Fantasy Colbert League Weekly: June 29 through July 2nd!
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Hello! and welcome to Fantasy Colbert League Weekly! This is my first attempt at one of these so bear with me as I try out new things. As always, there will be an overview of the guests of the week (subject to change at any time), there will also be a fract (freedom fact), and a picture of the guest.
Monday, June 29 – Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Credit: Frederick M. Brown
Tonight will be the 6th appearance of Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Colbert Report, so most of us know him well. He is an astrophysicist as well as the Director of the Hayden Planetarium. In other words, a member of the nerd patrol. He writes books on astronomy and his latest book is titled “The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet.” Neil was also featured in NoFactZone’s book club.
- Fract: Neil holds the record for guest with the most appearances.
Tuesday, June 30 – Kevin Mattson
Kevin Mattson is the Connor Study Professor of Contemporary History at Ohio University. He has written nine books (if my count is correct) and currently does not have a Wikipedia page (somebody get on that). His latest book is titled “‘What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?’: Jimmy Carter, America’s ‘Malaise,’ and the Speech that Should Have Changed the Country.” He is also working on a book titled “Rebels All!: A Short History of the Conservative Mind in Postwar America.” He is a common sight and/or sound on many radio and television shows.
- Fract: Kevin Mattson was born in Washington D.C. and not in the USA.
Wednesday, July 1 – Lee Siegel
Credit: Darien Library
Lee Siegel is a California born literary critic and author of five novels. One of which, “Love in a Dead Language” was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 1999. He is a professor of religion at The University of Hawaii. His son, Sibastian Siegal is an actor. starting in 1978, Siegel published scholarly studies covering a wide range of subjects including but not limited to comedy, horror, Indian love poetry, and magic.
- Fract: Lee Siegel was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his book “Love in a Dead Language. Unlike Colbert, however, he did not receive the award.
Thursday, July 2 – Ed Viesturs
Credit: Meg and Nathan
Ed Viesturs is a mountain climber, and he is darn good at it. He has climbed Everest seven times and he is one of only fourteen people in the world that have climbed all mountain peaks higher than 8,000 meters; he is the sixth person to do it without oxygen and the first American to ever do it! He has appeared once before on The Colbert Report in March 2007.
- Fract: Ed agreed to plant the Colbert Nation flag atop Everest if he ever climbed it again. Did he when he went in May? Tune in to find out!
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14 Comments
June 30th, 2009 at 7:01 am
Nice job, Cole! Looks like it’s going to be an interesting week.
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June 30th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Thank you
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June 30th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I’m not sure what to think about Lee Siegel’s scheduled appearance. It was quite some time ago now, but the first thing I think of when his name is mentioned is still that sock puppet incident where Siegel was dissing Jon Stewart. It doesn’t exactly predispose me to like him.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, it’s the next thing to impossible not to love Neil deGrasse Tyson. Seriously, he could be on every week and I’d want more (and I still haven’t gotten over his not coming to D.C. to promote his latest book). The Boston Globe did a Q&A with him that I’m really digging; he makes it clear yet again that he thinks Stephen (followed by Jon) is his toughest interviewer, but you can also tell how much he enjoys it.
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June 30th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Ooh! Have I mentioned lately how much I like having you around? I had never heard of the Sock Puppet incident – that’s quite an interesting/irritating story. How could a professional journalist be stupid enough to think he could get away with something like that?!
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June 30th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
It really is nuts, isn’t it?
And it’s good to be back — thanks for the love! :)
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June 30th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I never knew about the sock puppeting incident! Very interesting. I wonder if Stephen and Jon will do a Toss Wednesday night with sock puppets?!
When I think of sock puppets, I have to admit- it reminds me of the Even Stevphen that ended up becoming “The Fox & Goose Show” even though they didn’t use socks.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=124142&title=even-stevphen-reality-tv
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June 30th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Ms. I, I think the Lee Siegel involved in the sock puppet incident you’re referring to is the other Lee Siegel, the cultural critic, as per Wikipedia, and not the guest. :)
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June 30th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Ooh, are there two of them? Then — yay! — I can withdraw my prior misconception.
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June 30th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Wiki tells me there are actually three of them: the critic, the professor/novelist, and the medical doctor.
Oh wait…checking the book link on ColbertNation.com, the sock puppet guy is the guest. But he’s not the author of Love is a Dead Language. That would be Lee A. Siegel, the professor (http://www.hawaii.edu/religion/siegel.html).
Sorry Zoners! :(
June 30th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Shoot, it *is* him? Well … poop. :(
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July 1st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Yes, but think of the opportunities Stephen has to, um, sock it to him! ;)
June 30th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Good work, Cole! FCLW has always been one of my favorite NFZ features. Thank you for taking on this responsibility.
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July 1st, 2009 at 10:03 am
Well done, Cole! I like the images of each guest along with their bios. Very nice touch. : )
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July 1st, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Thank you all for the positive feedback
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