Okay, someone needs to fill up Joe Rogan’s Wikipedia page or something, because I thought he was an annoying dick from Fear Factor, then I thought he was funny on Newsradio, then thought he was amusing but also a dick at the Carlos Mencia thing, and now this. What the hell?!
Just a note to say that the BadAstronomy blog acknowledges this thread at http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BadAstronomyBlog/~3/96651397/
That’s pretty much the definition of a woo as I know it: arrogance supported by ignorance.
Ok, I read the thread at Joe Rogan’s board (well, most of it anyway; it’s 17 pages) and I’ve regained some respect for him. It seems like a guest over there has more or less convinced him that he’s wrong. He hasn’t full-blown said it yet, but it’s obvious that he’s slowly and gracefully stepping from “you’re right” to “I’m wrong.”
If you want to read the thread it’s Here. I would suggest skipping the first several pages - it’s almost exclusively name-calling and thread-shitting - and starting around page 14 or 15.
Some interesting stuff in there. I was especially amused by their refusal to believe that astronauts would be calm before the launch, but nervous while speaking in front of a crowd afterwards. Or demanding an explanation about an Armstrong quote that maybe sounds like a coded confession, if you’re already prone to disbelieving but could accept that old Neil would let the cat out of the bag in front of high schoolers.
Then there’s “well, I find this convincing, but why didn’t NASA or Phil Plaitt do this”? Because NASA doesn’t care, and doesn’t have the funds to cater you you morons, and Phil made a misstep in his debating tactics.
But that is the greatest fear of many people! Some claim they’d rather die than speak to a group. Me, ya can’t shut me up, but I’d be mortified that the cameras would show me puking while my crewmates gamboled in zero g.
That was the exact point that was made in the Rogan thread, and I think that’s what Menocchio was referring to.
It’s interesting what people will take as evidence. They’ll analyze subtle little quirks and facial expressions from interviews, and ignore a 300’ tall metal cigar belching flames out its ass end.
Penn’s a media whore who will take any opportunity to go on TV. Witness “Identity.” Joe Rogan may be able to get him work. Phil Plait probably won’t. So he’s going to suck up to Joe more than Phil.
[HIJACK]
Did you see him get owned on Stephen Colbert? It’s not on Youtube (at least not under Penn and Colbert as keywords) but it was classic. He went on seeming stoned (I say seeming because he’s famously drug-free and claims never to have even had an alcoholic beverage), tossed Colbert’s notecards away, and proceeded to verbally belittle Colbert, all while plugging his new book.
Colbert proceeded with the interview as if nothing had happened. When Penn remarked (something to the effect of) “Oooh! You actually memorized the questions” Colbert responded “I wrote them”. Had to see it to understand why that was such a great response (and probably true).
Colbert ended by saying “I’m not holding up the book. I don’t give a damn if you sell a copy or not.” (He handled himself perfectly and never got flustered but you could tell he truly was pissed at Penn’s wired and obnoxious behavior.)[/HIJACK]
Just found it on the Comedy Central site: Part 1 and Part 2. (Warning: requires viewing a brief ad.)
Watching it, though, I’m not sure Colbert’s “anger” in the interview isn’t just part of his shtick. It seems to be he who initially tosses one of his interview cards, after Penn tosses a playing card at the audience. (Penn then tosses one, then they both toss the rest of them.)
It’s possible he genuinely dislikes Jillette, but I wasn’t convinced it was real.
Stephen Colbert, on the show, is a fictional character. He’s kidding.
And to be honest, the interview doesn’t go at all the way you describe. Jillette doesn’t look “wired” or stoned at all. He’s pitching a DVD, not a book, doesn’t talk about it very much (and it takes over half the interview to even mention it) and Colbert mentions it near the middle of the interview, not the end.
Colbert doesn’t seem genuinely pissed off at all. He’s grinning at the in jokes they share. You didn’t remember this very accurately, I’m afraid.
Penn said on his radio show that Colbert said something like, “That was great!” after the interview. Penn was trying to shake things up to make the interview more interesting. Whether he succeeded is debatable.
The clip on Vinyl Turnip’s link looked to me like two buddies having fun. I saw no hostility, at all. (In fact, on a couple of occasions it almost looked scripted, although I suspect that they are both sufficiently quick on their feet that it was probably not.)
Yeah, they were both having fun. For me, Colbert’s parody would be funnier if he played it straight, though.