New Season of Community + Cool Remix Promo + Hot Alison Brie Pictures

 Wow, Alison Brie is really sexying up that dilapidated loft apartment. I

have a weakness for boy shorts like those.

Community is not only one of the best comedies on television it is one of the best television shows on the boob tube today, period. I will verbally spar with you if you feel otherwise. The first episode of the new season (season 2) airs tonight on NBC. You may have even already seen the new episode by the time you read this so I have something of note to offer for those winding up at this weblog post, hot pictures of Alison Brie and a remix done by DJ Steve Porter. Porter has made a name for himself making all sorts of internet promotional videos that include music, mashups, and auto-tune pieces with a viral feel. They are good at what they do over there and have an impressive client list. I am not on board with the auto-tune video they did for ESPN that aired on Sunday NFL Countdown last week because it was had both auto-tune and the video featured the Manning brothers (Peyton and Eli.)
Here is a video remix DJ Steve Porter did of Community season 1 that is quite strong.



Nicely done, Porter. That video succeeded in getting me more wet for the Community premiere tonight. Speaking of wet.

Here are a few more photos courtesy of Warming Glow.

---

A huge classy hat tip to Ufford who runs shit over at Warming Glow. He is the class of television bloggers. He makes this site look like mentally handicapped people drawing crayon pictures on a toilet. Ooohh, I just got an idea for a post, people. I'll let you know how it goes (poorly.)

American Idol Announces New Judges, People with Brains Collectively Sound a High-Pitched Mouth Fart

The people who are into this show have always sort of annoyed me, but all of the buzz as to who the next warm bodies to sit in the judge's chair would be annoyed me enough that something needed to be written. Entertainment blogs and websites have been abuzz with opinions and rumors on who will be the new American Idol judges for a while now. I'd rather be updated with stories about the amount of herpes the cast of The Jersey Shore have. O wait, we have that too. Valtrex passed around like candies, you say? Lovely. Pop culture is full of whores. There are money whores, actual whores, fame whores. I'd say there is a mix of these various kinds of whores in the selection of judges for this season's American Idol. (ed note: Should shows like this really be typed in italics? No.)

The first judge is Randy Jackson. He is the only carryover judge. I saw today in a story about American Idol that Randy Jackson's twitter is handle @yo_randyjackson. Really? I get it because in every thing I ever see making fun of him he always says, "Yo" and "Dog." It makes sense. He could have almost even gone with @yodawgJackson or @yodawgyoumydawgyo. And no I am not linking to that crap on my blog.

The second judge will be Jennifer Lopez. I remember a time when I thought she was hot (I mean pretty, not trendy), but the stories about what an insufferable person she is to work with have really influenced my thinking. I just assume she is a bitch. And she did Gigli and whatever else she's done that does not matter at all to me. She is reportedly getting $12 million for her "work" on American Idol this year. Meanwhile some homeless guy got mad when I told him no when he asked for change the other week. I asked him for change, and he called me crazy which I thought was thoroughly racist. What? Do you think every white guy is the Brad Wesley character from Roadhouse? I work for a living too, asshole, and hard. I don't have a lot of extra money laying around to give to somebody who has given up on life. I'm actually trying over here.

The third judge will be Steven Tyler. I'm not for certain why I have such a personal bias against Steven Tyler, but I think part of it is this girl I was into met him on vacation one time and got a picture with him. Nothing happened (she was with her parents and still a minor at the time) between them, but I saw the picture when she got back and said something to the effect of, "O, that's cool that you don't discriminate and are willing to take pictures with alien-looking lesbians. She did not enjoy my humor at this moment, and she discovered how stubborn I was when I would not quit making fun of how he looked despite her multiple protests. She did not get the joke at first and informed me he was the guy from Aerosmith. I really do not understand why such a large percentage of women find Steven Tyler attractive, but they do. He doesn't even look human, and it's not close. It perturbs me in the old noggin. And Aerosmith as a band? Meh. To wrap up that story about the girl that met Steven Tyler I only let her touch my penis one time. To sum up my feelings on anything American Idol-related- *high-pitched mouth fart*.

That was a good, hate-filled warm up. I plan on submitting to the torture that the new NBC show crap sandwich Outsourced most definitely will be in order that I may write about how it will likely be a method of abortion on par with the "wire coat hanger method." My goal, my mission in life is to cause this show to get canceled. I want to verbally eviscerate all who are responsible for this show. This is the battle I have chosen, people. I am so tired of crappy television and this will be my Hamburger Hill. WHO'S WITH ME? /crickets

NFL Cheerleader Eaten By Mascot: Video

 Sexy NFL cheerleader shot is obligatory

This weekend's NFL action was nothing short of spectacular. I was entertained for about 9 and a half straight hours yesterday. There were controversial plays, epic fails, and this... a Tennessee Titans cheerleader being eaten by a mascot. I did not type eaten out, you pervert. This isn't a porn site. I saw this live since the Titans are my favorite team. Most of the time when my wife is watching a game with me I have to pretend I'm not paying attention to what the cheerleaders are doing with a casual look away here and there, but I hit rewind on the DVR a few times for this. As I perused Youtube for this clip I see it has been done already several times, but it's new to me. A version of the Titans' mascot(regular one is a furry costume), a racoon named T-Rac, swallows a cheerleader whole. Watch the video:



If the Youtube video gets taken down, go here.

This Kid Is So Punk Rock

A not so Fat Mike

This kid is so punk rock, he'll probably be the next Fat Mike (of NOFX.)
His debut splash into the music world is called "I'm Fat, and Nobody Likes Me." Both of these kids in this video are wearing those power chords out. Saw it on Web Soup originally. The way that Chris Hardwick says "Web Soooooooooup" at the beginning of the show is starting to grow on me.

Another Sitcom Intro Recut to the Theme Song of Friends

This video gets done for every sitcom if not all television shows now. I saw one with the sitcom Community a while back, but this time it's Parks and Recreation. I enjoy both of those shows by the way. What I do not enjoy is the rush to see who's going to edit some clips together from the latest hot show and drop it against the iconic barf bag theme song from Friends. I respect the editing skills since I wouldn't know where to begin to make a video like that, and I know it's fun to have your momentary brush with a celebrity from the show or the creator when they mention your video on twitter. I'm sure it's a high to get that recognition, but your talents can be better spent editing videos of people getting hit in the nuts set to wacky slide whistle noises and parents exploiting their children while on narcotics. It's played out, guys.
On top of how played out it is, why does it always have to be the Friends theme song? Did people actually like Friends? I could not stand that show. I liked the theme song even less. Why doesn't anyone ever do one of these videos to the MacGyver theme song. Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh duuh du du duuh....
That's a genius idea, and I won't even be mad if someone steals or if it's already been done and I'm unaware of it. Here is a fartists (intentional misspell) rendering of the Parks and Recreation introduction set to the theme song from Friends I like Aubrey Plaza's character on Parks and Rec. Everything she does is hilariously cute to me:

Forget Lost, The 24 Series Finale Is Tonight!

Tonight may be emotional for me. 24 has been one of the most bad a$$ shows ever on television, and I have grown quite fond of it. I can't say the same for Lost. I never watched that show and couldn't give less of a crap than I do about it than I do currently. I've known a few people that were obsessed with and swore by the show, but I didn't get in at the beginning. I was planning to catch up with the DVD's, but then I started hearing about a smoke monster, a smoke monster? So this smoke has consciousness? It plans stuff for the people on the island? When does Scrappy Doo start air-boxing the smoke monster? Are you kidding me? You people watched six seasons of that crap? Alright, never mind about Lost. I'm glad it's over. Lost fans (known as Losties *coughqueercough*) are almost as annoying as SEC footballs fans, but not quite complete a$$ douche level like an Arkansas Razorback fan. I think that is probably why I dislike the show so much even though I've never even watched it. I also have a natural predisposition to pick sides. If I don't like something I have an impulse to denigrate it. If I'm into something I sing its praises. I've been told it's an endearing quality. Then again, some guys have been told it's alright if they can't get an erection. Not that I have ever... never mind. Scratch that from the record.

That is probably my favorite 24 animated gif.

24 ends tonight, and say what you will about this season, I am still sad the show is ending. As I have said before a bad season of 24 is better than 85% of the other crap on television. Never has a show so captured the zeitgeist of America like 24 did. Jack Bauer's painful crusades have been cathartic in an age of fear and terrorism. Those of you with fuzzy memories may not recall, but 24 debuted after 9/11/2001 amid controversy. Kiefer Sutherland discusses it a little in this Entertainment Weekly article. I found it odd in that interview what Sutherland assumes after being asked this question:

"What will be the legacy of 24?
That the issues we’re dealing with in 24 no longer exist, and that it is an earmark of a time gone by."

Is it really a "time gone by?" I'm no fear monger, but I'm fairly sure there is no way to declare the issues of terrorism or torture nonexistent. 24 is a reference point on the map of America almost as much as it is on television. Many people have taken issue with the perceived glorification of violence in the show. I always viewed 24 as having all of the issues they were juggling in a good context. Sure, there was violence and torture, but there were also consequences. The good guys won a lot, but in the reality of the show a nuclear bomb was detonated on American soil. The writers were smart. They didn't just have Jack and other CTU personnel torture suspected terrorists and put bullets in people's heads. There was a struggle between right, wrong, and many gray areas. I'm not sure how the struggle will end. Almost everyone thinks the show won't really end tonight since there is a movie "in production." You may think I'm crazy for floating this theory, but I think Jack will die tonight. I think he wants to die. He's tired of killing everything he touches in his personal life. The writers have been writing around this theme for at least two seasons. What if the whole 24 movie were just a ruse to fool us into not believing Jack will die? Remember this is the show where no character was safe except for Jack since he was played by the big star. Now that no one is under contract for a new television season I think Kiefer's character is fair game. If I'm right (long shot) it would be the biggest misdirection in television series finale history.

You've heard of the video game Red Dead Redemption? Renee Walker has a game she likes to call Red Head Erection. She gets me hot.

We know Renee Walker is dead now so if there is a movie who will be Jack's female lead? Chloe and Jack have always been platonic and Chloe is married with a child anyway. I think Chloe is going to be the one to kill Jack anyway. I think Jack will have sort of an assisted suicide, but more like a samurai than Kevorkian style.

Man, I always hated her character, Kim Bauer, on 24, but she sure is easy on the eyes... and my boner. What I'm trying to say is Elisha Cuthbert easily gives me a boner. There, you happy?
Too much boner talk.

Get Your Party Liquor Ready, New Season of Squidbillies Begins This Sunday Night

Your comprehensive update on all things Squidbillies (premiering this Sunday, May 16th at midnight EST, 11pm CST.) NO ONE covers Squidbillies like The Nonpopulist. NO ONE.
"What in the hell is Squidbillies," you may be asking. Ok, noob, Squidbillies is an animated show on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block of programming that kicks ass. The story centers around a family of redneck squids living in the mountains of Georgia. The patriarch of the family, Early Cuyler is an ex-convict who is barely trying to raise a son, Rusty Cuyler, as a single father along with other relatives who live with them, Granny and Aunt Lil. They are racist against white people, they drink and drive, and general hilarity ensues thanks to writers who I have a sneaking suspicion use crystal meth. For more help illuminating what Squidbillies is all about I have selected two short video clips:


and


"My name's Early, and I'm a real pugnut."
If that doesn't whet your whistle then we might not be able to be friends anymore. The season premiere is this Sunday, May 16th at midnight EST and will feature the band Widespread Panic. I'm not all that high on hippie jam bands and neither is the Cuyler clan so I'm anxious to see how that plays out. Other guest stars this season include Chad Ocho Cinco and the band Drive-by Truckers. I think they are going to do something making fun of Insane Clown Posse this season too. The only evidence of that I have is this picture tweeted from the Squidbillies twitter account.

They also shot a promo for the new season with Unknown Hinson, the voice of the main character Early Cuyler. He is also an alt-rockabilly musician in his own right as well as recently joining Billy Bob Thornton's band. I'm also a fan of Hinson's music and saw him in concert one time, and I would definitely see him again if he came somewhere close enough. View the promo he shot below where he also alludes to meth use.




Bonus picture of someone with a Squidbillies tattoo. If people are getting tattoos of it, the show must be good, right?

Browsings of the Day: Geocitiesized!

We all remember geocities, right? Relive those days of old with a new website that allows you to Geocitiesize any webpage. It is as fun as it sounds. The above picture is from fukung.net. You can find more of their funny pictures at their facebook page.

Become a fan of The Nonpopulist on Facebook!

This handy poster is illuminating. Our government spends money poorly. [Death and Taxes]

Community is one of my favorite shows on television. I rarely do a post about it because there is such a saturation in the market. Every other blog in the world is posting about Alison Brie and her escapades, animated gifs, etc. Here's something different, an interview with Dan Harmon, the creator of Community. He is also one of my favorite people to follow on twitter. [Paste Magazine]


Phillies fan taser meme. A little past its prime at this point, but a nice review if you missed any of it. It's no Epic Beard Man, but it will do. [Holy Taco]

SBNation has conducted a scientific poll regarding adults and the wearing of sports jerserys. I'm a jersey t-shirt guy myself. [SBNation]

Vince at FilmDrunk always comes up with great titles for posts. This post is about a movie with Kristen Wiig and he titled it "Kristen Wiig Juggles Flaming Cum or Something." He's got a gift, people. [FilmDrunk]

A recent post I did over at EDGE, one of the other blogs I write for, on President Obama telling college graduates to not waste all of their time on or trust in new media. I pretty much blasted him. See for yourself. Girls and their slutty facebook drinking pictures are discussed. [EDGE]

A post I did for the other blog I write for, The Gally Blog, on the whole Lawrence Taylor situation. I have to warn you, it's tongue-in-cheek. Actually, I hope it's a little offensive. I just covered the story from a different angle. [The Gally Blog]

For a musical selection I give you Grand Buffet. I was riding around in my car the other day playing my ipod and Grand Buffet hit the speakers and my car took off like a rocket ship, the speakers melted onto my ball sack, and I turned potent again. From my cursory internet research I have determined that they are on some sort of hiatus. Also, they have almost no youtube videos with good sound quality.

Betty White Foretold Her Appearance on SNL Video/ I Am a Golden Girls' Fan

Just in time for her Mother's Day weekend Saturday Night Live hosting spot, a Betty White post. It's like I plan this crap. I am not ashamed to admit I enjoy The Golden Girls. I use to watch it with my grandmother hilariously enough, and I still catch it once in a great while on syndication on the Women's Entertainment channel. The Golden Girls was a funny show, and Betty White regularly showed off her impeccable comedic timing on the series. And boy was she a looker back in her day (picture above). Hubba, hubba. You see, reader, being a nonpopulist is not about not liking anything that is popular and liking everything that is unpopular. On the contrary, to me the name nonpopulist means that I evaluate things on an individual basis and decide for myself if I like them trying my best to not be influenced by what other people think of said thing. So there that is.
With all of that being said I honestly never thought Betty White would get to host Saturday Night Live even after the massive internet uproar through Facebook on her behalf. Instead of supporting the cause I did an internet eye roll. But hey, it all worked out in the end for her, right? I am not making the same mistake on the Facebook group calling for Tim & Eric of Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job! Click on it. Like it. Don't underestimate the power of intertubes like I did.
So here is the video from The Golden Girls where Betty White predicts the future. Not really, but you'll see what I mean after you watch it.



Also, link to a bonus video of the final scene of The Golden Girls that I may or may not have just watched and cried about. Shut up!
Now's probably not the best time, but you can become a fan of The Nonpopulist on Facebook! The only requirement is that you have a pulse and some cigs.

Which Parkour Video Is Better?

Both of these videos are great, but for different reasons. Parkour is "the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one's path by adapting one's movements to the environment"according to Wikipedia. So for all I know Parkour could have been Miss America 1998, and the Wikipedia entry has only been edited to make it seem like the physical activity that was a fad, then made fun of, then came back as again but with people realizing it's still kind of supposed to be made fun of, and was recently featured on another crappy episode of The Office (thus explaining the hot picture of Jenna Fischer above.) I'll let you decide which of these Parkour videos is better.
The first features Damian Walters. He is more than just another parkour (I don't even think it should be capitalized, should it?) guy. He looks like a gymnast and he is a stuntman too, I think. This is a must-see video.



My friends made fun of me when I sent them that video. Screw them, right? That was awesome.
The other video is also great. Check it.



Now that was nice. I'd like to see these two compete. In fact, I would pay to see it... like $5.

Nonpopulist's Browsings of the Day: Web Soup Joke and Gillian Jacobs Gif

Many of you may be aware of the television show Web Soup that airs on G4TV on Wednesday nights. You may also be aware they have a segment titled "Twittershots" where they post a video the prior week on twitter with the intent of using three jokes from twitter users on the show. I have tweeted a joke to the show a few times and 75% of the time I feel the jokes I tweeted are better than the ones used on the show. The only conclusion I can draw from this is they only check the tweets during a certain time period and choose the best joke from that small window. With that being said, here is the video they are going to use for "Twittershots" on tonight's show followed by my joke.


The joke I tweeted for them to use is, "@websoup now let's see you hit the broad side of that pool without a man's hand on your ass." I guarantee that is funnier than the jokes they will use unless they actually pick me this time. The show airs Wednesdays at 8 EST.

A 24-hour documentary channel? Yes, please. It's times like these I am glad I have DirectTV. [Documentary Channel]

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park, are facing death threats after using Mohammad in a recent episode. My advice to the guys is keep up the good work, and if you need to hide somewhere come to the South where they have guns and dislike Muslims. [WWTDD]

A well thought-out and nicely executed flow chart on which summer action movie is right for you. Funny stuff. [Vulture Blog]

Conan O'Brien got a letter asking him to prom a few years ago. He responded. The response note will now be moved the Library of Congress. [Letter of Note]

Hackers catching heat. [Alt Report]

This was interesting to me. Wikipedia article on Werner Erhard and The Collection of Crazy People Known as Scientology. [Wikipedia]

A collection of pictures that indeed made me say WTF. [Regretful Morning]

Jeff Zucker, keep Conan O'Brien's name out of your damn mouth. Just shutup. [Vulture Blog]

Conan's New Show on TBS and First Tour Stop

TBS? Really Conesy? Conan announced yesterday via twitter and several news outlets have confirmed that Conan will indeed host a late night show this fall but not on Fox as had been rumored. No, TBS is the winner of the Conan O'Brien sweepstakes, although I simply cannot imagine what made TBS, the Superstation and place where I watched Atlanta Braves baseball growing up, the better choice. I'll watch Conan anywhere he goes, but this decision is baffling to me. I'm honestly overwhelmed by the glut of Conan coverage available on the internet, and I have about 6 firefox tabs open to prove it . Where were you people months ago when I was emailing NBC and Hulu to make sure that me watching the show on Hulu counted toward the ratings or was kept track of in some way? I guess Conan has always been a periphery comedy source that people have taken him for granted. For me he was always a focus. Save for a few years before the existence of DVR and when crazy college life made it impractical to watch him I have been a regular viewer since about his 5th season at the old Late Night gig. I guess I'll remain hopeful since that what Conan's wish was in his last episode as Tonight Show host when he told me to "never be cynical." Here's some links worth reading I have collected.
Blog Critics'
Chocago Sun-Times
AltReport (joke)
Vulture Blog (with video)
Conan's first tour stop was last night and pictures and video have leaked already. Vulture Blog has a good post on it. I'm still bitter because I won't be able to attend the tour stop in my area.

I'm inconsolable right now. I hope things work for Conan on TBS. Maybe he chose them since it's not a major network and he will have a little more leeway since no one will be clamoring for his job besides George Lopez.

Nonpopulist's Browsings of the Day

What's good, internet? Anyone got any anecdotal info on Salvia? I heard about it on a rerun of Tosh.0. Apparently this stuff is legal. If it's legal, sign me up.

I saw this picture posted on Postsecret's twitter feed. It was snapped at SXSW in Austin TX.

Net neutrality takes a step back. If there is anything to get passionate about, this is it, people. Get informed and get active. [AP via Google]
To take action go here- [Save the Internet]

Online glossary with some important internet lingo. This will help the elderly and oblivious. [ShaneBacon Tumblr]

The Tiger Woods soundboard. These are always fun for a few minutes. [Slate]

"Screw countercultures," says Chodin in this Uproxx feature. [Uproxx]

Cat in a polo shirt? Sure, why not. [h0rkblr]

Unreality has 8 funny Jorma Taccone videos. He' s one of the guys from Lonely Island and he is a writer on Saturday Night Live among other credits. [Unreality]

The inventor of box wine has passed away. Spout some out for the homie. RIP [Asylum]

Nonpopulist's Browsings of the Day

Blogging at Buffalo Wild Wings has its advantages. I'm ready for my blogging endorsement deal.

A profile on Wire and Treme creator David Simon by New York Magazine. [New York Magazine]

The Whitest Kids U Know is airing on IFC so I have been watching this sketch show more frequently. Here is a clip I saw on a recently that is funny and offensive, especially at the end.

I don't know how many fans of the Left 4 Dead video game franchise are out there. I like it. In both editions of the game there is a zombie character called a witch. Someone decided to reenact the witch character in real life. They did a good job. The video is weird and freaky- just like the game. [Unreality]

Uproxx feature on mind-reading technology that will undo civilization as we know it [Uproxx]

I saw this "article" on five things not to do in academic writing and I went off. I can't stand this crap anymore.
Read the "article" here, and you can see why I got irritated. I commented on the "article" but in case they take it down I will reprint my comment here. "This is groundbreaking stuff. Avoid errors. I need to put this into practice since when I write informally as in an email to a friend purpossselyyy misspell wordsdsds so they don’t think I’m trying to front on them with my fancy spelling. I’m tired of this keyword and filler crap. People just posting content however thin it may be trying to get search engine optimization. Just go comment on other online communities or websites if you have trouble coming up with content. Avoid informal language in academic writing… is this site for 4th graders?"
Update: Ha, they commented back. I encourage you to comment on crap like this. These people should be shamed into taking it down. [Editing Angel]

I guess someone had to post something like this. Comedians had it good when Bush was in office compared to now with Obama. And Jerome Bettis is from Detroit.[Alternet]

My most recent post at Edge about The Losers. Comment on it for the love of all things holy. I can understand people not commenting here, but at Edge? [Edge]

I Do Not Like The Office

“Hey, let’s have the potential to make a hilarious show, but instead make it painfully uncomfortable to watch. Har, har. That would be fun. We’ll be like Andy Kaufman, but totes more rad.” That is what I imagine The Office writers’ room to be like. I bet they hipsterly say totes instead of totally. I have been watching the show for several seasons because my wife likes it, but I can not stand it any longer. The show actually makes me angry. There are plenty of funny moments. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy running “that’s what she said” into the ground as much as the next fellow, but their striving to make us, the viewers, uncomfortable has turned me off for good. The only bright spot for me is Mindy Kaling who plays Kelly. She is also a writer for the show. I like her character, but I also just plain have a thing for Indian chicks.

Even the occasional reader to this blog knows that I am already deep in hate with NBC after they crushed the dream of my comedy hero, Conan O’Brien, to host The Tonight Show for a reasonable amount of time instead of the seven months they gave him. I infamously made the claim that I would no longer watch NBC programming except for Community, Parks & Recreation, 30 Rock, and any NFL-related broadcasts and not support companies that advertise on NBC if I knew who they were and had an alternative to their products. It’s kind of hard to know if I am keeping the latter promise since I don’t watch NBC, but you get the idea of my level of hate, right? I have been breaking the first pledge by watching The Office for the sake of my wife but no longer. I refuse to be a pawn in your manipulative game, people associated with The Office. The last new episode from last week is a great example. The show started off funny. I was laughing a little, and then Michael went out to the car and put on the Kangol hat. That hat turned the show into a different show like Sylvester Stallone in Over the Top. It was damn near unwatchable after that. If I want to be that uncomfortable I would visit my in-laws. I don’t want to hear crap about me “not getting it.” Believe me, I get it. I’m an effin chevalier of comedy as far as your concerned. Well, not in doing comedy, but I’m a chevalier in appreciating it. The show where Michael had to tell the kids he couldn’t give them a scholarship from earlier in the season is the best proof of my point. Remind yourself with this video. This blog hasn’t been nonpopulist enough for my taste these days. I needed to find myself a little bit.

Here is the only clip I could find from that atrocious episode where Michael tells the kids he can not pay for their college after they had been banking on it since third grade. That is so funny. You guys should really delve into the world of bestiality. I hear there is a lot of comedy there ripe for the picking.

John Feinstein is a Blowhard: Fact

Come read me burning a sportswriter. If there is one thing you can count on blowhards to do it is blow, hard. Sportswriters are often guilty of this, and John Feinstein is only the latest example of a sportswriter being caught in a bloviation. There is a bit of back story to get through before I can nail the gotcha bloggerism I have in store for Mr. Feinstein.
I enjoy sports talk radio. I used to even enjoy regular talk radio when I was a teenager. That was before I completely gave up on politics at 17. I am so jaded. As far as sports talk I have had passing phases between Colin Cowherd, Jim Rome, and more recently Dan Patrick. Patrick has a catch phrase, "passion bucket," that is a little cheesy and hokey, but also genuine and endearing. The phrase is used to mean how passionate someone is about life or a sporting event. It is a nice metaphor. Here it is used in a sentence: "Sean Payton's passion bucket was overflowing after the Saints' win in the Super Bowl because he knew how much the win meant to the city of New Orleans." Dan has been using this phrase for a while, I think even back to his old ESPN days, but now what he does with it is when he interviews a guest with which he has a good rapport he will goad them into using the phrase during an interview or on a broadcast. It's all in good fun.
Fast forward to Dan interviewing Cornell men's basketball coach, Steve Donahue, before their recent NCAA tournament game with Kentucky. Dan asked coach Donahue to work the phrase in which the coach delegated to one of his players, Ryan Wittman. When Wittman said "passion bucket" during a press conference he and his fellow teammates could barely contain their laughter because they were in on the joke, but serious sportswriter John Feinstein found nothing funny about their antics because he is a serious sportswriter who takes himself too seriously. Feinstein went on Tony Kornheiser's radio program and called the Cornell players racist for playing basketball or the NCAA racist for letting Cornell play in the tournament or you racist he knows how you lock your car doors when you see someone of a different ethnicity next to your car on a sidewalk. He was calling someone racist. That is all I know for sure. How he made that leap can not be fully explained, but one possible factor is Johnny had already made up his mind that Cornell is a school of racists and was looking for anything to back up his point. Passion bucket was just the sort of racial slur to set his sportswriter story sense tingling. Witness Feinstein's "column." What a tool. In Feinstein's interview on Kornheiser's show he bluntly called the Cornell player, Wittman, racist, but he veils that statement with his mind-numbingly boring column in the Washington Post. Here is Wimman's rebuttal/explanation of someone who has never met him calling him a racist from the Dan Patrick Show since Feinstein can not be bothered with doing research or follow-up since he is busying himself with writing for a dying medium and other up and coming bloviations of obliviousness he has burning on his mental hot plate.
/dismounts soap box
//wonders if anyone still uses the term soap box
///Feinstein, ya burnt, go write a column for some city's Times-Picayun or Press-Register
I did not use a picture of Feinstein because sportswriters' faces should really remain a mystery.

Nonpopulist's Browsings of the Day

The above picture is a logo alphabet. I knew eighteen out of twenty-five. It looks like they combined "W" and "V."

A newish meme, "Release the Kraken," is making the rounds on the 'tubes. To be honest, this one is underwhelming, probably because it is trying to follow Epic Beard Man. Release the kraken is still funny, though. [Urlesque]

Alternet has compiled a list of ten overreactions to the health care bill passing. A list of under reactions has yet to be compiled that I have found. It's funny how people are now all over Rush Limbaugh, ribbing him that he should be packing his bags for Costa Rica afer he said he would move there if the health care reform bill passed. It's just the latest case of 'gotcha internetism.' (like gotcha journalism) It's kind of silly to hold him to his rhetorical boasts. It's like when I was in high school, and we were playing this really crappy team of inbred rednecks in basketball. In the locker room before the game I said if we were lost to this team I would castrate myself. Well, you can see where this is going... We lost to the team of inbred rednecks in spectacular fashion and afterward everyone was trying to make a joke of me cutting my balls off, and the coach was even laughing about it. Hey guys, you missed the point. We just lost to a really bad team that we should have beaten. We were a very bad team- true story. [Alternet]

Remember that show The Unit? Yeh, me neither. I think it had the first president from 24 in it. Anyway, David Mamet created it and this memo to the writers of his creation is fairly awesome. In it he gives some valuable writing advice including, "DO *NOT* WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE IN BEL AIR *AND* HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU."
Duly noted, Mamet. I first saw this here at The Cajun Boy blog who got it from a tumblr called "Diablo Cody is not even her real name." [Diablo Cody is not even her real name]

James Cameron calling Glenn Beck an asshole? That is like Ulysses S. Grant calling Bill Clinton corrupt. Let's just agree that they are both tools. [The Hollywood Reporter]

The Indian Military takes terrorism seriously. Have you ever had jalapeno juice on your fingers and wiped your eyes? It SUCKS. [Gamma Squad]

Nonpopulist's Browsings of the Day

 Tina Fey, why do you continue to confuse my boner?

Have you sadly come to the realization that you will never visit Paris? Let your self-pity marinate by viewing an interactive map of the sites around the town you will never visit. [Paris 26 Gigapixels]

A tumblr devoted to Mystery Science Theater 3000 haikus, that is at least a weekly click. [http://mst3khaiku.tumblr.com/]

A Steven Seagal emotion chart.

Couchsurfing! If I was still a college student or single I would be all over this. Now I will settle with being all over a porn based on this. [Couchsurfing]

An intrepid look at the Neon Deion Sanders in his post- playing days pursuit. I am glad for the update, but I am not sure what to make of him after reading this article. Make my mind up for me, sportswriter! [ESPN]

Shia "Rough" Lebeouf (I think I got that from FilmDrunk) gives a little bit more information about that wreck where he lost fingers that have been replaced by hip bone pieces. That's rough, Lebeouf. [Technorati]

More information on Conan's upcoming nationwide tour. [LA Times]

The government is watching you on the Facebook. O noes! They can't see me looking at only pictures of girls in bathing suits, can they? [Readwriteweb]

So, 24, you recycled the girl double agent storyline on the Dana Walsh character? I didn't like her character at all anyway and now you've made me hate her. Jerks.

Three Sheets to Air on the Travel Channel

Zane Lamprey, likable professional drinker/ television host/ comedian/ person whose job I envy has a general buzz about him these days. The host of the television show Three Sheets announced via Youtube that Three Sheets will be airing on the Travel Channel April 14th at 11:00pm and 11:30pm EST for a period of one month. For those of you not familiar with the show you can check out full episodes on Hulu to get you warmed up for the premiere (my personal favorites are the the South Korea-Soju! and Kentucky episodes.) The show is currently airing on the Fine Living Network and although Zane does not say so explicitly, the one month airing on the Travel Channel seems to be a trial basis to see if ratings are good enough to justify a full-time move to the network. If that happens I will need to update my DVR accordingly. To get to know the host, Zane Lamprey, a little better check out this profile from Vanity Fair. He also has a comedy tour coming up soon. As if that wasn't news enough, Zane was out doing promo videos for the move to the Travel Channel over the weekend when he fell off of a bar and broke his collarbone. You may ask, is there video of this incident? Why yes, yes there is. To the Youtubes! (after the jump)

You Stay Contradictory, China

China, where you can not speak out against the government, but you can pollute to holy hell and make bear cubs fight on television. I am not completely sure these videos are real because the bears look a lot like ant eaters and the Chinese are notorious for their camera tricks (remember the Olympics?) Also, the bear cubs seem to respect the referee a little too much. Why are there not any videos of the bears turning on the referee or the N.W.O bears running out from the back with folding chairs? The world may never know.