February 5th, 2010 Mailbag
A lot of stuff happened this week in the television world. One of the bigger things was the final season premiere of Lost, but I covered that already, as I will with every episode this year. The bigger story occurred last night on 30 Rock when a video recorded Liz Lemon eating while she was sleeping. It was described as "sleepeating."
Now, you might think this is no big deal. "It's a funny word," you might even think. Well guess who invented it? Mike and I like 8 years ago to describe poor Eric. Was it mean? Probably yeah, a little. Is it excusable on the exception that you're allowed to poke fun at your friends? Yes, I think so. Do I blame myself for the sudden health turnaround Eric made? Sometimes, yes. Do I still feel ripped off? Very much so. And that last question was the most important.
So next time you watch 30 Rock and you find yourself laughing at the hilarious dialogue and wondering "where do these people come up with this stuff," remember that it's probably all stolen from poor law students. They're reaping the benefits of our work while I can't even secure a summer job. Fuck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8kDsM0M-vg
I bet you laughed......
- Jeff
Yeah, Jeff. I did laugh. When I first saw that video 3 years ago. Next question.
Look, I don't want to discourage the submission of videos to the Mailbag, but if you can readily see that the video is very old, consider that maybe everyone else has seen it already. Also, I'm certain I probably showed you that video soon after I saw it for the first time. Come on!
I think they're better than they were last time. More "mature"
- Sam Salustro
The first of a trio of responses to Mike's cornrows e-mail. Is this a little gay? Maybe. How does one's cornrows become "more mature?" They don't. Thus, Salustro was hitting on Mike. It's not the first time I've seen it happen. It won't be the last.
Having said that, I haven't talked to Sam since autumn. I miss him. Not gay miss him though.
Yea Mike. Those are a grown man's cornrows.
- Kiel
I'm a big fan of Mike's cornrows. However, I would use a non-gay description. Perhaps "bad-ass." "Omar-esque." There is no blurring of the intent there (except that yes, Omar was gay). For Mike's sake, I hope that his cornrows have had a similar effect (affect?) on the women of St. Louis. If so, he's probably gotten laid several dozen times since the last Mailbag. I would be simultaneously proud of him, and excited for him.
Allen Iverson wants his hairstyle back.
- Mike Guss
If there was any doubt that Mike Guss was less gay then Sam and Kiel, there is certainly none anymore. A reasonable response to the e-mail. Mike Guss, you are truly a good man. I hope we meet again someday.
What do you think of tim tebow's superbowl commercial?
- Craig
I guess the shot answer would be that overall, I'm not a big fan. Having said that (I'll never be able to say that without thinking of Curb Your Enthusiasm again), let's dive into the long answer.
For starters, my position on abortion. It might seem like a very "political" position, but since I'm no politician, you can be safe in assuming this is how I legitimately feel. Obviously I will never have to decide if I want an abortion, but if I were of the opposite gender, I would never get an abortion. It's just how I feel about it. However, I would never tell someone what they can or cannot do with their own body. So even though I'm sure I would not procure an abortion if I ever had to make that choice, I am most certainly pro-choice (the liberal viewpoint from a Massachusetts resident - big surprise).
What angers me isn't the commercial. If you want to spend money to sell a viewpoint alone, you have that right. What angers me is that this commercial is allowed to air but the gay-dating ad was banned. While the Tebow commercial is selling nothing but a viewpoint, the gay dating ad was at least selling something else (a gay dating website). If you're not gay, you just don't go to the website. IBut if you don't agree with the Tebow viewpoint, you're subjected to it anyway. I don't understand the rationale of CBS in rejecting one but not the other. Homosexuality is that offensive? I just don't agree with that position.
The ManCrunch ad was at least funny too:
Hey Tommy,
Sorry there haven't been any questions in a few weeks.
1) How excited are you for Lost, did the first episode of the season
live up to the hype?
2) When you wear a shirt and tie, do you always stick to the same type
of knot on your tie? I always do the same one, but I've been exploring
the possibility of trying some new ones. Should I start becoming a tie
expert and wear different knots based on mood and season? Will anyone
notice a difference?
3) Do they lip sync during the Grammy's?
4) Do you think I'll catch you in fantasy basketball?
5) Do you ever have time to read for pleasure during school? If you do
have time or during next summer, what would be your #1 choice to read?
6) I taught one of my students to read an analog clock this week, should
I be proud of myself or ashamed of my student?
- Pat
Pat, you never have to apologize to me about anything.
1) Very excited for Lost. I think it has a chance to go down as the best television show ever, so it should be a fun ride. And I though the premiere was an excellent episode. We got a lot of answers and a lot of information from which we can infer answers. At the same time, the whole dual-timeline thing we have going on raises a lot of questions. It was a good balance.
2) I always tie the same tie. I'm still pretty bad at it. Usually once I get a tie tied, I leave it tied for as long as I can so I don't have to tie it again later. In your case, I definitely suggest mixing it up, even though I don't think anyone would notice. But if they do, it's a solid conversation starter. It's also cool to have random niche's like that where you know more about the subject than most people.
3) Some of the lip-sync, some don't at all, some mix it up. The rap performance near the end was very much lip-synced with Eminem and whoever the other people were. The opening performance, with Lady Gaga, was very much mixed. They were playing the song in the background, and she was definitely singing the verse, but anytime it got to the chorus she would clearly just mouth the words. But then she did sing during the Elton John duet (you couldn't have pulled off a believable lip-sync there). Zac Brown bad did not lip-sync. Taylor Swift didn't. I'm not sure about Pink - she might have been but her whole performance was too weird to pay attention to anything else. She was hanging about everyone and she was wet. I didn't get it.
4) You won't catch me. You're essentially 1.5 games back with 6 games left. I could definitely run the table and not even give you a chance, seeing as I've only lost to Mike (1st place), Kiel (2nd place), and Eric early on. You also have to play Mike still, which would likely be a loss. My little 2-week stumble put you back into this thing, but I also got Devin Harris and Michaeal Beasley back after brief injuries. My boys are just revving up for the playoffs.
5) I don't have much time. I probably could read if I chose too, but with free time already limited, reading doesn't surpass (1) my regular must-watch TV schedule, or (2) netflix. So on days where I've got some time and nothing to watch, reading gets its share, but it doesn't happen much. As far as the number one choice, right now it is The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons, which I am very slowly moving through. I imagine I'll probably just end up reading it over the summer.
6) Proud of yourself. It's not the student's fault that no one had taught him before. Plus, I know I could never teach someone something like that, even though you might consider it simple. Go back in time and ask elementary school Sam Hajj how good I am at teaching, say, math. I'd help him by simply doing a problem once and apparently not explaining what i was doing and why. Then, when he would say he didn't get it, I would simply respond with "what do you mean you don't get it? I just showed you!" Then I would quit and call him an idiot. I was not meant to be a teacher.
**********
There isn't a single particular video I want to finish with, so I'm going to throw out a few just for fun. In celebration of the return of Lost, they are all Lost themed. First up, for anyone looking to catch up on Lost for the 6th and final season, the best way you could have done that was to watch all the episodes. Next best would have been to watch the recap episode. But if you missed out on that, then feel free to watch this Italian family re-enact some of the shows bigger moments:
Now, you might think this is no big deal. "It's a funny word," you might even think. Well guess who invented it? Mike and I like 8 years ago to describe poor Eric. Was it mean? Probably yeah, a little. Is it excusable on the exception that you're allowed to poke fun at your friends? Yes, I think so. Do I blame myself for the sudden health turnaround Eric made? Sometimes, yes. Do I still feel ripped off? Very much so. And that last question was the most important.
So next time you watch 30 Rock and you find yourself laughing at the hilarious dialogue and wondering "where do these people come up with this stuff," remember that it's probably all stolen from poor law students. They're reaping the benefits of our work while I can't even secure a summer job. Fuck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8kDsM0M-vg
I bet you laughed......
- Jeff
Yeah, Jeff. I did laugh. When I first saw that video 3 years ago. Next question.
Look, I don't want to discourage the submission of videos to the Mailbag, but if you can readily see that the video is very old, consider that maybe everyone else has seen it already. Also, I'm certain I probably showed you that video soon after I saw it for the first time. Come on!
I think they're better than they were last time. More "mature"
- Sam Salustro
The first of a trio of responses to Mike's cornrows e-mail. Is this a little gay? Maybe. How does one's cornrows become "more mature?" They don't. Thus, Salustro was hitting on Mike. It's not the first time I've seen it happen. It won't be the last.
Having said that, I haven't talked to Sam since autumn. I miss him. Not gay miss him though.
Yea Mike. Those are a grown man's cornrows.
- Kiel
I'm a big fan of Mike's cornrows. However, I would use a non-gay description. Perhaps "bad-ass." "Omar-esque." There is no blurring of the intent there (except that yes, Omar was gay). For Mike's sake, I hope that his cornrows have had a similar effect (affect?) on the women of St. Louis. If so, he's probably gotten laid several dozen times since the last Mailbag. I would be simultaneously proud of him, and excited for him.
Allen Iverson wants his hairstyle back.
- Mike Guss
If there was any doubt that Mike Guss was less gay then Sam and Kiel, there is certainly none anymore. A reasonable response to the e-mail. Mike Guss, you are truly a good man. I hope we meet again someday.
What do you think of tim tebow's superbowl commercial?
- Craig
I guess the shot answer would be that overall, I'm not a big fan. Having said that (I'll never be able to say that without thinking of Curb Your Enthusiasm again), let's dive into the long answer.
For starters, my position on abortion. It might seem like a very "political" position, but since I'm no politician, you can be safe in assuming this is how I legitimately feel. Obviously I will never have to decide if I want an abortion, but if I were of the opposite gender, I would never get an abortion. It's just how I feel about it. However, I would never tell someone what they can or cannot do with their own body. So even though I'm sure I would not procure an abortion if I ever had to make that choice, I am most certainly pro-choice (the liberal viewpoint from a Massachusetts resident - big surprise).
What angers me isn't the commercial. If you want to spend money to sell a viewpoint alone, you have that right. What angers me is that this commercial is allowed to air but the gay-dating ad was banned. While the Tebow commercial is selling nothing but a viewpoint, the gay dating ad was at least selling something else (a gay dating website). If you're not gay, you just don't go to the website. IBut if you don't agree with the Tebow viewpoint, you're subjected to it anyway. I don't understand the rationale of CBS in rejecting one but not the other. Homosexuality is that offensive? I just don't agree with that position.
The ManCrunch ad was at least funny too:
Hey Tommy,
Sorry there haven't been any questions in a few weeks.
1) How excited are you for Lost, did the first episode of the season
live up to the hype?
2) When you wear a shirt and tie, do you always stick to the same type
of knot on your tie? I always do the same one, but I've been exploring
the possibility of trying some new ones. Should I start becoming a tie
expert and wear different knots based on mood and season? Will anyone
notice a difference?
3) Do they lip sync during the Grammy's?
4) Do you think I'll catch you in fantasy basketball?
5) Do you ever have time to read for pleasure during school? If you do
have time or during next summer, what would be your #1 choice to read?
6) I taught one of my students to read an analog clock this week, should
I be proud of myself or ashamed of my student?
- Pat
Pat, you never have to apologize to me about anything.
1) Very excited for Lost. I think it has a chance to go down as the best television show ever, so it should be a fun ride. And I though the premiere was an excellent episode. We got a lot of answers and a lot of information from which we can infer answers. At the same time, the whole dual-timeline thing we have going on raises a lot of questions. It was a good balance.
2) I always tie the same tie. I'm still pretty bad at it. Usually once I get a tie tied, I leave it tied for as long as I can so I don't have to tie it again later. In your case, I definitely suggest mixing it up, even though I don't think anyone would notice. But if they do, it's a solid conversation starter. It's also cool to have random niche's like that where you know more about the subject than most people.
3) Some of the lip-sync, some don't at all, some mix it up. The rap performance near the end was very much lip-synced with Eminem and whoever the other people were. The opening performance, with Lady Gaga, was very much mixed. They were playing the song in the background, and she was definitely singing the verse, but anytime it got to the chorus she would clearly just mouth the words. But then she did sing during the Elton John duet (you couldn't have pulled off a believable lip-sync there). Zac Brown bad did not lip-sync. Taylor Swift didn't. I'm not sure about Pink - she might have been but her whole performance was too weird to pay attention to anything else. She was hanging about everyone and she was wet. I didn't get it.
4) You won't catch me. You're essentially 1.5 games back with 6 games left. I could definitely run the table and not even give you a chance, seeing as I've only lost to Mike (1st place), Kiel (2nd place), and Eric early on. You also have to play Mike still, which would likely be a loss. My little 2-week stumble put you back into this thing, but I also got Devin Harris and Michaeal Beasley back after brief injuries. My boys are just revving up for the playoffs.
5) I don't have much time. I probably could read if I chose too, but with free time already limited, reading doesn't surpass (1) my regular must-watch TV schedule, or (2) netflix. So on days where I've got some time and nothing to watch, reading gets its share, but it doesn't happen much. As far as the number one choice, right now it is The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons, which I am very slowly moving through. I imagine I'll probably just end up reading it over the summer.
6) Proud of yourself. It's not the student's fault that no one had taught him before. Plus, I know I could never teach someone something like that, even though you might consider it simple. Go back in time and ask elementary school Sam Hajj how good I am at teaching, say, math. I'd help him by simply doing a problem once and apparently not explaining what i was doing and why. Then, when he would say he didn't get it, I would simply respond with "what do you mean you don't get it? I just showed you!" Then I would quit and call him an idiot. I was not meant to be a teacher.
**********
There isn't a single particular video I want to finish with, so I'm going to throw out a few just for fun. In celebration of the return of Lost, they are all Lost themed. First up, for anyone looking to catch up on Lost for the 6th and final season, the best way you could have done that was to watch all the episodes. Next best would have been to watch the recap episode. But if you missed out on that, then feel free to watch this Italian family re-enact some of the shows bigger moments:
Comments