EPISODE NUMBER: 5070 (May 20, 2009)
GUEST: Seth Shostak
SEGMENTS: John Yoo, Bob Graham, DonorsChoose.org
VIDEOS: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 (Full access video)
Oh, I needed a good laugh, and tonight was full of them. The mental image of Stephen trying to pack with a blog is just funny. I liked Bob Graham’s appearance, if only to drive home the fact that Nancy Pelosi was kind of right this whole week.
I’m so glad to see DonorsChoose.org is getting so much support from the Colbert Nation. And I really loved how Stephen kept slipping back and forth between Stephen and “Stephen” the entire interview. It was interesting to hear his arguments for and against alien life.
Normally I watch the show twice before posting, once for the quotes, and then come back for substance for the commentary. But I had to sneak over to CBS to see Stephen on “Late Show with David Letterman”. I admit I cheated and only watched the interview – did I miss any other Colbert references during the show? We’ll post video as soon as it’s available.
Oh, and one other small thing – for those of you who read Stephen’s Twitter feed, it appears that DonorsAreToldWhatTheyAreGoingToDoAndTheyllLikeItDamnit.org has already been claimed. Very nice.
- I think newspapers are an important part of our lives. Not to read, of course. But when you’re moving, you can’t wrap your dishes in a blog.
- He had all the qualifications they were looking for, in that they were afraid to tell him No.
- For people who claim to be against torture, they’re doing some pretty unspeakable things to the English language.
- This dude could justify selling Dolphin-kabobs at a PETA convention.
- House speaker Nancy Pelosi is up to her Elmo-sized eyeballs in media guano over what she did or did not know about waterboarding.
- Meticulous means pathologically OCD, right?
- Hey, Bob Graham, no one wants to read every detail of your life. Oh, I should Twitter that.
- They can’t let you know that you were there.
- Sorry, Technical Difficulties!
- [DonorsChoose.org] is just like real military funding, in that the Coast Guard is getting spanked.
- I support young pundits looking to break into the business, and I give all of them the same advice – Stay away from my time slot, or I will crush you.
- On the bright side, it does help provide the student with hot lunches.
- You’re an alien hunter – how many alien heads do you have up on the wall of your den?
- They may not exist, in which case your life is meaningless.
- Science just continues to make mankind insignificant.
- Sorry, sir, I’m not one of the Blame Humanity First crowd.
- Shostak: We do the same thing as Jodie Foster in Contact … Stephen: Act and attempt to be attracted to Matthew McConaughey?
- What will these people be like? Will they be attractive, like space ladies in bikinis, like in the movies I saw as a child. Have you seen Star Trek? That’s a great movie.
- People with arms and legs sometimes don’t think either.
“And I really loved how Stephen kept slipping back and forth between Stephen and ‘Stephen’ the entire interview.”
DB that’s one of my favorite things about Stephen in general, the way he can go in and out of “Stephen” as the moment demands, and so seamlessly. I should really rewatch this one over breakfast, and Letterman as well because I flipped also, even though as I expected he didn’t come on with Dave till TCR was almost over.
A lot of great lines tonight, whether written or improvised, especially the “wrapping dishes in a blog” and “people with arms and legs don’t always think either.” I love his playing up DonorsChoose and with such great humor. Fun show.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
OK, I was going to try to vote for the Letterman interview– it fit in so well with the show ending, it felt like another segment. but that was very fun, and my opinions regarding it are for another comment.
I did not watch this show particularly closely, which is never fun. I definitely liked the comment about beings with arms and legs not necessarily thinking. also, I still think Twitter is *so cool lol* so I like to see jokes about it.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I loved the Donors Choose segment and was pleasantly surprised when he mentioned one of the projects I helped out during his Birthday Give-Back!
Stephen should definitely honor himself in his next “Who’s Honoring Me Now!?!” segment. It is quite deserving and would be hilarious!
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I love a good grammar joke: “For people who claim to be against torture, they’re doing some pretty unspeakable things to the English language.” Favorite line of the night. : )
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I enjoyed the interview. Mr. Shostak looked like he was straight out the 70s with those sideburns and the coloring of his suit. I don’t know why, but I somehow associate aliens with the 1970s. Maybe it’s all those Steven Spielberg movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind made during that time.
recaptcha: akins neighbor (possibly an alien neighbor?!)
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I love how Stephen is all over the torture debate. He mopped the floor w/ Yoo and his enablers/employers. Also his final quip w/ Graham, “Buy this book if you OWN America” was a great jab at the power elites and corporate honchos. Brilliant.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I found it interesting that the Pentagon had stationed Watusi warriors with blowguns to make sure that Stephen’s destination stayed classified since that was the kind of dart he plucked out of his neck.
That kind of says something about the audience of TCR if someone like that can blend in and go unoticed in the crowd doesn’t it?
recaptcha: Disqualified noggins
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
Okay, much as I enjoyed Stephen bringing the DonorsChoose.org love again, it was that segment on John Yoo that was particularly beautiful in my eyes. Those column headlines were awesome!!
Stephen telling Shostak that his (Shostak’s) life was meaningless in the interview was also hilarious. Delicious show.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
Yes! I loved all those headlines!
I enjoyed the interview with Shostak as well. And I agree about those sideburns and his suit. He was a good sport though and I find his research interesting although I guess I could say I’m an agnostic on the subject.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
Absolutely agree on the headlines – best laugh of the whole show!!
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I liked the interview a lot — Shostak seemed genuinely pleased with Stephen’s humor, played along well, but was able to passionately and articulately get his information across. I liked the sideburns. :) I liked that it seemed like he was just himself – just enough out of the ordinary to be an individual, but not so out there to make you cringe. He seems like he’d be fun to be around in person.
all of the other segments were so good too — loved having Bob Graham on, the part about Yoo was great, and I love hearing about Donors Choose. (I think it’s pretty noteworthy that Stephen is able to repeatedly take a whole segment to plug a charity, and it never gets boring, old, or preachy.) So, it’s another night I can’t pick one segment over another to vote!
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
The John Yoo segment cracked me up! All hail the TCR writers! :)
Technical difficulties graphic!! :)
And I liked Seth Shostak’s tie. :)
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
You know, I wonder if anyone’s tallied exactly how much money has been donated to charity through Stephen’s efforts on his show… Well, no time like the present, here goes:
As of January 2008, donations to the Yellow Ribbon Fund had reached $171,525. Donors Choose is at $84,400 for the Support Our Troops campaign so far, and $7,816 for the Give-Back Birthday campaign. So not even including the last 18 months of WristStrong sales, and anything else I’m missing (is there anything I’m missing?), that looks like at least $263,741.
Yowza. Talk about harnessing your influence for good. Kind of makes you just want to smile :)
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
in such a short time, he’s gaining on oprah in terms of book and media sales, and philanthropy. win!
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
by the by, the dart in the neck and smelling salts totally came from the dana carvey show! the charles grodin sketch i am thinking of. way to channel old material, stephen :)!
Shout Out (Hey!):
0