"Family Guy" Creator a Man of Genius, Talent

With one of the most popular, raunchy shows on television, and another two show's on the FOX Network's Sunday lineup, you could say that the man behind Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show is taking over the animated sitcom lineup little by little, especially when competing with Matt Groening's legendary yellow-skinned family The Simpsons. For Seth MacFarlane, it's not enough that he developed the idea for Peter, a talking dog Brian and a diabolical, effeminate baby in Stewie to make one of the more raunchy, and controversial shows on television today. MacFarlane also voices a majority of the voices, which includes the all three of those characters, and if you ever wondered what his real voice sounds like, Brian's voice would be the one. MacFarlane is also voices several other citizens of Quahog, Rhode Island, which includes Quagmire, Tom Tucker, Dr. Hartman, and Carter, Peter's father-in-law who can't stand him.

MacFarlane also developed two other shows for FOX. One being American Dad. A show about a Husband and Father, Stan Smith who works for the CIA and can be as stupid as Peter Griffin's character on McFarlane's bigger hit show. The show takes shots at both sides of the political spectrum and often finds itself poking fun at the conservatives more often for laughs. Like Family Guy, MacFarlane voices Smith along with Roger, a fat, shut-in alien who drinks, smokes and watches TV all day and lives with the Smith's, and several other characters.

In the Fall of 2009, MacFarlane helped create a spin-off show based around Family Guy character Cleveland Brown. The Cleveland Show, created by him and fellow Family Guy writer Mike Henry, is the third of MacFarlane's show's that air in the five show lineup on FOX. The show is based around Brown's return to his hometown in fictional Stoolbend, Virginia and reuniting with a former who high school crush, who had just split from her husband. The two marry at the end of the pilot, and Cleveland and his overweight, awkward son, Cleveland Jr., move in with Donna and her two children. MacFarlane provides the voice of Ted, a talking Bear who works at the Cable company and has an accent. If you didn't notice, MacFarlane's show's always feature an obscure character that could only be in a cartoon.

OK, you're probably saying to yourselves, "So what, anyone could come up with these weird characters and story ideas," with some also adding that, "it's FOX, they'll take anything." Well, despite that low brow humor that comes along with Family Guy and his other shows, you have to commend MacFarland as a very talented person. Anybody who watches Family Guy can see that Seth enjoys referencing material from Star Wars, the 1980's and having episodes make references to a particular movie (most likely from the 80's). MacFarlane has also been known to have his characters break out into song during an episode, at times not showing any relevance to the show, but keeps the TV audience laughing and at time shaking their heads, wondering what they are watching. He and the cast even did an album called "Family Guy: Live in Las Vegas" back in 2005.

What makes it interesting is that MacFarlane introduces old types of music forms from the past to a young audience between the age of 14 and 30. Recently, Family Guy had an episode that referenced Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin with the song "Mr. Booze" from the movie "Robin and the Seven Hoods. What is so intriguing about MacFarlane's parody's of videos like "Mr. Booze" is that it sends fans looking for the song on You Tube and coming to realize that it had been done before, many leaving comments in the original that say "Like this if family guy brought you here :)" for example.  

 MacFarlane has also made songs that had been lost popular again. In the show's fourth episode in it's return from cancellation, Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" was featured in an episode and soon became popular once again, especially with young adults/college students. Another episode featured Rick Astlety's "Never Gonna Give You Up," or as many know it as getting Rick Rolled on You Tube, when the music video appears instead of the video you thought you were watching. Others include the Music Man's "Shipoopi," which is featured in an episode where Peter joins the New England Patriots and celebrates the songs by singing and dancing to the song. What makes it even funnier is that the Family Guy parody will appear before the original in a You Tube search.

While doing parodies of the songs, MacFarlane has been able to bring his Family Guy character's into old films when doing parodies. One that sticks out is the Gene Kelly dance scene in "Anchors Aweigh" a film from the mid 1940's, where Kelly dance with an animated mouse. Stewie was inserted into the scene in the place of the mouse and performed the exact dance in the episode "Road to Rupert." It was also done with the music video from A-Ha's "Take on Me" from the 80's.

With so many of these different ideas that MacFarlane has developed, it requires a talented person to perform these musical numbers. MacFarlane sings in all of his characters voices, which shows talent. But MacFarland himself has showed a glimpse of the old Rat Pack days of Sinatra and Dean Martin. More recently, while watching Conan, MacFarlane was a guest, and was talking about Family Guy and about a future film that he is developing. At the end of the interview, MacFarlane tells O'Brien that he has an album coming out later this year. MacFarlane performed "Sadder But Wiser Girl" from the Music Man, which which he parodied in an episode. MacFarlane has also performed songs from great crooners like Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. In a way bringing back a genre of music that disappeared over the last 30 years.   

I enjoy Sinatra once in a while and it nice to see someone like Seth MacFarlane introduce his younger Family Guy audience to this classic music style. If McFarlane had not become an animator, I bet he would have tried to become a singer, which has become a reality since his name is slowly become more known to public through his success with Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show. So I guess no matter how low Family Guy goes for laughs or offends a certain group, you have to remember that there is a lot of talent coming from Seth MacFarlene, otherwise a talent for his character Peter is winning a fart contest with Michael Moore.     

The Art of a Goalie Fight

Anybody who follows hockey or occasionally watches hockey knows that the game is both fast and physical. When it comes to the physical part of the game, everyone knows that if someone on the ice rubs somebody the wrong way, the gloves will drop and a fight is the most likely outcome.

Fighting, as we know in our society, is frowned upon. Other sports such as football, basketball and sometimes baseball try to keep fights out of their respected games, and punish players severely for their actions. Hockey on the other hand, has always kept a place for players to drop the gloves, almost like an unwritten rule in hockey. Of course, we see it more in the pros than in college and high school, but it is a traditional just like the hockey stick and puck. There is even a site that keeps record of every NHL fight: HockeyFights.com. Hockey has always had its different category of fighters. There are the enforcers, who will drop the gloves at any given moment when an opponent crosses them. The sometimes fighter, who rarely goes at it, but will fight if are messed with. Then there are the star players like Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, who are rarely seen as fighters, especially since there are teammates who will usually do the job. At the bottom of this list of potential fighters are the goalies.

The goalie, the most coveted position, the player with the most padding, and the most protected player on the ice, has always been seen differently through the eyes of hockey fans. They stick out like a sore thumb when comparing him to the other five players on the ice. There are times when they may seem vulnerable, especially when opponents do everything they can to put the puck past them. While they may come off like this at times, there is a hidden fire underneath all that extra equipment, a player who is not afraid to get in on the fun of beating an opposing goalies face into the ice.

More recently, there have been two goalie fights this week. Just yesterday, Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas and Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price joined in on the brawl between these two historical rivals. Thomas skated all the way the Canadiens end and challenged Price. After the referee let them have at it, Price threw Thomas to the ice after nine seconds of grabbing and pulling. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Penguins backup Goaltender Brent Johnson came to the defense of teammate Matt Cooke after New York Islanders Goaltender Rick DiPietro took a swipe at him. A fight that both goalies wanted resulted in a one punch knock-out by Johnson and sent DiPietro to the Injured Reserve for 4-6 weeks, getting the entire sold-out crowd at Consol Energy Center excited, especially since Johnson was also working on a shutout that night.   

Some people may say that the Johnson-DiPietro fight was nothing to sneeze at, and the same can be said for the Thomas, Price fight. Well, they may be right, especially since there have been some goalies in the past 30 years who have defined themselves as instigators who are not afraid of anyone.

I heard about this fight one night from one of my parent's friends, and I immediately went looking for it on TV. He was in Buffalo watching the Sabres face the Ottawa Senators, and guys, this fight had everything! A cheap shot to the head of Sabres captain Chris Drury began a series of fights that lead to an all-out brawl. Even Sabres coach Lindy Ruff and Ottawa's coach at the time Bryan Murray were face to face, with glass separating one another, screaming every obscenity in the English and I guess French dictionary (it's hockey folks). the highlight of this brawl was Ottawa's goaltender Mike Emery, a former boxer and Buffalo's Martin Biron. Emery got the best of Biron and then took on Buffalo left winger Andrew Peters and held his own. I'd watch the full video, it's pretty entertaining! 

Anybody who followed hockey in the mid 90's, and especially if you live in Detroit or Denver, remembers the bitter rivalry between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche. These two teams were in constant contention for the Western Conference Championship and a shot at the Stanley Cup. Avalanche Goalie Patrick Roy was never afraid of a challenge when his teammates would drop the gloves against Detroit. I mean, why not, Claude Lemieux shouldn't have all the fun right? Roy dropped the blocker and glove against Mike Vernon and Chris Osgood during the heated years of their rivalry, the Osgood one in my opinion, being on the more historical fight. Both goalies fighting at center ice at Joe Louis Arena. Patrick Roy truly brought hockey fights back into the spotlight following one Flyers career.

I would be a terrible hockey fan if I did not mention this next guy. The Philadelphia Flyers received the nickname "The Broad Street Bullies" back during their last Stanley Cup years in 1974 and 1975. If you're going to have that nickname, why not have a goaltender who lives up to it? Ron Hextall was that type of goaltender. The man was a Conn Smythe Trophy winner in a losing effort against Edmonton in the 1987 Stanley Cup Final. He also scored a few goals and fought like a enforcer on defense. There is a whole list of fights that Ron Hextall has been a part of. A list can be found here: Ron Hextall's Fighting Record. One of the most memorable fights came in 1989 when Hextall jumped Chris Chelios after an offsides call against Montreal. Another great fight comes toward the end of Hextall's career. Hextall and Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Felix Potvin join in on the brawl.

Of course there are so many more, and the Bleacher Report has made up their own top 10 list of the greatest goalie fights of all time Top 10 Goalie Fights of All-Time. 

When we see the goalies fight, it is surprising, yet intriguing. It's almost like we were able to catch Haley's Comet that one time in our lives, and its even better when we see it in person. Johnson and Dipietro's short lived fight makes some think back to the last time they saw two goalies fight. It rarely happens, but when it does, it gets everybody excited. So there is a certain art to a goalie fight. It's a type of art that goes out of the mainstream for a while, but when someone brings it back, people notice and they are interested in what they see. Is it because these players wear so much padding that they seem unfit for a fight? Is it their role on the ice that keeps them out of most altercations? We all know the goaltender does get more protection on the ice than any other player. If an opposing player knocks you down, he gets a penalty. A goalie is also restricted. He can't leave his end of the ice with the puck and he can only play the puck behind the net in his own little trapezoid, or else he gets a penalty, sending one of his teammates to serve the two minutes for him. So I can see why some goaltenders would want to get in on a brawl or just fight the other goaltender if its excepted. For anybody who was able to see the last goalie fight, it might be the last one you see for a while. So remember it well, because when the next one comes, you'll reflect on this current one when it happens.

The Ever-Changing Media

It's obvious to see that technology has changed the way that people in the media function. We have gone from the early days of pen and paper, to the typewriter to the computer, making almost a Darwin-life Evolution when it comes to media. Of course, it doesn't evolve like we humans have over the years, but it's interesting to think about how much technology has changed since the 21st Century began. Back in 2001, technology was ready to take off with the launch of the iPod, the cell phone was going through its adolescent stage, on track to becoming the smartphones of today, and computers became a normal part of family homes, along with laptops which gave people a chance to be connected online, especially after wi-fi was introduced.

All of these items ten years ago did not have the capabilities that they have today. They couldn't shoot video, record audio and they couldn't get the funny e-mails that your co-workers send you on a slow work day nor could they give you the same ability to access the internet, which required you to sit in front of an actual PC or Mac with, GASP, a dial-up connection. These hand-held devices offer people the ability to record events happening, text information to the news media, and in a way, become famous for doing it.

Around the year 2001, blogs were still very foreign to the average person. For me, I always saw blogs as a way for celebrities, and other important people to post their thoughts and other garbage. But when programs like this and Wordpress for example came around, they were easy enough for anyone who had an idea and a computer with an internet connection to create and express their own interest. Video Blogs have shown us just how many people would be terrible in front of a news camera (which Conan O'Brien lampoons here:Conan's Video Blog, but it does give reporters an ability to give news stories via Skype or a convenient web cam connected with the news station. Podcasts are another way to connect to people, especially if there is a topic or story that somebody missed and can get it at any time. I myself have the entire 3rd period of the Penguins-Red Wings Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals on my iTunes and iPod Touch.

Social Networking Sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter have changed the way we receive and send information. Of course, we know that MySpace was the first real social network and we know Facebook put half of its staff on the street recently. Anyone who joined Facebook or Twitter before 2009 knows that these sites have changed from their original intentions. Facebook was meant to give college students a chance to keep in touch with old high school friends and meet new people at their college. Since I joined the site in 2008, there have been many changes, both positive and negative. One that includes the mainstream media joining in on the new social revolution. I have seen CNN on Facebook, along with Fox News and MSNBC and local stations like FOX 43 in Harrisburg and NBC 8 have used Facebook to deliver news stories to younger people, who don't bother to turn on the 11pm news every night. Twitter has also expanded our access to news. Celebrities, Politicians and other public figures have expressed themselves and have broken news stories on the watered-down version of Facebook. ESPN's Sportscenter has a twitter update from a certain athlete at times, sometimes it makes their jobs a lot easier, especially when looking for filler time.

When it comes to News Channels using these new technologies, they were used a lot in the past two elections. In 2008, more young people voted in the election than ever before, especially after both candidates used Facebook to reach voters, both doing it in a different way, along with the 2010 elections. Several put breaking news stories on their pages, which leaves followers to post comments back and forth at one another, sometimes very harsh or vulgar ones.

I can go on and on about how the media has changed over the last ten years, and it will continue to evolve. I will be sitting back at 31 years-old reflecting on the amazing technology that develops over these next ten years, and wondering how it has changed the media. Will newspapers become extinct, will Facebook become our only news media, will the Apple products have an app for everything in our lives? One can only imagine and wonder, heck, that's how we developed these products.