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Best reason to watch Late Night with Jimmy Fallon so far?

The Roots.

The Village Voice has one-upped the viral audio clips of Barack Obama reading hilariously out-of-character phrases from his books.

Their entry: Bill O'Reilly reading passages from his creepy, hilariously bad thriller novel Those Who Trespass: A Novel of Television and Murder.

The Voice writes that the 1998 book is "about an O'Reilly-esque TV journalist who is trained by an Irish Republican Army terrorist to kill the people who deserve it the most: the broadcast news bastards who interfered with the O'Reilly character's career. It's personal on the political level, too -- his victims include a powerful 'bitch' named Hillary and a fat 'slob' named Martin Moore."

Some are shocked that O'Reilly -- a self-styled moral arbiter who has criticized the coarse language, sex and violence in movies, on television and in pop music -- produced a novel full of coarse language, sex, violence and sexual violence.

Those people have got to be kidding, right?

Anyway -- the audio clips are pretty priceless. They include (among many others) O'Reilly voicing a crack dealer who says to his underage girlfriends:

"Say baby, put down that pipe and get my pipe up."

"Off with those pants."

It has been said, and I have to agree, that it will probably be a matter of hours before we're seeing dance remixes of this stuff in the wild.

Originally a Catholic Feast Day celebrating the life of a Saint who probably did not drive any snakes out of anywhere, it's now down to drinking, wearing green and spotlighting any Irish heritage you can claim, however remote or tangential.

And why not?

Best news item I read all weekend: Steve Martin is financing an off-campus production of one of his plays because some parents at the Oregon high school where it was being staged have thrown a nutty about its "adult content."

The play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, is about an imaginary meeting between Einstein and Picasso at a bar in Paris as both men are on the verge of great achievements in art and science.

Martin explained his reasoning in this letter to the La Grande observer.

Choice bits from the letter:

"I have heard that some in your community have characterized the play as “people drinking in bars, and treating women as sex objects.” With apologies to William Shakespeare, this is like calling Hamlet a play about a castle."

I predict that the experience will not be damaging, but meaningful.

Mr. Martin -- you have officially made up for those Pink Panther re-makes.

In celebration, I offer this banjo breakdown with the Muppets.

In a way, I'm surprised it took this long for this to go viral.

But, in their own sweet time, out-of-context clips from the audio version of President Obama's book Dreams from My Father have become an Internet phenomenon.

For those who haven't yet heard the (not safe for work) string of clips, which is character dialogue from the book:

And, of course, there are already several dance mixes:

What's most amusing to me about it: our president is, indeed, unleashing a torrent of curses in a hood dialect. But unlike the previous administration, it's not because he's forgotten his mic is hot or because he's lost his temper on the floor of the senate. Does that make it more or less funny?

If Joe Biden intentionally shoots a guy in the face comedy writers are going to go on strike.

If you're anything like me then TV Christmas specials are one of the highlights of your holiday season. Not just seasonal favorites like How The Grinch Stole Christmas but the holiday episodes of your favorite shows.

WFMU's website has posted a list of classic TV Christmas specials and where you can see them online for free.

The list is terrific and has everything from I Love Lucy's 1956 Christmas special to The Jeffersons Christmas specials from 1976-1978. In between: Andy Griffith, The Brady Bunch, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bob Newhart, Mary Tyler Moore, The Twilight Zone, Taxi, Sesame Street and even The Price is Right.

One of my personal favorites: the 1978 Taxi Christmas special.

So in the trailer for the new Wolverine movie the X-Men's most badass (and most overly exposed) mutant meets Gambit, gets punched by a morbidly obese boxer (The Blob?) and fights Liev Shreiber as Sabretooth?

You're sitting there, watching the float for Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, when, all of a sudden, the music stops ... and the audience at home gets one of the biggest Rickrollings ever.

The fact that my grandma now knows about Rickrolling means it is officially so five minutes ago.

Richard Dreyfuss, who plays Dick Cheney in Oliver Stone's "W." biopic, slammed the movie in an appearance on "The View."

He called it "6/8ths of a great film" and said he was disappointed Stone didn't come to some conclusion at the end -- a common criticism so far. He also compared working under Stone to working under Sean Hannity.

Which Stone's gotta love.

So it IS possible to be amused, to have your heart warmed and to throw up a little in your mouth all at once...

Entertainment Weekly calls Oliver Stone's biopic of the sitting president "unusual and inescapably interesting".

But reviewer Todd McCarthy also says the film "is unable to achieve more than a sort of engaging pop-history pageant and amateur, if not inapt, psychological evaluation, due to the unavoidable lack of perspective and a final act that has yet to be written."

Sounds about right -- but I still think I'm going to see it.

What about you guys?

I know I've posted about the new "I'm a PC" ads from Microsoft before -- but now that I've seen this one with a solo Pharrell Williams I'm just...puzzled.

Nowhere in this ad does Pharrell or anyone else make any arguments for a PC being better than a Mac -- not for music, not for art, not for anything that Pharrell could actually speak to with authority and passion. He just talks about loving music and says that he uses a PC.

All right...and?

They've seen the actual "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" ads, right? It's true that the Mac guy looks cooler...but he also makes an actual argument for what's so great about Macs in each commercial. This is what makes the commercials so great.

These things...they just makes me feel sorry for Microsoft. It's like they're the kid who never learned how to debate intelligently, who just starts rambling and screaming. "Am not! You are! Oh yeah? Well, hip musicians and music producers use me too, you know..."

Reader Brad K. sends an item about the AFP Photo service running a picture of Tina Fey as an actual picture of Sarah Palin.

Oops.

Yesterday, during a session with college journalists from around the state over at A&T, N&R editor John Robinson asked the students:

"How many of you heard Sarah Palin say that she could see Russia from her house?"

A number of hands were raised as the students laughed.

"And how many of you know that she didn't actually say that?" he then asked. "That it was Tina Fey playing her on SNL?"

Hands went down and there was some nervous chatter.

She is damned good...

Randy Newman, one of my favorite songwriters, has a new album out -- Harps and Angels.

It's good stuff.

You can listen to Newman play songs from the album live here.

And here's him doing a solo rendition of "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country"...

All in one take. Impressive.

Lip Dub - Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger from amandalynferri on Vimeo.

Not sure how I missed this, but Bill Maher is calling for a movement to save Levi Johnston, the young man who knocked up Sarah Palin's daughter and immediately became her "fiance."

Web site here.

Have you seen these new "I'm a PC" ads that Microsoft has out there as a counter-punch to the popular "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" Mac ads?

Yeah. Apparently, they were made on a Mac.

That's how I like my irony, baby -- nice and stinging.

Here's a strange little story of old-school word of mouth and cross-media promotion working in concert with the Internet to the advantage of fans and artists, the way it should...

Let's face it: some of these Comedy Central Roasts suck.

Anybody remember the one for Flavor Flav? Yeah, me either.

But the roast of Bob Saget this weekend was damned good.

And the surprise MVP? The 82-year-old Cloris Leachman.

Check out her extremely-not-safe-for-work bit:

Leachman was also a great sport while providing plenty of "she's so old" fodder for the other guest roasters...

Leachman is an Oscar winner and has won more Emmies than any other actor. And there's talk this roast could bring her another.

I say she's earned it.

Go check out the finalists in Radiohead's contest for best animated video from their album In Rainbows.

I kinda dig this one:

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom

This shouldn't really be terrifying -- but for some reason it is.

Maybe it's just the memory of its probable inspiration...

Go check out Weezer's new video for "Pork and Beans," the first single off their sixth album (self titled, people are calling it "the red album.")

It's got a galaxy of YouTube stars -- the Chocolate Rain and History of Dance guys, Kevin Federline, Miss Teen South Carolina and even Chris Crocker.

As a comic geek and someone who's been lusting after both their movies, I love this comic parody of the "I'm a Mac" commercials starring what will almost certainly be the summer's two best comic book film stars.

...but as a comic book geek I have to point out that Tony Stark DID lost his parents at a young age as well.

I previously posted about Sarah Silverman's hilarious (but probably not worksafe) declaration of lust for Matt Damon.

Now Jimmy Kimmel has fired back, producing a video with, among others, Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Harrison Ford, Cameron Diaz, Robin Williams, Joan Jett and Josh Groban.

Kimmel doesn't play around.

With The Daily Show on hiatus during the writer's strike, it seems the politicians are picking up the slack.

If you haven't yet seen the ACTUAL POLITICAL AD Mike Huckabee filmed with Chuck Norris, you must watch it right now.

From Reason.tv:

In his latest video for Reason.tv, Drew Carey goes all in to report how Dallas cops carried out a paramilitary-style raid on a poker game at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1837, which has now been forced to close its doors.

This video is absolutely mesmerizing.

According to AP, up to 1,500 prisoners participate in the exercise yard of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, and their version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" had been watched nearly 4.4 million times on YouTube as of Thursday.

Crisanto Nierre plays Michael Jackson's role in "Thriller." "Before the dancing, our problems were really heavy to bear. Dancing takes our minds away from our problems. Our bodies became more healthy. As for the judges, they may be impressed with us, seeing that we are being rehabilitated and this could help our case. We are being rehabilitated in a good way."

Joss may be one of my favorite people in the entertainment industry. Not only was he responsible for Buffy, Angel and Firefly, but the man's genius also extends to comics, public speaking, writing music, and dancing. (It just doesn't seem fair, does it? Although, maybe the dancing bit is not quite accurate. But Numfar -- aka Joss -- never fails to make me laugh.)

Now, coming from Comic-Con, Joss has revealed that he is talking with the BBC about making a 90-minute movie, "Ripper", about Rupert Giles, Buffy's Watcher on the TV show. And Anthony Stewart Head is apparently already on board.

Also in Joss news, he is already plotting season 9 of the Buffy comic, and Oz will be making an appearance! "The Angel: After the Fall" series will be 12 issues, picking up where season 5 of Angel left off. And here's a free comic he's collaborating on with Fabio Moon, called "Sugarshock" -- I just read it, and I have already bookmarked it for future issues.

I'm pleased to announce that N&R business reporter Michelle Jarboe is going to be live-blogging the release of the new Harry Potter novel right here, on Friday.

She's pretending she's not tingling with excitement at it, but I can tell.

In the meantime, enjoy "Welcome Back, Potter" -- the viral video that proves He Who Must Not Be Named is one thing, but dealing with the Sweat Hogs is another...

Up Your Nose with a Phoenix Feather!

Reader Beth points to yet another viral video about a political crush, "Hot 4 Hill" as better than the Obama Girl videos.

"Oooh, does this one feature half-naked men with crushes on Hillary Clinton?" said a colleague of mine.

"No, sorry," I said. "It's a woman in a bikini, singing about her crush on Hillary."

"Of course it is," she said. "Where are all the guys?"

Sorry.

On the whole I don't think the rhymes are as clever as in the Obama Girl videos, but I do like:

"H-I-L-L-A-R-Y...I know you're not gay, but I'm hoping for bi."

Many of you will already have seen the viral video "I've Got a Crush...on Obama" featuring Obama Girl.

If you haven't, you've got a lot coming to you. The song features lines such as:

"You're into border security/let's break this border between you and me."

and

"Universal health care reform/it makes me...warm"

Today there's a sequel -- Obama Girl vs. Giulianni Girl.

Sample lyric:

"Obama/I still wantcha
I'm waiting for my phone to ring/watching reruns of West Wing"

and

"I'm going to be wife #4/ he warms my globe just like Al Gore"

"Giuliani Girl, just stop your fussin'/ At least Obama didn't marry his cousin"

The video is not exactly high minded political debate -- but it is funny.

And it does...you know...feature models in their panties having a pillow fight.