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Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

"Now, with Alex Wagner"

2012-01-31T11:10:00.005-06:00

MSNBC's new 1200 pm EST/11 pm CST show is NOW my favorite news/talk show.

Must-see TV, if you ask me.

Jonathan Meets Palin

2012-01-31T07:44:00.005-06:00

Watching a bit on Morning Joe about the HBO film of Game Change (trailer below).

So proud of Jonathan Levinson (Danny Strong). Who knew that Sunnydale High's picked-upon nerd would become a prominent screenwriter (he also authored Recount)?

It's almost like something out of "Superstar."

Artist of the Week, 1/31/12 (J. M. W. Turner Week)

2012-01-31T01:00:00.007-06:00

Turner, The Slave Ship

Artist of the Week, 1/31/12 (J. M. W. Turner Week)

2012-01-31T01:00:00.006-06:00

Turner, Snowstorm

Miss Piggy Trashes FOX News

2012-01-30T18:06:00.001-06:00

Follow the link in the title above.

Good for Miss P.

Stevens and Matchmaking

2012-01-30T18:00:00.001-06:00

Artist of the Week, 1/30/12 (J. M. W. Turner Week)

2012-01-30T01:00:00.003-06:00

Turner, The Fighting Temeraire

Obama X: New Rule

2012-01-29T21:33:00.001-06:00

Bill Maher brilliantly debunks the invention of Obama X.

Artist of the Week. 1/29/12 (Charles Demuth Week)

2012-01-29T01:00:00.002-06:00

Demuth, Modern Conveniences

A "Doctor Who" Tribute

2012-01-28T13:41:00.001-06:00

Artist of the Week. 1/28/12 (Charles Demuth Week)

2012-01-28T01:00:00.002-06:00

Demuth, Figure 5 in Gold

Heard on "Big Bang Theory"

2012-01-27T18:23:00.002-06:00

For somebody who has a machine that allows him to travel anywhere in space and time, Doctor Who certainly has an affection for modern day London.
--Amy Farrah Fowler ("The Beta Test Initiation," 5.14)

Artist of the Week. 1/27/12 (Charles Demuth Week)

2012-01-27T01:00:00.003-06:00

Demuth, Trees and Barnes: Bermuda

Milch's "Luck"

2012-01-26T18:18:00.002-06:00

David Milch talks horse racing and Luck with Fresh Air.

Follow the link in the title above.

Sendak Meets Colbert

2012-01-26T18:07:00.004-06:00

The Where the Wild Things Are author talks to Steven in a two part interview. Delicious fun.

Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 1

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 2

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Newt/Shrute

2012-01-26T15:02:00.002-06:00

Of course!. Follow the link in the title.

Artist of the Week. 1/26/12 (Charles Demuth Week)

2012-01-26T01:00:00.002-06:00

Demuth, Buildings, Lancaster

Whedon Course Greenlit

2012-01-25T14:28:00.005-06:00

So I will be teaching my Joss Whedon course, but at the undergraduate level.

ENGL 4860-001
Special Topics in Film Studies: Joss Whedon
Fall 2012
Monday 600-900
Peck Hall 308

Under construction syllabus here.

Addy is Two

2012-01-25T11:51:00.003-06:00

The adorable Addy Belle Porterfield, now two--today.

Andy Borowitz Reports on the State of the Union Address

2012-01-25T11:48:00.001-06:00

Discerning as usual. Follow link in the title above.

Money quote:

After the speech, a furious Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, “It’s been a longstanding tradition in our politics not to use facts in a State of the Union Address, a tradition the President chose to ignore in an outrageous way tonight. I won’t stand for it and the American people won’t stand for it.”

"How long would it take the GOP candidate to earn what you make in a year?"

2012-01-25T07:58:00.003-06:00

Follow the link in the title above to crunch your numbers. (Thanks to Slate.)

My result: The Mittster would earn my salary in 7 hours 32 minutes and 37 seconds.

Artist of the Week. 1/25/12 (Charles Demuth Week)

2012-01-25T01:00:00.002-06:00

Demuth, Chimney and Watertower

Oscar Nominations

2012-01-24T11:20:00.002-06:00

Follow the link in the title above to see the nominations.

10 eligible films in a bad year for the movies?

"Tea Party Groups In Tennessee Demand Textbooks Overlook U.S. Founder's Slave-Owning History"

2012-01-24T05:43:00.002-06:00

Tennessee, you make me so proud.

Follow the link in the title to read the HuffPo story.

Artist of the Week. 1/24/12 (Charles Demuth Week)

2012-01-24T01:00:00.002-06:00

Demuth, My Egypt

"Fear Factor"

2012-01-23T20:06:00.002-06:00

Just tuned in to the Florida Republican debate, but Comcast's info for NBC at the bottom of the screen is for "Fear Factor":

Leeches, & Shaved Heards & Tears Gas, Oh My!

"Gingrich Family Values"

2012-01-23T14:08:00.002-06:00

Via Andrew Sullivan and Rod Dreher (link in the title above).

The Onion Goes There

2012-01-23T06:28:00.002-06:00

98 Percent Of Americans Afraid Of 98 Percent Of Americans

2012-01-23T06:18:00.001-06:00

From The Onion in 1998. Prescient.

Report: 98 Percent Of Americans Afraid Of 98 Percent Of Americans
JULY 22, 1998 | ISSUE 33•25

WASHINGTON, DC—An ABC News/Washington Post poll released Tuesday revealed that 98 percent of Americans live in fear of a full 98 percent of other Americans. "Between the criminal element, salesmen, religious zealots, alcoholics, minorities, immigrants, fast-driving teens, employers and panhandlers, a total of 49 in 50 Americans present a fearsome image to the vast majority of their fellow citizens," the report read. Newborn babies, the elderly and the infirm are believed to comprise the non-feared 2 percent.

Romneybabble

2012-01-23T06:10:00.001-06:00

I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.
--Mitt Romney in a Stump Speech

Artist of the Week. 1/30/12 (Charles Demuth Week)

2012-01-23T01:00:00.000-06:00

Demuth, Welcome to Our City

Tony and Nic

2012-01-22T20:33:00.004-06:00

Just noticed (follow link in title above) that Tony Head (Giles) is in the latest Nicolas Cage drek (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance).

Yeah?

Newt

2012-01-22T19:51:00.001-06:00

Gingrich has spent his years since [his first year as Speaker of the House] having an affair, divorcing his second wife and making money by being the consummate Washington insider -- trading on access, taking $1.6 million from Freddie Mac and palling around with Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi and Al Sharpton.

Even Chuck Schumer wouldn't be seen doing a joint event with Al Sharpton! But Newt seeks approval from strange places.

Newt Gingrich is the "anti-Establishment" candidate only if "the Establishment" is defined as "anyone who remembers what happened the day before yesterday."

Who would say such a thing about the The Newt?

Ann Coulter, that's who.

Artist of the Week, 1/22/12: George Bellows

2012-01-22T01:00:00.003-06:00

George Bellows, Stag at Sharkey's

"Revenge"

2012-01-21T21:47:00.003-06:00

Watched first seven episodes today while doing other stuff.

Still not sure whether I want to sign on for the long haul.

Way better than Ringer--that's for sure.

'Homeland' EP Howard Gordon on Possibly Killing Brody: 'Everyone's Been on the Chopping Block'

2012-01-21T19:32:00.001-06:00

It's hard to imagine this excellent series without Damian Lewis. (Follow the link in the title above to read more.)

"Scott Brown: What About All The Rich Schoolteachers?"

2012-01-21T16:26:00.001-06:00

Just how clueless are these people? (Link to the story in the title above.)

Reading on the John

2012-01-21T16:18:00.002-06:00

Andrew Sullivan has a post up about its history (follow the link in the title above).

I was writing about this back in the early eighties.

Artist of the Week, 1/21/12: George Bellows

2012-01-21T01:00:00.002-06:00

George Bellows, Coney Island

Heard on "Fringe"

2012-01-20T20:39:00.002-06:00

We're in the wrong universe!
Peter Bishop on "Enemy of my Enemy"

Have these words ever been uttered before in this universe?

Obama Goes Green

2012-01-20T20:05:00.001-06:00

Wonderful.

Artist of the Week, 1/20/12: George Bellows

2012-01-20T01:00:00.002-06:00

George Bellows, Excavation at Night

Conan Disses Madonna

2012-01-19T17:59:00.003-06:00

This week Madonna accused Lady Gaga of ripping her off, which is not quite fair. We don't know yet whether Lady Gaga is going to age gracelessly.
--Conan O'Brien on 1/16/2012

Another Colbert Super Pac Ad Denouncing Colbert

2012-01-19T10:20:00.005-06:00

Previous ads voice-overed by John Lithgow, Sam Elliott. Samuel L. (Snakes on a Plane) Jackson does this one.

"Double Negative"

2012-01-19T07:56:00.001-06:00

Colbert Super PAC Ad - Double Negative

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

"Power and Control in the Television Worlds of Joss Whedon"

2012-01-19T05:08:00.004-06:00

The always insightful Sherry Ginn's new book is out. Order it on Amazon.

My, that's a big gun Ginn!

Artist of the Week, 1/19/12: George Bellows

2012-01-19T01:00:00.001-06:00

George Bellows, River Rats

Palin Wants Romney Vetted

2012-01-18T09:04:00.001-06:00

Palin supports Gingrich because we can't afford to elect another unvetted POTUS (like Obama).

Unbelievable choot-spa from a VP candidate who wasn't vetted at all.

Artist of the Week, 1/18/12: George Bellows

2012-01-18T01:00:00.002-06:00

George Bellows, Morning Snow, Brooklyn

Colbert for Cain

2012-01-17T09:23:00.003-06:00

So now Colbert's/Stewart's SuperPac is urging South Carolinians, in an ad filled with images of Colbert, to vote for Herman Cain ("He such an outsider he's not even running for President") since Colbert himself is not on the ballot.

Artist of the Week, 1/17/12: George Bellows

2012-01-17T01:00:00.003-06:00

George Bellows, Cliff Dwellers

Wisdom from Casey Stengel

2012-01-16T12:22:00.001-06:00

I often think my motto should be Casey Stengel's observation on the Mets finally winning the World Series:

It took 'em a long time but they done it quick.

Mitt, White

2012-01-16T12:11:00.000-06:00

He is nearly always in immaculate white shirt sleeves. He is implacably polite, tossing off phrases like “oh gosh” with Stepford bonhomie. He has mastered Benjamin Franklin’s honesty as the “best policy”: a practiced insincerity, an instant sunniness that, though evidently inauthentic, provides a bland bass note that keeps everyone calm.
Lee Siegel (link in title above)

Artist of the Week, 1/16/12: George Bellows

2012-01-16T01:00:00.003-06:00

George Bellows, 42 Kids

"Alcatraz"

2012-01-15T17:16:00.002-06:00

Looking forward to this tomorrow night.

In a TV spot it is being called "A manhunt beyond imagination." Cool.

Colbert's Super Pac Attacks Mitt (with a voice-over by John Lithgow)

2012-01-15T13:23:00.002-06:00

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Artist of the Week, 1/15/12: Andre Derain

2012-01-15T01:00:00.002-06:00

Derain, Charing Cross Bridge

"Whedon says we'll see The Avengers through Captain America's eyes"

2012-01-14T21:41:00.003-06:00

Of course! A promising solution to the problem of too many characters.

For the Blastr story, follow the link in the title above.

David Simmons' "Heroes" Book

2012-01-14T16:22:00.001-06:00

David's new Heroes collection is out from McFarland.

With a blurb by me.

Old (Cult) Home Week on "Supernatural"

2012-01-14T14:40:00.004-06:00

Jason Dohring AND Nicholas Lea (Veronica Mars' Logan Echols and The X-Files Alex Krycek) both making appearances (as the God of Time Chronos and Eliot Ness (!) respectively--in last night's "Time after Time after Time."

Robert Frost, New Spokesperson for Jeep

2012-01-14T07:24:00.004-06:00

I did a double take when I heard the voice of Robert Frost himself over a Jeep ad showing The Wrangler performing admirably in the snow:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
--"Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening"

Artist of the Week, 1/14/12: Andre Derain

2012-01-14T01:00:00.002-06:00

Derain, The Turning Road, L'Estaque

Bain Capitol/Mitt/"Pretty Woman"

2012-01-13T18:12:00.001-06:00

[Fumbling with his tie, Edward (Richard Gere) tells Vivian (Julia Roberts) about his business.]
Vivian: You don't actually have a billion dollars, huh?
Edward: No. I get some of it from banks, investors… it's not an easy thing to do.
Vivian: And you don't make anything…
Edward: No.
Vivian: … and you don't build anything.
Edward: No.
Vivian: So whadda ya do with the companies once you buy 'em?
Edward: I sell them.
[Viv reaches for his tie.]
Vivian: Here, let me do that. You sell them.
Edward: Well, I… don't sell the whole company, I break it up into pieces, and then I sell that off, it's worth more than the whole.
Vivian: So, it's sort of like, um… stealing cars and selling 'em for parts, right?
Edward: [sighs exasperatedly] Yeah, sort of. But legal.

Tip of the hat to Andrew Sullivan.

"PRESIDENT ROMNEY MEETS OTHER WORLD LEADERS"

2012-01-13T08:17:00.002-06:00

Calvin Trillin takes an hilarious peak into the future (link in the title above).

Fallon Does TeBowie ("Tim Tebow to Jesus Christ")

2012-01-13T07:30:00.002-06:00

Utterly hilarious.

Becoming a Comedy Writer

2012-01-13T07:22:00.002-06:00

I didn't start out to become a comedy writer. It was a decision made for me by every law school in the country.
--Alan Zweibel (part of the original SNL writing team on Morning Joe, 1/13/12)

Talk at Columbia State Community College

2012-01-13T07:20:00.008-06:00

I have agreed to do the keynote for a lecture series at Columbia State Community College (link in the title). My talk will be 6 pm, the evening of February 13. Title:

Postmodern Mythic Television: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, Supernatural, and Lost

Here's the series description.

The Humanities Social Science Lecture Series
Spring 2012
The subject of the Spring lecture series will be myth, fairy tale, fable, and fantasy as it is redigested in the millennial era. The topics of the lectures will be explorations of how myth is reused in modern culture. Myths transformed, remixed, and re-examined in the humanities and the social sciences illustrate the eternity of mythic ideas. The current exploration of myths in the film, Red Riding Hood, the television shows Grimm, Once Upon a Time, and the graphic novels Bill Williamson’s Fables, and Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen show that myth is being revived in vivid ways that render the metaphors transparent to modern audiences rediscovering this material.

Artist of the Week, 1/13/12: Andre Derain

2012-01-13T01:00:00.002-06:00

Derain, The Pool of London

"Dogs Against Romney"

2012-01-12T20:13:00.003-06:00

A new website (follow the link in the title).

According to Rachel Maddow, attempts are under way (inspired by Dan Savage's successful conspiracy to redefine "Santorum") to fix the definition of "Romney" as

to defecate in terror

The source of all this is of course the incredible tale (first revealed here) of how the Romney family's diarrhetic dog was constrained on the roof of their station wagon on a drive from Boston to Ontario.

Artist of the Week, 1/12/12: Andre Derain

2012-01-12T01:00:00.002-06:00

Derain, Bathers

The Whosters at the BBC

2012-01-11T13:03:00.004-06:00

Our Whoers at the BBC Television Centre: clockwise from the far left: Dr. Lavery, Eric Hall, Tim Reitnouer, Lauren Magee, Lindsey Alley, Justin Taylor, Crysta Simms, Dawn Hall, Lauren Black

Romney Vows to Undo Everything Obama Has Done: ‘I Will Make Bin Laden Alive Again’

2012-01-11T12:06:00.002-06:00

Andy Borowitz again scoops everyone else. For the story go to the link in the title.

Idiotic Hatred

2012-01-11T12:00:00.002-06:00

It matters not where he was born; this man is deeply and fiercely alien to the American tradition. He thinks ordinary Americans "cling" to Gods and guns because we are "bitter." He believes we should "redistribute the wealth." He thinks cops are "stupid" for politely asking a Harvard professor to show proof of residence when a neighbor reported a burglary in progress. He thinks that if Congress doesn't immediately do his bidding, he can ignore the Constitution because he supposedly has a superceding need to"act." He thinks government has a right to tell people when they have made "too much money." He is an alien menace.
--Quin Hillyer, American Spectator

Andrew Sullivan just nominated this for his Hewitt award.

The Hewitt Award - named after the absurd partisan fanatic, Hugh Hewitt, is given for the most egregious attempts to label Barack Obama as un-American, alien, treasonous, and far out of the mainstream of American life and politics.

"Fidel Castro says 90 percent of Americans would vote for a robot"

2012-01-11T07:59:00.001-06:00

Come on Fidel! Romney doesn't have that much support.

Read the story by following the link in the title.

"MITT ROMNEY’S HAIRCUT WILL NOT BE DENIED"

2012-01-11T07:23:00.002-06:00

Jesse Adelman's piece (from McSweeney's) can be found at the link in the title above.

Artist of the Week, 1/11/12: Andre Derain

2012-01-11T01:00:00.002-06:00

Derain, Collioure

Good News, Bad News

2012-01-10T15:44:00.002-06:00

A doctor (to a patient): "I have good news and bad news for you."
The patient: Let me hear the good news first."
The doctor: "You have a terminal disease and only have 24 hours to live."
The patient: "That's the good news? What's the bad news?"
The doctor: "I have been trying to call you since yesterday."
--Deepak Chopra on The Dylan Ratigan Show

"Indecision 2012 - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Wealthy"

2012-01-10T14:35:00.003-06:00

Jon investigates "Fat Cats vs. Crumb Bums."

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Indecision 2012 - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Wealthy

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"Rick Santorum on Gays & Bla People"

2012-01-10T14:30:00.001-06:00

Rick Santorum on Gays & Bla People

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c