Louie Louie Louie: Duckling

As Season Two of Louie continues on FX, John S and Josh will be offering NPI readers their reactions to each episode. At the end of the season, they will rank the episodes. Get excited.

Monday Medley

What we read while Irene thankfully didn’t affect the VMAs…

• NPI-favorite Michael Schur teamed up with The Decembrists to make a video based on the NPI-favorite Eschaton scene in NPI-favorite novel Infinite Jest by NPI-favorite writer, David Foster Wallace. NPI really enjoyed it.

• Speaking of DFW, the New York Times Magazine tried to blame him for bad blog writing.

• Steve Jobs resigned from Apple for health reasons. Whether or not you’re an official member of the cult of Jobs, there’s no denying his profound influence. This Rolling Stone interview, given during his decade-long exile from Apple, shows his intelligence and prescience. Apple, of course, is still in good hands, and new CEO Tim Cook has some great ideas…

• Miranda July has a new movie out, The Future,  which garnered a very positive review from Roger Ebert, who ranked July’s first film, Me and You and Everyone We Know, as one of the best of the Aughts. New York Times Magazine had a feature on July last month.

• The New Yorker details the politics and impact of Clarence Thomas and his wife. Reason Magazine points out Jeffrey Toobin’s inconsistent position on Thomas’s influence on the Court.

• Jeffrey Sachs discusses the dishonest debate about America’s deficit.

• Is the Colbert Super PAC funny or serious? Or both?

• Joe Posnanski talks about pitchers and the MVP award, Jonah Keri tries to figure out how the Angels keep winning, and Joe DeLessio tries to figure out if Jeff Nelson ever effectively used “the old Jeff Nelson.”

• An interview with Paul Rudd.

• Inspirational posters from The Wire.

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Rivals, The Grand Finale

“This is ridiculous. This isn’t even a final. This is just manual labor.”—Jenn

 

“Well, ladies and gentlemen, just when you thought I couldn’t get any more amazing….” —Kenny

 

 

It’s really great we have Kenny and Wes. Not only are they a consistent source of amusement and tension, but they really saved last night’s Rivals finale—and the season in general—from being an anticlimactic stream of people gushing about their partners. Up until now, with the notable exception of Evan and Nehemiah, who weren’t speaking by their final Jungle, every single pair of “rivals” has ended their trip echoing Fatboy Slim: We’ve come a long, long way together, through the hard times and the good. I have to celebrate you baby; I have to praise you like I should. Even Adam and C.T. left on good terms! 

So the overriding theme of Rivals was basically that people can set aside any differences and bury any past grievances when their financial interests are aligned. But then there were Kenny and Wes.  Although they made it all the way to the end and in many instances put their animosity on hold to strategize, they bickered throughout the competition and constantly argued about who was failing the most in the challenges. So while every other team was friendly heading into the final challenge, it was clear that Kenny/Wes were on the brink of fracture.

Monday Medley

What we read while Kim Kardashian made sure to pack a camera for her honeymoon…

• Jim Thome, the jovial and under-appreciated slugger, got his 600th home run last week. His milestone was at least celebrated more than last year’s… 

• We might soon be at war with China thanks to the Georgetown Hoyas, although the issue may now be behind us. 

• Did the KGB kill Camus? (Probably not)

• Phil Hartman wrote a handwritten (which Tim likes and Josh doesn’t) letter to an aspiring comedian.

• A Bob Dylan ranking of a different sort. And speaking of Dylan, a former next-Bob-Dylan is teaming up with Stephen Malkmus, in a ’90s alternative rock extravaganza.

Louie Louie Louie: Halloween/Ellie

As Season Two of Louie continues on FX, John S and Josh will be offering NPI readers their reactions to each episode. At the end of the season, they will rank the episodes. Get excited.

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Rivals, Week 9 Power Rankings

“Finally I get to do something where I get to put my hands on people.” —C.T.

 

“Adam, please do not do what I think you’re doing….” —C.T.

 

 

The perfect ending for Rivals would have been for Adam/C.T.—the pair with the most history and the most animosity of any in the house—to finally come together to defeat all the teams that had been looking to send them home all season long, with Adam finally admitting that he and C.T. were friends as they walked off into the sunset with their $100,000 prize.

Alas, that was not to be. And it looked so good for them: The final elimination challenge emphasized speed, Adam’s biggest strength, and finally allowed C.T. to tackle people—his own biggest strength. Yet it was Adam’s repeated misunderstanding of the rules that doomed them.

Louie Louie Louie: Come On, God & Eddie

Just a perfect description....

As Season Two of Louie continues on FX, John S and Josh will be offering NPI readers their reactions to each episode. At the end of the season, they will rank the episodes. Get excited.

Monday Medley

What we read while eating a variety of fried foods in Rick Parry’s tent…

• Heaven isn’t too far away for Jani Lane of Warrant now, who passed away this weekend at 47. Chuck Klosterman puts the passing of a glam icon in perspective.

• Klosterman also put this season of Louie in perspective, joining its chorus of praise.

• Did Conan pull a Jay Leno on George Lopez? (Not really)

• In other TV news, the end of Breaking Bad is sadly in sight. Meanwhile, Matthew Weiner’s recent deal for Mad Men may be wreaking havoc on other AMC shows.

• Dan Uggla’s recently snapped hitting streak inspired a couple of pieces by Joe Poz.

• Cato Unbound has a discussion on the rise of women, and fall (?) of men.

• An intriguing online law journal, The Journal of Things We Like (Lots).

• More tax-the-rich garbage from that famous class warrior, Warren Buffet.

• Every villain has an origin story, and Michele Bachmann is no different.

• This is the story of a wealthy family who lost everything…

Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Rivals, Week 8 Power Rankings

“I want you to cry, because you’re worthless!” —Laurel

 

“This is the worst case scenario for the mob because somebody’s going up against ME. The mob is going to have to vote against each other and that is going to be good… This is going to be so good.” —C.T.

I knew this episode of Rivals was going to be good almost instantly. As soon as it opened with a series of slow motion close ups on the cast’s excited yet apprehensive faces—not unlike the piano scene at the end of Act I of The Deer Hunter—it was clear that MTV was setting up something big.

Instead of shipping off to Vietnam, though, the contestants were shipping off to Buenos Aires, trading their Costa Rican paradise for one farther south. Once in Argentina, their behavior veered from hedonistic bacchanalia to inmates-running-the-asylum type madness. There was screaming and nudity and violence, all to no apparent end, like some Nietzschen dystopia.

Louie Louie Louie: Oh Louie/Tickets

As Season Two of Louie continues on FX, John S and Josh will be offering NPI readers their reactions to each episode. At the end of the season, they will rank the episodes. Get excited.