Tag: Humor

Marc Maron Chats With Aaron Draplin

Here’s what I’ve been listening to recently…

I’ve been prowling the WTF Podcast waiting in anticipation for the release of Marc Maron’s interview with Lorne Michaels of SNL. This particular episode with Aaron Draplin I found really interesting. Why? Well, I find the intersection of comedians and stuff that isn’t comedy very interesting.

Who is Aaron Draplin? Well, he’s a designer who works with a lot of different brands (perhaps most notably, Field Notes) and also tours the country giving speeches. He has a fascinating back story about moving from Michigan to the mountains out west and eventually to Portland. But, even more captivating is Draplin’s enthusiasm for…well, whatever he happens to be talking about. I don’t care what he’s saying: it sounds good.

Maron has an ability to find really interesting people to talk to. I like that he doesn’t just talk to comedians any more.

Listen to this podcast episode, it’s pretty cool.

Nathan Fielder Interviews With an Interviewer’s Mom

I posted a little while ago about Nathan Fielder’s new season of Nathan for You. A writer for the AV Club, John Teti, asked Fielder to do a traditional interview to promote the show, but Fielder had a different idea.

Teti had previously reviewed Fielder’s show on his podcast Mom on Pop, where he discusses pop culture with his mother.  Teti’s mother gave scathing reviews of Fielder’s work on the podcast, saying that Fielder wasn’t funny and she didn’t think he was a very nice guy.

So, what did Fielder suggest for the interview? He wanted to meet up with Teti’s mother to try to convince her that he was a good guy.

The interview with Teti’s mother is hilarious, at least to me. It’s definitely not your average type of funny. But it reminded me of conversations I have with people who aren’t really connected to the comedy world and are pretty ignorant about what can and can’t be funny (even though they’re generally nice people). The idea that some guy’s mother is trying to tell Fielder, who runs a successful comedy show, what is and isn’t funny is a pretty funny idea.

Spoiler: Fielder is successful in the end.

Amy Schumer is Still Living on a Budget

I saw this article a little while back and I liked it because it shows how hard you have to work to make it as a comic. Even after starring in several stand up specials, her own sketch show, and her own movie, Amy Schumer is living in a small apartment in New York City. No pent house just yet, no butlers. She’s still saving her money in case something goes wrong.

It goes to show that even after you “make it” in comedy, you’re not set for life. You have to keep putting the effort in and keep working at it. It’s also nice to know that she doesn’t have it that much better than me. Right?

Spooky Creepy Joke for Halloween

I want to start out by saying that this is a pro-environment joke, just FYI. So keep that in mind. It’s important.

One time I was on a road trip with my friend Jerry deep in woods of northern California. We were driving on a small two-lane road late at night and our car broke down.

We pulled over to the side of the road and we didn’t know what to do. There was nothing within sight. No towns within dozens of miles. Complete darkness.

Continue reading “Spooky Creepy Joke for Halloween” →

Jerry Seinfeld on Halloween

Happy Halloween!

I’ve gotta go with sharing some classic Halloween material from Seinfeld today. I had a “Jerry Seinfeld Halloween” book when I was a kid that was based on these jokes. You might have heard the jokes a million times before, as is how Seinfeld operates, but the jokes are still classics…

Shits & Giggles

Sometimes I go to the bathroom just for shits and giggles.

One time I was in a bathroom and I walked up to a urinal and I looked down and the urinal was off to the left. And I thought, “This urinal is wrong.”

And then I thought, “No wait Stu, maybe you’re wrong. Maybe this urinal is perfectly placed for someone whose phallus is slightly to the left.”

And then I thought, “Maybe you’re being insensitive because you have a perfectly centered phallus. And now you’re just being cocky.”

And then a guy walked up to the urinal next to me and said, “Are you okay? You’ve been standing there for two whole minutes.”

The Comic Who Amy Schumer “Stole From”

A lot of people who aren’t as knowledgeable about comedy today – especially the younger audiences – have never heard of Patrice O’Neal because he died young in 2011, at which time he hadn’t produced a ton of material. But comics pretty much all know and love his work. And I’m one of his fans.

He recently came up in the news for being the original source of a joke that Amy Schumer allegedly stole…which comics think is ridiculous.

Know Patrice for what he should be known for: good comedy. Check out his special Elephant in the Room.

 

Christmas Trees

Do you think Christmas trees know that they’re Christmas trees or one day a lumberjack just walks up to them and goes, “You’re going to die. For Jesus.”

And the tree is like, “What? But I had no previous religious affiliation heretofore!”

And the lumberjack is like, “Well, henceforth you do. Also, it’s the sixteenth century. That’s why we’re talking like this.”

It would suck to be a Christmas tree. You just live your whole life in Wisconsin with all your friends and then you die. All of you. At the same time.

And then you end up in someone’s living room and you’re like “What’s going on? I can’t feel my legs! How am I standing up right now?”

And then someone is just like, “Shhhhhhhhh…I’m gonna put Christmas lights on you. Trust me, it makes sense.”

And then you’re like, “But it’s the sixteenth century…Christmas lights haven’t been invented yet.”

Jim Gaffigan’s Show on TV Land is Great

If there’s anyone who deserves his own show it’s Jim Gaffigan. He’s been around forever and he’s such a big and well-liked name. Finally, he’s got one. And although it isn’t 100% about Hot Pockets, it’s pretty much what you would expect: a funny take on family life with a lot of food sprinkled in. Sprinkled in pretty much everywhere.

The show is actually super easy to find online since it’s on TV Land, a primarily online network. I didn’t know that TV Land existed until now, but it seems like a really cool space with a few different interesting-looking comedies.

As far as the Gaffigan Show episodes go, they are all pretty darn well written. They’re probably funniest to an older “I am a parent” audience, but I’m young and I still think they’re great. One thing to mention is that the show addresses comedy (Jim plays a comedian) but there’s no actual stand up in the show. I think it’s a cool balance between TV and stand up, since most comics who do a show either tend to one extreme or another in terms of incorporating stand up comedy.

It looks like they’ve taken away some of the episodes on the website, but you can still get a taste for the show! Below is a little clip.

Comedian Wins Guatemalan Presidential Election

Look, I’m no fan of politics. But I am a fan of comedy. Which is why I think it’s pretty cool that a former television comic, Jimmy Morales, won the national election in Guatemala. Apparently he didn’t just win; it was a landslide.

It is interesting because comics are often known for their social and political commentary. And they can be really brilliant people who are efficient communicators. So in a way it kind of makes sense that they could be elected to government positions.

I’m reminded of senator Al Franken, who I really know nothing about (was on SNL before my time), but I remember being a big deal when he was elected.

Anyways, here’s an article about the election. I think I found this on r/nottheonion on reddit. I really wanted to find some of Morales’s material on video but I couldn’t find anything. I guess that could have been expected.