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Adam Savage
Adam Savage, I appreciate your time.
Adam Savage is widely known for his work on the Discovery Channel television series MythBusters. The television show tests the core elements of myth by applying science (and, more often than not, explosives). MythBusters began in 2003 with Adam and Jamie Hyneman as co-hosts, applying their knowledge from years in special effects to test myths. Now in its 11th season, MythBusters is going strong and shows no signs of stopping. The show has expanded to include three additional cast members (Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, and Grant Imahara at present) who investigate separate myths or team up with the original duo in special episodes.
Adam's career in the entertainment industry began as a child, acting in commercials, music videos, and voicing animated characters for Sesame Street, where his father worked as an animator. By the age of nineteen, Adam had moved away from acting towards the more "hands-on" aspects of entertainment, working in graphic design, animation, and film special effects. He work behind-the-scenes has touched almost every aspect of production, and has allowed him to work with a huge variety of materials, from injection molding to glassblowing. His special effects work as a model maker has appeared in commercials and in feature films, including Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Terminator 3. Adam has taught model making at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, presented regularly at the annual skeptics conference The Amaz!ng Meeting, spoken at the annual Maker Faire, and performed at w00tstock shows. He has also appeared in a variety of specials on Discovery Channel, given two TED Talks, and produced volumes of material for Tested.com.
I love to watch Adam Savage talk about something he loves. Watching his videos on Tested are a guaranteed remedy when you feel in a creative or intellectual rut. When Adam sets his mind to making something – like an exact replica of the Blade Runner blaster or cosplaying as No-Face from Spirited Away – he is a paradigm of craftsmanship. His passion drives him to perfection and perfection drives his passion, and though I have never met the man he strikes me as the kind of person whose first response to an inquiry is always joy at the opportunity to teach someone something new. I will leave you with this quote about life and religion from Adam's 2010 speech to the Harvard Humanist Society:
See, I order my life by the same mechanism that I use to build things. I cannot proceed to move tools around in the real world until my brain has a clear picture in it of what I'm building. The same goes for my life. I've tried to pay attention. I've tried to picture the way I want things to be, and I've noticed that when I had a clear picture, things often turned out the way I wanted them to.
I've concluded by this that someone is paying attention—I've concluded that it's me. I've noticed that if I'm paying attention to those around me, to myself, to my surroundings, then that is the very definition of empathy. I've noticed that when I pay attention, I'm less selfish, I'm happier—and that the inverse holds true as well.
Visit Adam's personal website
Watch Adam describe and display his Spirited Away No-Face Cosplay
Watch Adam's TED Talks
Watch Adam on Tested.com
Read Adam's 2010 speech to the Harvard Humanist Society
Watch MythBusters clips online at Discovery.com
Follow Adam on Twitter @donttrythis
Dreams don’t work unless you do on We Heart It. http://weheartit.com/entry/77834098
Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman, I appreciate your time.
Alan Rickman is an English actor who has appeared on film, television, and stage. As a teen, Alan studied graphic arts and drama, but chose to pursue work in graphic design because he believed that drama school was not a sensible path at 18. After three years working in a successful design business, Alan decided it was time to decide whether he wanted to pursue acting professionally. He requested an audition at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RARDA) and was granted a place at the school, attending from 1972-1974. After completing his studies at RADA, Alan performed extensively in theatre, appearing three times at the Edinburg Theatre Festivals and performing in numerous repertory and experimental productions. His first major recognition was a Tony nomination for his role in Les Liasions Dangereuses with the Royal Shakespeare Company, which went to Broadway in 1987.
Alan’s first major film role was the Die Hard villain Hans Gruber in 1988. He cemented his fame for playing villains with the 1991 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He is resistant to being typecast as a film villain, however, and has received critical acclaim for humourous and dramatic roles, in such films as Dogma, Galaxy Quest, Bottle Shock, Snow Cake, Something the Lord Made, and the upcoming The Butler. Alan’s casting as the intimidating and secretive Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series of films has brought him the attention of a new generation of fans. The upcoming film CBGB brings Alan and Harry Potter co-star Rupert Grint back together to tell the story of the famous New York City punk-rock club. Alan has been recognized with nominations or awards from the London Film Critics’ Circle, the MTV Movie Awards, the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Tony Awards, among others.
Alan’s role as the Sheriff of Nottingham was my introduction to his acting work. I would re-watch the movie, skipping the scenes with the Merry Men and Robin Hood in favour of his scenes. He was a far more interesting a character to me than anyone else in the film. The second film I watched featuring Alan was Dogma, where his role as the archangel Metatron was a stark contrast to the Sheriff. I was hooked, and I started to seek out all of his work. Alan has a distinct, deep voice over which he exercises precise and practiced control. Compare Marvin’s voice in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to that of French-speaking Brit Steven Spurrier in Bottle Shock, and then again to the savage, sibilant, and spitting voice of the Sheriff of Nottingham. The skill with which he uses voice and pacing to build and define the characters he plays is staggering. In his interview with Charlie Rose, he notes that his voice teachers considered his voice one of his greatest problems, and that it has taken “a great deal of hard work… to make a forward sound, otherwise it gets trapped.” Watching Alan’s work has taught me greater appreciation for acting as a skill, and I have discovered great films simply because he was in the cast.
Watch the trailer for Alan Rickman’s latest film, CBGB
Watch Charlie Rose’s Interview with Alan Rickman
Read Huffington Post’s Interview with Alan Rickman
Read Alan Rickman’s thank you to J.K. Rowling following the end of the Harry Potter film series
See Alan Rickman’s filmography at IMDb
Announcement, Schedule Change, and Submissions
First, let me apologize for the lack of posts since September 3rd. I let the holiday weekend knock me off schedule, and then I received some great news that threw me even more off schedule.
I am ecstatic to announce that will be working as a freelance news writer for The Escapist! I will be writing about the latest news on all things games and geek. Check out my first two articles: Kickstarter Nixes Bulk Rewards for Gaming Coins Project and Diablo III Demo Now Available For PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. If you'd like to see more like that from me, keep your eye on The Escapist or follow me on twitter @mrdesat. I won't be talking about that work on this blog (beyond today) because I would like to keep the focus here on inspiration.
That said, I will have less free time available to produce original essays on this blog, so I will be moving to a once-a-week update schedule. New posts will go up every Sunday. To keep content flowing, I will also reblog things that I find inspiring, new work by people I have profiled on this blog, and I am now accepting submissions! Let's share some positivity!
Robin Williams
Robin Williams, I appreciate your time.
Robin Williams is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and household name. He has been recognized for his acting work with three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor, and has received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting. He has also received five Grammy Awards, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Robin studied acting at the Julliard School, accepted in the twenty-person freshman class of 1976, and was accepted into the Advanced Program that year with one other student, actor Christopher Reeve. His acting career began on television, where he was cast as the alien Mork on the series Happy Days, from which the spin-off sitcom Mork & Mindy was born. The show ran from 1978 to 1982, and at the same time Robin was working as a stand-up comedian, releasing three HBO specials between 1978 and 1986. His Robin Williams LIVE on Broadway tour in 2002 broke sales records for comedy shows, and he toured again in 2008-2009 with his Weapons of Self Destruction tour. His film work has produced many classic movies, including Good Morning Vietnam, Hook, and Dead Poets Society. Disney’s Aladdin and Happy Feet have highlighted his vocal power and elasticity, while films like One Hour Photo and Insomnia have delved deep into psychological darkness. His latest project is a return to television after 32 years, starring in The Crazy Ones on CBS.The comedy series casts Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar as father and daughter leading an advertising agency.
Robin Williams was one of the first actors that I could identify by name, and his films had a lasting influence on me. I mimicked the Genie, sought out the sources of his myriad references, and practiced my impressions and accents through imitation. The role was originally meant to be only a few lines, but Robin built the character through hours of stream-of-consciousness improvisation. The tone that the Genie provides to that film – off-the-wall, manic, unbelievable variety in a tiny package – sells the magical world better than anything else in the film. I pointed to Robin as an inspiration when I began acting in high school. His more adult, less humourous films first illustrated for me how closely comedy and tragedy are linked, and how the skills for portraying one were not distinct from the skills needed to portray the other.
Despite his many successes, Robin’s career has not been free of grief or struggle. In the 70s and 80s, Robin was addicted to alcohol and cocaine; the death of his friend, actor and comedian John Belushi, and the birth of his first son helped him quit, but he later relapsed into addiction to alcohol in the mid-2000s. Robin speaks candidly about his experiences as an alcoholic in his 2010 interview with The Guardian. The struggles, regrets, and recovery that he has endured emphasizes for me the need to be critical of our heroes, to recognize that they are flawed human beings and to resist the urge to paint them as perfect idols. Their failures can teach us as much as their successes, and can help us recognize that for each person who overcomes an addiction, there are many who do not. Robin devotes much of his time to charity work, such as fundraising for Comic Relief, performing with the USO, and supporting St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Watch the first look at Robin William’s new television series, The Crazy Ones
Watch Robin William’s improvised stand-up set at The Nerdist
Read The Guardian’s 2010 Interview with Robin Williams
See Robin William’s filmography at IMDb http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000245/
Follow Robin Williams on tumblr
Follow Robin Williams on twitter @robinwilliams
Gates McFadden
Gates McFadden, I appreciate your time.
Cheryl Gates McFadden, commonly credited as Gates McFadden, is an American actress and choreographer best known for her role as Dr. Beverly Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG). Gates studied theatre arts at Brandeis University, and moved to Paris after graduating to study acting. Her early career focussed on choreography, working for Jim Henson Productions on the films The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, The Muppets Take Manhattan, and others. In 1987 Gates accepted the role of Dr. Beverly Crusher on ST:TNG, citing the character’s struggles with balancing career, motherhood, and widowhood as attractive aspects of the role. Replaced briefly in the second season by Diana Muldaur as Dr. Katherine Pulaski, Gates appeared in 154 episodes of the series and four films following the end of the television series. Other work during her time on Star Trek included the 1990 film Taking Care of Business with James Belushi, and in 1992 she toured with other ST:TNG cast members performing the play Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Other television work included the short-lived 1995 series Marker and several guest appearances on Mad About You. Gates has taught at many prestigious universities, including Harvard and Purdue. Since 2009, she has been the Artistic Director of Ensemble Studio Theatre in Los Angeles. On the tumblr for the Theatre, Gates posts the adventures of 1/8 Gates, her Dr. Beverly Crusher action figure.
I watched ST:TNG growing up and had a great deal of affection for the cast, Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie especially. I recently watched the full series again, in order, and now I find it much harder to pick a favourite. Dr. Crusher has some of the most compelling stories in the series, digging into the grey areas of Starfleet morality. In her interview with Star Trek.com, Gates mentions that she loved the conflict between the Prime Directive (no interference with the internal development of alien civilizations) and the Hippocratic Oath (first, do no harm). Star Trek was my first teacher of philosophy, and the interactions of these two imperatives for behaviour led to the episodes that I continue to find the most interesting. ST:TNG occasionally struggled with telling interesting stories with the women on the cast. Many of Counselor Troi’s episodes centered entirely on her vulnerability to emotions or telepathy, and her contribution to the bridge crew was often shaky (though this improved throughout the series). It seemed that the writers were better able to give Crusher, as the chief medical officer, more varied and complex stories. Her insight and opinions were highly valued by the Captain, and she occasionally acted against his orders in order to act in line with her own morality. Gates’ portrayal of Dr. Beverly Crusher was an early role model for me, because it introduced an example of a woman who was both a scientist and a high-ranking officer, and whose approach to life was both passionate and compassionate. Though Crusher is fictional, the inspiration provided by her, through Gates’ performance, is no less real.
Read Star Trek.com’s Interview with Gates McFadden
Follow Ensemble Studio Theatre LA and the adventures of 1/8 Gates on tumblr
See Gates McFadden’s filmography at IMDb
Follow Gates McFadden on twitter @gates_mcfadden
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar, I appreciate your time.
Sarah Michelle Gellar is an American actress and producer best known for her title role in the highly regarded television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She began acting and modelling at a young age, appearing in a controversial Burger King commercial in 1981 that led to McDonalds filing a lawsuit. Sarah appeared in several small television and film roles in the eighties, including the 1983 made-for-television movie Invasion of Privacy. Her breakout role was as the manipulative daughter of a mayor on the short-lived television serial Swans Crossing. This role led to Sarah being cast in 1993 as Kendall Hart on All My Children. For this role, Sarah won the 1995 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series. In 1997, Sarah landed the staring role in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and starred in the slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer. Both hits helped launch Sarah into the public eye and her star power was cemented with several award nominations and wins, including the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards for I Know What You Did Last Summer and the teen Choice Award for Television Actress in 1999 for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy was a cult hit and continues to use Sarah’s likeness in subsequent comic book installments, and Sarah has stated that if director Joss Whedon found a story that was suitable, she’d be willing to sign on for a movie reprising her role as the Slayer. The 1999 film Cruel Intentions was another hit for Sarah, receiving award nominations and praise from critics while being a modest success at the box office. After the end of Buffy in 2003, Sarah appeared in the horror film The Grudge and had several television guest appearances on Saturday Night Live, Sex and the City, and Angel. Sarah starred in several movies, to mixed reviews, throughout the mid and late 2000s. One of her most critically praised roles during this time was in the 2009 drama Veronika Decides to Die, wherein she played a depressed woman who rediscovers her passion for life after learning of her impending death following a failed suicide. Her latest project, The Crazy Ones, is set to begin airing in September 2013. An intriguing television comedy, the CBS series casts Sarah alongside Robin Williams as father and daughter leading an advertising agency. She has been an advocate for many charities, including Habitat for Humanity and CARE.
I was unfamiliar with Sarah’s work before Buffy, but I latched on to the series when it began, adding Buffy to my stable of beloved characters alongside Xena of Xena: Warrior Princess and Dr. Crusher of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Horror was a genre I had largely ignored before Buffy, and the show’s approach and tone was an excellent introduction. It led me to branch out, to find other spooky, creepy, vampire-infested and werewolf-ridden books, series, and movies. Sarah’s confident, capable, intelligent, but also lonely portrayal of the Slayer cemented in my mind the idea that the protagonist in a horror story can just as easily be a woman as a man. Why run and scream, and trip in your high heels, when you could be staking vampires? Buffy was her own hero – she saved herself, saved her friends, made mistakes and dealt with the consequences. She wasn’t perfect. She was real. The characterization, dialogue, and variety of stories told in Buffy kept me coming back to the series, and it continued to deliver season after season. It has set the bar by which I judge other media. I am excited to see her back on television in her newest series, especially playing opposite to Robin Williams, another actor I admire.
Watch the first look at Sarah Michelle Gellar’s new television series, The Crazy Ones
Read about Sarah Michelle Gellar’s feelings on a Buffy movie
Read about Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Burger King commercial and controversy
See Sarah Michelle Gellar’s filmography at IMDb
Jessica Walter
Jessica Walter, I appreciate your time.
Jessica Walter is an American actress known to many as Lucille Bluth on the television-turned-webseries Arrested Development. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Jessica trained at New York City’s Neighborhood Playhouse before getting a role in 1962 on Love of Life, a soap opera. She also appeared in episodes of The Rogues, Route 66, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Other notable television appearances include the short-lived soap opera Bare Essence, a recurring role on 90210, and supporting roles on Columbo, Just Shoot Me!, and Babylon 5. She had minor film roles throughout the 60s, but her first major role was as Evelyn, a fan with a deadly obsession with a disc jockey in the 1971 thriller Play Misty for Me. Jessica received a Golden Globe nomination in the category of Best Motion Picture Actress – Drama for her portrayal of the stalker. She has appeared regularly on the stage as well as the screen, appearing in Neil Simon’s Rumors for its opening run from 1988 through 1990, and most recently in the musical Anything Goes for five months of its two year run. Her singing talents also landed her a segment on The Carol Burnett Show and in a made-for-TV movie version of Kiss Me Kate in 1968. As a voice actor, Jessica was the voice of Fran on the 1991-1994 puppet sitcom Dinosaurs and is currently voicing Malory, the self-centred matron of a spy agency, on the Fox animated series Archer.
In an interview with Vulture, Jessica says, “This is what 72 looks like. I embrace it.” It’s refreshing to watch an actress in a role where her age and her character’s age are congruent, and to see roles that refuse to use age as an excuse to write boring or flat characters. As Lucille Bluth, Jessica brings to life the most manipulative character in Arrested Development, pushing the plot forward with her machinations and her desire to maintain her lavish lifestyle. She remains a sexual person, attracted to her husband, and never allows their age to be played for laughs as no longer sexually viable. The writing is spectacular, but Jessica takes what could easily have been a caricature of a matriarch and creates a well-rounded, almost sympathetic character. It’s clear that acting is her passion, and in an interview for the Pittsburg Post-Gazette she shares that she never had a Plan B – her goal was always to be an actress. Looking over her filmography reveals the years and years of work behind the actress that so many know only for her role as Lucille Bluth. Learning about her career has been an inspiring reminder that talent is nothing if not shaped by practice, and if you have a passion it is not just necessary but crucial to commit to hard work to make something out of it.
Read about Jessica Walter’s first job
Read Vulture’s Interview with Jessica Walter about Arrested Development Season 4
Read (or Listen to ) Patricia Sheridan’s “Breakfast with” interview with Jessica Walter for the Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Watch clips of Jessica Walter’s many roles
See Jessica Walter’s filmography at IMDB
Rachel Maddow
Rachel Maddow, I appreciate your time.
Rachel Maddow is an American political commentator, television host and author. She holds a degree in public policy from Stanford, and began postgraduate studies in 1995 at Lincoln College, Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. While working toward her PhD, Rachel won a contest held by a Massachusetts radio station looking for new radio personalities, and worked for the station for about a year. Taking a leave of absence from radio, Rachel received her Doctor of Philosophy in politics from Oxford University in 2001 and quickly returned to radio. After working at various stations, she secured her own program in 2005 on Air America Radio, The Rachel Maddow Show. The radio show would last until 2010, and over that time Rachel also appeared regularly as a panelist on MSNBC and wrote political blogs for The Huffington Post and AlterNet. In 2008 she became a political analyst for MSNBC, and shortly after became the host of her own national television program, The Rachel Maddow Show. Providing irreverent, sarcastic, and biting analysis and commentary, The Rachel Maddow Show airs weekdays and addresses news of the day, political and otherwise. Her first book, Drift, explores how the process of deciding to go to war has changed in the United States.
Had Rachel been a television personality while I was a teen, I would have consumed her every word. For a quiet teenager trying to speak up in debate club, she would have been a great role model. I would have pined for her clarity of thought, her confidence, and her rebukes of her opponents for failures of logic and lack of empathy. As an adult, I aspire to her style of passionate, aggressive, intelligent debate. Even if you disagree with her politics, as a speaker Rachel’s pacing, diction, and vocabulary are deserving of high praise.
As the first openly gay prime-time news host, Rachel has advocated for and improved the visibility of the LGBT community. In a space largely dominated by men, Rachel provides a visible reminder of women in politics and a powerful voice for the political ideology she supports. She provides an example for those who are underrepresented in media and politics to point to as a success story and an inspiration. Although she is in no way a spokesperson for these groups, her presence on national television provides a welcome new voice in the cacophony of political punditry, and I look forward to hearing from her for years to come.
Visit Rachel Maddow’s personal website
Read The Maddow Blog
Watch Episodes of The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC
Read about Rachel Maddow’s first book, Drift
Follow Rachel Maddow on twitter @maddow
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart, I appreciate your time.
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, critic, actor, director and television personality. He is best known as the host of The Daily Show, the half-hour satirical news program that airs weekdays on Comedy Central. After graduating from The College of William & Mary in Virginia with a degree in psychology, Jon held a variety of jobs ranging from bartender to municipal contingency planner. Born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, he began using the stage name Jon Stewart after moving to New York City in 1986 to try his hand at stand-up comedy. In 1989 Jon joined the writing team for Caroline’s Comedy Hour, beginning a path into television work that would lead him through hosting Short Attention Span Theater on Comedy Central and You Wrote It, You Watch It on MTV to developing and hosting the first talk show on MTV, The Jon Stewart Show. Though it was cancelled after two years, the show earned Jon a fan in David Letterman, leading to guest hosting for Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show. When Craig Kilborn left The Daily Show in 1999to replace Tom Snyder, Jon became the host and has remained there ever since. Jon has won sixteen Emmys in his time with The Daily Show, and he has invigorated the careers of many “correspondents” such as Stephen Colbert and Ed Helms. His first book, a collection of humorous essays titled Naked Pictures of Famous People, was a New York Times bestseller. He has also coauthored two books with The Daily Show writing staff, America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction in 2004 and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race. He has hosted numerous awards shows, produced several sitcom pilots and films, and acted in several films. His most recent work is directing the film Rosewater, based on the story of journalist Maziar Bahari and Jon’s own screenplay.
As a Canadian, Jon Stewart provides me a bite-sized taste of American politics, giving acomedic, insightful take on the news of the day. More importantly, The Daily Show reminds me of the power of humour, the power of satire, and its necessity. Whenever journalists or politicians attack Jon for calling out their inconsistencies, failures, or deceptions he reinforces the value and necessity of an unrestricted press. Jon’s humour cuts through to the core of an issue and cuts away the cloudy language of politicians and the falseness of news programs that fear presenting a viewpoint not balanced by the opposing one, no matter how inane. Even more, Jon’s passion for the American way of life and the virtues of its democracy is inspiring. In his first show after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, he delivered a moving speech on grief and recovery. It is just as devastating and uplifting to watch today as it was twelve years ago.
Jon was recently interviewed with on Al-Bernameg (The Program), an Egyptian satirical news show, by host Bassem Youssef, whom Jon has interviewed previously on The Daily Show. Jon described the power and importance of satire, and the inspiration that he gets from Bassem’s work:
“[Bassem Youssef] is showing that satire can still be relevant. That it can carve out space in a country for people to express themselves, because that’s all that democracy is, the ability to express yourself and be heard. You won’t always win, but you can’t confuse tyranny with losing elections, it’s just the opportunity to be heard, and for the majority to respect the minority, whatever they may say, however they may do it.”
Watch The Daily Show online in the US / in Canada
Watch Jon’s moving speech after 9/11 (includes transcript)
Watch Jon Stewart’s interview on Al-Bernameg
Follow The Daily Show on Twitter @TheDailyShow
Rick Mercer
Rick Mercer, I appreciate your time.
Rick Mercer is a Canadian comedian, essayist and political satirist. His one man show, Show Me the Button, I’ll Push It, brought his brand of political satire about life in Canada to the national stage, touring from coast to coast in 1990. In 1992, he toured his second show, I’ve Killed Before, I’ll Kill Again, and began to work with other Canadian comedians to develop This Hour Has 22 Minutes, a satirical news show for CBC Television. It was on 22 Minutes that Rick began his now-signature rants, two minutes of tightly scripted commentary on a political issue of the day. Another popular segment from 22 Minutes was Talking to Americans, where Rick wouldconduct street interviews of average Americans about Canadian politics and life. These interviews often hilariously highlighted ignorance about Canada. After eight seasons of 22 Minutes, and five seasons of Made in Canada (a situation comedy Rick co-created and acted in about Canadian TV production), Rick debuted Rick Mercer’s Monday Report in 2004. The weekly half-hour show, often compared to Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, parodies the news, travels to interesting Canadian locales and events, parodies ads, and provides commentary on Canadian politics. It later moved from Monday nights, and was renamed simply The Rick Mercer Report. Rick has also published three books, all of which collect his signature rants alongside essays and other commentary. For his television work, Rick has received more than 25 Gemini Awards.
Rick and the other great comedians on This Hour Has 22 Minutes were my first introduction to Canadian politics. My interpretations and opinions on politics have forever been shaped by their comedy. Growing up, I followed Rick’s work from 22 Minutes to It Seems Like Yesterday, a half hour program he hosted for History Channel about Canadian History (1945-1980s). When he started The Rick Mercer Report, I was certain to be in front of the TV every Monday night to watch it. His travels across Canada have inspired me to visit more of this beautiful country. Charity has often been a part of Rick’s work, such as hosting benefit concerts for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, speaking on behalf of the It Gets Better campaign for gay youth, or working as co-chair of the Spread the Net campaign to combat malaria in Africa. He admirably uses his platform and celebrity to advance these kinds of worthy causes. His rant about bullying of gay teens and the value of public figures like himself coming out publicly made me more aware of these issues and reinforced my admiration for him. I can always look to him for a well-reasoned opinion, scathing rebuke, or comedic take (sometimes all in one!) on the state of my country.
Read about Rick’s Rant on Teen Suicide
Watch Rick’s Interview on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight
Watch clips of the Rick Mercer Report on YouTube
Watch episodes of the Rick Mercer Report on CBC.ca
Follow Rick Mercer on twitter @rickmercer
Mary Roach
Mary Roach, I appreciate your time.
Mary Roach is a bestselling popular science author from the United States. After graduating with a degree in psychology from Wesleyan University in 1981, Mary moved to San Francisco and worked as a freelance copy editor. Eventually, Mary found a part-time job writing press releases for the San Francisco Zoological Society, and on her days off she wrote articles for the local paper’s Sunday edition. This modest beginning to her writing career would lead to six nonfiction books and numerous magazine articles. Mary has written for Vogue, GQ, Salon, The New York Times Magazine, Discover Magazine, National Geographic, and Wired, among others. Her nonfiction books have a humorous tone, and have an overarching theme of curiosity about the human body. Her first book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, was written partly due to the popularity of her columns on cadavers written for Salon.com. Her second book, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, investigates what science can tell us about what happens after we die and about the existence of a soul. In 2008, Mary published Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex. Exploring the history of research and science about sex, Bonk also serves as the source material for Mary’s TEDTalk about orgasms. In 2010, she explored the gross, bizarre, and mundane aspects of space travel in Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. Her latest book, Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, explores the gross and engrossing science around eating, digesting, and excreting. In addition to writing features and books, Mary has written as a monthly columnist for Sports Illustrated for Women and Reader’s Digest. Her humorous Reader’s Digest column on modern life, titled “My Planet”, was collected and published this year as a paperback. In 2010, she was the guest editor for the yearly anthology of science writing, The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011.
Mary’s books are the kind that you open with a little trepidation, but quickly find yourself engrossed in. You may find yourself so fascinated that, after finishing the book at a sprint you find yourself telling incredible tidbits about the decay rate of cadavers to friends and family over a nice meal at a family restaurant. Witty, accessible, and well-researched, Mary’s writing strives to make complex scientific topics accessible to the reader. She asks the questions we all want to know, but were perhaps too afraid, too shy, or too grossed out to ask. After all, don’t you want to know if a cadaver can have an orgasm? Or how effective graduated exposure therapy is for sufferers of paruresis – more plainly, how much does it help people who suffer from a shy bladder to have a “pee buddy” brought closer and closer while they urinate? Mary Roach embraces the gross and the taboo with a zeal for science that inspires me to write down the everyday science questions that I have, and to seek out the answers. Her books have led me to hours spent reading about biology, history, sexuality, and forensics. Her tone and style are an example of popular science done right. I can always expect that her writing will teach me something new. Plus, mentioning her books is an excellent test for the boundaries of dinner conversation.
Visit Mary Roach’s website
Watch The New York Times Interview with Mary Roach about her newest book
Read Mary’s articles for Salon
Watch Mary Roach’s TED Talk, “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Orgasm”
Follow Mary Roach on Twitter @mary_roach
Bill Nye
Bill Nye, I appreciate your time.
Bill Nye, popularly known as The Science Guy, is a science educator, mechanical engineer, actor and writer. Bill studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University, where Carl Sagan was one of his professors, and began his career with Boeing. While working as an engineer in Seattle, Bill started doing stand-up comedy, and eventually quit his day job as an engineer to write and perform for the Seattle ensemble comedy show “Almost Live”. The “Bill Nye The Science Guy®” character was born through “Almost Live”, and grew into the character and general science show that made Bill recognizable to so many. As writer, producer, and host of the “Bill Nye The Science Guy” television show, Bill strove to focus the episodes on science, not technology, so that the episodes would remain relevant for many, many years. The show’s combination of science with comedy led to its use in classrooms. Bill won seven Emmy Awards for the show, with the program earning 18 Emmys in total. Over the five years that “Bill Nye The Science Guy” was being written and produced, Bill also wrote and published five children’s books about science. Bill has hosted several other televisions series, including “The Eyes of Nye” on PBS, “The 100 Greatest Discoveries” on Science Channel, and “Stuff Happens” on Planet Green. Serving now as the CEO, and previously as Vice President, of The Planetary Society, Bill seeks to support the cause of space exploration. He has been an outspoken critic of political policy that neglects science, of misrepresentation of science by the media, and creationism.
Bill’s work has inspired innumerable students to become scientists and engineers. His work has helped to promote scientific literacy by making science engaging to people who might not otherwise consider it worth their time. His blue lab coat and bowtie evoke childlike glee in anyone whose science class was enlivened by his work, or who got up early on weekends to hear, “Now you know!” Bill Nye provided an example to me of a scientist who was passionate and excited about science – not a dour, humorless pedant. Our stereotype of scientists being dry and boring is in complete opposition to the reality – as Bill puts it the PB&J - the passion, beauty, and joy - of science and mathematics. If Bill was excited about science, it was okay for me to be excited about it, too. Bill’s work to keep science in the public eye, to improve our scientific literacy, and to defend science from its detractors inspires me to do the same. He inspired me as a child to get excited about science, and as an adult he inspires me to champion it. I truly believe, as Bill says, that we can change the world. Science rules!
Visit Bill Nye’s website
Read Bill’s Blog, “Consider the Following”
Learn about The Planetary Society
Watch Bill Nye demonstrate the power of atmospheric pressure
Listen to Bill Nye on Big Think
Follow Bill Nye on Twitter @TheScienceGuy
Jay Ingram
Jay Ingram, I appreciate your time.
Jay Ingram is a Canadian science broadcaster and author. Jay has worked to bring science out of the labs and to the general public, and he has done so in many ways. Taking over from David Suzuki, Jay was the host of CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks program for thirteen years. The weekly, hour-long program provides in-depth documentaries and science news, as well as interviews with scientists about recent publications and discoveries. As the host of Quirks and Quarks, Jay won two ACTRA Awards recognizing his excellence in Canadian broadcasting. In 1992 he left Quirks and Quarks to work freelance, hosting two CBC Radio science series and contributing to CBC television shows. When the Discovery Channel was launched, he was approached to help develop the programs and format for the new channel. The Daily Planet (which began under the name @discovery.ca in 1995) is a one hour daily news show, providing discussion and commentary on recent discoveries. Jay remained as host until 2011, an impressive 16 years, and continues to make guest appearances. As an author, Jay has written twelve books, nearly all of which have been bestsellers. His most recent book is Fatal Flaws, which reveals the discovery and growing understanding of prion diseases, specifically the “laughing sickness” kuru of the Fore tribe of Papua New Guinea. He has written articles and columns for a variety of publications, including the Toronto Star and Owl Magazine. His current work focusses on engaging the public through lectures and other interactive, in-person discussions about science like the Beakerhead event in Calgary and as Chair of the Science Communications Program at the Banff Centre. For his work to make complex science accessible to the public, Jay was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2009.
My exposure to Jay’s work was largely as the host of Daily Planet. Growing up, Daily Plant would air in the hour before my bed time, and I would curl up on the couch and fight sleepiness to listen to Jay talk about whales and worms and weather patterns. As I got older, I was allowed to stay up later and watch more television – but only if it was on the Discovery channel. Jay Ingram was one of the early scientific voices in my life, eagerly exploring new and different topics every day. Daily Planet fed my curiosity and instilled in me a love for science. In a public lecture at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, Jay discussed his career path at length. His passion, and his philosophy for his work is inspiring. This quote from his lecture really sums it up:
“Daily Planet has a significant blue collar audience that no other TV science show has. And so, if I walk down University avenue here, among the people who would recognize me would be construction guys, Brinks truck drivers, cab drivers, people like that. I once sat, I was having coffee one day and a couple guys working on construction on the road outside the café came in and sat down, recognized me, and the guy said, “You know what? You make me feel smart.” And I thought, what more could you want? That you are actually taking this really cool information and getting it to people who might not otherwise get it. To me, that’s the greatest value.”
Visit Jay Ingram’s website
Read about Jay’s latest book, Fatal Flaws
Watch Jay Ingram’s Public Lecture at the Institute for Quantum Computing
Learn about Beakerhead
Follow Jay Ingram on twitter @jayingram
Angela and Aubrey Webber (The Doubleclicks)
Angela and Aubrey Webber, I appreciate your time.
Angela and Aubrey are The Doubleclicks, a nerdy musical duo whose folk songs explore topics like Dungeons and Dragons, Wheaton’s Law, romance novels, grammar, and turning to World of Warcraft after a break-up. The Doubleclicks play cello and ukulele, and have performed at conventions, in comic book stores, and at events like w00tstock. The sisters released an EP in 2010, and began a six month project of weekly songs, shared on YouTube, in 2011. Inspired by Jonathan Coulton’s “Thing A Week” project, the sisters’ goal was to motivate themselves to be creative and to write more songs. In March of 2011 they performed at Nerds & Music in Portland, appearing alongside Paul & Storm, Hank Green, and Mike Phirman. The duo released their first full length album, Chainmail and Cello, in April 2012. Later that same year, the Ladies of Ragnarok Tour saw Molly Lewis and The Doubleclicks play 17 shows on the east coast and throughout Midwestern US. They also competed in Song Fu, a year-long song writing challenge, released an album of children’s songs titled Worst Superpower Ever, and released a 5-song Christmas EP, Christmas Ain’t About Me. In 2013 they performed on the 3rd JoCo Cruise Crazy, the yearly geek comedy and music celebration cruise created by Jonathan Coulton. In May, their Velociraptour took them across the country, and their third album, Lasers and Feelings, was released in July.
I had heard mentions of the Doubleclicks for a while, but their recent hit decrying geek gate-keeping, “Nothing to Prove”, was the catalyst for me to start listening to their work in earnest. Though I am still in the beginning stages of exploring and rabidly consuming their work, I have found that Angela and Aubrey have an earnest, clever style that I really connect with. They move easily from sad songs about the Mars rovers’ feelings of inadequacy to bouncy birthday songs for Leonard Nimoy. I catch myself getting no work done while listening to their playlists on YouTube, because their melodies and lyrics have enthralled me. In July 2012, the Doubleclicks opened for Amanda Palmer at a benefit concert, and Aubrey reflected on the experience in the Doubleclick’s blog. The excitement and inspiration she shares is powerful, and it is reflective of the joyful, emotional approach to music that the sisters share. Discovering their music was a great reminder for me to continue to seek out cool and interesting things, to resist being stagnant in the media you consume, and to share that joy of discovery with others.
Visit The Doubleclicks website
Read about The Doubleclicks show with Amanda Palmer
Visit the “Nothing to Prove” Tumblr
Read about Song Fu
Watch The Doubleclicks on Youtube
Follow the Doubleclicks on Twitter @TheDoubleclicks