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Scala usage in enterprise applications is growing faster than the number of available developers, so there is an increasing demand for .NET developers to learn Scala using existing C#, VB.NET, LINQ, and F# knowledge as a foundation. In this first article in a series dedicated to Scala for C# developers, I provide an introduction to Scala and its most popular IDE. It is aimed at those who spend their days with Visual Studio, but are interested in learning the increasingly popular JVM language.
Installing the Scala IDE for Eclipse
Scala (pronounced "Scah-lah") is a JVM language that provides a tight integration of functional and object-oriented programming. If you work with the latest C# versions, you use LINQ, closures, lambda expressions, anonymous methods, generics, covariance, and contravariance. In addition, you usually define and pass
Action and
Func delegates as parameters to methods. Thus, you have already mixed object-oriented code with some aspects of functional programming. If you've worked with F#, you will find it even easier to learn Scala.
If you want to start working with the latest versions of Scala, it is best to use an IDE that works with JVM languages instead of Visual Studio. I'll explain how to work with the Scala IDE for Eclipse 3.0.0 because it provides key features that most Visual Studio users expect from an IDE for using Scala in a Windows environment:
- Code completion.
- Error highlighting that catches compilation errors as you type.
- Integrated Scala debugger.
- Integrated Scala interactive interpreter, known as REPL (Read-Evaluate-Print Loop).
- Semantic and syntax highlighting.
- Source code navigation with hyperlinks.
- Support for third-party plugins that add new features.
To get started, you must install the latest stable Java Development Kit (JDK). You can download JDK 7 from Oracle. You must accept the Oracle Binary Code License Agreement for Java SE before downloading the appropriate version. At the time of writing, the latest version is Java SE Development Kit 7u21. For a 64-bit Windows environment, it is necessary to download and execute
jdk-7u21-windows-x64.exe. Because the Scala IDE for Eclipse 3.0.0 is based on Eclipse 3.7 (Indigo), there are some minor issues with JDK 7. However, the issues shouldn't cause you problems when working with the Scala programming language.
Once you have installed JDK 7, you can download and install the Scala IDE. The latest version is available for both Scala 2.9.x and Scala 2.10.x (I recommend installing the version that targets Scala 2.10.x). You can download the Scala IDE SDK for Eclipse 3.0.0 that targets Scala 2.10.x from the Scala website,see Figure 1. At the time of writing, it was necessary to download and unzip a Scala IDE package for a 64-bit Windows environment. Make sure you always download and unzip the latest available stable version. If you are already working with a specific version of Eclipse, you can install a Scala IDE plugin from the update site by following the instructions listed at http://scala-ide.org/download/current.html and just use your existing Eclipse installation.
Figure 1: The Web page that displays the different available versions of the Scala IDE for Eclipse 3.0.0.
Once you unzip
scala-SDK-3.0.0-vfinal-2.10-win32.win32.x86_64.zip, you will find an
eclipse.exe application within the
eclipse folder. If you unzipped the file within a
C:\Scala folder, you can create a shortcut for
C:\Scala\eclipse\eclipse.exe in order to start the Scala IDE for Eclipse.
Working with the Scala IDE for Eclipse
The first time you start the IDE, you must specify the folder in which you want the IDE to store your projects, (also called the "workspace" folder, see Figure 2). You can select the desired folder for the session or activate the "Use this as the default and do not ask again" option to configure it for all future sessions. Select your desired folder, click
OK, and the Scala IDE will display its main window.
Figure 2: Selecting the workspace folder the first time you run Scala IDE for Eclipse.
Now, it is time to create your first Scala project and see how the IDE works. Select File | New | Scala Project in the main menu.
The IDE will display the New Scala Project dialog box. Enter
ScalaProject01 for the project name and leave the default options for the project location, JRE (Java Runtime Environment), project layout, and working sets (see Figure 3). This way, the IDE will create a new sub-folder within the previously selected workspace folder with the same name as the project name to include all the files and folders for the new project. In addition, the IDE will create the following separate folders:
src: Scala source files (*.scala).
bin: Class files (*.class).
.settings: Eclipse preferences.
Figure 3: Specifying the Scala project options.
Click Next and the wizard will display the Scala build settings with many tabs. Click on the Libraries tab and you will see the following two libraries listed (see Figure 4):
- JRE System Library [JavaSE-1.7]. If you are working with a different version of the JRE, you will see a different number.
- Scala Library 2.10.1. The version number might be higher.
Figure 4: Checking the libraries included in the new Scala project.
Click on
Scala Library 2.10.1 and you will see all the jar files included in the Scala library:
Click Finish and the IDE will display the new project in the Package Explorer panel. Package Explorer is equivalent to the Solution Explorer in Visual Studio. The new project (
ScalaProject01) includes an empty
src folder and the two previously mentioned libraries (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Package Explorer displaying the structure of an empty Scala project with just two libraries.
Next, right-click on the project name (
ScalaProject01) in Package Explorer and the IDE will display a context menu (see Figure 6). Select New | Scala Application and the IDE will display the New Scala Application dialog box. Enter
FirstApplication in
Object name and leave
(default package) as the selected option in the Package dropdown list.
Figure 6: A context menu displaying the different new elements that you can add to the selected project.
Then, click Finish. The IDE will add a new
FirstApplication.scala file to the
src folder and display the source code in a new tab (Figure 7). The Outline panel will display the details for the new object to help you navigate through its different elements.
Figure 7: A new object in the source code editor and in the Outline panel.
The initial skeleton code for
FirstApplication.scala is:
object FirstApplication extends App { }
The initial code declares an object named
FirstApplication that derives from the
App trait. Singleton objects are first-class citizens in Scala; therefore, you can just declare objects as singletons without having to create a new type, instance, and its provider as you would in C#. This way, Scala reduces unnecessary boilerplate code for declaring a singleton object. The code defines an instance that inherits from the
App trait and can override the necessary methods.
Scala Conventions
Scala supports classes and traits. You can think of traits as equivalents to C# interfaces with additional features. While interfaces in C# are thin, traits can be considered to be rich interfaces. Like interfaces, traits represent a unit of code reuse, but they also allow you to define concrete methods and fields. A trait (or a class) can mix in many traits. The different traits mixed into a class allow you to stack modifications without using multiple inheritance. One clear example of the advantages of traits is that they make it easier to wrap an existing class or trait and enrich it with additional methods. This way, traits provide a new approach to the extension methods introduced in C# 3.0.


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Order of the Arrow
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
|Order of the Arrow
"Scouting's National Honor Society"
Founders:E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson
The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the National Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America. Membership is only available to Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, the adult leaders of Scouts and Varsity Scouts, and those nominated by their District.
"As Scouting's National Honor Society, our purpose is to:
- Recognize those campers who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Scout Law in their daily lives and through such recognition cause others to conduct themselves in a way that warrants similar recognition.
- Promote camping, responsible outdoor adventure, and environmental stewardship as essential components of every Scout's experience, in the unit, year-round, and in summer camp.
- Develop leaders with the willingness, character, spirit and ability to advance the activities of their units, our Brotherhood, Scouting, and ultimately our nation.
- Crystalize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others."
The Order of the Arrow is an integral part of the council's program. The Order's service, activities, adventures, and training for youth and adults are models of quality leadership development and programming that enrich and help extend Scouting to America's youth.
For nearly a century, their peers have honored those Scouts who "best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives" with membership in the Order of the Arrow. This recognition provides encouragement for others to live these ideals as well. The Order provides ways and means for its members to do more to assist their units and councils, and help them succeed in doing so.
In support of its vision as Scouting's National Honor Society and an integral part of every council, the Order of the Arrow will further increase its service to Scouting.
The Order was founded by Dr. E Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson on July 16, 1915, at the Treasure Island Camp of the Philadelphia Council, Boy Scouts of America. It became an official program experiment in 1922 and was approved as a part of the Scouting program in 1934. In 1948, the OA, recognized as the BSA's national brotherhood of honor campers, became an official part of the Boy Scouts of America.
In 1998, the Order of the Arrow was recognized as Scouting's National Honor Society when it expanded its reach beyond camping to include a greater focus on leadership development, membership extension, adventurous programming, and broader service to Scouting and the community. Today, its service, activities, adventures, and training for youth and adults, are models of quality leadership development and programming that enrich, support, and help extend Scouting to America's youth.
To become a member, a youth must be a registered member of a Scout Troop or Varsity Scout Team and hold the First Class rank. He must have experienced 15 days and nights of Scout camping during the two-year period prior to election. The 15 days and nights must include one, but no more than one, long-term camp consisting of six consecutive days and five nights of resident camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of the BSA. The balance of the camping must be overnight, weekend, or other short-term camps. Following approval by the Scoutmaster or Varsity team Coach, Scouts are elected to seek membership in the Order by their fellow unit members. Then, after completing an Ordeal experience, they become members of the Order of the Arrow.
Venturing Crews and Explorer Post may not hold elections. Lone Scouts can not become part of the Order of the Arrow.
Scout Troops or Varsity Scout Teams having more than 50 registered, active youth members may nominate an additional adult for every 50 registered, active youth, or fraction thereof. (As an example, a troop having 51 to 100 registered, active youth may nominate two adults each year if at least one youth has been elected.)
Adult selection is based upon their ability to perform the necessary functions to help the Order fulfill its purpose, and is not for recognition as an honor. Selected adult Scouters must be an asset to the Order because of demonstrated abilities, and must provide a positive role model for the youth members of the lodge. The camping requirements set forth for youth members must be fulfilled.
To become a member of the Order of the Arrow a Scout or Varsity Scout is chosen by a vote of the youths in his or her Troop or Team. This is a unique feature of the Order since the majority of those who select the candidates for this honor are not members of the lodge. Lodge members in the unit have a vote as well as nonmembers. In this way membership is controlled by the youths in their own units and not by those who are already Arrowmen.
After election, a Scout, Varsity Scout, or adult remains a candidate until completion of the Ordeal and Ordeal ceremony. If this period of candidacy exceeds one year, the candidate's name is dropped and he or she no longer is a candidate. To become a candidate again, he or she must be reelected.
Membership Levels
The two membership levels (or "degrees") of the OA are Ordeal and Brotherhood.
The induction process, the Ordeal, is the first step toward full membership in the OA. During this period the member is expected to strengthen his or her involvement in the unit and encourage Scout camping. As a reminder, the Guide to Safe Scouting states, "No secret organizations. The BSA does not recognize any secret organizations as part of its program. All aspects of the Scouting program are open to observation by parents and leaders." Membership in the Order of the Arrow is not a secret; all members are free to acknowledge their membership. There is no secret about any of the OA's aims or principles. The OA's rules are available to the public, and meeting locations are clearly identifiable. Like many similar organizations, some of the OA's internal affairs, such as ceremonies and passwords, are regarded as private matters for members only. Any parents, leaders, or other lodge members who are aware of what goes on in the ordeal or another ceremony should not generally share such information with prospective/regular members who have not yet gone through that event for themselves.
After 10 months of service as an Ordeal member and after fulfilling certain requirements, a member may take part in the Brotherhood ceremony, which places further emphasis on the ideals of Scouting and the Order. Completion of this ceremony signifies full membership in the Order of the Arrow.
Honors and Awards
Vigil Honor
After two years of service as a Brotherhood member, and with the approval of the National Order of the Arrow Committee, a youth or adult Arrowman may be selected to be recognized with the Vigil Honor for outstanding service to Scouting, their lodge, or the Order of the Arrow. This honor is limited to not more than one Arrowman for every 50 members registered with the lodge each year.
Under NO circumstances should tenure in Scouting or the Order of the Arrow be considered as reason enough for a Vigil Honor recommendation.
Distinguished Service Award
The Distinguished Service Award (DSA) is a service recognition award for those who have rendered distinguished and outstanding service to the OA on a sectional, regional, or national basis over a period of years.
An Order of the Arrow lodge is granted a charter from the National Council, BSA, upon annual application by the lodge's local council. The OA lodge helps the local council provide a quality Scouting program through recognition of Scouting spirit and performance, youth leadership development, adventurous programming, financial support, and enhanced membership tenure.
An Order of the Arrow section consists of lodges within a geographic area of the region. Once each year, representatives of the lodges in the section come together for a conclave to share in fellowship, program ideas, training, and skills development. In addition, the section creates a monitoring/mentoring relationship with its lodges, provides leadership development opportunities, fosters understanding and adherence to national OA policies and procedures, and coordinates OA administrative and program functions. The section key three leadership consists of the section chief, section adviser, and section staff adviser.
Region Leadership
The region chief is the youth leader of the region elected by the section chiefs for one year. This election is held in conjunction with the annual OA planning meeting where the national chief and national vice chief are also elected by the section chiefs and the next year's program of emphasis is planned. The region Order of the Arrow chairman and professional staff adviser are adults appointed by the region director.
National Chief and Vice Chief
The national chief and national vice chief serve as the top youth leaders of the Order, responsible not only for providing youth leadership to the national program of emphasis, but serving with the four region chiefs, on the national committee to provide youth involvement in decisions affecting the program nationally. These national officers also oversee the national leadership seminars.
National OA Committee
The national Order of the Arrow Committee is a group of veteran Arrowmen, appointed by the National OA Chairman, to oversee the national OA program. The professional adviser is the OA Director, a staff member of the national BSA Division.
External links
Personal tools


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Health Mana Potion Poison bottle snap tab key fob ITH machine embroidery design
Stitches: 4024 Size: 3 7/8" x 3 7/8"
Finished fob is 3" in diameter with 1 1/2" x 1/2" tab
Included in the .zip is a step-by-step "HOW TO" .pdf
Each zipped file contains: .Jpg .pdf of stitch order .pes .dst .exp .hus .jef .vp3 .vip .pcs .sew .xxx .tap .csd .pcm .shv .dsz
All designs have been stitched personally. You will receive your design via instant download after payment.
As this item is sent to you electronically, I cannot offer refunds.
I am happy for you to embroider this design on your personal items and on items you will be selling but please do not share, copy or sell the design files.
THIS IS NOT A FINISHED PRODUCT! This is a machine embroidery design file. You must have an embroidery machine to work with these files. YOU MUST HAVE THE REQUIRED HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE TO TRANSFER THESE DESIGNS FROM YOUR COMPUTER TO YOUR EMBROIDERY MACHINE (cable, usb, memory card, etc.).


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We have never really been big New Year's Eve celebrators, in fact, I think I have only made it to midnight once in the past 6 years! LOL! Last year we spent the evening at our neighbor's house and made it past midnight! Probably had something to do with the multiple Red Bridge beers that I had that evening. Oh, that and another neighbor suckered me into playing Singstar with her. I say "suckered" because not only do I not sing, I certainly don't sing in public. Well, I did that night. Boy, I feel sorry for those who had to listen. LOL!
There are many gluten-free drinks that those of us who have to follow the GF diet can enjoy. There are several GF Beers out there, including Red Bridge, Bard's Tale and New Grist. There is hard cider, such as Woodchuck, which comes in all kinds of flavors, all of which are GF. Wine is gluten-free and a personal fave. I like reds the best, such as Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. There are also numerous liquors that are GF that can be enjoyed. Absolut (I am not sure about the flavored vodkas, so please verify before drinking those) & Stoli are both GF and wonderful with cranberry juice (Ocean Spray is GF, as is Northland) or 7-Up. Champagne is also gluten-free and a must at midnight on New Year's Eve. Here is a nice list of gluten-free alcoholic beverages from www.celiac.com.
I don't see a lot of celebrating going on tonight. My sweet daughter is recovering from the stomach flu, as am I, though I had a very mild version of it. I think the only reason I may make it until midnight is because I took 2 naps today! Yes, I said 2! I went back to sleep this AM after Hannah fell asleep on the couch. Then, I fell asleep this afternoon on the couch while watching my all-time favorite Christmas movie, Elf. It appears that USA is running Elf all day, or having an "Elf-a-thon"!
If we were feeling up to it, we would be having an appetizer night, as we do most New Year's Eves. We do shrimp cocktail (naturally GF, as long as your cocktail sauce is GF , McCormick's is), veggies & dip (T. Marzetti makes a GF dill dip), cocktail wienies (Lit'l Smokies are GF and we cook them with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce), nachos (made with Hormel chili w/beans & cheese), queso (Rotel Tomatoes & Velveeta) and the party nectar of the Gods, Buffalo Chicken Dip. For desserts & sweets, we usually gobble up leftovers from Christmas such as fudge (peanut butter & chocolate), gingersnaps & peanut butter blossoms.
Well, time to go check on the little girl. I hope you all have a fun & safe New Year's Eve & day. Tomorrow I will be making my pork & sauerkraut, a tradition for good luck on the new year. I will make sure to share how I make it here in the next day or two.
Happy New Year ~ 2009!!!
Filed under: Family, Gluten-Free, Gluten-free Products | Tagged: absolut, buffalo chicken dip, gingersnaps, peanut butter blossoms, peanut butter fudge, pinot noir, red bridge, stoli, woodchuck | 2 Comments »


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Jason Lytle Interview and In-Studio performance
Jason Lytle Interview and In-Studio performance on National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation" June 11
Former Grandaddy Singer on Tour with Neko Case, Adds East Coast Dates in Support of Solo Debut Yours Truly, the Commuter
Jason Lytle will take time from his busy schedule in Los Angeles later this week - which includes a headlining show in Long Beach June 11 and opening for Neko Case at the Greek Theater in Hollywood June 12 - to visit NPR West in Culver City to talk and play on NPR's popular midday news talk show Talk of the Nation on Thursday June 11. To find stations and broadcast times for Talk of the Nation, visit www.npr.org/stations.
Lytle is currently on tour with labelmate Neko Case in support of his new solo debut Yours Truly, the Commuter, which has been garnering the former Grandaddy frontman praise from critics:
"Lytle has truly gathered his strength for one hell of a re-emergence" -American Songwriter "Sweet, weird, cosmic-sounding indie rock doesn't get much better than this." -Interview "A richly textured work that is lovingly crafted and affectingly poignant." -Alternative Press
Jason Lytle on Tour (all dates with Neko Case unless otherwise noted): 06/08 San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord (headline show) 06/09 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre  06/11 Long Beach, CA - Art Theatre (headline show) 06/12 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre  06/14 Merced, CA - The Partisan (headline show)  07/01 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club (headline show) 07/02  Chicago, IL - Congress Theater (with Explosions In The Sky)  07/03 Columbia, MO - Tonic (headline show) 07/07 Newport, KY - Southgate House (headline show) 07/08 Columbus, OH - The Basement (headline show) 07/10 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall (headline show) 07/11 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (headline show) 07/15 Cleveland, OH - The Grog Shop (headline show) 07/16  Grand Rapids, MI - Meijer Gardens 07/17  Indianapolis, IN - Clowes Hall 07/19  Kansas City, MO - The Uptown 07/22  Pontiac, MI - The Crofoot 07/23  Buffalo, NY - Thursdays at the Square 07/25  Nashville, TN - Ryman 07/26  Atlanta, GA - Cobb 07/28  Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live 07/29  Philadelphia, PA - Kimmel Center 07/31  Pittsburgh, PA - Riverplex Amphitheatre


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pfim wrote:Ramirez makes $31 million over the next two years and hasn't hit well for the past two. He's also a pretty terrible shortstop. Sounds like just what the Pirates need. And why in the world would Ramirez bat leadoff?
Letang Is The Truth wrote:any reports from how things are going in ST?
Rocco wrote:Cole gave up a hit in his 2 innings of the intra-squad scrimmage today. Bust.
canaan wrote:http://graphicbaseball.com/streamgraphs/2012pirates.html
Rocco wrote:McDonald only walked one batter in 2 innings.
SolidSnake wrote:
I would of been pumped for this 10 years ago
ville5 wrote:SolidSnake wrote:
I would of been pumped for this 10 years ago
The quotes coming from Dopey and JCon indicate this is more than a minor league deal.
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Donna R. Causey, resident of Alabama, was a teacher in the public school system for twenty years. When she retired, Donna found time to focus on her lifetime passion for historical writing. She developed the websites www.alabamapioneers and www.daysgoneby.me All her books can be purchased at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. She has authored numerous genealogy books. RIBBON OF LOVE: A Novel Of Colonial America (TAPESTRY OF LOVE) is her first novel in the Tapestry of Love about her family where she uses actual characters, facts, dates and places to create a story about life as it might have happened in colonial Virginia. Faith and Courage: Tapestry of Love (Volume 2) is the second book and the third FreeHearts: A Novel of Colonial America (Book 3 in the Tapestry of Love Series) Discordance: The Cottinghams (Volume 1) is the continuation of the story. . For a complete list of books, visit Donna R Causey
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HAILEE STEINFELD Responds To Speculation On Her Love Life
MYX Philippines
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Cubs beat Rockies 10-9.
What looked like a glorious night for rookie Mike Fontenot and the Cubs turned ugly quickly in the ninth inning. Then it quickly turned glorious again as the Cubs pulled out a 10-9 victory with two runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Fontenot had a career-best five hits, and the Cubs took an 8-3 lead into the ninth. But Scott Eyre and Bob Howry surrendered that lead, and moments after Howry gave up a three-run homer to Troy Tulowitzki to give the Rockies a 9-8 lead, a patron ran from the stands and charged the mound. He was inches away from Howry, who did not move, before security grabbed the man and escorted him away. The Cubs rallied for the win with a two-out burst in the bottom of the frame. With a runner on first, pinch-hitter Koyie Hill singled to left. Ryan Theriot then hit a grounder to second that Kazuo Matsui bobbled for an error to load the bases. Alfonso Soriano followed with a single to right that drove in the tying and winning runs. Before the scary incident, Fontenot went 5-for-5 with two doubles, two runs and two RBI in front of a Wrigley Field crowd of 40,269. Fontenot raised his average from .345 to .397 with the huge night and has hits in his last seven-at bats. He also received a standing ovation for a diving stop of Brad Hawpe's hot grounder even though his throw to second to try to get Garrett Atkins was late and everyone was safe. Derrek Lee (three hits), Mark DeRosa (three RBI) and Angel Pagan (three-run homer) also paced the offense. Earlier, it looked like Jason Marquis was en route to his first victory since May 9, when he threw a shutout against Pittsburgh. Fontenot, who wasn't even invited to spring training this year, has gained the respect of the organization. He received the ultimate compliment from his boss when he looked at the lineup card Monday night. Aramis Ramirez was at third base for the first time since coming off the disabled list with a knee injury on Friday. DeRosa, who took over for Ramirez, did not go back to his customary spot at second base. The left-handed-hitting Fontenot was in the lineup against left-handed starter Jeff Francis. The veteran DeRosa was moved to right field Monday. Francis gave up six runs on 10 hits in five innings. It appears that Fontenot wants to follow in the footsteps of Soriano. Soriano was named National League Player of the Week on Monday after hitting .480 with four homers and five RBI last week. He receives a Swiss watch for his efforts. Not only did Soriano have a banner week, he's having a tremendous June. In his first 23 games in June, he hit .350 with 11 homers and 16 RBI. "I'm feeling very comfortable at the plate," Soriano said. "My bat speed and power is there. I'm feeling good." Soriano struggled in April, hitting .270 with one home run, and parts of May before turning it on this month. "Boy, he's really been hot," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "The warmer weather has helped. The move to left field (from center) has helped. I think the fact that he's acclimated himself to these day-night games has helped. Having (rookie Felix) Pie here helped. They seem to have a nice rapport going. "And the last reason is that he's a very talented young man who is finally hitting his stride." More Cubs coverage is at www.dailysouthtown.com/sports.


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Gold Gloves, Trout Years, World Series Snoozefests, Catchers and Would You Just Keep Torii Already!
News Flash! There is precious little, if any, justice in this world. Oh. Yeah. That not exactly news to anyone. Okay. This just in! MLB Awards are often political and don't always go to the most deserving player. Yeah, you're right. Not exactly earth shattering either. Okay, we'll just go with this, even though I'm sure news has already travelled fast: Mike Trout didn't win the Gold Glove for AL Centerfielders.
Oh well, that's okay. I'm sure the winner had, you know, less errors, a better WAR and a higher fielding percentage than Mike Trout…ummmmmmm…yeah. Never mind. Look, sour grapes aside, none of this is meant as a diss of winner Adam Jones. He also had a very good year. A great year even. But was it, I ask you, a Trout year? No, no it was not. In fact, that should be a new measure of fielding greatness and/or just plain overall awesomeness from now on – the Trout year. "Well, he had a great career in Center and his WAR was high but what does that translate to in Trout years?"
Oh well, I suppose this is an odd sort of balancing of the scales after Erick Aybar won the Gold Glove with more errors than either of the other two finalists last season. When it comes to MLB Awards, in any given season there's plenty of WTF to go around.
* * * * *
Congratulations to the 2012 World Champion San Francisco Giants! But I do have to say, as an unaffiliated fan rooting for a borrowed team, that was one boring World Series. Deadly boring in fact. Oh, I watched it and I was pleased to have four more games before we begrudgingly usher in the dread long winter without. But wouldn't it have been better to have 6 or 7 games to tide us through till Spring Training? If you were to say I was spoiled by the sheer nail biting amazingness of 2011's close, hard fought duel to the finish, you'd be absolutely right. But that doesn't make it wrong to have hoped for the Tigers to take the lead once – nay, several times – before Game 4. Sweeps are only fun for the fans of the team doing the sweeping…and even then, I'm not so sure.
* * * * *
It's early yet, but we've still had a bit of Angels contract news. The team extended Chris Iannetta's contract, which pleases me greatly. They also put Bobby Wilson out on Waivers and he was picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays, who are apparently trying to collect the whole tradable set of Angels cast off catchers. I know Wilson wasn't an All Star, headline grabbing catcher, but he was a more than serviceable backstop who busted his ass to do right by the team in general and Angels pitchers in particular. He always played whatever role was asked of him with a great attitude and a smile on his face and I don't think that gets as much recognition as it should.
I'm not questioning Jerry Dipoto's decision to part ways with Wilson. It does make a lot of sense to finally create enough room for Hank Conger to move up to the Bigs full time. But what I am saying is that I noticed Bobby Wilson's efforts and contributions, noticed and appreciated them. I enjoyed rooting for him as an Angel and now I wish him all the best as a Jay or wherever they trade him to…even if it's Texas. *grumble, grumble, Texas, grumble, grumble*
While I certainly have a myriad of hopes for other Angels personnel decisions, at the moment I'm primarily focused on the fate of free agent Torii Hunter. First and foremost, he's my favorite Angel – on a long list of favorites, mind you, but still – and as a very close second, in case you weren't watching last season, he absolutely kicked ass. While I doubt his 2013 numbers will match his 2012 numbers, I'm sure they'll still be very good indeed, not to mention all of the mentoring he provides, shaping the Angels of the future. So, Jerry? Torii? Just so we're clear, I have all of my fingers, toes and anything else I can think of to cross, crossed hoping for news that Torii Hunter stays an Angel in 2013. Got it? Eeeeeeexcellent!


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Over at FBTB, they had a line up of pictures of some sets gotten from a poster which in turn was gotten from Toys R Us.
The sets shown were:
Riddles For The Ring
Attack Of The Wargs
An Unexpected Gathering
Barrel Escape
The Goblin King Battle
Escape From Mirkwood Spiders
Pics here (can't post 'em directly here because of size restraints): http://imgur.com/a/oH3UA
So what do you guys think? I'm not sure, but I think the red leaves in the spider set are new elements. Also, I'm pretty sure those green glasses in the elf prison set are new. I'm not sure what I think about those wargs yet, it really depends on the printing.


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'Totally Biased' Comic On Race, Politics And Audience
This show was originally broadcast on September 13, 2012.
Before comic W. Kamau Bell became host of the weekly political humor show Totally Biased, which mixes standup, sketches and interviews, he had a one-man show called The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour.
"If you bring a friend of a different race, you get in 2 for 1," he tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross.
Bell is not joking. He wants people of all races at his one-man show.
"I knew if I did a show about race, I wanted to make sure I didn't just get a theater audience, because otherwise, generally, a theater audience is a more white audience," he says. "And I knew that if a black guy was on stage doing a show about race and racism and he was doing it in front of all white people, then it becomes like court testimony. And I really wanted to make sure that there was people in the audience who could either affirm what I was saying or disagree with what I was saying in front of other people."
Bell's new late-night show has a bit of his own biography, he says.
"I don't look the same as the people who are on late-night TV, which means I don't have the same life experience, which means when I look to sit down and create these pieces with the writers, I'm trying to find an angle in it that's more personal to me," he says.
And that means addressing race. Bell says he didn't set out to be a political comedian — it just turned out that way because he has always been interested in race issues.
"Nobody considered my act political until America got a black president," he says. "I talked about race a lot. It just became that, once Barack started running for president, I started to care a lot about the presidency in a way that I hadn't cared before. Because everyday on TV, I saw this black guy who was under a microscope, and I felt like there was some percentage of me in that guy that I didn't see in, say, George W. Bush or even Bill Clinton ... and so my act — really, I got labeled a political comedian; that wasn't the thing I was trying to do."
Bell says he approaches political events a little differently than other late-night comedians.
"A lot of times people think comedy is making fun of things, and I feel like, no, it can also just be making fun out of things," he says. "That, to me, is the kind of comedy I always like to do, where you can make jokes about the thing without making fun of the thing."
The season finale of Totally Biased, produced by Chris Rock, airs Sept. 20 on FX.
Bell, based in San Francisco, is the founding member of the comedy collective Laughter Against the Machine. He co-hosts the podcast The Field Negro Guide to Arts & Culture with Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid.
Interview Highlights
On being called out on prejudices he didn't realize he had
"When I started doing my solo show, one of my good friends, Martha, said to me, she's like, 'Kamau, you can't end racism and make sexism worse.' And I was like, 'What do you mean by that?' And she went through my solo show and pointed out all the different parts of it that she felt were sexist. And that's a good friend, a friend who will tell you that in a way that you can hear. And that was a real revelation for me, is that you can't sort of pick your issue over other people's issue — that if you want to end the ignorance of something, you have to end all the ignorances or at least not make some of the ignorances worse."
On being open about his dislike of actor Tyler Perry
"There's this thing with black people that we, sometimes we feel like we have to have a unified front, and we have to protect things even if we don't like them, because we know that at any point, one of us can get snatched up and be accused of something we didn't do. And I sort of felt, under the protection of a black president, maybe we could have some more independent opinions. Unfortunately, that hasn't changed as much as I thought it would."
On being in an interracial marriage
"Sometimes people will say if you are in an interracial relationship that you're somehow a sellout or you're taking the easy route, or something like that. And, literally, if you want to talk about race a lot in your life, marry a person who is a different race than you — because that will become a topic in ways that it probably wouldn't if you marry a person of the same race."
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. We're going to end our holiday week series with an interview that I recorded with comic W. Kamau Bell last September. In 2012, he launched a new FX series, called "Totally Biased." Its second season begins January 17th.
"Totally Biased" is a show of largely political humor that mixes standup, brief sketches and an interview. The idea for the show was proposed by Chris Rock, who serves as its executive producer. He became Bell's champion after seeing his solo show "The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour."
As an African-American, Bell has always made racism and social issues part of a standup act. He told me that when he's doing political satire, he tries to find a new angle on stories in the news.
GROSS: So in talking about how you look for your angle on a joke, after Congressman Todd Akin talked about how if a woman is the victim of legitimate rape, her body has a mechanism to shut down and prevent pregnancy - I mean, there's comic gold there, but everybody had done their jokes by the time your night came around, which is Thursday night. So how did you decide what you were going to do with that?
W. KAMAU BELL: Well, I think one of the things I have on my side is because I'm, you know - you know, even just looking at me, I don't look the same as the people who are on late-night TV doing those jokes. And I don't - which means I don't have the same life experience, which means when I look to sit down and create these pieces with the writers, I'm trying to find an angle in it that's more personal to me.
And also I really like the fact that our show has a little bit more of - has a little bit of my own biography in it in ways that maybe some of the other shows don't have. Like it's funny to think that I have a late-night talk show, because that's something I aspire to. I just think of it as I have a late-night comedy show.
And my solo show and my comedy is always a little bit personal about my life. So for me, when Akin says, you know, that the body has a way to shut that down in legitimate rape, my brain goes to slavery, you know. And so - and then through that, like, that's like, you know, that's clearly not true because - and so from that is where we had the opening line of the show.
GROSS: Which was?
BELL: Which was: Todd Akin, if there's no such thing as legitimate rape, then how come there's so many light-skinned people walking around Alabama?
GROSS: I thought that was really funny.
BELL: Yeah, we - I mean, we really - you know, and that was a line that, you know, we have this writing staff, and we come up with these things, and sometimes we write these things in the room, and somebody goes: Can we say that? And we go: I think we can.
BELL: Like, and part of it is really FX allowing us to sort of do what we want to do. All the feedback they've given us about the show has sort of been do the show you want to do. And when they do give us critical feedback, generally I agree with them. You know, I think they want the show to be as specific as possible, and so we really have a good time sort of, like, surprising ourselves and seeing if we get to say it on air.
GROSS: Being an African-American comic during the period when America has its first African-American president?
BELL: Nobody considered my act political until America got a black president. I talked about race a lot, and it just became that once Barack started running for president, I started to care a lot about the presidency in a way that I hadn't cared before. So I started - because every day on TV, I saw this black guy who was, you know, under a microscope, and I felt like there was some percentage of me in that guy that I didn't see in, say, George W. Bush or even Bill Clinton, despite the fact that they insisted he was the black president.
And I sort of became engaged in news in a way that I hadn't been engaged before. And also, I think, as a facet of getting older, caring about the world around me in a different way. And so my act really - I got labeled a political comedian. I didn't - that wasn't my - that wasn't the thing I was trying to do.
GROSS: Being an African-American comic during the period when America has its first African-American president, have you noticed racial things and things about how he's treated, that have made you think about race in ways you hadn't thought about it before?
BELL: Well, yes, I think that's why my act has gone in such a political direction because I see the ways in which Obama's treated, you know, across the spectrum, as things that are connected to his race for me, that I can't help but separate them. I mean, you know, and it - and sometimes those things are good things, and sometimes those things are bad things.
Like very recently, you know, Obama's in Florida, and he meets the owner of that pizza restaurant, and the guy picks him up and gives him a bear hug. And there's a part of me that goes that guy likes him, and he's excited to see Obama, and he loves Obama, so he picks him up.
But the other part of me is like I've never seen that happen to a president before.
GROSS: I know. I thought, like, really that seems very kind of, you know, adorable on one hand, but it's crazy. You're not supposed to touch a president unless he extends his hand to shake hands with you.
BELL: It's adorable, and it's also frightening to me. I mean, there's a side of it that, like - you know, and there's an interesting part because Obama gets picked up, and you see his arms go out, and he looks to his right, and I feel like he's looking at the Secret Service, going like hey guys, uh, still the president over here.
BELL: For at least the next few months. And then when he comes down, he looks at the guy in the face, and Obama looks ashen. And nobody's really talked about that. He looks like a guy who's like - for a minute I thought maybe this was over. And, you know, I'm sure he's away of the responsibility and how, you know, nobody's ever picked him up like that. And then - you know, and yet I connect that in some way...
And I'm not mad at that guy. I think he had no bad intentions. But again, I've never seen anybody do that to a president before. And then you look at Jan Brewer, you sticks her finger in the president's face a few years ago, and that's another thing. That doesn't happen to presidents, where a governor would stick their finger in a president's face. And to me that's very much connected to race.
GROSS: So let's talk about your background. Where did you grow up?
BELL: I grew up all over, but I went to high school in Chicago. And then I moved from Chicago to San Francisco 15 years ago. But I was born in Palo Alto, lived in Indianapolis, lived in Boston. My dad's from Alabama, so I spent a lot of time in Alabama.
GROSS: How come you moved so much?
BELL: I had one of those moms who eventually would get fed up with a place and go: We're moving.
BELL: It was just me and her, and she would eventually just be like that's enough of this. And so she just had a real wandering spirit, which is a part of me, which is why I think I sort of feel free to get up and go, too.
GROSS: So you've said that when you move to the Bay Area, it kind of changed you. That was about 15 years ago. What changed?
BELL: In Chicago I would have identified myself as a Democrat. When you go to the Bay Area, you realize that's not far enough, you know. And the thing about the Bay Area is that you're surrounded by so many different types of people, and you can choose to just stay with your group and not engage with those different types of people, but I think very naturally I chose to sort of engage with lots of different types of people.
And many of the prejudices that you didn't even realize you have start to sort of melt naturally. And then the other thing is people in the Bay Area will call you on your prejudice, if you hang out with the crew I did, in ways that you didn't realize that you were prejudice.
Like when I started doing my solo show, one of my good friends Martha(ph) said to me, she's like Kamau, you can't end racism and make sexism worse. And I was like: What do you mean by that? And she went through my solo show and pointed all the different parts of it that she felt were sexist. And that's a good friend, a friend who will tell you that in a way that you can hear. And that was a real revelation for me is that you can't sort of pick your issue over other people's issue, that if you want to sort of end the ignorance of something, you have to end all the ignorances or at least not make some of the ignorances worse.
GROSS: If you don't mind my saying, I'm really glad she said that.
GROSS: I think that's the kind of thing that really needs to be said.
BELL: I'm really glad Martha said a lot of things.
GROSS: Yeah, so what did you have to extract from your show?
BELL: There were just ways in which I talk about women. Like it's sort of funny because whenever I start talking about this, there's - a lot of the comedy community would think I'm being oversensitive or too politically correct. But this is really who I am and who I want to be. And we - all comics set down rules for themselves, and these are just the rules I set down for myself, but I still have to get the big, healthy gut laughs everybody else does. So I'm not trying to claim that I have some high degree of difficulty.
But, you know, just even referring to women as girls for no reason, you know, and also, like, she said this to me, which had a big impact on me. She's like, you know, on my show I would say the word bitch a couple times. And she said Kamau, you know, every time you say that word, you're in some way connected to every black man who ever says that word because that's a word that through hip-hop and popular culture, black men are identified with.
And even though you're not saying it in the same context, you're connecting yourself to that in some way, and you have to ask yourself how badly do you want to use that word. And she said if you want to use it, fine, but just be aware of that. And for it became like, yeah, I don't think I need to use that word then. And it just doesn't - and it doesn't mean that anybody else is necessarily doing it wrong, it just means that's how I choose to be.
GROSS: What else changed about you from being in San Francisco?
BELL: You know, it's funny. I, you know, I wouldn't have described myself as a homophobe either, but to be in San Francisco and to hang out with the sort of the multiculty crew that comes across all lines, including sexuality, I hang out with a lot of people of a lot of different sexualities. And so I really feel in some way not threatened by that in any way, I don't think. And so I'm comfortable joking about it and I'm also comfortable using my comfort with it to sort of make other people sort of think about their comfort level with it.
Like one of the things we did on the show which I'm really proud of was the if gay marriage was mandatory, who would you gay marry?
GROSS: Right. Yeah.
BELL: And for me that was a really fun piece to do and also in some ways a sort of a very lightly - I don't know, I really enjoyed doing it because what it said is like forget what you think about yourself. If you had to put yourself in a different body and you were gay, how would you be in that body? And, you know, and it was a fun game to play with people and it's fun to be in that space and not be threatened that somehow somebody is going to think I'm gay or somebody is going to - or they're going to think the wrong thing about me. And also, though, who cares about what people think about me. And also I realized as a black man, black people a lot of times get the bad end of the stick. We are sometimes thought of being the most homophobic group of people, which I think is ridiculous. But I'm also aware of the fact that as a black man on TV who is talking about gayness in a way that's not threatened by it, I think that's kind of a cool thing.
GROSS: My guest is comic W. Kamau Bell, host of the FX series "Totally Biased." More after a break.
This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: let's get back to the interview I recorded in September with W. Kamau Bell, the host of the political comedy series "Totally Biased which begins its second season January 17th on FX.
Now what kind of race consciousness did you brought with, because from what I've read your mother was really into like African-American studies and, you know, talking about equality.
BELL: Yeah. My mom was actually working on her PhD at Stanford in African-American literature but they wouldn't let her finish it because at that time in the '70s Stanford did not believe African-American literature was a valid field of study. So from that point forward, my mom just sort of said I'm not going to do this and she went her own way and she worked in the textbook industry and she self-published her own books of famous black quotations, because in the '80s there were no compendiums of books of African-American quotations. There are now, she - because of her example, and she sold like 50,000 copies from our car, you know, basically, because this was before the Internet when you had to just sort of go hat in hand to places and sell your product. And so she was always a self-starter. And because we moved a lot, every time we went to a new city and she would always try to put me in private schools, she'd go to the school and be like, do you teach African-American studies here? And they'd be like, no. And she'd be like, well, you do now.
BELL: And she would come in one, you know, one week or a couple of days and go - and teach about African-Americans studies, and she would show slides of Africa because she knew that people at that point, kids thought Africa was just a jungle and Tarzan. And she would go here's Africa, here's buildings, here's people doing regular things that you do here. And so my mom always showed me that - be the change you want to see and be the example.
GROSS: Did it make you feel proud or embarrassed when she came to school and insisted, I'll take care of that, I'll teach African-American studies?
BELL: Oh, it was horribly embarrassing. It was...
BELL: I still get embarrassed thinking about it now. I mean, you know, no kid wants their parent coming to school to teach, I don't think, you know. I often say why can't you just bake some muffins or something?
BELL: But she did - she is not a muffin baker. She's a change maker.
GROSS: So when you were going to private schools, were they racially mixed or predominantly white?
BELL: I mean at that point the private schools I went to, they were predominantly white. There were always other black kids there but it would be that weird thing, sometimes you'd go to a private school and there'd be one other black kid in your grade and I always got the feeling from that kid that they were like, I can't be friends with you because that's going to remind everybody else that I'm black, so I'm going to have to let you go your own way...
BELL: ...which I understand in theory, but yeah, so there was always, there was usually some weirdness around that. And I sort of struggled with my own black identity for a lot of times because I was like, you know, I sort of got that message that maybe black isn't a great thing to be. And then through growing up and doing my solo show and reading a lot - "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" changed my life and that was the point in which I was like I can define my own blackness.
GROSS: Was there ever a point when you were, one of the very few black people in your school, where you felt like you had to play the role of the black guy? Do you know what I mean? That you had to stand in for all black people and be, I don't know, whatever it is that the white friends that you had wanted you to be as the black person in the group?
BELL: First of all, I love the way you said the black guy.
GROSS: Yeah.
BELL: I like the basing your voice, Terry.
GROSS: Thank you.
BELL: There are times when, you know - you know, and every black person I think has this, where you'll feel put in a position to either speak up for the race or have opinions about things that you haven't actually expressed knowing about. I'm a fan of music. I don't have the biggest knowledge of hip-hop, and regularly people, especially when I was younger, would start conversations with me about hip-hop and I would have to sort of choose to fake my way through it or else feel like I was going to look uncool. And so, I mean and that's not the worst position to be in, but also I had times where I had friends where would say something to me like - a friend of mine says to me Kamau, you're black but you're not black black.
BELL: And I immediately knew he was like, you're black but I still have my wallet and I appreciate that.
BELL: Like he was associating blackness with the kind of thing, a negativity that he doesn't see in me and he thinks he's complimenting me, you know. And if I - and I have to choose to take it as a compliment, or else I lose a friend.
GROSS: You're wife is white and you've talked a little bit in your act about what it's like to be a couple with a white woman.
GROSS: Reactions that you get from strangers and the reactions that you get from African-American women. So can you talk a little bit about that?
BELL: Yeah. I mean it was funny. The first time me and my wife went out together, it wasn't even officially a date. We were in a taqueria in San Francisco and a black woman and a black man came into the taqueria. And the black woman looked visibly shaken and kept looking and was really sort of like just agitated. And my then friend, who became my wife, was like, what's wrong with her? And I was like, and she had never experienced that. I was like I think she's mad that we are together.
And my wife was like, really? Like she just couldn't - and she's a cosmopolitan person but she's never seen anything like that, whereas I sort of had smelled that before. And the woman just got really mad and really like agitated, so much to the fact that after they got their tacos, her, the guy she was with literally escorted her out of the place and put her in the car the way a cop puts somebody in the back of a car...
BELL: ...like sort of put his hand on the back of her head and sort of like gently guided her down into the car because she was so agitated. And, you know, and that's in San Francisco, you know what I mean? That's not in the backwoods of someplace. That's in San Francisco.
GROSS: Did she say anything to you?
BELL: On her way out she said, hmm, you dating a white girl 'cause you can't handle a black woman. And I very - looked at her and said, maybe.
BELL: Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm a trifling Negro. Thank God there's white women to take this trifling Negro off your hands. And that's...
GROSS: Did you really say that to her?
BELL: I said - I didn't say that to her. I said that at another time.
GROSS: Yeah. OK. I was sort of wondering like how quick are you and how willing are you...
BELL: How willing am I too entered the fray?
GROSS: Yes.
BELL: Well, no, generally as a comic, the reason why I think I'm a comic because I think of the good things later.
GROSS: Yeah. Sure.
BELL: If I thought of the good things at the time, I would then be a, you know, I don't know, less popular with people.
BELL: But I think that a lot of things that makes me a comic is the thing that makes me go home and go, what, I should've said something different. Oh, I know what I should've said. I'll go say that on stage.
GROSS: So you have a daughter. I assume she's lighter skinned than you are. What reaction do you get to that?
BELL: Well, the funny thing about my daughter is that when she was born she came out white, like very pale white, and so much so that like when we brought my wife's family around, like I remember my brother-in-law - my wife's brother - literally looked at her and looked at me and I felt like he was going like, dude, I got to tell you something.
BELL: But I know, because black people sort of know this because we have more, probably more experience with this, that the color that a kid is when they're born changes. And so - and it's even true of white kids, that their color, 'cause they come out one color.
The funny thing was is that - so my daughter immediately started getting darker, but I always said that we didn't know where her color would start, and so I always said I would track her color every day to see where her color would start by using the cover of Michael Jackson's CDs...
BELL: ...in reverse chronological order.
BELL: You know, I would just be like, oh, today it's "Bad," yesterday was "Dangerous," maybe we can make it to 'Thriller." It's never going to be "Off the Wall," who am I kidding?
GROSS: So has having an interracial marriage affected your views about race and what it means, like what race means?
BELL: Well, yeah. I mean I think it has affected my views about race. Sometimes people will say if you are in an interracial relationship that you're somehow a sellout, or you're taking the easy route, or something like that. And literally, if you want to talk about race a lot in your life, marry a person who is a different race than you because that will become a topic in ways that it didn't, that it probably wouldn't if you marry a person of the same race because I mean we've had a lot of things, you know, just in, you know, I'm aware that when I'm hanging out with my wife's family that I'm the only black person around.
And I'm aware that if my wife's, her cousins start talking about Obama, and they're very conservative, they start talking about Obama in ways that makes me want to like - ah, you know.
BELL: But I also want to make sure I can come back for Thanksgiving. And I get very - and so I just spend a lot of time being quiet and mentally jotting down notes to use in my act. But, yeah, so it certainly becomes a bigger part of your discussion. But I also feel like that it's not the biggest part. The biggest thing that separates me and my wife is the fact that my wife is Catholic and I like to say I'm sane. You know what I mean?
So that's way bigger for us than race.
GROSS: So what have you learned by being married to a white woman about race that you didn't know before - about how white people perceive African-Americans or some white people perceive African-Americans, about your own preconceptions about white people?
BELL: Well, I mean - let me say this - I, you know it's funny how I feel like I have to say I've grown up around white people.
GROSS: That's right. Right.
BELL: Some of my best whites are friends.
BELL: I've spent a lot of time, you know, it wasn't really like such a "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" scenario with my wife's family. But it was this thing where, you know, like I always felt like my wife's family, it sort of took them a while to warm up to me. But I don't think it was because I was black, I think it was because I was a comedian.
BELL: I think my un-famous comedian trumped black with her family.
GROSS: Right.
BELL: But I also feel like that, you know, the real change is that since we've had a daughter, my wife told me that her mom was like, uh, so does that mean that Sammy's(ph) black? Because she just never thought about that, you know, and in her life, I'm sure when she grew up and got married and had kids and thought about her kid's kids, she didn't picture a black granddaughter.
Now, she's a great grandmother and I don't feel like she's ever done anything to Sammy - I don't think she's treated Sammy worse because she's black, she loves Sammy, but I think it's somehow altering her perception of the world in a way that I think is awesome.
Now, for me, the other thing is that when Sammy was first born, Sammy was very light and I would walk around in the world with this baby who looked to be white and we got a lot of weird stares because, you know, a black guy with a white baby is not the most popular color combination, you know.
BELL: We're all very used to the white guy with the black baby because you're like, oh, that's very nice of you to adopt that child from that place. But with me it was a whole different thing. We got a lot of stares and a lot of questions that I had to deal with while at the same time knowing that I didn't care what people thought because this was my daughter.
And this is a true story. When my daughter was born, you know, it's a very emotional moment, your kid is born, they hand you the kid, they wipe the kid off, and you're just sitting there with your kid. And I actually realized when I looked in my daughter's eyes that it was the first time in my life that I was looking at somebody and they didn't think of me as black, that I knew for sure that she didn't think of me as black. She just thought of me as dad. Well, at that point she probably thought of me as ah.
BELL: She thought of me as the one that didn't have milk. But that was a very important moment for me to realize that this is actually, that that's how embedded race is in me, which I think it's kind of sad but also that how exciting a moment that was for me that I know for sure this person doesn't think of me as black.
GROSS: My guest is comic W. Kamau Bell, the host of the FX political comedy series "Totally Biased." We'll talk more after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: Let's get back to the interview I recorded in September with W. Kamau Bell, the host of the political comedy series "Totally Biased," which begins its second season January 17 on FX.
Now, so much comedy club material is about sex and about being graded at it or being terrible at it or getting it or not getting it or - anyway. So you've actually worked at a condom store and at a video store that sold adult videos. So I'm thinking you must have material galore, even though you're not the kind of comical who talks a lot about sex. What were those experiences like?
BELL: I mean, you know, I think the reason that I don't talk about those experiences a lot of stage is because I know comics who do incredible sex material, and I feel like that's not my strength. So I would, you know, I would gladly give those stories to those comedians if they wanted them.
But the - working at the video store, I mean it was one of those video stores that you walked in and it was like this is the worst video store I've ever seen. They only had like "Jurassic Park III..."
BELL: ...and like "Home Alone 4" and you're like how does this video stores survive? And then there's a door in the back that leads to stairs that go up and it's all the porno that's ever been created in the history of the world, and that was the video store I worked at.
BELL: All the videos downstairs were dusty. And I didn't know that I was going to work at that store. I thought that I was working at a really bad video store until they sat me down and explained to me what was happening upstairs. And you get a real window into male humanity in that way because it was also a video store, again, it was in Chicago on the edge of the gay area so we had probably twice as much gay porn as we had straight porn.
And I think that's actually where I started to learn about the fluidity of human sexuality because I would regularly see guys who were renting from the straight side of the porn section - over time they rented so much straight porn that they would start to leak over to the gay side of the porn section.
BELL: Just because I think they were like, I've seen everything this combination of people can do and so let me go look over to this combination. And it really was an eye-opener to, like, oh, I guess human sexuality is on a spectrum.
And you know, it was a very funny time. I also had a guy say to me one time, like, man, I see you here all the time. And I remember thinking, no, I see you here all the time.
BELL: I get paid to be here.
GROSS: So since you were working in the store, were you expected to have seen a lot of the videos so that you could be helpful to people?
BELL: Yeah. There is a weird thing where you're expected (technical difficulties) recommendations you're expected to have if you work at a regular video store, you're expected to have at the adult video store. And at the time, I'm not saying I'm any kind of Puritan, I just wasn't partaking at the level that I was going to have a top 10 list or a list of suggestions. You know?
BELL: Occasionally people would come in and say that a tape was broken and you would have to sort of play the tape on your VCR to make sure that it was or wasn't broken, which is a very, a very surreal experience of, like, nope, looks fine to me. I can see all the body parts doing the things that they're supposed to be doing. You know, so it was a very - it's funny. When you work in a place like that, it becomes very regular after a while. It's just what you do for a living.
GROSS: Well, W. Kamau Bell, it's really been great to talk with you. Thank you so much.
BELL: Thank you for having me. This is an extreme honor.
GROSS: W. Kamau Bell, recorded in September. His political comedy series "Totally Biased" begins its second season January 17th on FX. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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