Conan's official press statement, scattered with goodies throughout.  One of the best I've ever seen, done with class by a classy guy being put in a shitty situation by management all too willing to accommodate Jay Leno's sudden change of heart at The Tonight Show's expense.

It starts on a good note with the salutation:

People of Earth:

Takes a subtle shot at Leno's meager 10pm ratings:

It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule.

And gets to the meat of it:

For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

Bravo, Conan.

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The kid knows his stuff.

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Here's Letterman doing what I've always admired him for, namely being able to take a horrible interview and make it something special. In this case, he's able to pull from the ashes of a terrible, plodding interview a hilarious, awkward, spoiled Joaquin Phoenix, who never fully realizes what a plot object becomes to Letterman. Don't know what Phoenix's issue is here, but he picked the wrong late night TV host for the stunt. Video

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#8 and #7 are priceless. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rToKEnySb7s] (Via DF)

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The interface you let Motorola ship with your DVRs is horrid to the point where that alone will force me to satellite.  It's a friggin' joke.  It's a perfect example of how a lousy interface can drive customers away from a product, just as a good interface can draw customers to one. The more I use your DVR, the closer I come to calling DirecTV and ending the misery. That is all.

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Letterman being unusually dogged in his commentary about McCain’s claim that McCain will suspend his campaign.

Enjoy this while you can; I don’t expect the video to last long on YouTube.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjkCrfylq-E]

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Watch  Mike Murphy (former McCain strategist) and Peggy Noonan (former Reagan speechwriter) have a candid conversation when they think their mics are dead.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq4sOM4tpno]

Full transcript if you'd rather read it than watch it:

Chuck Todd: Mike Murphy, lots of free advice, we'll see if Steve Schmidt and the boys were watching. We'll find out on your BlackBerry. Tonight voters will get their chance to hear from Sarah Palin and she will get the chance to show voters she's the right woman for the job. Up next, one man who's already convinced and he'll us why Gov. Jon Huntsman.

(cut away)

Peggy Noonan: Yeah.

Mike Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor world: Engler, Whitman, Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. I mean, these guys -- this is how you win a Texas race, just run it up. And it's not gonna work. And --

PN: It's over.

MM: Still McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.

CT: I also think the Palin pick is insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too.

PN: Saw Kay this morning.

CT: Yeah, she's never looked comfortable about this --

MM: They're all bummed out.

CT: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

PN: The most qualified? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --

CT: Yeah they went to a narrative.

MM: I totally agree.

PN: Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it.

MM: You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical.

CT: This is cynical, and as you called it, gimmicky.

MM: Yeah.

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An extensive collection of the many times Michael from The Office says, "That's what she said!"  I had no idea this was so prevalent, despite me being a fan of the show.  Who knew?

Link

(via kottke)

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