Lent Day 27: Proud of a Papa and a Mama (pop culture edition)

Extremely exhausted from work this week.  Time for a only a short post, of Craig Ferguson fondly remembering his father in a special episode of the Late Late Show. 

Here are two clips from the show itself:  Part 1,  Part 2

Here's a column about Ferguson referring back to his interview with Desmond Tutu, but also mentions Ferguson's eulogy for his father.

I'm a huge Ferguson fan, and until I discovered his show I had given up on late night talk shows.  I had heard about the eulogy for his father on the internet and then looked up these clips on YouTube.  His sincere and honest sharing, weaving in the serious and comedy, the reverent and irreverent instantly hooked me on his take on life, by being so open in his grieving.

He did the same after his mother passed away a few years later (Part 1, Part 2)

Thanks Craig...

Lent Day 20: Desmond Tutu and the Two Craigs

Too late, too tired for a long entry tonight, but just enough energy to cite an NPR story on Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  I'd like to say it was NPR providing an inspiring story, but the truth is every story I've ever heard about Tutu has been greatly inspiring.

I've often thought about his life and imagined what I would have done in his shoes.  I don't think I could have come close to what he did.  He faced such cruelty, meanness, and hatred, and yet his responses were/are always so full of love, compassion, and grace.  He truly loved his enemies, and by that I mean he wanted what's best for them, meaning God's love, compassion, grace... and forgiveness.  "Truth and reconciliation" in Tutu's own words.  The NPR story is entitled "We are 'Made for Goodness'" and that's the thread of all of Tutu's sermons.  And indeed every time I've seen him, irrespective of context, he has preached the Word of God and God's love for us.

I was fortunate, make that blessed, to hear him speak at the 2000 ELCA National Youth Gathering here in St. Louis.  I don't remember any of the details but I marveled at the theme of his story of forgiving his enemies.  He kept thousands of young people (and me) on the edges of their seats about his story, which by all accounts should have been ancient history to them.  Though the youth gatherings contain many "mountaintop" experiences, hearing his keynote presentation was "the moment" of that Gathering for me.  I was in tears by the end of his witness to God's love in action.

He's also appeared as a guest on my favorite (and pretty much only) talk show, the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.  Both men are charming and articulate, with the gift of gab.  Tutu preaches and lives  forgiveness and redemption; Ferguson is a living example of redemption.  I don't know if his redemption is related to his relationship with God, but as a recovering alcoholic, Ferguson is very aware of how close he was to self-destruction and death, and for me, every new show reflects how much he appreciates his life and the beloved people in his life.  It's a subtext that keeps me tethered to his show, but the truth is that he is so darn charismatic, clever, and funny, it's impossible for me to miss his show.  And Ferguson's subtext is what made the Tutu interview so scintillating:  he can turn on a dime between funny and poignant, and keep Tutu in stitches.  It was a pleasure to watch.

Clips:  Ferguson Intro, Ferguson Monologue Pt 1, Monologue Pt 2, Interview Pt 1, Interview Pt 2, Interview Pt 3,  Tag - What Did We Learn on the Show Tonight, Craig

And in doing my links research for this blog entry, I learned that Tutu was the one guest who changed Ferguson's life. 

Tutu popped at last year's ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans.  He wasn't there, but was quoted as the inspiration for some of last year's keynote speakers.  Craig Kielburger, founder of Free the Children, shared his stirring story of "being the change" in the world.  I just found on their website, Kielburger's reference to Tutu in his own words:

Do you have a morning ritual that gets you ready for the day, mentally/physically/spiritually?
Whether I'm reading it online line or spread out on my kitchen table, I always start my day reading the newspaper. That way I can catch up with what's going on in the world. Archbishop Desmond Tutu once told me the newspaper was like a menu laying out all the world's issues that need our help.
If you're passionate about local issues, it's your first couple pages. If you want to make a difference on national issues, go midway through. If your passion is changing the world, it's always at the end. Either way, it's conveniently divided out for you every single day.

(I guess I wasn't as tired as I thought...)



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The Week in TV ending 3/6/09

Die Hard meets The West Wing, Burn Notices abound, Texans continue to blow dust in my eyes, Playing catch-up with the Galacticans, and It's the Archbishop

It's the first week of February sweeps (which thanks to the now canceled digital TV switchover is in March), and what great viewing there's been.  Thanks to some downtime from dental surgery I got a bit more viewing in than usual and cleared off a backlog on the DVR.

Die Hard meets The West Wing:  The 'Die Hard' part isn't original (I'm sure I read this in Sepinwall's blog) but I added The West Wing part.  "24" always stretches plausibility, sometimes ludicrously, but to have a renegade general actually take over the White House with First Family hostages?  It's not the What that they do, it's How they make us feel the pain and angst that have made this episode and this season among the best of the entire series.

Burn Notices Abound:  I started watching Burn Notice as season 2 started, doing a marathon of season 1 wherever I could catch reruns.  What started out as a cool spy-thriller-conspiracy diversion (with a bit of Robin Hood magic for the clients of the week) has morphed into absolutely must-see TV.  There aren't many recent movies or even TV series that have packed this much intrigue, character development and action per minute that I can recall.  USA Network has got a fan in me for life.  (No spoilers here -- you just need to watch this)

Texans continue to blow dust in my eyes:  Friday Night Lights, you have officially returned to season 1 form, where the benchmark was how many times did I wipe a tear from my eye.  Yes, the plotlines definitely stretched credulity -- Jason Street goes to NY to get a job as a sport agent (which are hard for even Harvard grads to land), but does it really matter when all TPTB (the powers that be) want is to showcase the relationships on the show?  Who cares that Tim Riggins is AWOL from practice to help Jason on this quest -- Riggins has missed so many practices over three years I wonder if it's easier to count the number of times he's actually shown.  What matters is "Texas Forever!" friendship between these lifelong buddies. More detail in a future post where I'll also contrast the Coach/Principal Taylor marriage (best on TV) to the sweetheart romance of their daughter Julie with former QB1 Matt Saracen.

Playing catch-up with the Galacticans:  Battlestar Galactica may be the best drama on TV right now as it ramps up to its series finale in a few weeks.  When my former DVR crapped out last spring I fell behind, then decided to stockpile reruns to watch in marathon form.  In some ways its Sci-Fi setting is a hindrance -- most people see the spaceships and the robots and think, oh it's geek culture.  But its Sci-Fi characteristics are actually powerful devices for exploring human nature and tremendous metaphors for our own post-9/11 world.  Week in and week out I'm impressed with the ambition, vision and execution of these story tellers, and will miss this greatly after it ends in a few weeks.

Lost:  I'm trying to keep these weekly recaps to only five shows, but need to mention this week's Lost.  From a strict mythology perspective, there was nothing really new here.  What's been amazing about Lost lately is how, even in a fill-in-the-blank episodes, they make us care about secondary characters.  I never cared much for Charlotte until the last three episodes before she died; and this week it was Juliet's turn.  Impressive.

It's the Archbishop:  But the TV event of the week, and perhaps of the year so far, was Archbishop Desmond Tutu guesting on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.  I heard the Archbishop speak for almost an hour at a national youth gathering here in St. Louis in 2000 -- he's an engaging and inspirational speaker, even without his contribution and notoriety from the South African Apartheid struggles.  And most people know I'm a huge fan of Craig Ferguson because of his ability to effortlessly switch from the inane to the serious because of his openness.  To have the two share the screen for half an hour, plus the preceding half hour during which Craig prepped the audience for Father Tutu, made for one of the best hours of TV I've ever watched.  Such a beautiful pairing of intelligent, sensitive, focused gentlemen.   Fantastic viewing this week!