It looks like with Conan’s time on Late Night coming to an end, he’s showing some older clips. Conan learned how to be a Santa and then went to Saks Fifth Avenue to be Santa for a bit. He did his best to find loopholes in the Santa rules.
Can you think of anyone better for this bit?
Plenty of shows that I watch, I think everyone will like. Of course that isn’t the case. But if I had to pick one show that everyone should at least DVR, it would be NOVA. You may not be interested in every week’s subject, but every once in a while there will be one that sucks you in. I watch every episode. Unless my DVR decides to skip it. Some I pay more attention to than others. Sometimes I’ll fall asleep watching it. Sometimes I will split it into several viewings. This past week’s I wasn’t sure about. I figured I’d watch the first 5 minutes and finish it later. It hooked me right away and I sat there and watched the whole thing.
This episode looked at the Marine Mammal Center is Sausalito, California. They care for sick or injured seals along most of California’s coast. They attempt to nurse them back to health so they can return to the wild.
Many of the animals brought in have either been injured by trash or fishing nets or made sick by some sort of toxin. Most are a result of human influence in the ocean.
The Center is staffed mostly by volunteers. I’m not sure what sort of background you need to be a volunteer but it seems like a very interesting and rewarding way to spend your time. From what I saw when I was in Sausalito this summer, most people there have plenty of money and time on their hands. My only problem volunteering is that I’d probably want to take a Harbor Seal home as a pet.
This entire episode is available on the PBS site. As I said, well worth checking out if you have an hour or so.
A few of the episodes are available to watch online. Some of the recent ones that were very interesting were The Bible’s Buried Secrets (tries to connect archeological evidence with the Hebrew Bible) and Space Shuttle Disaster (looks at the 2003 Columbia disaster). Also, if you are a huge math nerd, Hunting the Hidden Dimension is all about fractals. They still make my head hurt and I learned about them in 10th and 11th grades.
Tags: Entertainment, TVI don’t know why I love this clip so much, but I do.
An extended version of last week’s episode of The Office is on Hulu. Its more than 4 minutes longer than the version that aired. I only watched the opening but there already was a great addition. Was this mentioned anywhere? I feel like I should have heard about this, rather than just stumbling upon it.
In this week’s Tip of the Cap/Wag of the Finger on The Colbert Report he wagged his finger at a British reporter who claimed that baseball originated in Britain after finding the term used in a Jane Austen novel. Stephen explains why this is not possible and explains what Jane Austen’s version of baseball would be like.
The baseball part starts at 1:42, but the rest of it is great as well.
South Park has been pretty weak the last few weeks. The 2-part Pandemic show and the Obama/McCain Ocean’s Eleven spoof made me forget that there were good episodes only a month ago. This week they spoofed High School Musical. While that part was enjoyable, this clip is really why I love South Park.
By now I’ve have had time to sift through all the new shows from this season that looked promising. Thanks to the strike there haven’t been as many as usual. I used this list to remember which shows were new.
First, I’ll start with the ones I tried and failed.
90210 (CW)
I was too young the first time around. Hearing all the people that were hooked on it, I’m fairly certain I would have been a fan. I tried the new version, and was not impressed. Nothing special about it. Just more spoiled kids, I have enough of that on my schedule.
Fringe (FOX)
Had X-Files like story lines, except no aliens. When you include aliens, at least for me, it makes it more believable. I realize that sounds crazy.
Kath & Kim (NBC)
I like the rest of the NBC Thursday comedies, so I gave this a shot. I was nervous cause I’ve never been much of a Molly Shannon fan. Still, it was getting a lot of buzz (wherever that comes from). I’m not sure where the comedy part came in. I was bored.
Here are the ones that stuck, hope you have HBO.
The Life & Times of Tim (HBO)
It’s a poorly drawn cartoon. It may not look like much at first, but hang in there. Tim is just a regular guy who is very friendly. Of course he winds up in bad situations and while trying to be nice, makes it worse. It is a half hour show but it’s split into 2 15-minute stories.
True Blood (HBO)
I watched the preview shows, but those spent most of their time talking about the history of vampires, which was very cool. However, I almost gave up after the 1st episode. I wasn’t blown away and I already have enough on my plate. I came back and by episode 3, I was hooked. Not only my favorite new show, it might rank up there with my current favorites. There are only 2 more episodes this season, but that is even better if you haven’t watched. This is the perfect DVD show. Something dramatic seems to happen right at the end of each episode so you want to see the next one right away. There are also a ton of storylines you want figured out. If you have HBO, just tear through them On Demand, otherwise be sure to get the DVDs.
And one other not so new show …
Celebrity Rehab (VH1) – Not new, the 2nd season just started. I’m not sure how many people got hooked last season. I thought the 2nd season wouldn’t be as interesting. I was very wrong. Every week I put it on saying I’m only going to watch the first segment then finish the rest later. I always wind up watching the whole thing. You really get to know each of the characters while they try to figure out where their addiction comes from.
Tags: Entertainment, TVDan Savage appeared on The Colbert Report on Tuesday to discuss Prop 8. Savage has been on Real Time a few times and is always enjoyable. Here he really gets Stephen a few times, he seemed to be having an odd night right from the start of the show. I can’t remember too many times that Stephen lost it on his own show. It usually happens more often on the tosses from The Daily Show. A few times Stephen uses his cards to cover his face as he cracks up.
One of the more enjoyable parts of The Colbert Report is when you can tell Stephen is really enjoying himself. Especially during interviews where a guest, who is not all that well known, keeps up with him and even gets him to laugh.
Tuesday night Sherman Alexie was on. He wrote a book called The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. They didn’t talk too much about the book. The author came loaded with jokes and was able to toss back whatever Stephen through at him.