Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – January 27, 2010

Greetings, gang! I have plenty of Colbert news to share with you today, so let’s get right to it! Today’s linkfest includes a little snark, an Olympic curler touching his toes, speedskating gossip, and another cameo appearance by Conan O’Brien.

The Olympics, Colbert style

• A bit out of touch; Schuster plays along with Colbert – Winnipeg Sun: John Shuster, from the USA men’s curling team — the guy who said he couldn’t touch his toes — says he has touched them twice since his appearance on TCR. And he expressed his appreciation for Stephen’s willingness to help give their sport some exposure: “Any chance to have some fun with our game and introduce it to a whole new audience.”
• Stephen Colbert: A gold prospector – The Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul)- A nice article about the Colbert Nation’s sponsorship of the US Speedskating Team, summarizing the story so far. According to this article, speedskater Rebekah Bradford didn’t know who Stephen was; she had to ask her teammates. But she’s a fan now, and watches TCR on the Internet. And according to Rebekah, Katherine Reutter “pledged not to wash off Colbert’s signature for a few days.”
• GameOn: Speed Skater Katherine Reutter – GoGameFace blog: Katherine Reutter is interviewed on the GameOn podcast, and discusses preparing for the Olympics and having her thigh signed by Stephen on TCR. The interview starts at about the 32:45 mark, and the bit discussing her visit to TCR starts at the 36:30 mark.

A dose of snark

• Q&A: Jumping the ‘Snark’ with David Denby - The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky): On the subject of snark, New Yorker film critic David Denby has this to say about TDS and TCR:
  • Q: Do you differentiate between the attitude on “The Daily Show” or “The Colbert Report” and the attitude on a blog like Gawker.com?
  • A: Yes. Anything that creates language, that is fresh, even if it’s a fresh physical description or even better, a new metaphor, passes the bar for me. Stewart and Colbert at their best are really inventing things, not picking up junk from elsewhere in the media and giving it a nasty twist. There’s a kind of cynicism online that pretends to be brave and bold and is actually totally conformist.

TCR in Australia

• God Bless a Bit of America – TheScrivener’sFancy.com: No exciting news here, just a very positive and perceptive review of the Report from Down Under. You’re welcome, Australia.

Video fun

• Teach Us a Lesson: A Look at Some of Our Favorite TV Teachers – Yahoo! TV blog: Everybody’s favorite social studies teacher, Chuck Noblet, made the list! The clip posted in the article shows Mr. Noblet welcoming the new kid, Ricky, to his class. “I’ve been waitin’ alllll since you walked in here for you to slip up.”
• Conan O’Brien’s Best Moments – AOL Television: To mark the occasion of Conan’s final “Tonight Show,” AOL Television offers some video highlights from Conan’s career as both a TV host and a comedy writer. Of course the Late Night Brawl in the Hall made the list. Oh, the hilarity of it! I still love all the smack talk.

Gratuitous name dropping

• Can you really run an online poll accurately? – cbc.ca’s Marketplace blog: Hasbo is running on online poll to decide which Canadian communities will be included in a new Canadian edition of Monopoly. When asked about the accuracy of such a poll, Mike Smit, the creator of iVoteOnline, responded: “A well-known example of the ‘accuracy’ of these (online) polls is Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report, who regularly instructs his viewers to go vote for him, and often wins…” He cited the Hungarian bridge as an example of online polls gone wrong.

Who’s naming things after Stephen now?

• Inu – Monster EP Review – 411mania.com: A new band called Inu — which is made up of three people I’ve never heard of from other bands whose names are vaguely familiar — has released a track called “Stephen Colbert” on their new five-song EP. Blatant attempt to get on the show? Sure. But it’s not bad. As far as I can tell the song isn’t really about Stephen, but he is mentioned prominently in the chorus. You can have a listen for yourself at the band’s web site, or register to download the track.

(h/t DB, Ms I, Jennie, and Bianca)

• Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – March 13, 2010
• Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist – March 3, 2010
• Please don’t sue us – An open letter to Tony Fox, PR rep for Viacom
• Eye Candy: Stephen Colbert at Christ Child Society’s Great Gatsby Gala