Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – Xtreme Vacation Catch-Up Edition

Hey guys! I’m back! I’m unpacked, I’m fed, the Episode Guides are caught up, I’ve got a good night’s sleep (and a nap) under my belt, and now comes the fun task. Zeitgeist time. I’ve been gone for a week, so this is going to be a doozy of a catch-up. Whee!

Also, I want to give out a serious shout out to Jennie, the unofficial NoFactZone.net Web Researcher, who spends a ton of time finding things for the readers of the blog and made much of this Zeitgeist possible. I need to seriously officially recruit her and give her a title or something.

Northwestern University Homecoming Parade (did I mention I WAS THERE!?)

• Colbert: The College years: Twenty years later, the ‘poet/jerk’ will be Northwestern Homecoming honcho – Chicago Sun-Times: GREAT article with a very This Is Your Life feel – “”I was a real poet-slash-jerk,” the star of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report” said of his collegiate self. “You know, I had a beard, and I wore black, and I was really willing to share my grief with you.”"
• Colbert Leads Northwestern Univ. Parade – WashingtonPost.com: “Sporting a purple Northwestern hooded sweat shirt, the host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” rode as grand marshal in a Volkswagen convertible surrounded by cheering fans, some carrying signs touting “Colbert for Commencement.”"
• Parade is Colbert’s show: Comedy Central star returns to Northwestern – Chicago Sun-Times: “Trading his signature suit and tie for khakis and a purple hooded sweatshirt with Northwestern on it, Colbert grinned widely as he mugged for photos and signed autographs — all before climbing into a convertible that would ferry him down the mile-long parade route.”

Wikipedia/Wikiality

• Wikipedia and the Trust Factor – TechNewsWorld.com: “Then there is vandalism, much of it anonymous mischief, but occasionally surfacing publicly, as when the U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert asked viewers to vandalize the page on elephants by inserting the bogus claim that the elephant population has tripled in the past six months.”
• C.U. ‘Wiki’ Experts Discuss Site’s Future – Cornell Daily Sun (Cornell University): “Moreover, Lowe thinks that Wikipedia will inspire many other wiki-type projects. Already, there are a number of spin-offs that are inspired by Wikipedia. Citizendium.org, Uncyclopedia.org, Wikia.com and, most recently, Wikiality.com, are become increasingly popular. The latter one, Wikiality.Com, was mentioned by Stephen Colbert during Wednesday’s show. Its main page boasts, “There’s a level of truth and meaning beyond what’s ‘demonstrably true,’ and that’s what we’re dedicated to keeping track of.””
• Wikipedia Co-Founder Launches Rival Site – DigitalJournal.com: “In order to put a dent in Wikipedia’s business, Citizendium must offer users an attractive interface and solid credibility. The past year has seen Wikipedia withstand attacks from critics who charge the site with half-truths and restrictive policies (In August, Wikipedia banned comedian Stephen Colbert after he asked his TV viewers to make edits to the site’s articles). Perhaps Wikipedia isn’t as glorious as it can be, but Citizendium doesn’t yet have the cachet that rockets a site into the top 20.”

Politics

• Running for office? Better run from Colbert: Lawmakers are wary of his Comedy Central show, which often gives them enough cable to hang themselves. – LA Times: Full-length article about Colbert – “What really got the attention of House members was the experience of Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.). Colbert told him he was free to make even the most outrageous statements because he was running for reelection unopposed. Then Colbert coaxed Wexler into a spoof declaration that he enjoyed cocaine and prostitutes because “it’s a fun thing to do.”"
• More than a hint of mirth in the scolding for scandal: Washington insiders have a case of ‘Folier than thou’ – Chron.com: “But then who are all the people watching David Letterman and Jay Leno, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, and laughing — laughing! — at Foley’s shenanigans? Who are the people cracking jokes on the Internet? They are so distressed that they can’t stop giggling, and they find the whole subject so distasteful that they can’t get enough of it. This is not a traditional case of politicians’ hypocrisy. This is politicians accommodating the hypocrisy of voters.”
• Political friction leads to useless partisan bickering – Northern Star (Northern Illinois University): “Three weeks ago, my grandma, two of my brothers and myself were watching one of the corporate news channels spew the daily lithium to the masses. Joe Scarborough happened to be asking another half-thought out question dealing with whether or not Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are good for the morale of our country.”
• Stephen Colbert puts Monroe, 19th district on the map – Times Herald-Record: “Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report” host Stephen Colbert hit home for Hudson Valley residents Thursday night. Our own 19th district (“THE FIGHTIN’ 19th!”) became No. 35 in Colbert’s 434-part series “Better Know a District.” The sporadic series spotlights a district — so far primarily from the east coast — spoofing its history and usually interviewing a representative or candidate from that district.”
• Name confusion in N.J. congressional race – United Press International: “It turns out the similarity is causing confusion as well as an opportunity for comedy as recently pointed out by news pundit Stephen Colbert on his Comedy Central show.”
• The Word Should Be “Yes” – Yankton Daily: “We know this is going to be a devastating blow to some, but a good-natured THUMBS DOWN to Rep. Stephanie Herseth, who told the Press & Dakotan this week she doubts she would agree to do a segment on Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report.” Host Stephen Colbert does a regular series, “Better Know A District,” wherein he features a U.S. representative from one of the country’s 435 congressional districts. Granted, Colbert, a sharp-witted comedian whose on-air personality is a hilarious amalgamation of the ego and pomposity displayed by so many TV “news” talk show hosts, usually makes these politicians look a tad foolish. But it’s FUNNY! We’ve been hoping to see Herseth get her send-up on the series, but she said that while the series is indeed funny, she isn’t interested in having herself and her constituents in the “Fightin’ First” (and only) becoming the butt of Colbert’s jokes. We can see where you’re coming from, Stephanie, but if you’re asked to do the show, please throw caution to the wind and err on the side of humor!”
• Foes trying not to take vote’s result for granted – Philly.com: “But Sexton has taken advantage of some newer politicking methods, too. Last month on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, he played the straight man in one of Stephen Colbert’s fake news skits, which played off the one-vowel difference in the opponents’ names.”

Saginaw Spirit and Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle

• Spirit name mascot after Colbert – The Valley Vanguard (Saginaw Valley State University): “Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle has been at the heart of the publicity, transforming the Spirit from a local minor league hockey team to a sort of underground pop culture media darling. Colbert pleaded with his viewers (who he calls “nation”) in mid-August to bombard the Spirit’s Web site with votes that would attach his name to the new six-foot mascot. Since then, the show and the organization have formed an eccentric partnership that has drawn the attention of local media as well as put the Spirit on the proverbial national map.”
• HE’S GOT SPIRIT: What’s an OHLteam doing on Comedy Central? – Edmontonsun.com: ““It was pure luck,’’ said Spirit media relations director Bill Kenesko. “We could lie and say we orchestrated the whole thing but we didn’t. Their interns came across the fact we were having a name the mascot contest. And he loves having things named after him.’’”
• Sports Illustrated Features Spirit and Steagle – OurSportsCentral.com: “Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle, the newest mascot of the Saginaw Spirit Hockey Club, was featured in this week’s Sports Illustrated, dated for October 16th 2006. The bi-weekly sports publication covered the connection between the Spirit and the Colbert Report, as well as Steagle’s unveiling ceremony.”
• Colbert… you’re ‘On Notice’! – Munrofiles.blogspot.com: The Mayor of Owen Sound calls Stephen out – “To-day, the whole city seems to be talking about your show – I am stunned… I have come to realise that nobody here sleeps. It is little wonder we are such a bustling city when you consider it never rests. This is a fabulous place – a national winner of Communities in Bloom and many, many other awards and accolades. I would like to invite you to come, as my guest, to a home game when Saginaw is in town. Then you can see what a real team is like…I think it would be fun.”

Stephen Colbert’s Influence on Contemporary Comedy

• Want to Know What’s Really Going on? Ask a Comic: The reemergence of confrontational political humor – UTNE.com: Interesting take on the June ’06 Letterman interview that I didn’t see when I watched it live – “A similarly illustrative incident, which passed with barely a notice, took place a few weeks later, when Colbert appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and made the host as uncomfortable as he had the president’s apologists.”
• U of C hosts Atlantic Monthly anniversary – Chicago Maroon (University of Chicago): “Buckley called the contemporary political world a “target-rich environment” for satire. He said humorists such as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are “organic outgrowths of a corrupt bureaucracy,” and that Chicago’s Onion is the “brilliant” epicenter of satire in America.”
• Politics ambushed by satire: is the US finally losing its innocence? – TimesOnline.co.uk: “The Daily Show has even inspired a spin-off, The Colbert Report, hosted by Stephen Colbert, a “fake” rightwing news anchor, who was surprisingly invited to speak at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, attended by George W. Bush. “I stand by this man because he stands for things,” said Colbert. “Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers . . . and recently flooded city squares.” The speech was greeted with near-silence, but became an overnight YouTube hit. T-shirts bearing the slogan “Stewart/Colbert ’08” are now sold across the US, and Colbert’s speech became the No 1 download on iTunes.”
• Point-Counterpoint: A Colbert nation – Is the comedian an innocent prankster or is he abusing his celebrity? – Daily Utah Chronicle (University of Utah): “The point is this: Yes, it’s a comedy show, but to deny the influence of Colbert and buddy John Stewart on our generation, especially when it comes to our political impressions, is na’ve. These recent stunts illustrate that the audience is strongly controlled by the content of these shows and their hosts. That demands a high level of responsibility and awareness, not smart-ass-ery. Few people were actually harmed by these antics, but it is not too difficult to imagine a scenario in which Colbert might call for all fans to vote for him as president in 2008, and how many of us would listen then? What we love about the show is Colbert’s ability to point out the stupidity of some of our leaders, to hold them accountable and to ask them the questions no one else will. But if we are held in such blind obedience to the content of the show, its message slips past us.”

Colbert Report guests

• Author David Kuo on ‘Colbert Report;’ Not So Conservative – NewsBusters.org: “Just who is David Kuo? For starters, he used to be the Deputy Director of the Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives. Additionally, he has now written a book claiming the Bush White House is selling out evangelical Christians. But is he as conservative as the media would have Americans believe? The author appeared on the October 18 edition of “The Colbert Report” and seemed to fit right in with “pretend right-winger” Stephen Colbert.”
• Still keepin’ it short and sweet – Miami Herald: Randy Newman – “On a recent episode of The Colbert Report, Randy Newman performed a viciously funny song about a trigger-happy leader who decides to blow away most of the rest of the world because it’s not properly grateful for American largesse.”
• Stephen Colbert interviews 2003 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Peter Agre: – Blogs.foreignpolicy.com:
  “Colbert: You said ‘anyone who grew up on a farm knows that evolution exists’. Ok, are you saying a monkey can milk a cow?

  Agre: Well, if I can milk a cow I suspect a monkey as smart as I am can milk a cow.

  Colbert: Are there monkeys as smart as you?

  Agre: I’m sure there are quite a few, quite a few.

  Colbert: Oh really? mmhum. Do they give a Nobel prize for thowing your own feces?

  Agre: ……..That’s the Economics prize, I think.”

Night of Too Many Stars

• Brunch & Entertainment – MontereyHerald.com: I CALLED IT! He *was* thinking about Barbarella! – “Bravo to Jon Stewart, Robert Smigel and the rest of the comic superstars who helped raise more than $2 million for autism education at Comedy Central’s “Night of Too Many Stars” at the Beacon in New York last Sunday. As for Stephen Colbert, he seemed to still be drifting on the memory of Jane Fonda blindsiding him with a kiss on “The Colbert Report” last week. “She was fantastic,” Colbert told us. “There’s still a little Barbarella left in there.”"

One Year Anniversary

• ‘Colbert Report’ has its one-year anniversary – STLtoday.com: “”The Colbert Report” is celebrating its one-year anniversary by offering the show’s devoted audience — the “Colbert Nation” — a piece of its leader.”
• O’Reilly vs. Letterman: Round 3! And, “The Colbert Report” turns one! – SeattlePI.com: “Which reminds me — “The Colbert Report” turned one last night, as fans know, but thinking about all the Colbert Nation’s leader has accomplished within a single year is a humbling experience.A partial recap includes:

  –Had viewers flood a website with votes to get a Hungarian bridge named after him. Ultimately the honor was revoked because in order to have a bridge named after a person in Hungary, the honoree must speak Hungarian. A little time in a Berlitz class can fix that, right?. But there was another tiny detail — the honoree has to be dead. A steep price for a bridge, don’t you agree?

  –Inspired the San Francisco Zoo to name a baby bald eagle after him, Stephen Jr. Li’l Steven grew up, and via a tracking device, was discovered to have flown to Canada, much to Colbert’s dismay.

  –Had the mascot of the Saginaw Spirit, an OHL Junior hockey team, named “Steagle” in his honor.

  –Shredded White House policy, and the president, as the featured speaker at the White House Correspondents Association dinner.

  And now? He’s auctioning off the portrait of himself hanging above the set’s mantle (which displays him standing in front of another portrait of himself) on eBay. All proceeds from the sale will go to Save the Children; as of this posting, the bidding was up to $3,250. Replacing the painting is another portrait, which depicts Colbert standing in front of the other portrait.”

Colbert Report staff

• Collecting MadVideos — Ben Karlin stumps for the Wisconsin Union – TheDailyPage.com: “Ben Karlin is easily one of the better-known UW alumni who graduated in the ’90s. After editing The Onion from 1993-96 and spending time writing for a variety of TV shows the following three years, he jumped on board as the senior writer at The Daily Show only months after the arrival of Jon Stewart. Since that time, Karlin has ascended to the role of Executive Producer with that show and The Colbert Report, the year-old program he helped launch with Stewart and Stephen Colbert.”
• ‘Colbert’ staff writer’s edgy advisory to debut here – Chicago Sun-Times: “Peter Gwinn, a former Chicago improv actor now on the Colbert team, gives his prescriptions for happier living in a musical about to make its local debut.”
• Interview with Jay Katsir, writer for The Colbert Report. – North by Northwestern (Northwestern University):
  I love interviews like this. I love hearing the processes behind the comedy, and this article gives some very interesting glimpses into the creation of The Colbert Report on a daily basis.

  “So, what’s it like working for Stephen Colbert?

  It’s great, I mean I really love the job and I really like working with everyone there. It’s like a regime of niceness from the top down. I think the stereotype for late night comedy shows is a competitive atmosphere, but I personally feel like it’s a very supportive, collaborative and positive atmosphere. That comes from Stephen all the way down. It’s pretty great. He’s a really nice guy. He’s nothing like his character”

Viacom roast

• Tom toasted, Viacom roasted – Variety.com: “A Gotham luncheon for Tom Freston turned into a lovefest as Peter Chernin, Stephen Colbert and Judy McGrath toasted and roasted the ousted Viacom honcho — from his spiked hair and youthful Afghan adventures to his fat severance package.”
• New York Roast Puts Freston on the Spit – TVWeek.com: “Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert congratulated Mr. Freston for ruining America’s youth and economy by creating the MTV generation. But Mr. Colbert also saluted Mr. Freston for exporting MTV abroad. “What’s awful in America is fantastic when we do it to foreign countries,” he said, delighting in the idea that members of the Taliban might be attempting stunts from “Jackass.”"

Gratuitous Name Dropping

• Fox News: Increasing The Republican Vote Tally, One Viewer At A Time – Huffington Post: This article is just more evidence of the eCrush that Huffington Post has on Stephen. The article has no reference to Colbert per se, just a screencap of him and this – “Note: Stephen Colbert is not on the Fox News Channel, we just like this graphic.”
• Thoughts On The US Midterm Elections – Swans.com:
  Even if TV faux conservative Stephen Colbert had tongue in cheek when he advised his New York Magazine interviewer that he was a big fan of Nixon, these words are still worth considering:
  Here’s something Colbertophiles might not know or might not want to know: He loves Richard Nixon. He has a 1972 Nixon campaign poster on the wall of his office. He points at it and says, “He was so liberal! Look at what he was running on. He started the EPA. He opened China. He gave 18-year-olds the vote. His issues were education, drugs, women, minorities, youth involvement, ending the draft, and improving the environment. John Kerry couldn’t have run on this! What would I give for a Nixon?”
• ‘Kakistocracy’ – angry political CD from Spicewood Seven – home.nestor.minsk.by: “The CD has garnered rave-reviews for its no-punches-pulled approach — think Stephen Colbert in a cowboy hat.”
• THEATER REVIEW: Cast, tunes headline ‘Newsical’ revue – Dallas Morning News: “Newsical may not be quite as timely as, say, The Daily Show. But would you trust a guy like Stephen Colbert to carry a tune?” Um … yeah, actually, we would.
• Top 5: My sitcom life – The Badger Herald (University of Wisconsin): The author of this article lists his top five favorite sitcoms – “No. 5: “Strangers With Candy.” Amy Sedaris is Jerri Blank, a middle-aged ex-junkie former whore, trying her best to get her life together by returning to the ingeniously oxymoronic Flat Point High. This was Comedy Central’s first live-action sitcom, and it lasted a mere three seasons. However, these three seasons are packed with so much offensive, off-color, over-the-top hilarity that the show cannot be ignored. Along with the homosexual affair between the ballsy Stephen Colbert and the always-awkward Paul Dinello, “Strangers with Candy” toyed with the conventions of traditional sitcoms and after-school specials.”
• No. 81: East Winds Asian Cuisine – OCweekly.com: “What tha? In the immortal words of Stephen Colbert, “I don’t have the slightest idea what you just said.””