Stand-up comedy is doing well these days. Variety cites the tough economic times, but I think it also has to do with accessibility. It's now easier than ever to watch or listen to stand-up - podcasts, satellite radio, cable, college tours, expansive city tours and YouTube have risen on top of the usual clubs, which can be a little pricey these days. There's also a significant undercurrent of alternative comedy, especially in New York and Chicago, getting more attention and stage time.
I think another factor contributing to this surge is how specialized the entertainment has become. Almost everyone can find a comedian or two that closely aligns to a particular sense of humor, from blue collar Larry the Cable Guy to skeptical transvestite Eddie Izzard, Jim Gaffigan to Mitch Hedberg (he's still popular posthumously), Demetri Martin to Mike Birbiglia to Jerry Seinfeld - there's someone or something for everyone. And this goes without mentioning the attention that the late George Carlin generated both for his career and his influence on others.
So while the "tough times" surely influence some of this, I think a lot of credit should go to new media and the people plugging into it.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Stand-up Soars
The Infernal Machine
Our second quantum-related post of the day (after the new Bond trailer). The Large Hadron Collider will go online in August with physicists and nerds eagerly awaiting some insight into the mysteries of the universe.
Of course, what's the fun in playing God with diabolical machines without fears and criticism? Will we create a black hole that swallows Earth? Will we, as the CNN puts it, be subject to particles that turn our planet into a hot dead clump?
"Ridiculous, say scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by its French initials CERN -- some of whom have been working for a generation on the $5.8 billion collider, or LHC."Juvenile! Absurd!
"Obviously, the world will not end when the LHC switches on," said project leader Lyn Evans.David Francis, a physicist on the collider's huge ATLAS particle detector, smiled when asked whether he worried about black holes and hypothetical killer particles known as strangelets.
"If I thought that this was going to happen, I would be well away from here," he said.
But where would you go, David? You think your PhD will save you now?? I'm sure some smart-ass dinosaur turned to his friend and said, "There's no way that asteroid hits Earth. If I thought that was going to happen, I would be well away from here."
Seriously, no worries though. Stephen Hawking says any black holes produced in this atom-smashing fest will evaporate quickly. Vegas odds of catastrophic global apocalypse: 1/50,000,000. I don't know how you would collect that winning payout though.
I'm secretly, and now openly, hoping for a 2001: A Space Odyssey journey into the ultimate transcendent nature of humanity when they hit the switch.
New Bond Film "Quantum of Solace" Trailer
Out in November. I thought the reboot with Casino Royale was great, so I'm looking forward to this one. Speaking of reboots in the second phase, The Dark Knight will be released July 18.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Obama's Seal
Crazy. Is Obama overreaching now? Maybe, but perhaps this is the most brilliant idea since FDR's Fala. Yeah, the seal is kind of ridiculous, but think of the mind games. People are going to see Obama speaking from behind a seal that looks a lot like the real presidential seal. People are going to get used to seeing him speak about the war, the economy, hope and change accompanied by a symbol conjuring up images of the presidency. If he looks comfortable behind a presidential-looking seal, people might get comfortable with the idea of an Obama presidency. It's a pseudo-subliminal effect! Akin to having a band play a tune reminiscint of "Hail to the Chief" whenever he walks into a room. You may not like it, but if you wouldn't necessary be opposed to it, the same could happen with Obama's name on the November ballot.
A Different Kind of Claw Game
Requisite PETA outrage:
"JD's Lobster Zone machine turns torture and death into a game, pure and simple," says PETA vice president Tracy Reiman. "Incarcerating lobsters in filthy tanks inside a boisterous club, making an abusive game out of their capture, and finally boiling them to death is every bit as reprehensible as tormenting cats, dogs, or any other animal."
Full Disclosure: Sports Allegiances
I figured I should state my sports allegiances for the record. They reflect a strange childhood of frequent moves and glory days past, but I figure as long as I'm loyal to these teams consistently over the years, no one can fault me for rooting for a cross-nation mosaic of clubs.
NBA: Chicago Bulls (lived in the Chicago area during the Jordan years and still love them...despite hard times)
NFL: Carolina Panthers (lived in North Carolina, decided to become a fan when they were included in the 1995 expansion along with Jacksonville, not really a big NFL fan, but this is my team, I suppose)
MLB: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Surrounding Territories including Riverside and Orange Counties and the Inland Empire (fan since I was 13 years old, spent my formative years in Orange County) See here for renaming fiasco.
NHL: Anaheim Ducks (same reasons as above)
NCAA Football: Notre Dame (2007 graduate); Nebraska (family ties, I was born in Lincoln, will cheer for ND over Nebraska, would ideally like to see both playing each other for the national title every year)
NCAA Basketball: Notre Dame, Nebraska (see above)
MLS: Los Angeles Galaxy (fan since 1995 when I proclaimed to my brother, "The Galaxy are going all the way" and they damn near did)
English Premier League: Arsenal (I arbitrarily latched onto them in the late 90s and decided they would be my horse in this race, my dog in that fight)
Kingda Ka
"You win again, gravity!!!"
Not Wanted?
John finds some allies in his lonely crusade against Wanted, which brought in $50 million this weekend.
Attacking Mars
The Phoenix Mars Lander continues to make progress. It's only a matter of time before we uncover this.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Euro 2008 Final
Germany v Spain tomorrow at 2:45 Eastern! At least, I think that's the right time. I always have trouble figuring out times for international soccer/football matches. Even ESPN lists it as "14:45 ET." It seems the United States (or maybe just ESPN) tries to be cool and international when it comes to soccer. Anyways, I'll be watching.
Teen Killed at Georgia Six Flags
Scary, sad news and on the same day I was at Six Flags in Jackson, NJ!
Out and Proud
I don't usually browse through Yahoo!'s omg! that often (not that there's anything wrong with that), but found this cool photo album of Hollywood's out and proud.
What the World Eats
Very cool gallery from TIME's website featuring photos of families from around the world and what they eat during a typical week. Weekend cultural education? Check.
The Way of the Future
Some website housekeeping announcements:
1) This blog's RSS feed is here if you're interested. Just bookmark it and you'll be notified when there's an update.
2) Note the new "On the Bound" section in the sidebar. I'm giving Twitter a try, partially for fun and partially out of curiosity. I'm not sure that adding another layer of information updates to my life is a good thing, but it would be nice to use as a way to check in when I can't make it to the laptop.
3) I've been updating the blog a lot more recently and hope to keep up the better pace. I finally got a feed reader set up and this has made me about a thousand times more productive and efficient with keeping tabs on news, blogs and people. As you can see, I'm trying to integrate feeds and updates into this site more.
4) Congratulations to Simon on his graduation from Stanford with a Masters in electrical engineering! I've known Simon since 7th grade and I credit him with getting me into blogging when we collaborated on the famed blog of old, IKWITA. Best of luck Simon! You're welcome to guest blog here whenever you like. Same goes for Brian, our other former IKWITAer, who has his new blog here.
Friday, June 27, 2008
WTF NC?
A North Carolina grandmother learns about the "potentially offensive letter combination" WTF from her grandchildren and complains to the state authorities, who were surprised to find that a sample license plate on their website also contained The-Letter-Combination-That-Must-Not-Be-Named.
"Officials learned last year the common acronym stands for a vulgar phrase in e-mail and cell phone text messages."Seriously? They're just now learning this? I clearly remember seeing "WTF?" emblazoned on an elementary school locker when I was in kindergarten. This was shortly after I had been introduced to the Biblical word for donkey several days before by an especially communicative class bully. And where did I attend kindergarten? Millbrook Elementary in Raleigh, North Carolina.
UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan picks up the case, too.
UDDATE: Brendan Loy, as well.
Candy Bar ID Quiz
How many candy bars can you identify based on a cross-section photo?
For the record, I got 14 out of 20 correct. I'm not sure if I'm more proud or ashamed. Anyway, let me know how you do!
The Setup
Michael Showalter and Mike Birbiglia sending each other up:
What's the deal with comedic set-ups on talk shows? Did you ever notice that Seinfeld is the easiest comedian to spot this with? I was watching some of his guest spots on The Tonight Show and it's very obvious when he launches into a stand-up bit rather than normal conversation. I love the guy, but man...
