Maurice Sendak Dies at 83

NY Times: Maurice Sendak, widely considered the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century, who wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche, died on Tuesday in Danbury, Conn. He was 83 and lived in Ridgefield, Conn.

The cause was complications from a recent stroke, said Michael di Capua, his longtime editor.

For those who grew up with Where The While Things Are, which I think are a vast majority of us, this is a sad day. But I'll leave you with a smile on your face - with Sendak being interviewed by Stephen Colbert.

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White House Correspondents' Dinner - April 28, 2012

President Obama



Jimmy Kimmel



I don't mean to sound like an Obamabot, but you have to admit that President Obama is a natural at this. He's likable, not stiff and knows how to dish it out as well as being a master of self deprecation while also being able to take Kimmel's best punches.

Jimmy Kimmel was funny and a bit more biting than performers from previous years. I thought he did well, although in my opinion not as well as Seth Meyers last year and the command performance of Stephen Colbert in 2006. It seemed he rushed through some of his material. Whether it was due to nervousness or the fact that he seemed to have a large volume of material and was trying to get through it all is yet to be determined. Just because you write a thousand jokes doesn't mean you have to use all of them.

But overall, it was a good time. With so much caustic, partisanship these last couple of years, it's nice to sit back and not take things so seriously. Anyone who was offended (I'm looking at you Keith Olbermann and awaiting a Donald Trump tantrum) needs to lighten up.

Colbert Interviews Julie Andrews

This is one of the funniest interviews I've ever seen.

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Grim Colberty Tales with Julie Andrews
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Stephen Colbert's Strange Heroe$ List

Ever since Stephen Colbert started accepting donations for his SuperPAC, he's been scrolling the names of contributors consistently during his show at the bottom of the screen. I watched Thursday's show last night and something happened to catch my eye. I couldn't believe what I'd just read, so I rewound my DVR and froze it to confirm.



My only fear is that pranksters like these may undermine the whole purpose of Colbert's SuperPAC. Isn't proper identification of donating individuals mandatory? Or is this exactly they kind of contribution that's allowed which freaked people out in the first place with the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling?

Colbert Interviews Pawlenty

Had Tim Pawlenty shown even an iota of personality on the campaign trail like he did in this interview, things would be very different now.

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Breitbart's 1 for 4

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Colbert: Easter Under Attack

Hysterical!

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Intentions of Factual/Non-Factual Statements and Pap Smears at Walgreens

The assault on Planned Parenthood during the government shutdown threat was pretty appalling. Senator Jon Kyl spoke on the Senate floor extolling the virtues of defunding Planned Parenthood as over 90% of their services are abortions. They are not, of course. The number is 3%. But what does an 87% difference matter when you're trying to make a point? What difference does it make that the Hyde Amendment prevents federal funding to be used for abortions when you're trying to demonize yet another institution that provides sorely needed services for the poor and lower income among us?

When asked about his statement, the Kyl office offered this response:

CNN, to its credit, sought an explanation from the senator about the glaring error. CNN anchor TJ Holmes told viewers:

"We did call [Kyl's] office trying to ask what he was talking about there. And I just want to give it you verbatim here. It says, 'his remark was not intended to be a factual statement, but rather to illustrate that Planned Parenthood, a organization that receives millions of dollars in taxpayer funding, does subsidize abortions.'"

Oh, well in that case, say whatever you want on the floor of the Senate from now on, Mr. Kyl. We'll just assume that any noise coming from your cake hole from now on is a blatant lie.

Here's Stephen Colbert having fun at the expense of Kyl as well as Fox & Friends who think, why should you get health care screenings at Planned Parenthood when you can get pap smears and breast examinations at you local Walgreens? No. You can't make this shit up.

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UPDATE (7:30pm): Jon Stewart's take:

The Daily Show - Countdown to the Next Countdown - Jon Kyl's Planned Parenthood Statistics
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Sean Hannity is a Moron

But we knew that already.

Stewart & Colbert Weigh In On Palin

Golden Globe Vapors

Can people please stop feigning outrage over the Ricky Gervais performance as host of this year's Golden Globes? Have these people not seen Gervais' act? Are these the same people that booked Stephen Colbert for the White House Correspondents Dinner a few years back?

"Ricky will not be invited back to host the show next year, for sure," the HFPA member said. "For sure any movie he makes he can forget about getting nominated. He humiliated the organization last night and went too far with several celebrities whose representatives have already called to complain."

That's very courageous of you to say, anonymous Hollywood Foreign Press Agent member.  Good going in sabotaging your award by your pettiness in pre-emptively judging future Gervais projects that don't exist. If you're such an amazing judge of talent, what the hell were you expecting from Gervais? You had him host last year as well and HE WARNED YOU that this year he would go over the top, even harsher than last time. Did you not believe him?

And guess what? People love that shit. The love Gervais and his deprecating humor. They eat it up. So think about your ratings next year when you decide to have Jay Leno or some other hack host your event.

Bill O'Reilly is a Moron - UPDATED

What causes the tides to roll in and out? According to Bill O'Reilly, it can't be explained. That's his argument when debating American Atheist Group President David Silverman.

O'REILLY: I'll tell you why [religion's] not a scam, in my opinion: tide goes in, tide goes out. Never a miscommunication. You can't explain that. 

SILVERMAN: Tide goes in, tide goes out? 

O'REILLY: See, the water, the tide comes in and it goes out, Mr. Silverman. It always comes in, and always goes out. You can't explain that.

Gee, Bill, it couldn't be science, could it?

UPDATE (1/7/11): Stephen Colbert discusses Bill O'Reilly's mystery.

Colbert's Fearstock.com

Classic!

Colbert on DADT

Fields of Comedy Gold

Posted by JHW22

They say comedy is only good when it's true. That is why Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart are considered to be, by many, a valid source of information. Not only are the hilarious, but they are honest. They present situations in the most basic, unshielded sense of reality they can manage. They make us laugh as they make us think.

Today, Stephen Colbert testified before Congress in regards to migrant field workers, after he volunteered for one day picking beans and corn. He was one of fewer than 20 Americans who signed up for the "Take Our Jobs" public awareness campaign to walk a mile in a migrant farmer's shoes.

His testimony was "in character" and as funny as his show during the opening statements and bits throughout the Q & A session but the moments that were most powerful were when Stephen Colbert, the person, made eloquent, sensible and humane statements about how we treat people doing the hardest work.

The complete hearing is over two hours and is valuable but if you only have time for recaps, The Raw Story has done a good job.

Editor's Note:

Thanks, Jennifer for posting this. I watched part of the hearings live and while most of the coverage was about Colbert's opening statement or the fauxrage about making the hearings a mockery (while the GOP invited Sesame Street's Elmo to testify a while back), very few, if anyone, actually commented on the substance of the hearings - not only about what Stephen Colbert said, but the other invited panelists as well.

And this, of course was my favorite moment, not because I am a religious person, but because of the hypocrisy of those who hide behind The Bible when it suits them:

Colbert Is A Terrorist! Follow The Money

Classic.

What Was Laura Ingraham Thinking...

...in going on The Colbert Report to plug her awful book, The Obama Diaries?

Good for Stephen to play along and point out the racial stereotypes that Ingraham writes in the book as Barack Obama. But it's not about race, right?

Was there anything left of her after the interview was over?

The Trap

What a bunch of pussies.





They bitch and moan about transparency and now are afraid of the transparency that's going to make them look like idiots, the same way they looked when President Obama took them on at the House Republican luncheon. You know how the Republicans could save themselves from this "trap"? Have some actual substantive ideas.

Colbert at the Grammys

This was the highlight of the show (for me anyway).



ADDING... Congratulations to Stephen Colbert's Grammy win for Best Comedy Album.

Colbert Rips GOP Response to State of the Union

I don't know if too much was made of this subject as I've been burning the candle at both ends and haven't had much time to watch the Pinheads of Punditry this past week. But I was a little taken aback by the obvious theatrics of the GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union.

Seriously? They went down in flames with Bobby "Mr. Rogers" Jindal that last time out, so they thought, Hey why not just have a live, partisan audience of our own? I'm sure they would have settled for an applause track if they could have gotten away with it, but instead did the next best thing: pretend a white guy who'd been in office for eleven days was the president. And top it off with as many diverse faces behind him while he spoke to an all-caucasian crowd as possible. That's a great idea!

Thankfully, Stephen Colbert took it upon himself to point all of that out.