I promise this blog will be more than YouTube videos

But while I'm working on creating actual content, please enjoy this video of B.B. King performing one of the best songs in the history of the world.



I'm determined to see King in concert before, you know, he ages himself out of existence. He's playing one Chicagoland gig in the second half of 2010...in Hammond, Indiana. Hmmm...

Confessions of a Sorkin Addict

My name is Brittany (hi Brittany), and I'm addicted to Aaron Sorkin.

Phew, that felt good. Okay, so if you don't know who I'm talking about, you're about to get a crash course. (Just go with it.) Sorkin is a writer whose most famous work is a little show called The West Wing. The show ran for seven seasons and won more awards -- including 27 Emmys -- than you can fit on even the most impressive mantle. I mean, hot damn. It was basically one of the best shows ever on the air. (omg West Wing clips) His other TV series -- Sports Night* (1998-2000) and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007) -- featured a similarly witty, intense, character- and dialog-driven television experience, though neither lasted more than a couple seasons. He's also written screenplays: The American President, A Few Good Men (which was actually a play a few years before Jack Nicholson yelled, "You can't HANDLE the truth!!" at Tom Cruise), Charlie Wilson's War, and this fall's feature on the founding of Facebook, The Social Network, among others. His characters are consistently brilliant, articulate, and self-aware. Sorkin somehow makes even the dullest discussion of political theory engaging, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I learned more about the American political system from the West Wing than in my freshman year American Politics class.

Basically, he's a BAMF.

So you can imagine how psyched I was when my friend Jason asked if I wanted to attend a production of Sorkin's newest play, The Farnsworth Invention, which is about the invention of television. The play ran on Broadway for fewer than six months (starring Hank Azaria as media mogul David Sarnoff; check out the trailer) back in '06-'07, and has since only been shown in small theaters in a few cities around the country. The TimeLine Theater Company in Lakeview is currently staging the Chicago premiere.

Okay, so I may be fundamentally biased because of my undying love for everything Sorkin, but this was quite possibly the best play I've ever seen. The scenes and transitions were crisp, the characters were lovable and flawed, and the acting and staging were phenomenal. Most of the engineering stuff went over my head, but that didn't matter in the slightest. The confrontation between Sarnoff and Philo Farnsworth -- a small-town kid from Idaho that invented television without so much as a college degree -- is played out to perfection. The two narrate each others' stories, bickering in the middle of scenes in the way that brings to mind a regular Monday meeting between Toby Ziegler and Josh Lyman. And as with everything Sorkin, you walk out of the theater knowing something new. (Of course, you have to take into account that the play is ficitonalized, but there are enough nuggets of truth to create a fairly complete tapestry, and the program notes belabor the actual facts if you're interested.) TimeLine took a really good script and put on a top-tier production.

Point is, if you're in Chicago, you gotta go. Soon, because it closes this month.

[Side note: In the process of writing this post, I've watched at least 20 minutes worth of WW and SN clips. It's a disease, I'm telling you. And it feels so good.]

* You can watch the entirety of Sports Night on YouTube. Begin your conversion here.

My apologies, dear readers

I feel bad for subjecting you to Nickelback. By way of apology, I offer one of the most awesome music videos on YouTube. My parents are much cooler than me (a theme, I reckon) and introduced me to Keller Williams last December. I saw him live in Champaign with my friend Liz in January, and am patiently waiting for him to perform within two hours of Chicago again. Incredible performer, unbelievably talented, and almost makes up for the Nickelback. I'm personally responsible for approximately half of the 467,000 views. It's mesmerizing.

Damn you, Nickelback

I CANNOT GET THIS SONG OUT OF MY HEAD.

Seriously, Nickelback. Go to hell.

FUN GAME ALERT! Can you name all the celebrities in the video? I caught Kid Rock, Eliza Dushku, the Playboy girls, Gene Simmons, Wayne Gretzky, Nelly Furtado, and of course Billy Gibbons. But my favorite is definitely the unknown British guy at 1:10. Also, woot woot Chicago landmarks!

Quit sullying the name of feminism, Jezebel

I'm sure this will come as a shock, considering that I'm young, liberal and enjoy my news with a dash of sarcasm, but I'm a big fan of the Daily Show, and I was excited to see a new face about a month back when Olivia Munn made her debut as a correspondent. She's apparently got quite the frat-fan-boy following already, having co-hosted a show on G4 since 2006 and not shying away from some pretty base humor. Her mother may cringe, but Munn seems to be willing to do whatever for a laugh, and I can appreciate that.

But the shit hit the fan a couple weeks later when Jezebel -- a women's blog owned by the Gawker network -- published a piece accusing the Daily Show of having a "woman problem." Specifically, that the show doesn't employ enough ladies and fosters a hostile environment for the few that do work there. The Jezebel editors were apparently irked by the addition of Munn to the news show, as her aforementioned antics and natural assets (see below) landed her on the cover of magazines like Maxim and even Playboy (as opposed to, you know, respectable journalism outlets like Cosmo). Jezebel just doesn't see the humor in a popular segment on the G4 show that consists of Munn putting various objects in her mouth. (Which, you know, may be a fair point.)

A thorough read reveals that the Jezebel piece is a joke, and trades on knee-jerk feminism that is dutifully documented by Slate's Emily Gould, a former Gawker editor. (The gist: Splashy, angry-sounding, fist-waving feminist pieces fuel page views...even if the point they're making is stupid or overblown.) What's awesome is how the Daily Show and Olivia Munn have been handling it. The women of the Daily Show published a letter (written to "People Who Don't Work Here") addressing the allegations directly. True to the spirit of the show, the letter is sincere, factual and funny. Munn has a book hitting shelves today, so I'm sure she's not too upset about the media blitz around this story, but she remains cool and hilarious in the interviews she's given. Her second Daily Show segment aired last Thursday, and the Daily Show continues to do what SNL hasn't achieved in years -- be consistently funny. Welcome to the family, Olivia.

Munn's Leia costume caused something of a stir at last year's Comic-Con. I wonder why.

He's not compensating for anything

I'm not going to lie. The sole purpose of this post is so I can have another one labeled "handbells." For reals though, those are some big freaking bells. According to the source, they're the biggest in the world. I hope Em Lindo -- the only bona fide handbell player I know -- is appropriately impressed.

Via Capital City Ringers

Today, we honor America

No wonder Ben Franklin had such a great sense of humor.

OK Go, The Muppets, and Ira Glass

I mean seriously, does it get much better?

My roommate Allie, her boyfriend John, and our friend Julia and I saw OK Go back in April. (I'd also seen them when they came to Northwestern in...was it 2007?) They put on a phenomenal show, including performing "What to Do" on handbells. HANDBELLS. I wasn't close enough to get video or even a good photo, so here's a video from their San Diego show last year. The white gloves really make the performance.

Moral of the story: Of all the bands I've seen live, OK Go is clearly having the most fun on stage. Which just makes it an awesome show. If you get the chance to see them live, go.

Also re: the posted video, note the random, silent presence of Zach Galifianakis. Like, what?

The Practical Guide to Starting a Cult

I wrote this humor piece for a writing class this past spring. If I inspire just one of you to start your own cult, my life will be worthwhile. Enjoy.

The word “cult” is thrown around rather lightly these days -– Cult of Mac and so forth. Steve Jobs has it pretty good, and you can too: The key to the good life is positioning yourself as the leader of a hapless band of followers that can't think for themselves. (For the quick and easy route, see related article: “How to Usurp Leadership of the American Tea Party from Fox News.”) Wouldn’t it be great to have people fawn over you, love you, kill for you, and do pretty much whatever you say? Of course it would. Here's what you do:

Getting started:
- Choose a text on which to base your teachings. The Bible is an effective but overly ambitious and over-used choice; you may be better off going with something like the operation manual to your microwave. Memorize and meditate on the wisdom in your chosen text. Find phrases (“Read all instructions before use.” “Do not immerse cord in water.”) that can be used as chants later.
- Do your homework. Research other great cult leaders like Tony Robbins, Jesus, Oprah, and Lady Gaga.
- Establish a legitimate-looking front. Personal wellness centers, think tanks and consulting firms are good options, since no one actually understands what they do.
- Name your cult something catchy that is a combination of meaningful words, like “Scientology.”* Don’t forget to set up a Facebook group.
- Go out and find some primary followers. This is where charisma matters: Impress them with lofty-sounding language, scare them with prophesies of the future, and convince them that you are the only gateway to an eternal state of Utopia. It helps if you get them high first.
- Once your inner circle is complete, expand your membership. Target the obviously disgruntled; some people are just itching to leave normal society behind and adopt your way of life. (Other people are just itching. Avoid them.)

Now that you’ve got your cult up and running, find ways to slowly gain control over all aspects of your followers’ lives. Start small, and work your way up. Some ideas:
- Establish a unique look for your followers to adopt. An early-90’s hairstyle is a great place to start. Require all members to sport either a rat tail or feathered bangs. The truly devoted will reveal themselves by attempting both. Praise them.
- Require that everyone live together. Every respectable cult has a compound. The more creative and weird, the better; giant treehouses and dilapidated warehouses are good options. You’ll want something set apart from society, so your followers can’t contact the outside world. Confiscate cell phones, unless they're AT&T. They won't ever have a signal anyway.
- Castrate everyone. Trust me, it just makes things easier.
- Control what your followers eat. You may choose to feed them nothing but Fruit Roll-Ups and Sprite, and that’s fine. Have a weekly Tuesday treat of jelly beans, but only for those with no demerits.
- If you’re running low on jelly beans, award a lot of demerits.
- Keep them busy. Physical labor, croquet and Jersey Shore marathons have all proven effective methods for breaking spirits. As a last resort, force them to read the entire Twilight series in one sitting and write a fifty-page, fully sourced essay on how they identify with each of the characters. If that doesn’t destroy their faith in humanity, nothing will.

At some point you’ll need an exit strategy. Fleeing the country with your followers' worldly possessions (and bank account numbers) is a nice idea, but if you really want to do this right, you'll facilitate your devotees' passage to the next plane of existence. Kool-Aide is cliché; try to go out with a bang. Work in a ring of fire, those are really cool. Tell them you need to die last, to ensure everyone else is properly ushered to the far-off alien planet or wherever you're going. Then run like hell.

* Legal note: That cult name is already in use.

P.S. For an incredibly creepy but accurate video about how to start a cult, go here.

Hello World

Do you guys remember that song? It reminds me of high school; I think it may be off the soundtrack to Down to You, a thoroughly mediocre Freddie Prinze/Julia Stiles romantic comedy from 2000*. (A quick Internet search confirmed this fact. God bless Google.)

Despite the fact that I routinely get this song stuck in my head -- and for the record, it would be GREAT in a cappella -- I had never seen the video until I looked it up today. Where to begin. Well, no, it's actually pretty obvious: Remember that hairstyle? Good God, what were we THINKING? Beware, trendsetters: You will almost certainly be laughed at a few years from now. Perfect example: Leggings-as-pants. And, according to Christina Schonberg, shirt-as-dress, which we'll hope remains contained within the metaphorical (yay!) walls of Germany. Don't even get me started on shirt-as-pants.

My first-ever MP3 player (circa 2006) held only 32 songs, and this was one of them -- along with the Moulin Rouge version of "Lady Marmalade," "Shake Ya Tailfeather" by Nelly et al, and...er, actually, those are the only ones I remember. I listened to a lot of Aretha Franklin in high school, but I don't recall whether she made it onto the 32-song hot list.

Anyway, isn't this song just adorable? There isn't a single lyric that anyone can disagree with: "Hello world, this is me, life should be fun for everyone." Awwww-inducing. This, to me, is the epitome of late 90's happy bubblegum pop. Another song I'd put in that category is "Perfect Day" by Hoku - who is, no joke, the daughter of legendary Hawaiian singer Don Ho. (Thank you, Wikipedia.) That song came out in 2001.

A few other happiness-inducing selections:
"Oh What a Night (December 1963)" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (talk about a regrettable hairdo...)
"I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown
"Respect" by Aretha
"Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Foundations
"Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae
"You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates (The scene from (500) Days of Summer is to die for.)
Pretty much anything by Mika

Any one of these songs can usually perk me up on a given day.

That was a long-winded, overly tangential way of saying, hello Internet world. It appears I've finally arrived. And with more parentheses than you'll know what to do with.


* For those who are chronologically confused, I attended high school between 2001 and 2005, and this song predates that, but those were also the final glorious years of the VHS, so I had that dumb movie taped and would watch it ad nauseum in between viewings of Whose Line is it Anyway? and Blues Brothers 2000. I have superb taste in movies/television.