I would have to say Stephen Colbert. He manages to lampoon both conservative and liberal hypocrisy whilst being funny. Jon Stewart sometimes gets a little sanctimonious.

I had a power blackout for hours and realised how electricity dependent I am...

Here in Australia, we don't get Stewart on Colbert unless you have cable (which no one has) so I don't really know much. My only impression of Colbert is from that Bi parody and I didn't find it that funny. Perhaps I was missing out on something?

agreed with the fires, it's been tough for all SoCal residents. i bet even smokers are taking a break from lighting their fire sticks. this time we're actually using the garage for it's intended purpose--parking our cars! hope your area's air quality improves. until then, i've already purchased a box of surgical masks for my family and avoided eating frozen yogurt on the go, what with all those additional toppings of ash, soot, and dust....

and and AND! i am so with you on Chuck. it's so comforting (somewhat) to know that i am not the only one laughing like a cracked out hyena over this show. freakin' morgan! chuck is hot. harry tang! haha. . . i wanna join the nerd herd.

its, i mean. not it's. i have a tick. stuff like that bothers...

The air quality does suck =[ I live pretty close to one of the fires but not to a point where we've been evacuated and walking outside is pretty much horrible because all I can smell is smoke. Now a days i can't even smell it so I can't tell if I've become immune to the smoke or if there's less x / I hope the people in San Diego are holding it fine.

Firefly! Man, that series was awesome. Incredibly cut that it was cancelled so early. A pox on Fox! At least we had Serenity.

Since it's an open thread...I just wanted to comment on something I'm completely fascinated with lately in the Korean pop world. That is, the whole Super Junior fans protesting the addition of it's 14th member. I find it ridiculous and empowering at the same time.
My career is in the music business and never have I ever heard/seen of such a strong act of passion from fans against a decision that really isn't up to them. (wish more young people would show this type of passion for more important causes)
Since when do Fans have the right to dictate such matters?
I'm anxious to see how Super Junior and its management/PR team handles this? And to see if the fans will go to such lengths as boycotting any future Super Junior shows, albums, merchandise etc., if this "14th" member is added? If they do succeed in not allowing this 14th member to join, what does that say about Fan power? Yes, fans have always played a role in keeping any entertainer/entity from ceasing to exist but this could also curve the power shift that is already happening between musicians and the music business to a whole new level.
Take for instance what Radiohead just recently tapped into: giving their fans the ability to choose what's a fair price for their new album if they want it digitally. The digital age is ever present and slowing inching out the music industries' major powerhouses as it is, i.e. record labels, managements, agencies, etc.
If these Super Junior fans are heard, as silly as it may sound I fear I may need a career change as my current one may cease to exist.

Sorry for the long post, now with that over... I adore Colbert simply because he's shameless.

wow, i LOVE pushing daisies. its the first time i'm getting really into an american "drama." i especially enjoyed last wednesday's episode...the love story was adorable.

and stephen colbert! i don't know why, but it seems to me that Stewart's jokes are a little less 'smart' (and i know what your thinking...stephen colbert does some pretty stupid stuff too)...but i think his insults are juvenile, the typical Bush cracks, nothing original. Colbert is so out there (a senator from Ohio has magical pockets that can hold everything!) that it makes it funny. plus, what javabeans said, he always stays in character. this guy has serious talent.

one thing i do like about stewart's show is the different segments with different reporters. i especially like when Demetri Martin and John Hodgman go on there.

Ya air definetley hasn't cleared in the LA area x / schools have even been cancelled. A little late coming in my opinion..

Colbert, definitely Colbert

...And it ate up the rest of my comment. But anyways. What other shows do you enjoy, javabeans? Pushing Daisies is absolutely adorable. I love Digby.

Ah. I'm going for Colbert! He just captures my attention more? Not sure how to describe it. I like Stewart as well buttt Colbert!
Where do you live in SoCal by the way? I live in San Diego and I was actually near the area when the fire started [I was visiting a friend] and we saw fire trucks and everything but didn't think much of it.
We were actually more concerned and ranting about how there were cars that didn't even bother to pull to the side for the fire trucks. The fire trucks had to keep using their horns. That was darn annoying. Those stupid cars were wasting precious time!

Ahaha.. Gossip Girl & America's Next Top Model are my guilty pleasures too. @_@. Besides those two, I only CSI. I'm not into TV as much as I am with the computer.

First off: hats off to all the So Cal firefighters (same to the Red Cross and all the volunteers). Can't say the dame about the politicians though. And ya know what, having to evacuate at 11:30 pm sucks big time.
They'd better NOT cancel Pushing Daisies. Friday Night Lights is so underrated (and i don't even like football).
Has anyone experience the Nokia theater in LA?
When will K-pop conquer the non-Asian world (ha)?
Nerds rulez.
Great sound off post, javabeans.

Have actually spent some time thinking about the differences between The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and am kind of relieved to see that I am not the only one. I think the thing that clinches it for me is that there are occasions when I am watching the Colbert Report when I forced to question, and laugh at, my own preconceptions. I never have those moments of the unexpected when watching The Daily Show or most other programs now that I think of it.

First, the fires in california are terrible, and it must be really difficult for the residents, can't imagine having to breathe smoke and stay in. But I'll be praying that it clears up and gets better soon.

Stephen Colbert is like my hero. So I'd have to go with him. I love his faux conservatism, its amazing how he can stay in character all the time (speaks to his improv background) and when the real Colbert comes out I admire him too: straightforward, humble, but aware of his influence and pretty clear about why he does what he does. Jon Stewart introduced us to Colbert, so I'd give him props, but after the White House Correspondents Dinner I knew I'd be a Colbert Nation resident ;). Now regarding his current run in the presidential race, I kind of wish he'd stand out and continue to ridicule the stupidity in politics today, and not join the race. Seems like he's doing it to make a statement, since it is his ridiculous character that is running, with full fanfare. [Which reminds me of how funny it was that he showed up at The Daily Show and announced that he'd make his announcement at a "more prestigious show"...like the Colbert Report. Puahahhah.] I love that Colbert is equally about making people laugh (if you see his raw interviews, you realize he really enjoys that) and about making direct, hard-hitting statements about ignorance and stupidity. If you haven't seen his Larry King interview, people, I recommend it.

I do think the correspondents on the Daily Show are gold. They are pretty talented and definitely have guts to do what they do, and with such elan.

Sarah, have you seen Dead Like Me? I just saw an old episode and thought it was an interesting, off-beat and eccentric (in a very cool way) show. I'm not sure if its still running on cable. I've really been wanting to see Pushing Daisies, I think I'll have to catch up with that sometime.

ooh, and I watch Top Model despite myself sometimes too, if I pass by it. Honestly though, some of the modeling challenges can get pretty interesting. And I'll admit, sadly: The Hills lures me in sometimes, its all attributable to that fascination when you're seeing something totally nauseating and have the "oh gawd, what is the world coming to" banner running through your head but can't seem to snatch your eyes away.

Last, I think Radiohead's move was great. Esp after that poor single mom got sued for $220,000. Ofcourse file sharing is wrong and illegal, but the record companies were so clear about making her a scapegoat to prove their case, and in the whole money rush I think they're forgoing the important connection a listener has to his/her favorite musician. And Radiohead is kind of going back to the idea that if our fans don't like who we are and if they can't afford us, then we can't really make music. Prince did that too, with sending his CDs with the newspaper (and pissing off a lot of British record companies). Anyway, kudos to them, and I think not only are those who really love their music fishing out money for them, but they might have gained a whole new following of people rebelling against the current state.

Hey, OK Go is pretty awesome!! If you guys like OK Go, you should definitely join their Juggling Club! It’s the OK Go street team!! If you join through the follow link, I will get 50 points that I can buy cool OK Go stuff with! Join so you can get cool OK Go stuff too!
http://jugglingclub.okgo.net/jugglingclub/?u=hobbitfoot
Also, check out OK Go’s other websites!!
OK Go’s YouTube Page: http://jugglingclub.okgo.net/jugglingclub/index.html?fuseaction=tools.invlink&u=hobbitfoot&linkID=12
OK Go’s Rescue the Band Driving Game: http://jugglingclub.okgo.net/jugglingclub/index.html?fuseaction=tools.invlink&u=hobbitfoot&linkID=9
OK Go’s MySpace Page: http://jugglingclub.okgo.net/jugglingclub/index.html?fuseaction=tools.invlink&u=hobbitfoot&linkID=3
OK Go’s Blog: http://jugglingclub.okgo.net/jugglingclub/index.html?fuseaction=tools.invlink&u=hobbitfoot&linkID=2
OK Go’s Official Website: http://jugglingclub.okgo.net/jugglingclub/index.html?fuseaction=tools.invlink&u=hobbitfoot&linkID=1

wow, i feel sort of lame for commenting twice. i really like this open forum thing!

i agree with javabeans, i don't like Chuck very much in Pushing Daisies. she really doesn't have much character, does she? its just that her character isn't developed enough. she seems like one of those 'poor defenseless maiden' characters. bleh.
to add to the randomness:
has anyone seen Across the Universe? i'm seeing it tonight.

oh, i just read javabeans' addition. my dad just brought in Wonderfalls from a friend at his work. i'm glad it got your recommendation! i wanna see Dead Like Me, too.

wait...what? coffee prince is gonna have a play?? ... i don't mind the whole franchise thing, but they need to be careful and not be "EVERYWHERE"....

california... pretty scary thing...hope you are all taking care of your health out there... wow.. pretty scary thing...

i watched colbert's parody of rain and it was priceless... i laughed my little derriere off... the dance moves were hilarious!!!

is "chuck" that good? i actually don't watch american tv that much... i catch CSI here and there and some friends re-runs...but since there isn't much on the k-drama side nowadays, i'll give it a try...

i read your post on alex from clazziquai, he better not even think of ditching music for dramas... hehe... his voice can't stay locked in the sake of dramatic poses...no i refuse!! lol...

love your all your posts, but this one is great..

Wishing all good thoughts for the So Cal residents...

Colbert is the best. Random thought: do you have columnist/blogger(s) that you find as equally kick-ass? Agree with your opinion on Pop Candy.

BTW, there's a rumor that Pushing Daisies has been Ok'ed for a full season. Keep watching people, gotta save this one. Good choice, ABC.

Have you seen Iconoclasts on the Sundance channel? The celebs pairings are so eccletic. It's fresh and surprisingly entertaining (...once you get past the show's pretentious title).

thank you for all the fansubbing works!

so bored! open thread = i heart you.

pushing daisies is awesome. the girl who plays chuck is in one of my favorite movies - Me without you. see it and you will have way more respect for her as an actress, she pretty much plays the completely opposite character. when i first saw pushing daisies i was like, no way its that crack addict from that movie i love. anyway.
what did you think of the it's always sunny episode about the "north korea situation". so freaking hilarious.
i couldnt get into chuck. i just feel like it has no plot (every week there is some kind of international espionage incident in los angeles? what? dont we have standards now?) i like that they live in silverlake though (did you pick up on that?)
oh man i love gossip girls so much. cant stop watching despite fact that i should hate it on principle. i think its cause veronica mars (kristen bell) is the narrator.
have you seen extras? that show is way more awesome than can possibly be described ever. watch the episodes with kate winslet, orlando bloom, and daniel radcliffe. so hilarious.

great idea on the blog
horrendous thing about the fires - I remember when there were fires in Victoria (Australia) and I could see the mountain burning from my backyard - the smell for days, the smoke in the air - not exctly great for people's healths. ANyway, take care whoever happens to be effected by it and lets hope that the government goes in to help a little more quickly then when Katrina struck...
I've recently discovered Legend of the Nine Tailed Fox with Tea Hee and Jun Jin (he's absolutely goergeous as the brooding, unloved leader of the pack - every episode I just feel like I want to give him a hug and tell him that everything is going to be allright)
And as I'm in the middle of exams, besides the new series of dancing with the stars (which can I add has somehow lost some of its charm and entertainment) and America's season 3 of So you think you can dance, I haven't really been watching TV - probably because most of the programming that's coming through at the moment SUCKS!! BIG TIME!!! eg. there is now a show on one of the channels that consists of three people (usually involved in the Big Brother franchise) who, for I think about half an hour, proceed to show their audience the funniest youtube clips. Maybe it's just me but if I want to go on youtube, I'll turn my PC on and not put up with other people's suggestions as to how funny I should be finding it...
...and that's my vent for saturday morning...

Definitely going to check out Chuck and pushing daises now. I'm so late on this now, but I'm on QSS episode 9 and felt I had to take a breather. I also started to watch gossip girls, it's actually a lot better(dare I even say good) than I thought it was. So anyone like House?

I watch Colbert's show more but his vanity act becomes too tiring for me.

Colbert said it best in a Charlie Rose interview: Stewart deconstructs the news, Colbert reconstructs it.

ps: I like the Misty Blue "Open Thread" graphic. :)

Okay, just had to say this since I finally have a chance. Thank you. Thanks for making a site like this because it's good to know that you can go somewhere and discuss about shows that aren't even your language. I am the only black person I know that watches Korean shows/movies, and out of my little clique I'm still the only person. So it's a little lonely. Coming to this Web site lets me at least read another's opinions (same or different) on a lot of the shows I am watching or have already watched. Again, thank you.

pushing daisies- i dislike chuck too. but i reaaaaaaaalllllllly dont like the narrator. is that just me? i think he's overpowering

Oh, Wonderfalls...I was so bummed when that show got cancelled. As for Chuck from Pushing Daisies, I wish they would do more with her character. Anna Friel is a really good actress (another English talent, of course). I saw her in the play version of Closer in NY (much better than Natalie Portman in the movie). Loved Me Without You.
Adam Baldwin in Angel? How did I miss that? I remember him in X-Files, though. I miss Firefly. What is Joss Whedon up to these days?
You've got to watch Extras. It's hilarious!

I just finished watching Bottom of the 9th with 2 outs. It was pretty good... once she got rid of the childish boyfriend. It seems to be the type of rom/com drama that you, javabeans, would watch based on what I see in your blog. I would like to have read your take on the "can a man and a woman just be friends" question.

I wish I had time to watch Pushing Daisies. My husband and I loved Wonderfalls and was so disappointed when it was cancelled. We caught a number of Dead Like Me and loved it as well. Knowing that Pushing Daisies is from the same creator/writer, I HAVE to watch it.

I love the Colbert Report!
I want him to be president. ( I wonder what would happen haha)

To Toya, nice to know there is another sista out there who likes korean dramas. Thought I was the only one.

I agree the air is really bad here. Thank God for the FIREFIGTHERS! I'm really happy that we still have a North County, San Diego!

i really like this open thread idea! i've never seen it before...hmm.

i am also living in nasty polluted air! where are you located dramabeans? i'm at UCLA and i thought the worst was over, but today the air was so thick with smoke it was disgusting. i'm so glad i didn't have class today. :/

This post is unrelated to everyone else's comments, but since it's an open thread, I thought I should drop a line to Javabeans (and I suppose, everyone else) about Homey Korean, that show regarding foreigners and whatnot.

I read your blog post about Homey Korean, but I think the article you read/translated may have had wrong information regarding the show's format and content. I decided to watch an episode just for kicks and its not a sitcom at all, but more like a teaching tool for foreigners who are interested in learning more about Korean culture and the Korean language.

So far, it's been really useful. I now know what to say to strangers, what to say before and after a meal, and other interesting stuff. Granted, the acting's pretty cheesy... but it's helpful nonetheless. Each episode is around 12 minutes long... I hope you'll (and everyone else) will give it a chance too.

May - I saw a few eps of Homey Korean and it wasn't too bad. I think the thing that really turned me off was the cheesy acting haha. They're short bites of information about Korea which will be pretty informative for people who know really less about Korea. If you watch a lot of Korean dramas though, the stuff won't be too new to you though.

I think Joss Whedon is working on some movies currently?

Hi Javabeans! I also want to thank you for your awesome drama summaries and just for blogging period, I love reading your posts.

I saw one episode of Chuck and loved it but haven't really been able to catch it since then. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is hilarious, as for Meerkat Manor it really draws you in but it broke my heart when Flower died!

Ok, I understand why Ugly Betty is so popular but I can't bring myself to watch it. That's probably because I saw the original Betty la Fea (Ugly Betty) soap opera (novela) when it aired oh...I dunno how many years ago, it was a Columbian production and I loved it. But then came the Mexican Ugly Betty remake and then came the American remake and I think there were even some Russian remakes. So I have some issues but I'm going to see if I can go back to watching because I'd really like to support the show, I know they're doing a good job (as long as you block the previous version of Ugly Betty from your memory). Oh here's a clip of the intro for the original Ugly Betty, it's in Spanish but you can still get the point.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-qwUy4VUh_8

And Toya, I'm not black but I feel the same way. I'm hispanic and sometimes I feel out of place too but there's some non-asian k-drama fans out there, so you're not alone!

As for k-pop and bossa nova, I think it's great. I was very surprised to hear these latin, south american beats mixed with k-pop. Of course that kind of music is near and dear to my heart since I'm south american but hey, it makes for great music right?

Speaking of South America, if any of you ever get the chance to watch some Brazilian dramas, you should. In general they have some amazing productions, the plot is good, the acting is good...it's all good! I'd say they're the Korea of the Latin world, hehehe!

Lastly, I live in Southern California too and I still can't believe just how many fires have been raging throughout the state. My prayers are with the all the affected families and lets hope our air quality improves.

Sorry for the long comment. Ciao!

oh the video quality isn't very good but it's funny and if you're an Ugly Betty fan, well you can catch some similarities...I hope

What do you think about a Colbert/Rain ticket? Now, that would make for entertainment. This election is depressing. Candidate's positions on issues while campaigning can't be trusted so I'm comtemplating voting based on other non-issue factors like promoting more woman into politics, electing a first woman president, electing a first black president, etc. Sigh.
I live in previously fire stormed area of Oakland Hills. The house I live in was rebuilt after the fires (not by me - bought 3.5 years ago) so I know recovery is not only possible but assured. But, I do wish our society would cease coveting "living in nature" by building further and further into wildlife (while driving out indigenous wildlife mammals). Like green house gases, these fires are results of our human actions (although I hear arson is suspected in some of the S Cal fires).
Don't watch TV except for Bill Maher on HBO and any and all College Football. Am I the only kdrama + football fan? Does that combo make sense?

Wildfires in SoCal really suck and my heart goes out to those effected..

It's really sad but it seems like there realy isn't any good korean series out there lately. I'm only watching Golden Bride and i'm waiting impatiently for the rest of the subs to come out..
Believe it or not, i havent' watch American series for almost a year or so but recently I'm pretty hook with a new reality show called "A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila". It's on MTV..It's so DUMB that I've become addicted to it....Watch it for laughs I guess.

Java, hope you'll find a good series so we all can watch and share comments together soon. (A series like Coffee Prince.) It was so fun.