Happy Anniversary, TRMS! (Part 2)
Reference Links: Tosses | Bonus Moments of Awesome | Rachel Re's | Cocktails
Top 8 Rachel Re's of the past year. (In chronological order.)
November 29, 2008 -- Thanksgiving
One of the things I love best about Rachel is that she doesn't let ANYTHING get thrown out with the trash. This clip from before the long Thanksgiving weekend reminds us of the long, long list of resignments and indictments during the Bush administration, and gives thanks for the fact that the administration is basically over.
January 19, 2009 -- We the people
Because it really is remarkable what we all can do together. (See also: Operation Iraqi Baseball. Warning: if you click through that link, you may cry.)
February 6, 2009 -- The Know Nothings
Also known (in my head) as the "bullpucky" clip, Rachel takes on the Republicans who are trying to fight the worst recession in my lifetime by demanding that the stimulus bill include spending and tax cuts and cuts on things like unemployment and food stamps -- you know, things that are the most stimulative things we know of. "If you're wrong, from here on out, you should lose the argument." Yes.
February 24, 2009 -- Re: Sponse
I really tried to talk myself out of including this one, because I wanted to make sure my selection wasn't about the bonus Ana. It's not. Rachel's response to Bobby Jindal's response to the Not-State-of-the-Union is spot-on, both in her analysis of the speech itself and her analysis of the recent faces of the Republican party. The discussion with Ana afterward is quite a bonus, though.
March 27, 2009 -- Word War
I feel a little like this is a moment of geek before there was a moment of geek. Rachel's argument here pivots on the idea that many years of using the word "war" when you're not actually talking about a military action has led to us trying to actually use our military to fight wars against things it can't actually fight (like, say, the feeling of being scared). Propagandistic graphics aside, this comment on the various rebrandings of the Iraq war shows a real difference in the way the war is considered and discussed (and yes, paid for) since the Obama administration came into power.
May 1, 2009 -- Banner Day
Rachel's devotion to reminding us that people are still losing their lives in Iraq is one of my favorite things about her reporting, first on her radio show, and now on the TV machine. This comment, on the sixth anniversary of "Mission Accomplished!," provides an update on the deaths of soldiers -- not only those in combat zones, but also the underreported deaths of soldiers due to corrupt and incompetent electrical work in Iraq by KBR, a private contractor that the tax dollars of you and me and everyone we know continue to pay to this day.
July 22, 2009 -- It's not true, Pat
Rachel's July 16 discussion with Pat Buchanan made a lot of news. Partly because it's one of the few moments (I can remember, anyway) we see Rachel visibly upset with a guest, but mostly because in claiming that affirmative action discriminates against white males, Pat made a number of absurd claims regarding the racial makeup of most of American history. (For example, did you know that white men built this country? I mean, it's not like it was mostly slave labor that *literally* built much of America. OH WAIT.) In this segment, Rachel corrects the factual inaccuracies, and calls Pat out for generalizing about American history based solely on white experience.
August 10, 2009 -- Who, me?
I love it when the Rachel Re segments are about presenting good investigative journalism (like "Let them eat fake" or "B(l)o(w)n appetit!" or "It's not about health care"), but I like it more when she's holding people accountable. In this clip, Rachel calls out the people who are encouraging fringe politics one second, then denying having done so.
For those of you unaware, my beloved pundit is also a hobbyist bartender, and it's starting to seem like anyone and everyone who has her on their show (and has time for a second segment) wants her to mix them a cocktail. Thank goodness for us she's fond of obliging and providing us with not only awesome cocktail recipes and commands instructions. (Also, videos that are amusing as hell.)
And so I bring you 5 Maddow Mixologist Moments.
Rachel Maddow, Mixologist
This cocktail sounds really, really yummy, and is next on my list of to-dos. One of my favorite parts about Rachel as bartender is how opinionated and strict she is about it all, and this is definitely one of the best.
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (March 24)
Featuring Rachel making fun of Jimmy's choice of cocktails and a lot of spilled liquor. (There are bonus bloopers here, but since it's MSNBC video, it can't be embedded.)
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (August 31)
Where Rachel tries to make up for emasculating Jimmy in March by making him a White Lady. Also featuring Rachel joking about watered-down gin, Jimmy fangirling Rachel and dancing Rachel.
Martha (February 3)
It was between this and the June Diggnation episode with Rachel, and Martha won only because the Diggnation was loooooong. (It's totally worth it, though, with everything from "hair of the dog" talk to Star Wars theories, so check it out. ;D) Rachel makes a cherry julep, and Martha learns that you don't argue with Rachel Maddow. :)
St Patrick's Day Cocktail Moment (TRMS, March 17)
Last but certainly not least, we have the intersection of Rachel the bartender and TRMS. Features Rachel fangirling Dale DeGroff and enjoying a nice cocktail on her own show.
And so that's it for the vidspam! I just want to say, though, as I wrap this up, that this past year (well, not quite for me, but that's because I'm always slow to the party...) of Rachel has meant a lot to me in a lot of ways. For one, it's gotten me more interested in the world; for another, it's meant a lot to have someone who's a geek like me and gay like me and not the girliest girl in the world like me on television. I never really thought much about media representations and their effect on people -- I personally never really had any issues with the fact that I was barely represented on television. Now I have Rachel on my tv nightly, and it really does just *feel* different. And so as much as it's been a crazy fangirly year, I've loved every second of it, I love all of you I've gotten to know through it, and I love all of you who knew me before I became one-track-mind-y and have stood by me through it (and even indulged me, more often than not). Here's to the next year of Maddow. :D
Top 8 Rachel Re's of the past year. (In chronological order.)
November 29, 2008 -- Thanksgiving
One of the things I love best about Rachel is that she doesn't let ANYTHING get thrown out with the trash. This clip from before the long Thanksgiving weekend reminds us of the long, long list of resignments and indictments during the Bush administration, and gives thanks for the fact that the administration is basically over.
Click to viewJanuary 19, 2009 -- We the people
Because it really is remarkable what we all can do together. (See also: Operation Iraqi Baseball. Warning: if you click through that link, you may cry.)
February 6, 2009 -- The Know Nothings
Also known (in my head) as the "bullpucky" clip, Rachel takes on the Republicans who are trying to fight the worst recession in my lifetime by demanding that the stimulus bill include spending and tax cuts and cuts on things like unemployment and food stamps -- you know, things that are the most stimulative things we know of. "If you're wrong, from here on out, you should lose the argument." Yes.
February 24, 2009 -- Re: Sponse
I really tried to talk myself out of including this one, because I wanted to make sure my selection wasn't about the bonus Ana. It's not. Rachel's response to Bobby Jindal's response to the Not-State-of-the-Union is spot-on, both in her analysis of the speech itself and her analysis of the recent faces of the Republican party. The discussion with Ana afterward is quite a bonus, though.
March 27, 2009 -- Word War
I feel a little like this is a moment of geek before there was a moment of geek. Rachel's argument here pivots on the idea that many years of using the word "war" when you're not actually talking about a military action has led to us trying to actually use our military to fight wars against things it can't actually fight (like, say, the feeling of being scared). Propagandistic graphics aside, this comment on the various rebrandings of the Iraq war shows a real difference in the way the war is considered and discussed (and yes, paid for) since the Obama administration came into power.
May 1, 2009 -- Banner Day
Rachel's devotion to reminding us that people are still losing their lives in Iraq is one of my favorite things about her reporting, first on her radio show, and now on the TV machine. This comment, on the sixth anniversary of "Mission Accomplished!," provides an update on the deaths of soldiers -- not only those in combat zones, but also the underreported deaths of soldiers due to corrupt and incompetent electrical work in Iraq by KBR, a private contractor that the tax dollars of you and me and everyone we know continue to pay to this day.
July 22, 2009 -- It's not true, Pat
Rachel's July 16 discussion with Pat Buchanan made a lot of news. Partly because it's one of the few moments (I can remember, anyway) we see Rachel visibly upset with a guest, but mostly because in claiming that affirmative action discriminates against white males, Pat made a number of absurd claims regarding the racial makeup of most of American history. (For example, did you know that white men built this country? I mean, it's not like it was mostly slave labor that *literally* built much of America. OH WAIT.) In this segment, Rachel corrects the factual inaccuracies, and calls Pat out for generalizing about American history based solely on white experience.
August 10, 2009 -- Who, me?
I love it when the Rachel Re segments are about presenting good investigative journalism (like "Let them eat fake" or "B(l)o(w)n appetit!" or "It's not about health care"), but I like it more when she's holding people accountable. In this clip, Rachel calls out the people who are encouraging fringe politics one second, then denying having done so.
For those of you unaware, my beloved pundit is also a hobbyist bartender, and it's starting to seem like anyone and everyone who has her on their show (and has time for a second segment) wants her to mix them a cocktail. Thank goodness for us she's fond of obliging and providing us with not only awesome cocktail recipes and commands instructions. (Also, videos that are amusing as hell.)
And so I bring you 5 Maddow Mixologist Moments.
Rachel Maddow, Mixologist
This cocktail sounds really, really yummy, and is next on my list of to-dos. One of my favorite parts about Rachel as bartender is how opinionated and strict she is about it all, and this is definitely one of the best.
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (March 24)
Featuring Rachel making fun of Jimmy's choice of cocktails and a lot of spilled liquor. (There are bonus bloopers here, but since it's MSNBC video, it can't be embedded.)
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (August 31)
Where Rachel tries to make up for emasculating Jimmy in March by making him a White Lady. Also featuring Rachel joking about watered-down gin, Jimmy fangirling Rachel and dancing Rachel.
Martha (February 3)
It was between this and the June Diggnation episode with Rachel, and Martha won only because the Diggnation was loooooong. (It's totally worth it, though, with everything from "hair of the dog" talk to Star Wars theories, so check it out. ;D) Rachel makes a cherry julep, and Martha learns that you don't argue with Rachel Maddow. :)
St Patrick's Day Cocktail Moment (TRMS, March 17)
Last but certainly not least, we have the intersection of Rachel the bartender and TRMS. Features Rachel fangirling Dale DeGroff and enjoying a nice cocktail on her own show.
And so that's it for the vidspam! I just want to say, though, as I wrap this up, that this past year (well, not quite for me, but that's because I'm always slow to the party...) of Rachel has meant a lot to me in a lot of ways. For one, it's gotten me more interested in the world; for another, it's meant a lot to have someone who's a geek like me and gay like me and not the girliest girl in the world like me on television. I never really thought much about media representations and their effect on people -- I personally never really had any issues with the fact that I was barely represented on television. Now I have Rachel on my tv nightly, and it really does just *feel* different. And so as much as it's been a crazy fangirly year, I've loved every second of it, I love all of you I've gotten to know through it, and I love all of you who knew me before I became one-track-mind-y and have stood by me through it (and even indulged me, more often than not). Here's to the next year of Maddow. :D