Before
we continue on with today's blog entry, I wanted to talk about
something else. Something very important.
As
many of you well know by now, a devastating super typhoon struck the
shores of the Philippines, killing at least ten thousand people, and
leaving many more people without shelter, food, and potable water.
It is estimated that it is one of the most deadliest natural
disasters to occur in global history.
I
have watched some of the devastation on television over the past few
days, and it made me incredibly sad. To see the lives of so many
people completely destroyed in a matter of minutes is indescribable.
It really makes you put everything into perspective.
I
mean, think about it for a second. A mega disaster such as what
happened in the Philippines really makes all of those other problems
(that some like to call “first world problems”) really seem very
insignificant in a way. I mean, just take today for instance. Right
now, I imagine that there are a lot of disappointed video gamers in
the world because they happened to be the sixty-first person in a
line up to buy the recently released PlayStation 4 console when only
sixty were available. But when you compare a situation like that to
what is happening in the Philippines right now, where hundreds of
thousands are waiting in line for basic necessities like food, water,
and medication. I mean, there really is no comparison as far as I'm
concerned.
So,
that's why this blog is all about helping people. Specifically, I'll
be talking about a talk show host who over the course of their entire
hosting career has done nothing but help people in a variety of
different causes.
Of
course, before that, I want to just share with you a couple of links.
Now, keep in mind that there's absolutely no obligation to click on
them. They're just there for reference, and they are also there to
assist the people of the Philippines as they try to clean up and
rebuild in the aftermath of the storm.
Now,
admittedly, these links are all Canadian based charities (makes
sense, since I am Canadian by birth), but I am sure that depending on
what nation you are from, there are various charities that you can
donate money to. Just do a quick Google search to find out which
ones are available. I just chose the three that appeared in the
highlighted box when I entered my search in.
I
just also want you to be careful before you donate. I want to think
that most charities have the most noble of intentions, but there are
quite a few scam artists out there who are using this tragedy to make
a quick dollar. Do your research before you donate. I'm fairly
confident that UNICEF, the Canadian Red Cross, and World Vision are
legitimate, which is why I posted links to those three. But again,
do your research and make sure that the money is going to where it is
supposed to go.
After
all, when it comes down to it, we all have to stand together to help
others get back on their feet.
Or,
perhaps in the case of today's talk show spotlight, maybe all you
really have to do is dance together.
Yes,
talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is well known for popping a few dance
steps whenever possible. One of the highlights of her talk show
since it debuted in September 2003 is that she opens the show every
day with a dance through the audience. Well, when she CAN anyway.
She has had to sit out a few times for various reasons, in which case
she will get a stand-in. But I thought that it was a brilliant idea
to get people excited about the show and to put them in a good frame
of mind so that she can enjoy themselves.
Because
that's just the type of person that Ellen is. She likes to give back
to people, and she wants nothing more than to make people happy.
I
think that's why I enjoy watching her talk show a lot more than other
people. She doesn't have a panel of women arguing over political
issues to the point where they descend into verbal catfights that are
completely void of class. She doesn't give every single man in a
twenty mile radius a DNA test to determine which one fathered a
woman's six children. She doesn't encourage people to flash the
camera just so they can get their hands on a string of “Jerry
Beads”.
She's
just Ellen being Ellen. And, honestly, I've always been a huge fan
of Ellen DeGeneres. I watched her sitcom, I watch her show, I
thought she did a good job hosting the Grammy Awards years back, and
you know what? I even liked those JCPenney commercials that she did
last year for the holiday season.
That's
not to say that she's absolutely perfect though. I didn't really
care for the movie “Mr. Wrong”. But hey, everyone has their
likes and dislikes, right?
Anyway,
one of the reasons why I enjoy her show is because she has a lot of
fun at every possible opportunity. She seems to have instant
chemistry with almost every single person she interviews, and she
comes up with a lot of clever ideas to keep her show fresh after
eleven seasons.
Whether
she sends her staff into a haunted house...
...or
plays the game “Know or Go”...
...or
shows us “What's Wrong With These Photos” photos...
...she
has fun every step of the way. And I don't know about you, but with
so much negativity these days on the air, it's nice to be able to
devote an hour of my time to watching a show that is one hundred per
cent positive.
And
part of the reason why it is always positive is because the show is
hosted by someone who truly cares. Not just about the show's
production and planning, but about the people who take the time to
watch the show.
I
mean, yes, we already know that Ellen is a rather generous person. I
think that all we really need to do is tune in to Ellen's show during
the month of December to watch one of Ellen's Twelve Days of
Giveaways to best demonstrate that point. Have a look at one of
these days below.
I
still have to wonder how Ellen and her production team managed to get
so many companies to donate all that stuff to every single person in
her audience! But then, I suppose that the companies are more than
willing to do this, as it means free advertising for them and their
products. Still though, it's certainly one of the days of the year
in which you absolutely want to have a ticket to watch the show.
(And
to be fair, Ellen has given tickets out for the event throughout the
year to her audience members to take part in this event.)
But
there's so much more than that.
I
know that last month and every October in the past, Ellen has really
done a lot to raise money for breast cancer awareness. This past
month for example, she had a breast cancer awareness ribbon made up
of pink and silver balloons, and she would assign a dollar amount to
each balloon. Sometimes the celebrity guest would take part, and
sometimes it would be a member of the audience, but the goal was the
same. You would take a bow and arrow and shoot the arrow towards the
balloons in order to make the most money (which all went towards
research for a cure for breast cancer). To sweeten the deal, if the
balloon with the most money attached to it was popped, a person who
was locked away in a splash tank (usually a celebrity guest) would
get water dumped on them.
And
as you can see in this clip, Ellen made sure that the ten thousand
dollar balloon was ALWAYS popped.
Yeah,
I know. It's advocating cheating (which usually I find to be a cheap
way to win). But when everyone benefits from it, it is REALLY a bad
thing? I don't think so in this case.
Ellen
is also the kind of person who never really forgot where she came
from. As many of us know, Ellen's hometown is New Orleans,
Louisiana, and as many of us witnessed, New Orleans was seriously
impacted by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. It was a storm that
flooded three-quarters of the city, and eight years later, people are
still trying to rebuild the city.
And
Ellen was there for the people of New Orleans. She donated money to
families who really needed it, and in this clip below, she toured the
Ninth Ward (the neighbourhood most badly in need of assistance from
the aftermath of Katrina) with actor Brad Pitt, commenting on the
devastation.
I
mean, I know that I've been somewhat...shall we say...critical of my
place of birth over the years, but I do know one thing. If my town
ever has a natural disaster, I believe that we'd all work together to
make the town bigger and better than before. I mean, just witnessing
what happened during the Ice Storm of 1998 with everyone coming
together to get through it all...it was great.
But
again, that's part of the reason why I respect Ellen DeGeneres a lot.
And, to conclude this blog entry, here are some more examples of her
positivity and generosity at work.
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