Must see: the (not quite) official Bodygroom website. (Warning: Adult material. Not recommended for children under 13 -- or men with sexual orientation anxiety disorder, unless they're safely protected by healthy doses of righteous homophobia, in which case they actually might enjoy some vicarious pseudo-homosexual visioning in a safe and totally virtual and completely heterosexual manner. If you are a man who has felt onset of effeminate symptoms, there are treatments available. Ask your doctor, but only after you've put your clothes back on. Not valid in Canada or the Virgin Islands.)
I'd heard about this but never bothered to go look. I was browsing YouTube this morning and saw the video, and thought that maybe I'm not the only one who hasn't seen it yet.
I see that the #1 search on Technorati is for "Zidane", to which I had to scratch my head and dig around a little to see that all the fuss is about this guy's butting heads, to which I had to scratch my head again -- which goes to show what kind of interest the World Cup holds for me. I suppose this is one area where America has a leg up on global culture.
An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.
He defined "telescope" as:
A device having a relation to the eye similar to that of the telephone to the ear, enabling distant objects to plague us with a multitude of needless details. Luckily it is unprovided with a bell summoning us to the sacrifice.
[Disclosure: I have no financial interest in this site or its promotion whatsoever.]
Relevant Devil's Dictionary entries:
finance - The art or science of managing revenues and resources for the best advantage of the manager. The pronunciation of this word with the i long and the accent on the first syllable is one of America's most precious discoveries and possessions.
president - The leading figure in a small group of men of whom -- and of whom only -- it is positively known that immense numbers of their countrymen did not want any of them for President.
decide - To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.
"The reviews from the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner are in, and the consensus is that President Bush and Bush impersonator Steve Bridges stole Saturday's show -- and Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert's cutting satire fell flat because he ignored the cardinal rule of Washington humor: Make fun of yourself, not the other guy."
Froomkin says that captures the sentiment of the Washington Post newsroom. Surprise! But for all the opinionating that has come from the blogosphere, it's the Washington reporters -- the butts of the jokes -- who wind up looking like asses.
Milbank: "I don't think he really crossed the line. I just think he wasn't terribly funny. And he had the misfortune of following Bush, who actually did put on one of the better performances of his presidency."
...which is an observation that reveals so much about how the DC press corps just love to chum it up with their Beltway colleagues. See, silly me for seeing the humor in Colbert's biting satire and not seeing humor in a negligent, incompetent and prevaricating president's clowning around for the press.
"But I also had the sense that Colbert's toughness on Bush made people squirm because it raised that age-old question that goes back to the republic's start. How do you criticize the president without disrespecting the presidency?"
Easy: You make fun of the president, not the office of the president. (I even thought that up myself. Obviously I went to college. Me so proud!)
Technorati tags:
newsbloggingmediapoliticswhimsyWhite House
What do you say, Stephen? Does this deserve a wag of the finger?
I think what turned a lot of the paid pundits off is that he was uncouth, impolitic, brash and shameless in his application of mockery through buffoonery. Personally, I found the clips of Colbert's remarks to be hysterical -- to a large extent because he didn't play nice.
Update: Here are some funny clips via YouTube.com:
George Clooney must have laughed heartily but he and Helen Thomas were probably the only two who did. The rest of the room decided to crawl into the valley of depression the President was by then inhabiting. Laura Bush, meanwhile, creditably portrayed Medusa. Alas for her, she was unable to turn Colbert into stone as he then acknowledged the great big elephant in the room. "Joe Wilson is here, the most famous husband since Desi Arnez. And of course he brought along his lovely wife Valerie Plame. Oh, my god! Oh, what have I said. I am sorry, Mr. President, I meant to say he brought along his lovely wife, Joe Wilson's wife."
Had it been any other network, the camera would then have cut to Karl Rove's face. However, Steve Scully was probably standing with a knife at the cameraman's throat by then so all we saw was Valerie Plame throwing her head back to laugh.
The AP's first stab at it and pieces from Reuters and the Chicago Tribune tell us everything we need to know: Colbert's performance is sidestepped and marginalized while Bush is treated as light-hearted, humble, and funny. Expect nothing less from the cowardly American media. The story could just as well have been Bush and Laura's discomfort and the crowd's semi-hostile reaction to Colbert's razor-sharp barbs. In fact, I would guess that from the perspective of newsworthiness and public interest, Bush-the-playful-president is far less compelling than a comedy sketch gone awry, a pissed-off prez, and a shell-shocked audience.
This is the power of the media to choose the news, to decide when and how to shield Bush from negative publicity. Sins of omission can be just as bad as sins of commission.
However, in disagreeing with Dauo, Robert A George takes out the sharp knives, using phrases like "awful," "timing was off," "awful," "bombed," and so on. But then, Robert George also says,
I think Bill Maher has managed to keep himself funny while being explicitly political.
...which brings into question is sense of humor. (Bill has made the mistake of making his show all about himself, positioning the guests as the stooges. That's something that works for Colbert, but not for Maher's laid-back comedic sarcasm. Politically Incorrect: funny. Maher's HBO show now: unfunny.
George also makes the mistake of trying to compare Colbert to Jon Stewart and Johnny Carson. I've already noted how Stewart is much like Carson (and I also managed to misspell Jon's name). Every comic has a different style. The unique edge to Colbert's approach is that he doesn't let up, he stays in character, all the way down.
How else to spoof the shameless posturing of the right-wing media bimbos he emulates? Amrita says it so well:
But in a world obsessed with adapting oneself to the audience in a vain attempt to be loved by more and more people, Stephen Colbert stuck to his fake-pundit guns. He didn't pull his punches, he wasn't intimidated by a milieu that was far different from his own [or if he was, he kept it to himself] and he was exactly who he is on his show.
Put in a room with the President of the United States, administration officials, lawmakers and the men and women who bring you news of them, Stephen Colbert did something that should make every American proud.
He exercised the rights given to him by the Constitution of his country to speak his mind and to speak it freely even in the face of power. In those minutes I was reminded that in this country, in these United States, the citizen retains the ultimate power.
But, the point is -- there has to be a foil, a "straight man"to help put the vacuous boorishness of the Colbert persona in context. Without the foil, the character isn't nearly as interesting.
Ah, but the point is that Bush and the press superstars in attendance were the foils. They were the stooges. And while they may have been cringing, it was funny to anyone who wasn't in the room and feels the mainstream media circus needs its collective balloon popped.
A final thought: Bush's clownish banter with reporters -- which is on constant display during press conferences -- stands in such stark contrast to his administration's destructive policies and to the gravity of the bloodbath in Iraq that it is deeply unsettling to watch. This may be impolitic, but wouldn't refraining from frat-style horseplay be appropriate for this man? Or at the least, can't reporters suppress their raucous laughter every time he blurts out another jibe... the way they did when Colbert put them in their place?
No kidding. But hey, we're not inside the bubble -- er, I mean Beltway. They're all chums in there.
The reason it went over so poorly is because, we we’ve mentioned before, Washingtonians have a bizarre sense of humor, and it’s only funny to eviscerate the press if you’re a member of the press. You can eviscerate the President, but only if the President knows who you are. Those are the rules.
Well, they do say we are liberal out here in the 9 Bay Area Counties.... Anyone can be anything and we all exist inside our own drag show. In our vaunted liberality, we extend that license to the canines.
FREMONT Officer on duty is bitten by Chihuahuas
- Suzanne Herel
Saturday, December 31, 2005
A police officer escorting a teenager home from a traffic stop Thursday morning was attacked by Chihuahuas at the boy's home.
The officer was treated for bite wounds to his ankles and returned to work within two hours, police Detective Bill Veteran said.
The attack occurred at 3 a.m. as the officer and his partner returned a 17-year-old boy ... after detaining him at Butano Park and Tenor Court for driving without a license, Veteran said.
I say the attack pack went for what they could reach. A stealth flanking move, one suspects they came outta nowhere...
Disclaimer: the chihuahua with a star motif should remind you of no one. Further I am a great fan of the toy and teacup divisions - in dogs.
Poor Bill O'Reilly! He needs Christmas cheer.
For he's full of bile and venom this year.
He looks down upon us from his high, red nose,
He just doesn't like us. It's not just a pose.
Oh Bill O'Reilly! He sneers down on all.
His head is so big, but his heart is so small.
His burden is being a judge of all men.
He's so disappointed again and again.
Mad Bill O'Reilly! For him we must pray.
There's not enough holy in his Holiday.
He wants us to share Christian love, he has said,
Or he will come down and bust all our heads.
Sad Bill O'Reilly! There's hope for him yet.
You reap what you sow and you give what you get.
He's stuck in his hate rut, he can't break away.
So love Bill O'Reilly on this Christmas Day.
Groom that gayness right off with your hair
from Media Girl @ media girl (mediagirl.org) - progressive, feminist, empowered 18 Feb 2007 1:21 pm
