Young Chuck Norris

In lieu of the last, overly depressing post, I figured I would bring some light and humor back in. The kids call it bringing the funny, or so I've been told. I am still totally feeling the "Lazy Sunday" short from SNL a few weeks back, which is like a decade in blog-time. Whatever. This past Saturday, I had the good fortune of seeing the latest short, "Young Chuck Norris", a short digital film whose title pretty much sums up the plot. The common ingredient to both was one Andy Samberg.

It struck me that I was watching the rise of a star, the emergence of a comedic genius, the man to make me forget about Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz and Tracey Morgan. In short, I am totally jocking this guy. Yes, he has done little else on the show, but it's nice to have high hopes in such awful times. He seems to be the first person on SNL that fits the humor of the times, moving away from the slapstick and impersonations to irony, sarcasm and subtlety. I guess the best way of putting it is that Samberg seems to be the first cast member that could be a correspondent on the Daily Show quite easily. DS has defined comedy for me the past few years: its style of engagement with the world, laughing at the mess, detaching just enough to not go crazy. That's what I sense with Samberg and it seems just right to me.

-Go here to see "Young Chuck Norris". Go here for an amazing collection of videos starring Samberg from the past few years. Go here for Samberg being interviewed on David Letterman.

- Go here for the home page of Samberg's L.A.-based comedy group, The Lonely Island.

-Rolling Stone just did a nice handy guide to the explosion of comedy-based websites. Unfortunately, they do not have that article up online. Thankfully, it's Rolling Stone, so I can summarize in a few sentences. They recommend the following sites: Channel101, Icebox and Ebaum's World. This is months of viewing pleasure, and the breeding ground for Samberg and the Lonely Island guys.