A:Jon Stewartposed the very question on Wednesday's show, while lambasting the president's hypocritical (or nonsensical, or intentionally deceitful, take your pick) criticism of the Democrats over the war-funding bill. Crooks and Liars was on top of the same story last week.
Of course, it's nothing new for this White House. As America's finest blogger once wrote, "the quickest way to identify the administration's most critical flaws is simply to note whatever they're currently projecting onto opponents and enemies."
A: As people who know me well1 know, I have a cold, icy, steel heart made of steel and very cold ice; and thus I very rarely Laugh-Out-Loud at anything, unless I'm drunk and/or hitting on you and/or so bewildered by the blackness of mortality that laughter is the only means by which to release the tension in my cold, icy, steel, bronze heart of ice.2
Among the things least likely to coax sincere laughs out of me (e.g., Carlos Mencia; Schindler's List; Carlos Mencia) is the Fox News' 1/2 Hour News Hour, a.k.a., the conservative3Daily Show, a.k.a., this thing:
(I am averting my eyes and ears. Please tell me when it is over.)
(No, wait, tell me when the hot girl is talking; and then tell me when it is over.)
After watching that, you will surely be surprised when I tell you there is something funny about The 1/2 News Hour: The Comedy Central Insider's coverage of it is very funny. I even found myself LOL'ing at this bit —
Even a brief showing by brilliant alternative comedian Ann Coulter — who, for years, has managed to trick most of the country into believing that he's a vitriolic female conservative — couldn't pull the show above the level of a high school AV club produced parody.4
— after which I was disturbed to find myself sober and alone.
MEANWHILE:Washinton Post TV critic Tom Shales writes that The 1/2 Hour has "funny spots." "In a nutshell," he concludes, "it isn't terrible."
The Washington Monthly's (liberal) Kevin Drum begs to differ, calling it "bad. Really bad." On the other side of the political spectrum, the National Review's David Frum applauds the program's mirthfu—oh, no wait, he hated it even more than the liberal did:
The 1/2 Hour News Hour is not a right-of-center comedy show. It's more like some not very clever left-wing blogger's mean-spirited parody of a right-of-center comedy show: "These right-wingers are so clueless that they would think it funny that Barack Obama's initials are BO."
What a minute ... maybe that's exactly what "The 1/2 Hour News Hour" really is! Maybe it's some ultra-Colbertian exercise in meta-irony: a parody within a parody within a parody... Seriously: The 1/2 Hour News Hour is so unfunny as to be affirmatively insulting.
ANYWAY:T.A.M.S.Y. missed the first episode, but we'll be certain to report back after the follow-up airs, Sunday at 10pm. Unless we forget.
SIDENOTE: It will be interesting to see how much of the surprisingly manyNielsen families who caught the premier come back for more.
1 No one knows me well. 2 I can be commonly found doing all three simultaneously. 3 I should note here — on behalf and in defense of dear reader Sean McWasp — that I am not using the term "conservative" in the traditional sense (e.g., that conservative fellow over there strongly dislikes government wastefulness), but rather in the modern sense, as a synonym for "ignorant and hateful" (e.g., that conservative fellow over there strongly dislikes the mosque through which he just drove a truck). 4 I just noticed this may have been written by Internet comedy veteran and sometime-T.A.M.S.Y. reader Lindsay Lindsayism, to whom I tip my hat.
If the A: is yes, you'll be killing those seven hours in what feels like four and a half thanks to the wit/wisdom of John Hodgman's The Areas of My Expertise audiobook -- currently available from Applefor the price of zero dollars. And here I thought I'd never buy anything from iTunes!
You might recognize Hodgman, speaking of Apple, from his insurmountably likable performance in the "PC vs Mac" ads (which were only successful in convincing me that people who use Macs really are assholes1). More notably, he's a regular on The Daily Show and a semi-regular on This American Life, making him a good candidate for my favorite person.
I just noticed that Hodgman is also the guy behind NYC's Little Gray Books lecture/humor series -- which I only know through Lindsayism, most memorably for having inspired the creation of Jonathan Coulton's wonderful "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance."2 Coulton's music, by the by, is centrally featured in the aforementioned free audiobook.
NOTE: There would be humorous, illuminating images in this post, but the new Blogger dropped its "beta" tag Tuesday, and is celebrating the achievement with a night of drunken incompetence.
1 Just kidding, Practically Everyone Who Reads My Blog! Oh, unless you're one of the few PC users, in which case, no, seriously. Which is probably why PC's still working and Mac ain't.
2 Incidentally, the opportunity to attend Little Gray Books was one of many reasons I was so excited to move to New York. And also one of many intentions I forgot immediately upon arriving, along with "becoming successful" and "going outside." Life's funny that way.
