2012-05-08

Maurice Sendak Is the Kind of Old Man I Want to Be...

...dead! I kid! Maybe.


I feel like I missed out on an important childhood experience as I see everyone memorialized the newly deceased Maurice Sendak today. The thing is, I've never even read Where the Wild Things Are. The closest I came was when my 3rd grade teacher cut all of the words out of the book (she said the story was rubbish) and had us write our own plot to accompany the illustrations. 

Nonetheless, I'm sad, especially because I had been hoping to get to know the man better. I am a newly converted fan of Sendak thanks to his interview with Stephen Colbert a few months ago. I think it's my favorite televised moment of 2012. If you haven't seen it, watch it. If you've already seen it, you know you love it enough to watch it again. Part 2 gets even better, particularly when Sendak starts sniffing markers to get high. 

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 1
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogVideo Archive
The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 2
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogVideo Archive

I know that "Crazy old Maurice, he's always good for a laugh" is a line from Beauty and the Beast, but I think it applies to these videos, too. Sendak may not have had a profound impact on my childhood, but he will definitely influence how I spend my elderly years. I aspire to his standard of curmudgeon-dom. 

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