Sunday reading

I was on assignment yesterday. And therefore missed most of the Super Bowl. The commercials. Bruce Springsteen’s halftime performance. Just about everything …

Except the fourth quarter. I got home just in time. It turned out that was all I needed to see.

Hopefully I can catch most of the commercials online this week ...

In the meantime, how about that Very Special Episode of The Office!? ... I actually was afraid to watch it after one cold review I read yesterday morning. But then again, as I've always contended, The Office is best viewed as collection of scenes and sketches ...

The opening fire drill sequence was arguably one of the zaniest and most entertaining things I've ever seen on The Office. (I'm laughing about it now, picturing Angela throwing her cat to the ceiling tiles, which Oscar had jumped onto. As it played out, I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe). And I can hardly stop repeating the words, "Bam! Roasted!" ... Maureen Ryan had a great summary this morning.

Once in a while, "The Office" comes up with an episode that leaves you giggling for days. You may get strange looks, and people may wonder why you're muttering to yourself and then cackling maniacally. But you won't care, because you're still entranced by the hilarity that you witnessed ...

If NBC only broadcast the first five or six minutes of the show, which depicted the chaotic emergency drill that Dwight cooked up, that would have been enough. One insanely funny incident came on top of another, to the point that I could barely catch my breath. In the annals of "Office," history, if there is anything funnier than Angela's cat toss, I can't recall it. That was one of the most dementedly hilarious things I've ever seen in my life.

Good stuff.

Here's a special Monday edition of Sunday Reading ...

The Super Bowl ...
a Big plays define Roethlisberger; Warner is driven by faith
a Sudden Shifts ... I've always been in the camp that thought Kurt Warner was overrated ... But the way he carried the Cardinals might have swayed me. And his post-game interview was as classy as anything I've seen in sports.
a Cardinals’ Super Bowl Trip Has Leinart Studying Again
a Cardinals wander country, spreading NFL mediocrity
a Stable Steelers win by staying the course
a The hard truth: He's gone soft
a John Madden's Missed Tackles

Baseball ...
a Hoffman likes the direction Brewers are heading

Politics ...
a A comedy for some; for us, a horror show ... I could hardly bear to watch anything about Blagojevich last week. Laughing stock of the country ...
a White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code ... I like it!
a Obama on Thin Ice ... I thought Obama's comment about the D.C. weather was great.
a Elvis Has Left the Mountain
a Obama: a special man for a serious time
a For Obama, getting out and about just got tougher

Movies ...
a America Asks: But Is It Blart ... I was one of the people who made the mental note: Don't go. I also think the "Open Letter to America" is ha-larious ... Funny though, I too had a vision a couple years ago for some kind of mall cop movie. Only problem was I never put it in writing and forwarded it onto Hollywood ...

Music ...
a Amy Who? Now, Adele's the One With the Buzz
a The evolution of the urban bushwhacker
a Music biopics try to keep it real
a Rock fans head to Iowa to recall day music died
a A fan's undying love for Bruce Springsteen is tested by the ultimate outrage ... Not a big fan of Bruce, so I'm not that sad I missed the halftime show. Even so, it would have been nice to see it. ... I couldn't stop reading this tortured fan's take.

TV ...
a Series finales: Going out with a bang
a End to Bush's `Great Moments' on Letterman

Media & the Internet ...
a As Economy Ails, ShamWow And Snuggie Get Big Break ... I'd never heard of the Snuggie until a few weeks ago when I caught one of the commercials. Then, the other day I listened to a group of morning show DJs and callers rave about how it was the gift of the year. Suddenly, it's everywhere ...
a Washington Post’s Book World Goes Out of Print as a Separate Section
a WMAQ-Ch. 5 reinventing itself, tells producers, writers and editors to do the same
a At CBS, Couric's Role and Ratings Show Signs of Looking Up

Life & other stuff ...
a Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You ... Who knew?
a Michigan Boy Scout earns all 121 merit badges