The Colbert Report Taping Report - May 29th, 2008

We arrived around 1:20pm at the studio on 54th street and no one else was there. The gate to the alley was still closed. Mom set up the stool and I sat down while she left in search of water and food (and a bathroom). While we were waiting, Laura Krafft walked by and she said hi to us.

Around 2pm, Juan came out and opened the gate. At that point, there were only three or four people behind us in line, but it didn‘t take long for people to arrive. At 4:30pm on the dot, Kelly (Madmoll on the Colboard, cheap_laugh on LJ) arrived, just like she said she would. Kelly gave a blond intern (at least I think she was an intern) a picture that she‘d taken of some of the writers during the strike and Mom gave her a gift that I had brought for Stephen.

Mark came out and did his thing. We chatting with Mark and Juan for a few minutes. Juan is actually really funny. He told us that the “shower“ at the end of the Rain dance off only took one take and then he and Stephen had a water fight.

About 5pm Mark came out and told Kelly that security wanted to see her. They told her that she couldn‘t go into the show. They said that it was a penalty for drawing on the wall while in line back in January. They said that it was the decision of the building owners, and that she could come back in six months. Mark and I appeared to be more upset about it than she was. Kelly stayed with us until we went in.

Once we were inside, we were told that rewrites were being done and we had to wait a while. In the meantime, Mark asked a few trivia questions and gave out t-shirts. I got one, although Mom said that he wanted to give me one. He kept looking over at me, waiting to see if I‘d put my hand up to answer a question. When he ran out of shirts, he answered questions about the show. Then we entered the inner sanctum.

It was just as I remembered it. I again was in awe of the desk, and the nest. I was in the third seat instead of the first.. Two VIPs had the first and second seats. That was ok, though. It meant that I had a good view of the desk, because I was right in front of it, and I could study the outline on the floor.

Then Stephen came out and did his toss. It was very short because they didn’t have a whole lot of time. He said that they had a scripted toss, but they didn’t have time for it. While they were testing the feed, Stephen and Jon were talking about a snow pea salad, and Jon somehow got a dick joke in there It was quite funny. Very smooth.

Then Pete came out and made fun of us, because we were front row. He said we looked too bright to be from New York, and we agreed with him. He also made fun of a few of the VIPs. They were easy to spot, some of them had nametags.

Then Stephen came out again and ran around the desk a few times and did the Q&A. I had a question ready, however, he didn’t call on me. When he got to the desk, he started shooting wriststrong bracelets into the crowd. He shot one at me, but it flew up and went over my head. He also pointed at me and smiled.

The show itself went by pretty quickly. There was only one time when they restarted. There was a technical issue with a picture that was supposed to come up, but it didn’t. While waiting for this to be fixed, he ate some more of that shrimp he had for another joke earlier. He also threw a piece of it over my head to someone I’m sure he said was Allison’s brother, but Mom said that he said it was his brother. Maybe one of the others who were there can clarify. He finished the show and left.

When leaving, I gave Mark a hug and apologized for something mean I said to him, joking, when we were going in. He really is a sweetheart. Kelly met us outside. We waited for the sidewalk to clear, took some pictures, then left.

The Daily Show Taping Report - May 28th, 2008

We arrived at the studio about 2pm and no one was there so we were first in line. Kelly (Madmoll on the Colboard, cheap_laugh on LJ) joined us about 20 minutes later. After Kelly arrived, Mom left to find us some water. When she came back, she had water and a stool. Kelly and I had already planted ourselves on the ground, so Mom sat on the stool.

They were running late and we didn’t get seated until around 5pm. Paul Mecurio came out and told us that they wanted to pretape us for a segment on the show. That was the part where “John McCain” was shaking his ass. Paul left and came back a while later to make fun of the audience. He certainly didn’t disappoint. He said that me, Mom, and Kelly looked like stoners from upstate. Then Jon came out and did a Q&A. One girl asked him how he got his hair all silvery. His answer, “I’m old.” Oh! And from the horses mouth! Jon and Stephen will be doing a joint one-hour broadcast on election night, from the same studio! I can’t wait for that. It’s gonna rock

The show itself was exactly as seen, with no surprises, and no John Oliver. I was a little disappointed. It was my birthday, after all. After the show, we went to the 10th Ave diner to eat. Then we walked past the TCR studio to show Mom where we were going the next day. There was no one waiting for Stephen, but the light was still on in his office. After that, we went back to the hotel.

Rikimas is here!! aka Riki in NY - Day Three

What a day, what a day. It started about 10:30 this morning, when Madmoll arrived at my hotel. I hadn't finished my coffee yet. So, she waited until I had done that, and we caught a bus to the Disney Store on 5th avenue.

There were picketers already there, marching in full force. They had the blow up pig, which I think is incredibly funny. They had enough marchers, so Madmoll and I handed out flyers instead. We did that until about 2pm.

From there, we went on to Times Square. Specifically, the ferris wheel at Toyz R Us at Times Square. It was one of the things that I really really really wanted to do, so we did it. And here we are on the ferris wheel. We were in the My Little Pony car. We wanted the Mr. Potatohead car, but you have to take one of the cars offered you. It was My Little Pony, or Barbie Car. We liked the rainbows. I got a picture of the Lego Statue of Liberty, which I thought was pretty cool.

After that, we pretty much headed home, because Madmoll had an acting class to get to. I go back to grand ol' PEI tomorrow, but I will miss this city immensely.

Go to my site for more pics from today.

Rikimas is here!! aka Riki in NY - Day Two

well, this morning started out like any day would at home, except that it started with a vanilla Starbucks coffee. Madmoll came sometime around 11:30am, and we left, headed for the days WGA picket, which was at the Stock Exchange. Man, oh man, the traffic was unbelievable. We spent 2 hours on the bus, although, while waiting for the bus, we saw Rex from One Life to Live coming out of the bank. Very cool.

So, like I said, 2 hours on the bus, and we got to the Stock Exchange, however, by the time we got there, the picketers were gone. So Madmoll took some pictures of me and Mom in front of it.

We walked from there, where we rode the Staten Island Ferry, and got some neat shots of the city, plus the other ferry. We then caught a bus back to the hotel, and that was pretty much our day.

some of the pics we took are here if you'd like to see them. Hopefully we'll get to the picket site in time tomorrow, to show the writers the fan support.

Rikimas is here!! aka Riki in NY - Day One

We have arrived. Let me start from the beginning. We had a 6am Atlantic time flight to Montreal that we had to catch, so we were going to get up at 4am, and be into the airport by 4:30. Good plan, if you sleep. I slept an hour and a half. I woke up at 2am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I watched a movie until it was time to get up. So, then I got up, got dressed, and we left.

Charlottetown Airport was pretty simple. Check in. Go through gate. Get on plane. It's when we got to Montreal that things got interesting, and/or confusing. We went upstairs and downstairs, around in circles through different hallways. We had conflicting information from different airport staff on whether or not we had to pick up baggage before going through customs. It was awful. Customs was interesting. Open your bags, empty your pockets, and take off your shoes. The customs official liked Mom's socks because they were hot pink.

The flight to NY, we had personal screens in the backs of the seats with music, movies, and tv. So, I listened to some Led Zepplin (The Immigrant Song is the only song that I listened to the whole thing), and I watched the Doodlebops (I like Busdriver Bob. Don't judge me. *L*).

I didn't expect it, but LaGuardia was so much simpler than Montreal. Not as much as a maze getting to baggage claim. And who was waiting for us there? Why, it was none other than my favorite NYC resident, Madmoll, known to me as Sistercuz. We took a cab to the hotel, where I subsiquently fell down the stairs in their lobby. Only 2 steps, so not really that bad. It actually looked worse than it was. I think I may have bruised my ankle, but by tomorrow, I'm sure it will be fine. We walked up to Broadway, and got a snack, and sat there and gabbed for a while. Then we wandering around a shop. I do have to say, that is the most cheese I've ever seen in one place before. NYC'ers might know where I'm talking about. Then my mom looked at me and decided I should take a nap, so we came back to the hotel. Madmoll hung out for a bit more, then she left, and here I am.

And that was day one. Stay tunes for day two, coming tomorrow.

The Night Before - Take Two

No, I didn't get away. Damn weather. my flight was canceled this morning, but I'm hoping to get out tomorrow. It's early in the morning, so I should be in bed. I'm just hoping that it doesn't get canceled again.

The Night Before

Well, tomorrow is November 11, the day before my taping. Unfortunately, there is a writer's strike going on, and there will be no show, but I decided to go anyway. So, tomorrow I board a plane for New York. I'm still excited. I'm meeting a friend that I met online. We've made some tentative plans, and I'm hoping to meet up with Stephen somwehre along the line, but I have a feeling I won't. It doesn't matter, though. Right now, I'm looking forward to riding the ferris wheel at Toys R Us at Times Square. I'm sure that will be the highlight of my trip. I wonder what the odds are of running into Anderson Cooper.

I'll try to post some pics tomorrow after I get settled. I'm sure I'll have a few.

Yeah, I'm still here

I was told the other day that my blogs were out of date, so I figure an update might be in order. Now, there are reasons I haven't posted anything here, and that's because nothing has really happened. My passport is being processed, and it should be ready on October 18th. I've got a gazillion things that I want to do when in New York. The sad thing is, I haven't made any of the arrangements yet. I have plans to get on that on Tuesday. I'll let you know how that goes.

In the meantime, Stephen's book, I Am America (And So Can You) is available in audiobook form from Audible.com. It's well worth the 17 bucks, in my opinion anyway. The book's release date is this Tuesday, October 9th. Buy it, and buy it often. *G*