WHCD SNL star sightings and Portlandia

This weekend I had the chance to go to D.C in time for the White House Correspondents Dinner. I was not able to attend but I was able to watch everyone arrive and leave the event and see guests of the Vanity Fair/Bloomberg after-party arrive and/or leave. As if I wasn't geeking out enough already, I saw Fred Armisen arrive to both the Dinner and the After-Party. I was not close enough but I did yell some sort of something at him but I don't remember because I was too excited.
With him was Carrie Brownstein, his Portlandia co-star. Portlandia is one of my favorite new shows. And one of my favorite things to come out of a SNL cast member. The show is a reflection on the people and eclectic goings on in Portland, Oregon. It is so offbeat and weird yet familiar. "The dream of the nineties is alive in Portland..."  
"Like Gore won and the Bush Administration never happened"
The show is on IFC and just finished up its second season but episodes can be found online. 
Fred Armisen is still a part of the current SNL cast but he continues to co-write and co-star in Portlandia with Carrie Brownstein. 
Here is my all-time favorite scene from the show. "In Portland you can put a bird on something and call it art!"

No New Episode this Weekend

Repeat this Saturday of the Channing Tatum/Bon Iver episode. If you like Channing Tatum (shirtless) you will like this episode if you haven't already seen it.






However, the show returns on May 5th with Eli Manning and Rihanna!
His brother Peyton is a welcomed guest to the show but it will be interesting to see what his little bro can do.
Rihanna has performed two other times on the show and has been in the SNL Digital Short both times. The 'Shy Ronnie' sketch will likely reappear for her return to the show. Here is a clip of Andy Samberg and Rihanna  in their second installment of the 'Shy Ronnie' sketch. The song from this can also be found on The Lonely Island's, "Turtle Neck and Chain" album that came out last year.

My Obligation To Let the World Know About Mike O'Brien

Okay, as soon as I saw his videos on YouTube, I knew he was the perfect comedian. He's committed, quirky, dorky, uncomfortable and funny (obviously). My friend showed me his series of videos on YouTube called, "Seven Minutes in Heaven", where he stands in a closet with a celebrity and asks them weird questions and makes them improv short scenes. And of course, at the end, the guest and Mike share an awkward kiss.
The reason why this fits into my blog is that he is currently a writer for Saturday Night Live (started in 2009). Mike, 35, has previously performed and graduated from Second City and Improv Olympic in Chicago. These are the prime improv institutions in our nation. Sounds stupid but it's a pretty big deal. He has since worked on some of my favorite sketches like "Smash Mouth Closet" for SNL. I am so mad I could not find a video online of this sketch but it was so funny. I can't even try to explain it, you would just have to see it. Also, like Sarah Schneider, he can be seen as an extra in numerous scenes.
He is slowly becoming more famous because of his great online success, Yahoo! has recently started linking his videos on their homepage. Odd choice, but I'm happy for him. Also, the Chicago Tribune did an interesting piece on him for their Arts and Entertainment section. Click here to read and read Mike's Guide to Making Out with Famous People.
I strongly recommend as well that you look around his website. As first I thought I was on the wrong site, but then I realized, that's the joke. Click here to see it.

Here is Mike with Jack McBrayer from '30 Rock'. As awkward and awkward gets.

From College Humor to SNL

I was watching the show's credits one night and I always spit out my drink when I saw the name "Sarah Schneider" scroll across the screen. For the past few years she has been the backbone of the popular website, College Humor. I'm sure you've seen her if you are anywhere on the internet.
So naturally I felt like a proud mother when I saw her name in the credits. She went from being a successful comedy writer and actress on the internet to going where every comedy writers only wish they could go. A lot of famous comedians started off as writers on SNL first. For example, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers (Current Head Writer), Steve Higgins, Conan O'Brien, Larry David, Stephen Colbert and Adam McKay.
So far Sarah has co-written a few sketches and has been seen as an extra in a few sketches. I always feel cool when I notice her in the background. I hope to see a bright future for her since she has worked her way up the ranks to make it where she is now.
Even The Huffington Post took notice of her new job position! Click here to read the article!
Watch Sarah in my favorite College Humor video series, Hardly Working, where she beats all the boys at Freeze Tag.

2012 TIME 100 Most Influential People Includes Kristen Wiig

Yayyy! I am so proud of  her. She definitely deserves it and TIME thinks so too.

"Her first screenplay — insightful, brave, groundbreaking and also hilarious. Kristen and her wonderful partner Annie Mumolo are nominated for an Academy Award. She never thought she was making a statement about women in comedy."

Click here to read the whole article written by Judd Apatow

Cold-Open from 4/14/12

Love this!
"Can I admit something, guys? RomneyCare is just ObamaCare"

Review of Last Night's Episode 4/14/12

I was not able to watch it live last night so I just watched it on Hulu this morning. I know it's not the same because not all the skits are included but better than nothing, right?


The monologue was a bit of a dud. Josh Brolin did a brief 'preview' of Men in Black III with Jay Pharaoh as Will Smith's character. His impression is so good but I can't help but feel bad for him because he that is all he is ever used for. Except for when he's playing a background character extra or something. Anyways, the monologue was nothing exciting.
The next skit (according to Hulu) was something new called, "The Californians". This is a parody of the California soap operas that are on TV. But in this, they play up the Californian sterotype, including the odd way of talking (accent and for some reason they kept talking about car directions and traffic). This ended up being pretty funny because Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen and Bill Hader all struggle to get through their parts without completely breaking. Kristen barely ever breaks, but in this one she is on the verge of completely messing up. Click here for the video!
Digital Short- "Laser Cats 7"- INCLUDING STEVEN SPIELBERG! Craziness. They followed plot lines of E.T (which they called E.A.T, meaning "Extra-Awesome Terrestrial"), Jaws, Jurassic Park and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Normally I hate these ones because they are repetitive and not as funny as the usual ones, but this was okay.
Weekend Update: Seth recovered from last week's dull segment. This one was way better. AND it included Garth and Kat, the musical duo (Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig) that makes up their songs on the spot. If you've never seen it, you're missing out because it's pretty funny.
After that, there was a CNN sketch regarding the Trayvon Martin case. Somehow they were able to squeeze more celebrity impressions in there. Again, Jay Pharaoh was doing another impression. This time he was Kanye West. Not a fan of this one.
Another Digital Short for last night's episode. They must've been making up for last week. In this, they parody the Gotye music video for "Somebody That I Used to Know", that I discussed in one of my previous blog posts regarding the musical guest of this episode. I aforementioned that the video is very unique and could be what makes the song as well. Anyways, Andy and Taran recreate the music video while Gotye is trying to prepare for his performance. Hilarity ensues. You're going to want to see this if you've seen the original video. Click here to watch it!
Last Sketch:
I stand corrected! Jay Pharoah is an original character!! And he is breaking so pretty funny.
I hate that I couldn't watch it at the normal time because I think that the shock value of seeing it live makes a huge difference. Oh well, hopefully next time.