Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

For Fathers Day today we caught Toy Story 3 . It was a heck of a show - the guys at Pixar have not lost their touch. We re-watched the Toy Story on blu ray  a couple of weeks ago to prepare ourselves. While the original was groundbreaking in its day, the years since have seen amazing strides in computer animation. Yet despite the technical tour-de-force (see it in 3D if possible), Pixar continues to show the world its real strength is in writing and directing. It's laugh out loud funny. Yet without giving away thing critical, let me say the theater was filled with the sound of choked-back sobs by the end of the show. Hell, I'm not ashamed to admit I was a weepy bastard. We see a couple of sides of Buzz Lightyear we haven't seen before. And new character Ken (Barbie's boyfriend)  puts on some moves I would have never thought possible. And if (like me) you have college students you'll find it especially bittersweet. So go see it - it's a great film. The...

The Colbert Report's week in Baghdad is over now and by any measure was a great success, from the shout-outs from the likes of Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, John McCain, Jim Webb, Joe Biden, Sarah Palin, and Bush father and son to the interviews with the troops and their leaders. Here's a recap for the week, which hardly touches on the funniest bits. The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Recap - Week of 6/8/09 www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Stephen Colbert in Iraq I've already mentioned bits from the first two nights. The funniest from Thursday's show surely had to be Stephen's interview with the commander of the Thunderbirds, and the subsequent film of his joyride. -- Oh my God! Favorite line (as he's strapped into the back of one of the Thunderbirds). Airman : Stephen, if you could just not touch anything back here... Stephen : Does this drop the bombs? While a lot of fun, the show made a number of serious points. S...

Another fab show from Stephen, with a follow up on his "basic training" film from yesterday. More silly and inspired. The drill sergent deserves an Emmy. This was followed on a long riff on "don't ask - don't tell," which was both pointed and funny. The best (though not the funniest bit) was his interview with two of the troops - a woman MP and Arab-American translator.Coupled with the "don't ask/don't tell" references made earlier, the unmissable point was how diverse today's army was. It transcended being a comedy show bit. For even more information, I recommend heading over to the No Fact Zone -- they've got some great content about this trip. I promise a link to tonight's show tomorrow sometime; as soon as it's available.

The New York Times is reporting Stephen Colbert is taping his show this week before the troops in Iraq. The shows will be aired starting June 8 (tomorrow). He's been talking about doing this for some time now. This ought to be an amazing set of shows This guy is amazing -- in addition to this trip, Colbert sponsors a site called d onorschoose.org which raises money for school supplies for children of soldiers, and uses the proceeds for his WristStrong bracelets (from when he broke his wrist during the show's warmup) to help injured veterans. Don't ever confuse the man with the character he plays. Thanks and a hat tip to the No Fact Zone for alerting me to this.

Birthday wishes to America's favorite faux right-wing blowhard. Stephen Colbert turns 45 today. What do you give a man who has everything , including our undying devotion? Head over to the No-Fact Zone for more fan-based adoration. Thanks for all the truthiness, Stephen!