ID15

Happy Independence Day! :)

Are celebrities afraid of The Daily Show?

If you've watched The Daily Show this week, you'll know that Bill Clinton & Tom Cruise were both guests (Monday & Wednesday, respectively). What struck me about their interviews was that they seemed tame!

It was almost as if they were afraid or unsure of what to say ... fear of being ridiculed later maybe? I don't know! Jon was very noticable in trying to urge them to say something, trying to keep the conversation going. It was an performance worthy of an Oscar-winning fell-good movie.

Clinton didn't know what to say. Seemed really subdued - what, was he on tranquilizers or something? Tom Cruise had trouble making eye contact ... answered almost monosylablically!

Wake up people! It's show-biz! And it's late night fringe TV!

Beatallica

I read a snippet about this band on the Dream Theater website. There's a link to the band's own website.

Beatallica perform hybrid Beatles/Metallica songs/parodies. Songs like "The Thing That Should Not Let It Be" and "Leper Madonna". Their albums can be downloaded via BitTorrent from their website.

The two songs mentioned above are absolutely hilarious. Check 'em out.

The 1904 Olympics

There's quite a funny article in today's WSJ about the 1904 Olympics (the "Deja Vu" column). It describes the farce that was the 1904 Olympics, at St. Louis. Highlights include:

- 12 countries participated (sea travel was long, and expensive)

- A marthon runner was chased off the track by two large dogs. Another marathon runner picked up a couple of apples off the orchard and was then held up by cramps! He eventually finished 4th, which goes to show you can't hold a good man (or his stomach contents) down.

- The 400m track had no lanes marked

- The Olympics also featured events for "uncivilized tribes" - pygmies, and the like. It was the one and only time such an even took place.

Aah yes, that's the America we've come to know and love. Back then they didn't need the Simpsons as a mirror to their idiocies.

Real Time with Bill Maher

This show is probably as good as The Daily Show on Comedy Central. It's funny, it's very sharp, and it's biting political commentary.

Though it should be said that sometimes, the arguments put forward by Bill Maher can be slightly ridiculous. There was this one last week where he argued in defense of this running back who quit pro-football so that he could continue to smoke marijuana (apparently to cure a medical disorder). I thought Bill Maher's arguments against that were stretching it a bit. It wasn't convincing at all.

On the whole, the show seems to be very anti-Bush, and pro-Kerry. I think that's a weakness, and that's where I'd give The Daily Show its due - it's an equal opportunity criticizer. Nobody is exempt from hazing. :-)

HBO, 11:30 EST pm Friday night

HBO: Real Time with Bill Maher