Stormy Life

I didn't pay much attention to SNL's 40th year celebration until I saw a discussion on Facebook about Eddie Murphy's brief appearance. I learned that to many observers he had seemed nervous, awkward, downright afraid. Some people thought the cameras had been cut off early to spare him from further embarrassing himself.

After watching both edited and unedited versions of the video, I say: bullshit.

Chris Rock's introduction was 100% excellent. It was heartfelt, it was funny, it was beautifully written, it was delivered with perfect energy and timing, and it honored Eddie without getting sentimental.

When Eddie came out and spoke he didn't seem afraid to me at all. He seemed mature, dignified, and respectful. Did he have it in him to electrify us like he used to? Did he have the desire? Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't matter. He wasn't there to perform for us but to speak to us as himself, which in a way I value even more. Anyone who thought Chris Rock was the intro to The Eddie Murphy Show had it wrong. Chris Rock was the show. He presented Eddie with a verbal lifetime achievement award, and Eddie accepted it graciously.

As for being cut off early — it seems to me that in the unedited version Eddie was cut off late. He says "Let's have some more show," gets the audience applauding by clapping his own hands, and turns to direct our attention to the stage as if to bring on the next thing. It seems clear to me the camera was supposed to cut away during the applause. Of course I don't know for sure, but it looks a lot like the editing covered up the director's failure to cut away on cue rather than any fault of Eddie's.

I don't get why so many people are treating Eddie like a sick, broken man. If he is, I don't see it. And I reject the notion that Eddie Murphy needs to get on some road to artistic salvation that happens to consist of making us all happy like he used to. He doesn't owe us his old laugh, he doesn't owe us a few gags and impressions, he doesn't owe us thrills of any kind.

Eddie Murphy was huge to me growing up. I'm glad stratospheric fame didn't do to him what it did to Michael Jackson and Elvis. I attribute that to discipline and impulse control, maybe combined with a lack of certain self-destructive impulses in the first place. Eddie Murphy has taken care of his body, his mind, his finances, and as far as I know his family. (I consider it a good sign that I don't know.) If he chooses to give us more of himself I'll be delighted. Until then, I respect him for living life on his own terms, and I refuse to join the pity party.

NBC News:

An Alabama police officer was arrested on an assault charge Thursday and could be fired for slamming a 57-year-old Indian man to the ground last week, leaving the grandfather partially paralyzed.

I try not to rush to judgment about cops' use of force, but in this case it seems clear that what Officer Parker did was excessive. Watch the video and see how fast Patel's feet flew out from under him. One foot was almost at shoulder level at the moment when his face hit the ground. Although one grainy, silent video is no substitute for having been there, it's hard to imagine that Officer Parker perceived a degree of threat that warranted that amount of force.

As far as I know the Madison police department is handling this properly so far. Of course it's terrible that this happened in the first place, but I'd like to believe this police department is setting a positive example by showing it has standards that it takes very seriously.

This all started with a civilian calling 911 while following Patel in his car — a grimly familiar scenario. I suppose it's also a positive that this time no one got shot.

I'm gradually coming to accept "website" (one word), over "web site" (two words). I haven't been consistent in my own writing but will start trying to be.

By such tiny notches does my life ratchet forward.

Pop quiz: when you lose weight — specifically, when you lose fat — where does it go? Did you ever stop to wonder? If so, did you assume it leaves your body in the form of sweat, pee, and/or poop? Guess again!

Turns out most of the mass of the fat you lose is exhaled as carbon dioxide. Don't believe me? Watch the video.

So many great stories and observations here.

Never mind intelligence and wit; the amount of compassion and being-in-the-moment that it takes to conduct a Colbert-style interview is just mind-boggling.

I like the kindness he showed his guests, both backstage and on stage. I like Ken Burns's observation that "we have to appreciate it even more: He’s doing it backward." Kind of like the old line about Ginger Rogers. If I were a public person — which I very much do not want to be, but if I were — I would absolutely kill to be interviewed by Colbert.

I love the tribute to his mother that Sarah Silverman mentions. Had not seen that.

I'm not worried about his transition to being a "regular" talk show host. I don't hold him up to some impossible expectation of how he has to outdo the genius of his Colbert Report character. Rather, I look forward to seeing the new ways in which he'll continue to be himself and continue to be kind to his guests.

The thing about a person that brilliant is, you can discuss him all day and it still doesn't compare to the actual experience of watching him do his thing. Heck, I might have to start watching TV again.

This is where I will put stuff that isn't right for my other blogs, whether because of topic or tone. There's no theme to this blog except that it's a vent for my inner chatterbox. The answer to "Was it really necessary to share that?" will often be "No."

"Stormy Life" is the name of a Mac app I've been thinking about writing for years. (I'm a Mac programmer.) It was a more ambitious idea than I ever felt strongly enough to commit to, beyond procuring the domain name. I finally decided I'll probably never write that app, and the name felt somehow right for this blog.