Our Trip to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart!

It has been a FULL couple of weeks!

But before I forget the details of our surreal visit to The Daily Show, I wanted to get it all down.

 

I bid on and won 4 VIP tickets to the show back in March at the Philharmonic gala.  I was so excited because David especially loves the show.  After thinking through childcare arrangements and timing, we asked our friends Mike and Mary if they wanted to join us.  They were as excited as I was!

 

We planned our trip for late September, knowing that Jon Stewart was off this summer directing a movie in Jordan.  Of course, it would have been great to see John Oliver too.

The trip:

 

David and I arrived on Monday afternoon, but this post isn't about our wonderful 2 days in NYC - just Tuesday night, October 1st.

 

WHO COULD HAVE GUESSED that when we planned the trip it would be Day 1 of the Government Shut-Down.  We knew it would be addressed in the show.  And, we had no way of knowing who the guest would be.  I looked it up the night before - author David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas) discussing a book by a 13 year old Japanese boy with autism.  It was going to make for a great show.

The Daily Show is filmed in an unremarkable warehouse type building.  It's not a part of a larger studio complex like NBC at Rockefeller Center.  Comedy Central World News Headquarters just sits on its own next to a mechanics shop on 11th Ave.

 

 

  

We arrived early and it turned out there was no need, so we popped into the Subway next door and had a Coke.

 

Then we went back in time to get our VIP passes and head in to the waiting area.

Mary and me with our confirmation letter and our VIP tix

 

Lots of people waiting in the ticket line, hoping to get in

 

 

 

Next to the security scanner

 

In the waiting area

 

 

Daily Show employee giving us some instructions before we entered the studio

 

 

We were asked to turn off our phones and not take any photos while we were in the studio.  We were also told that we were going to have a chance to ask Jon questions and "if the question sounds creepy in your head, it will sound creepy to the rest of us, so please don't ask for a lock of Jon's hair, or a kiss, or a hug". 

 

We went in by number (we were numbers 7-10 so we sat RIGHT up front).  20 feet from the desk.

 

Once all 200 of us were seated (and it took awhile!), we were told that we could in fact take out our cameras and phones and take photos from our seats.  You don't have to tell me twice!

 

Distance shot

 

 

Close up shot

Normal shot - I was THIS close!

 

All of the non-VIPers

 

I was so happy to be there - it was incredible!!

 

Mike and Mary

See the guy in the light pants next to Mike - you can see up to him in the opening - but you can't see us next to him.

 

And then we were asked to put our phones and such away.

 

During all the waiting, they played the oddest playlist of music - REO Speedwagon, Backstreet Boys, Air Supply, etc.  I'm not sure if it was supposed to pump us up really.  It was rather odd to be honest, but it didn't dampen our spirits.

 

Then The Daily Show music started up and it got exciting.

 

Out came a blunt comedian who was there to warm us up.

He started with David and me (oh, fun).

We were holding hands and he jumped on that - how long were we married, what had David done wrong to make him want to hold my hand so sweet.  He was pretty benign with us thank goodness, but went straight to Mike and Mary - where he wasn't as benign.  But they handled him like the pros they are.

 

There was a gentleman in a wheelchair that the comedian also jumped on - giving him hell and the guy loved it.  They bantered and it was a lot of fun for everyone.

 

Lots of cheering and more instructions, then back to the playlist for several minutes.

 

Then ALL OF A SUDDEN, they announced Jon and out he came.

It was awesome.  He stood just a few feet from all of us, and welcomed us and said he was happy to take questions.  He answered questions for 15 minutes or so.  Very conversational.  It was great.

 

 

Q&A with Jon Stewart

 

Q:  Will he ever do another rally like the Rally to Restore Sanity a couple of years ago?

A:  No way (lots of laughs), they weren't prepared for the number of people who showed up on the Mall in DC, then he told funny stories about the Cat Stevens/Ozzy Osbourne/Alice Cooper bit that almost didn't go off. 

 

 

Q:  We just listened to some music, what songs does he find it impossible not to sing along to?

A:  Happy Birthday - he said he'd feel like a real heel if they were in a restaurant and they started singing happy birthday to someone - he'd have to sing along even if he didn't know the person.  He said music in general impacts him and he listens to music a lot.

 

 

Q: What was the most memorable part about being in Jordan for the summer?

A:  He said just how much of an outsider he felt (and the fact that there weren't any bagel shops - ha).  He said that it was extremely hot and men would wear next to nothing to cool off, but women were working constantly covered from head to toe.  He made a comment about how he felt the real disparity between men and women in the Middle East.

 

 

Q:  Most memorable interview

A:  The one with former Pakistani President Musharraf, with snipers on the roof, serious security detail, and a Kevlar cover over the front of his desk.  They were very concerned for the President, but when Jon said "what about me behind that desk", an American security person, clearly NYPD, said "you better duck".

 

 

There were plenty more questions.  David and I can't remember any others at this point!  If I remember one, I'll edit the post later!

 

If I had it to do over, I would have asked him how he got involved in Autism awareness.  He's been involved for years - hosting the Autism fundraisers on t.v.  I'm assuming a family member or friend has been diagnosed, but I don't know that for sure.  I wish I had thought to ask.

 

He sincerely thanked everyone, and the show started.

It was quick and it was happening!

 

The main topics were the Government Shut-Down & Obamacare as you would imagine.

 

And then David Mitchell was brought on.

I'd encourage you to watch the extended interview on Comedy Central.  It was really moving and clearly effected a few of us in the audience.  You can find the interviews here.

 

 

Jon Stewart - "this is one of the most remarkable books I think I've ever read"

"it's truly moving, eye-opening, incredibly vivid"

"it is the most illuminating book I think I've ever read on the syndrome and the individual"

"I don't normally urge you - please if you get a chance, pick it up"

 

 

While this blog post is intended to remind David and me about our great time at The Daily Show, I can't leave out a couple of points related to the interview.

 

Tears sprung to my eyes in this part of the interview,

"the most heartbreaking parts to read are the parts where this child is very aware of the stress that the condition is causing on his parents",

"his low self-worth based on not being able to control these things that he knows you want him to control" - and the follow up discussion to this point.

 

 

By the end of second part of the extended interview, I was crying.

Mike or Mary handed me a handkerchief and I pulled myself together.

 

But not before I looked over and saw that Jon Stewart had looked over at me and we made eye contact.  It was during a quick break in the taping.  He gave me a little empathetic smile and I smiled back.  Mary saw it too so I didn't dream it.  He walked to the back of the set and wiped his eyes (or maybe just wiping his brow or something).  And then returned and went straight into The Moment of Zen and the end of the show.  I recovered and was ready to enjoy our last few minutes of the show.

 

Mary said afterwards that one of the crew squatting near us watching the show also had tears and was wiping them.

 

There was something magical about that interview and my being there.  I needed it.  And Jon Stewart smiled at me.

 

The show ended, everyone thanked us for being there, and out we went!  Just an incredible experience that I loved and felt so lucky to be able to be there.

 

And I loved sharing it with Daily Show superfans - David, Mike and Mary.

 

But the night wasn't over.

 

Mike and Mary treated us to an amazing dinner at Print.

Located just down the street from the Daily Show studio, we headed straight over after the taping.

 

 

 

We had drinks at the rooftop bar upstairs.  It was stunning, the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  It was beautiful.

 

The food at Point. is incredible.

We had wine, appetizers and entrees and no one could even think about dessert or after dinner drinks.

 

I had this kale salad that was absolutely amazing.  If I only could figure out the kind of dressing that was used.  It was unbelievable.

 

I also had a corn flan over edamame and vegetables.  So good.

 

David had salmon and it looked great.  All of our meals did.

 

I highly recommend Point.

 

We said our goodbyes to Mike and Mary and headed back to our hotel, just a block or two away.

 

But I didn't turn out the lights until I had a chance to order The Reason I Jump from amazon.

 

 

 

In fact, now that I've finished this blog post - I'm headed to read the book tonight!

 

 

 

 

 

What I've Been Reading - Late September 2013

In an effort to make blogging faster I'm going to streamline my posts.  I loved formatting and adding more to my What I've Been Reading posts, but I just don't have the time these days.  So - I'm going to still tell you what I'm reading, but just do it in a simpler way!

And of course, for those of you on Goodreads and Facebook, this is probably old news!  But I love to hear about good books, so I'd like to share my recommendations too.  You can see all of my comments and lists at goodreads.

My Favorites over the Last Month

Loved the writing, pace, and characters.

 

Goodreads description - After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

 

 

Recommended by friends whose opinions I trust, but I hadn't heard about this book anywhere else.

I couldn't put it down.  Not at all what I was expecting.  Young adult, but for much older teens or adults.

 

Goodreads description:  When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she's single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

 

 

 

This was such a great Young Adult series, for tweens and teens.  I loved the world of the Gallagher Academy.  Girl power, strong role models and friendships.  A great series, and I enjoyed this final 6th book.

 

Goodreads description - Cammie Morgan has lost her father and her memory, but in the heart-pounding conclusion to the best-selling Gallagher Girls series, she finds her greatest mission yet.

 

 

 

I read all of Dan Brown's books, but some keep me far more engaged than others.  This one I flew through, and I more than ever want to travel to Italy!

 

Goodreads description - In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces . . . Dante’s Inferno.

 

 

 

 

Others I'd Like to Recommend

Goodreads Description - Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

Goodreads Description - Art history is more than just a collection of dates and foreign-sounding names, obscure movements and arcane isms. Every age, for the last 50,000 years has left its unique imprint on the world, and from the first cave paintings to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, from the Byzantine mosaics of the Hagia Sophia, to the graffiti-inspired paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat, art history tells the story of our evolving notions of who and what we are and our place in the universe.Whether you're an art enthusiast who'd like to know more about the history behind your favorite works and artists, or somebody who couldn't tell a Titian and a De Kooning--but would like to--"Art History For Dummies" is for you.

 

 

 

 

Goodreads Description - With unflagging suspense and pitch-perfect period detail, The Bone Garden deftly interweaves the thrilling narratives of its nineteenth- and twenty-first century protagonists, tracing the dark mystery at its heart across time and place to a finale as ingeniously conceived as it is shocking. Bold, bloody, and brilliant, this is Tess Gerritsen’s finest achievement to date.

These Were OK

Goodreads Description - Jane is a young New York woman who can never seem to find the right man-perhaps because of her secret obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-obsessed women, however, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become more real than she ever could have imagined.

*Didn't Finish* 

Goodreads Description - When Charlotte Kinder treats herself to a two-week vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves behind her ex-husband and his delightful new wife, her ever-grateful children, and all the rest of her real life in America. She dons a bonnet and stays at a country manor house that provides an immersive Austen experience, complete with gentleman actors who cater to the guests' Austen fantasies.

(Trying to) Catch Up

Hi everyone!  It has been quite awhile since I've blogged.  I lost my cooking blog domain name (y'all come eat) so it was out of commission for almost two months.  I've now got to re-pin all of my recipes with the new blog name.  Frustrating.  Not a Google problem it turns out, but it involved tons of time connecting with Google.  I knew they had a help desk because I saw the Google movie (The Internship) earlier this summer!  But, they don't make it easy.

 

Anyway, it has been a super busy month, but really good.  I have 2 volunteer activities too many I think :)  I volunteer anywhere from 10-30 hours/week, not including computer time.  That's a ton.  The boys are doing well and David enjoyed a trip to D.C. last week.  We're looking at 3 trips in the next few weeks.  I'm ready for Fall Break!

 

Here are a few photos of our last month or so.

 

We have a new winery with outdoor seating.  I've been there quite a few times since they opened.  Here's Brennan enjoying the cheese plate.  The boys love going out to eat.

 

David and I went one night together.  Here is what I usually get with my glass of Riesling - hummus, vegetables, and pita chips.  It's delicious.

 

 

And David got this brie and apple appetizer with warm bread.  Soooo good.

 

Watching MSU football.  That's a lot of legs in one chair.

 

Thomas and I went to see The Mortal Instruments movie - we've both read the series.

 

Brennan loves to chill in the pool!

 

We're letting Thomas learn to driver in the driveway.  Here he is first time out pulling the car back into the driveway after I put the mower away.  Look at his hands on 10 and 2 like a good boy!  Today I taught him how to use the riding mower!

The children sang in church a couple of weeks ago and Brennan had a song leader role and a speaking part.  He did really well!  Here he is starting off the introit.

 

 

 

Big brother helping Little brother with a homework assignment.

I walked in to this and was so thankful that Thomas offered and Brennan accepted the offer, even though it turned out Brennan really didn't need any help.

 

If you're on facebook you've no doubt seen a bunch of running photos of Thomas this fall.  Our friend Dr. Porter takes great photos at each meet and posts them.  Thomas is doing beautifully in cross country this year.  His 3K PR (record) is 14:04 minutes.  That's a 7:30 pace.  His goal was to break 9 minutes which he certainly did!

 

 

One Saturday we were running errands and he asked me to drop him off about 2 miles from the library and let him run there and meet me.  I was very unsure about it because he would have to cross a couple of busy roads, run through a residential area that he didn't know, and he wasn't quite sure how to get to the library from point A.  But, given that he runs in some of these areas when he runs after school with his team, I finally agreed.  Then followed him, and circled back.  He did beautifully!

 

 

Brennan at an early Saturday meet.  It was chilly that day, but it's still pretty warm here.

And Thomas after the meet.

 

I was soooo excited to see Michael Buble in concert last weekend with girlfriends!!!

We were celebrating Maribel's birthday.

 

I haven't been to a concert in forever.  It was awesome.

 

Ammie, Maribel, me, Lupita

 

We were far, far away, but Lupita got some awesome photos

 

 

The concert was fantastic.  He has a knack for making a cavernous arena feel intimate.  On the last song, "This Song for You", he took the earpiece out and put the microphone away and sang it acapella at the end.  I couldn't believe everyone could hear him and it was absolutely beautiful.  Great show!

 

 

 Bright and early the next morning I had to be at our Youth Leadership scholarship program.

What a great program.  Thankfully I wasn't on this committee, but wanted to attend and work at the event itself.  The students start the process as juniors, going through quite a bit of leadership work to get to this point.  There were 191 seniors participating.   

 

The speakers at the day-long event were terrific too.

 

 

The parents joined after lunch for a speaker and the scholarship presentations.

 

 

 

 

We hosted a baby shower for our friends Matt and Megan last weekend.  I realize now these photos are all terribly out of order.  Oh well.

 

When Miss Mary saw Brennan she realized he had achieved it - the right to be photographed having passed his first adult in height!

 

 

Megan is in the middle below.  Their friends from Michigan and St. Louis were able to join us as well.  It was a wonderful afternoon/evening.

 

 

Megan and Matt are due in February, but this shower was for the adoption that takes place in October!

They are adopting two little girls from New Mexico!

Megan is an early education specialist so these girls are coming to the perfect family.

 

We were so happy to share this special day with Matt and Megan.

 

 I'm PTO President at Brennan's elementary school.  Our annual fundraiser, the Walk-a-thon, kicked off last week.  Here we are at the convocation.  This is Brennan's class (this is their 3rd year together as a class), and a couple of other kids from 6th grade.  They are really a great group.  Brennan's on the far left.  He thought I was taking a photo just of him.

  

 

After a(nother) trip to the library we headed out for a quick bite since Dad had a church meeting.  To my left, Thomas was reading a Calvin and Hobbes.  And across Brennan's reading Wired magazine.  Somebody needs to talk to Mom!

 

 

And that's it for the last couple of weeks.  I hope you're all enjoying the First Day of Fall!