United for Peace of Pierce County

Details: Written by Jack Kus; Published: 08 January 2012

“It’s bizarre," said Jon Stewart, quoted in the New York Times Magazine.[1] -- "Here is this fictional character who is now suddenly interacting in the real world. It’s so far up its own rear end that you don’t know what to do except get high and sit in a room with a black light and a poster." -- The character, of course, is Stephen Colbert 3, not be confused with Stephen Colbert 2 or Stephen Colbert 1. -- Charles McGrath traces the history of the Colberts and shows that they are the product of improv: "Colbert likes to say that the whole show is a 'scene,' a term that in improv-speak means not just a unit of dramatic time but a transaction in which one character wants something from another. The other character in this instance is us, the audience, and what Colbert wants from us is love." ...

Details: Written by Fran Lucientes; Published: 02 December 2011

At 2:33 p.m. on May 2, 2011, members of the Copenhagen Philharmonic in street clothes participated in an unannounced orchestral flash mob, assembling to play Ravel's "Boléro" (1928) and then, their revels ended, melting back into the crowd like an insubstantial pageant faded, leaving not a (music) rack behind.[1] -- The piece is seventeen minutes in length but in the video is shortened to under five minutes. -- The conductor in blue is the Swedish composer Jesper Nordin. -- In a performance like this, members of the audience become as fascinating as the musicians....

HUMOR BACKGROUND: How improv birthed multiple Stephen Colberts

HUMOR: Juice Rap News -- episode 10 -- what does 2012 hold in store?

VIDEO: Orchestral flash mob plays 'Boléro' at the Copenhagen Central Train Station