EPISODE NUMBER: 5086 (June 24, 2009)
GUEST: Matthew Crawford
SEGMENTS: Stephen Colbert’s Sport Report
VIDEOS: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
That audience last night was on fire! So chanty! Love spontaneous bouts of chanting for no apparent reason. For those who were wondering if Stephen was going to go light on Mark Sanford, we got the definitive answer of Hell No last night. Stephen falling asleep at his desk made me laugh out loud really hard. And I loved the doctored Better Know a District.
I wish I could have been in the writer’s room when the discussion of “which major sporting team has the gayest mascot?” And living with a home-grown Wisconsin boy, the sport of Brett Favre retirement watching is a pretty serious event in my home.
I enjoyed Matthew Crawford’s interview quite a bit. It was a bit laid back, and Matthew made a lot of good points about work and intention. I definitely want to pick up that book. And if you’re in southeastern Colorado, a little south of Pueblo, you may have won the ‘Colbert Report’ Random GPS Coordinate Lottery. Click here to find the exact location for Latitude: 37.718 and Longitude: -102.656.
What was your favorite part of the show tonight?
- They are so prolific. Joe’s eyebrows aren’t the only thing that comes out with something new every 3 months.
- Mark Sanford, a man who is so boring, he lives up to his nickname – Mark Sanford.
- No, Jimmy, that’s a blank sheet of paper. No, Jimmy, that’s vanilla ice cream. No, that’s a blank sheet of paper again. Oh, wait, that’s him.
- Wow, the Appalachian trail is longer than I thought.
- What a shocking, shocking turn of events. I would never in my life believe that Mark Sanford was capable of doing something interesting.
- Perhaps very interesting? This person, that person? Really? That’s the phrase I use when I’m talking about Jackie, a “person” I met in the meat packing district with an adam’s apple and hands like canoe paddles. Could this be “that” interesting?
- First up – Soccer, the sport for fourth graders that foreign people take seriously.
- Gooooooooooooals are what I’m told are scored in Soccer.
- Those are guys, right?
- Anytime you bring politics onto the field, you lose. Let’s face it, the Oakland Raiders might not have lost 75% of their games over the past 6 seasons if their logo hadn’t been a clear endorsement of gay rights. An eyepatch and a leather helmet? Message received.
- I’m no fan of tennis. If I wanted to see men in short shorts running around hitting balls with a paddle, I’d go on the internet.
- Law & Order: Tennis Integrity Unit
- That’s right, the national passtime of Brett Favre retirement watching. A sport that has lasted more seasons than the XFL.
- Of course, Green Bay would love to help Favre become a Viking by putting him on a boat and setting it on fire.
- You are both a philosopher and a mechanic. Which one of you is not wearing the tie.
- I do nothing but pass judgement. I’m doing it right now.
- So you helped damage knowledge itself while doing this job. Well done.
- Why did you not say “bad”? That sounds so very University of Chicago.
I haven’t seen the show yet, but I just figured out why that “you are both a philosopher and a mechanic” line rang a bell. I have Matthew Crawford’s book on my desk at work right now. It really does look interesting; can’t wait to see the interview now.
I love that line about making Brett Favre a Viking by putting him on a boat and setting it on fire. I really wish the guy would just make up his mind already, and then go away.
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The Mark Sanford segment was all I thought it would be! Absolutely LOVE the doctored clips and the line: “capable of doing something interesting.” I only wish Stephen had reclaimed the governorship–he can really pull off wearing a crown!
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So many things I loved about this episode: the Sanford segment, especially the doctored interview & the pillow; Law & Order: Tennis Integrity Unit – partly for the animated tennis ball, but mostly for Stephen’s character break; Matthew Crawford’s interview.
Two things really resonated (sorry; learned that word in grad school!) with me during Crawford’s interview: the abstract-writing job & the vocational-academic tracking remark. I know how long it took me to write (and re-write!) my abstract for my masters thesis. I can’t imagine spewing 28 of them every day. Granted, I was emotionally invested in my thesis, which made the writing more time-consuming. However, it really made me wonder about the accuracy of the abstracts I read while researching my thesis.
The vocational-academic tracking is a hot-button topic for me. I teach HS students with learning disabilities. I detest tracking personally, although I have several colleagues who long for the Good Ol’ Days. Since NCLB (a.k.a., No Child Left Untested), as important as raising academic expectations is for all students, especially those with LDs, the vocational programs in my county are being decimated – It’s not on “The Test,” therefore, it’s not as important. OK, I’ll get off my soap-box now; today’s my first day of summer vacation (shaking fist: SNOW DAYS!!!!), so I’m still in teacher-gear; need to downshift.
Question about the doctored interview: I know Stephen’s was a voice-over, but Sanford’s reply didn’t seem to be. Are there out-takes somewhere that they edited into the original segment?
DB, thanks for the latitude-longitude coordinates link. I was wondering where that was – kind of hoping it was in Buenos Aires. ;)
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I read many abstracts as well to determine if there is a connection to my dissertation topic. Crazy to think they could be watered down. My hope is that more synopsis are like yours [and the ones I have done, too] because we have a greater connection to the research and are educators as opposed to scientists. Does that make sense?! :)
I also agree with you 100% about vocational ed. Where would we be without those who have the mental capacity and physical refinement to work on cars, plumbing/electric wiring, cook/bake, construct, etc.? I am truly in awe of those who can diagnose a problem and fix it! But, hey, I can create a heck of a unit plan!
Happy Summer Vacation! It must feel soooo good!
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What? Oh no! Really? The Cubs are going to be on Comcast SportsNet Chicago – no, WGN, in just a few minutes at 12:05 in a “let’s hope the Tigers don’t eat the Cubbies for lunch” interleague game at Detroit. I must hurry! (trying to allay your fears early that I may not drone on and on)
Yawn . . . yawn . . . yawn . . . .zzzzzzzzzzz. How funny with Stephen’s falling asleep with his head on a pillow at his desk. The doctoring of Stephen’s previous Sanford interview, as mentioned by DB, was a really funny, nice touch (as Garfield would say). How many politicians in a row is that now with their extramarital affairs? Yes, Stephen’s advice “time to step it up, north carolina governor, might i suggest an affair with a tranny in nicaragua” would make it far more interesting next time, wouldn’t it?
At least our very own Rod Blagojevich around here still has his Patti (his wife) and has done something far more original like sending her subbing (you can tell the teacher in me) for him out to Costa Rica to eat bugs on a jungle reality TV show (the courts wouldn’t let him go when he requested it, if you remember). Yes, what a sharing, loving couple. Remember Patti being heard in the background of a Rod phone conversation giving advice to her hubby, something akin to “fuck him – he doesn’t know how much that’s worth.” Anyway, something like it. Don’t quote me exactly. Here she’s known as Lady Macbeth. I wish you guys could read John Kass’ column regularly (so funny) in our Chicago Tribune – Kass is almost my Stephen Colbert in print, not really – actually not at all, well . . . (too long to explain – the Cubs will be on)
And that brings me to . . . oops – no time to go into that interview with Matthew Crawford (I can imagine you all crying) Got to go.
I bet you can guess that I voted for the Governor Mark Sanford segment. I bet most of you will do so too.
Go Cubbies!
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I don’t know how this worked out in your part of the country, but here in LA, right after the Sanford segment, Comedy Central cut to the commmercial for Dos Equis’ “most interesting man in the world” campaign! The timing of that was just too beautiful. If you’re curious as to what commmerical I’m talking about, it’s here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2SSZA0CjdQ
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I liked the interview best.
I honestly think that Gov Sanford’s story is so bizarre it doesn’t need Colbert to make it funny.
the interview was neat. I didn’t know about those abstracts. I was actually thinking how that was a job I wouldn’t mind doing. anyway, I use those abstracts a lot to find information to write papers for school, and I have found instances where the abstract was a bit misleading, though I couldn’t point you to them now. little things, like where the focus of the abstract doesn’t really seem to match the focus of the paper, or a key term is omitted.
I also like the idea that doing physical tasks requires creativity. I find myself usually rather slow and unable with those sorts of tasks. I think people who are capable with them are definitely doing something right in the brain. there are little moments of things clicking in my mind that apparently don’t happen. I’m better at other things, though, I think?
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Doctored BKAD!! Sleeping Stephen! :)
I loved the interview best. And I love the title of the book. I don’t really mind reading journal articles, horribly abstracted or otherwise. As I copy edit for a living, I learn a lot of new things everyday by reading articles on tourism, architecture, population studies, religion, wind energy, etc. What I don’t like are the horrible deadlines we encounter daily that greatly reduce our time in reading and editing them for style and sound and sense. Sometimes when I turn my work in I feel I could have done better. So the moments of pleasure derived from doing good work that I genuinely enjoy are (sometimes) diminished.
I also love the idea of creativity and reconnecting with the concrete and the material in making and building things. I can only do that in my head, but I’m admittedly horrible when it comes to execution, so I really admire and envy those who are able to work with their hands and produce something beautiful.
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I loved the Mark Sanford segment. When Jimmy was looking for a picture of Sanford made me crack up. :)
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