Star Wars
Tucson, Arizona. Comedian and satirist Stephen Colbert, a fellow alumnus of my alma mater Northwestern University, has developed a successful show featuring oblique slams of the right with mocking imitation. I prefer Jon Stewart, but Colbert can be quite entertaining and ridiculous in a way that sticks in the psyche, such as his request to comb Congressman Grijalva's mustache on television. Grijalva's response, "That would make me really uncomfortable."Oh god.
Not sure how, but Colbert has won a contest to have a node of the space station bear his name. One must recognize that feigned arrogance is part of Colbert's act, so his aggressive pursuit of this recognition fits with his show. Well, Congresswoman Giffords, wife of astronaut Mark Kelly, chose to assert that NASA should decide how to name said node, accurately predicting Colbert would most enthusiastically pounce upon any acknowledgment of his existence from a member of Congress. Anticipated and offered with gratitude or not, Colbert threw Giffords a most tasty no risk bone to chew by insulting the city of Tucson, giving her the sweet opportunity to rise to the defense of her hometown and constituents. Win/Win.
Somehow I don't think Giffords will appear on Colbert's show so he can make an irreverent request akin to stroking a mustache, perhaps asking her to sing "Hava Naguila" or remark on the notion of accompanying her husband into space. If you think this is beyond Colbert, you haven't seen his show.
posted by x4mr at 12:17 AM
9 Comments:
It was a rather funny sketch, I thought.
Already we see the initial fruits of completing your dissertation - more posts. :)
So far, this is totally win/win between Giffords and Colbert. It wouldn't surprise me if this were staged, of course in a way that neither can say it was staged.
Without preconditions, Giffords would be foolish to go on his show. Colbert would definitely pull some boundary crossing irreverence, not about her religion (Colbert is Catholic and she is Jewish - probably a bad idea), but asking her to comment about being with her husband in space would be perfect for Colbert.
I echo Sirocco's observation completely. The upgrade in horsepower is apparent immediately.
Scarpinato's article makes it sound more like a spat.
"You, Miss-Pink-SweaterSet," Colbert continued, "are just jealous because I'm just going to have a space node and all you're going to have is half of Tucson."
"Not even the good half," he said. "I'm kidding. There is no good half."
That is classic Colbert. As Sirocco and x4mr know, this is all fun and games. It's a win/win.
She should NOT do his show.
Congratulations again x4mr and I think an acknowledgment is due. The completion of the dissertation is probably good news for us all. By the measures that matter to me, no blog touches x4mr’s. If Sirocco had the time and posted more than once a month, maybe his would be as intellectually solid, but no way could he match the artsy weird part of x4mr. No offense, Sirocco, and it really isn’t a criticism, but you are not going to write stuff like x4mr’s review of Inland Empire.
Others commenting on the surge in sales of Ayn Rand usually said something like, "While I have not read her books, people are saying.." With x4mr we get, "I read all her work in high school, and the part where Rearden points at Francisco and asks" and "when Howard Roark faces Wynand with the drawings.." and how he wrote papers on Objectivism for a philosophy class (kidding, but it would not surprise me).
Regarding this post, I think other blogs also mentioned Colbert’s show about the space pod, but instead of just saying, "This happened" x4mr dove into the four quadrant theoretical framework of game theory to interpret the background strategy and motivation of each side, swiftly declaring, "Win/Win."
I didn’t comment at the most recent post about the Republican rants, but when x4mr wrote, "Are they suggesting a movement exists to keep people from being related?" I laughed on and off for the next several hours. Good work, x4mr.
I should also note that I think very highly of those that comment here. I don’t know any of them, but obviously Robish really knows what he is talking about when it comes to Tucson. He is way beyond any other commenter I’ve read when it comes to this city. Sirocco and Texpatriate are obviously sharp as hell, and I can just tell that Liza is a terrific person. I miss her comments here. I have no idea who she is, but I would bet the farm that she is one of those people who have "been around the block" and have a lot of experiential wisdom, i.e. soul. Just curious, x4mr, do you know Liza?
X4mr has not said recently, but the PhD almost certainly foretells his departure from Tucson. I hope it doesn’t affect the blog. In case I forget to say it later and something happens (and I hope she sees this) I want to wish Liza my best. Good luck and God Bless.
We should have a farewell party for x4mr before he leaves Tucson. Partly to show our appreciation to him and send him off with our best wishes, but also so that the commenters can meet each other if they want.
This would have to be at x4mr's house, to preserve everyone's anonymity from those outside of the x4mr beltway. And since I'm suggesting he invite us over to his house (no pressure, x4mr), I would also insist that the party be entirely pot luck.
I'm dying to find out if I know any of you all in real life.
And no, I don't expect Cigar Man to be there, curious as we may be.
Very nice comments, Navigator, thank you.
Heh ... no offense taken. Intellectually solid describes me well... intellectually creative, not so much. I am much better commenting/critiquing/running with other people's thoughts than I am coming up with my own out of whole cloth (to use the word in a different context).
Everyone who posts regularly here is a sharp cookie though. I know x4mr appreciates his regular clientele, and I know I enjoy reading everyone.
I do wish I had more time this past year to post ... maybe late this year or early next I can pick things up again. Thanks for the nice comments though.
Liza is definitely missed.
I met x4mr about a year ago. I went up to him amd I said "Thank you. Thank you for making my day, everyday".
Did I tell you this story before? I appologize.
Relax, Mariana. No apology required at all.
I have not met Liza. I have spoken with her at some length on the phone and also via email. Nav, you are spot on about her.
Thank all of you for the kind words (especially you, Navigator.)
I think I must have gone about three weeks without reading this blog (and maybe longer without commenting), but only because I have had so little time for the past few months. I see that I have quite a bit to catch up on.
I would be very much in favor of a get together of regular SED bloggers with X4mr whether he is leaving soon or not. I think it would be fun to meet everyone.
I agree with Navigator about the quality of X4mr's blog. I have only read two other blogs in addition to this one for the past year. The other two belonged to young African American men, both of whom are professional journalists. Both are exceptionally gifted writers.
I think X4mr's blog is just as good. He has that creative writer's ability to put his insights and experience into words and make it a really good read. And the images are always good, sometimes outstanding.
Most importantly, I really feel that the blog "community" has helped many of us get through some hard times. It is always good to know that you are not alone, that other people feel as you do, and that there is still hope out there.
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