Ripped jeans, skin was showing...

I mean, the logical part of me understands that the President of the United States didn't actually have anything to do with putting this together, however, this endears me to Barack Obama in a way that is probably a little bit crazy.  (Since I just met him...)  Thank you for this, wonders of the internet, who ever said you were worthless?



xo kate

The President and Sports

Bill Simmons has been on my list of internet personalities that I love for about 13 years now, since back in the day when he really did only write about Boston sports.  His baffling knowledge of, and appreciation for, all things Boston, sports and early nineties Fox prime-time dramas really defines a lot of what I care about.  But his postcast with President Obama just takes it to a whole news level.  Particularly with a Republican field of I-hate-poor-people, I-hate-women, and I-hate-poor-people-women-gays-and-minorities, it's easy to love the Commander In Chief, but he just keeps making it easier.  Full podcast available here.  Transcript available here.

"Well, it’s funny, the mythology of sports is just — it's deeply embedded in us. I remember I visited Iraq as a senator, and I think at that point I had already started running for president, but I can’t remember. Anyway, they invited me to go into this gym, and there were like 3,000 of our troops there. And somebody just handed me a ball and said, "Come on, Mr. President, take a shot." And I said, OK, and I shot it and swished it from the 3-point line. And the amount of excitement that those folks had was surprising to me.

But I think it just sort of reminded me of the kind of bond that sports creates in people. People — for all our differences politically, regionally, economically — most folks understand sports. Probably because it’s one of the few places where it’s a true meritocracy. There’s not a lot of BS. Ultimately, who’s winning, who’s losing, who’s performing, who’s not — it’s all laid out there."

xo kate

Sunday Night Follow Up

It's Sunday afternoon, and it's the perfect opportunity for me to follow up about some things I've written this week.  Plus, I just know that you were hoping to hear from me again this week.  Because I definitely haven't been overkilling the blog or anything...

Yeah, it's pretty embarrassing the first time you run into Prince Philip
in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom.

First, for those of you who were with me on the Pippa and Harry bandwagon, it seems that the Chelsy and Harry bandwagon is kicking our ass.  According to an unnamed Us Weekly source (which we know are always the most reliable of sources), "They were acting like a couple and kissed in front of everyone." They also *gasp* left the after party together at 6am.  I have to admit, I'm disappointed -- I thought Pippa and Harry were going to make it happen -- but I'm also intrigued.  If you're Harry, and you're taking your girlfriend home at 6am, are you going to Buckingham Palace?  Are the princes allow to have sleepovers at the Palace?  If so, does the girlfriend then join the Queen for breakfast the next morning still in her evening wear?  Cuz that's worse then the worst walk of shame ever.  Does Harry always have to play away ball?  How does that go?  Does he say, "Uh, so, I know I have, like, 25 palaces with hundreds of rooms and everything, but sorry, can we go to your place? My grandma's home..."  


Second, in my rundown of great Michael Scott moments, I somehow managed to forget one of my very favorites!  Michael's performance of American Pie at the grave of his lost love, the chair model.

Michael, like me, has trouble getting the lyrics right.

Do Morgan Fairchild and Bob
Schieffer have some relation-
ship that I don't know about?

Finally, I'm wondering how they decide on the guest list for the White House Correspondents Dinner.  Is it just me, or is this the most random collection of celebrities and public figures ever?   I get that news outlets buy tables and they fill them with celebrities to get more media attention (sort of ironic, since they are the media and could seemingly just choose to cover their own tables) but I don't understand why they choose the celebrities that they choose.  Specifically, I'm wondering how America Ferrera, Shaun White, Alyssa Milano, Michelle Trachtenberg and Morgan Fairchild made the list this year.  These are people (with the possible exception of Shaun White, but he just rubs me the wrong way) who have not been relevant in, like, three to thirty years.  And, let's be honest, it's generous to say that they were ever really relevant.  I'm surprised that any of them would even make the list for a White House Christmas card.  Anyone with any information about this, please let me know.


xo kate

He's from New Hampshire!

I'm not going to lie to you, it feels pretty weird to be writing about something that is not the royal wedding. Regular life is so much worse than a fancy-pants wedding across the pond.  It's like coming home after a great vacation.  Oh, well.  I did try to recapture the magic by watching the William and Kate Lifetime movie.  They really took some liberties with the phase "based on a true story" with that one.  (Look at that, I did manage to make this about the royal wedding.  It's like I have a special skill or something.  Is there a way to make that my full-time job?)

At any rate, I actually meant for this to be about Seth Meyers at the White House correspondents dinner.  He was super funny, taking digs at Joe Biden, John Kyl, President Obama and, of course, Donald Trump.  Meyers' performance was relevant and stayed pretty appropriate as far as these things go.  Although The Donald definitely did not appreciate it.  Does he think laughing isn't presidential? Maybe he should have thought about what was and wasn't presidential when he was hosting Wrestle Mania, not voting in 20-plus years, hocking vitamins on late night TV, or mediating fights between Meatloaf and Gary Bussey.

I've always thought that Seth Meyers was funny, although I've been disappointed by SNL during his run as head writer, perhaps most importantly though, Seth Meyers is from New Hampshire.  And I love people from New Hampshire.



President Obama's speech was also funny, particularly the part where he releases his birth video.  One of the things that I've always really liked about the President is his sense of humor and his ability to make fun of himself and the ridiculousness that sometimes surrounds him.



Enjoy!

xo
kate

Best Picture Ever.

Danielle and I have both been out of town recently, so that's why the blog has been so quiet lately.  We haven't given up on W&W and will be back to posting regularly by the end of the week.  In the meantime, here's the greatest picture ever of Barack Obama dressed like a pirate.  Enjoy!

President Obama dressed like a pirate!

xo kate

Fate

One night President Obama and his wife Michelle decided to do something out of routine and go for a casual dinner at a restaurant that wasn’t too luxurious. When they were seated, the owner of the restaurant asked the president’s secret service if he could please speak to the First Lady in private. They obliged and Michelle had a conversation with the owner. Following this conversation President Obama asked Michelle, “Why was he so interested in talking to you.” She mentioned that in her teenage years, he had been madly in love with her. President Obama then said, “So if you had married him, you would now be the owner of this lovely restaurant,” to which Michelle responded, “No. If I had married him, he would now be the President.”

(Source: thebirdsandthelees.tumbler.com)

Inspiring. Hopeful. Salmon.

New York Magazine and NPR released this hilarious wordcloud comparison between what President Obama said during the State of the Union address last night, and what stuck with people (based on the words they use to describe it).  I'm not actually sure if I'm legally allowed to just outright steal the images, so here's the link.

The President's speech focused on the economy, and in particular on innovations in industry, education, science and technology.  Oh, and he also made a joke about salmon while discussion inefficiency in government bureaucracy.

For those of you who missed the speech, the full transcript and audio link can be found here.  And the following is the bit about the salmon:
"There are twelve different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different entities that deal with housing policy. Then there's my favorite example: the Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them in when they're in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked."

Although I thought the salmon joke was funny, my favorite part of the speech was the end, which had a cadence that may as well have been written by Sam Seaborn.
We should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. Reforming our schools, changing the way we use energy, reducing our deficit — none of this will be easy. All of it will take time. And it will be harder because we will argue about everything. The costs. The details. The letter of every law.


Did Sam Seaborn join President
Obama's speech writing team?

Of course, some countries don't have this problem. If the central government wants a railroad, they build a railroad, no matter how many homes get bulldozed. If they don't want a bad story in the newspaper, it doesn't get written.

And yet, as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn't a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth. ...

We do big things.

From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. That's how we win the future.

We're a nation that says, "I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company." "I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree." "I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try." "I'm not sure how we'll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we'll get there. I know we will."

We do big things.


The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it's because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.

xo kate

Expectations

There's a lot of reasons to question the state of the country and the world right now.  Just in the last few weeks we've seen thousands of blackbirds falling out of the sky in Alabama, hundreds of people killed in flooding in Brazil, millions of American still unemployed and underemployed, cops tampering with evidence in a rape case in Florida, Ted Williams -- the homeless man turned internet star -- getting sent to rehab, and the anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti.  A year after a devestating earthquake all but leveled the country and killed over 200,000 people, over a million Haitians remain without homes, schools and basic infrastructure, and thousands more have been struck by the cholera epidemic sweeping the country.

Perhaps most poignant this week, was the tragedy in Arizona, where a gunman opened fire on a crowd gathered in a supermarket to meet their Congresswoman.  Almost immediately after the incident, elected officials, journalists and pundits began pointing fingers and casting blame for the actions of this disturbed young man, further fanning the flames of partisanship even as they blamed violent political rhetoric for poisoning our civility.

Last night, though, President Obama sought to begin our national healing with a speech at the memorial service for the victims in Tucson.  The president's oratorical gifts have long been lauded and last night he was at his best.  His speech managed to honor the victims, praise the heroes and give me hope for the future by articulating a vision of national unity that rises above violence and bitterness.

In remembering the shooting youngest victim, nine year-old Christina Taylor Green, he said:

"Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation’s future.  She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful.  She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model.  She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.

I want us to live up to her expectations.  I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it.  All of us – we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations."

Despite all the reasons to question the world, President Obama reminds us about the power of our democracy.  I, too, hope that we can live up to our children's expectations, and our own.

If you haven't had a chance to listen to President Obama's speech, you can listen or read it here.

xo kate