Fall is Here! And so is TV.

The first official day of Fall was three days ago, the 22nd of September. Now, with Fall comes cooler weather here in Florida, the changing colors of leaves, college and NFL football, but for many, television season premieres are the highlight of Fall. America loves its football, and we love our TV. Colleges across the United States thrive on football season and the University of Florida is no different. Every game day in Gainesville, the town shuts down and turns completely orange and blue. People come together for the common love of the Florida Gators. I've never seen anything like it. Oh, wait. Yes I have. Every game day in Tallahassee is the exact same, except with garnet and gold. (Much prettier in my opinion).

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights, America sits glued to their televisions watching anxiously as each and every play unfolds. This year, the replacement referees of the NFL have been causing quite the controversy as many of the calls have be clearly wrong and caused the wrong outcomes of games. During the week, however, television shows tend to dominate the evenings. This year, some of the noteworthy shows on television are:

1. NCIS. Returning for its 10th season, the #1 drama on television will undoubtedly captivate millions of American's attention, mine included. NCIS is one of my favorite shows on TV, if not my favorite, and I am anxious for it's return.

2. Modern Family. On Wednesday, Modern Family will return to ABC. Modern Family heavily dominated the Emmy's and it's no secret why. With a brilliant cast and possibly more brilliant writers, Modern Family is a comedy that's impossible not to love.

3. The X-Factor and the Voice. I group these two together for the purpose of categories. Both are signing competitions and competitors. The preference toward one or the other will most likely come from which judge panel the viewer cares for more.

4. The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon Cooper, the genius scientist, makes this nerdy comedy a show for the entire family. Well, if your family is composed of nerds. The canned laughter and the science jokes create a rather cheesy sitcom, but I absolutely love it.

5. New Girl. New Girl is back for it's second season and I couldn't be more thrilled. With a character named Schmidt, I automatically love the show. The quirky humor and charming Zooey Deschanel keep me coming back each Tuesday night for another round of laughs.

6. Revenge. Now, I have yet to see this show, but from what I have heard it is amazing. Revenge is an intense drama based on avenging the death of a loved one, and it's season two premiere has been highly anticipated.

7. Glee. Broadway on TV, almost. For those that love to sing and dance, Glee is the perfect one hour escape to sing along with the talented cast and pretend to be a Hollywood star. At least that's why I watch it...

8. The Office. This Fall, The Office will premiere its final season on the air. After 8 seasons of laughter, tears, and joy, Dwight and Jim will have their final feuds before saying goodbye to their fans. Many people have stopped watching The Office for the past year due to the departure of Michael Scott (played by Steve Carrell), but it still holds a strong fan base that I believe will carry through it's final season.

This Fall, it's clear that there are tons of television shows to watch and keep up with. Pick a few, but don't forget to spend time with friends and family or head outside for a little bit. And if you're a student like me...remember to study!

Michelle Obama Speaks at UF

Yesterday, the 17th, the First Lady of the United States made her way to the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. The word that Michelle Obama would be in town spread like wildfire last Thursday. Callie (my roommate) and I waited in line for over two hours to get tickets to see Michelle Obama speak. The line was short, but moved incredibly slow. We were bombarded by people trying to get us to register to vote in Alachua County (no thank you) as well as making sure that we were indeed registered to vote somewhere. When we finally made it to the front of the line, we provided volunteers with our name and address before receiving our free ticket. We filled out the bottom as requested by the volunteers and made our way home.

The First Lady was scheduled to speak at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, September 17th. As this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I skipped my final class of the day to go wait in line. Callie, Justin, and I arrived at the O'Connell center at 2:00 p.m. However, by this time the line had already wrapped around the parking garage and through much of the parking lot. It took us over an hour before we made it in the building. While we were waiting in line, we learned that you could not bring backpacks inside which was unfortunate considering that I just came from class. Justin, (Callie's boyfriend) kindly volunteered to take our things home and miss the speech. What a good boy. Part of me thinks that he really didn't want to go or wait in line any longer, but we won't hold that against him. ;) As Callie and I neared the front of the line, a family of four cut in front of us (and about a thousand other people) and scooted under the rope. I didn't say anything to avoid starting a fight, but I thought it was rather rude. Secret Service personnel screened us just like airport security before we entered the building. It was absolutely packed. However, the organization of this event was less than efficient, particularly the seating arrangements.

Michelle Obama did not take the stage until 4:00 pm. 30 minutes later than scheduled. I'm sure there are  reasons why she was so late, but I was still a tad peeved to be waiting for so long. When she did walk out on stage, the crowd roared. We all stood and applauded for the First Lady. I listened intently as I want to make an informed decision this November. Here are some of the points that she made that stuck with me: 1) "We don't get anywhere on our own".  Now, I'm sure this wasn't meant to be insulting, but I thought it was a little bit of a risky statement following her husbands "You didn't build this" comment. She continued to say that for every time that we accomplish something, we have a community to thank, a special teacher, or someone that helped us along the way. While that is not entirely false in my opinion, I think the statement she made was a little bit too strong. 2) The Obamas will always tell us the truth, even when it's hard to hear. Very false. No politician, Democrat or Republican, will ever tell the people the entire truth. They have a campaign to win. Politicians have two goals in life: Get elected, and get reelected. Many times, the "hard truth" wouldn't allow them to get elected, so they tell the people what they want to hear instead. That comes as no surprise to me. That's part of politics. I watch the news knowing that there is no way that I am getting the full truth and I have come to accept that. So, the fact that I am getting lied to doesn't bother me nearly as much as politicians insisting that they are telling me the truth. 3) When President Obama took office, the newspapers were using words such as "meltdown" to describe the state of the economy. Interesting. During President Obama's term, we were minutes away from a government "shutdown". 4) The slogan of "GM is alive, Osama Bin Laden is dead" continues to be used heavily through the campaign trail. 5) Women. The First Lady made many appeals to the women in the audience, countering Governor Romeny's "War on Women". 6) With ObamaCare, children can stay under their parent's insurance until the age of 26. To me, that seems a bit ridiculous. In many ways I'm sure that is helpful, but I find it to be more enabling and crippling than helpful. I don't think that that encourages independent young adults.

Florida is a battle ground state. Our votes in this election are critical. I believe this is largely why Michelle Obama came to Gainesville to speak, and Tallahassee later that same night and I don't blame her. She knows that we will have an influence on this election and she wants to make her case for "4 more years". I think Michelle Obama is a wonderful speaker, just like her husband. I also think that she is a loving, dedicated wife and that speaks volumes to me. During these last four years at the First Lady of the United States, she had made great progress in the effort to fight childhood obesity and I admire that. Following this speech, however, I am not sure that I agree with much of what was said yesterday and will be eagerly watching the debates that will begin shortly.

Happy Tuesday! Make it a great one!

The Democratic National Convention

President Obama and his fellow constituents took the state in Charlotte, NC for the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Speakers included, but were not limited to, Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, and President Obama. Unfortunately, I was not able to watch the First Lady's speech, but I heard that it was rather good. That doesn't surprise me one bit. I have always liked Michelle and found her to be a genuine lady.

One of the more interesting moments of the convention was during the attempt to put God and Jerusalem back in the party platform. When asked for the majority vote, it was clear that there was no majority. However, the speaker tried again, and a third time to attempt to determine a 2/3 majority. No majority could have been determined from the vote, much less 2/3. Despite the failed vote attempt, the speaker read off of the teleprompter that already stated that God and Jerusalem would be reinstalled in the Democratic party platform. Following this verdict, there was a significant amount of booing among the audience as I'm sure they felt unheard and cheated. Unfortunately, this incident took up much of the "highlights" of the convention and received more attention than many of the speeches.

I did get the chance to watch Former President Bill Clinton speak prior to President Obama's address. In my opinion, at 50 minutes, it was rather long. Whether it was the length, or the content, I was not particularly impressed with Clinton's speech. However, the audience clearly was. The delegates laughed and applauded almost as if Clinton was still the President. Critics and analysts have stated that Clinton is actually rather Anti-Obama and is merely putting on a good show not to burn any bridges for when his wife runs again for President. My opinion on this, is irrelevant. Political standings aside, Clinton provided great entertainment for those in attendance at the convention as well as millions of viewers across America.

Following Vice President Joe Biden's speech, Michelle Obama gave a brief, but sweet, introduction for her husband, President Barack Obama. President Obama walked in to loud applause, cheers, and smiles. No matter your political party of preference, it's hard to debate that Obama is a wonderful speaker. He captivates the audience from the first line of his speech all through the last. In my opinion, Obama's speech was a good speech. Despite the excellent delivery, I did not find anything "new" in the President's speech other than the tone. Excellently delivered, interspersed with jokes and inspirational statements, and delivering a message that Obama is hopeful for the United States of America, rather than his previous campaigning tagline of hope and change. 

For the 2012 Presidential Election, I truly believe that both candidates are genuine people with America's best interest in mind. Why would one run for President if you didn't love the country that you  were running to govern? Both have seemingly stable and great families with loving, supporting, and intelligent wives. To me, it's not a question of candidates as people. Or, at least not the deciding factor. Rather, it is a matter of policy, which I believe is how all elections should be. People are entitled to their own opinions and allowed to vote as they please. That's the beauty of America. Over the next couple of months, we will see many debates between President Obama and Governor Romney, and come November 6th, our country will have to make a decision for the next President of the United States of America. Which slogan do you best align with: "Forward." or "We Built It."?

The Republican National Convention

 This past week, Mitt Romney and his fellow campaign members took to the stage in Tampa, Florida at the Republican National Convention (RNC). I will be able to vote in this election, which has spurred a sudden interest in politics for me. So, for four days, I sat in front of the TV and watched the RNC. The following is a brief overview on what I took away from the convention, trying to be as unbiased as possible.

Going into this convention, Romney and his teammates had a huge task ahead of him. The goals of the RNC, to me, were to humanize Mitt Romney as well as appeal to the women across America. My favorite speech of the entire RNC did not come from Romney, but from his wife, Ann. Ann Romney struck me as a very genuine woman with good intentions and a strong belief in her husband and his capabilities. I found her speech very effective in not only helping Mitt appeal to women, but giving the impression to America that the Romney's are a well rounded family that deeply care for one another. I was intently listening to her speech from beginning to end. I also rather enjoyed Condolisa Rice's speech and applaud her for not using a teleprompter. Brava. Seems to me like the women dominated this convention, at least speech wise.

In an attempt to humanize Governor Romney, two couples told their heartfelt stories about how Romney had helped them through some very rough times in their lives, such as helping a 14-year old boy write his will to make sure his skateboard would be delivered to his best friend when he passed. To me, this was the most successful part of the Convention. These stories were very genuine and heartfelt and gave the audience a deeper and more personal look into the life of Governor Romney and his contributions to the community.

Clint Eastwood made a guest appearance just minutes before Romney made his speech, and I must say it was rather interesting. As a Hollywood star, one would assume that he would be pretty liberal in his political views. However, Eastwood spent most of his speech talking to an empty chair where Obama "sat" in an old fashioned style comedy routine. While it was very entertaining and kept me tuned, Eastwood delivered some pretty harsh blows to the President. Some analysts were worried that Eastwood may have taken the spotlight of the entire convention, but I disagree. Although it was a nice comedic relief and distraction, I didn't think that Clint Eastwood stole the spotlight.

When it finally came time for Romney's speech on the last night of the convention, I was pumped. I was really looking forward to what he had to say and gathering more knowledge for the upcoming election. Although the speech didn't have much for me to criticize, it also was not particularly captivating. I found myself drifting off in thought, unlike in the prior speeches. However, I paid attention enough to catch some of his main points. With a few subtle attacks at President Obama and a few more that were a little harsh, Romney made it clear that he is ready to change the operations of the White House. He mentioned a "5-step plan" to get the economy on track, reduce the deficit, and create 26 million jobs...but he did not give any specifics to the audience. While I know that policy was not the primary goal of this convention, I was slightly disappointed not to hear any specifics from the Governor. I suppose that I will have to stay tuned for the upcoming debates as this election process continues.

Overall, I think that the RNC was a success. The Romney and Ryan families were presented as well grounded and genuine and confident in one another. I really enjoyed the RNC's slogan, "We Built It" as I thought it spoke accurately and directly to both the Republican ideals as well as a retort to President Obama's comments. This week, President Obama and Democrats will take the stage and you can bet your booty that I will be watching all four days of the convention. Stay tuned for my thoughts next Monday. :)