Wednesday, December 17, 2014

"All endings bring new beginnings."

“Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for people with attention spans.”
― Stephen Colbert





             The Colbert Report's first episode aired  October 17th 2005 on Comedy Central. Following an amazing ten year run  the show will end this Thursday, December 18th 2014.  As an offshoot of Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, The Colbert Report is a cerebral parody where an audience gets "blown away by the USA" as Colbert pays homage to the self-important, unquestioning hardcore patriotism of "The O'Reilly Factor" or the Rush Limbaugh's and Glenn Becks of the world. Colbert's on air persona "steers the great ship of NEWS through the channels of TRUTH."  Colbert coined the 2006 Merriam-Webster "Word of the Year" "truthiness"   which means- "truth that comes from the gut, not books." or "the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true."

       As a satirical newscaster Colbert was able to bring a humorous perspective to the problems facing our nation and shed light on  difficult issues around the globe. His brilliant segments with political figures, authors, actors and musicians introduced us to our own dormant level of intellectual aptitude. Stephen Colbert and his exceptional team of writers  for the The Colbert Report have earned numerous Emmy's, Peabody Awards and even a Grammy.  As a lover of comedy, it's been a rare and special experience to be part of a devoted legion of fans known as the "Colbert Nation".  There will be an irreplaceable void in our late night skies.
    
   Many Colbert fans including me, admit one of our all time favorite interviews was part of Grim Colberty Tales, a two part series with late children's author Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are, Chicken Soup with Rice).  During the entertaining  witty exchange Sendak is being refreshingly honest and true to himself. The link below will take you to the Comedy Central website where you can watch and share all of The Colbert Report's greatest moments.