Jeff Dunham

So I didn't really know what to write about for this blog...until I just happened to pay attention to something that is on my desk in my dorm. I have an Achmed doll that talks. For those of you that have been deprived and don't know who Achmed is...he is one of the famous characters created by ventriloquist Jeff Dunham. Jeff Dunham is my favorite comedian so I think I could dedicate a blog to him.

It all started about three years ago when my older sister had mentioned to me about some dude that made dolls talk and was hilarious. I was a little skeptical at first, but I love humor so I gave him a shot and watched his first special. It was love at first laugh. From his character Walter, a grumpy old guy who isn't afraid to tell you how he feels, to Achmed, a dead terrorist who had lived his life as a suicide bomber, there wasn't one moment when I was at least smiling. I'm going to talk about the top 4 characters Jeff has created, but there are a few more.

The first character Jeff normally starts his shows with is Walter. Walter is an old retired man who seems to be grumpy constantly. What makes Walter hilarious is the fact that you get the sense of "hey he reminds me of so and so" and then from there you can't help but laugh. Walter has so many funny jokes that I can't name just one. Just watch the special or at least search him on youtube and I guarantee you will laugh.

Another popular character of Jeff Dunham is Bubba J. Bubba J is a complete redneck who has a drinking problem. I mean who doesn't know at least one redneck in their life? You know the neighbor who has a big ole truck with hunting stickers all over it and never mows his or her lawn...yea it seems stereotypical but it's still hilarious.

Achmed has probably become the most popular character of Jeff Dunham. He is a skeletal version of a terrorist who used to be a suicide bomber. He died due to a "premature detonation" while practicing bombing techniques. The phrase most people recognize from him is "I KEEL YOU!" I don't even feel the need to go on because you just need to watch the specials lol.

Finally, Jeff's character Peanut is a purple, energetic, crazy looking islander that could make you laugh simply by his appearance. He is considered to the sidekick of Jeff being that he was the first puppet created by Jeff.

Basically I'm not saying that Jeff Dunham is the funniest man alive..I am simply saying that he is an incredible comedian and if you haven't seen any of specials you should consider watching at least one.

Outline..yeeeeeeaaaa

Outline for 2nd Paper

I. Introduction

• Things being compared- Article- "Is Global Warming Killing the Polar Bears?" and Commercial- Noah Wyle for WWF Polar Bear Ad
• Media types- Newspaper/article vs. TV commercial
• Basic, similar message of the two- global warming has endangered the polar bear species
• Which I found more effective- the commercial
• Three aspects to talk about: Appeal, Credentials, and Purpose

II. Body

1. Appeal

• Visual appeal of commercial vs. written article
• Effect of picture, music, and tone of voice from the commercial
• Persuasive speech, depressing music, sad tone of the commercial
• Article- more descriptive and informative than commercial
• Still have overall general, similar message

2. Credentials

• Sponsor of commercial- World Wildlife Foundation vs. Source of information from the article- Jim Carlton and U.S. Minerals Management Service
• Using a celebrity to represent the foundation for the commercial
• Which is more recognizable?- WWF
• Which is more reliable?- WWF

3. Purpose

• Although the two sources convey the same message, do they both have the same purpose?
• Purpose of the commercial- persuade you to donate to the World Wildlife Fund to help the polar bears
• Purpose of the article- simply to inform you
• Ultimately the difference between articles and commercials- most commercials are advertisements that try to get you to do something but not the case with most informative newspaper articles

III. Conclusion

• Basically restate the point of the paper (basic info in intro)
• Make sure to say which I found more effective- commercial
• Restate three main aspects I compared/contrasted
• Bring it all together and close it
  

WALL-E..Animated, Entertaining, and Trashy!

So I must admit that I am pretty excited that we are watching the movie Wall-E in Eng tomorrow. As lame as it may sound it's one of my favorite animated movies that has come out recently. It's safe to say that I'm not alone in that aspect considering this movie just won best animated film of the year at the Oscars.

I like the movie mainly because while it was entertaining to children it also held a deeper message to the rest of us. I mean the concept behind the purpose of the movie seriously sounds like what someone in America would come up with to solve the overload of trash on this planet. Simply send people on a vacation in space while the robots clean up our mess. However the creator of the movie, Andrew Stanton, states that the purpose of the movie was only to be a love story and if anyone got any different message than that was on their own.

I mean most of the film plays on imagination but some of the movie could seem realistic. Could our planet look like that in the future? Who knows but it definitely makes me think twice about how much I throw away/recycle.

Ok with all the serious real life relations aside...I think the movie is adorable. Who knew that even a robot could fall in love. Eeeeeeva! haha

I think the detail is phenomenal. Definite props goes out to the animators, artists, writers, voices, etc. Also in addition to detail, it is amazing how great the film is even when there is no talking for at least half of it.

One of the biggest eye-openers of the movie is the fact that unlike most humans, this little robot sees most trash as treasure and finds means for its use. At one point he even finds a diamond ring in a case...he tosses away the ring and is fascinated with case. haha

I was about to end this blog until I just remembered I can't end it until I say what I think is the funniest part of the movie. How hilarious is it when Wall-E gets on the big cruise ship and everyone is sooooooo huge! haha..and no the funny part is not the fact that they are fat because I have no room to talk about that...but the reason why they are fat. It is so true that if technology was advanced enough people would be that lazy. I mean think about all the technology that has already come out that makes people a little more lazy each day....elevators, escalators, cars, machinery, etc. I don't know that's just my opinion.

Topic for Paper 2...and then some...

For the next paper I decided to choose a newspaper article (found online) about the effects of global warming on polar bears and compare it to the commercial on TV sponsored by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) talking about the extinction of the polar bears based on climate change.

The article is titled Is "Global Warming Killing the Polar Bears?" By Jim Carlton (Staff reporter of the Wall Street Journal). I chose this article because it was from a pretty reliable source being that the Wall Street Journal is a pretty popular newspaper. I also chose it because one of the things I will bring up in my paper is the question of who will people pay more attention to and find their information more reliable when it comes to talking about environment and polar bears? The random reporter from the Wall Street Journal or the guy stating facts based on the World Wildlife Fund people who pretty much worship animals and dedicate their lives to the preservation of species?

I guess there also the whole idea that the commercial is more appealing than just reading the article due the whole visual thing. In other words, the depressing mood setting music and visuals of the polar bears in despair could easily attract someone faster than an article could in most cases. I mean come on I was practically in tears when the guy was talking about the momma bear not being able to feed the baby bear..and then they just jump in the water not knowing their fate. So yea the commercial worked its magic on me..I am even considering donating to that fund of theirs...and BINGO thats what they want you to do!

The article on the other hand isn't really trying to get you to do anything. The writer is actually just stating information based on the U.S. Minerals Managment Service and other sources. He isn't trying to convince everyone to stop global warming...he is honestly just giving information about the situation as a whole.

The fact that a celebrity is speaking in the commercial may boost people's want or interest to pay attention. I mean BAM it's right there at the beginning of the commercial when the dude starts talking...it says "Noah Wyle- actor and WWF supporter"...I mean they even listed the actor part before the fact that he is a WWF supporter. The article isn't written by a celebrity...or some super famous reporter (I mean I've never heard of Jim Carlton)..so would that make a difference in who reads the article or not? Well I don't think so simply because there are people who like to read the newspaper despite the popularity of the reporter or writer...however for the typical person it might make a difference.

The article goes more in depth when it comes to info about the polar bears etc.

However, the commercial covers the basics in about a minute of appealing visual and persuasive, sympathetic speech compared to a page of words with no pictures. (I guess it all depends on what you like more..to read or watch a commercial)

Anyways..I think I have gotten a pretty good idea of where I am going to go with my paper...so that's exciting lol.

So Many Commercials....

I decided to post the link for the advertisement we are supposed to find for class on monday on here. I chose the commercial for Hulu. For those of you who don't catch what it is while watching the ad, Hulu is a website that offers commercial-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from NBC, FOX and many other networks and studios.The commercial is kind of lame but I guess after a while it grows on you...after I saw it for like a third time I chuckled a little.

When I first saw it I really didn't expect that whole alien eating our brains kinda thing. But I think that is what makes it funny.

Sorry so short....but I don't know what else to say about it haha

For my TV blog I am going to blog while watching the show Top Chef on Bravo. I really like this show because I enjoy cooking...not as fancy as they do though lol.

10:00 pm-flashbacks from previous episode...Fabio, Stefan, Carla, Hosea
The show has been moved from New York to New Orleans.

10:04 pm-introduce guest judge Emeril.

10:05 pm-intro quick fire
Three chefs from earlier in the season that were voted off are competing for a spot in the finals: Jeff, Leah, and Jamie.
The challenge is to create a dish by using crawfish.

10:08 pm-start quick fire

10:10 pm-time is up
Jeff made-crawfish and grits
Leah made-crawfish soup
Jamie made-corn cake with crawfish cream sauce

10:12 pm-announce winner
Winner is:

10:13 commercial break
Make me a supermodel commercial-new season starts March 4th on Bravo
Glad odor shield trash bags commercial
Lame Hulu commercial with Alec Baldwin
GE commercial
Toyota Venza car commercial
Jenny Craig commercial
The Art Institute commercial
Holy cow I give up on naming the commercials..there are so many

10:16-And the winner is
JEFF-He will be competing in the next challenge..but to make it to the finale he has to win the next challenge

10:17- Emeril invites chefs to dinner at his restaurant tonight

10:20- Announce Elimination challenge
Create two dishes and one cocktail including creole flavors for 100 people at the Masquerade Ball Mardi Gras style
Prepping and cooking for 5 hours and 1 hour to set up.
If Jeff wins the challenge then two chefs will be elimenated. Additional prize-new 2009 Toyota Venza

10:23-commercial break
Millionaire Matchmaker-tomorrow on Bravo
Match.com commercial
Brita commercial
Olive Garden commercial
Prego sauce commercial
Ask.com commercial
Sargento cheese snacks commercial
New movie trailor for "Knowing"
Quaker oats commercial

10:26-Chefs talking it out the night before the challenge

10:27- MORE COMMERCIALS?! wtf?
Toyota Venza commercial
Geico commercial
Wal-mart commercial
Turbo Tax commercial
Listerine commercial
Infomercial-Samurai peeler....lame
Real Houswives reunion on Bravo on Tuesday
Make Me a supermodel commercial again

10:30- Chefs head to Emeril's kitchen which is where they get to prep for this challenge
Prep time
Chef Plans: (I just listed one dish because I didn't catch the other dishes)
Carla-Oyster stew
Stefan-Duck and rabbit gumbo
Jeff-fried oyster with sausage
Fabio-sausage and rabbit maque choux
Hosea-duck and chicken gumbo

10:34- One of the head judges (Tom) comes to check on progress
He is concerned about some of the dishes.

10:36- Everybody is scrambling to finish their prep before the time is up

10:37-Each chef is given a bartender to serve a chosen drink by the chef to go along with their meal

10:38- Introduce guest judges. Guests will be coming in 15 minutes.

10:40-Commercial break
Dr. Pepper commercial
Cute but kind of creepy GE commercial
Yet again the dumb Hulu commercial with Alec Baldwin
Glad odor shield trash bags commercial
Millionaire matchmaker

10:45- Final meals served to guests and judges
Mostly positive feedback so far

10:48- Judges are eating the meals one by one and critiqueing them further

10:50- Party/ball is ending

10:51- Chefs say how they feel about the night and how it went

10:52- Previews for "Coming up"
Commercial Break

Millionaire Matchmaker
Match.com commercial
V8 soups by cambells commercial
Movie Trailor for "The Reader"
Monistat commercial..haha nice
Ask.com commercial
Brita water commercial
Season Finale of Top Chef: New York next wednesday
Bravo 2nd annual A-List awards

10:55-Judges' Table
All chefs asked to come face the judges
They describe why they chose the dishes they did and if they were happy with it

10:57- Judges give positive and negative comments to chefs

11:00- Judges send chefs to back so they can discuss decisions
Jeff is in top 3 favorites
They like Carla's dish
Hosea did a great job
Fabio and Stefan are in the bottom

11:05- Annoying commercial break

End- The Judges come to a decision
The chef who won the challenge is: CARLA
Since Carla won then Jeff is automatically out
The chef who is going home is: FABIO (I can't believe they sent him home)
Then they show previews for the finale next week.


Sorry if it seems all over the place..but it was hard to keep up with everything that was going on.

One of my favorite songs

I say it's one of my favorite songs because I honestly don't just have one all time favorite song.

As lame as it is one of my favorite songs is the one hit wonder "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell featuring Michael Jackson. I like it because it's catchy, hilarious, and I like Michael Jackson's voice in the chorus (back when he was still African American).

After reading the lyrics I really didn't know if there was a hidden meaning in the song or if the lyrics were just plain as day.

Either this guy is paranoid and just singing about the creepy feeling someone gets when they feel like someone is constantly watching them or like when you feel like someone is sneaking up behind you.

Or

There is a hidden meaning due to the fact that Rockwell is in fact African American and he feels like he can't live a normal life like everyone else. He feels that his race makes him feel like people are constantly watching him.

I don't know. I personally think he is just singing about the paranoia of feeling like people are watching you all the time. It's too silly of a song to have a hidden meaning...or is it?