Reminds me of a short story which, I’ll grant, I didn’t particularly care for: Time Travel is Only for the Poor. Although in that case, the premise was the opposite: rather than being banished to the past, poor people could be banished to some indefinite future by suspended animation.
I appreciated the general concept as a social commentary, but did not care for the “homeless veteran” trope it chose as its mechanism to tell the story.
He fucked up by voting for trump. But he is a good man to support his Wife and son. I’ll give him credit for that.
Isn’t that like the lowest possible bar? He should support his wife and kid by default.
Also, was he really “putting his life on the line” in Houston, Texas?
I ain’t touching that straight line.
Exactly. A certain Chris Rock standup routine springs to mind here.
Can you elaborate? I pretty much stopped watching stand-up comedy in the '90s.
Note that Rock has in retrospect walked back his view on this sketch, because unfortunately the larger bit it is a part of ended up giving people (particularly white people) an excuse to start using the N-word a bit too freely:
Thanks.
For the avoidance of any doubt, I was purely referring to the ‘you’re supposed to’ bit. I’d forgotten the N word was used in that to be honest.
You’re missing out.
I stopped watching stand-up comedy in the '70s. I guess I can never get caught up. Like with so many other things…
Stand-up comedy is something I’m genuinely interested in, not just insofar as I want to laugh. I love stuff that does a deep dive into comedic culture and the creative process, like Mike Birbiglia’s Working it Out podcast/YouTube show. I’m interested in their storytelling process. The best comedians are full of existential insight and know how to deliver it. These people are, first and foremost, writers.
My favorite stand-up comedians of the current era would be Mike Birbiglia, John Mulaney, Bo Burnham, Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, Kumail Nanjiani and Tig Notaro.
I could probably come up with twenty more worth checking out.
Right now I’m over the moon for Chris Fleming.
You My Friend have excellent comedy tastes!
Hearing Patton talk about Hate-fucking with Magic or walking his dog in New York nearly killed me!
My favorite bit is his one on depression, where he’s walking numbly through the supermarket while Africa plays on the radio. He’s standing in the freezer aisle reading the instructions on a frozen dinner and when it gets to the part that says, “remove film and stir, place back in the microwave…” he’s like, “oh, fuck that.”
I know those moments all too well.
I was worried about him when his wife died suddenly, but not long after, he did what artists do with their suffering. He made more art.
(bolding mine)
QED, I guess.
< golf clap >
Self-delusion is a powerful force, hence all the well-fed leopards.
I’d add Taylor Tomlinson to that list. She’s very funny.
Really? I’ve tried a few times to listen to her and she has never made me even smile, much less laugh. I see an ad frequently for her show that airs after Colbert. In it she asks ‘how do you host a show?’ and then there is audience laughter and I feel like I belong to a different species, again.
Republican congresswoman initially denied life-saving treatment for an ectopic pregnancy, blames the Left instead of anti-abortion law passed by Republican legislators.
Humor is too subjective for anyone to say another comedian is definitively funny. I think Tomlinson is a riot, but if you’re not on the same wavelength it’s just not going to hit. Nothing wrong with that.
This is true. And there is nothing wrong with that for sure.