trow125

"although if you look at the dates it looks like everything is backwards--he'd already graduated law school in Stockholm, THEN moved to the West Village, THEN met his Swedish wife in New York" I think the Wikipedia entry is a bit unclear. It says Poehler "earned a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College in 1996 before attending the Fordham University School of Law, where he earned a J.D." My impression is that THEN he started practicing in New York ("He was admitted to the New York and Massachusetts Bars" -- since law school is usually 3 years, that would probably have been around 2000), met his Swedish wife, moved to Sweden, and, while living in Sweden, got his Masters in European Intellectual Property Law in 2006. In other words, he already had a J.D. degree from Fordham. He probably figured that getting a masters' degree would make him more employable in his new home. The interviews I've read with Poehler made it pretty clear that he knew nothing about Sweden at the time he met Charlotta in New York.

This week's live show is the first one I can recall with a significant screw-up. The sound disappeared for a few seconds -- I'm guessing Joel said a bad word and they're on a seven-second delay.

My biggest problem with some of the later episodes is that Bruce is too much of an asshole. I think this first episode strikes all the right notes -- it's sweet and pleasantly entertaining. Any other Swedes wonder about the time of year when this episode is supposed to take place? On the one hand, I think it's supposed to be midsummer because of the references to the midnight sun, but no self-respecting Swede would EVER eat crayfish at midsummer. Crayfish parties are for August, and that's that.

My understanding is that the rules of what is and isn't allowed are set by the network. I think there have been a few cases where "shit" has been allowed on TDS, notably once when the author of a book titled "On Bullshit" was the guest. But for the most part, my guess is that it has to do with advertising. They don't want it to seem overly controversial or obscene. I usually watch TDS and TCR during the 11 o'clock airing, and there are plenty of high profile national advertisers. If I record TDS during one of its wee-hours reruns, the ads are completely different, and quite a bit sleazier/cheaper. I agree that it's stupid. I wish they'd follow the Bugle rule -- bleep the F and C words, but allow everything else. No one blinks an eye at "shit" anymore.

Um... I guess there's the Thursday thing where each of the contestants "plays" for a Twitter follower? Though that seems kind of pointless. I think they gave away a prize one week, but the rest of the time, I suppose it's just for the glory of having your Twitter user name mentioned on national TV.

Have you seen the episode where Jon spent 15 minutes channeling Glenn Beck? I think it aired right before Beck left Fox News.

I would like to think that Jon and TDS would ignore Palin at this point. Though if the show was airing this week, Jon might not be able to resist taking a swipe at his old nemesis Tucker Carlson for running with this crazy story about Sen. Robert Menendez in The Daily Caller.

Gene Simmons is a guest star on one episode (the 3rd or 4th, I believe), so don't let his presence be the one thing that dissuades you from watching. I can't be objective about this show, since I was born in Sweden and raised in the U.S., and have spent a great deal of time in Sweden over the years. I have seen the first five episodes and some of the material is hilariously accurate about Swedish life. Of course, whether that resonates with American viewers remains to be seen. The show is a HUGE hit in Sweden and has already been picked up for a 2nd season. Anyway, I'll be curious to hear what people with no connection to Sweden think after watching the first episode...

A few years ago, Stephen had a "cocktail historian" on the show to create a drink called "The Colbert Bump." I made one the other day--it's a great summer drink!--and thought perhaps some other fans would enjoy having one as a way to while away the hours during the show's summer hiatus. The recipe is here.

Stephen was also mentioned in a review of the book on today's All Things Considered, though it was pretty negative. It got a rave in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle -- it was on the cover of the Books section. I have a hard time believing it would have been getting all of this attention without the Bump!

John did give us this web-exclusive Fourth of July special YouTube clip to tide us over.

Nice piece on the birth of the Bugle from Matt Walsh, who worked in multimedia at the Times when the podcast started back in 2007.

Speaking of that story, Victor the Crab, I think Jon would also have to get in a dig at the way Fox News is covering it. Check out this graphic which Fox is using for its coverage. It wouldn't surprise me if this story gets covered when TDS comes back, along with HL.

Joel was featured on NPR's Fresh Air on Monday. You can listen to the show here.

A couple of programming notes: “The Soup Live” Premieres Wednesday, July 2nd, Wednesday, July 9th, Wednesday, July 23rd and Wednesday, July 30th @ 10:00pm ET/7:00pm PT We did it successfully in June and now, based on popular demand, “The Soup” will go live for two more episodes in July! After being live for the month of June, host Joel McHale and a cavalcade of surprise celebrity guests bring two more LIVE episodes to fans as they recap the week in pop culture without the safety net of network censors. You never know who might stop by when “The Soup” brings fans a look at the week’s biggest headlines in Hollywood and most mockable moments in entertainment all LIVE on Wednesday, July 2nd, Wednesday, July 9th, Wednesday, July 23rd and Wednesday, July 30th. “The Soup: Joel’s Picks” Premieres Wednesday, July 16th @10:00pm ET/PT “The Soup: Joel’s Picks” features host Joel McHale picking his favorite clips of the year so far, along with his top three of all time in a brand new episode on Wednesday, July 16th. I totally agree with everybody else's comments about the celebrity guest overload, but I guess the July 16 clip show will be Joel and nothing but Joel. Can't wait to find out what his three all time favorite clips are. Spaghetti Cat? Chicken Tetrazzini?

Oh my gosh you guys, Scott Lively has a big sad that John Oliver included clips of him in his segment about Uganda: "I’m calling out John Oliver as a liar and a fraud who couldn’t go ten minutes with me in an unscripted, unedited debate. Without his teleprompter and his cheap-shot, out-of-context video clips he would be exposed as just another left-wing loony." Heh... somehow I believe that John would positively crush Lively in an "unscripted, unedited debate," but I'm also sure that John wouldn't want to give him the publicity, especially considering Lively's aspirations to higher office.

After the break... MONDAY 7/14 • Matt Besser @MattBesser • Dannah Phirman @DannahFunTimes • Danielle Schneider @Daniellestuff TUESDAY 7/15 • Paul F. Tompkins @PFTompkins • Mary Lynn Rajskub @rajskub • Scott Aukerman @ScottAukerman WEDNESDAY 7/16 • Adam McKay @GhostPanther • Seth Morris @sethismorris • Owen Burke @owenburke THURSDAY 7/17 • Wil Wheaton @wilw • Aisha Tyler @aishatyler • Kevin Pereira @kpereira

The extended interview is up. I think the thing I love best about LWT is that often, when I find out what the main topic is, I think, "Ugh, I really don't want to watch 15 minutes on a super depressing topic like Ugandan anti-gay laws," or the death penalty, or whatever, and yet I sit there completely riveted and am always surprised at how the 30 minutes fly by. Pepe Julian Onziema is a true hero. What a contrast to Scott Lively. I hope he gets .00001% of the vote in MA, but if he's busy there, at least that means he won't be in Uganda stirring up trouble.

LWT's Twitter account sent out a notification that LWT will start at 11:15 PM on Sunday due to the premiere of "The Leftovers." I really wish the HBO Sunday programming didn't bump LWT to later time slots... I like to watch it when it airs, but I have to get up early on Mondays!

Following two weeks off: 7/14: Dahlia Lithwick (writer for Slate) 7/15: TBA 7/16: Jerry Seinfeld (comedian – promoting “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”) 7/17: Emma Stone (actress – promoting movie “Magic in the Moonlight”)

Following two weeks of vacation, TCR will return in mid-July with... 7/14 JAD ABUMRAD & ROBERT KRULWICH - Hosts of “Radiolab” WNYC 7/15 VINT CERF - VP & Chief Internet Evangelist for Google 7/16 TBA 7/17 STEVEN WISE - Lawyer trying to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans

I can't believe no one has recommended this one yet, but it just occurred to me watching last night's Cheney segment. The show after Cheney shot his friend in the face was just AMAZING. Here's the first segment. It aired on Feb. 13, 2006. If I'm not mistaken, the hilarity continued for several days afterward.

I think the same women who are going nuts over the "handsome" convict are the same ones who were posting things like, "I would let Chris Brown beat me up any day!" during the whole Rihanna incident. There was a well-regarded book called Women Who Love Men Who Kill that came out a few years ago about why women fall for death row inmates. Scott Peterson, who killed his pregnant wife Laci, has reportedly gotten dozens of marriage proposals since he was incarcerated. It's a ghoulish phenomenon, but Stephen's bit was very funny.

Here's a Huffington Post piece with a good summary of the Maher-Stewart kerfuffle. Afterwards, Jon went on Rachel Maddow's show (despite a serious case of the bubons) to defend himself.

I thought I'd throw out there that I highly recommend Larry's book, I'd Rather We Got Casinos (And Other Black Thoughts). It's hilarious.