What do President Obama, Katy Perry, and Richard Sherman have in common?  No, not their luscious full hair.  The only thing they really have in common is that I am thinking about all of them this morning.  So, this blog is about three very unrelated topics bound together only by the fact that they are on my mind.

President Obama and the Night That Could Have Been

I live tweeted during the President’s State of the Union last night.  Aside from the comic relief of John Boehner’s orange hue and the terrifying knowledge that Joe Biden is a heartbeat away from the presidency, the speech was rather sad.  Obama wanted the speech to portray his administration with a ‘take action’ motif, but the result was that he just threw even more political partisanship jet fuel on the inferno of gridlock.  I wanted him to come out and strike a unifying tone.  I thought he could really make some headway on three specific issues.

1.  NSA Reform.  I know he made some meaningless announcements last week, but it strikes me that no one is really comfortable with the fact that the government is spying on people playing Angry Birds.  Yeah, they really did that.

2.  Immigration overhaul.  Even the GOP is coming around on this issue.  If a bill could get passed, then everyone wins.

3.  Something specific on reducing the national debt.  Under the President it has spiraled far out of control, and it would be nice if he took some responsibility and laid out a plan to now reduce it.  He could easily argue the debt and spending were necessary when he took over due to the great recession, but now it is time to get our financial house in order.

But he didn’t do any of that.  Yeah, he paid some lip service, but he put forth no real specifics.

You Mean Celebrities Don’t Make Good Role Models?

I don’t watch the Grammys because pop music generally makes my eyes twitch and sends me into some kind of seizure.  I am more of an Oscars guy (so far I’ve seen 4 of the best picture nominees) and not so much in love with the Grammys.  However, I am not immune to the cultural significance of it and the broohaha of Katy Perry’s witchcraft infused performance.  I have never liked Katy Perry’s music, but never had a reason to dislike her; until now.

1.  I am wondering if she took her cues from Stevie Nicks.  Nicks, of course, more in line with my timeline, made a reputation as being a witch into something of a cottage industry.  The difference is Nicks always denied being a witch and just played with the innuendo.  Perry, on the other hand, I think, actually performed black magic during the awards ceremony.  The more I think of it, her antics remind me more of the young bat eating Ozzy.

2.  One of the reasons this is shocking so many people, I think, is that a lot of moms thought that Perry was the safe or family friendly alternative to Miley or Lady Gaga.  WRONG!  I don’t know why they would think that since she is hyper-sexualized, but given the choice, I guess many see her as the lesser of many evils.  However, there are no safe alternatives in pop music.  You do not want your children to mimic the behaviors or beliefs of these people.  The real heroes they should imitate drive fire trucks, work ER’s, fly airplanes, teach children, and wear Kevlar to their job in war zones.

3.  There is an internet video floating around where Katy Perry supposedly admits to selling her soul to the devil because her gospel music career never got off the ground.  I don’t think the video is legitimate because it looks highly doctored and like bad lip reading.  However, keep in mind that these media artist types (actors, singers, writers, models, politicians and the like) will do anything to become famous.  They are media whores.

4.  This is what happens when you worship people.

Super Bowl XLVIII–The Last I is Silent

The Super Bowl is this Sunday and I will watch it with people from our new church.  The three of us will be wearing our Seahawk gear, of course.  I hope that the Seahawks win and have already predicted it before the playoffs ever began.  However, I am a realist.  The Denver Broncos could easily win this game because they are a really good team with a great quarterback and a good coach.  In all honesty, I think it is a pick’em kind of game.  However, I have three thoughts.

1.  Many have made a lot about this being the marijuana Super Bowl as it has teams from the two states that have legalized pot.  I have never smoked marijuana and do not endorse it, however, I think the halftime show should now be changed to include Willie Nelson and it is a shame that Ricky Williams is not in the Super Bowl this year.  He once famously gave up NFL so he could get high.  Do they still call the place where the Broncos play Mile High Stadium?

2.  Aside from the years we spent in the Northwest, I want Seattle to win because that poor city has never really won anything.  The Mariners are such a lousy team and the people there love the Mariners but they are so bad.  The evil NBA took the Sonics away from Seattle in a dastardly deed that makes me always cheer against Oklahoma City.  Then there was that time when the Seahawks played Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl and we should all remember how the referees literally gave the game to Pittsburgh all so Jerome Bettis could go out with a win.  But I’m not bitter.

3.  What idiot decided to play the Super Bowl in New York (Okay, it’s really New Jersey) in February.  That person should be fired ASAP.

Richard Sherman pic from http://www.metro.us