Jon Reep will never live it down.  Fifty, maybe 60 years from now he’ll still be recognized as the scrappy “white trash” Hemi Guy from the Dodge truck commercials.

“I’ll be in the nursing home in a wheel chair, and another guy will pull up next to me in his wheel chair and go, “that thing gotta hemi?” the comedian quips, channeling the Southern accent his hillbilly character made famous in six clever TV commercials heard round the world.  (He beat out a slew of wanna-be’s in Dodge’s 2005 national search.)

“I actually loved doing them,” Jon admits.  “They were fun. They helped me career-wise to get my foot in the door as an actor, and for auditions.”

Yes’sir. The small-town comic has since won Season 5 of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” recorded a one-hour Comedy Central Presents special that aired fall 2009 and played pot-smoking farmer “Raymus” in Warner Bros. movie “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay” (2008)… That’s of course for starters.

No stranger to shows like CMT’s “Comedy Stage” and TBS’s “Pit-Stop Comedy,” Jon also starred in Larry the Cable Guy’s 2009 CMT Hula Palooza Christmas special that ran through the holidays this year.

But even before his “Hemi Guy” fame and TV/film breakthrough, Jon was one of the hardest working comics in the business, a former class clown turned dedicated road warrior who regularly played sold-out clubs around the country. He was a small-town guy who decided to give comedy and big-city living a real shot, and it paid off.

Still, Jon hasn’t forgotten his roots.  Not fully “redneck” and not completely “city slicker,” the Jon Reep fans know today is somewhere perfectly (and hilariously) in between.

“That’s why I coined the term ‘Metro Jethro,’” Jon says, of his new act and subsequently named DVD and CD. “I was tired of people saying I’m one thing or the other; I’m not. I’m both at the same time. And it’s weird, when I go back home to visit friends and family back in Hickory (N.C.) they look at me like I’m Hollywood or something. And now when I go back to L.A., where I live, they think I’m redneck.”

In Missouri for Christmas visiting the in-laws with his wife, Jon took a time-out to chat with Skyline Comedy Cafe about his impending return to Appleton after the New Year.  Bringing Metro Jethro to the stage this week, Jon headlines five Special Event performances January 7 – 9.  So, let’s get a little personal:

It’s been a while since we’ve seen you up in Appleton. Is it an area you’re fond of visiting?

I can’t remember, I wanna say maybe two years, maybe longer. Yeah, it really is.  Honestly, I grew up in the South and to be in the Midwest is just like the South, only a little bit colder.  The accents and the weather are different.

You’ve got a lot of new things to talk about, too…What’s all this Metro Jethro business fans are hearing about?

I’ve been living in LA for the last 20 years. Not that that’s good or bad, but that’s why I coined the term “Metro Jethro.”  There’s no name for us. You’re either a redneck or a city slicker, and there’s nothing in between. And that’s what I am, in between. I was raised in a small town and now I’m out in L.A., so it’s anyone who’s raised in small town or on a farm and now has to live and work in LA. …

Small towns, especially, really love to rally and support their neighbors who’ve gone on to some great success. Were people from your hometown in Hickory really supportive?

Yeah, right after I won “Last Comic Standing.” I found out later I had the most votes of anybody, ever on that show, in the entire six seasons that it ran. That makes you feel really good, because I’m sure a lot of those came from my home town. So when I would go back home I would run into people all the time, and they’d tell me they voted for me like 500 times.  “I was voting for you on my computer, with my cell phone in the other hand, sending faxes out with my feet.” It feels great to have that kind of support and love. And they gave me a day! They named a day after me, and gave me a key to the city. I came back and did a show for free…for people in Hickory, to say “thank you, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

So that audience must have been right up your alley, or at least they could relate to what you were talking about? Do you like getting in front of your home crowd?

Yes and no. Yes because they know what I’m saying is true; there’s no questioning or “I think he’s making this up.” It’s “yes, we did that.” Also no, because they have this thing where they want to scream too much (laughs), support too loudly. So I’m getting ready to talk about Hickory, and they start yelling out “Hickory!” or my old high school, old jobs I used to work. And I’m like, “Hang on…I’m doing a show. I’ll get to that part, don’t worry.”  That’s the only frustrating part, and it’s a minor thing.

Going from the early days, playing colleges, then up to the Dodge commercials and Comedy Central specials, was your act a natural progression toward “Metro Jethro”? Did you always know that’s where it would go?

I didn’t know. (Metro Jethro), that’s a new thing.  I never knew how long I’d be in L.A. I moved out there, thought I would try to get on TV in some capacity. I had small goals; I’d give myself 2 to 3 years in L.A., and if I hadn’t made it on TV in some capacity I’d move out of there, back to North Carolina and focus on being the best road comedian I can, being on the radio as much as possible—a real grassroots effort.  It was right around that time frame I got the commercials, “Last Comic Standing” …

You’ve done so much. Is it mind-boggling to you, thinking how far you’ve come so far?

It really is. “Last Comic Standing” was huge. And I had a great run on a national ad campaign—I did six national commercials—and with the movie Harold & Kumar with (John Cho and Kal Penn)…I’m glad it has turned into what it has now.

Between stand-up and TV and movies, is there one platform you prefer?

Stand-up is what I’m most comfortable with. It’s what I’ve been doing most, the longest, although I did acting (in school). I was a theater major in college, not because I loved the theater. I only took Theater because I thought it would be the easiest thing to get a degree in. It turned into I was actually pretty good at it. I had that background, but I am more comfortable doing stand-up.

When you’re getting ready for a show versus a commercial or movie, is the preparation quite different?

When you prepare for acting things it’s a lot different. When I’m doing stand-up, it’s just me and the audience. When I’m doing a film or a sitcom, I have to share the stage with another actor and learn how to listen. That’s one of the things comedians, when they turn into actors, aren’t that good at—listening to what the other person is saying. You can tell they’re sort of thinking about their next lines and not totally listening.

How did the Harold & Kumar part come about?

They called me in. I auditioned for it. I actually got the role before I won “Last Comic Standing,” but it takes a while to film and so when it came out, it came out after. It’s not “Oh look at that, they put him in the movie.” I had to audition; I earned that part.  But they just called me in. They were looking for a white-trashy redneck guy, and I had that resume (laughs). I went in there dressed as white-trash rednecky as I could…

Does it ever bother you to be known for one thing or the other? “The Hemi Guy” or the guy from “Last Comic Standing”? Or is there just appreciation for the doors those gigs open?

I’ve already given in to fact that no matter what I do for the rest of my career, to a certain part of the population I’m always going to be the “Hemi Guy.”  … It’s just weird to me some people remember that but they don’t remember anything about “Last Comic Standing.”  I was at the airport on a plane, and a couple both recognized me. He’s like, “Oh honey, look it’s the ‘Hemi Guy,’” and she says, “What? What? This is the guy from ‘Last Comic Standing.’”  I just let them argue in front of me. So, it’s cool.

Very. So, “Metro Jethro” is new. Is there anything in the works for 2010 we should watch out for?

I’ve got a couple things I’ve taped already that’ll come out in 2010. There’s this G4 Network, their “International Sexy Lady Show”—I’m not one of the ladies, I’m one of the guys commentating. They hired a bunch of comedians, so I’ll be on that.  I’m also going to be on the Disney Channel. They have a new sitcom coming out next year “Good Luck Charlie”; I’m in episode 13, so look for that.  I’m working on my own TV show, hoping to get that made in 2010.

Nice. One last question…Comedy Central still claims that the one talent that sets you apart from other comedians is that you’re the best redneck dancer since Elvis. Are you bringing the moves with you this time around?

Well…(laughs), it’s been a while since I did that.  I used to be known as the Hickory Dance Machine. I was coming out on stage, and I’d dance right off the bat, make fun of dancing by dancing. We’ve all been out dancing somewhere, and someone on the dance floor is taking themselves way too seriously. They’re doing the shovel dance up there, digging something.  I got all kinds of weird ones I’ve made up, like nine of ‘em. I used to come out and start the show dancing, doing The Shovel, The Rake, The Mop. Then in the middle of the show I’d do three, end of show three more. I haven’t done that in a long time…I feel so bad, they should take that (info) down. People come to the show and want to see the Hickory Dance Machine but…he’s gone (laughs).

Jon Reep Online

Comedy Central (2009)

Comedy Central Presents (2006; half-hour special)

CMT

MySpace

VIDEOS

That ends this BEHIND THE MIC romp with comedy’s JON REEP.  Stop back next week for another backstage exclusive with the best names in comedy!

RESERVATIONS:  (920) 734-Joke (5653)    |    Skyline Comedy Official

Jhumpha Lahiri has a remarkable ability to charm the socks off her high-brow reviewers. “Lahiri is ‘wow,’” says Caleb Crain for The New York Times, on Pulitzer Prize-winning Interpreter of Maladies. Colleague Michiko Kakutani calls The Namesake “a debut novel that is as assured and eloquent as the work of a longtime master of the craft.”

I’ve tried to like Lahiri’s writing. I really have. I found Interpreter of Maladies to be beautifully written, but thematically tepid. I read a few pages of The Namesake and became irate with her generalizations of Americans and Indians. I perused a few stories in Unaccustomed Earth and nearly threw the collection out the window. Ah, the art of the short story! The exposition of identity politics!

I became so fed up with Lahiri’s focus on identity that I vowed to write short stories where identity politics were incidental and irrelevant to the story. In trying to mask the politics of identity, I think I missed the point. As recent events and conversations have revealed to me, identity politics are heated and salient as ever. It’s that Lahiri presents them in clichés, platitudes, and obsessions with infidelity and apathy. She also writes about a very tiny subset of Indians – first and second generation wealthy, Bengalis who have studied and/or live in the one mile radius of Cambridge, Massachusetts. I lived in Cambridge for two years – this profile isn’t even me.

Where are the other Indians? East Asians? Jewish people? Other Bostonians? (Oh wait, I forget that people in Cambridge hardly ever cross the Charles River). Young professionals outside the medical field? Almost nowhere to be found – it’s like they don’t even exist, exposing both the limitations of Lahiri’s personal experience and imagination. Lahiri’s angst isn’t the issue – her characterization of it is outdated. A friend of mine remarked to me, “You know where Americans are stuck? Mississippi Masala. People still ask me if my life is like that.” Let me remind readers that this Mira Nair film was released almost two decades ago. Identity politics and culture is mutable and ever-evolving.

Admittedly, Lahiri has a fine flair for expressing tragedy. However, her characters are recycled and under-developed. I keep thinking to myself “Thank gods, I am not these people.” Her protagonists are passive and lukewarm, and her command of suspense incredibly poor. Her stories give me so little hope. There is no triumph after struggle.

In many ways, film and comedy are well-ahead of the curve over literature. Nair’s films have always been visionary. Bend It Like Beckham (Gurinder Chadha, 2002) is a film about South Asian identity politics; however, it’s also about the challenges young people face whenever they want to do something different. Harold and Kumar (Danny Leiner, 2004) is ground-breaking, because it’s really a story about two smart guys being total idiots. The cultural elements — the pressure on Kumar (Kal Penn) to get into medical school and the need for Harold (John Cho) to stand up against his manipulative, fraternity-boy co-workers — are presented through comedy. Comedian Russell Peters makes fun of Indian stereotypes and makes us laugh.

Short stories are difficult to write. An author has about 2500-5000 words to place point of view strategically, develop major and minor characters, frame the setting, spin the plot, and reveal the themes – in other words, to make the point. In my opinion, there are very few genuinely good short story writers: William Faulkner, Flannery ‘O Connor, Angela Carter, Edgar Allen Poe (who arguably invented the genre in English literature), and Anita Nair. Now there’s a South Asian writer you should read, along with Chitra Banerjee Divakuruni, who addresses domestic violence in her work. All the writers I mentioned incorporate the weird and gothic, strong elements of suspense, and/or even magical realism.

Why shouldn’t I write a collection of short stories focused on identity politics that is salient to my generation? Suddenly, the inspiration for stories and themes was all around me: pan-Asian identities; the relationships between first and second-generation South Asian peers; similarities in the immigrant story across cultures; where exoticism can turn out to be perceived as a liability for image-creation rather than an asset; the apparent success of Jewish-Indian romances; the paradoxical experience of being a third-culture kid; racial profiling; vulnerabilities in the workplace, where being young and a woman is equally problematic; and how class differences, of even the minutest kind, are often far more dividing than cultural ones or color lines.

Electing President Obama, who is white, black, second-generation, and a third-culture kid, is just a first-step; we as Americans still have a long, long way to go. The unfortunate fact is that humans are 99 percent similar to each other. Unlike Lahiri, who is obsessed with cross-cultural differences, I’m obsessed with cross-cultural parallels. The more I travel, the more I see that we are more similar than we are different. But we focus on the one percent that’s different: the one percent that causes all the conflicts, the one percent that is the reason for rich, cultural diversity in the world. “Identity politics are a whole lot more complex than they need to be,” I said to my friend with a deep sigh.

True lack of prejudice and worldliness is a necessary, two-way dream. To understand curiosities, one has to be curious. To be accepted, one has to accept. To globalize, one needs to be globalized as well. The real question is can we all get over ourselves in order to genuinely eliminate racial and cultural discrimination? I will not give up on the possibility.

A powerful short story of identity politics would be one which they are the undercurrent of the story and not the story itself. One in which the multiple layers of identity draw us together just as much as they pull us apart. The themes can (and perhaps should) be universal in nature. After all, as Lord Alfred Tennyson said, there are no new ideas, only new ways of expressing them.

As the White House prepares for POTUS’ first State Dinner, it’s not international relations with India and guest of honor Dr. Manmohan Singh that are of utmost concern.  The media is abuzz about who will show up and what FLOTUS is gonna wear:  Will she sport a new hairdo?  Show off her blazing guns?  Looks like the First Lady has always been a fashion plate, even as a wee lass at her 1984 senior prom. 

Va va voom! FLOTUS is scandalous with that thigh high slit! (Splash News)

Word on the street is that Jennifer Hudson will provide some American Idol-style entertainment at the gala event.  Other rumored guests: Deepak Chopra, Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Bobby Jindal, and Kal Penn.  BoL can’t wait to see who else will grace the “red carpet” tonight! 

Be sure to catch the live streaming of the State Dinner tonight at 8:15 pm.

The Obamas are getting ready to host their first State Dinner Tuesday night, and all the A-listers have been clamoring for an invite.  While the formal guest of honor is Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, we all know people are hungry to rub shoulders with POTUS and FLOTUS! 

That ain't no REI tent! (Reuters Pictures)

Because the White House doesn’t have space to accomodate the huge dinner (400 guests!), an enormous tent is being erected in the South Lawn.   The White House has been discrete about the invitation list, so BoL figures our invitation was lost in the mail.  Rumor is that Kalpenn Modi (better known as Kal Penn or Kumar), resident White House desi, received an invitation–maybe so Singh doesn’t feel lonely? 

Kumar is in the House! (White House Photographer Pete Souza)

The dinner is so fancy that the White House invited guest chef Marcus Samuelsson of New York’s Scandinavian restaurant Aquavite  to prepare the meal.  While the menu is undisclosed, we know one thing–Dr. Singh is vegetarian, so Samuelsson’s specialty below better not be the only option!

American actors of Indian descent such as Kal Penn, Aasif Mandvi, Pooja Kumar have come a long way to claim their place in the US television and film industry.

Indian American creative talents have more on their plate today than what they did a decade ago when they were offered only stereotypical roles.

The collaboration of Hollywood and Indian film companies for joint projects has led to a spurt in South Asian origin executives in leading entertainment organisations as well, reports the BBC.

Most of these professionals are US-born such as Kalpen Modi, also called Kal Penn, whose talent, as seen in comedy film series Harold and Kumar and crossovers like The Namesake, apparently led him to be an outreach director in the Obama administration.

Mumbai-born actor and writer Aasif Mandvi also carved up a niche with the popular American TV comedy series The Daily Show.

Mandvi said: “When I started out as an actor there were very few of us. There were no roles for Indians in Hollywood films or TV.

“But acting was something I always wanted to do, and there was nothing else I was very good at. I just had to sink or swim. I did a little bit of both along my way.”

While actress Pooja Kumar featured in TV serials and films including Flavors and the musical comedy Bollywood Hero, other leading names of Indian origin included Sunil Nayar, Sri Rao and Mindy Kaling.

Rao, a writer-director-producer based in New York City, added: “The biggest opportunity for South Asian writers, actors and producers is in American television now.

“There is a tremendous amount of content being produced and there is much interest on the side of the networks and studios to make sure that their casts are more diverse and that the stories they are telling are unique and different from what were told in last 10 or 20 years.”

Två välutbildade men desillusionerade unga män, Harold (John Cho) och Kumar (Kal Penn), har väl inte riktigt ramlat rätt i livet ännu och när de får ett infall att det viktigaste är att svulla i sig en burgare från hamburgerrestaurangen White Castle blir det en strapatsfylld färd med många märkliga möten på vägen.

Tydligen gick den här filmen så pass bra att man gjorde en uppföljare. Jag tycker dock att den här första filmen om pundarna Harold och Kumar är den bästa. Det är larvigt och flabbigt, men man balanserar det på ett ganska skickligt sätt. Roligast i båda filmerna är nästan Neil Patrick Harris i rollen som en mindre ordningssam version av sig själv. Här ser vi också svenska Malin Åkerman i en tidig ”tuttroll” som hon nog idag knappast hade accepterat. Kvinnosynen och allt drogande drar ner betyget ett snäpp.

Betyg: 2

The young actor who worked hard before stardom in High School Musical 1 & 2,  visited the White House with actress Claire Danes, and director Richard Linklater to ask for more money for the Arts in Public Schools…They did not get a chance to see the first family members, but did instead meet with another celebrity…Kal Penn who actually took a big pay cut to work in the White House…..

DC Comics
East of the Sun – The Triad (illustration | Cissie/Tim/Kon | worksafe)

Fake News
Disney Princess Eyes (art | happy!Stephen, a bluebird | ridiculously worksafe)
Needs Met, page 01, page 02 (comic | Jon/”Stephen”, Jon/liberal!”Stephen” | G, so far)
A Selection of Stephanies (art | Tawny Hunnibi, Stephanie, Liberal!Stephanie, Happy!Stephanie, Stefania | worksafe)
Needs Salt (art | baseball!Jon, vampire!”Stephen”, ghost!Bobby | worksafe)

Fake News/Hellsing
Vampire!Stephen sketchdump (sketches | Jon/”Stephen”, Alucard, Integra, Seras | worksafe)

Fake News/Politics/Star Trek
Dreaming of Q (illustration | Kal Penn, Peter Orszag, Biden, Obama, Rahm, Michelle, Jon, Stephen | worksafe)

Hellsing
Integra Declares It (art | Integra | worksafe)
Integra in Ribbon (art | Integra | NSFW)

Original/Miscellaneous
The space of a year (monthtastic mix)

Next Week in Shine:
A certain cuddly catboy gets to do his big adorable reveal.

President Barack Obama holds a briefing with Tina Tchen, Director of the Office of Public Engagement, right, and staff in the Oval Office, prior to the Asian American and Pacific Islander Initiative Executive Order signing, and Diwali festival of lights ceremony at the White House, Oct. 14, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Obama scored another first. No, not the first American president to win the Nobel in the first year of presidency. That too – but perhaps more sanguinely, the first American president to light a ceremonial diya at White House on occasion of Diwali. He also recorded a video message to convey Diwali greetings to a cross-section of minority groups in the US of Indian heritage. As I watched his message, I thought of all the possible machinations in the background that would have culminated in Obama recording the message.

I am an avid fan of the West Wing. The show unravels the goings-on behind a typical day at the White House. Something like the President sending a message on Diwali does not happen impromptu – it is preceded by weeks of jostling, planning, debating and wrangling amongst the advisers of the President. So, guess why and how the Diwali greetings happened? Here is what (might have) happened….

Kalpen Modi (Kal Penn in his new avatar), Associate Director at White House Office of Public Engagement, had lunch with Valerie (Jarrett), Senior Adviser and Assistant to the President on Public Engagement, sometime after 15 August 2009. The President had just released messages congratulating Indian and Pakistan on their respective Independence anniversaries. Kalpen explained to Valerie how the messaging from White House towards Indian community needs to get stronger. The Indian-American community in the US could use some love from the Democrat administration – also, Obama’s appeal in India could be leveraged to further strenghen ties with a growing economy. Valerie wondered how. Kalpen mentioned how Diwali could be the right occasion – the festival of lights celebrated by the Indian community worldwide. Presidents had addressed the public for Thanksgiving, Christmas and other such festivals in the past. However, a President had never participated in a Diwali celebration before. Obama fit the bill.

In the next meeting with his top team, Valerie proposed the strategy behind Diwali messaging. Rahm (Emanuel) and David (Axelrod) supported the idea however suggested that Obama’s participation should be seen as inclusive of other communities also and should not be directed at just followers of Hinduism. Obama liked the idea and wondered if Valerie could speak with Jon (Favreau) and craft the right message.

Just ahead of the press briefing that day, Valerie saw Jon huddled with Robert (Gibbs) in the hallway discussing what to feed into the news cycle regarding Obama’s upcoming speech to the Congress on healthcare. Valerie indicated to Jon that they needed to speak as Jon headed back to office. Jon was busy giving some finishing touches to Obama’s healthcare speech but he agreed to stop by Valerie’s office later that day.

When Jon came over, Kalpen was already in Valerie’s office. Valerie mentioned her conversation with the President and requested Jon to work with Kalpen to create a suitable message.

Being buddies, Kalpen and Jon met over dinner that day near the Dupont Circle and talked about the Diwali message. Rashida (Jones), Jon’s girlfriend, joined them as well. Jon’s understanding of the festival was limited but Kalpen filled him in. In order to make the message more inclusive, Jon wondered if Diwali was a special occasion for other communities too. Kalpen mentioned how Diwali was significant day for Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs too. Rashida remembered several vivid details of the festival as well, thanks to her experiences in India and her dabbling in the past with Hinduism. She suggested that, aside from the personal message, the President should also light a ceremonial diya at a White House function with Vedic chants in the background. Jon and Kalpen loved the idea and agreed to take it to Valerie.

Over the next couple of weeks, Jon crafted a message to be delivered by the President with suggestions on the draft from Kalpen. Valerie approved Jon’s draft and the ceremonial diya idea. At the next meeting with the top team, Obama loved the diya idea and later, made only a couple of changes to the draft.

On the appointed day, Obama recorded the video message that had been fed into the prompter and then headed over to the East Room where he lit the diya while a Hindu priest chanted mantras. With the fun over, Rahm whisked Obama into the Situation Room to discuss some pressing matters regarding the war in Afghanistan where General Jones and Joint Chiefs were waiting for him.

You know when your stoner friend from high school grows up and gets a real job and wears a suit and you giggle every time you see him because he looks like an adult? Yeah, that’s how I feel about this photo.

That’s Kal Penn in the middle. You know….Kumar. He’s now working for the Obama administration as Associate Director in the Office of Public Engagement serving as a liason between the White House and Asian-American & Pacific-Islander communities. I love it when people do things that are (pleasantly) unexpected. I was impressed and intrigued last April when I read about Penn’s career shift (although I’d JUST started getting into ‘House’ and was bummed that he was leaving the show).

To be fair, Penn (or Kalpen Modi, his birth name that he’s now using as a non-actor) has played a few notable stoner ROLES. I know nothing about his personal life. However, I’ve spent enough Saturday afternoons watching ‘Harold & Kumar go to White Castle’ to find the irony in the fact that he’s now working for ‘The Man’.

*I’ve never done drugs and I generally don’t find drug humor all that funny…but for some reason, ‘Harold & Kumar go to White Castle’ is one of my favorite movies. I credit Neil Patrick Harris. It probably also helps that John Cho & Kal Penn remind me of half the guys I went to college with. I dunno…it’s weird.*

And, yes, I do feel like he’s an old friend. I’m not quite sure why. Maybe it’s because he’s my age and I’ve spent so many years watching him act. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t strike me as a “Hollywood” guy. Maybe it’s that whole “wait, didn’t I go to college with him?” thing. Either way, I enjoy seeing him do big things.

The actor , whose real name is Kal Modi, has posted a piece expressing the President\’s best wishes for the holiday of Diwali (the festival of lights) . The White House held a service for the Holiday in the East Room…..A video accompanies the post…….

Potentially useful ways to spend a few minutes over Diwali weekend:

1. While this dates back a few months, Felix Salmon’s piece on the pitfalls of placing too much faith in the Gaussian copula speaks to my earlier thoughts on Mandelbrot’s financial work. Those looking for an erudite summary of what went wrong should read it.

2. Another article from a few months back (thanks for the link Chai) that is mighty interesting; has there ever been a study of this breadth?

3. Information on the work of Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson, recipients of this year’s Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (can’t we just dispense with political correctness and call it the Nobel Prize in Economics?); its a mere 14 pages, making for quick reading.

4. Sambit Bal is right on the money: Younis Khan does deserve better and its high time that the PCB got its act together.

5. Ehud Olmert was at the University of Chicago yesterday, speaking at the King Abdullah II Annual Leadership Lecture (think about how many things are wrong with that statement, right there). Given that this came on the heels of a John Bolton lecture- organized by the Chicago Friends of Israel and Campus Republicans- people might be forgiven for thinking that the liberal left had vanished. Not so: people from around the city journeyed down to Hyde Park to protest Olmert’s speech, covered by ABC7 News.

6. A good read on an obscure cricketer.

7. Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner get taken to the cleaners for gross inaccuracies and misrepresentations in their follow-up to Freakonomics, Superfreakonomics.

8. Finally, President Obama wishes everyone a Happy Diwali as well:

Incidentally, Kalpen Modi (aka Kal Penn aka Kumar from the Harold and Kumar movies) posted that to the White House page.

Smile.

Obama celebrated Diwali yesterday, the Hindu Festival of Lights. Although Bush started this White House tradition, Obama is the first prez to attend the actual ceremony, which involved lighting an oil lamp. Guests each received a small box of sweets blessed by the priest. POTUS also signed an executive order that restarted an Advisory Commission and White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders. Maybe this is call for Part II of My Name is Khan? BoL’s big question–where was Kal Penn through all this?

George Washington approves this message! (Getty Images)

What does the sole yellow box hold? (Getty Images)

Here’s a video of the festivities (begins with a Penn Masala a cappella performance; Obama arrives at 5:06, and the Diwali celebration begins at 13:40).

It's marginally related to this post, but too good to pass up, yaar! (TOI Photo/Neelam)

(Buffy Season 4, Episodes 5-6)
(Angel Season 1, Episodes 5-6)

Change is brewing already on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A little abrupt, and saddening, but it will push the characters into new emotional territory. Never want them to stagnate too much.

Over on Angel, it was so good to see Angel doing something other than the whole brooding thing. The show is really coming into its own comedy-wise, which is important. I don’t need it as light as Buffy, but you can’t have characters like Cordelia and Doyle and stay that dark forever.

–>to continue reading, follow the link over to the full article on CliqueClack TV

The Death of Major Television Characters:  Does it Propel a Story Forward by Opening Doors, or Does It Slowly Mark the Death Knell of a Fantastic TV Show?

Is it me, or has this proliferation of using key character deaths to move storylines forward been overdone and needs to be nixed from this point forward?  In my mind, it all started with “LOST.”  I mean, who has not been shocked and disturbed at how easily “LOST” has killed off primary characters season after season?  Or perhaps it began with the death of Jack Bauer’s wife, Terry in Season 1 of “24.”  Either way, somewhere along the line television writers decided that it was the cool thing to do by killing off major characters right smack in the middle of a television series.

As a viewer, nothing ticks me off more.  It shows so little respect for the affection, time and energy that I (as a fan) have invested in these characters.  After all, I devote an hour (or more) a week of my time to slavishly devote myself to watching their show.  Should they not reward me for this commitment and sacrifice of my time?  I mean, if I were at work, my time would have to be compensated.  My job cannot just make me sit there at their leisure without some reward (e.g., an hourly salary).  But, in the television industry, I think they are taking us, the viewers and fans, for granted.  They just figure they can blow-up, strangle, eat, or kill off any one of our beloved characters (without notice) and we will still continue to watch their show.  Such naïveté is astounding!

I mean, in this past 2008-2009 television season, “Desperate Housewives” killed off Edie Britt, George O’Malley was killed off on “Grey’s Anatomy” and Jimmy Olsen was killed off on “Smallville” – all fan favorites.  (And do not even get me started on the death of Kutner on “House” – which I will only forgive because Kal Penn got his dream job in real-life to work at The White House, so I cannot really blame the guy.)

But, as a viewer, the answer is a resounding: NO!  I do not like or appreciate having major characters killed off.  After all, they are the reason we tune in week after week to watch these shows.  We want to spend time with these characters.  Watching these characters die is NOT the reason I watch TV.  In fact, it makes me assess why the I am even watching the show in the first place.  At what point is the line crossed and I say “enough” and stop watching the show?  Looking back, I find it IS usually after the death of a character that I find I cannot watch the show without them and do stop watching.

One good such example is the British television show “Primeval.”  I think they have just crossed the line.   They had the audacity to kill of the lead character, Nick Cutter!   It strikes me as sheer stupidity to kill off the primary character of a hot primetime TV show.  After all, the show did not kill off a mere second hand lieutenant, like the character Steven in “Primeval’s” 2nd season.  They dared to kill off Nick Cutter, the main guy – this was the guy who started it all – the guy who introduced us to our characters and made them a team.  That was the primary reason we all watched this hodge-podge group of people – they invited us to be a part of their “family” – a special team who chased dinosaurs in modern day England.

In Season 1, they pulled an alternate-reality switch in order to turn one character into another:  Nick Cutter’s love-interest Claudia Brown vanished in a “butterfly effect” when the timeline was slightly modified, only to have the same actress resurface as a different character.  Then in Season 2, they had Steven, the right-hand lieutenant, sacrifice himself to save the entire team.  It was heart-breaking and poignant – and ultimately forgivable.  But now, I find myself thinking that this is “it” – the point of no return.  How dare they seek to kill off the one character you are not supposed to kill off?!!!  Such arrogance and delusion is perhaps unforgivable.

I mean, are we truly a society where only the young and beautiful are allowed to “live” on television shows.  Must the older adults (and who said that anyone over 35 was “old”?) be killed off to make room for the younger and more attractive actors?  I don’t buy it.  I took a distinct liking to “Primeval” BECAUSE it felt like a family.  Nick Cutter was the “dad” who took everyone under wing and mentored and looked out for them.  To kill him off to make room for the younger actors is wrong.

An analogy would be to compare it with the TV show “NCIS” which also uses the patriarchy formula to create a successfully working family-unit under the brilliant leadership of a charismatic male lead/father figure.  Would “NCIS” even be watchable without Gibbs carefully grooming and watching over Tony and Ziva?  It would not make any sense to kill-off Gibbs and just focus episodes on Tony and Ziva’s characters.  The family unit is the key to success on that show and the show creators and writers of “NCIS” are very careful to preserve the shows carefully crafted character chemistry and balance.

Or another example would be the TV show “Smallville”:  Do they kill off Clark Kent and Lois Lane to make way so that Jimmy and Chloe can carry on with the story?  Again, the answer is a resounding:  NO.  The story is about Clark Kent and his lady love and the adventures they have with their made-up television family, which consists of Jimmy, Chloe, Oliver and all the rest of their friends.  Never does the show stop and think, let’s kill off Clark Kent and focus on the younger generation.  The story just does not work that way.   

Another example of a show that has perhaps foolishly killed off lead characters is the show “Torchwood” – perhaps a bit more analogous for the British folk.  It was a huge risk to kill of two of the five principal characters at the end of its second season.   But, as we are on the brink of Season 3 being broadcast in July, I am not even sure the show will recover from the loss of two integral “family” members of the core Torchwood team.  But, never in a million years, would they ever dream of killing off John Barrowman’s character, Captain Jack.  To do so would be the death knell of “Torchwood.”

So in my mind, for this avid sci-fi viewer, “Primeval” fails if it perceives itself as solely a show about the dinosaurs and that the humans are merely expendable background characters.

So I posit to you:  has the death knell sounded for “Primeval”?  Does the death of Nick Cutter spell the doom for a show that has callously ripped its own heart out?

Título: Dos colgaos muy fumaos: Fuga de Guantánamo
Título original:  Harold & Kumar escape from Guantanamo Bay
País: USA
Estreno en USA: 25/04/2008
Estreno en España: 11/07/2008
Productora: New Line Cinema / Warner Bros Pictures
Director: Jon Hurwitz y Hayden Schlossberg
Guión: Jon Hurwitz y Hayden Schlossberg
Reparto: John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Beverly D’Angelo, Rob Corddry, Roger Bart

Sinopsis:

Nos volvemos a encontrar con Harold y con Kumar justo donde los dejamos después de haber terminado con éxito la hazaña en White Castle. Solo han transcurrido una hora o dos, y ambos se están preparando para viajar a Amsterdam, donde Harold pretende ganar el corazón de su amada Maria. En el aeropuerto, Kumar se topa con su ex novia, Vanessa, y se sorprende al descubrir que está a punto de casarse. Incluso antes de que se monten en el avión, Kumar amenaza con destruir la misión enredándose con el personal de seguridad del aeropuerto, insistiendo en protestar por una revisión aleatoria. Incapaz de esperar seis horas para llegar a Amsterdam, Kumar mete una pipa de agua casera para fumar en el cuarto de baño del avión. Se produce una turbulencia, se abre la puerta del cuarto de baño, la pipa es confundida con una bomba y nuestros amigos son detenidos y llevados a Guantánamo, de donde tendrán que escapar para poder demostrar su inocencia.

Opinión:

¿Te gusta emporrarte hasta las cejas? ¿Los chistes escatológicos o simplemente guarros? ¿Las mujeres-florero enseñando todo lo que pueden y mas? Pues esta es tu película. Humor zafio y vulgar con el que te vas a reír en un par de ocasiones, pero que no da para rellenar hora y media de aburrido metraje y moralina barata. Y es que esta continuación de la sorprendente – por la recaudación – “Dos colgaos muy fumaos” sigue la misma linea, pero siendo aun mas chusca y bizarra que su predecesora.

Dos idiotas y un destino

Protagonizada por John Cho y Kal Penn, que dan un recital de como burlarse de toda etnia que pueda uno imaginarse, y con un guion lamentable, en el que se mezcla política, sexo, drogas y toda clase bromas de mal gusto, mas un par de historias románticas de esas que no se cree nadie, el film resulta una apología del consumo de marihuana como solución a todos los problemas, y viendo como va el mundo, quizás hasta tengan razón.

Lo mejor de la peli

Solo apta para gente entre los 14 y 18 años que no hayan desarrollado la parte superior de su cuerpo. Si, esos que se consideran unos colgados de la vida…

Puntuación:

4 / 10