Weekend Video: AFV Halloween Pranks

Many of you may or may not know how big of fan of America's Funniest Videos my wife is. Basically, it comes down to this in our house: If my wife is home and wants to watch TV and AFV is on - no matter what I am watching - we watch AFV.

While I used to think the show was just "crotch shot" after "crotch shot" (maybe it used to be), I have really come around on it. Though I like to pretend like I don't like watching it, many times I find myself laughing out loud at some of the videos.

Of course, that's still nothing close to the paralyzing laughter my wife endures.

Enjoy this special Halloween edition of Weekend Video:

An open letter to TCU coach Gary Patterson

Dear Coach Patterson,

As a BYU fan, it would be very easy to let the recent results of the BYU-TCU rivalry get the best of me and rationalize and make excuses for the outcome of the Saturday's game (trust me, I did last year). It would be very easy to both figuratively and literally hate you and all associated with the TCU football program. It would be very easy to be blinded by that hatred, causing me to try to come up with reason why TCU is overrated.

Only...I'm not.

What you have done at TCU is outstandingly impressive. Last year I sat in my living room - nearly 4,000 miles away from Forth Worth, TX - and was semi-literally scared for my own safety as I watched your players dismantle my BYU Cougars. This year, the outcome was even worse. I won't minimize your team's accomplishment. I still think my team is very good - and the Horned Frogs trashed us. You guys could play with any team in the country, and I look forward to the opportunity you'll have in to do so in a BCS Bowl.
Anger and pure dislike consume me with any other rivalry (ex. BYU-Utah), but respect is all that comes to mind with BYU-TCU. You beat us ... and badly. As a Mountain West Conference fan, I am proud at the prospect of TCU carrying the non-BCS torch into a BCS game, but I would like to issue some warnings:

• Please do not take any of the games remaining on your schedule lightly. Don't look past any team.
• Keep your team humble and hungry.
• Don't let your players read/believe the press clippings.

I don't want anything to happen that would derail your team's chances. The team representing the non-BCS schools should be tested beforehand. Your team has earned the right to be there over other non-BCS schools by beating more than one ranked team and going on the road out of conference, proving yourselves to NOT be 2007 Hawaii.

Signed,

All Things and Everything

Weekend Video: Arrested Development Chicken Dance

A few years ago I started watching the sitcom Arrested Development when a neighbor at college had the first season on DVD. I had flipped past it on TV before, stopping only to notice it starred Jason Bateman, of Teen Wolf Too and The Hogan Family fame. It seemed somewhat confusing until I started watching it from the beginning.

I don't know if I have ever seen a TV show funnier than Arrested Development. The writing and dialogue is so clever, the filming style so unique. It's a shame it only lasted for about 2 1/2 years, but a movie is supposedly in the works.

So enjoy these clips of this messed-up family's imitation of a chicken:

Boise State puts the BS in BCS

I'm a BYU fan, but more importantly for this entry, I'm a Mountain West Conference fan. If you're an MWC fan - even if you are a Utah fan - I know we can agree on at least one thing: We don't care much for Boise State.

The reason? Its cupcake schedule.

This is an important season for the non-BCS teams. As fans, we don't want just any team representing us in a BCS bowl. We want a proven team like Utah was last year. The Utes beat Oregon State, TCU and BYU on their way to an impressive Sugar Bowl win over Alabama.

We don't want a team that got fat off a debilitated schedule.

Is Boise State's record impressive? Absolutely. The Broncos very rarely lose games. The only problem is they rarely schedule actual games.

BSU's only legitimate competition came from a home game against the Oregon Ducks in the first game of the season. Both teams played like garbage (which is one of the reasons week one is typically an upset-fertile day on the schedule), and a lot has changed since then. Simply put, Oregon would crush BSU if the teams played again.

Obviously, that's speculation, but I feel as Boise State is simply the beneficiary of the top teams losing. Has there really been a game that's warranted its position in the polls?

Score - Team - Current Record
48-0 Miami (OH) 0-7
51-34 @ Fresno St. 3-3
49-14 @ Bowling Green 3-4
34-16 UC Davis FCS team
28-21 Tulsa 4-3

None of those games really "wow" anyone, yet BSU has continuously been voted up to the #4 spot, causing some Bronco fans to clamor for a shot at the national championship game. But with BSU's schedule bereft of even semi-difficult games, any team in the top 10 that wins the rest of its game would deserve that spot over Boise State. The schedules simply do not compare.

Some might suggest MWC fans are simply jealous of Boise State.

That's true. We are jealous. Jealous of BSU's cakewalk schedule. Jealous that BSU doesn't have to play against legitimate competition to gain national acclaim. Jealous that the toughest game the Broncos have on their way to a BCS game is Tulsa, a team Oklahoma beat 45-0.

If Boise State does win out (and since the WAC has no other decent teams, it's a very good possibility), The MWC has one hope remaining: TCU.

As a BYU fan, it's impossible for me to cheer against the Cougars. However, if TCU does beat BYU, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I would much rather have TCU in a BCS game than Boise St., and with wins over BYU, Utah and some out of conference road games against BCS-conference schools, TCU would likely leapfrog the Broncos.

Weekend Video: The Effect of Evian Water on Babies

Barack Obama: The Nobel Peace Prize Debate

Good question: Does President Barack Obama deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?

I don't know. I wasn't the person who nominated him, and, more importantly, I wasn't part of the committee spending several months evaluating the nominees.

When I first heard the news, I'll admit I was a bit surprised. But then again, so was Obama. He didn't campaign for this. He even said he "[does] not feel that [he] deserve[s] to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize."

Some people feel if he doesn't think he deserves it, then he could always decline it. I feel that's a ridiculous idea. It's one of the most prestigious awards in the world! If a group spent months and months deciding to give the award to him, it would be offensive to NOT accept it. The funny thing about Obama is that he CARES whether or not he offends international figures. I know in the previous eight years that might not have been the case, and maybe we've grown accustomed to that mentality.

Let me use an analogy to better illustrate why declining the award would have greater repercussions than we think:

Imagine being in high school again, and Sadie Hawkin's Dance has girls starting to ask boys out. Now, imagine the girl every guy wants to ask him out. She gets on the intercom for the morning announcements and asks out a guy. She could have had any guy, and she picked him. And he's says no - on the morning announcements, as well.

Is she offended or at least embarrassed? Of course. Does life go on? Of course. She goes ahead and asks someone else out. However, how excited is the next guy? He's very publicly the second choice. Sure, he goes, but he knows darn well she didn't want to come with him.It's the same thing with the award. If we feel he hasn't done enough to deserve the award, how is the second-choice recipient going to feel about the committee thinking his accomplishments weren't as impressive as Obama's?

"I nursed 3,000 soldiers back to health, and Obama was picked over me?!?!"
I mean, maybe it was because of Obama's diplomacy efforts and attempts to open talks to leaders with whom we don't have a good relationship.

Maybe it was because he has shown no signs of starting another war as president (that bar is pretty low) .

Maybe it was a weak year for peace.

I don't know. There are a lot of people who spend a lot more time considering it than I do, which brings me to my main point:

Better question: Who cares?
Is it October already? I can't believe it has already been a year since the last Nobel Prizes were awarded.

Remember all of the articles we read leading up to the decisions?

Remember turning on the TV and all of the talk show hosts were listing their predictions for the Nobel Prizes?

Remember how the whole world was abuzz about who was going to win?

Remember talking about whether or not the winners deserved it or who really deserved it for hours and hours after the decisions were made?

Me neither.

My point is we almost NEVER care about the Nobel Prize winners. Why do so many people spend so much time whining about Obama winning it? I don't remember Martti Ahtisaari or Shirin Ebadi going through this same skepticism.

The reason is hatred. Many people hate Obama for his politics, and they feel everyone else should hate him (see Opinionators).

Well, guess what? The Norwegian Nobel Committee doesn't hate him. Get over it.

Here's what they said:

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Is that impossible to believe? It shouldn't be. Maybe you don't agree with his policies on the economy or health care, but can you say he doesn't make more peaceful efforts to resolve conflicts?

Maybe he's not the most deserving of the award, but you didn't care when Wangari Maathai or Mohamed El Baradei won it, why do you care so much now?

Levi Johnston: Making the Most of Fatherhood

Levi Johnston has kept himself busy (he doesn't even have time to put a shirt on). Levi (Johnston, that is. In case you forget, he's tattooed it on his arm. Or maybe that's in case HE forgets.), most known for getting Sarah Palin's daughter pregnant before the 2008 presidential campaign, has managed to stay in the limelight an entire year later. Most recently, he appeared taking his new-found fatherhood lightly in this commercial:


He's definitely been a spectacle. Early on, after he and Bristol Palin broke up, the Johnston family appeared on a variety of talk shows, embarrassing themselves somewhat:
On Larry King...


On Tyra...

However, after a while, Levi seemed to be more comfortable doing these interviews. In this one, Levi also shares his thoughts on why Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska:


Now, Levi has agreed to pose nude in Playgirl, an online magazine read by women and gay men. This comes after he posed shirtless with his infant son in GQ, as pictured above.

Frankly, one of the things I dislike about society is that a guy like this can "sleep" his way into thousands upon thousands of dollars and NOT be called a prostitute. Now, I know it's not the same thing, but thousands - even millions - of people bust their butts to make ends meet and, even then, some can't even put food on their table. Meanwhile, this guy knocks up someone semi-famous, and now he's even more famous than her. I don't blame the magazines. I blame people all over the world that eat this brand of garbage up. Shame on them for giving this guy a medium.

I hope he's saving his money. That's the other thing about people: they forget about you.