Truthiness and bacchanalia for all! And a bag of Cheez-Its for the chick a few rows over.

So, Ms. Claire and I had the pleasure of attending a taping of the Colbert Report yesterday. Less pleasureable was the long and windy walk to the studio over on 10th. However, the show itself was pretty good (I mean, it's always fun to wait outside for an hour and a half before being herded into a foggy studio to watch Stephen Colbert cock his eyebrow... in PERSON for FREE... with 50 of your closest friends from NYU).

Greg Behrendt, who is not that into me, was the guest. He was a little antsy, but the interview went pretty well, followed by the two of them "taking calls" from women with relationship questions. I have to say, while Colbert's interviewing abilities need time to develop, I like how they'll use the guest's particular talents (Stone Philips's gravitas, Behrendt being a "comedian") to do a little scripted-ish bit. It's a good diversion from the Daily Show format. It has great possibilities. It's hard to tell whether he'll be able to get compelling/funny interviews without breaking the character, which sort of demands that he focus on himself. I don't know if this will hold up, but I'm interested in the effort.

Colbert was gracious in the warm-up Q&A, after we waited around for a couple of years for the whole thing to start (completely different ballgame from the Daily Show... The Report's definitely still working out the kinks, it would seem). The set provides endles entertainment, as we spotted a collection of Nancy Drew (or Hardy Boys) novels shelved next to a miniture set of 10 Commandments tablets and a wooden duck. And there's now an eagle's nest next to the desk (if it's always been there, I unsurprisingly did not notice). It has turkey feathers in it, but whatever.

Meanwhile, is it a fan site if it seems to be run by the show itself? Discuss.

Another question: What happens in one of the many instances of Jon Stewart taking the day off? Does the Report fly solo (sans-split screen love-fest) with a new show? Do they defer to, as the Rock dubbed him last week, Big Jon? These are the itching and burning questions, people.

Editorial assisting is what pays the bills, so I'll be focusing on that for a bit. If you miss me, you should read this or this. Not because I wrote them, but because you're a good person who deserves it.