled will come naturally. But one way to combat this is to realize that other people are going to make me angry. Think of it this way: you're not necessarily as surprised and affronted if you're expecting something to come. If the bar is set low, you expect poor quality, and if someone jumps over the bar, you're pleasantly surprised. All neutral to positive feelings; how good is that? By expecting people to be mean or stupid (in my enlightened opinion anyway), I know what's coming and I can prepare for it. And if someone isn't mean or stupid, or God forbid nice, I can feel thankful and lucky that there are people like that in the world, and I was fortunate enough to run into someone like that. I can let everything roll off my back, I won't go into my downward spiral, and I hope I won't exacerbate the situation for other people who may feel that they didn't do anything wrong. If I don't yell at them, I nip the situation in the bud, and everybody moves on.
I am not saying I am always right (I would love it if I was). But regardless of who is correct and who isn't, I can do my part to make the world a better place. The world is awry enough as it is; it doesn't need my reactions to insecurities to add onto it. I can stay sane and away from negative feelings. Others won't get madder than they need to be; they won't necessarily develop into s***heads and act like "this" all the time. The total craziness that makes up this world is kept to a minimum. Ideally, anyway. This is a long road, and there will be setbacks. But the option of easily becoming and staying angry pales in comparison to the option of not being affected by others, not affecting others, staying calm, and keeping everything as peaceful as possible.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Amazing NBC Super Bowl Commercial
So I was in Taiwan during the Super Bowl, and I didn't get to see any of the commercials. Heck, I didn't even get to see the whole game. I woke up late, then had quite a time trying to find the game on TV (I ended up watching it on NHK and not understanding the Japanese commentary...except for when they said the names of whatever player was being shown at the moment). And then we had to head down to breakfast and whatever we were supposed to do that day. I tried to avoid the score until my dad bought the afternoon newspaper, and there on the cover of a Chinese newspaper was Eli Manning celebrating (wow, even in Taiwan you can't avoid the Super Bowl apparently. But then, why the heck was it relegated to a Japanese channel??) So of course that evening, instead of letting my parents watch news talk programs going on about Makiyo and her friends beating up a cabbie for the umpteenth straight day, I got to watch the end of the Super Bowl, including the Patriots basically giving up and letting Ahmad Bradshaw waltz into the end zone (yes, I know they were trying to maximize the time on the clock. Still, it's pretty pathetic. Actually, thank goodness the Patriots are pathetic. I still haven't forgiven them for Spygate and for beating the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. Basically, I'm glad the Giants won.)
Anyway, for some reason I was surfing around a couple days ago, and I thought I'd go onto YouTube to watch some performances of "Brotherhood of Man" from the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". It was the first musical I ever saw; it was the high school production when I was in seventh grade, and I found the play hilarious and the tunes catchy, especially "Brotherhood". Of course, I found a movie clip of Robert Morse performing way back when. I also found Daniel Radcliffe of "Harry Potter" fame performing it at the Tonys last year. And then below all that I found a commercial of NBC stars performing it before the Super Bowl. And it was amazing.
The banter between the "30 Rock" characters was hilarious. And then Alec Baldwin starts singing (okay, so this will be a "30 Rock" commercial). And then, a surprising cut to "The Office", then "Parks and Recreation", and then "Community" (okay, so maybe a Thursday night comedy collaboration for the Super Bowl). And then there was Alec Baldwin introducing "Smash"...holy crap, is that Mariska Hargitay and the "Law and Order:SVU" cast letting loose? The "Today" show? Brian Williams?? David Gregory, Harry Smith, and the main NBC News stalwarts??? Wow, they went all out. And it worked.
If this was aired during the Super Bowl, I would've thought it was one of the best Super Bowl commercials ever put together. All that star power joining forces, being silly, and singing! to promote their network was no small feat. And only NBC could've pulled this off. CBS, ABC, or even Fox wouldn't have been able to--though Fox probably would've come up with something raunchily funny. And I guess David Letterman making a commercial with Oprah and Jay Leno was pretty awesome.
NBC is struggling, much like ABC was for a while a few years back before "Lost" and "Desparate Housewives", and then Fox before that when it was trying to find its footing. Maybe because NBC is not doing so well they were able to take chances like this. But I love how their talent is so well suited for this kind of stunt, including their comedy casts, especially "30 Rock" and "Saturday Night Live", and how their news people, and even soap opera stars, don't take themselves too seriously and are able to have fun with this as well.
Anyway, below is the video (the uploader disabled embedding, but trust me, the video's awesome): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJuAvwtmXuw
And just in case you need to know who's who, it's a pantheon of NBC All-Stars:
0:01-Al Michaels (voice)--Sunday Night Football, NBC Olympics, NBC Sports
0:06-Tina Fey, Scott Adsit, John Lutz, Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, Jane Krakowski, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman--30 Rock
0:23-Jack McBrayer--30 Rock
0:27-Keith Powell--30 Rock
1:00-John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nunez, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Kate Flannery, Brian Baumgartner, Mindy Kaling, Zach Woods, B. J. Novak, Ellie Kemper, Ed Helms, Creed Bratton--The Office
1:21-Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Rob Lowe, Aubrey Plaza, Adam Scott, Rashida Jones, Jim O'Heir, Chris Pratt, Aziz Ansari--Parks and Recreation
1:32-Donald Glover, Alison Brie, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Ken Jeong, Jim Rash--Community
1:53-Katrina Bowden--30 Rock
2:07-Judah Friedlander, Sue Galloway--30 Rock
2:28-Katherine McPhee, Megan Hilty, Jaime Cepero, Raza Jaffrey, Jack Davenport, Debra Messing, Christian Borle, Anjelica Huston, Brian d'Arcy James--Smash
2:38-Mariska Hargitay, Richard Belzer, Kelli Giddish, Danny Pino, Dann Florek, Ice-T--Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
2:46-Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton--The Voice
2:47-Jay Leno--The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
2:50-Monica Potter, Dax Shepard, Lauren Graham, Peter Krause--Parenthood
2:52-Whitney Cummings, Chris D'Elia--Whitney
2:53-Chelsea Handler, Laura Prepon--Are You There, Chelsea?
2:56-Maya Rudolph, Will Arnett, Christina Applegate--Up All Night
3:03-Donald Trump--The Apprentice
3:05-Al Roker, Ann Curry, Matt Lauer, Natalie Morales--Today
3:10-Kristen Wiig, Kenan Thompson, Bobby Moynihan, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen, Jay Pharoah, Vanessa Bayer, Abby Elliott, Taran Killam, Nasim Pedrad--Saturday Night Live
3:19-Brian Williams--NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Rock Center with Brian Williams
3:23-Top Row (L-R): Drake Hogestyn and Deidre Hall--Days of Our Lives; Savannah Guthrie--Today; David Gregory--Meet the Press; Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb--Today; Lester Holt--Today, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Dateline; Kate Snow--NBC News; Jenna Bush Hager--NBC News; Harry Smith--NBC News
3:26-Alison Sweeney--Days of Our Lives, The Biggest Loser; Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince--The Biggest Loser
3:28-Carson Daly--Last Call with Carson Daly, The Voice; David Giuntoli--Grimm; Kathy Bates--Harry's Law; Howie Mandel--America's Got Talent
3:37-Bob Costas--Football Night in America, NBC Olympics, NBC Sports; Jimmy Fallon--Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
And some hilarious/cool parts to notice:
-Alec Baldwin's character Jack Donaghy talking about friends Clark and Martha Fancypants attending their son's trial in Aruba.
-Tina Fey, her huge bowl of guacamole, dip, and chips, the faces she makes, and her comments (especially disagreeing about how mediocrity is not a mortal sin).
-Jack McBrayer's character Kenneth Parcell taking pride in being a lowly errand boy, or an NBC page.
-"Cold corporate setup" is almost the same as what J. Pierrepont Finch says before he breaks into "Brotherhood of Man" in the actual musical.
-Tracy Morgan's character Tracy Jordan being out of it (responding to "leading lady" and saying "bla-dork-able [black, adorable, and dork]).
-Tina Fey referencing past Super Bowl commercials, including the Budweiser Clydesdales playing football and Betty White in a Snickers commercial.
-Judah Friedlander's hat says "Touchdown There", and Scott Adsit tries to not get blocked by Jane Krakowski and Alec Baldwin.
-Katherine McPhee and Megan Hilty are amazing singers, of course.
-Oscar winners Anjelica Huston and Kathy Bates appear.
-Lauren Graham has a cute way of clapping.
-Basically everybody's faces and actions.
-"Oh aren't you proud to be/Right here on NBC?"
-Alison Sweeney, Bob Harper, Dolvett Quince, Carson Daly, David Giuntoli, Kathy Bates, and Howie Mandel were obviously added via computer. I'm neutral about it, since it's cool that they participated, but the computer is kind of offsetting.
-The Radio City Rockettes (who perform at Radio City Music Hall in Rockefeller Center, where NBC is headquartered) make an appearance.
So basically, after saying all that, I love the commercial. Good job NBC. Now if you could apply that same hilarity and creativity to all of your shows, you should be back on top in no time.
Anyway, for some reason I was surfing around a couple days ago, and I thought I'd go onto YouTube to watch some performances of "Brotherhood of Man" from the musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". It was the first musical I ever saw; it was the high school production when I was in seventh grade, and I found the play hilarious and the tunes catchy, especially "Brotherhood". Of course, I found a movie clip of Robert Morse performing way back when. I also found Daniel Radcliffe of "Harry Potter" fame performing it at the Tonys last year. And then below all that I found a commercial of NBC stars performing it before the Super Bowl. And it was amazing.
The banter between the "30 Rock" characters was hilarious. And then Alec Baldwin starts singing (okay, so this will be a "30 Rock" commercial). And then, a surprising cut to "The Office", then "Parks and Recreation", and then "Community" (okay, so maybe a Thursday night comedy collaboration for the Super Bowl). And then there was Alec Baldwin introducing "Smash"...holy crap, is that Mariska Hargitay and the "Law and Order:SVU" cast letting loose? The "Today" show? Brian Williams?? David Gregory, Harry Smith, and the main NBC News stalwarts??? Wow, they went all out. And it worked.
If this was aired during the Super Bowl, I would've thought it was one of the best Super Bowl commercials ever put together. All that star power joining forces, being silly, and singing! to promote their network was no small feat. And only NBC could've pulled this off. CBS, ABC, or even Fox wouldn't have been able to--though Fox probably would've come up with something raunchily funny. And I guess David Letterman making a commercial with Oprah and Jay Leno was pretty awesome.
NBC is struggling, much like ABC was for a while a few years back before "Lost" and "Desparate Housewives", and then Fox before that when it was trying to find its footing. Maybe because NBC is not doing so well they were able to take chances like this. But I love how their talent is so well suited for this kind of stunt, including their comedy casts, especially "30 Rock" and "Saturday Night Live", and how their news people, and even soap opera stars, don't take themselves too seriously and are able to have fun with this as well.
Anyway, below is the video (the uploader disabled embedding, but trust me, the video's awesome): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJuAvwtmXuw
And just in case you need to know who's who, it's a pantheon of NBC All-Stars:
0:01-Al Michaels (voice)--Sunday Night Football, NBC Olympics, NBC Sports
0:06-Tina Fey, Scott Adsit, John Lutz, Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, Jane Krakowski, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman--30 Rock
0:23-Jack McBrayer--30 Rock
0:27-Keith Powell--30 Rock
1:00-John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, Craig Robinson, Phyllis Smith, Oscar Nunez, Angela Kinsey, Paul Lieberstein, Kate Flannery, Brian Baumgartner, Mindy Kaling, Zach Woods, B. J. Novak, Ellie Kemper, Ed Helms, Creed Bratton--The Office
1:21-Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Rob Lowe, Aubrey Plaza, Adam Scott, Rashida Jones, Jim O'Heir, Chris Pratt, Aziz Ansari--Parks and Recreation
1:32-Donald Glover, Alison Brie, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Ken Jeong, Jim Rash--Community
1:53-Katrina Bowden--30 Rock
2:07-Judah Friedlander, Sue Galloway--30 Rock
2:28-Katherine McPhee, Megan Hilty, Jaime Cepero, Raza Jaffrey, Jack Davenport, Debra Messing, Christian Borle, Anjelica Huston, Brian d'Arcy James--Smash
2:38-Mariska Hargitay, Richard Belzer, Kelli Giddish, Danny Pino, Dann Florek, Ice-T--Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
2:46-Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton--The Voice
2:47-Jay Leno--The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
2:50-Monica Potter, Dax Shepard, Lauren Graham, Peter Krause--Parenthood
2:52-Whitney Cummings, Chris D'Elia--Whitney
2:53-Chelsea Handler, Laura Prepon--Are You There, Chelsea?
2:56-Maya Rudolph, Will Arnett, Christina Applegate--Up All Night
3:03-Donald Trump--The Apprentice
3:05-Al Roker, Ann Curry, Matt Lauer, Natalie Morales--Today
3:10-Kristen Wiig, Kenan Thompson, Bobby Moynihan, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen, Jay Pharoah, Vanessa Bayer, Abby Elliott, Taran Killam, Nasim Pedrad--Saturday Night Live
3:19-Brian Williams--NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Rock Center with Brian Williams
3:23-Top Row (L-R): Drake Hogestyn and Deidre Hall--Days of Our Lives; Savannah Guthrie--Today; David Gregory--Meet the Press; Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb--Today; Lester Holt--Today, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Dateline; Kate Snow--NBC News; Jenna Bush Hager--NBC News; Harry Smith--NBC News
3:26-Alison Sweeney--Days of Our Lives, The Biggest Loser; Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince--The Biggest Loser
3:28-Carson Daly--Last Call with Carson Daly, The Voice; David Giuntoli--Grimm; Kathy Bates--Harry's Law; Howie Mandel--America's Got Talent
3:37-Bob Costas--Football Night in America, NBC Olympics, NBC Sports; Jimmy Fallon--Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
And some hilarious/cool parts to notice:
-Alec Baldwin's character Jack Donaghy talking about friends Clark and Martha Fancypants attending their son's trial in Aruba.
-Tina Fey, her huge bowl of guacamole, dip, and chips, the faces she makes, and her comments (especially disagreeing about how mediocrity is not a mortal sin).
-Jack McBrayer's character Kenneth Parcell taking pride in being a lowly errand boy, or an NBC page.
-"Cold corporate setup" is almost the same as what J. Pierrepont Finch says before he breaks into "Brotherhood of Man" in the actual musical.
-Tracy Morgan's character Tracy Jordan being out of it (responding to "leading lady" and saying "bla-dork-able [black, adorable, and dork]).
-Tina Fey referencing past Super Bowl commercials, including the Budweiser Clydesdales playing football and Betty White in a Snickers commercial.
-Judah Friedlander's hat says "Touchdown There", and Scott Adsit tries to not get blocked by Jane Krakowski and Alec Baldwin.
-Katherine McPhee and Megan Hilty are amazing singers, of course.
-Oscar winners Anjelica Huston and Kathy Bates appear.
-Lauren Graham has a cute way of clapping.
-Basically everybody's faces and actions.
-"Oh aren't you proud to be/Right here on NBC?"
-Alison Sweeney, Bob Harper, Dolvett Quince, Carson Daly, David Giuntoli, Kathy Bates, and Howie Mandel were obviously added via computer. I'm neutral about it, since it's cool that they participated, but the computer is kind of offsetting.
-The Radio City Rockettes (who perform at Radio City Music Hall in Rockefeller Center, where NBC is headquartered) make an appearance.
So basically, after saying all that, I love the commercial. Good job NBC. Now if you could apply that same hilarity and creativity to all of your shows, you should be back on top in no time.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
May 8th, 2012 Blurb
Well, it's been a while.
Writing full articles is so time-consuming that I don't have time to draft one every week, and thus I've been ignoring this thing for the past year or so, probably longer. However, this is still a good outlet to talk about things, so I'll probably do short blurbs, and then if the inspiration strikes me I'll post one of my patented long, rambling opinions.
Another day in research. Another day of more edits being made to my paper. Even though I wish I could get it out already, I know it's a process, and each time I go through this my paper is getting better and more publishable.
Good lunch with my girlfriend today. We always seem to have a lot to talk about, and we hit it off really well. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.
Still trying to buckle down and prepare for tomorrow's class. A lot of stuff to do as well for my application.
And hopefully I'll be around here more often.
Another day in research. Another day of more edits being made to my paper. Even though I wish I could get it out already, I know it's a process, and each time I go through this my paper is getting better and more publishable.
Good lunch with my girlfriend today. We always seem to have a lot to talk about, and we hit it off really well. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.
Still trying to buckle down and prepare for tomorrow's class. A lot of stuff to do as well for my application.
And hopefully I'll be around here more often.
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