Sure there are a lot of great things to look forward to in 2015. A new Avengers movie. Stephen Colbert taking over The Late Show. Hoverboards.
But for the most part, thinking about the future freaks me out.
Because I know along with all the exciting stuff, the future brings with it the possibility of more terror attacks. More infectious disease outbreaks. More depressing news.
Do you think you could pass a 5th grade history test? Do you think you could still do it if you were drunk?
That’s the question “Drunk History” asks. The Comedy Central series (based on a series of Youtube videos) shows what happens when drunk adults try to retell the history lessons they learned in elementary school. The results are jumbled, bungled, and hilarious. (And often full of explicit language, although this clip is clean).
What happens when the commercial you’ve produced to promote your graham cracker company ignites a firestorm over gay marriage?
You turn hate into love.
Earlier this year Honey Maid released a commercial called “This Is Wholesome”. It depicted a number of modern families enjoying their products including an interracial family and a child with two dads.
Of course, as everything does on the internet these days, this simple commercial caused some extremists to lose their minds spouting off hateful tweets and emails about the company’s lack of morals.
It’s incredible. The things we work so hard on to share with the world can sometimes be completely rejected. What we planned to be beautiful and inspiring often becomes ugly and falls on deaf ears.
So what do you do when the gift you offer to the world gets rejected?
A Christmas Story. Miracle on 34th Street. A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s A Wonderful Life.
All undeniable classics.
Let’s face it though – there’s some really strange, really bad Christmas “classics” that get trotted out every year.
Have you watched Frosty The Snowman lately? It’s just…weird. The Santa Clause is fantastic, but unfortunately The Santa Clause 2 and 3 exist. Vince Vaughn allegedly made a couple of movies called Fred Claus and Four Christmases, but I haven’t seen them and I’d like to continue pretending they’re not real thank you very much.
It makes me sad every year when crappy Christmas movies make the cut and underrated gems become further lost to time.
So I made it a point to spend one day writing about the Best Christmas Movie You’ve Never Seen – Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas. Continue reading →
You spent too much time trick or treating and procrastinating.
Your week may feel like it’s falling apart.
Hey – at least your parents didn’t steal all your candy.
It’s easy to scream and blame the world around you when something you didn’t plan for steals all your joy away.
But try not to have a kneejerk reaction like a kid thinking their parent ate all their peanut butter cups.
After all, the kids didn’t know the whole story. Their parents were just playing a joke.
The problem you’re getting upset about is probably not that bad. By the time twelve o’clock rolls around you’ll have already forgotten about it.
If you’re angry about some stolen Snickers bars today, hold strong. God has a great punchline coming your way to put a smile back on your face. And just when you think your candy bag is empty, you’ll find in it more Milky Ways than you could have dreamed of.
Whatever you’ve been through this week, it’s time to sing.
You may be afraid to let your voice be heard. You may be ashamed of how you sound. You may think you have no musical ability.
You need to go back. Go back to elementary school. Go back to the place where sunny days sweep the clouds away. Go back to a world where cookie monsters and people coexist. Go back to a time where you couldn’t get kicked out of chorus no matter what noises came out of your mouth.
Let the doubts and voices in your head drift away. Abandon yourself to childlike joy.
Take a page out of Jimmy Fallon’s book. Grab a kazoo and let it all out. Roll down the windows and sing like a second grader today.
Happy Friday.
(If Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and the Sesame Street cast can’t put a smile on your face, here’s a couple of other classroom renditions from “Late Night” featuring Carly Rae Jepsen and Robin Thicke.) Continue reading →
Here’s the new plan: don’t waste your day in the shower. Make Friday count. Don’t spend too much time relaxing today that you miss out on opportunities to really get stuff done.
The weekend is coming in just a few hours. You deserve your weekend after all you’ve done this week. Enjoy it. Rest.
But you have just a little bit more to do. Go do it. Level up before you head home today.
The future is scary.
POP GOD 