Daydream believer

Pax Arcana

First, an apology. The competent and forward-thinking Mrs. Pax Arcana and I have been tied up of late with real estate shenanigans (previously discussed here). Basically we’re in those terrifying middle stages of purchasing our first home, wherein terms like P&S, quitclaim, covenant, and easement suddenly burst forth from the underworld and coat you in a sticky film of confusion.

That’s why there’s been a scarcity of mind-blowing awesomeness on this site, and why that scarcity will likely continue for a while. But rest assured — my irrational fear of science, komodo dragons, and the undead continue to haunt me and will soon propel this site back into action.

In the meantime, scientists at the University British Columbia have discovered that your brain is far more active during daydreams than previously believed:

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that activity in numerous brain regions increases when our minds wander. It also finds that brain areas associated with complex problem-solving – previously thought to go dormant when we daydream – are in fact highly active during these episodes.

I like how they’re called episodes. It’s like your brain is a sitcom factory, just churning out storylines of mistaken identities, crazy neighbors, multiple generations of family under one roof, and sexual tension between coworkers. Like Sam and Rebecca on Cheers. I know that show went off the air like 16 years ago, but do you think Rebecca is as fat as Kirstie Alley now? If so, you’ve got to imagine that horn-dog Sam is catching it from his old Red Sox buddies. He’s doing guest spots on NESN talking about Jon Lester and the camera guy keeps cutting to still pictures of Rebecca stuffing her face with Fenway Franks on the concourse. Oh man I bet Sam punches that little shit Tom Caron right in the face.

Brain’s Problem-solving Function At Work When We Daydream [Science Daily]

Tracy Morgan effing rules

Pax Arcana

If you’re not excited about tomorrow night’s premiere of 30 Rock, then I hope you have your genitals severed by a runaway thresher.

OK, maybe that’s a little harsh. But seriously it’s a good show. Quite often hilarious. Alec Baldwin is 100% perfection as smarmy uptight jackass Jack Donaghy, and most of the cast just sort of falls in line behind him.

But faithful readers of Pax Arcana know where my real allegiance lies — with Tracy Morgan. His lunatic turn as, well, basically himself is a gorgeous fractal mosaic of crazy — the most sparklingly intricate portrait of an unbalanced star since the last time Amy Winehouse went out in public.

Here’s a small taste of what Tracy Morgan is all about, courtesy of a recent New York Magazine profile:

He orders a green tea. “You lose when you booze, isn’t that what they say? I can have a drink if I want to. I just don’t feel like it.” I nod. “What do they call that? Oh, I’m functioning. I’m a func-tion-ing alcoholic.” Kenny offers a cautionary “Trey,” which Morgan ignores. “I’m going to tell you the truth any-fucking-way, so it don’t matter if that’s on the table,” he says, motioning to my tape recorder.

I ask him if people confuse him with his character, and if it might be annoying to be mistaken for an idiot. “He’s my alter ego, he’s not me,” says Morgan, pushing his green tea aside. (“That don’t look like tea.”)

I love Tracy Morgan so much I wanna take him behind the middle school and get him pregnant.

Tracy Jordan—er, Morgan [New York]

Wayne Brady was worried

Pax Arcana

Apropos of absolutely nothing, King Magazine went and rounded up a bunch of Chappelle’s Show regulars to compile what it calls “the definitive oral history” of the much-missed series.

While I dispute that three short pages of Web copy can really be called a definitive oral history of anything, there is some pretty good stuff in there.

We miss you dearly, President Black Bush

For some of the regulars, like writer/actor Bill Burr, the explosion of popularity the show enjoyed was downright stupefying:

I was doing stand-up at this festival in Tennessee called Bonnaroo—a bunch of white hippie bands, alternative shit. I was backstage waiting for this band to come out, and all of a sudden the lights went out. Five thousand people waiting in the dark, and then you just hear some kid in the back go, ‘Whaaaat?’ Then somebody else yells, “Okaaaay! Yeeaaah!” It sent a chill up my spine.

This may partly explain why Chappelle famously flaked out and fled to Africa for some sort of black comedian NOLS trip.

Also, there’s a funny sequence in there about the Wayne Brady sketch — which remains my all-time favorite. Brady had seen comedian Paul Mooney make fun of him in a prior episode and had complained in person to some of Chappelle’s friends. Chappelle called Brady the next day and eventually they arranged the cameo.

What’s funny, in hindsight, is that the most famous line of the sketch, “Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a bitch?” was not originally in the script. Here’s Brady’s curious take on how things got changed:

I curse. I’m not squeaky clean. [But] I didn’t like the term, “Slap a ho.” I’ve got a daughter; there’s something about [that] that’s too real. So we came up with the whole line “Is Wayne Brady gonna have to choke a bitch?”

So to avoid getting “too real,” Wayne Brady changed “slap a ho” to “choke a bitch.” I think that makes perfect sense, and confirms my belief that Wayne Brady is a comic savant.

The Rise and Fall of Chappelle’s Show [King]

Wednesday Filler: Lobel out at WBZ

Pax Arcana

Today’s Boston Herald reports that among the 30 unfortunate souls shit canned in the name of “efficiency and streamlining” was Bob Lobel.

There were times when I was convinced Bob Lobel was drunk on the air at Channel 4. He’d punctuate his interviews with bizarre non sequiturs and occaionally uncomfortable dead air.

But at least he wasn’t a blow-dried Sportscenter wannabe. He tried to make things interesting and had a decent sense of humor. I can’t even name the sports guys on the other channels, to be honest.

“This place gave me an identity,” Lobel said. “I would have done this for free, but after a while, it got to be a business. It’s been a pretty integral part of my life for a long time. It’s time to move on. Am I sad about it? Well, I guess it’s possible to be both sad and excited at the same time.”

UPDATE: Lucy the Blog remembers things.

Dunder Mifflin Scranton goes on strike

You may have heard about the big Hollywood writers’ strike — in which a bunch of communist hippie types are taking a break from laboring over the According to Jim season finale in order to hit the bong and campaign for Dennis Kucinich (we demand that Lucy the Blog fly out there and give us a report from the scene).

The first major casualty of the strike appears to be The Office, a largely improvised NBC sit-com that everybody agrees is far, far superior to the British version.

According to TV Week, The Office showrunner Greg Daniels was picketing outside the show’s studio with the writers, and many of the show’s major stars had vowed to remain on the proletariat side of the picket line, meaning production of the show is basically stopped:

“The Office” cast includes several performers who are also writers on the show, like B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling and Paul Lieberstein. “Office” star Steve Carell is a WGA member and is not showing up for work as well, he said.

A victory for one is a victory for all!

Daniels Pickets ‘Office’ Production [TV Week]