How the hell do you pronounce Syfy anyway? See-fee? Si-fi? Syuff-fuff? Sikkle-fickle? Series premiere of a new Soff-foff original tonight, be there!
Burn After Reading
8:00 (HBO)
Many like to pan the Coen Bros. when they dabble in comedy, but how can you not adore Brad Pitt and George Clooney’s performances in this film? And J.K. Simmons!
South Park
9:00 (Comedy Central)
It’s been a rough day on all of us what with the Michael Jackson Memorial and, more importantly, the Michael Jackson Memorial Coverage. Unwind with a little time in the cruder parts of Colorado.
Late Night
Samuel Motherfucking Jackson and Entourage’s Kevin Connolly are on Conan (with Andrew Bird), Brüno desecrates Letterman’s set, and then I hope you liked last week’s Stewart and Colberts the first time, because they’re on again!
U.S. Marines in are in the middle of a major offensive in the Helmand River valley in southwestern Afghanistan. This area has been controlled by the Taliban and poppy harvests and opium smuggling there provides major financing for the insurgency. So far there has not been any major resistance as most Taliban fighters have chosen to slip away rather than face the U.S. head on. However, holding the area and getting the farmers to grow something other than poppies will be the real test. Reuters has a great Q&A for anyone who has basic questions.
Meanwhile, in low-profile celebrity deaths, actor Karl Malden also died this weekend at the age of 97. I have a soft sport for character actors and remember Malden from his amazing performance in On The Waterfront – a great film if you find yourself with extra time this weekend.
Despite Josh’s conspicuous absence, we are very much back in the swing of things here. Look for Your Morning News at the regular time tomorrow, and in the meantime, here’s the odds and ends from the day:
Rumors and theories are flying as the general populace tries to make sense of the bizarre string of notable celebrity deaths over the past week. They ranged the gamut from long-expected to completely surprising, from an 86-year-old in good spirits down to a pair of 50-year-olds whose health conditions could not be more different.
But Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and Billy Mays shared this: they were all public icons, having handed their lives over to an adoring yet fickle public. They all found their joy in entertaining. And they all showed nothing but pure, unbridled enthusiasm, from Fawcett’s thousand-watt smile to Mays’ trademark grin and booming greeting. Keep reading
