Saturday Night Live fires token fat guy, token black guy and the rapping cupcake guy
By Gina Serpe
Come next week, Studio 8H is going to be a little emptier than usual.After nearly a month of speculation regarding the fates
of several Saturday Night Live castmembers, comes confirmation from NBC: Regulars Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz and Finesse Mitchell will not be returning to the
late night staple.The non-announcement was made by simply omitting the players' names from a press release touting the start of the show's 32nd season, though a rep for the network denied there was any bad blood between the M.I.A. cast and svengali producer Lorne Michaels, or that their departure was the result of a firing.
"I believe there were mutual choices made," NBC rep Marc Liepis told E! Online. "When you're on the show for eight years, I don't think you look at it as a firing."
Parnell, Sanz and Mitchell, who have been part of the show for eight years, eight years and three years, respectively, have yet to comment on their non-return, though if past remarks are any indication, the decision to part hardly seems mutual.
"I haven't been approached with anything that's led me to believe I won't be back," Sanz told the Chicago Sun-Times less than a month ago. "I definitely enjoy the job and would like to stick with it."
As for Mitchell, his alleged axing is the most surprising, as speculation up until now has pegged fellow cast member Kenan Thompson, who will return this fall, as the third man out. Darrell Hammond, whose 11 seasons on the show mark a series best, is also in the clear, returning to the show despite murmurs that he, too, may have performed his last impression.
The triple departure adds to something of a mass exodus from the show of longtime cast, though the others, at least from the outside, appear to be slightly more voluntary.
Over the summer, Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch confirmed that they were leaving the show to star in the NBC comedy 30 Rock, set behind the scenes at a SNL-like variety show produced by Michaels and costarring fellow alum Tracy Morgan.
Of course, some of the departees are bouncing back quicker than others.
According to NBC's Website, Parnell, whose "Lazy Sunday" rap with Andy Samberg was one of last season's highlights, is currently shooting the sitcom Thick & Thin for the Peacock net. As for Mitchell and Sanz, no new projects appear to be in the works.
While Rockefeller Center will be without five of its most familiar faces this fall, there are no current plans to fill the gap.
According to a statement from NBC, no new regular players have been added to the late night mix, though several of the remaining funnymen and women will see various changes to their onscreen roles.
Fey's departure paves the way for a new face to join Amy Poehler at the "Weekend Update" desk, and while no successors have been formally named, early reports peg Jason Sudeikis and Seth Meyers as the top candidates.
Meyers also returns as head writer for the show, a title he previously shared with Fey.
Saturday Night Live kicks off its new season Sept. 30 with host Dane Cook and musical guest The Killers.
Complete article here
Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!
'Hats righ' buckaroos, today be September 19th, International Talk Like A Pirate Day!
Be sure yer obey all you'm Pirate Laws today an' tell all ye lubbers avast to their lubber speakin. As fer the partyin, yer may want ter check out You Are A Pirate over at the yertube or mayhaps you'd like a bit o'the Flogging Molly karakoe? If ner be wantin help with yer Pirate speakin, yer can always use the translator.
Pirate Keyboard
Space Pirate
First private female astronaut close to launch, will be “space ambassador” to kids everywhere (She went to George Mason)
Courtesy of John C. Dvorak:
This is the kind of thing that NASA should be doing. If you want to succeed in space, you have to demonstrate why the effort is worth it.
Anousheh Ansari, has been officially named to the Soyuz TMA-9 primary crew. The first female spaceflight participant will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 18, 2006 en route to the International Space Station (ISS) along with the Expedition 14 crew members: NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin.A living example of the American dream, Anousheh Ansari immigrated to the United States as a teenager who did not speak English. She immersed herself in education, earning a bachelor’s degree in electronics and computer engineering from George Mason University, followed by a master’s degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University. She is currently working toward a master’s degree in astronomy from Swinburne University.
During her spaceflight, Anousheh wants to serve as a true space ambassador. She wants to be able to share the spaceflight experience with as many people as possible, and use her experience to help educate. She intends to document her mission in as much detail as possible, so as to completely communicate the spaceflight experience for future spaceflight participants. She also wants to use the mission to further educate children on the importance of space travel and life in space. (See Kids to Space for a good book on spaceflight for children.)
Wow, cute and smart and gives a shit about the future. With all these talented and driven people clamoring to go into space, why are we having such a hard time of it?
Powell joins Republicans opposing Bush torture laws
Courtesy of John C. Dvorak:
The Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday voted 15-9 to recommend a bill — over the objections of the Bush administration — that would authorize tribunals for terror suspects in a way that it says would protect suspects’ rights.
It differs from the administration’s proposal in two major ways: It would permit terror suspects to view classified evidence against them and does not include a proposal that critics say reinterprets a Geneva Conventions rule that prohibits cruel and inhuman treatment of detainees.
Article III prohibits nations engaged in combat not of “an international character” from, among other things, “violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture” and “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment.”
The vote came after White House spokesman Tony Snow said opponents of its proposal on detainee treatment misunderstood the administration’s intentions when it proposed to define how Article III applies to the interrogation of terrorist suspects.
Powell expressed his opposition in a letter to McCain that was released Thursday.
“The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism,” Powell, a retired Army four-star general, wrote in his letter to McCain, whose amendment last year opposed the use of torture.“To redefine Common Article III would add to those doubts,” Powell said. “Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk.”
Military lawyers also have raised concerns about the administration bill’s restrictions on due-process rights for defendants. Prosecutors would be able to present evidence to the tribunal that would be kept secret from the defense and could use hearsay and coerced confessions against defendants. Human rights groups have objected to those provisions as well.
Partisan politics begin to decay and shred as mid-term elections approach. Essentially, the managers of the Congressional segment of Party leadership — both Tweedledee and Tweedledum — have started to differentiate themselves from an administration wholly out of touch with the American electorate.
Colin Powell didn’t have to speak out, again. He realized that we have a president who already decided to ignore the previous McCain Bill on Torture — and will probably do so, again.
Will Bush Beat Nixon? As Most Hated Prexy!
Courtesy of John C. Dvorak:
Click on image for full-sized version
Will Bush be all-time most disliked President? He’s got a good shot. — This site outlines the possibilities. Needs updating. There is plenty of time for Bush to accomplish this goal. He’s competitive, I know he can do it.
related link:
recent approval charts
found by Aric Mackey via Prof. and demographics expert Steven Ruggles
Internet Pic Of The Day
Redneck "do not enter" sign.