The 2014 midterm elections are coming up, and a number of gubernatorial and senate races are going down to the wire, but a lot of people are already tired of all the ads, mailers and phone-calls. So I ask the question, does it really matter? Well....yes & no. I'll explain.
This past congress has been historically the least productive, with partisanship overtaking both chambers and both sides of the party-line. At times in the house, Speaker John Boehner has been over-run and unable to lead even his own party. Meanwhile in the senate, Majority leader Harry Reid seems more concerned about the Koch Brothers.....when he's supported another big money spender, Sheldon Alderson. Alderson has provided help and support to projects/business in Reid's state of Nevada.
On-top of leadership issues in the House and Senate, the filibuster has stalled the Senate in its tracks. This is where partisan issues come into play. Throughout President Obama's second term, gridlock has been the leader of the Senate.
Most 2014 election prognosticators give the Republicans around anywhere from a 55% to 70% chance to take control of the Senate. So what would that mean? Well....likely nothing. The same gridlock would likely prevail, but flipped from how its been the past 2 years. And if the Democrats are able to hold on? Well, just the status quo. Now yes, it might matter for appointments (Attorney General, any Supreme Court nominations that might come to pass in the remainder of Obama's term), but in terms of policies and bills, nothing would seem to change either way. With all this being said, it really paints the picture that this election doesn't matter.......but there's one thing.
Overall, the approval rating for Congress is at -68 . But Senate and House races aren't the only concern this election. All in all, there are about 8 Democrat and 8 Republican held governorships that look like the could flip parties. In the Atlantic/New England area, there's Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine. There's also some surprisingly close races in Kansas and Alaska.
While Congress may be at a standstill, governors have a real effect on policy and change at the state level. For instance, in Connecticut, the minimum wage was raised based on the control of Gov. Malloy and the controlled state assembly. Texas saw a bill pass that closed a certain number of abortion clinics (again, because of Gov. Perry and a controlled assembly). Not weighing into these certain policies, but governors and state assemblies can enact change and get bills through. You generally see more bipartisanship (but don't quote me on that). Governor races really do matter.
While the answer to my posed question may be mixed, it really is in one's best interest to vote and make your voice heard. Yes, nothing may really change in the Senate no matter who controls it (as hopeful as I am that we will see both sides work together heading into this next congress). But policies in your own state are in the balance, where state legislatures really do get stuff done. So while you may feel bogged down by all the negative campaign ads, its your right, and duty to get out there and vote. Don't sit back and let decisions be made for you, get active in your community and make your voice heard.
"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting."
I'll be honest, this week's SNL was a flat-out mess. The writing was really poor, with a good amount of suspect skits, but there were a few bright spots (and a music act that inflated the score).
The cold open was better than most this season thus far. It saw Cecily Strong as Megyn Kelly interviewing Gov. Christie (Bobby Moynihan), who got him down perfectly. Kate McKinnon also made an appearance as the Maine nurse. McKinnon just makes everything better. In terms of political skit writing, this was an improvement.
Chris Rock was pretty edgy in his monologue, mentioning the NYC/Boston Marathons, and the Freedom Tower. He went on to discuss gun control. It seemed like classic Chris Rock, but either you were offended or you weren't. It was fairly hit or miss.
The first skit was a webcam show "How to dance with Janelle" with Sasheer Zamata. Chris Rock brought it up a bit as the father, but altogether this skit was a dud. No faux webcam show will ever be as good as Jimmy Fallon's "Jarret's Room".
The parody ads have been really good this season. There were two notable ones this week, first up was the Go-Pro esque "Go Probe" for colonoscopies. It was clever, and really showed how ordinary the go-pro camera has become.
The "How's He Doing?" skit (a panel of black commentators/analysts talking about President Obama) returned, and it was equally cringeworthy.
The last time I mentioned a music act it was for Hozier. This week it was Prince, who just rocked the house down. It was a little slow to start, but it really got going with Prince's guitar rifts. Its certainly a must-watch.
Jay Pharoah also brought back his Katt Williams impersonation for Update, and it was pretty good (although Drake from last season still might be the best Williams impression)
This next skit was very odd, and trying to be edgy just for the sake of it. It saw the Shark Tank crew getting a pitch from.....ISIS.....yes that ISIS. In the end, it turned out that Daymond John (Kenan Thompson) had called homeland security on them. It wasn't all that clever, and just seemed to want to be offensive/edgy (as stated) just for the sake of it. It didn't make any greater point.
The second parody ad was probably the best skit of the night. It featured medication for something like vertigo.....but for Taylor Swift. The basic premise was to not fight your ear's obsession of Taylor Swift, just embrace it. This was an incredibly good concept (and dare I say, rather true. Deep down, everyone does like Taylor Swift, Ha).
Man oh man, this bizarre skit between Chris Rock and Leslie Jones about getting ready for an Uber cab. The writing was dreadful, but it got even more awkward when Jones just froze midway through (it was one of the first actual live skits she's been in since being named an official cast member). It was just a train-wreck.
There was a polite bank robbery short. On an average night this season, this would have been mediocre, but for this week, it was slightly amusing considering how the rest of the show went down.
And finally we arrived to the final skit, a 1990s-era 'women in the workplace' instructional video. Featuring Cecily Strong and Kate McKinnon, along with Rock and Vanessa Bayer. Once more, the writing was really mediocre here.
So, this was really the first clunker of the season. While SNL 40 up to this point has had its ups and downs, each show has been fairly entertaining, but that can't be said with Chris Rock. The only reason the score will be as high as it is is solely because of Prince, who was one of the only entertaining things about this week.
Avg. Score: 6.52 (each segment was scored out of 10, and averaged, including the musical act).
Bill Hader - 8.06 Chris Pratt - 7.5 Sarah Silverman - 7.15
This SNL had some fairly extreme highs and lows. Jim Carrey was his usual goofy self, and as for Iggy Azalea? Well.......yeah, lets just say less than spectacular. Onto the review
The cold open saw SNL mocking the new "ebola czar" hire. It felt rather forced, and just fell flat. Kenan Thompson was actually a bright spot, portraying Al Sharpton as the "only NY politician that would want to be seen with Obama", but not enough to save this one. The writing for political skits has really faded over the last season or two.
The monologue was rather, well, strange. Jim Carrey was dressed as "Helvis", a Elvis/Devil hybrid, singing about pecan pie. It was just, weird (but somewhat amusing).
There were 3 ads where Carrey parodied Matthew McConaughey in those Lincoln ads. The first one was solid, but the weaker of the 2 that were to follow. The 2nd one saw McConaughey with some random kids in the backseat (the strongest of the 2), and the third one saw a cross between the AllState ad and the Lincoln one.
The first skit was a Carrey family reunion, with Jim as himself. It featured a variety of his former movie characters, even a cameo from his Dumb & Dumber To co-star Jeff Daniels. All in all, it had its moments (especially when Bobby Moynihan, at least I think it was, came in as The Mask).
One of the top skits of the young season (but 1 trumped it in the 2nd half), saw a haunted graveyard trying to scare a young couple, except for Paul & Phil, who wanted to let you know that they're just good dead guys. Jim Carrey really made this work.
Michael Che was on point during weekend update, but more importantly, Colin Jost might just be coming into his own, so watch this space. The jokes were solid (prob. among the best so far this season), especially when Che talked about ebola panic. With all the romantic comedies on TV this season, SNL brought in a "romantic comedy expert" portrayed by Vanessa Bayer to banter with Michael Che with cliche romantic comedy jargon. Drunk Uncle made his return and it was a pretty good appearance. Was kind of surprised it took this long to see Drunk Uncle for the 1st time this season.
There was a "secret billionaire matchmaker" skit that was just sort of random and blase, although Carrey's "Illuminati old man" character was sort of fun.
That was followed by a Ghost chasers show parody, starring the newest cast member Leslie Jones. Her role as the easily believable homeowner was amusing, but all in all this fell flat.
There was a walking dead/high school zombie apocalypse skit. It was rather predictable, with Carrey portraying a father still caring for his zombie son. It wasn't intriguing or interesting.
Now for the skit of the show, an office Halloween party. Poor Aidy Bryant, she was "just a woman trying her best" being confused for a variety of costumes, but the stars here were Kate McKinnon and Jim Carrey who each dressed up as the young dancer in Sia's music video for "Chandelier". They then proceeded to have a dance off across the entire SNL stage. I don't know why this was stashed to the back-half, because it was brilliant.
The final skit was a bizarre Halloween emporium commercial thing, where Jim Carrey had been possessed by a demon. Not that interesting.
It was an enjoyable, but lukewarm Halloween episode for SNL. As I mentioned from the start, this show had its extreme highs and lows. The bright spot though continues to be Michael Che, who is shining on Weekend Update, and Leslie Jones should be a big component joining the cast.
Avg. Score: 7.01 (each segment was scored out of 10, and averaged, including the musical act).
Bill Hader - 8.06 Chris Pratt - 7.5 Sarah Silverman - 7.15
Two wildcard teams will meet in this year's world series, the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals. In fact, with the old playoff configuration, the Giants wouldn't have even made the postseason, as the #2 NL wildcard. I'll do a position breakdown, followed by my overall prediction .
Catchers:
SF Giants: Buster Posey
Regular Season (RS): 147G/605PA, 22HR, 89RBI, 47BB/69K, .311/.364/.480
While Perez does have decent offensive numbers, he's known for his defense, with a 2.1dWAR and a 30% caught stealing percentage, but Posey (you could argue) is the face of the Giants. He's the overall package with offense and defense (Posey also had a 30% caught stealing rate). And unlike Perez, Posey has been batting well in the postseason.
Both Hosmer and Belt are average when it comes to defense. Belt was incredibly limited during the regular season, while Hosmer showed potential, and has been raking during the postseason.
This is an interesting set of players. You have Panik, who broke out in the 2nd half with the Giants, and the steady veteran with Infante. On the whole, they're fairly similar on defense.
Sandoval is a slightly better defender, but provides more consistent play. Yes, Moustakas has found his power this postseason, but Sandoval is still a safer bet at the plate.
Ishikawa has made a good impression in his return to the Giants. He came to the Giants this year from the Pirates organization, and has stepped into a brand-new OF role. However, Gordon has unleashed his potential this year, both with his bat and superb defense.
Blanco has decent base-stealing ability, but has been slightly below replacement level defensively. Cain however, as evidenced during the postseason so far, has made spectacular catch after catch. He's also had a decent bat.
RS: 151G/603PA, 9HR, 66RBI, 41BB/96K, .271/.323/.379 PS: 27AB, 0HR, 5RBI, 4BB/4K, .223/.303/.296
The assumption is that Michael Morse will DH for the Giants in Kansas City, coming off of his NLCS Game 5 HR. Oddly enough, Morse may be the better DH here. Butler really saw his power sapped this year, and Morse has been a pleasant surprise.
Advantage: Morse (SF) (These are now the presumed pitching match-ups, based on where they pitched in their respective LCS)
SP1 SF Giants: Madison Bumgarner
RS: 14-8 (34GS), 227IP, 1.7BB/9, 7.1K/9, 3.21era PS: 1-0 (3GS), 16IP, 8.44K/9, 5.63era
With Matt Cain out for the year, Bumgarner has really stepped into that ace role for the Giants and has taken off with it. As seen during the NL Wildcard Game, Bumgarner was just unhitable. Shields has been consistent, as he usually is, but Bumgarner provides the more upside in this matchup.
Advantage: Bumgarner (SF)
SP2 SF Giants: Jake Peavy
RS: 14-10 (30GS/31G), 183IP, 3.4BB/9, 7.8K/9, 3.20era PS: 0-0 (2GS/3G), 13IP, 5.54K/9, 4.85era
Since being traded from Boston to San Francisco, Peavy has been steady and reliable. On the flip-side, the young Ventura has been impressive, but not without some hiccups in the postseason thus far.
RS: 13-11 (32GS), 202.2IP, 2.2BB/9, 5.5K/9, 4.13era PS: 0-0 (1GS), 5IP, 3.60K/9, 1.80era
Guthrie has been surprisingly consistent this year, but Hudson is the safe bet here. He's been reliable, and has shown to be an important FA signing by San Francisco this year.
Advantage: Hudson (SF)
SP4 SF Giants: Ryan Vogelsong
Vogelsong has been reliable in the Giants previous WS-runs, but Vargas has been a steady addition to the Royals rotation.
Advantage: Vargas (KC)
Closer
SF Giants: Santiago Casilla
RS: 54G, 58.1IP, 19SV, 2.3BB/9, 6.9K/9, 1.70era
PS: 7G, 6.2IP, 4SV, 6.75K/9, 0.00era
KC Royals: Greg Holland
RS: 65G, 62.1IP, 46SV, 2.9BB/9, 13.0K/9, 1.44era
PS: 8G, 8IP, 6SV, 11.25K/9, 1.13era
Casilla took over the closer's role in San Francisco from Sergio Romo, and has done a good job of it. Holland has kept up his consistent streak of dominance, shutting down the 9th.
Advantage: Holland (KC)
Defense:
Both teams play pretty terrific defense, but throughout the postseason we've seen the Royals OF's make catch after catch, whether its Aoki, Gordon or Cain. The Royals get the edge here.
(Lorenzo Cain during the regular season)
Advantage: Royals
Bench
When it comes to the bench, it's an interesting case. While the Royals don't have many (if any) power hitters sitting on the bench, its full of base-stealers, providing with tough situations for opposing pitchers late in games.
Advantage: Royals
Bullpen
The Royals BP features a shutdown trio of pitchers, but the Giants BP is fairly equally dominant with some flame-throwers of their own.
Draw.
Last year's world series saw a break from the sweeps we've seen lately, and I think this year will see the same. With the Giants' and Royals' BP's fairly even, each late move and baserunner will be important. I see this series going down to the wire.....but I like the Royals in 7.
Easily the best SNL of the season, and the same could probably be said for last season as well, Bill Hader brought his best this week to 30 rock (as did Hozier).
The cold open was kind of a hit and miss, with Bobby Moynihan as a gout-ridden Kim Jong Un. Moynihan really tried to make this work, and it did produce a few smirks but really nothing more.
The monologue featured Bill Hader's Skeleton Twins co-star kristin wiig, trying to get Bill Hader to sing (it tuned out he couldn't sing), but Harvey Fierstein made a cameo to encourage Hader. It was actually fairly amusing.
The legendary reporter Herb Welch returned. Taran Killam took over from Jason Sudeikis as the lead anchor. The interaction between Hader and Pete Davidson was really good here.
There was a pretty good fake movie trailer parodying the various dystopian Y.A novel adaptions. It went from The Maze Runner to Divergent and The Hunger Games (with even some Harry Potter thrown in). The production level was also crazy good.
There was a lackadasical Hollywood Game Night skit, because celebrity impersonations. Kristin Wiig brought back her Kathie Lee Gifford impersonation in a cameo. Taran Killam was a bright spot though as Christoph Waltz.
One of the top bits was a "HelpFund" PSA on how "$0.39 can save a life". This is one that SNL couldn't have done a couple of years ago. It really made you think.
Hader and Wiig did a tribute to Jan Hooks, and it was followed with SNL showing "Love Is But A Dream" with Jan and Phil Hartman
I usually don't feature the music acts on here, but I'll make an exception for Hozier. His SNL performance was sublime. I think he's going to be big here, just like Sam Smith.
Weekend Update was really good this week. Michael Che is really developing. Pete Davidson made his return to talk about......gold chains.
Bill Hader returning meant one thing.....Stefon!!! Apparently Dan Cortese is at all the clubs......
Hader brought his "Anthony Peter Coleman" character back in the Puppetry class skit. I had forgotten about it, but this character really is brilliant, and we even saw a war flashback.....with puppets.
Mooney/Bennett had another short, "Inside SoCal", a public access show. It was pretty much a miss, but not necessarily a complete dud. Mooney/Beckett need to step up their game though to make these a thing.
SNL ended with a bizarre Cat In The Hat skit.....with the Cat having a previous affair with the mother....who was instead with Thing 2.....so.....that happened.
All in all, it was a really strong episode, and just showed how great Bill Hader was during his tenure at SNL.
Avg. Score: 8.06 (each segment was scored out of 10, and averaged, including the musical act).
Bill Hader - 8.06 Chris Pratt - 7.5 Sarah Silverman - 7.15
She had success post SNL with stints on The Simpsons, Designing Women and 30 Rock.
One of her most well-known impersonations on SNL was of evangelist Tammy Faye. Here she is with Dana Carvey on "Church Chat" with the Church Lady
She was among the first Hillary Clinton impersonations on SNL.....which will likely still be continuing with the 2016 Presidential Election. Here's a brief clip.
She was one of the top impressionists on SNL, even as Kathie Lee.
And, what I think is one of the top acted dramatic/comedic skits on SNL, one of her most iconic roles as Brenda The Waitress.
SNL continued with Sarah Silverman and Maroon 5 (with Adam Levine making a few sketch cameos)
The features were better than the actual skits this week. It started off with a rather poor opening with a mediocre 60 minutes opening interview with Jay Pharoah's 1st appearance as President Obama on the season. It tried to make connections with ISIS and "hip" social media that just turned into a yawn-fest.
Things really picked up though with Sarah Silverman's monologue, as she ad-libbed with a member of the audience.....and then fielded questions from a younger version of herself.
The monologue was followed up by a great trailer parody, Fault In Our Stars: The Ebola In Our Everything. This was just laugh out loud in every sense.
The first skit was a tribute to Joan Rivers with Silverman portraying the late comedian at a roast in Heaven. It wasn't necessarily bad, it was just blah, and felt forced. Adam Levine portrayed Freddie Mercury....so yeah.
If you blinked, you missed it, but there was a sort of PSA ad on "whites". Right off the bat, it could sound offensive, but it was actually well done, with the message of "Enjoy it now while we're on top....still calling the shots until 2050, 2060 tops". It certainly caught me off guard.
There was a "forgotten tv gems" skit with a soap opera called "supportive women". It was somewhat clever and drew a few smirks, but that was about it.
Weekend Update was fairly strong this week. Michael Che seemed to have already settled in, and there was some actual chemistry between Che and Colin Jost, particularly during this piece of banter.
Another amusing Update bit was when Silverman and Kate McKinnon appeared as a feminist music duo "Garage & Her". It was just one of those things that was so random yet hilarious.
Another weak skit followed Update, about a singing trio called the "River Sisters" on a river cruise. It was incredibly forgettable.
There was a fairly good 2nd half skit, featuring Bobby Moynihan and Taran Killam, with Silverman coming back from Amsterdam admitting she cheated on her boyfriend who was about to propose. It featured Adam Levine.......as Adam Levine. It ended oddly enough with....Pizza Hut.
This week also saw a better Kyle Mooney/Beck Bennett short. I think it'll just take time for them to grow, but easy to say they haven't reached "Lonely Island" status quite yet.
The show ended with a Vitamix commercial skit between Silverman and Vanessa Bayer that broke out into Silverman's finances and whether she could afford a vitamix blender. Think of last year's "Blue River Dog Food" skit with Cecily Strong and Seth Rogen....but not quite as good.
Avg. Score: 7.15 (each segment was scored out of 10, and averaged, including the musical act).
