Get to Know Lisa Rosman Through Her Various Works

All Hail the Enthusiast

Not everyone understands why I love Jimmy Fallon so much but I don’t understand why they don’t understand. Not only is the dude a triple threat but he is so generous in his enthusiasm that people miss how clever he himself is. He’s a bright, unifying force of everything that actually works in mainstream entertainment, and his account of the SNL40 afterparty–at which he managed to get Elvis Costello, Debbie Harry, the B-52s, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney and freaking Prince to jam–validates my love forever. (Let the record stand: My 2015 goal is to see The Tonight Show filmed live.)

The Very Special ‘SNL 40’ Special

Last night’s “Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special” wasn’t the best of times. It wasn’t the worst of times, either–though, at various points during the three-and-a-half-hour show, it felt like the longest of times. For a program already teeming with forty years of talent, an awful lot of celebrity guests were booked; Steve Martin’s opening monologue was so jam-packed with star walk-ons (from Tom Hanks to Melissa McCarthy) that it resembled a “We Are the World” broadcast. But for one evening at least, long-simmering feuds and resentments were laid aside and – despite a few missteps – a fun time was had by all. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Sisterhood Is Powerful “Weekend Update”
Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Jane Curtin took over anchor duties, and they did not disappoint. Curtin had the best line: “I used to be the only pretty blonde reading fake news. Now there’s a whole station devoted to that.” And cue Fox News logo. Less successful was Emma Stone’s reprisal of the late Gilda Radner’s Roseanne Roseannadanna; imitation isn’t always the highest form of flattery. Also a little too close to the bone: McCarthy as the late Chris Farley’s motivational speaker Matt Foley. Yikes. Continue Reading →

Coffee Is a Language

Woke up with a huge laundry list sprawling in front of me and a brain ardently in need of caffeine. As I slurped my coffee and she slurped her breakfast, Gracie and I blinked at each other–hello, I love you; hello, I love you–but after she finished eating she was still eying me intently and licking her chops. Then I realized why. She and I are so codependent, and I enjoy coffee so much, that she was experiencing vicarious pleasure, even envy. Sorry, permakitten; I guarantee that you’d hate it as much as I did when I was your age. (Pictured here: the author clad in a live feline fur. That’s politically correct, right?)

"All, everything I understand, I understand only because I love."
― Leo Tolstoy