Blog by Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset founder

30 Aug 2009, 14:33 p.m.

Look!

Hi, reader. I wrote this in 2009 and it's now more than five years old. So it may be very out of date; the world, and I, have changed a lot since I wrote it! I'm keeping this up for historical archive purposes, but the me of today may 100% disagree with what I said then. I rarely edit posts after publishing them, but if I do, I usually leave a note in italics to mark the edit and the reason. If this post is particularly offensive or breaches someone's privacy, please contact me.

Every so often, Leonard and I watch several Colbert Report clips from his recurring segment Cheating Death With Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A. Leonard loves the props, the silliness, and the variety of jokes within a very tight formula. I adore that Colbert cannot make it through a Cheating Death segment without breaking character. And we both cherish the lists of fake side effects of the drugs Colbert hawks. Our favorites are re-appropriations of existing phrases:

  • Radiohead
  • Foghorn Leghorns
  • joint custody
  • mock turtleneck
  • speaking in tongues
  • Jimmy crack corns
  • Nine Inch Nails
  • Jack Russell Derriere [technically a pun but an awesome one]
  • Mind of Mencia [Leonard's all-time favorite]