It's been a long, long time since I watched David Letterman, at least during his show's regularly scheduled broadcast. That's a function of my age and desire for sleep, not his talent. But as perhaps the greatest late night television show ever comes to an end just three days from now, it's not precisely accurate to say that I'll miss it.
What it does represent to me, though, is a passing. Letterman's legacy will live on in the imitators, the envelope-pushers, the gleeful iconoclasts pushing television and comedy in his name. But I'll never again be that kid that routinely stayed up to watch him and Paul and Biff Henderson and Chris Elliott and the litany of guests, great and otherwise.
That's the nature of things. There's no sense mourning it. Best just to laugh, and love, and acknowledge genius where we find it.
Norm MacDonald did all those things on Friday night in his final standup set on Dave's show. Pay attention to the last minute. It's got the kind of real emotion that you don't see very much in our entertainment culture.
Good for you, Norm, and Godspeed, Dave.
our foyer has a very high ceiling, maybe 20' high. i just dropped a jar of spaghetti sauce as i brought a bag of groceries into the house. the spatter pattern reached a significant part of the way up the foyer wall. spaghetti sauce is waaaay overrated.
ReplyDeletemy little one, though, jumped into the breach and helped me brainstorm a macgyver setup for cleaning up the mess. today, at least, kids are pretty great.
then when you stand in the foyer, unaccompanied by someone of normal height, that ceiling must look at least 35 feet tall . . .
ReplyDeletei'm going to cry when we retire short jokes about rob.
Nice post Rob. Was that a subliminal hint meant for me?
ReplyDeleteSo be honest, who pronounces it fo-yay? I bet all you w and m guys do don't ya?
ReplyDeletezman, enjoy:http://www.wired.com/2015/05/dodge-viper-last-truly-insane-sports-cars/
ReplyDeleteIn between junior & senior year in college, everyone else spent the summer in Europe, and I spent the summer interning for NBC in NYC.
ReplyDeleteOne of the coolest features of the job was the closed circuit TV, so I got to watch the Letterman rehearsals and the taping of the show every day from my desk.
That's what you get for buying sauce, Rob. Make your own you savage. And use bone marrow when you do it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, nice humble brag on your fancy pants high ceilings.
Make your own savage. Bang a mass murderer.
ReplyDeleteThat is terrible advice, Clarence.
ReplyDeleteHoly shit. I selfishly hope there is some video of this. http://on.wfaa.com/1bYF8mq
ReplyDeleteBiker gangs are no fucking joke man. There is a large one around here (The Warlocks). I learned to give them a wide berth early in my adulthood.
mark, i know not many homes in florida have second stories, but it's a pretty common thing here in fancypantsland. the foy-ay is just open to the second floor. hence the high ceilings.
ReplyDeletethe waco biker brawl mark linked to? holy shit.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a two story house. No foyer though.
ReplyDeleteGot any liquor? I've been drinking beer all night.
ReplyDeleteBrutal so far, Zman.
ReplyDeleteA little hokey but I think the ending is consistent with the show. Don goes on a soul searching bender and comes back with genius inspiration.
ReplyDeleteAnybody watch the first episode of the Wayward Pines miniseries? Fair to say parts of it are not even homage to Lost - they are blatant ripoffs (especially the first minute and the last few scenes). It kept my interest though and I'll probably stay in.
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