Comedy Central Insider Blog

What is the deal with Microsoft Vista? I mean hey, it's the number one selling operating system on the personal computing market, but still dogged by reports of resource hogging and that it's hard to use. What do you do with a product that has such a bad rep consumers are asking for XP? You hire Jerry "See 'Bee Movie' Goddamit" Seinfeld to join Bill Gates in a series of ads. Two can play that game, John Hodgman/Justin Long.

Yes, just the comedy duo I was waiting for all these years to freshen up a bloated OS:  Seinfeld-Gates.

But that's not all. The Fishbowl claims that the campaign is trying to recruit the likes of Sarah Silverman, Rob Corrdry and Stephen Colbert. If the rumored $300 million dollar rollout materializes, this could be the greatest comedy promotion battle since Buster Keaton did silent ads for Simon Pure Beer.

There are many desperate tactics to jump-start a comedy career, but in the wake of Barack Obama's attempts to mend the nation's racial divisions, Pauly Shore has taken the curious tactic of allowing himself to be caught on camera going off on black comedians from Katt Williams to Charlie Murphy and attributing recent woes to his whiteness.

Check out the video for yourself, complete with "Is he drunk/stoned?" disclaimer. Thrill to Pauly's racial hierarchy pyramid! It's okay, because as he's quick to remind us: HE HAS BLACK FRIENDS.

(Thanks Best Week Ever for the tip)

Zowee! Amelie Gillette, the Onion AV Club's Hater turned her acid eye on Vanity Fair's recent Annie Leibovitz shoot with those "Queens of Comedy." More importantly, the PRETTY women of comedy. Quoth VF's Alessandra Stanley:

"But the funniest women on television are youthful, good-looking, and even, in a few cases, close to beautiful—the kind of women who in past decades might have been the butt of a stand-up comic’s jokes."

Gillette cuts in with her own counter-argument, even going so far as to imply that the judgment of comedians is going beyond gender politics:

"Why not just provide a relative attractiveness chart? Or simply say, 'They're pretty–for comedians,' because, really, that's what this is about.

"This isn't a women vs. men issue. This is an attractive vs. ugly issue. It's a new(ish) thing for any comedian (male or female) to be attractive, funny, and successful."

The comments section is gettin' pretty heated, with some posters merely slagging or posting their "appreciation" of comedians' non-comedic assets from Tina Fey to Kristen Schaal. All I know is that the ultimate winner of this brouhaha is Christopher Hitchens, and that really chaps my hide.

So, we've got the word through Gawker that Donald Glover has auditioned for SNL, but has not yet been asked to join. So, I guess this means I owe the entire WORLD a coke. In the meantime, you can enjoy a Derrick Video:

The Onion AV Club is reporting that there may, possibly, potentially be an Arrested Development movie in the works. Of potentially more interest than this whiff of a rumor is the inevitable comment thread of Arrested Development quotes, which is strangely hypnotic reading. It's like a sizzle reel of show highlights, but in awesome text form!

Previously: Michael Cera Stars in "Drunk History"

The Dream is, apparently, possible: Wain in Talks for 'Wet Hot' Musical

Look. All day long here, it's a barrel of laughs, but sometimes, just sometimes, a body just needs a little tragidrama on the television, just to keep a man sane. But occasionally, every single star in the freaking universe aligns, and I can be here, telling you, that Michael K. Williams, aka Omar Little from The Wire, will appear in a sketch on The Human Giant next year. That's right.

Omar. From The Wire. On The Human Giant. Son.

Check out Aziz Ansari's report at New York Magazine, it's short and hilarious, like… I don't know, something.

Earlier: Sneak Peek At Human Giant: Season 2

We're honored to be nominated for Best Website, News and Commentary in this year's ECNY awards (we think it stands for Emerging Comedy New York) Especially in such great company as The Apiary, Gothamist, Dead-Frog and Brooklyn Vegan.

Scroll down for our category (and check out many of our favorite shows and comedians along the way) and vote for us! If you feel like it. (Thanks, ECNY!)

Kal Penn, immortalized forever as Kumar in the classic comedy 'Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle' (and the upcoming sequel) has joined the cast of the prime time sci-fi-fantasy show 'House'. (I mean, come on! I love 'House' but 'Lost' is closer to reality.) More Kal Penn is definitely a good thing:

Kal Penn Joins House as Series Regular

Earlier: Kal Penn's Crazy 'Namesake' Junket

Ever seen a "no-comment-off"? Here's your chance: watch as Sarah Silverman tries to pawn a paparazzi off on Heroes star Hayden Panettiere — and vice versa — in an airport baggage claim after the Video Music Awards.

Keep an eye out for resident roaster Jeffrey Ross in the role of Sarah's flack.

Since we posted about Sarah's appearance at Sunday's VMAs, the Comments section has been heating up. What's your take?