Fantasy Colbert League: November 16-November 19

We’re inching closer and closer to Thanksgiving, Zoners. That means it’s getting closer and closer to Christmas. So, start pulling out “A Colbert Christmas” and get festive! Until then, here is the line-up of guests for this week, which includes a few familiar faces.

Paul Goldberger is the Architecture critic for The New Yorker, where he writes the column, “Sky Line”. In his new book, Why Architecture Matters, Mr. Goldberger writes that the purpose of the story is to “come to grips with how things feel to us when we stand before them, with how architecture affects us emotionally as well as intellectually”. Paul holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at The New School in New York City, and was formerly the dean of the Parsons school of design at The New School. He has written several other books including Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture, Beyond the Dunes: A Portrait of the Hamptons, and Up From Zero: Politics, Architecture, and the Rebuilding of New York. A graduate of Yale University, Mr. Goldwater has also been awarded honorary degrees from the Pratt Institute, the University of Miami, and Kenyon College, among others.

Fract: Paul Goldberger began his career at The New York Times, and in 1984 won a Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism for his critiques of architecture.

Tuesday, November 17: Malcolm Gladwell

Anyone familiar with The Colbert Report will recognize Malcolm Gladwell’s name. Whether it is for his two other appearances, or his notable presence in “The Strike Episode,” Malcolm is a favorite among fans of the show. He first appeared in 2007 to promote his book, Blink, and then appeared again in 2008 to promote his book Outliers. In his new book, What the Dog Saw, Mr. Gladwell brings together a collection of his work at The New Yorker, where he has been writing since 1996. Before beginning at The New Yorker, Malcolm wrote for the Washington Post from 1987 through 1996. Although, he now resides in New York, Mr. Gladwell was born in England and grew up in Toronto.

You can check out Malcolm Gladwell’s website – here.

Fract: Like Stephen, Malcom was also named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. He was given the award in 2005.

Wednesday, November 18: Norah Jones

Norah Jones is the biggest selling female jazz artist of the 2000’s. Her career began full force when her debut album, Come Away With Me, won five Grammy’s when it was released in 2002. Since then, she has released two more albums, Feels Like Home and Not Too Late. Her latest release, The Fall, takes the artist in a new experimental direction, working with musicians who have worked with Beck, Tom Waits, and R.E.M. She was also named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2004, so we have a lot of influential people on the show this week. Norah embraced the funny before when she contributed to The Lonely Island album, “Incredibad” on the track, “Dreamgirl,” so she is familiar with comedy. For fans of the musician, Ryan Adams, he and Norah are frequent collaborators, including some work on the new disc.

You can check out Norah’s work on her official website or on MySpace.

You can also follow Norah Jones on Twitter, though as of this weekend she has yet to tweet.

Fract: Norah is not the only musician in her family. Her father is the noted Indian sitarist, Ravi Shankar.

Thursday, November 19: Elvis Costello

Do we even need an entry for Elvis Costello after last year? Elvis Costello very famously appeared in “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All, as himself, the guy who got swallowed by a bear and saved by Santa Claus. But, of course, Elvis Costello has a career than spans far greater than just our little show. Mr. Costello’s music career dates back to 1977 when he released his first album, My Aim is True. He has released many albums since then including: Get Happy!!, This Year’s Model, and recently, Secret, Profane, and Sugarcane. Elvis began his career in London pubs and eventually came to be known as a musician in the forefront of punk rock and the New Wave with a wide array of genres touched in his music. Costello plays a variety of instruments from the piano and the guitar, to the harmonica and the tambourine, and is married to Diana Krall, with whom he collaborates.

You can see his official website here.

Fract: If you think Stephen’s switch in pronunciation of his last name is a change, Elvis can one-up that. His real name is Declan Patrick MacManus. He changed it to Elvis Costello, combining Elvis Presley with his grandmother’s maiden name.

This looks to be an awesome week of shows – so ENJOY!

• Fantasy Colbert League: March 15-March 18
• Fantasy Colbert League: March 8-March 11
• Fantasy Colbert League: March 1-March 4
• Fantasy Colbert League: February 22-February 25