At Last! The Comedy Skit Of 2008!

Talk about slaving over a hot keyboard! This blogger has spared no effort to acquire the open for NBC's "Saturday Night Live" on Saturday, September 14, 2008. The NBC legal eagles yanked all of the clips from YouTube and the code provided by NBC didn't work in this blog. In the SNL open, which ends with the traditional — "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" — Tina Fey and Amy Poehler perform an amazing spoof of the two femmes fatales of the '08 campaign: The Mighty Q (Fey) and The Hillster (Poehler). If this is (fair & balanced) comic genius, so be it.

PS: Please excuse the commercial messages embedded within the clip. This blog is non-commercial and receives no reimbursement whatsoever. The inclusion of copyrighted material in this blog is fair-use in the truest sense of the word.

[x Hulu/NBC]
SNL: Anti-Sexism Message From Governor Palin (Tina Fey) and Senator Clinton (Amy Poehler)



[Tina Fey is the former "Saturday Night Live" writer/performer who created and stars in the television sitcom "30 Rock." A 1992 graduate of the University of Virginia (in Charlottesville), Fey began her comedy career with The Second City improvisational troupe in Chicago. She joined "SNL" as a writer in 1997 and eventually joined the cast, anchoring the "Weekend Update" segment and appearing in occasional sketches. Her smart-girl glasses and sideways glances added a sex appeal that landed her in men's magazines, and Fey emerged as one of "SNL's" brightest stars. After 2006 Fey left the cast of "SNL" and developed "30 Rock" (which also stars Alec Baldwin and former "SNL" player Tracy Morgan).

Amy Poehler is an actress whose sketch comedy talents took her from "Saturday Night Live" to feature films like "Baby Mama" (2008). Poehler took her comedy experience after Boston College (1993) to Chicago, where she worked in comedy clubs doing improvisation. She and a few colleagues went to New York in 1996 and began the Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational comedy troupe and training ground for up-and-coming performers. The group had a cable TV show (1998-2000), after which Poehler landed a spot on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." She became a regular cast member within the first year, and by 2004 she was one of the show's main performers, co-hosting the "Weekend Update" segment with Tina Fey. Poehler's movie career, flavored by her "SNL" connections, has included the Will Ferrell comedies "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (2004) and "Blades of Glory" (2007), as well as the Tina Fey movies "Mean Girls" (2004) and "Baby Mama" (2008).]

Copyright © 2008 National Broadcasting Company

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On The Internet (And The Radio), They Don't Know If You're A Dog?

Last eve, a visitor to this blog (Nancy in Portland? Full disclosure: this site's tracking software identified this visitor as using an ISP in Phoenix, but that's another story.) offered thanks for an entry posted in July 2004! A bit done by Canadian radio comedian, Jonathan Goldstein, on the Book of Genesis has become a cult classic and transcripts of that show from "This American Life" on public radio are the equivalent of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Last night's blog visitor expressed thanks because the transcript of that long-ago radio show was on this blog. Jonathan Goldstein has gone on to star in his own public radio show, "Wiretap with Jonathan Goldstein." Goldstein allows radio listeners to eavesdrop on his wacky telephone conversations with his assortment of friends. In a way, "Wiretap" is "Seinfeld" on the radio. However, thanks to YouTube, there are a number of "Wiretap with Jonathan Goldstein" skits in video clips. This vlog is pleased to provide one of this video clips: a holiday greeting from the radio show. One of Goldstein's regulars, Howard, came to the studio for this show with a sidekick of his own. Click on the clip and get an early holiday greeting from both "Wiretap with Jonathan Goldstein" and this humble blog/vlog or whatever the Hell it is. We need all of the laughs we can gather in these days. If this is (fair & balanced) zaniness, so be it.

[x YouTube/Mirabw Channel
"Wiretap" Holiday Special
Starring Jonathan Goldstein, Howard Chackowicz and Desmond (the dog)

[Jonathan Goldstein was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he spent the first four years of his life before the family moved back to his mother's home town of Montreal. The family settled just outside of Montreal in the suburb of Lava where Goldstein grew up before attending McGill University and later completing a master's program in creative writing at Concordia University. After graduation, Goldstein supported himself by working in the telemarketing industry for ten years, all the while continuing to write and attend readings. In 2000, Goldstein's nascent career got a boost after he was selected to work on Ira Glass' popular public radio program "This American Life" and he relocated to Chicago to work as a producer on the show. In 2002, Goldstein moved back to Montreal and started work on several projects for CBC Radio One including his own show, "WireTap," which debuted in 2004.]

Copyright © 2007 Jonathan Goldstein

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Tale Of Two Rallies (In One City)

Take heart, the Forces of Evil have not prevailed (yet). The Mighty Q drew a crowd of 1K at her "Welcome Home" rally in Anchorage over the weekend. However, the MSM (Mainstream Media) didn't cover another Anchorage event just down the road from the Thy Mighty Q's event. The "Alaska Women Against Sarah Palin" drew nearly 1-½ times the Dumbo crowd. Write to your local fishwrap editor! Take a look at the unfortunately tiny photo below (or click on this link to view the entire gallery of images):

Copyright © 2008 MudFlats
If this is (fair & balanced) crowd analysis, so be it.

[x YouTube/MudFlats Channel]
Alaska Women Against Sarah Palin

[x MudFlats Blog]
Alaska Women Reject Palin Rally Is HUGE!
By "A. C. Muckraker"

I attended the Welcome Home rally for Sarah Palin this morning. Hooo. It was an experience. About a thousand (maybe) hard-core Palin supporters showed up to hear her speak at the new Dena’ina Convention Center in downtown Anchorage.

After shaking it off with a good double shot of espresso, and a brisk walk back to my car, it was time to head to the Alaska Women Reject Palin rally. It was to be held outside on the lawn in front of the Loussac Library in midtown Anchorage. Home made signs were encouraged, and the idea was to make a statement that Sarah Palin does not speak for all Alaska women, or men. I had no idea what to expect.

The rally was organized by a small group of women, talking over coffee. It made me wonder what other things have started with small groups of women talking over coffee. It’s probably an impressive list. These women hatched the plan, printed up flyers, posted them around town, and sent notices to local media outlets. One of those media outlets was KBYR radio, home of Eddie Burke, a long-time uber-conservative Anchorage talk show host. Turns out that Eddie Burke not only announced the rally, but called the people who planned to attend the rally “a bunch of socialist baby-killing maggots”, and read the home phone numbers of the organizers aloud over the air, urging listeners to call and tell them what they thought. The women, of course, received many nasty, harassing and threatening messages.

So, as I jettisoned myself from the jaws of the ‘Drill Baby Drill’ crowd and toward the mystery rally at the library, I felt a bit apprehensive. I’d been disappointed before by the turnout at other rallies. Basically, in Anchorage, if you can get 25 people to show up at an event, it’s a success. So, I thought to myself, if we can actually get 100 people there that aren’t sent by Eddie Burke, we’ll be doing good. A real statement will have been made. I confess, I still had a mental image of 15 demonstrators surrounded by hundreds of menacing “socialist baby-killing maggot” haters.

It’s a good thing I wasn’t tailgating when I saw the crowd in front of the library or I would have ended up in somebody’s trunk. When I got there, about 20 minutes early, the line of sign wavers stretched the full length of the library grounds, along the edge of the road, 6 or 7 people deep! I could hardly find a place to park. I nabbed one of the last spots in the library lot, and as I got out of the car and started walking, people seemed to join in from every direction, carrying signs.

Never, have I seen anything like it in my 17 and a half years living in Anchorage. The organizers had someone walk the rally with a counter, and they clicked off well over 1400 people (not including the 90 counter-demonstrators). This was the biggest political rally ever, in the history of the state. I was absolutely stunned. The second most amazing thing is how many people honked and gave the thumbs up as they drove by. And even those that didn’t honk looked wide-eyed and awe-struck at the huge crowd that was growing by the minute. This just doesn’t happen here.

Then, the infamous Eddie Burke showed up. He tried to talk to the media, and was instantly surrounded by a group of 20 people who started shouting O-BA-MA so loud he couldn’t be heard. Then passing cars started honking in a rhythmic pattern of 3, like the Obama chant, while the crowd cheered, hooted and waved their signs high.

So, if you’ve been doing the math… Yes. The Alaska Women Reject Palin rally was significantly bigger than Palin’s rally that got all the national media coverage! So take heart, sit back, and enjoy the photo gallery. Feel free to spread the pictures around (links are appreciated) to anyone who needs to know that Sarah Palin most definitely does not speak for all Alaskans. The citizens of Alaska, who know her best, have things to say.

Copyright © 2008 MudFlats

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