SNL Finds Its Obama, Half-Asses It With the Makeup

For all the hype around the return of Saturday Night Live and the realization that the cast has, since its inception, pretty much been populated by the whitest kids u know (pun intended, like Tina Fey's "Bitch is the new Black" double entendre on Weekend Update), the much ballyhooed Who Will Play Barack Obama dilemma came to a close with a hilarious premise of a sketch, but a not so brilliant portrayal of the Illinois Senator by funnyman Fred Armisen (facial expression, yes; vocal cadence, not so much). I don't particularly care that a black actor didn't play the part; Barack Obama is, after all, half-white, and Armisen is of mixed ethnic heritage. What I found disturbing was that the makeup artists only covered Armisen's face. Not the ears, and certainly not the hands (which got the particulars of Obama's hand gestures wrong, by the way). Not sure if this was supposed to be part of the joke. The Kristen Wiig reaction shot halfway through is priceless, however, as is the idea of the press being "totally in the bag" for Obama. Here's an excerpt:



A few tweaks here and there for Armisen, and he has a winner on his hands (like his Prince impersonation). As for the makeup artists, they would do well to stock up on the bronzer.

Live Blogging Jimmy Kimmel's Video Response to Sarah Silverman's Brilliant Viral Vid

Let me preface this with the sheer fact that this is the most love I will ever give Jimmy Kimmel, as long as the Earth remains in rotation. I'm Fucking Ben Affleck is laugh out loud funny. It is, hands down, the funniest comedic bit Jimmy Kimmel has ever done. It is, hands down, the funniest comedic bit Jimmy Kimmel will ever do. What makes it funny isn't the blatant cribbing from his girlfriend's genius Dear John (or, Jimmy) video from three weeks prior; it's the sheer number of celebrities within. First, Brad Pitt shows up as a FedEx delivery man with a cake in a box. Then, it morphs into a "We Are the World" re-enactment that was so full of stars, it looked like overflow from a post-Oscars bash thrown by Graydon Carter. Joan Jett. Huey Lewis. That Hobbit from Lord of the Rings who also plays a character on Lost. Members from Fall Out Boy and Good Charlotte chiming in. Macy Gray. Don Cheadle. Freaking Harrison Ford. And Robin Williams with a disturbingly suggestive splash of water to his face. Oh, yeah... and McLovin. Never mind the digitally-obscured sign language from Cameron Diaz; that Josh Grobin moment was hilarious, and Josh Grobin generally rises to the level universal suckiness on the order of Kenny G and Michael Bolton.



A funny little moment, indeed. Just wish Kimmel wouldn't have had Ben Affleck on immediately afterwards to recap how ingeniously funny they thought they were.

Good Lord, Purveyor... Hate much?

Sea Spiders: Six Degrees of Grossification

Australian scientists have discovered what seems to be a couple of new, gelatinous species at the bottom of the ocean off Antarctica. These sea spiders are frightening to me on a number of levels:

1) Despite my affinity for Spider-Man as a superhero and movie franchise, I'm an arachniphobe. Spiders are gross.

2) I don't trust any creature that is literally transparent, because that's just gross.

3) The fluid manner in which these things waft through the deep blue sea is beautiful, yet deceptive, because they are spiders and, therefore, gross.

4) Looking at them makes me think of phlegm. In fact, there's now phlegmy goo developing in my throat as I write this. Phlegm is nothing if not gross.

5) What in the frack are those transparent, bulbous stalk-like things rising out of the sea floor? Did a school of kiddie crustaceans have a birthday party where a stingray dressed as a clown blew up a bunch of those silly twisty balloons? Cuz that shit's freaking gross.

6) I'm nauseous, and nausea is gross.

Read all about it here.

Creative Wood Piercing...

The FX network has a great stable of original programming, from Nip/Tuck (the current season of which is frighteningly awesome) to the brilliant Damages. I've been seeing promos for the Courteney Cox drama Dirt, which launches its second season on March 2nd. While I only watched the first two episodes last season, the promos for this new season are crafty (rotoscope animation meets Roy Lichtenstein artwork), and the song used within is catchy as hell. I did some webernet surfing to figure out the band behind the infectious tune: Peaches is the band; The Boys Wanna Be Her is the song. I stumbled upon their video on YouTube and I've embedded it here for your viewing pleasure. This one gives a whole new meaning to the phrase There Will Be Blood, while introducing what can only be described as "creative wood piercing". Enjoy.

"Hey, Kimmel! How Do You Like Them Apples?"

There have been some great pop culture moments (comedy category) so far in 2008. The return of "A" Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Dave & Conan's strike beards. The emergence of that odd Tom Cruise Scientology video, and the subsequent spoof by Jerry O'Connell. But this will reign as the #1 Pop Culture Moment of 2008 for the foreseeable future.