Thurgood, so good!

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I went to a play tonight. As always the theater staff announces “please take this time to turn off all phones and electronics. And all recording is prohibited”. It is amazing to think how much I am part of the documentation movement that has to twit details of my life and photo graph what I eat. I sometimes feel like it would not be real if I did not share it digitally.< I definitely was not always this way. Quite the opposite. I hated taking photos unless it was for artistic purposes and I definitely preferred privacy over any publication of my experiences. Stepping out from behind the camera, not recording the moment but truly experiencing the live performance is a refreshing change. And it was easy to do with this play.

I saw Thurgood tonight; a one-man play about the life of Thurgood Marshall. Lawrence Fishburne‘s performance as Thurgood was fabulous. I was completely captivated and he nearly brought me to tears as he lead me (and the rest of the audience) through the life of a man who became a civil right pioneer. When this play travels, don’t wait to see it.The story of the Thurgood Marshall is one that should not go unheard. Please take the time to go see this eloquent performance and learn more about Thurgood’s positive contribution to our country.

Martin Luther King Day

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Martin Luther King Day always makes me proud to be an American. Although I may never truly understand oppression and effects if has on people as a white man in America, I do appreciate and understand the need for freedom, equality and social justice. As Americans, we are more alike from coast to coast than most politicians would have us believe. OUR country is great through empathy and understanding that unites all Americans. As the election time grows near, I have found that I have been inspired like I have not been before by a politician, a leader, Barack Obama.

I would like to share a bit of Barack Obama’s speech on Martin Luther King Day:

“King inspired with words not of anger, but of an urgency that still speaks to us today: ‘Unity is the great need of the hour’ is what King said. Unity is how we shall overcome…

“Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone
In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone.

“So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all.

From: http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/mlkvideo

He inspires hope that we can unite this great country. Find Hope this election year by being involved to unite this country. Your voice makes a difference. Please, regardless of you beliefs, be involved and vote.

Voter registration here:
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm

Time Magazine’s Person of the Year

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On NPR the other day I heard a fabulous commentary about the POTY by Bill Langworthy. I tried to find a transcript of it but ended up having to type it out myself. So forgive any errors in advance. If you would like to hear the original, check it out on NPR.org: http://www.npr.org/

"And the Winner of ‘Person of the Year’ Is…

I was shocked when I saw times person of the year cover. I was expecting a humanitarian or world leader but instead saw a computer and the word “You”. “Yes you” it reassured. You control the information age. There were so many deserving people this year. So I was surprise and well as humbled to learn the person of the year was, in fact, me. Fortunately I had prepared a brief acceptance speech because you just never know.

Wow, I can honestly say I didn’t expect this. JFK, MLK and now me. And to think a year ago, I was running windows 98 with an infected hard drive and had 3 friends on my myspace including Tom. I could never been POTY without a lot of help. I’d like to thank the Numa Numa guy, Ok Go, Chad Vader and LonelyGirl15. I’d also like to thank everyone who downloaded my mashup of Panic at the Disco vs. Loudon Wainwright III.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t say something about the other nominees:
Al Gore, loved your movie; I watched it on a file sharing site then burned DVDs for all my friends. Kim Jong-il, I really thought you had me when you detonated that nuclear device, this is always next year.

As you read on my BLOG, my road to person of the year was not without a few bumps. I dropped almost 300 bucks on a Zune that was supposed to connect me to new music and friends; it might have if anyone else had actually bought one. I also lost my job when I spent three days camped out at a Best Buy chasing a PS III, but as my fellow POTY, Winston Churchill once said, “Victory at all costs”. Now as I join the company of Popes in the immortal pages of wikipedia I am reminded that my work is far from done. There will always be witty IM’s to compose and A-team parody webisodes to produce. There will always be camera phone pictures to Photoshop and more guitar hero songs to unlock.

In conclusion, I want to thank you for making me your Person of the Year. Not only because it is a great honor but chiefly because it will look really cool on my facebook.com profile.