"I was by no means the funniest of my brothers; my oldest brother was way funnier than me- but probably not as damaged, which makes me a comedian rather than just a funny person, you know? Next life, I just want to be a funny person who does something else, like a blacksmith who's funny on the side."
- -Scott Thompson

"I ended up holding the hand above my head to watch the blood all drip down- it was like an early performance art except it was funny."
- -Scott Thompson

"Nothing ever happens really fast, that's the weird thing. Everything happens at such a rate that by the time it actually happens, you're so frustrated with getting there that it all seems normal. That's how show business works- you never actually get a moment of excitement."
- -Dave Foley

from "Artaud, Grotowski, Brook, Me", a paper for Directing Seminar:

In studying these directors and their philosophies on theatre in class, and in particular during the research for this paper, I have begun to develop my own ideas and ideals and ideology about directing. Though, the only chance I have had to apply them is as one half of The Pathological Upstagers, a comedy duo which features as the other half fellow theatre student Jill Summerville. I feel that, in the creation and execution of our sketches traces of Antonin Artaud, Jerzy Grotowski, and Peter Brook have crept through. These traces may have been invisible influences (as many claim: what theatre is not inspired by them?), but by learning about their respective philosophies I have come to understand how they influence and also to allow them to inspire quite directly, using their techniques more intentionally.

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from alt.british.comedy

"They won't. It was a product of the 70s when racism was accepted by many, wife beating was the woman's fault and institutionalised homophobia was all the rage.

"Thank goodness we've grown up."

I really hope that last line is sarcastic, but I honestly can't tell. Dry British humor is even more difficult when written.

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from alt.british.comedy

"It is the height of fashion in media circles to take the piss out of poor people like Vicky Pollard and chavs. I want to see a rennaisance in comedy where Jews are lampooned for a change instead of being constantly presented with Jewish comedians like Matt Lucas and Ali G cruelly lampooning the poor and unintelligent, themes which might go down really well in the kosher corridors of media power but do not necessarily have such a great impact on the streets of Britain. [...] The Jewish influence on our media is only too apparant and so all encompassing that no one questions this bias. In fact, far from being 'hideously white' the British media could just as easily be described as being hideously jewish."

Is it just me or is this slightly hypocritical?
Not that Brits are known for their political awareness...
(And yes, I'm saying this from experience.)
At least this guy's trying, seeing that bigotry against SOME populations is fucked up.

(check the link for further discussion and a "study" on the subject.)

I'm interested in how people get into music, film, TV, theatre, books, etc. Often (especially if it's obscure) there is a story behind it, or a memory, or a string of other things.

For example, lately I've been listening to Rip Rig & Panic a lot (one of Neneh Cherry's pre-solo groups). I first heard them in an episode of "The Young Ones"; it was one of the two performances of the show that I really dug (the other being Amazulu).
...I got into "The Young Ones" as a natural progression in my path towards British comedy dorkdom- I'd been hearing about the show for a long-ass time until finally my good friend littlemidget lent me (for what turned into a lot of years) the box-set.
...I got into British comedy first through "Absolutely Fabulous". When I got cable in 1998, I watched Comedy Central constantly, that was when the channel aired three episodes of "AbFab" every Saturday (or was it Sunday?) from 4-6pm.
...How I got into comedy... that I'll have to think about.

Tell me one of yours, please! :)

"The Baxter" (2005)
a Michael Showalter film, as part of the 2005 RI International Film Festival

Hooray for this movie! I didn't know Showalter could be serious. Oh, it was funny of course, the comedy was dead-on as was to be expected, but it was also a well-done film with a good storyline.

The comedy supported the storyline, as opposed to it being the storyline, a la "Wet Hot American Summer", or "let's make a two-hour sketch". I am in full support of both ventures. That's what I meant by not knowing Showalter could be "serious": I had only seen him do- and therefore was under the impression that he was only capable of the doing- the latter. So that was nice. And though the overall storyline might have been predictable, even bordering on Hollywood formulism, it was also very creative and cute, engaging and entertaining, and it had its tonic twists. And there was no sex. (Sex in movies bugs me. Ben Elton summed it up perfectly well in "Popcorn". I'll get into that some other time.)

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Help! I can't stop! I've had "Holding Out For A Hero" by Jennifer Saunders (bonus track from "Shrek 2" soundtrack) playing on a loop for over an hour now with no end in sight.

Lord, this woman makes my innards quiver.

ETA (8/5):

I was showing my mom "Bottom". I told her that Jennifer Saunders' husband was in it. Upon seeing our man Adrian Edmondson, she said jealously:

"So THAT's the husband of our lord and savior?"

Nick Hornby is a phenomenal writer. I discovered him in Scotland (I hadn't known about his writing the novel "High Fidelity") with "How To Be Good". It is brilliant (in both the British and American definitions of the word), my favorite book of his, one of my favorite books/stories/works of words, period.

I'm reading it for the second time right now. I'm not usually a fan of the whole middle-class angst thing, but maybe it's the British thing, I don't know. All I know is that I love this book with a vengeance. And maybe it's wishful thinking but in it I can sense my own style and sense of humor. It never fails to make me laugh out loud and/or epiphanize every page or so.

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Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins Henry Rollins

I'd be more than happy to sit on my ass and watch my new Henry Rollins DVD, "Live At Luna Park" (watch, buy) on a loop, than just about anything, really.

"Ohhh... I want the seed of the animal man."

The only thing I watch regularly on TV these days (since I still can't find "Law & Order" here on Scottish TV). Otherwise known as My Weekly Ardal O'Hanlon Fix. What could be better than a sitcom about the domestic life of a bumbling alien superhero and his human wife? I described it to a fellow American as Superman meets "Third Rock From The Sun". Only better.

In "A Profession Of Faith" from "The Book Of Embraces", Eduardo Galeano says, "One can always find contemporaries anywhere in time, and compatriots anywhere in space. And wherever this happens, and for as long as it lasts, one is lucky to feel one is something in the infinite loneliness of the universe..."

I often find myself feeling intense connections with people- particularly artists- of the past. People who have expressed something that hit me in a place deep inside, a place I thought was dead, or didn't exist at all, and suddenly it's there, revived and alive, and ready to be healed. One particularly strong example is Janis Joplin, who through her highly emotive music, allowed me to access emotions within myself I had never let myself get to, because prior to her influence, I had not allowed myself to feel any emotion (if I had any say in the matter).

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*

This week, because of the personal/political endeavors we've been attacking in my theatre class, I've been thinking a lot about the subjectivity of art: how it's often very challenging to make a political point or inspire social change through something as subjective as theater/dance/performance. I wondered that, if experience (and thus expression) are viewed subjectively, how does that inspire social change? Rather- how can we be sure our point will get across? Does it even matter, necessarily, if it does? But then, if it doesn't, what's the point? That's why I keep coming back to comedy. Because it's political/social even if there isn't a specific political agenda/purpose.

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