Last night I saw new dick flick The Hangover, from the guy who brought us Road Trip and Old School. There will be more about the film at a later date; but for now, let's just focus on the parts that included a baby. See, the gist of the movie is this: Four guys go to Las Vegas for a bachelor party, and when they wake up in the morning, they can't remember any of the last 24 hours — but there's a baby (and a tiger) in their hotel suite. At a Q&A last night, director Todd Phillips said, "We tried to think, okay, you wake up, what's the worst thing you could see?" Hence the baby. (And the tiger.)

But about the baby: Of the three men who find the kid, only one is actually a father, and he is the least interested in the child's welfare. The baby gets hit with a car door, left in a parked car — in Las Vegas, in the desert sun — there's even a sex joke made. About a baby. Yes, it's a comedy, and the moments get big laughs — the guys are clearly being idiots — but would people laugh at women who did the same things? (Oh, that's right: bad mother's don't get laughs. They get misdemeanor charges, and sometimes book deals.) But men and babies: Why is that funny? What is the root of the humor? That men just aren't "cut out" to be nurturing?

These same thoughts came up while watching the latest "Guide To Man Style", in which comedy duo Gabe And Max give "advice" to new fathers, like clean your baby in the shower and give it Red Bull bottles.

Where do we get this idea that men are wackily unfit to be around infants and kids? And shouldn't we have left it behind years ago, when Mr. Mom and Three Men And A Baby came out?

Gabe And Max Are Your Baby Daddies [Videogum]
Related: A Stand-Up Gets His Close Up [WSJ]
Related, sorta: The Cult Of The Bad Mother: When Everyone Is A "Bad parent," Is Anyone? [Babble]

Mister Rogers Puts In The Wrong Tape [Funny Or Die]

Dr. Rod Martin, a psychologist who wrote The Psychology of Humor, says that conservatives are happier than liberals in general, and therefore more prone to a good chuckle. “A conservative outlook rationalizes social inequality, accepting the world as it is, and making it less of a threat to one’s well-being, whereas a liberal outlook leads to dissatisfaction with the world as it is, and a sense that things need to change before one can be really happy," Martin tells the Times.

Or maybe, as Tierney posits, social scientists are a hugely liberal group and while they think they're noncomformists who are dissatisfied with the world, they're actually just as closed-minded as conservatives! "Maybe the stereotype of the dour, rigid conservative has more to do with social scientists’ groupthink and wariness of outsiders," Tierney says.

Another explanation: the jokes that researchers told the study's participants were completely lame. I mean, has anyone been entertained by a joke about golfing since the Ford administration? Either way, Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives alike can giggle at the above picture of George W. molesting a bunny.

Obama and McCain Walk Into a Bar… [NY Times]

"The themes of 8228 are celeb, fashion, health, food and fitness," Posner continued. "Some [of the affiliate sites] will be humorous and some won't be — that's why it's being branded 8228 network and not National Lampoon's. It's not expected that it will be a comedy site." Nope, in fact, 8228's flagship blog will be a collection of silly celebrity interviews done on film junkets called The Zaz!, hosted by Matt Zaller. "We're not targeting men or women, we're targeting everyone," Zaller said. "But it's not video games and traditional college dude stuff. A lot of the people who watch the show are women, so I've been told."

Right. Well did we really expect comedic enlightenment from the people who brought us Fat Guy Nation Movie Review and F'd Up Southern Traditions: Pig Slaughter and Cockfighting?

Related: National Lampoon To Add Female-Centric Site [MediaWeek]