Ever heard of the demographic phrase “middle America”? Get ready for a glimpse into that world. A world that keeps the show Two and a Half Men on top of the comedy ratings and where one can never have enough varieties of Doritos or Mountain Dew. And while this woman is a glaring example of why the rest of the world mocks us for our obesity and unfounded arrogance, you can’t help but wish for one split second you could leave behind your sarcastic, jaded viewpoint and be as emotionally invested in something, anything, as she is in the outcome of American Idol. Still the Land of the Free at least…

Update: video embedding has been disabled, but you can view it here.

-John

A little Easter Bunny treat courtesy of The Muppets and Seth Meyers’ Twitter feed. Enjoy the weekend.

-John

This is a real Yale recruitment video. No clue what they were thinking, but apparently it was made by students and alumni. I don’t think you’ll find that shocking after watching it. Holy crap it’s hilarious/terrible/confusing/awesome?/ridiculous. Never thought matriculate would fit so well into a showtune. Enjoy.

-John

A little something from Fallon’s late night show - that’s not as bad as everyone thinks. I kind of like it. There I said it…

-John

In the great comedic stylings of Monty Python, these Australians have made a pretty hilarious mock interview lampooning the supposed idiocy of government bureaucrats. Call them idiots if you will, but I learned a valuable maritime lesson today: don’t make ships out of cardboard. Cardboard is out.

-John

Today is a sad day indeed for the film world - especially for fans of the arts of screen writing and comedy. John Hughes was a prolific talent and established himself as a cinematic tour-de-force in the 1980s by creating some of the most memorable and enjoyable films from that era. Unfortunately, he passed away from a heart attack yesterday at the much-to-early-age of 59. Most people immediately associate Mr. Hughes with The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but may be surprised to know he is also responsible for National Lampoon’s Vacation, Planes Train and Automobiles, and Home Alone. Point being - the man is a legend. He had a knack for really honing in on the dynamics of teenage life and capturing the angst and insecurities of those formative years and combining them with just the right amount of comedic exaggeration. His abillity to find true comedy in the structure of the American family and the trials of the “every-man” (or usually in Hughes’ case - the “every-teenager”), is unmatched and will probably never be replicated with the same degree of success. He claimed to have written The Breakfast Club over the course of one weekend (awesome), and his style is an inspiration to aspiring screenwriters everywhere. I will miss his ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary and his loving portrayal of life in the 1980s, but I’m thankful he left us such a fantastic, and hilarious, legacy.

-John

So, this post is about three weeks late, but you shouldn’t complain, you are getting this for free.  So, I went to see Chris Rock perform at the Gibson Theater, which for those of you that don’t know, is at Universal Studios.  Chris played there for three nights and I was able to get some tickets for his second show in LA on a Thursday.  I went with my lady and Mr. Whit Hansen to the show and well, we had a ball.  The first thing I noticed when we got to the concert hall, which I believe holds about 9-10 thousand people, was the mix of races at the event.  I mean, we had Whites, Hispanics, Asians, African-Americans…it was a virtual rainbow of races there.  Now normally, I wouldn’t even comment on something like this, but I think it’s important here…Chris Rock appeals to every person, no matter their skin color and for a comedian, that’s pretty incredible. 

The show opened with an opening act and after that, there was a brief intermission before Chris appeared on stage wearing a greenish, iridescent suit.   Our seats weren’t the greatest in the world so we mainly watched the nearby monitors, but it really didn’t make a difference as Rock was on form.  He touched on just about everything, from Hillary and Obama to Britney Spears, being famous, the N-word, dating, and I’m sure I’m leaving out a few others.  The underlying theme with Rock’s comedy is of course race.  He is unapologetic with his views and he says things that few folks can get away with and that’s part of his charm.  Later, when I told people that I saw him perform, they wanted to know some of the things that he said and I would think about telling them something before I realized that, as a white guy, I probably shouldn’t repeat some of the things he said.  That’s what makes Chris Rock so great, he’s willing to push the envelope. I was a bit nervous that because he’s a few years older than when he last did he big HBO special, he might have softened a bit.  But I was wrong, he hasn’t gone soft at all. He still has the same old edge much to the delight of the ten thousand fans that showed up to support him during his hour and ten minute routine.  It was a great performance and I can only assume that HBO will do another special with him soon. 

Rhett