OK, Tina Fey did not literally call me and I don’t recall whether the Germans are anything but literal with the verb anrufen. Nevertheless, Tina Fey spoke to me last week through 30Rock.

1) Like Jack Donaghy, I was going to be a marine biologist. That may be the only thing Donaghy and I have in common. (No, wait, he speaks German, too. Well-played.)

2) Liz Lemon, like Tina Fey, is smart enough to have placed out of first year German. Tina Fey and I studied German at UVa, albeit years apart. The German word for albeit is obwohl. I don’t normally take personally Tina Fey’s frequent use of German in 30 Rock. («Ich denke, daß sie die schönste Sprache in der Welt ist.» Ja, das stimmt!) However, with the first year reference plus the other items…

3) This shirt made me gasp! Why would a character appear in a scene with a 47 on her shirt? Note the IMDB clip is 1 minute 47 seconds long – no lie. As far as I know, Tina Fey is not in that cult of screenwriters (such as J.J. Abrams) who refer to 47 as a sly inside joke to other cultists. (On the radio this morning there was a discussion of economic indicators based on a survey of 47 economists. Now that’s real stuff.)

Believing celebrities or gods are speaking directly to you is a sign of madness, except when you are face-to-face with them. However, this is no goofy Da Vinci code or The Secret. Still, Tina, if you’re really reaching out to me, use the phrase “that’s crazy” in an upcoming script. bis später. _{Dein, Mark}