Jonas Who?

Do the Jonas Brothers remind anyone else of a slightly more angsty rocky Hanson? For all I know this comparison could have been made, but I'm watching their recent performance on Dancing With the Stars and all I can think is....this is just Hanson redone.

At Least We Got Something Right

We may have the highest car insurance rates and get jokes about being the armpit of the nation, but you're all going to be jealous when you here this! New Jersey has the cheapest gas in the nation! I filled up on my home tonight for $2.99 a gallon. What are you paying?

Barack and Bicycles

In what is perhaps the oddest Internet craze yet, we have bicycle sites. Political undertones, whimsical phrases. These are the basis of these so-called bicycle sites. It goes like this: (Candidate name or other well-known persons name) + (odd phrase) in large purple Helvetica font. It's a link and each time you click it, it generates a new odd sentence. Some examples from barakobamaisyournewbicycle: "Barack Obama parsed your error," "Barack Obama carried your bookbag," and "Barack Obama folded you an origami crane."

Barack's bicycle site is the original, created by writer Mathew Honan, who calls himself a "weird dude". I think I'll agree. Here's a list from BuzzFeed of every bicycle site they've found. Even though it seems strange and idiotic, I'm kind of addicted to it. The more you click, the sillier it all gets.

Thanks Ben for linking on your blog.

The Big Give: A Show I'd Love to Hate

I decided on a whim to record Oprah's new show, The Big Give. I watched the first episode and am just now watching the second. In some ways, I love this show. In other ways, I hate it. If I could compare it to something, it would be Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The stories are heart-warming and I cried for full fifteen minutes during the first episode. The show, however, encourages hoopla and showiness about the giving. In fact, the motto of the show is "give big or go home" and contestants on these two episodes have been rated on the "presentation" of their gift.

Some things I like about the show:
1) The show highlights the pure joy in giving. The contestants range in age and background and all of them have no idea there is any reward in it. These people are putting their lives on hold and run around the country, stress out, and give away money. The contestants are so honest about their feelings and their emotions.

2) You can really see how each of the contestants backgrounds and and experiences influence the way they give. Each one has a unique heart for different issues and the second episode does a really good job of highlighting them. It also shows just how easy it is to find a worthy cause to help and support.

3) It shows the diversity of need in our country from the single mom next door to orphaned children. You never know the situations people are living with. So many of these people could be any of our neighbors.

Some things I don't like about the show:
1) It offends my sensibilities to make a reality show/game out of helping others. It's a little showy for me and feels a bit like capitalizing on other's misfortunes. It feels a bit like gawking into people's very private lives and it makes me wonder if they would be willing to share these things on national television if they weren't getting the help they needed out of it. Do I loose my house or admit my vast personal problems to the country?

2) Real people could never give in the way the contestants do. They're given money, cars, laptops, and I'm pretty sure corporate connections. Not to mention the backing of "I'm on Oprah's new TV show, The Big Give." Whose going to say no to that and being featured on national television?

3) While the show does show some worthy charities and organizations, I'd much rather see a show about real people making difference in their communities. Oprah could easily have dumped all this money and corporate sponsorship into already existing organizations and highlighted how great it feels when real people give in ways great and small. Instead of contestants swooping in and dumping in thousands of dollars into who knows what charities and people, we could be supporting great community based grass-roots efforts that are sure to be transformed by a comparatively small investment.

While it has its share of negatives, I think one woman's reaction said it all, "Somebody actually thought that I mattered enough to help me out." That, my friends, is priceless.

If you're interested in watching, the third episode airs on ABC on Sunday at 9pm.