Today I spent most of the night with watching NBC TV.

The first program was a special concert titled 窶彡oncert of hope.窶� It was sponsored by the Red Cross in the United States, and it aimed to help the Tsunami victims in South Asian countries.

It is an amazing concert. A number of famous musicians showed up and performed their songs one after another. Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Elton John or other famous singers played. They believe the power of the music; it will give relax and hope for the victims. In addition, many famous movie stars, like Brad Pitt, Robert De niro or Leonardo Dicaprio, were receiving the phone call for donation. (Unfortunately, I am not good at famous stars, so I cannot remember who was there. But I am sure that many great stars were there. )

Auction was also held. A mug signed by all the celebrities was sold 25 dollars. A phone that is also signed by stars was sold 3 thousand dollars. All the money that was donated tonight will be used for the victims under the responsibility of the Red Cross.

Time to time detailed reports about Tsunami was brought. I realized that it was a really devastating disaster. It changed the coast line. Millions of lives were washed away. They lost everything. It was a very well-organized and enlightening program.

While I was taking a shower, they broadcast the local news. This channel, KWWL, was just for Iowa State. I could see the detailed whether forecast and news for this region.

Then, the next program had started. It was the 窶彜aturday Night Live.窶� It was extremely amusing. Surprisingly, it is a live program (started at 1030pm CST).

It started with a comedy which makes fun of the President. That was hilarious. There were three comedians, and each played a role as the former President Bush, the former President Clinton and the current President Bush. Not only did they imitate their behavior in a funny and silly way, but also their lines were really well-considered and serious. It wasn窶冲 joking. They seemed to try to criticize the administration.

Although it is a popular comedy show, most of the program was really political. It dealt with Martin Luther King窶冱 day which is on next Monday, Tsunami donation, recent polls, government announcement or something. It makes fun of all of these in a 窶徘ositive窶� way. These are not sarcastic, but really acceptable.

One other show that dealt with the economics was amazingly interesting. Comedians were dressed in the real bills. One was the dollar. The others were Euro, Peso, Pound and, in addition, Yen. All of the bills are bigger than a dollar. Then, they were teasing the dollar. It obviously implies the economical power balance of the world. Dollars had an enormous power on the economics in the past; however, the order changes gradually. Euro or Pound or Peso or Yen are getting more power. (But actually I thought Yuan will have more power than Yen.) This show describes a real economical situation. That was just amazing.

I窶况e heard of the program窶冱 name before, but it was first time to see it. I窶况e never thought such a good funny program. In addition, we can窶冲 find this kind of program in Japan. There are some comedy shows, but they are not criticizing the society.

Although I couldn窶冲 do my homework, it was a really good chance to see the American popular culture. In addition, I always watch CNN Headline since it is broadcast 24 hours. It is very convenient to gather information about both international and the United States affairs. However, it sometimes could be boring; it just repeats the same news. I used to continue to watch it at any times but I need to change the channel, maybe. NBC or abc provides us with more interesting and amusing programs. I won窶冲 have any chance to see those American programs in Japan as I experienced this winter break, so I should enjoy those while I am staying here.