The Short List

Since Johnny Carson died yesterday, I have decided to post a list of public figures I admire to share with people:
Buckminster Fuller
Martin Luther King Jr.
John F. Kennedy
Bobby Kennedy
Jimmy Carter
Franklin Roosevelt
Andy Kaufman
Rene Magritte
John Lennon
Dennis Kucinich
George Washington
Robert Mcnamara
Massouda Jalal
Johnny Carson

One of my idols died today.

Johnny Carson died today at 79. I loved to watch him as a child, and have already missed his presence in the media for years. I hope that everyone gets a chance to see recordings of him. He was an amazing entertainer and an amazing man. I don't want to write to much about it, because I have more to say than I think anyone wants to hear, but I will mention this one thing: Johnny Carson is the instigator of the worlds longest sustained audience laughter on television. I have many people I look up to, but Johnny Carson was close to the top of the heap.

My, my, my, my, my boogie shoes

I was not let into a really classy club in Berlin last night because I had tennis shoes and jeans on. I was invited by some friends who didn't know that there was a dress code so I wasn't upset or anything. It kind of sucked, 'cause I had to deal with a really annoying friend-of-a-friend beforehand and then it took me a long time to get home with the train. I am supposed to meet with somebody tonight, but I don't really feel up to it so we'll see if my phone doesn't accidentally turn off ;) Right now I am listening to a singer Called Kellie Lin Knott on my ipod. She is a daughter of one of my mom's coworkers, and I got a cd of hers as a gift once. She is really good and I wouldn't be surprised if she makes it 'big' or whatever, but I think I must listen to her music more than anyone besides her studio techs and family and stuff. It is really a soft kind of music and I just find myself never skipping it when it comes up on my ipod. I also used to have it playing in my car in the cities all the time. I wonder if she will ever know she has someone listening to her stuff here in Berlin.

MLK

Today is MLK Day, and I think that it is odd how the world uses this day. I just watched a group of people protesting Stuff and using Martin Luther King Jr. On their signs and stuff. I thought, "How can these people presume to know what he would have thought about whatever random socialist thing they are talking about." I guess I just think people don't remember what an amazing person he was, a man of both incredible success and failure. For, although he did to change our world for the better he is the only black man to whom a holiday is given in North America and Europe, and the only one for whose holiday a stock exchange closes outside of Africa. He has become an exception to the rule, and misunderstood as well as underestimated by all races that make up the United States. He was unswaying in his optimism and swathed grace, as well being irrefutable flawed. I listen to his famous speech that needn't be named (it again is the world's most listened too black spoken word recording). I think of this day as a time to reflect on the injustice in the world and how we contribute to it and fight against it. What are we willing to change in our lives? Would we really stop shopping somewhere that contributes to the evil of the world today? How many people of different races do we really count as friends? How much plant killing, resource wasting beef do we eat? There are so many things we could do to help the world that we can't see the forest for the trees. I know that I fall far short of my own standards of righteousness, but I hope to reflect and better myself today. I also think it important to reflect on other civil rights leaders that do not get recognized with their own day of remembrance.