Archive for category comedy
Calming Down from Cayamo 2010 Fun
Sorry for the blog silence for the past several days. My professional and personal life got quite busy just prior to going on Sixthman’s Cayamo Cruise 2010 from February 21 to 26.
I was hoping to see a few shows on the first day of the cruise, but even I was surprised I was able to work five concerts into one day. I was banking on getting to see Katie Herzig and Emmylou Harris in concert on the first day–but I lucked out and was able to see John Hiatt, Edie Carey and Darrell Scott perform as well.
Ultimately, when all was said and done–I actually saw Hiatt perform four separate times over the course of the cruise. There are numerous other artists I got to see and learn about for the first time. A few of them, I really hope (can’t promise) to be able to interview in the coming months. If nothing else, I hope to interview folks at Sixthman, who organized the cruise.
And if I’m lucky, I’ll get to go to Cayamo 2011. But for right now, I am grateful for getting to be part of Cayamo 2010.
Merry Christmas II: Wonderful Life “Lost” Ending
Posted by admin in Film, comedy, pop culture, streaming video on December 25, 2009
I always forget that Shatner (with classic 1980s rug) introduces the clip.
As much as I love the original film, my sense of humor is drawn to absurd material like this.
Merry Christmas: It’s A Wonderful Life
For those of you who observe the holiday: Merry Christmas. For those of you who do not: Sorry about all the stores being closed.
As a child, my family typically went to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Most of my family, that is. My father would often attend another mass, typically. And one year, it just so happened that Frank Capra’s 1946 film, It’s A Wonderful Life, was being shown on television. My father offered that I could skip midnight mass if I wanted to watch this film with him, and my father rarely made such offers like this, so I took it. And because my father so clearly loved this film, I grew to love it as well.
I was just reading Roger Ebert’s 1999 essay on the film–and something that Ebert wrote really struck a nerve with me:
“This was the first movie he (Capra) made after returning from service in World War II, and he wanted it to be special–a celebration of the lives and dreams of America’s ordinary citizens, who tried the best they could to do the right thing by themselves and their neighbors.”
There were no shades of gray in my late father’s view of the world. He saw the world in terms of the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do. For my father, anything other than the right thing was never an option. Hearing Ebert’s take on Capra’s intent with the film allows a glimpse past the heart-warming surface of the tale. It also allows me to see a little bit more of my father’s thinking, years after his death, through his appreciation of a film.
I keep the memory of my father alive in odd ways, but they are ways that work for me. And hearing George Bailey exclaim “Zusu’s petals” always takes me back to my childhood and my first viewing of the film.
Footnotes: Considering Bill Simmons
Is it wrong that I prefer to read the footnotes in Bill Simmons‘ books, rather than the entire book?
Looking at his new book, The Book of Basketball, I’m sad to see the detail of his footnotes have made it so they have to placed in the traditional bottom of the page slot (for most footnotes), instead of to the side, as done with his previous book, Now I Can Die in Peace.
Sneak Peek: Better Off Ted
Posted by admin in comedy, episodic TV, streaming video on December 7, 2009
The ABC sitcom Better Off Ted returns to the airwaves with new episodes this Tuesday, December 8. While I think this show would be better off Wed (as in, better off being shown on Wednesday night’s as lead in to The Middle), I’m just darn happy to have the show return. Here’s a sneak peek.
YouTube: The Muppets’ Bohemian Rhapsody
Posted by admin in Music, comedy, streaming video on December 6, 2009
I may be the last person on the planet to see and link to this gem, but what the heck. Hat tip to my sister, Theresa, who made me aware of it–and aptly hyped it as: “It’s even better than Beaker’s Ode to Joy.” Ladies and germs, the Muppets’ rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Classic Atlanta TV: Don McClellan Catches Up with Officer Don
Posted by admin in comedy, episodic TV, radio on November 27, 2009
Atlanta has a rich media history, and Don McClellan has been part of it for 50 years with WSB-TV. While McClellan’s blog is clearly focused on WSB history, McClellan is also an avid runner (I remember when WSB would allow him to document a test run of the Peachtree every year, the day before the race) who loves to photograph other runners and document their stories at his blog. In fact, a co-worker who was photographed by McClellan at a race is how I found out he had started a blog.
Doug Richards’ Live Apartment Fire (Richards is another veteran Atlanta [granted not 50 years] long with WAGA, but currently at WXIA) is another great Atlanta media blog–and Richards recently directed folks to McClellan’s wealth of knowledge. So this time when I revisited McClellan’s blog (after my initial visit several months ago) I was pleasantly surprised to see he’d written a number of posts on Don Kennedy. For some of my older siblings, Kennedy was an important part of their childhood (through his alter ego, Officer Don) because of his live kids TV show on WSB-TV, The Popeye Club. (Really, one of these days I should do a post about my older sister, who had her appearance [the show was done with a live studio audience] on the Popeye Club preempted by coverage of the Six-Day War).
Mike Bender on Awkward Family Photos.com
Posted by admin in comedy, photography on November 4, 2009
Awkward Family Photos.com
Since arriving on the web earlier this year, Awkward Family Photos.com has amused, struck a chord and/or sparked an interest from a variety of people. As described at the site: “Let’s be honest– we’ve all got them. At some point in our lives, someone close to us has made us pose for an uncomfortable photo. Well, here’s your chance to share your family’s awkwardness with the world. Submit family photos, wedding photos, vacation photos, engagement photos, baby photos, etc! …Although this site is all about having a sense of humor, our intention is not to be mean-spirited. This is a celebration of awkwardness. ” Recently I caught up with Mike Bender, who along with Doug Chernack co-founded the site. My thanks to Bender for his time.
Tim O’Shea: You just finished up the Awkward Family Photos book for Three Rivers Press, is it still on target for a May 2010 release? What was the biggest challenge in compiling the book?
Mike Bender: Yes, the book is still on target. The most challenging part of putting the book together wasn’t so much finding the photos, but making sure they were all cleared legally and high-resolution enough to meet publication standards. These were things we didn’t fully understand when we started the process, but are fairly complicated. However, the publisher has been great and really helpful in moving these things along.
Video: Tragically Domestic from Tad and Deb
Posted by admin in Literature, comedy on October 19, 2009
I had a blast interviewing Tad Williams and Deborah Beale a few months back. The two writers have a great sense of humor, as well as a strong desire to share their creative process in unique ways. Many writers share their mechanics via blog entries, but Tad and Deborah have gone a step further–with Tragically Domestic on YouTube. It is described by the writers as an effort to “show us in our daily lives as we write, raise kids, and create and sell our books.” If you were not already visiting TadWilliams.com, hopefully now you have another good reason. For me, currently I’m even enjoying the outtakes from the project, such as this one (The Look).
Mike Sacks on And Here’s The Kicker
Posted by admin in comedy, episodic TV, late night TV on September 17, 2009
And Here's the Kicker
I fancied myself fairly well-informed about the art of comedy and the folks who practice it. But then I started reading some of Mike Sacks‘ And Here’s The Kicker: Conversations with Top Humor Writers About Their Craft, and soon realized I was not as informed as I thought. Sacks, who is presently on the Vanity Fair magazine editorial staff, interviewed 21 humor writers as well as a variety of editors and entertainment executives for the book. I was really impressed with the variety of writer he was able to interview–and I consider myself fortunate to get to interview him about the book. Please be sure to visit the book’s website as Sacks provides excerpts from each of the book’s interviews. With that in mind, I linked to each interview excerpt (and/or their respective website) when they come up in the discussion.
Tim O’Shea: Before your book, I had never even heard of Irv Brecher, and I considered myself a fan of the Marx Brothers (clearly not a well-informed one). Why do you think his name is not more widely known in comedy circles?
Mike Sacks: Well, I do think he was known within comedy circles, but only among those in a certain age demographic–or those who were very knowledgeable about Hollywood’s past. I guess it’s similar to younger baseball players not knowing much about the great players from the 30s and 40s.
Also, Brecher worked on two Marx Brothers movies (“Out West” and “At the Circus”_ that are lesser known than “A Night at the Opera” or “Duck Soup.” But I think anyone who is a professional humor writer (or even just interested in comedy) should acquaint themselves with Irv. He was an amazing man with an incredible career: from writing for Milton Berle to writing for the Marx Brothers to punching up the script to “Wizard of Oz.” He was also very bawdy and incredibly honest. It was great talking with him and I’m really happy I got the chance to before he became very sick.