I grew up watching late night television as it aired during my lifetime, and I never really stopped watching from the antics of Conan O'Brien (I love the introduction portion of his podcast and his shenanigans with Jordan Schlansky) to the countless parodies of Jimmy Fallon's Late Night/Tonight Show; the wicked-smart satire of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart; the witty and sharp John Oliver to the silly Jimmy Kimmel and the kookiness of Craig Ferguson; and even the classic Letterman. I'll admit it, as much as I've watched classic television shows and movies on repeat, the talk shows of the early days of late-night aren't really on that list. Interestingly enough, the first late night talk show was led by a woman: The Faye Emerson Show in 1941. 

 Overall, I love watching late night TV, especially the monologues and travel moments and hilarious creative segments. For instance, when Kimmel's show would ask people questions, and they would answer in the dumbest ways. And Kimmel's Unnecessary Censorship segments are such a silly and immature concept yet it's still hilarious. And then, there are moments that were so good, they became their own show. Conan's remotes (when he would go to different places outside the set, and just be himself in those spaces) were so popular, that he now has quite a few different TV specials and series that have built upon that concept. 

I have referenced and written about only a few of my favorite moments in late night television and comedy in my Video Mash-Up: Late Night Talk Shows post and even in SNL and JT. But there are so many moments that still stick with me, and thank goodness YouTube exists so that I have the ability to look back at some of these memorable, hilarious creations.

Like this:

 Or this:

The LATE (LOST parody) was my favorite one from Jimmy Fallon's Late Night, which wasn't included on their YouTube playlist. But I did find this: https://www.tiktok.com/@fallonathome/video/7250639331428273426.

 

 Theses comedians, and so many more, help get their audience through difficult and/or annoying times. They make us laugh and remind us to enjoy life when it can be pretty easy for life to feel stale, meaningless and devoid of joy. It's unfortunate how in American society, it's easy for people (myself included) to see life as an endless routine of work and tasks, obsessive productivity-on repeat-for means of survival. It can be surprisingly easy to forget that moments of joy are not only allowed, but they are necessary. And comedy reminds us it's not that hard to remember! 

These shows allow us to have a good laugh at even while also paying attention to current events. 

 

These comedians and their teams have a way of telling the truth, setting stories straight, and making sense of the nonsense while also inspiring their audience to think and laugh! Comedy and laughter has a pretty cool way of bringing people together and keeping us from being consumed by the insanity that seeks to harm and/or destroy us.

 

In recent years, I have been enjoying making YouTube playlists. In the past year or two, I've binged-watched Conan's podcast intros and created a Conan favorites playlist (which I have watched/listened to repeatedly, it's that good!) It has been interesting to see him from this perspective after having seen him in the late-night-show style for so many decades.

 

 I also found Josh Johnson, who has become one of my very favorite comedians, next to Wanda Sykes. He was also a writer for the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and is a correspondent on the Daily Show. I binged-watched all of his stand-up videos on YouTube this past year, and also created a Josh Joshson favorites playlist. His storytelling is so compelling with so many visual and intricate details that he so seamlessly weaves into recent events and topics of discussion. 

  

I'm not sure if this counts as a late-night show, but this almost game-show style comedy talk show, which was originally created in Britain, is a newer show to American audiences: Have I Got News for You. They are hilarious and on-point with their commentary:

 

We gotta fight for our rights (to party), and constantly revisit it as I refer back to a post I wrote back in 2012 about a comedic flash-dance-like revival of the popular Beastie Boys song.

Stay sane, keep laughing, and remember to have fun!

In preparation for Final Reckoning, which was incredible, I watched all the Mission Impossible movies from the start, and I gained so much appreciation for this iconic movie series that brought us the classic theme song we all know and love, as well as the countless re-enactments in several TV shows and movies since its release in 1996.

ParamountMovies.com

I grew up watching these movies: the first one, practically on repeat growing up; and starting from Ghost Protocol, I watched the remaining films in the movie theater. Each movie had me on the edge of my seat with its fast-paced, unique, over-the-top classic chase sequences. Sequences that often featured the prominent "Tom Cruise Run" -of course- and usually took place in extremely beautiful locations with breathtaking scenery. The fight sequences are hard-hitting and intense while often happening during a heart-pumping time limit. The eleventh-hour save-the-character, save-the-day, save-the-world moments are plentiful! And those last-second suspenseful sequences got me every time! 🤣

There are too many good things to say about each movie, but I will say each movie is filled with the most incredible and unbelievable action sequences I could not have even predicted to see: from the underwater and airplane scenes in Final Reckoning to the motorcycle stunt in Dead Reckoning; the rock-climbing in MI 2 and in Fallout to the sequences where he's on the side of buildings in MI3 and Rouge Nation; jumping out of planes or from one plane to another, which happened in more than two of the movies! 

The suspense, the intrigue, the subtle romances, the action, the comedic moments, and the classic perfection of it all! I mean, what more could you want from an action/adventure series? And they just kept building up each movie with the stunts, thrills, and storylines! It is interesting to see how well these films, not only kept up technology, but were often ahead of time, especially with the first movie. The casting is perfect, and the character dynamics are very well-balanced. It was fun to see these character relationships build over the course of each movie along with the elements of comic relief amongst all of the intensity.

This movie series will always be iconic. And Tom Cruise really went all out with these stunts. The amount of thought, planning, and repetitive, deliberate implementation of these stunts is beyond belief! Absolutely incredible! When watching these behind-the-scenes, and seeing the way Cruise talks about stunts, it is cool to see how passionate he is about making his vision come to life, but it is also hard to tell where the actor/producer Tom Cruise ends and the character Ethan Hunt begins!

 

 

One of my favorite things about all of these movies is how the main theme is about believing in yourself and your abilities. Both Ethan's character and Tom Cruise (the man himself) have an unassailable and unwavering belief that whatever they are setting out to accomplish, they can and will accomplish. It is rather inspiring.

In each movie, the team goes from "mission impossible" to "mission accomplished" despite coming up against the most insane and impossible missions, and even though things didn't always go according to the plan. These characters believed that they would pull through, and in that last-minute, sometimes last-second moment, the world is saved. They did it by trusting and believing in themselves, and with strong teamwork, they accomplished the impossible. 

It is interesting to observe how there is never a doubt in Ethan Hunt's (or Tom Cruise's) mind- The belief and trust in oneself is the number one thing anyone can learn from watching these movies, which is such an important and empowering message. 

I love those scenes when the crew is going over their plan, and (usually in the earlier movies) there may be someone doubting the plan, doubting the fact that success is even possible, while Ethan's character just says, "we are doing this."

 

I've been vegan for 18 years, and I had never been to VegFest-until now. I'm so glad I went. It was like vegan heaven with heavenly vegan food and goodies as well as wonderful people!

 Crumb-cake Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Roll from Grassfed Vegan

 

I got a little plush cat that resembles my cat Cleo!

 

VegFest offers a great way to learn about vegan products and restaurants. It is an amazing festival that spotlights and supports small, local, and new businesses. I'm excited for the next VegFest adventure!