Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – August 23, 2009

Hey, Zoners, welcome to that deep void that’s known as a TCR break. It’s going to be a tough three weeks, but I think we can all help each other get through this. I’ve been gathering up the news items accumulating in my inbox so that we can have one last gasp of news before the Colbertoverse goes quiet, so enjoy your zeitgeist for August 23rd.

More COLBERT updates

It’s less than 48 hours now until the launch of Discovery. The official countdown is in progress, and the last time I checked, the weather was 80% “go” for launch at 1:36 am on Tuesday. Here are a couple of quick updates on STS-128.

• Discovery set to launch next week for space station – CNN.com: Just a general update on the mission, with the addition of this typically hilarious quote from Stephen: “I’m so proud my treadmill will be going into space to help trim down those famously fat astronauts. Lay off the Tang, Chubby!”
• Astronaut is a mom on a mission to space – Houston Chronicle: At some point, [mission specialist Nicole] Stott will also assemble the COLBERT treadmill, named for comic Stephen Colbert. It will take 30 to 40 hours to put together the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill. (NASA loves acronyms.) “The highlight will be when we actually get to run on it,” she said.
• Finally, don’t forget about the special message from Stephen to be broadcast on NASA TV tomorrow night at around 7:15 PM EDT, which Ms. I blogged about a couple of days ago.

Peabody Award

A war of words broke out last week in the Athens Banner-Herald over whether or not Stephen deserved his Peabody Award after the airing of this Alpha Dog of the Week segment on the fake nurse who gave herself a fake award, prompting Stephen to claim that anybody can make up an award. That’s how he got his “Peabody.” (“It’s chocolate.”) The response was an editorial in the Athens Banner-Herald stating that Stephen should be ineligible for a Peabody because, in his usual comedic way, he chose to make fun of the award after he won it. I’ll be honest with you here, Zoners, and admit that this editorial had us Completists scratching our heads. We decided it was meant to be satire, but it turned out as pretty bad satire. (If you do click through to read it, I recommend reading the comments. They’re better than the editorial.) That prompted this response from the offices of the Peabody Awards, which also appeared in the Athens Banner-Herald:

• Forum: Colbert worthy of UGA’s Peabody Award: …[W]e take Stephen Colbert’s notice with good humor. Indeed, because of Colbert’s repeated references to his awards… it is likely that more people know about the Peabody Award and its association with the University of Georgia today than at any time in its 68-year history. And surely most of his viewers recognize that his parodic references acknowledge the real meaning of the Peabody.

Why Toby Keith appreciates Stephen Colbert

• Toby Keith a good ol’ country boy, but nobody’s fool – Denver Post: Keith appreciates Colbert and his sense of humor… And Keith has appeared on his show numerous times “making fun of myself.” “Colbert laughs at himself as much as he laughs at anything, and everything becomes wide open as long as you’re willing to laugh at yourself,” Keith said. “And when I did his Christmas special, he wanted me to be able to make fun of myself, and I went whole-hog. It’s when somebody makes fun of you in angst, in some kind of vile way with malice coming at you from an attack mode, that it’s not funny.”

Best Emmy Acceptance Speech EVER

• Emmy quiz: Who gave this all-time greatest acceptance speech? – The Envelope (Los Angeles Times): Below is what I consider to be one of the most perfect, brilliant, hilarious and dastardly acceptance speeches in Hollywood history. Can you guess who gave it? The speech: “Ah, Hollywood! All is forgiven!” (And seriously, Zoners, if you don’t know who said that, you’ll have to turn in your Zoner membership cards on the way out…)

(h/t DB, Jennie, and Roland)

• Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – March 13, 2010
• Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – March 3, 2010
• Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – Vancouverage Wrap-up
• Ujjal Dosanjh: Stephen Colbert’s message “worth reflecting on”