Super Bowl 2014 Reflections

I don’t normally pay attention to sports. I might check out the front of a sports section in a newspaper or watch a game while exercising at the gym or while eating at a restaurant, but I rarely sit down on my own to watch a team play. I make an exception for the big game that happens at the end of the American football season. This year’s game was less disappointing than the last, but at least the accompanying entertainment made watching the game live worthwhile.

State of the Union 2014 Impressions

At the beginning of every year, the President of the United States delivers a speech about the executive office’s agenda. On most occasions the President walks into Congress and delivers a televised prime time speech to the public with great anticipation. I watched the speech live with some other people at a pizza parlor as I did the previous year. I went home thinking that President Obama in his 2014 State of the Union speech outlined specific actions that should increase his popularity in a midterm election year, but I was unmoved when Obama did not mention details.

Third 2012 Presidential Debate Impressions

Less than a week after the town hall meeting, on October 22 President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney met in the final matchup before the election. There would be no Saturday Night Live skit based on this confrontation. Again I headed to the meeting place with the large crowd, eager to follow along on Twitter and on IRC. Both candidates tried as much as possible not to talk on foreign policy during this debate as much as the forum wanted them to.

Second 2012 Presidential Debate Impressions

On October 16, the second Presidential Debate would pit President Obama and former Governor Romney in a rematch. This time, the format was a town hall meeting with all issues open to discussion. I sat down with a larger crowd to watch the debate projected onto a large screen. I also had my laptop on hand, so I was posting to Twitter and an IRC room about the debates. It was the most fun I had since the debates started, probably because Barack Obama was not allowing Romney to attack without a fight.

2012 Vice Presidential Debate Impressions

As Romney gained traction in the election, everyone was preparing for the second debate of the month, the debate between Vice President Biden and Congressman Ryan. I remember watching Biden passionately argue with Sarah Palin four years ago, and I was looking forward to seeing Biden in action again. This time I went to a more packed bar with the TV volume turned up to drown out the noise from patrons and the sports broadcasts. Little did I know how Biden would surprise everyone when he faced off against the Republican rival.

First 2012 Presidential Debate Impressions

I managed to watch all four of this year’s presidential debates live. Instead of sitting at home in front of my Xbox 360, I traveled around to interact with fellow debate watchers as the primaries went on. For the first debate I got stuck in traffic for about an hour before tuning to the radio to hear it begin. After watching the rest in the bar at a local restaurant, I had some idea of how the presidential race would change.