Friday Leftovers . . .

“My childhood reading was blissfully unchaperoned. My parents were just happy I liked to read, and so I – in utter innocence – would wander into the public library and pick up any old thing.” ~ Patrick Ness

 

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
5. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
“In 1985, challengers at Cunningham Elementary School in Beloit, Wisconsin, said that A Light in the Attic ‘encourages children to break dishes so they won’t have to dry them.’” (bannedbooks.world.edu)

Banned Books Week.org

The Top 10 Challenged Titles

Books Challenged or Banned 2012-2013 

11 Quotes From Authors On Censorship & Banned Books

15 Books Banned For The Most Absurd Reasons Ever

12 Crazy Reasons Why Books Have Been Banned

12 Signs You’re A Banned Book Reader

On the “Banned” Wagon: The Month in Book Challenges

America’s Most Surprising Banned Books

A Chat With Rainbow Rowell About Love and Censorship

Penguin Presents: Authors Stand Up for Free Speech

Patrick Ness’s Top 10 ‘Unsuitable’ Books for Teenagers

Giving Voice to the Voiceless: Author Ellen Hopkins

                   

Nonsense such as the above needs to be met with other nonsense. Hence,

Stephen Colbert and a mixed bag of celebrities—Hugh Laurie, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Bryan Cranston, and sort of Henry Kissinger—rock out to Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”

Just had to reblog this Colbert clip from E Online:

Colbchella, Stephen Colbert

                   

The word last night from Stephen Colbert? How about “Daft Punked?”

After getting word that Daft Punk canceled out on The Colbert Report Tuesday night, at the last minute so they could make a surprise appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards, the faux pundit had a little fun at the Robots’ expense.

Colbert kicked off the show by welcoming Colbert Nation to “Stephen Colbchella ‘013,” his now-annual summer musical bash, which was to feature Daft Punk performing their mega-hit “Get Lucky” or, as the funnyman called it, “the song of the summer of the century.”

But what his fans didn’t expect was for Colbert to start bashing the reclusive electronica duo, referring to them as “The Artists formerly booked as Daft Punk.”

“Now they’re not here tonight and I have accepted a lot of money from our Colbchella sponsor, Hyundai, so not delivering the song of the summer is a real kick in my balls,” the Comedy Central star informed viewers.

He then added that he’d been “daft punk’d,” at which point he brought out Punk’d purveyor Ashton Kutcher for a quick exchange.

“So Ashton, Daft Punk not being here, did I get punk—ED?” asked Colbert.

“No, you got f–k—ED,” quipped the Jobs star.

Colbert subsequently proceeded to explain (with the aid of a little booze) that Comedy Central’s corporate bosses at Viacom, which also owns MTV, pretty much left him hanging, having already cashed a check from Hyundai.

“We booked Click and Clack over here about a month ago. Apparently, Daft Punk are going to make a surprise appearance on the MTV Video Music Awards,” Colbert said, then purposefully letting the cat out of the bag, added, “Don’t tell anyone, because fun fact: No one told me until two hours ago.”

But the comedian wasn’t going to let a little no-show get him down. With or without Daft Punk, a defiant Colbert vowed to give his audience the dance party he promised—and that he did, with a few special guest stars to boot.

“I don’t care what MTV allows. My audience gets the song of the summer if they want it and I don’t even need Daft Punk to choose my show over the VMAs to get it. This is Colbchella, goddamnit, and it is time to dance,” he yelled.

At that point, “Get Lucky” started up and Colbert began dancing around his studio, lip-synching the song, at which point he ran into Hugh Laurie, whom he promptly punched out. Stephen then took the party outside, getting down with Jeff Bridges and Jimmy Fallon on the set of NBC’s Late Night, before heading on over to Charlie Rose‘s PBS show, where he crashed an interview with the cast of Breaking Bad and mugged for the camera with Bryan Cranston.

The hilarity continued from there with a virtual disco dance floor and more cameos from the likes of Rockettes, a bearded Jon Stewart, still on hiatus from The Daily Show, and Matt Damon. Colbert even turned up on America’s Got Talent!

Enjoy!

(better if viewed full screen)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12sl9h_colbert-dances-to-daft-punk-s-get-lucky_music

If it’s Friday, it must mean leftovers . . .

                   

A sampling of post-election commentary and comedy:

Rachel Maddow:

                   

New term: Millenials (the twenty-something generation):

From an article in New Geography by Joel Kotkin

To this Republican political malpractice there is an even greater threat: the loss of younger voters. According to CNN exit polls, Millennials voted for Obama 60% to 36% and accounted for 19% of all voters, up from 17% in 2008. Although white male millennials turned slightly less enthusiastic, the President’s huge margin among white women as well as minority millennials — roughly 40 percent of this huge generation — more than made up the difference.

Why did this happen? Generational theorists Mike Hais and Morley Winograd attribute this to several factors. One is the intrinsic optimism of millennials, even in the face of very difficult economic challenges. This blunted Romney’s main argument. Other issues such as gay marriage, favored by most millennials, as well as a more tolerant attitude towards immigration drove them away from the GOP and towards the President.

We want education, and we’re willing to pay for it:

California voters cast their ballots in favor of education yesterday, approving Proposition 30 to temporarily raise income taxes for the wealthiest citizens and add a quarter of a cent sales tax for all.

In the first year and in every year after, the tax is expected to provide $500 million for education, a windfall Gov. Jerry Brown campaigned for, saying the money was needed to save public schools from major cuts.

Was everyone drunk on election night?

conan-highlight-drunk-diane-sawyer-had-a-lot-of-company

Craig Ferguson’s Monologue:

Jimmy Fallon’s Version of the Concession Telephone Call

And of course, what would commentary be without Jon Stewart?