Joe Engleman Arts Supplement

This video is composed from several improvised comedy shows that took place this past summer at Chicago's Second City. I produced and performed in the series of six shows.

Joe Engleman Live Blogging The Inauguration

The next posts here are a series of posts that I made live blogging the Inauguration with Youth Noise. I took some great video but due to some tech difficulties I think the video may have been lost to history. Here are the posts and the links to them in their original instances.

PART I

The following blog entry is meant in some ways to emulate the break through practice of gonzo journalism created by Hunter S. Thompson, who I have been reading quite a bit of lately.

January 17: We had reached 20,000 feet, when my Ipod headphones went out. After that, quick & easy ride through the DC Metro, which is pretty new. Also saw the play Shear Maddness at the Kennedy Center. We seemed a bit out of place at first, but that was because we were mixing with the opera house crowd.

January 18: Hectic day. Began with a meeting with David Bonior, who is a senior member of the transition. Really nice guy, really wanted to help us get a sense of the transition. Then onto the Holocaust Museum which was really impressive I thought at least. The images were extremely shocking and left one with a negative impression of humanity. However, there was hope in different areas. For example the lists of people who helped people to escape Germany. An especially interesting story was when large numbers of people in Denmark helped large numbers of Jews to escape. These people risked their lives, and went furthest in the call to speak for the decency of humanity. Larger numbers of people on the Metro. I want to hear that concert we passed on the Mall. My vision of the beginning of Inaguration Day is to hear the National Anthem, and then Bruce Springsteen is gonna come out and play " The Rising." Also Moonlight Monument Tour was excellent filled with hope and the like.

PART II

Well Inauguration Day has come and gone. Just as the crowd bid farwell to President Bush, I bid farewell to the District of Columbia in the next few hours. Though I am not quite saying Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye, it certainly feels different to be living under the Obama Administration. Also not to push any buttons, but I felt that Rick Warren and all the speakers did an excellent job during key parts of the Inauguration itself. The sound of the 21 cannon salute and the sounds of "Stars and Stripes Forever" certainly improved the environment even more so.

However, the images that have come out of this day are ones that I certainly never will forget, the image that I think speaks most to this was the sheer scene of the National Mall. From where I was standing within the confines of the Silver Gate I could see nearly all the way to the Lincoln Memorial. At every major site from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, there was a sea of American flags. A CBS reporter talked about the one thing that he had heard most from people that he talked to today was that people said "It's great to be an American." The new dawn of American Democracy has arrived. In the same way that Obama quoted the Bible, "To Put Away Childish Things" the common theme of American in transition has emerged.

The American transition of power is observed all over the world as the key piece of democracy. In many ways there is a check on the President by the citizens. Democracy can triumph here because of the historical backing of its founding officials and true beliefs. Another quick thing I liked about the Obama speech was how he directed it to the world. Obama sent a message to the world, which reversed the Bush doctrine. The idea is that mutual respect will breed mutual prosperity, not pre-emptive invasion brings about "with us or against us policy."

I'll close with this. America's place in the world has changed. Many Americans thought that a day such as this would never come. However it was Barack Obama's belief that people are good at heart and that the ideals of hope and positive energy are the best thing for our country at this time. So as we stand, with history behind us, and the future before us, we must ask ourselves, are we fired up and ready to go? That answer is YES.

This is a link to Obama's speech.

Obama's Speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjnygQ02aW4

Also I am now done blogging for Inauguration, however I will check in occasionally for another post so, check every so often. Thanks again for the opporunity.

http://www.youthnoise.com/user/jengleman/blog

Joe Engleman: CBS Interview Before 1-20-09

Almost a year ago now, I was one of several Mikva Challenge students interviewed by CBS 2 Chicago to discuss a trip to witness President Obama's Inauguration. Although my words and thoughts about the experience have definitely become much deeper since 1-20-09, I feel that I do make some good points and really discuss the campaign experience in great detail.

Just follow the following link:

http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=53984@wbbm.dayport.com

Oh and please note there is a 30 second advertisement before hand.