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Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey They all contain the blueprints for...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:24:46 -0500

Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

They all contain the blueprints for Internet humor. Especially this one.

Steve Jobs was cooler… but Bill Gates is the...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:52:00 -0500

Steve Jobs was cooler… but Bill Gates is the man.

fastcompany:

Can you guess who has saved more lives?

Infographic of the Day: Bill Gates Is A Better Superhero Than Batman

Sometimes I forget how amazing The Kids in the Hall was. Thanks,...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:10:00 -0500

Sometimes I forget how amazing The Kids in the Hall was. Thanks, YouTube! #FUSOPA

Looks like there really will be a better tomorrow,...

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:52:18 -0500

Looks like there really will be a better tomorrow, tomorrow.

via thedailywhat:

Colbert/Cain 2012 of the Day: Stephen Colbert announced today that he will be co-holding a rally in South Carolina’s College of Charleston alongside former presidential candidate Herman Cain.

The Rock Me Like A Herman Cain: South Cain-olina Primary Rally will be held this Friday, January 20th @ 1:00 PM in front of C of C’s historic Randolph Hall.

“Herman is the only former candidate who truly shares my values,” said Colbert in a campaign press release. “It’s like our values were separated at birth. And our ethics are at least first cousins.”

The “Peabody Award-winning Grammy winner” released a political ad earlier this week though his unaffiliated SuperPAC asking South Carolinians to vote for Herman Cain.

The press release directed all questions concerning the rally to Yahoo Answers, as “they always know everything.”

[buzz-pol.]

via npr: I thought it would be fun to start the year addressing...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:12:04 -0500

via npr:

I thought it would be fun to start the year addressing some questions that many people have about the universe. Mind you, some of these are far from simple, true to what Milan Kundera once wrote, “the only truly serious questions are the ones that even a child can formulate.”

—Marcelo Gleiser fills us in on “What Happened Before The Big Bang? And Other Weird Cosmic Questions”

Yes!

Will also give a plus one to the latest in the collaborations between NOVA and Brian Greene - The Fabric of the Cosmos. Between this and Carl Sagan’s Cosmos on Netflix, there’s plenty for us computerchair cosmologists to enjoy until Neil De Grasse Tyson hits the FOX airwaves sometime after in 2013 (that’s assuming there’s still a post-apocalypse system in place for broadcasting).

Very excited about this evolution of The Sound of Young America!...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:06:18 -0500

Very excited about this evolution of The Sound of Young America! Love the new look and feel.

via putthison:

As I’ve written here before, the past few weeks I’ve been furiously working on launching a new public radio show called Bullseye with Jesse Thorn. It’s about the good stuff in popular culture. In-depth interviews with creators, recommendations from top critics, and original comedy.

You can hear the show on public radio stations around the country, including WNYC in New York, WHYY in Philadelphia, KALW in San Francisco and XM Public Radio (channel 133). You can ask your public radio station to check it out - it’s distributed by Public Radio International. You can also get it free in iTunes.

Below is a segment from our second episode, an interview with the comedian Chris Gethard. You might have heard Chris on last week’s This American Life. He’s had a crazy life, and has a great new book out called A Bad Idea I’m About To Do.

It’s the kind of interview where he has to say out loud the sentence “Your parents shouldn’t watch from a window as you beat a dwarf with a bat.”

So listen to it, then subscribe to the show in iTunes. That way you won’t miss upcoming interviews with Jack Handey, Jenna Fischer, Tim & Eric, Aisha Tyler and Werner Herzog.

The 12 Days of Christmas Vacation I am very excited about this...

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:58:00 -0500

The 12 Days of Christmas Vacation

I am very excited about this piece I wrote for Splitsider today about my favorite Christmas movie of all-time:

One of the best things about this time of year is getting to watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Of all the Christmas movies out there, it’s definitely my favorite. Watching this third installment of the Griswold family was something of a tradition for the Worcester family, and even after countless viewings, it still makes me laugh out loud every year.

If you’re like me and consider yourself an extended member of the Griswold family, read on at Splitsider.

#1 Party School | This American Life

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:19:00 -0500

#1 Party School | This American Life: Just missed Ira Glass and company as they arrived State...

theatlantic: The Atlantic Monthly was first published on this...

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 08:46:43 -0500

theatlantic:

The Atlantic Monthly was first published on this day in 1857. Our first cover.

Heidi and I went as Oblio and Arrow for Halloween this year. If...

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:47:00 -0400

Heidi and I went as Oblio and Arrow for Halloween this year. If you haven’t ever seen The Point! now’s the time to get on that. Provided you’re down with underrated, trippy cartoons from the 1970s. And Harry Nilsson.

Spotted this while visiting home in MN over the summer. I hope...

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:21:02 -0400

Spotted this while visiting home in MN over the summer. I hope there is at least one nerd living on this street who appreciates their address.

Today I learned about the largest star known to man. Not to...

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 18:51:00 -0400

Today I learned about the largest star known to man. Not to mention another (smaller) star that shares a name with one of my favorite movies.

Steve’s Eternal Flame. via xkcd

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:32:00 -0400

Steve’s Eternal Flame.

via xkcd

I wrote a piece for Splitsider this morning about The X-Files....

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:31:52 -0400

I wrote a piece for Splitsider this morning about The X-Files. Want to know more? The truth is right here:

Despite the letdown of the last two seasons and the unsatisfactory conclusion, I confidently say that The X-Files is one of the best shows of all time. To the casual TV fan, this might be a bit of a stretch. This was, after all, a show that had an entire episode centered around a human tapeworm and wasn’t exactly for everyone. To the show’s cult following, this is old news.

Wherever it lands on your cultural barometer, there’s no denying that The X-Files was a phenomenon. It was a show that took more risks than anything on TV at the time. It set the foundation for a whole new generation of cutting-edge programs that followed on cable, from The Sopranos, to Battlestar Galactica, to The Wire and Breaking Bad. It was a daring show that got away with so much crazy shit, anything seemed possible. However, I don’t want to wax on about all of that. I want to talk about how god-dammed funny it was.

Read on at Splitsider…

Star Wars World Tour via rocketboom

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:20:16 -0400

Star Wars World Tour

via rocketboom

On the ball This picture of Roger Federer pretty much tells the...

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:28:00 -0400

On the ball

This picture of Roger Federer pretty much tells the whole story from last night’s dismantling of Juan Monaco in the 4th round of the 2011 US Open. I don’t think it’s physically possible to hit a backhand more in the center of a racquet.

Technolutionary: iPhone Battery Preservation Tips for the Hurricane

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:49:10 -0400

Technolutionary: iPhone Battery Preservation Tips for the Hurricane: technolution: Hurricane Irene...

These are delightful. Makes me glad to have finally tracked down...

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:29:00 -0400

These are delightful. Makes me glad to have finally tracked down a pair of Dude Shades.

bohemea:

Julianne Moore, Jeff Bridges & John Goodman at The Big Lebowski blu-ray release party, August 16th 2011

I cannot get enough of these photos! They’re adorable, each & every one!

Nichols and May: The Cool Parents of Modern Comedy This morning...

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:59:20 -0400

Nichols and May: The Cool Parents of Modern Comedy

This morning I had a piece go up on Splitsider that I am excited about. It’s a brief overview of my recent fascination with the legendary comedy duo of Nichols and May:

When it comes to comedy duos, it’s hard to find a cooler one than Nichols and May. In fact, what do other comedy teams have on these two? Abbott and Costello? Hacks. Cheech and Chong? Junkies. Flight of the Conchords? Foreigners. Laurel and Hardy? Clowns. The Smothers Brothers? Pinkos. Penn & Teller? Degenerates. None of them can hold a lighter to the smooth, refreshing, great tasting comedy that Mike Nichols and Elaine May brought to the stage.

Read on at Splitsider…

Last night I watched F for Fake, the last film from Orson...

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:34:39 -0400

Last night I watched F for Fake, the last film from Orson Welles. This is one of the more riveting and memorable sequences.