I just stayed up really extra late to see Stephen Colbert take on Sean Penn in a duel of metaphors.  Completely worth it.  A few weeks ago, apparently, Stephen Colbert made fun of him for trotting out some mangled doofus excuse for a metaphor about George Bush.  It involved underwear and we’ll leave it at that.  Colbert challenged Sean Penn to a metaphor duel, which the actor accepted. Tonight they each had a metaphorical buzzer (an apple and a squirt gun) and there was an official moderator:  Robert Pinsky, former poet laureate.  There was a screen with categories, sound effects, and prompts.   Pinsky announced the category and they would each give it their best shot.  There was Robert Frost going up in flames.  There were rhymes, tears, and a fistfight; references to Shakespeare and Oprah; and correct and incorrect answers.  Also a complete Pinsky poem, though it was only onscreen for a few seconds and seemed to be on vellum.  Funny as all get out, if you like that sort of thing, which I do.  You can probably catch it on a Friday evening re-run or on YouTube or on iTunes.  Best TV comedy segment of the year.

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