#17 Super Bowl Preview: Ferris Bueller and Other Commercials

Every year during the Super Bowl, football and television fans alike find themselves up to their necks in hilarious, clever, and sometimes stupid commercials. According to E! Online, the average cost to play a 30 second ad during the Super Bowl cost more than $2.3 million. And that was in 2007. This past year, the price was $3.1 million. So far this year, it has been said by Forbes that Volkswagen is paying $3.5 million to place a 30 second ad. Although it may seem a little much, these commercials have in fact increased the amount of viewers of the Super Bowl over the years. Just last year, Super Bowl 2011 was crowned as the most watched show ever. More than 111 million people were watching. At least two Super Bowl ads have come out already, an early introduction to their premiere on Sunday. These two include a new Avengers trailer, and a small ad starring Ferris Bueller--- I mean Matthew Broderick. The two videos are included below.

Ferris Bueller Super Bowl Spot

The Avengers Super Bowl Spot

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#16 The Joker - Then and Now

In Memory of Actor Heath Ledger, Who Died from an Accidental Drug Overdose on January 22, 2008

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Many years ago, my parents sat in front of the television to watch one of their favorite shows: Batman. At that time, Batman's most famous villain was The Joker, who was portrayed by Cesar Romero. Originally, The Joker had a painted white clown face, complete with red lips and neon green hair. His costume bordered on comical. He was always acting hilarious, leaping around and giggling like a half-crazed hyena. His jokes were always funny, his juvenile pranks rarely hurting anyone. Because, of course, Batman was always there to save the day.

More recently, director Christopher Nolan began his own Batman trilogy, with Christian Bale as the caped crusader. After a cleverly planned trail of deceit and betrayal was laid out by Ras al Ghul (Liam Neeson) in his the first Batman film, Nolan began to think. Who would be next to challenge Gotham's misunderstood hero? His solution was The Dark Knight, starring Heath Ledger as The Joker. With most having only seen Cesar Romero's Joker, the public was completely unprepared for the premiere of the newest scarred demon. This Joker's skin was lathered with matted white paint. His eyes were constantly surrounded by dark circles of makeup, his sweat causing the color to drip down the sides of his face. His lips were curled forcefully into a smile, the deep cuts on each cheek made by some sort of knife. The scars extended almost past his cheekbones, giving him a lisp that made his already malicious voice just that much crueler. The actor himself fell into a staggered sleeping pattern, only getting rest an average of two hours per night. He described the Joker as "a psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy." Ledger ended up lapsing in and out of depression over the next several years, until eventually he died of an accidental drug overdose.

The ways this character is portrayed are completely different. The Joker was at one point a stupid, laughable villain. Then the preverbal baton was handed to Ledger, who twisted the character into a terrifying monster. Even director Christopher Nolan had to leave the room during some of the crazed killer's scenes. Heath Ledger's Joker was just too real. Actor Johnny Depp once said, "With any part you play, there is a certain amount of yourself in it. There has to be, otherwise it's not just acting. It's lying." It's obvious that Ledger took these words too literally. It's a difficult thing, but this is a lesson that all of us should remember. If you immerse yourself too much into a fake character, especially one like The Joker, you could lose your grip on reality, along your own identity. 

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For the record, I know longer consider Jack Nicholson (another portrayer of The Joker) a good actor. His comment after Heath Ledger died was cryptic and ill-timed. After the younger actor passed away, Nicholson snapped the following words at news reporters: "Well, I warned him." Then he went on to say how furious he was that he was not asked for his own input on how to portray The Joker in Christopher Nolan's movie. He made it all about himself, rather than about the young actor that had died such a sudden death not even a week before.

#15 John Dillinger

John Dillinger, second from the right, was a small-time crook, unnoticed by the FBI until a bank robbery gone wrong ended up in the murder of a police officer. Dubbed Public Enemy Number 1, Dillinger wasted no time in flaunting his new calling card. In the picture above, Dillinger is shown at his trial, his right wrist handcuffed to a police officer's to prevent him from escape. Even with the additional security, John Dillinger still managed to escape from the supposedly unescapable prison using a fake gun he carved out of wood. This picture was taken minutes before he escaped from the prison without a hitch.

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Public Enemies Trailer

#14 He Asked for His Dad to Come Home

#13 Senate Backs Proposal to Let Military Chaplains Decline Performing Same-Sex Marriages

No more than two weeks ago, an amendment proposed by Senator Roger Wicker was passed. This specific amendment stated that military chaplains are allowed to decline when asked if they would perform a marriage between two people of the same gender. "Protections for military chaplains should be guaranteed in any policy changes being implemented," Wicker said in a statement. Another senator however, by the name of Tim Huelskamp, is trying to pass a motion that states that military chaplains are not allowed to perform same gender marriages, whether they want to or not. But as of now, only the first bill has been passed, so for now military chaplains can reject the idea of performing a same gender marriage "as a matter of conscience or moral principle."

I think that Senator Roger Wicker was right in pushing for this amendment to be passed. Chaplains, whether in America or overseas, should not be forced to perform a marriage between two people of the same gender. This takes away from the chaplain America's idea of free speech and choice. As for the other senator's plan, I somewhat agree with it, but it will take a miracle for it to pass both chambers.

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#12 Ex-Candidate Herman Cain Admits that He Quoted Pokémon

As the majority of America knows by now, Herman Cain is the former presidential candidate who dropped out of the campaign due to a continuous sex scandal. During his announcement, however, he confirmed something that Pokémon and anime fans had been suspecting for quite a while: Cain has been quoting Pokémon is a few of his campaign speeches. "I believe these words came from the Pokémon movie. I'm not sure who the original author is, so don't go write an article about the poet, but it says a lot about where I am--- where I am with my wife and my family, and where we are as a nation," Cain said. "Life can be a challenge. Life can seem impossible. It's never easy when there's so much on the line. But you and I can make a difference. There's a mission just for you and me." Watch the video below and see for yourself.

In my opinion, Herman Cain making Pokémon references during his speeches shows immaturity and a bit of idiocy and almost no creativity. Any man or woman who is running for president that quotes something from a children's game or movie seems a bit ridiculous. Thankfully, Cain is no longer in the running, so he can no longer wreak foolishness all over the presidential campaign.

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#11 Conan Delivers Chinese Food in NYC

A few weeks ago, Conan O'Brien returned to New York City to host a few episodes of his show 'Conan'. In this particular episode, Conan decided to explore what it is like to be a Chinese food delivery man. He visited a very busy Chinese restaurant, and the manager immediately put him to work on fulfilling order. Multiple mishaps occur on his first trip out, resulting in the customer not even accepting her food. So Conan tries again. On this next trip, the red-haired comedian meets a pretty woman, is almost run over by a taxi, and gives away most of the food. But in the end, this trip is more successful than the first.

I think that it is exciting when a famous person goes out into the "real world" and works a middle class job. Even though Conan did this as a spoof, something for people to enjoy and laugh at, it still showed how strenuous it can be to deliver Chinese food on foot at the very heart of New York City. As I stated in one of my earlier posts, Conan is one of my favorite comedians. He will go out into the "real world" and experience it in the most hysterical way, capture it all on camera, then bring it back for the world to enjoy.

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