Notes on Politics: Correspondents' Dinner & Lara Logan Speaks

White House Correspondents’ Dinner

In the craziness surrounding the Osama bin Laden death, other interesting newsy stories got lost in the shuffle . . . like the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that happened over the weekend where Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers did a great job at skewering Washington politicians. Chief on Meyers' list was Donald Trump, whose Obama birth certificate antics now seem terribly silly in light of the massive news from Pakistan.

As I watched the C-SPAN coverage, I was amused when the cameras frequently panned over to Donald Trump who looked stone-faced as Meyers directed his fire at the would-be presidential candidate and Celebrity Apprentice star. (Trump looked like he wanted to strangle Meyers the way Homer Simpson is apt to strangle Bart when the boy enrages him.)

While it’s true that Meyers clearly leans toward the liberal side of the political spectrum – like saying that Obama would’ve “loved” the 2008/campaign version of himself, and questioning what “happened” to his appearance – he didn’t seem overwhelmingly liberal in his humor as he attacked his own network, critiqued MSNBC for drinking the Obama “Kool Aid,” mocked Anderson Cooper’s tight clothing and noted the size of Brian Williams’ ego in addition to the animal-like "hair" on Donald Trump's head.



The Bravery of Lara Logan

Also over the weekend, Lara Logan shared with 60 Minutes the story of her attack in Egypt two months ago at the hands of a mob. It takes a strong, brave woman to give voice to the nightmare of vicious violence, which landed her in the hospital for four days.

Particularly poignant moments from the interview:

She thought she was going to die as the mob ripped off all her clothing and took cell phone photos of her, sexually violated her, tried to tear chunks of her hair from her scalp, distended every joint in her body and beat her with flag poles and sticks.

When she saw her children -- ages 1 and 2 -- after the attack, she said she felt like she’d “been given a second chance” that she didn’t think she deserved because she said she “came so close . . . to abandoning them.”

By the end of the interview, I only wished Logan emotional strength and hoped that the love and respect of her friends, family and her fans help to build her back up again.

Did Lindelof Tweet a Response to 'Lost' Finale Criticism?

One of the many folks I follow on Twitter is Damon Lindelof, one of the two creators/showrunners/master gurus behind Lost.

As many of you know, the series finale which aired last month was controversial. There were those fans who adored its heavenly conclusion, while others (including yours truly) observed that while it may have been emotionally satisifying, intellectually, it felt like a cop-out because it failed to address some of the series' major questions.

In the weeks leading up to the finale, Lindelof and Carlton Cuse said they'd go "radio silent" after the finale was aired.

Then I saw this Tweet today from Lindelof, ostensibly referencing the longest ever Wimbledon match (11+ hours) between Nicolas Manhut and John Isner which finally ended today with Isner prevailing:

"I found the ending of Isner/Mahut satisfying, but wish they had answered more questions."

A response to the criticism of the Lost finale? Hmm, sounds like it to me.

Lindelof's irony aside, I thought his Tweet about the tennis match was almost as good as Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers who Tweeted, "Mahut just didn't want it enough."

NBC’s Thursday Night Slate Made Me Laugh

*Warning, spoilers ahead from recently aired premieres of NBC comedys*

I didn’t have high expectations when I turned to NBC last night. Didn’t expect to laugh out loud. But laugh I did. Hope it’s not an aberration.

Amy Poehler’s Parks and Recreation dramatized an awkwardly twisted parody of how penny-ante political scandals can spiral out of control in short order. Sure, a penguin marriage ceremony at the Pawnee Zoo is silly stuff with no substance, simply a shallow PR attempt to lure foot traffic. But it’s really not that unrealistic to have something as innocuous as a zoo event morph into a scandal. Such as when Leslie Knope inadvertently married gay penguins (she thought it was a male/female pair), making her a target of a conservative family organization that wanted her to annul the marriage, then resign and, simultaneously, a hero to her local gay community. Poehler absolutely pulled this off with aplomb.

I think that broadening the subject matter with which Leslie deals will only help. The first season was a bit bogged down in Leslie’s singular quest to transform a dirt pit into a park. (Hulu now has the season two premiere on its site.)

Speaking of Poehler, she also appeared on Saturday Night Live’s Update Thursdays and did a “Really!?! With Seth and Amy” segment on the recent spate of public incivility. Spot. On. Best line: Seth advising Kanye West about what to do if he sees an older woman holding a “World’s Best Grandma mug” and he thinks some other nana is a better grandma.



I likewise was laughing at The Office’s bizarro first scene. Parkour anyone? Seriously? There’s such a thing?



Community was kind of snappy and kept a running Gilmore Girls-ish loop of pop culture references throughout. Wonder if they’ll be able to keep up the meet-cute conceit and give this show some legs for the long haul.

Anyone else catch the 8-10 NBC slate? Thoughts? By the way, am I the only one who hasn’t heard of Parkour before?

Slice of My Teenaged Years Via John Hughes

Saw the link to this YouTube montage of scenes from the late John Hughes' 1980s films -- set to The Who's Teenage Wasteland -- on Twitter via Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers.



My favorite Hughes movie: Tie between Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. I loved Molly Ringwald.

What's your favorite 1980s Hughes movie?

1. Sixteen Candles
2. The Breakfast Club
3. Home Alone
4. National Lampoon's Vacation
5. Planes, Trains & Automobiles
6. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
7. Pretty in Pink
8. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
9. Weird Science
10. Some Kind of Wonderful