Week In Review - September 8, 2012

Finding quality blogging time has been challenging lately, but the wide world hasn't stopped spinning and generating jaw-dropping news and events. 

Mass shooting victim and former member of the House of Representatives Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) inspired us with her moving recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance at the DNC. Author Richard Bach, who taught us so much in Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions, was injured in a plane crash this week and his son told the world (not ironically) how much flying means to his dad.

We acknowledged the career and retirement of American tennis great Andy Roddick with a video compilation of Andy's most hilarious, endearing, and enraging moments.

Lastly, we said goodbye to talented actor Michael Clarke Duncan who died young this week at age 54. We celebrated Clarke's life and work by sharing a clip from his Oscar-nominated performance as a death row inmate who possesses a very special gift in The Green Mile. 

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - August 11, 2012

While attempting to name a running mate this week, Mitt Romney unintentionally crowned the "next President" of the United States. Romney's announcement of Paul Ryan as his Veep choice may not bode well for the nation's elderly and poor, but it may inspire more meaningful political dialogue.

Olympic pride took many forms this week. Saudi Arabia took an itsy bitsy baby step in the direction of women's rights, fielding its first female athletes ever. Meanwhile, British Olympic tennis champ Andy Murray let his pet terriers show off his U.K. pride and his Olympic bling.

In Uganda, we witnessed a very different and moving brand of pride, as courageous LGBT Ugandans risked arrest and personal safety to stage their first-ever gay pride parade.

We were all excited to see amazing images and video of Curiosity's landing on Mars, although the rover itself had more than a few sarcastic Tweets to share about its outer space adventure.

Back on Earth, we marveled at the salaries of our 15 highest earning authors, and we discovered two Australian musicians who haven't found great wealth, but who have found love and some amazing harmonies.

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - August 4, 2012

Like the rest of humanity, The Way Things Turn was largely focused on the London Olympics this week. We featured some unique and compelling photos from the games, though none of the pics were perhaps as bizarre as the image of London's flag-waving mayor dangling overhead from a malfunctioning zip line.

Twitter enhanced the Olympics experience, providing the usual running snark and cracker jack commentary. My tweets with ESPN's Chris Fowler about Dong Dong (the Chinese trampolinist) were a highpoint. Our favorite interactive Olympics toy, a body type "calculator" that allows you to find the athlete whose body most resembles your own, served as a fun (and potentially depressing) complement for Olympics viewing.

Early in the week, conservative NY Times columnist David Brooks wondered how long Mitt Romney could run a "policy-free" campaign. Elsewhere in politics, Congress passed a bill that arguably restricts free speech, but that definitely places restrictions on the ability of Westboro Baptist to stage protests at military funerals.

Lastly, in the wake of the massive turnout for Chick-Fil-A appreciation day, I implored Christians to consider the potentially deadly impact of their fried chicken-gobbling actions on young gay people. WWJD, indeed.

This week we enjoyed our 50,000th hit on The Way Things Turn website, and while I say it weekly, I've never meant it more genuinely - thanks for reading.

Week in Review - July 28, 2012

I don't remember a week when the adaptability and perseverance of the human spirit was reflected in so many different news stories. 

This week, we remembered the twelve victims of last week's awful shooting in Aurora, and we witnessed the impact of a very different kind of violence in this photo essay that captures the daily lives of refugees from the civil war in Syria. At Penn State, we saw yet another of the many faces of tragedy in the sad but necessary dismantling of the Joe Paterno sculpture installation. 

At the opposite end of the human emotional spectrum, we enjoyed the triumphant return of the Summer Olympics. After Mitt Romney's publicly-expressed concerns about London's readiness, the British PM delivered an Olympic smackdown to Romney and the games commenced successfully. Not surprisingly, we're riveted to tennis coverage on the telly at our house, and I published a short guide to Olympic tennis with TV schedules and fun facts to help you enjoy it too. Olympic bliss doesn't end when the 2012 summer games are over, as this incredibly inspiring ad reminds us that London will host the Paralympic Games at the end of August.

Far away from the Olympic playing fields, there was plenty of inspiration on the dance floor this week, especially in this beautiful and moving contemporary routine featured on this week's So You Think You Can Dance.

In a week when everything felt so serious and important, we must remember to periodically take a full breath, exhale deeply, and smile. Since that's often easier said than done, here's a cute clip of a precious kitten to help you out.

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - July 21, 2012

Senator John McCain delivered a memorable American-style smackdown to former Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann (R - Minnesota) on the Senate floor this week, after Bachmann made baseless allegations against a Muslim staffer who works for Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

In LGBT news, the President of Chick-Fil-A finally came out as a blatant homophobe, inspiring me to write this devastating break-up letter to my favorite chicken sandwich. The Boy Scouts reaffirmed their anti-gay stance this week, and the Twitterverse didn't take the news well, responding with a host of humorous and creative tweets.

Will Ferrell turned 45 this week and we celebrated the occasion with more cowbell.

Next week is featured zen contributor week on the blog. You have until 9pm (Pacific) on Sunday night to click here and vote for which famous figure will give us sage advice all week. Choices this month are Thomas Merton (Trappist monk), Cat Stevens (musician), Pema Chodron (Buddhist teacher), Tom Stoppard (playwright), and Nelson Mandela (activist).

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - July 14, 2012

Disappointing employment numbers for June confirmed that our economic recovery is still limping along, but the facts in our updated job creation chart show we are still on the right track. Democrats in the California legislature, however, are totally on the wrong track with their recent decision to spend billions of borrowed dollars on a high-speed rail system.

Louis Freeh released a scathing report on Penn State's handling of sex abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky, and Joe Paterno's family didn't disagree with his damning conclusions.

Frank Ocean's sexual revelations raised eyebrows, while his new album and the song We All Try are raising the bar on R&B music. Gotye is no longer all the rage in pop music, but Gotye parodies are still hilarious.

From the animal world - we pondered dog intelligence and wondered if our pets really understand us, and in light of two recent great white shark encounters, we made a silly list of the least helpful phrases to yell when someone is being chased by a shark.

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - July 7, 2012

A newsman made headlines this week, as Anderson Cooper publicly acknowledged his gayness in an eloquent email to writer Andrew Sullivan. Cooper’s gay confirmation was not surprising, but Frank Ocean’s coming out was. Ocean, a rising R&B music star, enjoyed big props from music mogul Russell Simmons, after sharing the unexpected truth about his sexuality.

Wimbledon dominated sports news, as Roger Federer won his 7th title at the All England Club. We brought you some of the most unique video from the event, including clips of a line judge taking a 118 mph serve serve in the face and a player charmingly taking a fan’s shouted advice in his effort to upset Novak Djokovic. We also shared some compelling photos from the tennis event.

We saw the best fast food interaction ever, as a guy sang his burger order at a Sonic drive-thru, and we loved watching an unbelievable Pakistani "percussion" guitar virtuoso improvise on stage with his musical hero.

Lastly, we acknowledged the passing of TV legend Andy Griffith, with a clip of the actor-singer performing "The Fishin' Hole," the theme song to his beloved Mayberry TV show. Who knew there were words, as well as whistling? RIP Andy.

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - June 30, 2012

The Twitterverse responded brilliantly to CNN’s embarrassing misreporting of the Supreme Court’s Obamacare decision with some creative and incredibly funny #CNNHeadline tweets. Arizona’s contentious immigration legislation also made Supreme Court news this week. White House reaction to the court’s verdict prompted Governor Jan Brewer to utter a few unnecessarily shitty and disrespectful comments about President Obama. 

The President, meanwhile, with his bold and thoughtful decision-making continued to remind us what genuine leadership looks like.

Outside of politics, we enjoyed an awe-inspiring video of the Earth from far above, and sticking with our outer-space theme (though with much less “awe”), we laughed our way through a clever video of fart-enhanced Star Trek clips.

In sports, we learned about a dead man’s bet on Roger Federer that may yield a six-figure bonus for charity.

Lastly, we marked the third anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death with MJ’s beautiful a cappella rendition of “I Never Can Say Goodbye.”

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - June 23, 2012

President Obama showed leadership and heart this week by issuing an executive order that protects young illegal immigrants, those who were brought into the U.S. as children, from the threat of deportation. Mitt Romney attempted to rebut the President’s decision, but then remembered he is incapable of taking specific policy positions on sensitive issues.

In sports, we watched clips of "bad boys" in various sports showing their underwear, injuring officials, and elbowing opponents in the head, and then compared the fines and penalties levied against them. Oscar-nominated actor Gary Oldman weighed in on celebrity sports figures with a hilarious video rant against the athlete-turned-actor trend.

We relished ESPN’s upcoming coverage of Wimbledon, and offered NBC a sympathetic middle finger for losing the contract. We featured some unique casual photos of top Wimbledon hopefuls, and shared links to both the Gentlemen’s and Ladies Wimbledon draws.

In pop culture, we explored the science of Slinky by watching what happens when the toy is dropped from a multi story building. Lastly, we laughed and empathized with a clever musical plea to Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin to hurry up and write, and we celebrated Paul McCartney's 70th birthday by listing the "top 10 reasons" to watch the Silly Love Songs video.

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - June 16, 2012

Did you hear Jeb Bush’s candid comments about dysfunctional government? I did, and I actually agree with most of what he said. President Obama was less candid in remarks he addressed to attendees of the Radio and TV Commentators Dinner – which is why we need Luther, Obama’s (hilarious) anger translator.

There was “Giant” news in sports this week, as San Francisco pitcher Matt Cain hurled only the 22nd perfect game ever thanks to some amazing catches. While Cain was making baseball history, new doping allegations against cycling’s Lance Armstrong once again threaten to alter the history of that sport. In basketball, the OKC Thunder and the Miami Heat began their NBA finals series, and I identified the selfish pronouns that will send LeBron and the Heat home empty-handed for the second straight year.

Most people were surprised by the revelation that HBO's Game of Thrones used the image of President Bush’s severed head on a spike. Meanwhile, only Kenneth from 30 Rock was shocked by the shoddy treatment he received at the legendarily hostile Wiener’s Circle hot dog stand in Chicago. We laughed until our tummies ached when Triumph the Insult Comic Dog came to his rescue. Just watch the insult-a-thon and enjoy (unless a lot of f*cking bleeping offends you).

We ended Mel Brooks “Zen” week with a slightly less than philosophical Mel-as-Moses moment from History of the World Part 1. Thanks to everyone who voted in the “featured zen contributor” contest. If I could, I would reward each of you with one of these frozen treats.

This week we reached a milestone 40,000 page views on The Way Things Turn. As always, thanks for reading!

Week In Review - June 9, 2012

Last month’s sluggish employment numbers were released by the Department of Labor, and the Obama campaign faced the difficult task of convincing Americans the economy is getting better.

In an effort to support White House efforts to allay fears about our dire employment situation, I offer this employment news.

• Fast food chicken restaurant Boston Market pumped up the workforce, hiring this guy to wear a chicken suit and wave an American flag (which someone stole). 
• Click and Clack of NPR’s Car Talk, announced they are retiring - but hey, retirees don't count as "unemployed" (besides, if you have a twisted sense of humor and know a shitload about cars - this may be the perfect job opportunity). 

Plenty of other interesting job openings surfaced across the nation. If you need work or want a change of pace, consider this.

• You can pick up debris that’s washing ashore from last year’s Japanese tsunami – like this 165-ton dock found in Oregon.
• You can produce electronic remixes of Mister Rogers’ songs, like someone did with this auto-tuned children’s classic. 
• You can be an actor who scares the bejesus out of people by pranking them, like Pine-Sol did in these “product testing” clips.

One selfish guy with several jobs is Neil Patrick Harris. NPH stars in a hit TV show and he’s hosting the Tony Awards. As if that’s not enough, last week he made an appearance on The Colbert Report, where he outed Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood and explained why Broadway theater should be an Olympic sport.

Readers did their jobs this week, casting their votes and selecting director and comedian Mel Brooks as next week’s featured Daily Zen contributor. Brooks edged out philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Not sure what these results say about readers of The Way Things Turn, but better luck next time to those no-talent dolts who came in tied for last place – Anne Frank and the Dalai Lama.

I appreciate all the reader participation and suggestions for future Daily Zen contributors. 

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - June 2, 2012

In politics this week, a jury took it easy on ex-Senator John Edwards in his campaign finance fraud trial, and former President Bill Clinton was accused by the left-wing of being soft on Mitt Romney and Bain Capital. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sounded sharp and serious about the horrific killings in Syria, but so far, there’s only tough talk from the White House.

Marriage equality for same-sex couples was back in the news, as a decision from a federal appeals court put the Defense of Marriage Act on its deathbed.

We shared some fun pictures, including French Open actions shots of Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and others, and we linked this week's Reuters News most unique and compelling images from around the globe.

So You Think You Can Dance kicked off its 2012 season with a terrifically moving and powerful dance audition that left audience members and judges weeping. Lastly, in the sure to make you weep-and-smile category, we witnessed the sweetest (and most complexly choreographed) marriage proposal ever.

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - May 26, 2012

In American politics, everything is for sale – including a vial of blood drawn from former President Ronald Reagan. If the GOP ever chose a king it would have been Reagan, but in America we’ve never supported the idea of monarchy. That’s partly why I argue that the U.S. should adopt term limits for Congressman - to keep the influence of power and money in politics in check.

In Miami, King James and Dwyane Wade are working to establish their dynasty, but like so many monarchs, so far they’ve mostly only managed to piss people off, becoming arguably the least popular franchise in professional sports.

Dharun Ravi was sentenced this week for crimes that contributed to the death of Tyler Clementi. I managed to blog about the details about Ravi’s 30-day jail sentence, but upon a little poetic reflection, I was left with nothing more than the idea that a boy is dead who shouldn’t be.

On a lighter note, the Golden Gate Bridge turns 75 years-old this week, and we enjoyed these stunning photos from the early days of its construction to the fog-banked present day.

Music had a big presence on the blog this week. We laughed at a humorous and clever parody of a cover of the Gotye song that has taken over the world, and we smiled and wept with joy as we witnessed an incredibly kind and beautiful moment between a street musician and an 8 year-old blind boy who suffers from autism.

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - May 19, 2012

Did a soft liberal California Democratic Senator really call directly and explicitly for a killing? Yep, she did. Did former POTUS George W. Bush really offer helpful personal counsel to Vice President Joe Biden? No, but in this hilarious SNL comedy sketch he did. Could the 2012 general election be the most boring of our lifetime? Maybe, and here’s why.

NBC/Sony fired Dan Harmon, creator of the sitcom Community, without even the courtesy of a phone call. Some insiders viewed the move as unfathomably rude, while others saw the incident as an incredible asshole finally getting his comeuppance. Either way, Harmon’s response to the incident was brilliant. Hollywood weirdness also made its way across the Atlantic this week, as actor Will Smith showed up at a professional tennis event in Madrid to promote a movie by presenting the oddest and least useful gift ever to tournament champion Roger Federer.

Glee star Jane Lynch guested on Rachel Maddow’s show this week. The two women chatted thoughtfully about politics and shared their very personal reactions to President Obama’s same-sex marriage support. In Kansas a nine year-old boy inspired us all when he staged a one-man counter-protest against hate-spewing Westboro Baptist Church picketers.

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - May 12, 2012

If you have been living in a cave this week, you might have missed President Obama’s coming out interview. There was more than ample media coverage of the event, although nothing in the news about the President’s support of same-sex marriage entertained as much as the celebrity Tweets I fabricated about it. Who knew Kim Kardashian and Jesus would ever Tweet about the same topic?

The President hopes to fare better for honestly stating his position, than Phillies’ pitcher Cole Hamels did when he told the truth about intentionally targeting a rookie with a 93-mph fastball.

Death loomed large in this week’s news. We commemorated the passing of Maurice Sendak by sharing five defining facts about the author’s life, and we were surprised by the tragic details we learned about how artist Thomas Kinkade died. On the thirty-first anniversary of Bob Marley’s death, we celebrated his life with a classic Marley tune performed Sesame Street-style.

Lastly, we enjoyed seeing pictures of our most prominent writers in some rather unusual settings.

As always, thanks for reading.

Week In Review - May 5, 2012

American poet Walt Whitman celebrated our individual and collective vastness. "I am large -- I contain multitudes," he wrote. It's within that spirit of infinite variety that I attempt to produce The Way Things Turn, and this week, I feel like we succeeded...in covering damn near everything.

Serious. We entered the next phase of the sorry demise of former Democratic hopeful John Edwards, and we saw a gay Romney spokesman forced from his job for all the wrong reasons.

Offensive. A candidate for president disrespectfully called out a former president, so I called bullshit on Mitt Romney's unfair slap at Jimmy Carter.

Important. The street funeral of a Syrian graffiti artist/activist provided a powerful visual of revolution, while in the U.S., we impose our moral will at the ballot box - in California, voters will soon decide the fate of the death penalty.

Fascinating. Dame Edna and Edvard Munch showed us the business of art done well, while Spirit Airlines showed us the art of business done poorly.

Poignant. A woman suffering from Multiple Sclerosis discovered that a trained monkey could help restore her functionality and her dignity.

Hilarious. We celebrated Cinco de Mayo like Pee Wee - with a big shoe dance.

Pretty much, something for everyone. Live large and thanks for reading.

Week In Review - April 28, 2012

At the White House Correspondent's Dinner, the President showcased his sense of humor and shared his secret second-term agenda. If political humor isn’t your speed, check out this Craigslist car ad for a 1995 Pontiac that promises to “emanate manliness from every loosely-coupled piece of sheet metal.”

In sports, the tennis world’s #2 player Rafael Nadal kicked off the clay court season with a win, and in music, the world’s #1 singer-songwriter, Greg Laswell, gave us all a big win with the release of his new album Landline.

On an inspiring (and hopefully not somber) note, I reflected on my first year as a hospice volunteer, and shared what I’ve learned from my time with the dying.

Thanks to everyone who voted for May’s featured Daily Zen contributor. After a tight race, Ralph Waldo Emerson edged out Katherine Hepburn and J.M Barrie. We’ll show off a week’s worth of RWE quotes beginning Monday 5/7.

Oh yeah, one last thing, the most creative reader suggestion for a future Daily Zen feature contributor was RuPaul. I did some research, and while there weren’t enough sharable RuPaul quotes to fill a week (sorry Mitch), there was one pearl of wisdom I had to share.

“My goal is to always come from a place of love ...but sometimes you just have to break it down for a motherfucker.” - RuPaul

As always, thanks for reading!

Week In Review - April 21, 2012

John Boehner and several other members of the GOP establishment have finally jumped on the inevitability bandwagon and announced their support for Mitt Romney. The most widely-reported endorsement of the week came from aging rocker Ted Nugent, whose potentially threatening anti-Obama rant earned him a Secret Service interview.

To mark the annual arrival of the mid-April tax filing deadline, we revealed five completely weird (but totally legal) ways to make non-taxable income in California, and with the arrival of warm spring weather, we introduced the idea of driving less and walking more. We linked a cool interactive chart so you could see how "walkable" your city is.

We explored the awesome power of music, as we witnessed the remarkable transformation of an Alzheimer's patient, and we honored the life and legacy of Dick Clark with a rollicking live Barry Manilow performance of the American Bandstand theme song.

Lastly, just for fun, we enjoyed a video clip of on-air Freudian slips by news anchors that left us wondering what was really on their minds. 

As always, thanks for reading!

Week In Review - April 14, 2012

The Centers for Disease Control released new data this week showing record low birth rates among American teenagers. Ever the skeptic, I compared these teen pregnancy results with abortion rates, and added my thoughts on how to ensure that both stats continue to decline.

Elsewhere in sexual politics, President Obama, arguably the most gay-friendly president in history (hat tip to Tony Meredith for that reminder), disappointed his gay supporters this week with an executive order he didn’t sign.

With new polling showing only a 21% favorability rating, Newt Gingrich may be less popular across America than Marlin’s manager Ozzie Guillen is in Miami's Little Havana. Guillen's praise last week for Cuba's Fidel Castro will surely be the centerpiece in the Stupid-Things-Ozzie-Said Hall of Fame. A man with no popularity issues is Newark, NJ mayor Cory Booker, who rescued a neighbor from a house fire this week, and who, I argue, has achieved at least 10 impressive feats that would make Superman jealous.

On Saturday I reviewed the music of Gotye, the 31 year-old Euro-Aussie sensation whose album Making Mirrors is re-writing the rules of pop music. Later that day, Gotye performed on Saturday Night Live and then showed off his sense of humor in a parody of his hit “Somebody That I Used To Know.”

As always, thanks for reading!

Week In Review - April 7, 2012

Mitt Romney had a very good week last week, despite his wife's queer assertion that we still needed to "unzip" her husband. With a clean sweep in last week's primaries, Romney shifted his focus more toward President Obama. I warned Democrats to dust off their clown shoes and prepare to join the political circus that, until now, has primarily been the domain of the GOP. 

The holiday weekend made for a quiet news cycle, so I took time to revisit some favorite remembrances of Easters past, not the least of which included frightful mall bunnies and reflections on an astonishing work of "religious" literature I read one Easter Sunday morning twenty years ago. 

Speaking of dead men coming back to life (he says, preparing for a vengeful lightning strike), we also had fun seeing how zombies might perform as marketing executives in a hilarious Walking Dead/Mad Men video mashup. Lastly, we all loved seeing Maxi the wonder golden retriever attempting to save Timmy from the well, just like Lassie. Or something like that. 

As always, thanks for reading!