you take your refuge in some written fiction

**update, monday 5/1, 4pm...

apparently boy did stephen colbert do quite the number at the white house correspondent's dinner this weekend. pissed off the decider-in-chief by lampooning a bit too harshly. you decide for yourself by either watching the rebroadcasts on c-span (if you can find it on the schedule) or on-line here (part 1) and here (part 2). note that some of the images on freevideoblog might now exactly be safe for a work computer.

better yet, watch it at youtube....

part 1, then part 2, then part 3.

or...not. copyright issues (at c-span?)

it's up at the c-span website, as well as here (though without the taped piece featuring helen thomas). the taped piece is at crooks & liars, which covers the 2nd half of the speech.

(despite this) is there anything better than youtube? bill simmons puts it best, in an article about why he likes sports. but it's applicable to everything you can find on youtube, which by now seems the entirety of human existence that's ever been taped or filmed...

Reason No. 877: Youtube.com

Just in the past week, I watched a clip of an old Mike Tyson interview with Jim Gray where he repeatedly praises Allah, then vows to eat Lennox Lewis' children. I watched a clip of A-Rod wiping down his bat during a game in the most inflammatory way possible. I watched a montage clip of horrible Jets draft picks over the years, followed by the crazed reactions of the Jets fans as the picks were announced (did anything top the Jeff Lageman pick?). I watched a clip of an interview in which an aging Iron Sheik repeatedly vowed to, um, humiliate other wrestlers in the most emotionally scarring way possible. I watched the famous clip of Joe Namath trying to kiss Suzy Kolber. I watched the clip of the "boom goes the dynamite!" guy for the umpteenth time. I even watched the clip of Roddy Piper slamming the coconut against Jimmy Snuka's head.

So here's my question: In a million years, did you ever think this would happen? One decade ago, I didn't even have an e-mail address or know what the Internet was ... now I can watch Piper slam a coconut against Snuka's head whenever I want? What will the world be like 10 years from now? Is it possible to procrastinate for 24 hours a day? Are we headed that way?

colbert's routine is worth the time to watch, if you haven't already. if you already watch the colbert report (and if not, why not?), you'll know what to expect. full transcript is here.

monday night's activity looks to be the monthly porchlight storytelling series at the swedish american hall above cafe du nord. should be interesting, as it's all about working in the film industry.