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Jon Stewart quickly mentioned the night's guest, Matt Dillon, saying that he was only coming on the show because he was "doing it for Johnny!" The audience didn't really respond, so Jon joked about how old he was to remember The Outsiders. Aww. I remember The Outsiders. It had a pre-crazy Tom Cruise! And I totally played the most awesome greaser girl in my 8th grade stage version of the book (too tough to be a Soc chick, baby).

"Indecision 2006"/"Diss Ingenuous": Virginia's George Allen threw the word "Macaca" (sounds like nonsense, but apparently, it's a genus of monkey) while shouting at an Indian supporter of his opponent. Bad move, man. Bad move. Correspondent Rob Corddry elaborated on the situation. Rob claimed that he is actually from Macaca, prompting Jon to ask where Macaca was. "Where is Macaca? Right next to Yapeepee!" Haha, I loved Rob's little celebratory dance. When he mentioned that he only has about a week and a half left on the show, it was kind of a downer. Sigh. I'm going to miss Rob.

Before undergoing surgery, Cuban leader Fidel Castro ceded power to his half-brother Raul. Bureau Chief de Havana Rob Corddry joined in to elaborate. The "Hollaaaaaah!" thing made me laugh because I know I've had occasions when I've accidentally read "Hola" that way. And although the "ceremonial passing of the beard" thing was great, Jon being caught off guard by Rob's sexiness was the best part. Mild flirtation between the TDS boys makes me happy (there really hasn't been enough of it since Stephen Colbert left).

I thought they were going to do the Lance Bass news yesterday (during Lewis Black's gay-centric "Back in Black"), but they saved it for this episode. It was more about making fun of the way the press handled Lance's announcement than the news itself. Somehow, the papers always manage to find the gayest picture possible for these celebrity outings (in Lance's case, an old photo of him posing with an underage, gay invertebrate named Spongebob Squarepants). Jon explained that this is because good journalists compile pictures ahead of time just in case anyone's ever outed. He then shared his own gay picture, depicting fun times with Bruce Vilanch, Elton John, Harvey Fierstein, and... uh... John Madden?

When fighting broke out in the Middle East recently, chef, author, and TV show host Anthony Bourdain found that he was trapped in Beirut with his crew. They were filming an episode of the Travel Channel series No Reservations. Bourdain and the four people with him were stuck in the city for a week, and eventually found their way back to the U.S. Bourdain held a chat at The Washington Post web site recently.

Bourdain not only talks about the food he tasted there, but also offers a view of the people he encountered, in a way you might not see on the cable or network news coverage.

[via Bookslut]

When you used to say the word "Beirut", people would equate it to "hell on earth". But lately, the city has experienced a bit of a rebirth and has become a major tourist attraction. I would imagine that's why food expert and raconteur Anthony Bourdain and his crew flew over there this month to do an episode of his Travel Channel show No Reservations.

However, because of the battles between Israel and Hezbollah that broke out last week, Bourdain and crew are now stuck in the Lebanese capital, which is being hit for the first time in many years by artillery fire. After a thread about their predicament got started on the Travel Channel's bulletin board, Bourdain responded with his usual brand of weary nonchalance: "We are all of us (Diane, Jerry, Toddles, Tracey and me) in good health, good spirits and working ferociously on our tans and sipping blender drinks while watching the fireworks from a secure location. Our masters at Travel Channel have made sure we are being well looked after."

I would hope that the Travel Channel folks are trying to get Bourdain and crew out, but it's probably really difficult right now. Here's hoping that everyone continues to be safe.

[via Pop Candy]