| "Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast" -Oscar Wilde |
 |
"The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth, shall be watered also himself." -- Proverbs 11:25 |
"...you have a choice: be a fighting liberal or sit quietly. I know what I am, what are you?" -- Steve Gilliard, 1964 - 2007
"For straight up monster-stomping goodness, nothing makes smoke shoot out my ears like Brilliant@Breakfast" -- Tata
"...the best bleacher bum since Pete Axthelm" -- Randy K.
"I came here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum." -- "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (1954-2015), They Live
"For straight up monster-stomping goodness, nothing makes smoke shoot out my ears like Brilliant@Breakfast" -- Tata
"...the best bleacher bum since Pete Axthelm" -- Randy K.
"I came here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum." -- "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (1954-2015), They Live
Brilliant Recent Posts
There's nothing new under the sunAu revoir, y'all....
So Long and Thanks for All the Gefilte Fish
Like White on Rice
Why Did Hillary Clinton Hire a Monsanto Lobbyist t...
Virtual Book Sale
The Man Who Poisoned America
We are privileged to be alive today
The Prodigal Blogger Stops By
Good Times at Pottersville, 3/14/15
Brilliant at Searching
Brilliant Stuff to Buy
What's on my mind:
Brilliant Archives
Brilliant at Begging
Like what you read?Please consider supporting B@B with a donation: There is no gift like the present.
But gifts are nice too:
Feed Me!
Stuff You Must Read
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
I can't wait
Those of us who stuck with Marc Maron during those brutal days long ago when he was getting fired from Air America three times have been hoping for something like this ever since. Yes, folks, the human version of Henri le Chat Noir (only without the French and the fur, though there will be cats) is coming to IFC in May.
Labels: Comedians, comedy, Marc Maron, pop culture, television
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
What a long, strange trip it's been
In just over a week, it'll be the eighth anniversary of the day when we turned on the radio at 6 AM to listen to the new morning show on the equally new Air America Radio. The show was, as longtime readers of this blog know, Morning Sedition, and it was the best damn thing to hit radio in years. There'd been nothing like it before, and there's been nothing like it since.
I've written about the hilarious, infuriating, heartbreakingly honest and funny Marc Maron many times since I first started blogging in 2004. Because Maron is so accessible (or so needy), watching his rise, fall, and rise again has been unlike your standard entertainment career death watch and resurrection. Those of us who've followed Maron's career over these last eight years have been probably more pleased, and certainly just as surprised, at the way a project that started out as a failed comedian's attempt to make things right with all the people to whom he'd been a dick over the years, quite possibly in anticipation of a planned suicide, is now one of the most acclaimed podcasts in the country, and this ferociously smart, neurotic-but-working-on-it Jewish man is finally getting the recognition his work deserves. And most importantly, he's not forgotten the people who listened along the way -- the ones who sent encouraging e-mails, and who sent food and cat toys and other gifts and who now show up in droves to see him in rooms that for years he couldn't fill.
So on this day which saw the nightmare possibly come to pass of Jesus of the Rockies bringing his 3-ring circus to town to make a dysfunctional Jets clubhouse even worse, there's some good news that makes me kvell with naches: Marc Maron's weird life is coming to television, from those wonderful people who brought you Portlandia:
The only way I could be any happier about this is if Lawton Smalls is his next door neighbor. But please. Cats. There must be cats.
I've written about the hilarious, infuriating, heartbreakingly honest and funny Marc Maron many times since I first started blogging in 2004. Because Maron is so accessible (or so needy), watching his rise, fall, and rise again has been unlike your standard entertainment career death watch and resurrection. Those of us who've followed Maron's career over these last eight years have been probably more pleased, and certainly just as surprised, at the way a project that started out as a failed comedian's attempt to make things right with all the people to whom he'd been a dick over the years, quite possibly in anticipation of a planned suicide, is now one of the most acclaimed podcasts in the country, and this ferociously smart, neurotic-but-working-on-it Jewish man is finally getting the recognition his work deserves. And most importantly, he's not forgotten the people who listened along the way -- the ones who sent encouraging e-mails, and who sent food and cat toys and other gifts and who now show up in droves to see him in rooms that for years he couldn't fill.
So on this day which saw the nightmare possibly come to pass of Jesus of the Rockies bringing his 3-ring circus to town to make a dysfunctional Jets clubhouse even worse, there's some good news that makes me kvell with naches: Marc Maron's weird life is coming to television, from those wonderful people who brought you Portlandia:
MARON (working title)
Premieres in 2013.
Marc Maron has been a comedian for 25 years. He’s had his problems. He was an angry, drunk, self involved, twice divorced compulsive mess for most of his adult life, but with the popularity of a podcast he does in his garage and a life of sobriety, his life and career are turning around. MARON (wt) explores a fictionalized version of Marc’s life, his relationships, and his career, including his incredibly popular WTF podcast, which features conversations Marc conducts with celebrities and fellow comedians. Neurosis intact, Maron is uniquely fascinating, absolutely compelling and brutally funny.
The only way I could be any happier about this is if Lawton Smalls is his next door neighbor. But please. Cats. There must be cats.
Labels: Comedians, Marc Maron, sheer awesomeness, television
Saturday, December 31, 2011
You know what's sad? I understand this thought process
Maron on Conan, December 22, 2011:
The gift part, not the prostate part.
The gift part, not the prostate part.
Labels: Comedians, Marc Maron
Sunday, July 17, 2011
And they say LIBERALS have no sense of humor?
Perhaps this is the definition of irony.
Back in the days when I was able to start my day with a good healthy dose of comedic cynicism with "Morning Sedition", Marc Maron would open the show with "Good morning geniuses, philosopher kings, working class heroes, progressive utopians with no sense of humor..." If you're familiar with the Maron oeuvre, you know that humorlessness on the left is an integral part of his work when he ventures into the political realm (which he doesn't do much anymore, since as he said on Real Time with Bill Maher this weekend, political rage is just about being angry in your own head, something he's been workinig on with his WTF podcast, which is itself a kind of atonement for the way he treated people in comedy when he was a self-destructive asshole, instead of just the garden-variety asshole he is today.
But now Marc Maron finds himself with a notoriety he would have killed for a few years ago, because of an offhand remark he made during his appearance on Real Time -- one which for anyone who knows his work, is another example of the kind of raw, rip-your-head-open-and-dig-out-the-muck musings that are an integral part of his schtick.
I'll be the first to admit that Marc Maron isn't everyone's cup of tea. At one time I'd have said that you have to be a neurotic Jew with food issues and unresolved childhood self-loathing to really "get" what he does. But there are few stand-up comics who, after a radio show that lasted only a year and a half and ended over five years ago, has kept the show's fan base to the point of breaking down the wall between comic and audience. Whether it's his live stand-up shows or live WTF broadcasts, Seditionisti and WhatTheFuckniks shower him with gifts relevant to his chaotic life and cultural references -- vegan cakes, non-vegan cookies, full butterfat ice cream, and of course cat toys. There are always cat toys, because if you've followed Maron's career since three feral stray cats were dumped almost literally in his lap in Astoria, Queens in 2004, you know about Boomer the Dirt Cat (who the now-loathed ex-wife left behind and took the much nicer Moxie the Astoria Cat in their very bitter divorce), Monkey, and LaFonda, you know that he's a Cat Guy. And another thing the fans do is create the artwork that shows up now on WTF swag.
Marc Maron has this peculiar thing that he desperately wants to be liked, but he's suspicious of anyone who likes him. If you don't necessarily like him as a person (and he's far more accessible than most stand-ups are), you should at least appreciate his work. But the thing you have to realize about Marc Maron is that when he gets up on a stage, or puts on the headphones in his garage and starts a monologue, he's not doing it for you. He's doing it for himself, because without it he'll go slowly nuts just from living inside his own head. You either get that or you don't.
Unfortunately, appearing on a popular show like Real Time means that this weekend Maron was out of the comfort zone of people who still miss Lawton Smalls and the Presidential Palm Pilot and who remain hopeful that Current will somehow put WTF on television. And now he's Public Enemy #1 on the right for an offhand remark he made (2:33 into the video below) about hoping Marcus Bachmann (who's widely reported to be a closet case, which of course, as Stephen Colbert would say, makes it "fact-esque") takes out all his rage and anger about his closeted existence into the bedroom with his wife, GOP Republican presidential candidate Michele, and has "hate sex" with her.
Watch for yourself:
I'm waiting for the feminist blogosphere to weigh in with trigger warnings and all the rest of the fragile flower baggage that comes with framing your entire life and entire being around having been a victim of rape at one time. But so far it's mostly on the right that the outrage is taking place, which is hilarious because for a year and a half, Marc Maron was on terrestrial radio for fifteen hours a week during morning drive time, being FAR more inflammatory to the right wing than an offhand remark on one episode of a show on premium cable, and the right never bothered to listen and never uttered a peep. But let him muse for ten seconds about something that probably goes on in many bedrooms around the country (incluing probably many Republican bedrooms), and the right goes nuts.
What's funny is that the right, often justifiably, has poked fun at the political correctness of the left. What you don't see in the video clip is Marc Maron explaining how he gave up talking about politics because of the humorlessness of the left, and how he'd say something and someone would say he didn't really get into the concerns about the transgender community. For decades the right has railed against political correctness, saying vile and hateful things about Hillary Clinton and Michele Obama and Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic high-profile women. But let a comedian make an offhand remark about a Republican woman, and they go nuts.
What Marc Maron does by digging into his own head is take us to places that most people don't want to go. He rips aside the curtain of American hypocrisy and pokes fun at it, and he does it without Jon Stewart's need to be nice. It's what all the great stand-up comics of the last half-century have done. It's what Carlin did, it's what Pryor did, it's what Lenny Bruce did. Maybe you've never had "hate sex". But you can bet your life that all the people on the right who are having the vapors today have. And if they haven't, they sure as hell want to.
Back in the days when I was able to start my day with a good healthy dose of comedic cynicism with "Morning Sedition", Marc Maron would open the show with "Good morning geniuses, philosopher kings, working class heroes, progressive utopians with no sense of humor..." If you're familiar with the Maron oeuvre, you know that humorlessness on the left is an integral part of his work when he ventures into the political realm (which he doesn't do much anymore, since as he said on Real Time with Bill Maher this weekend, political rage is just about being angry in your own head, something he's been workinig on with his WTF podcast, which is itself a kind of atonement for the way he treated people in comedy when he was a self-destructive asshole, instead of just the garden-variety asshole he is today.
But now Marc Maron finds himself with a notoriety he would have killed for a few years ago, because of an offhand remark he made during his appearance on Real Time -- one which for anyone who knows his work, is another example of the kind of raw, rip-your-head-open-and-dig-out-the-muck musings that are an integral part of his schtick.
I'll be the first to admit that Marc Maron isn't everyone's cup of tea. At one time I'd have said that you have to be a neurotic Jew with food issues and unresolved childhood self-loathing to really "get" what he does. But there are few stand-up comics who, after a radio show that lasted only a year and a half and ended over five years ago, has kept the show's fan base to the point of breaking down the wall between comic and audience. Whether it's his live stand-up shows or live WTF broadcasts, Seditionisti and WhatTheFuckniks shower him with gifts relevant to his chaotic life and cultural references -- vegan cakes, non-vegan cookies, full butterfat ice cream, and of course cat toys. There are always cat toys, because if you've followed Maron's career since three feral stray cats were dumped almost literally in his lap in Astoria, Queens in 2004, you know about Boomer the Dirt Cat (who the now-loathed ex-wife left behind and took the much nicer Moxie the Astoria Cat in their very bitter divorce), Monkey, and LaFonda, you know that he's a Cat Guy. And another thing the fans do is create the artwork that shows up now on WTF swag.
Marc Maron has this peculiar thing that he desperately wants to be liked, but he's suspicious of anyone who likes him. If you don't necessarily like him as a person (and he's far more accessible than most stand-ups are), you should at least appreciate his work. But the thing you have to realize about Marc Maron is that when he gets up on a stage, or puts on the headphones in his garage and starts a monologue, he's not doing it for you. He's doing it for himself, because without it he'll go slowly nuts just from living inside his own head. You either get that or you don't.
Unfortunately, appearing on a popular show like Real Time means that this weekend Maron was out of the comfort zone of people who still miss Lawton Smalls and the Presidential Palm Pilot and who remain hopeful that Current will somehow put WTF on television. And now he's Public Enemy #1 on the right for an offhand remark he made (2:33 into the video below) about hoping Marcus Bachmann (who's widely reported to be a closet case, which of course, as Stephen Colbert would say, makes it "fact-esque") takes out all his rage and anger about his closeted existence into the bedroom with his wife, GOP Republican presidential candidate Michele, and has "hate sex" with her.
Watch for yourself:
I'm waiting for the feminist blogosphere to weigh in with trigger warnings and all the rest of the fragile flower baggage that comes with framing your entire life and entire being around having been a victim of rape at one time. But so far it's mostly on the right that the outrage is taking place, which is hilarious because for a year and a half, Marc Maron was on terrestrial radio for fifteen hours a week during morning drive time, being FAR more inflammatory to the right wing than an offhand remark on one episode of a show on premium cable, and the right never bothered to listen and never uttered a peep. But let him muse for ten seconds about something that probably goes on in many bedrooms around the country (incluing probably many Republican bedrooms), and the right goes nuts.
What's funny is that the right, often justifiably, has poked fun at the political correctness of the left. What you don't see in the video clip is Marc Maron explaining how he gave up talking about politics because of the humorlessness of the left, and how he'd say something and someone would say he didn't really get into the concerns about the transgender community. For decades the right has railed against political correctness, saying vile and hateful things about Hillary Clinton and Michele Obama and Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic high-profile women. But let a comedian make an offhand remark about a Republican woman, and they go nuts.
What Marc Maron does by digging into his own head is take us to places that most people don't want to go. He rips aside the curtain of American hypocrisy and pokes fun at it, and he does it without Jon Stewart's need to be nice. It's what all the great stand-up comics of the last half-century have done. It's what Carlin did, it's what Pryor did, it's what Lenny Bruce did. Maybe you've never had "hate sex". But you can bet your life that all the people on the right who are having the vapors today have. And if they haven't, they sure as hell want to.
Labels: Comedians, double standards, Marc Maron, Real Time with Bill Maher, wingnuttia
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Sunday morning comedy
Because if we don't laugh, we'll collapse into a fetal position in the corner.
Labels: Comedians, Marc Maron
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Caturday
Because we haven't had any Maron around here in a while, and because this is a nice photo of the B@B official stand-up comic with Monkey:
We likes us some Monkey:
We likes us some Monkey:
Labels: cats, Comedians, Marc Maron
Thursday, March 11, 2010
CNN runs a crawl: "Department of Jihad", but on the comedy show, you get this
There is something very wrong in a country when "The Most Trusted Name in News" is trying to hard to be Glenn Beck that it adopts the terminology of that Oedipal mess Liz Cheney, while thoughtful, rational discussion -- and evisceration -- of claims of infiltration of the Justice Department by Al Qaeda operatives under President Dark Skin Funnyname has to be done ON A COMEDY SHOW:
More here and here.
More here and here.
Labels: Comedians, Jon Stewart, real journalism, wingnuttia
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Good Morning Geniuses, or Shit Marc Maron Says
More of the collected Twittered unintentional verse of Marc Maron:
I don't believe in God
but I believe vitamins work.
I think its because I can see them
and put then in my mouth.
I understand Catholicism.
Okay, okay.
This compulsive eating of ice cream before bed
has to stop.
I mean WTF.
I mean, am I some kind of lonely cat lady
with an eating disorder?
Labels: Comedians, Marc Maron, poetry, Twitterati
Sunday, January 03, 2010
This is the most awesomest thing anyone has ever done
Call me immature, but I REALLY want to do this:
(OK, I'm more the sound of OLD America, but a big tip o'the hat to Jesse Thorn.)
(OK, I'm more the sound of OLD America, but a big tip o'the hat to Jesse Thorn.)
Labels: Comedians
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Are game shows and talk shows the last gasp of stand-up comedy?
I can't say I was thrilled with the premiere of the Wanda Sykes show last week. Sykes is the funniest woman in America when she does her own material. But her own material is often too raw even for Fox, even late at night. And discussing spanking with Z-list "celebrities" no one has ever heard of? I'm afraid Bill Maher doesn't have to sit up nights worrying.
On a recent WTF podcast, Marc Maron tried on the "Cranky Old Man" role that Andy Rooney has been doing on 60 Minutes for decades. He does a mean Andy Rooney, but I still think that there's a real talk show in him screaming to get out. I don't know what form it'll take, but Maron is giving tantalizing hints of things in the works, even if a recent experience at E! Network left his brain feeling "like it had been ass-raped by clowns."
But something is afoot with comedians these days. Sykes has her ill-advised show, at least for now. Joy Behar is faring better on HNN. And comics who aren't hosting talk shows are getting into the game show biz.
Perhaps it's the radio success of "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me", which provides regular doses of Paula Poundstone and Mo Rocca. "Wait Wait" is also being tested for television. Maron BFF Greg Proops has his own game show, Head Games, on Discovery Channel. Now our old friend Sam Seder is dipping his toes into the game show waters, taping a pilot for something that sounds like a somewhat more sophomoric version of "Wait Wait", called "Have I Got News For You", an American version of a British program, billed as a "New Political Comedy and Quiz Show." The pilot tapes next Friday, November 20, in New York City. Ticket information is here.
With talk shows and game shows being the purview of guys whom we're more used to seeing in front of mikes in formerly smoky clubs, can variety shows be far behind? I'm waiting for the Jewy Jew Comedy Hour with Maron and Seder to premiere on CBS sometime in 2014. Perhaps Leigh French is still available.
On a recent WTF podcast, Marc Maron tried on the "Cranky Old Man" role that Andy Rooney has been doing on 60 Minutes for decades. He does a mean Andy Rooney, but I still think that there's a real talk show in him screaming to get out. I don't know what form it'll take, but Maron is giving tantalizing hints of things in the works, even if a recent experience at E! Network left his brain feeling "like it had been ass-raped by clowns."
But something is afoot with comedians these days. Sykes has her ill-advised show, at least for now. Joy Behar is faring better on HNN. And comics who aren't hosting talk shows are getting into the game show biz.
Perhaps it's the radio success of "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me", which provides regular doses of Paula Poundstone and Mo Rocca. "Wait Wait" is also being tested for television. Maron BFF Greg Proops has his own game show, Head Games, on Discovery Channel. Now our old friend Sam Seder is dipping his toes into the game show waters, taping a pilot for something that sounds like a somewhat more sophomoric version of "Wait Wait", called "Have I Got News For You", an American version of a British program, billed as a "New Political Comedy and Quiz Show." The pilot tapes next Friday, November 20, in New York City. Ticket information is here.
With talk shows and game shows being the purview of guys whom we're more used to seeing in front of mikes in formerly smoky clubs, can variety shows be far behind? I'm waiting for the Jewy Jew Comedy Hour with Maron and Seder to premiere on CBS sometime in 2014. Perhaps Leigh French is still available.
Labels: Comedians
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Senator Franken: The early years
Because Driftglass (and go vote for him after you read this) did it first. And because after watching Harry Reid this last week, I am more convinced than ever that we need more comedians in the Senate.
Al Franken interviews Jerry Garcia at Radio City Music Hall, 10/31/1980:
Al Franken interviews Jerry Garcia at Radio City Music Hall, 10/31/1980:
Labels: Al Franken, Comedians
Monday, June 23, 2008
Oh, God...no
That's what just came out of my mouth upon reading just now that George Carlin has died:
In recent years, Carlin just hadn't been as funny as he used to be. I suppose one can't have as finely honed a shit detector as he had, and use it so expertly for so many years, and have much of it left after the last eight years of the Bush Administration. But no one cut through the bullshit of modern life the way Carlin did.
There's so much of Carlin's work that's embedded itself into my brain. Just last week I was talking to a co-worker about Carlin's famous "football vs. baseball" musings:
And I can't tell you how many times I've looked for an audio of the "Heaven, Hell, Purgatory and Limbo" sketch from Class Clown, in which a kid tries to come up with the most outlandish scenario under which not receiving Communion wouldn't be a sin as being emblematic of the pretzels into which Republicans like David Vitter and other sex perverts of the conservative variety twist themselves to justify their behavior, using their religion to do so.
Carlin's job was to expose the hypocrisy, the venality, the complete and utter horseshit of modern life. And he did so fearlessly. Here he takes on western religion, and skewers it to death:
There's so much more -- so much that if I embed it all here, you'll be able to go out for a gourmet meal waiting for the site to load. So just go here and pick a sketch...any sketch.
And now, here we are, living in a world in which David Broder says it doesn't matter how much of a fucking hypocrite and liar John McCain is, because he's established a reputation as a man who says what he believes -- even though much of what he says today flies in the face of what he's said in the past. We're living in a world in which a GOP candidate who dumped his injured wife to marry a blonde heiress and has eight houses is a common man of the people and the guy who was raised by a single mom and went to college on scholarships is an elitist. We're living in a world in which John Bolton goes on Faux Noise and says that the Israelis will do our bidding and attack Iran between the election and the inauguration and "Arab states will be delighted" that Iran's nuclear capability will be destroyed. We're living in a world in which idiots believe e-mails they receive claiming that the black guy is a secret Muslim and don't even try to reconcile it with their own fear of the Scary Black Guy™ who used to be in the pulpit of his CHURCH. A world where a major news anchor whines because it's so UNFAIR that the Democratic candidate can raise enough money that he doesn't have to take federal matching funds. A world where George Carlin used to be to remind us of why our leaders are so bad:
We're living in a world of hypocrites, idiots, thieves, and morons -- and now we don't even have George Carlin to poke fun at them any more. We don't have Richard Pryor around to provide much-needed commentary on the race issues in this year's election. And while he's alive and well and living in Los Angeles, we don't even really have Marc Maron around anymore if you live east of the Grand Canyon and can't fly to the west coast to go to comedy clubs.
And somehow I think that George Carlin, whom I would argue had a lot more cultural impact than Tim Russert did, will merit about thirty seconds on the evening newscast.
Maybe it just isn't funny anymore.
More from:
Batocchio
Hubris Sonic, who says it all in seven words.
Louis C.K.
Mustang Bobby
The General is running an endless loop of Carlin bits today.
Richard Blair
Derek
Gotta Cry
Skippy's Big List o'Links
And because I can't resist:
George Carlin, the Grammy-Award winning standup comedian and actor who was hailed for his irreverent social commentary, poignant observations of the absurdities of everyday life and language, and groundbreaking routines like “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,” died in Santa Monica, Calif., on Sunday, according to his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He was 71.
The cause of death was heart failure. Mr. Carlin, who had a history of heart problems, went into the hospital on Sunday afternoon after complaining of heart trouble. The comedian had worked last weekend at The Orleans in Las Vegas.
Recently, Mr. Carlin was named the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He was to receive the award at the Kennedy Center in November. “In his lengthy career as a comedian, writer, and actor, George Carlin has not only made us laugh, but he makes us think,” said Stephen A. Schwarzman, the Kennedy Center chairman. “His influence on the next generation of comics has been far-reaching.”
In recent years, Carlin just hadn't been as funny as he used to be. I suppose one can't have as finely honed a shit detector as he had, and use it so expertly for so many years, and have much of it left after the last eight years of the Bush Administration. But no one cut through the bullshit of modern life the way Carlin did.
There's so much of Carlin's work that's embedded itself into my brain. Just last week I was talking to a co-worker about Carlin's famous "football vs. baseball" musings:
And I can't tell you how many times I've looked for an audio of the "Heaven, Hell, Purgatory and Limbo" sketch from Class Clown, in which a kid tries to come up with the most outlandish scenario under which not receiving Communion wouldn't be a sin as being emblematic of the pretzels into which Republicans like David Vitter and other sex perverts of the conservative variety twist themselves to justify their behavior, using their religion to do so.
Carlin's job was to expose the hypocrisy, the venality, the complete and utter horseshit of modern life. And he did so fearlessly. Here he takes on western religion, and skewers it to death:
There's so much more -- so much that if I embed it all here, you'll be able to go out for a gourmet meal waiting for the site to load. So just go here and pick a sketch...any sketch.
And now, here we are, living in a world in which David Broder says it doesn't matter how much of a fucking hypocrite and liar John McCain is, because he's established a reputation as a man who says what he believes -- even though much of what he says today flies in the face of what he's said in the past. We're living in a world in which a GOP candidate who dumped his injured wife to marry a blonde heiress and has eight houses is a common man of the people and the guy who was raised by a single mom and went to college on scholarships is an elitist. We're living in a world in which John Bolton goes on Faux Noise and says that the Israelis will do our bidding and attack Iran between the election and the inauguration and "Arab states will be delighted" that Iran's nuclear capability will be destroyed. We're living in a world in which idiots believe e-mails they receive claiming that the black guy is a secret Muslim and don't even try to reconcile it with their own fear of the Scary Black Guy™ who used to be in the pulpit of his CHURCH. A world where a major news anchor whines because it's so UNFAIR that the Democratic candidate can raise enough money that he doesn't have to take federal matching funds. A world where George Carlin used to be to remind us of why our leaders are so bad:
We're living in a world of hypocrites, idiots, thieves, and morons -- and now we don't even have George Carlin to poke fun at them any more. We don't have Richard Pryor around to provide much-needed commentary on the race issues in this year's election. And while he's alive and well and living in Los Angeles, we don't even really have Marc Maron around anymore if you live east of the Grand Canyon and can't fly to the west coast to go to comedy clubs.
And somehow I think that George Carlin, whom I would argue had a lot more cultural impact than Tim Russert did, will merit about thirty seconds on the evening newscast.
Maybe it just isn't funny anymore.
More from:
Batocchio
Hubris Sonic, who says it all in seven words.
Louis C.K.
Mustang Bobby
The General is running an endless loop of Carlin bits today.
Richard Blair
Derek
Gotta Cry
Skippy's Big List o'Links
And because I can't resist:
Labels: Comedians
The humiliating failure of The Half Hour News Hour told me two things: 1) Comedy should only be left in the hands of professionals. 2) If comedy is based on a lie, it's not funny.
And comedians make a living being honest, especially when it comes to talking about politics. For example, during the promotional tour for I Think I Love My Wife, a reporter asked Chris Rock if he thought the United states was ready for an African-American president.
“Why not?” Chris replied. “We already got a retarded president, so a black one shouldn’t be a big deal.”
Boom.
Move along folks, nothing to see here. Just step over the chalk outline.
It says something about our current political system that it doesn't allow a political candidate to speak his mind until he's not a political candidate anymore. Whistle blowers are fired from their jobs when they try to do their jobs. And most of the talking heads supposedly reporting on the news simply read whatever is put in front of them.
But it’s different if you tell jokes. It’s amazing what those guys get away with. As the late Richard Jeni said, "Comedians are the only people given permission to tell the truth."
Isn’t it a shame when you have to go to The Daily Show to hear Jon Stewart and his crew of Merry Pranksters for the "real" news? Bill Maher will say things about Bush that would make Anderson Cooper dirty his Armani diapers. Lewis Black loves kicking Republican ass.
These smiling assassins don't lie.
Comedians have to speak in clear language when they talk about what they see going on around them, otherwise their audience doesn’t know they’re trying to say and the jokes don’t work. Politicians, on the other hand, are isolated from the real world so they use a slippery gobbledygook that nobody can understand. Bigots like Ann Coulter spew "jokes" based on racial and gender stereotypes. But comedians are insightful, pissed-off, card-carrying members of the reality-based community. They can make you think and laugh at the same time.
Still, it bothers me that most people look for truth in a comedy monologue because we can’t take the pre-fabricated news in papers, magazines and television seriously. But as long as the corporate mainstream media continues to treat the public like brain-damaged children and spoon-feed us artificially-sweetened bullshit, we’ll go to Chris, Jay, David, Conan, and “Weekend Update” for a reality check when the bad craziness is everywhere.
Sometimes it ain't funny--even when it is.
Labels: Comedians, Political commentary, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Daily Show
Other Brilliant Bloggers
DriftglassCorrente
Hullabaloo
Hoffmania
Orcinus
Scoobie Davis
Talking Points Memo
World O'Crap
Fact-esque
Liberal Oasis
Oliver Willis
Talk Left
This Modern World
Philip Barron
Rising Hegemon
AMERICABlog
James Wolcott
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Dependable Renegade
The Political Carnival
Astrological Musings
Firedoglake
Spiiderweb
Words of Power
RIPCoco
Kung Fu Monkey
Empire Burlesque
WTF is it Now
Down With Tyranny
Welcome Back to Pottersvillle
Spocko's Brain
The Sideshow
The Ostroy Report
Fallenmonk
Three Wise Men
NewsHoggers
Blue Gal
Blah3
Shadow of the Hegemon
Slacktivist
ShortWoman
Echidne of the Snakes
Jesus' General
My Left Wing
Arthur Silber
Republic of T
Bitch Ph.D
The American Street
Comments from Left Field
Balloon Juice
I Can't Believe It's Not a Democracy
Scholars and Rogues
On My Mind
PhysioProf
The Vulgar Curmudgeon
Monkeyfister
Sasha Undercover
ThePoliticalCat
Fables of the Reconstruction
Talk2Action
D-Day
State of the Day
Just an Earth-Bound Misfit
Bradblog
They Gave Us a Republic
Vagabond Scholar
Seeing the Forest
The Reaction
Orcinus
SteveAudio
Princess Sparkle Pony
Paul Levinson
Politics After 50
The Jed Report
One Utah
Sam Seder
Alternet
The Political Carnival
County Fair
Mudflats
A Feather Adrift
That's Why
Disciples of Joe
No Longer Quivering
Margaret and Helen
Stand With Dr. Dean
All the Good Names Were Taken
Badtux the Snarky Penguin
My Mental Dumping Ground
Legal Schnauzer
Alicublog
Bouphonia
Konagod
The Reverse Spin
City of Angels
The Gospel According to Hate
Menopausal Stoners
Stinque
The New York Crank
BP Oil Slick
Pen-Elayne
Inside-Out the Beltway
Reclusive Leftist
Southern Beale
The Moderate Voice
The Rant
Help the 99ers
Brendan Calling
Matt Taibbi
I Was Told There Would Be Bacon
We Don't Agree, But...
ShortWoman
of mule dung and ash
Cookies in Heaven
The Hunting of the Snark
The Policy Page (Rick Ungar)
Ramona's Voices
Sardonicky
Dagblog
The Titanic Sails At Dawn
Cheese Food Nation
Donkey Mountain
Thump and Whip
Under the Lobsterscope
Addicting Info
Wifely Person
Disaffected and it Feels So Good
Reality Chex
Burnt Orange Report
Salmon Alley
The Politics Blog w/Charles Pierce
Elizabitchez
We Are The 99 Percent.
Republic of Gilead
amigoingsomeplace
Fukushima Diary
The Polygon
Degringolade
Onyx Lynx
Parsley's Pics
Mainmati
Brandflakes for Breakfast
The Economic Populist
Liberal Dan
Ex-Amish Atheist
The Poor Man's Huffington Post
Constant Commoner
Channel Surfing
Big Bad Bald Bastard
Panic in Funland (Tbogg!!!)
Weird Wally's Worldview
Brilliant Furriners
Because we all may have to live somewhere else someday.The Galloping Beaver (Canada)
Cathie from Canada
How This Old Brit Sees It ...
Stunner's Afflictions (Jamaica)
Jamaican Lifestyle
Heathers
Pulling up the ladderbehind them
Daily Kos
Atrios
Open Left
CeleBloggers
Roger EbertDispatches from the Island &
Further Dispatches
(Jorge Garcia)
Baseball Nerd
(Keith Olbermann)
FOK News Channel (ditto)
Brilliant at Tweeting
(We won't do it, but we'll follow them)Marc Maron
Sam Seder
Brendan McDonald
Johnny Weir
Melina
Lynn
Keith Olbermann
In Memoriam
(yes, we're getting tired of having to do this)
Break Room Live archives
Morning Sedition 3/04-12/05
A Brilliant Radio Show -
Morning Seditionists
Camp Butch (all the
Sedition you can eat)
Jim Earl and his
Big Page of Crap
Morning Remembrance
Steve Gilliard 1966-2007:
A Brilliant Blogger
The News Blog archive
NetSlaves article archive
Friends of Steve:
The Group News Blog
"Jon Swift" (Al Weisel) 1963-2010
Bats Left Throws Right (Doghouse Riley)
Brilliant at Disappearing
Maybe they've been raptured?Altercation
The All-Spin Zone
Baghdad Burning
Carrie's Nation
Little Country Lost
Cynical Nation
Pam's House Blend
photos1.blogger.com/blogger/397/497/320/bb_banner.1.jpg]^23004A00]coral]navy],](](]]]black],]3]8]20]1]2]3]3]1]2]3]1]1],](](]^235E3D00])])]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22)photos1.blogger.com/blogger/397/497/320/bb_banner.1.jpg^22]^22...you^20have^20a^20choice^3A^20be^20a^20fighting^20liberal^20or^20sit^20quietly.^20I^20know^20what^20I^20am^2C^20what^20are^20you^3F^22^20--^20^3Ca^20href^3D^22)stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2003/12/im-fighting-liberal-you-know-ive.html^22^20STYLE^3D^22color^3Awhite^3B^22^3ESteve^20Gilliard^2C^201966^20-^202007^3C/a^3E^3CBR^3E^22For^20straight^20up^20monster-stomping^20goodness^2C^20nothing^20makes^20smoke^20shoot^20out^20my^20ears^20like^20Brilliant@Breakfast^22^20--^20^3Ca^20href^3D^22)www.poorimpulsecontrol.net/blog^22^20STYLE^3D^22color^3Awhite^3B^22^3ETata^3C/a^3E],](],](](]black](](](]^23FDF2D7](](](]^23333](](](],]50]20],](](]^23FFF8DD])])]black]1.5]15],](](]^2398A45C])])]black]^23FFF8DD])])]^23666]30]^235E3E1A]^23622121],](](]^235E3E1A](],](]^235E3E1A]^23039]^2306C],](](]^23FFF8DD])])],](](]^23FFF8DD])])],](](]^23FFF8DD])])],](]^235E3E1A]^23666]15]3]25]20]^23808C43],](](],](],](](],](]black](](](],](](](],]^235C3E11](](](],](](]^23211104](](](](](],]^2336F]^23211104](],](]Posted^20by^20^24AUTH^20^7C^20^24TIME]20],](](]^23FFF8DD])])]^23FFF8DD])])]^23666]30]^235E3E1A]^23622121],](](]^235E3E1A](],](]^23333]^23039]^2306C]Contact]]]Home]^24HOME]First^20Page]Email^3A^3CBR^3Ebrilliantatbreakfast^20at^20gmail^20dot^20com]]]RSS]^24RSS]RSS^20Feed]Your^20Servers]]]Jill]rilliantatbreakfast.blogspot.com]]Melina])www.ripcoco.com]RIPCoco]Carrie])carriesnation.blogspot.com]Carrie^27s^20Nation]And^20occasionally...]]]jurassicpork])welcome-to-pottersville.blogspot.com]Welcome^20to^20Pottersville]Bob])bobrixon.blogspot.com]The^20Rix^20Mix]Tata])www.poorimpulsecontrol.net/blog]Poor^20Impulse^20Control]Spiiderweb])spiiderweb.blogspot.com]Spiiderweb]Other^20Brilliant^20Bloggers]]]Modern^20Fabulousity])modernfabulousity.blogspot.com]Modern^20Fabulousity]Pandagon])www.pandagon.net]Pandagon]Altercation])www.mediamatters.org/altercation]Altercation]Corrente])www.correntewire.com/]Corrente]Hullabaloo])digbysblog.blogspot.com]Hullabaloo]Hoffmania])www.hoffmania.com]Hoffmania]Orcinus])dneiwert.blogspot.com]Orcinus]Scoobie^20Davis])scoobiedavis.blogspot.com]Scoobie^20Davis]Talking^20Points^20Memo])talkingpointsmemo.com]Talking^20Points^20Memo]World^20O^27Crap])world-o-crap.com/blog]World^20O^27Crap]Fact-esque])casadelogo.typepad.com/factesque/]Fact-esque]Liberal^20Oasis])www.liberaloasis.com/]Liberal^20Oasis]Oliver^20Willis])www.oliverwillis.com/]Oliver^20Willis]Talk^20Left])www.talkleft.com/]Talk^20Left]The^20Talent^20Show])www.thetalentshow.org/]The^20Talent^20Show]Waveflux])www.waveflux.net]Waveflux]Rising^20Hegemon])rising-hegemon.blogspot.com/]Rising^20Hegemon]The^20Poor^20Man])www.thepoorman.net/]The^20Poor^20Man]AMERICABlog])www.americablog.org/]AMERICABlog]Needlenose])www.needlenose.com/]Needlenose]Brilliant^20NJ^20bloggers]]]^24ARCHIVE]^20]]Friends]]]Horm])blog.horm.org]Hallucinations^20Of^20Reabsorbed^20Mind]Phorm])p.horm.org]Another^20Phormation]Etc]]]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22)psyc.horm.org/barimg/bar_psycho.png^22^20width^3D^2280^22^20height^3D^2215^22^20alt^3D^22PsycHo^3A^20Free^20Template^20Generator^22^20style^3D^22border^3A^200px^20solid^20black^22^20/^3E]^24PSYCHO]PsycHo^3A^20Free^20Template^20Generator]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22)psyc.horm.org/barimg/bar_firefox.png^22^20width^3D^2280^22^20height^3D^2215^22^20alt^3D^22Get^20FireFox^21^22^20style^3D^22border^3A^200px^20solid^20black^22^20/^3E])www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/]Get^20Firefox^21]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22)psyc.horm.org/barimg/bar_xhtml.png^22^20width^3D^2280^22^20height^3D^2215^22^20alt^3D^22XHTML^20Validator^22^20style^3D^22border^3A^200px^20solid^20black^22^20/^3E])validator.w3.org/check/referer]XHTML^20Validator]]]]Home]^24HOME]First^20Page]Email]^24EMAIL]Mail^20me^21]RSS]^24RSS]RSS^20Feed]Archive]]]^24ARCHIVE]^20]]Friends]]]Horm])blog.horm.org]Hallucinations^20Of^20Reabsorbed^20Mind]Phorm])p.horm.org]Another^20Phormation]Etc]]]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22)psyc.horm.org/barimg/bar_psycho.png^22^20width^3D^2280^22^20height^3D^2215^22^20alt^3D^22PsycHo^3A^20Free^20Template^20Generator^22^20style^3D^22border^3A^200px^20solid^20black^22^20/^3E]^24PSYCHO]PsycHo^3A^20Free^20Template^20Generator]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22)psyc.horm.org/barimg/bar_firefox.png^22^20width^3D^2280^22^20height^3D^2215^22^20alt^3D^22Get^20FireFox^21^22^20style^3D^22border^3A^200px^20solid^20black^22^20/^3E])www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/]Get^20Firefox^21]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22)psyc.horm.org/barimg/bar_xhtml.png^22^20width^3D^2280^22^20height^3D^2215^22^20alt^3D^22XHTML^20Validator^22^20style^3D^22border^3A^200px^20solid^20black^22^20/^3E])validator.w3.org/check/referer]XHTML^20Validator^26^2361470^3BPsycHo}){kind=small}
