Comments on: Florida-ville Invades Colbert Nation

By: Eric Blomstrom

Eric Blomstrom — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 00:21:24 +0000

Please say something about people in our country taking the power, which has always been ours, back into our own hands. We’ve had enough of letting differences on “divisive issues” overcome our desire to work together toward mutual prosperity. In Duluth it is beginning to feel like we might be part of a “quiet and bloodshed free” revolution in which an awakening is occurring where indidviduals and groups in our own and other communities are looking toward and planning for our future, together, while considering the needs of everyone not just those of the rich and powerful, or movers and shakers.

Please take the opportunity to not only get a few laughs out of everyone who watches in-studio and at home but to drive home the message that there is hope out there and that contempt and disagreement with decisions made on our behalf and in “our best interest” by our leaders can be turned into desire and energy to work toward positive and productive change in the realms that we can influence directly. Many 20-30 somethings close to my own age and even people from my parents’ baby-boomer generation may be spurred to action or at least to conversing about what really matters locally and beyond, which might help to first turn around the direction of things and then redirect the moementum in ways that the majority of American Citizens would agree with and truly get behind. As Rage Against the Machine so apprpriately put it “What better place than here, what better time than now?”

I am a believer that there is some critical amount of conversation that, by taking place, even among “common folks” about what “really matters” to them, can end up spurring along the true majoriy consensus as those ideas, desires, and opinions trickle to the surface first as a whisper and later as an unignorable roar.

Go get ‘em.

By: Randal Edmonton

Randal Edmonton — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 01:52:56 +0000

Congratulations on your move to TO! Stephen may flag patriotic about the brain drain sucking northward. He has a thing about Canada. Perhaps the US could use a few more Canuk-yuks on late night television to even the score.

On another note, I hope you will carry on and continue to build on the legacy of late great Jane Jacobs.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 18:13:22 +0000

Well, now that you’ve officially joined the “Flight” — Colbert should have some great fodder..

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070710.wflorida10/BNStory/National/

By: Wendy

Wendy — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 08:12:37 +0000

Maybe you could discuss the subject of global cluster cities and countries for comedy and comedians. Will America’s comedy talent become part of the “flight of the creative class?” On a per capita basis, are most US cities much less well developed in their comedy clusters than say Montreal, Halifax, or certain buroughs of London.

Americans wanting real opportunities in this field, might therefore need to move so they can be surrounded by inspiring cohorts and venues, and where there are more opportunities to make a living in the field.

(Comedians are like biotechnology researchers or software programers — they will head for certain cluster cities for the opportunities).

By: sandy

sandy — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:45:46 +0000

Taking a cue from your music posting above:

If you were playing guitar with Hendrix, you wouldn’t try to upstage him. You’d play with him. Same premise.

(This is advice from a couple of Colbert fans/musicians- one learned this lesson by playing with Eddie Kirkland, the other played bass with the Violent Femmes)

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 17:10:32 +0000

WWG – I am a Report addict. That advice is a gem.

By: WordsWithGrace

WordsWithGrace — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 07:34:12 +0000

Here’s one more bit of Colbert’s advice to his guests that we just had to pass along: “The best laughs [my guests] can get are through correcting my stupidity….I think it doesn’t work when they have a joke or two that they’re desperate to say on the show, and then they don’t really actually listen to the conversation….They’re waiting to drop the joke in the middle of the interview, and it lands there like conversational plutonium. So you wait for its half-life to pass, and you sweep it off.”
–With best wishes from the research team at Colbert University (colbertuniversity.nofactzone.net)

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 20:35:04 +0000

Wow! Thanks all. These comments are very helpful.

By: Matt Wetherington

Matt Wetherington — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 04:39:29 +0000

Ask him why he turned down Roadtrip Nation.

By: WordsWithGrace

WordsWithGrace — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:07:44 +0000

This is great news! I enjoyed your work on the cultural creatives, so I look forward to seeing you & your new book on the Report!

Meow House’s comments are on the money. Specifically, here’s Stephen’s own advice to his guests, from an interview he gave at Harvard’s Institute of Politics (it’s available on the Web): “Hold your ideas. Give me resistance. Give me traction I can work against. The friction between reality, or the truly held concerns of the person, and the farcical concerns that I have, or my need to seem important, as opposed to actually understanding what’s true. . . . Where those two things meet is where the comedy happens.”

And have fun! (I hear the Report gives good swag!)