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March 2010

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Red Headed Boy Attacked: Police Probe Tie To 'Kick A Ginger Day' Message

2009-11-22T21:22:18Z

CALABASAS, Calif. — Authorities say a 12-year-old boy assaulted by a group of middle school classmates in Southern California may have been targeted after an Internet posting urged students to beat up redheads.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Richard Erickson says the boy, who is redheaded, was kicked and hit in two incidents Friday at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas. As many as 14 students participated in the attacks.

Hannity: Jon Stewart Was Right About Protest Footage (VIDEO)

2009-11-12T01:03:49Z

Fox News' Sean Hannity responded to Jon Stewart Wednesday evening after the Daily Show host called out the network for using old footage from a larger September 12, 2009 "Tea Party' protest to illustrate a much smaller health care rally on Capitol Hill last week.

Speaking directly to the camera, Hannity said that it pained him to admit it, but Stewart was correct.

"And although it pains me to say this, Jon Stewart, Comedy Central, he was right. Now on his program last night, he mentioned that we had played some inccorect video on this program last week while talking about the Republican health care rally on Capitol Hill. He was correct, we screwed up. we aired some video of a rally in september along with a video from the actual event. It was an inadverdent mistake, but a mistake none the less. So, Mr. Stewart, you were right. We apologize. But by the way, we wanna thank you and all your writers for watching."

WATCH:

Onion, Comedy Central Team Up For Sports Satire

2009-11-05T17:17:45Z

NEW YORK — ESPN had better watch its back.

Comedy Central has ordered a pilot from the satirical news magazine The Onion.

The Jeff Dunham Show: The Worst Thing In The Entire World? (NSFW)

2009-10-23T13:14:21Z

Before I talk about last night's premiere of The Jeff Dunham Show on Comedy Central, I would first like to issue a couple of apologies. I'm sorry, Jay Leno, I was wrong. Your comedy is hackneyed, aggressively middlebrow, toothless, and focuses way too much on your expensive car collection, and your exit from the Tonight Show only to reclaim the 10PM slot was obnoxious. But you are the Louis C.K. of late night with the manners of Princess Grace compared to Jeff Dunham. And I'm sorry, Seth MacFarlane, I was wrong. Your TV shows are stupid, repetitive, poorly written, and insufferably scatalogical, and you yourself seem to be excessively arrogant and self-congratulatory, with terrible taste in leather jackets and hand tanning. But you are the thinking man's (pre-Soon-Yi) Woody Allen, blazing Mark Twainian paths of comedic invention compared to Jeff Dunham and his horror show of backwoods racist, homophobic, misogynistic, anti-semitic, shithead puppets.

Beverly Wettenstein: No Women Featured in NY Comedy Festival! No Joke!

2009-10-11T13:38:57Z

We're With The Banned: Cracking The Crass Ceiling

The New York Comedy Festival ad features ten men and no women.

Broadly speaking, comedy is, obviously, still a male-dominated bastion within the entertainment business. The Primetime Emmy Awards showed that women writers on a comedy or variety series are a rare and endangered species. Only seven of the 81 writers were women. There are no women writers on Leno (of 19), Letterman (of 14), and O'Brien (of 16). Colbert has two women of 14 writers. The Daily Show has one of 16. Samantha Bee is a busy worker bee and a "correspondent." "Saturday Night Live" has five women of 22 writers.

LOL: Larry Summers School for the Advancement of Women

Historically, some men have difficulty accepting women comedians. The Larry Summers School for the Advancement of Women should hire Tom Shales, Christopher Hitchens and Jerry Lewis, to teach "Why Women Aren't Funny." The three wise men opined as much in the Washington Post, Vanity Fair and at the Aspen Comedy Festival, respectively.

Shales, Washington Post TV critic, wrote that ex-SNL "Michaela Watkins may have been just too classically pretty to be hilarious." Lewis told the Aspen audience in 2000, "I don't like any female comedians" and couldn't think of one who was good. He only viewed women as baby-making machines.

SNL announced two new women for the 35th season to much press attention: Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad. Just hours later it was reported that Casey Wilson and Michaela Watkins were gone. Does SNL have a female quota? Is their comedy calculus: addition = attrition? The two new women are "featured performers," rather than full repertory players.

Kristin Wiig was SNL's MVP Iron Man last season, earning the most screen time of any cast member, with 124 sketch appearances. She is currently the only official woman cast member.
Plus, she has seven feature films in development. And she is beautiful. Please explain, Mr. Shales.

Having joined as a staff writer in 1997, Tina Fey's term as SNL's first woman head writer (1999-2006), coincided with the most women cast members in regular performing roles in its history: Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dratch. Much to her credit, Fey teamed with Poehler, to create the groundbreaking "Weekend Update" all-women anchor team in 2004. The dynamic duo proved they were not "Mean Girls" and sparked no cat-fight messages in the media. When Fey started on "Update," there hadn't been a woman anchor since Jane Curtin in the late 1970s and she was not afraid to promote her BFF Poehler. In fact, the two newest women are troupers from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, co-founded by Poehler.

Kudos to Fey and Poehler for empowering women, following decades of male-dominated sketch comedy. Fey and Poehler know that women succeed when they are responsible for their own material. They play comedic roles, perform standup and write and direct films and TV shows. Fey's "30 Rock" was nominated for a record 22 Emmy awards. She was named the AP Entertainer of the Year in 2008 for the greatest impact on culture and entertainment. Poehler is the lead star on "Parks & Recreation."

Timing is everything in comedy and in life. SNL mirrors the advances of women in society. In 2002 Ana Gasteyer was their first on-air pregnancy. The TV management "suits" have matured since the 1950's when the word "pregnant" was forbidden and Lucille Ball was asked to hide behind furniture, which she refused to do. The fact that nine-months pregnant Poehler posed as Hillary Clinton was a non-issue. Her absence and baby's birth were announced on "Update."

Now that SNL has accepted the pregnant pause, perhaps they may consider hiring a Black woman to play Michelle Obama and other women newsmakers and celebrities? Do they think it adds to the levity to dress men in drag or is there a women shortage? I don't communicate with Eleanor Roosevelt very often. But I do think of her and her personal equal opportunity employment act when I see a man playing a woman on SNL. Upon learning that women reporters were not admitted to the National Press Club where newsmakers spoke, Roosevelt held regular news conferences exclusively for women reporters and photographers, thus creating jobs for women. You go, girl!

Actually, in the first season in 1975, the original SNL cast was equal with three women (Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner) and three men (John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Garrett Morris) and Chevy Chase was promoted to "Update" anchor from writer. By 1993, the ratio was three women to eight men. Janeane Garafalo quit halfway through the '94-'95 season because of the male writers who "didn't write for women."

Chicago's Second City improv-sketch troupe, an SNL talent feeder incubator, only allowed two women on a six-person improv team into the '90s. Fey and Poehler are alumnae.

This is Wanda Sykes' banner year. Her HBO special just aired and "The Wanda Sykes Show" will debut in November, at 11 PM, against SNL. Sykes was the featured entertainer this year at the White House Correspondents Association dinner. This annual event honoring the president is a prestigious gig with the nation's dignitaries.

Traditionally, even though women were fully-accredited White House reporters and members of the association, they were barred from attending the dinner. Prompted by Helen Thomas, for the first time in 50 years, women were finally admitted in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy agreed not to attend unless the women did. Thomas was inducted as the first woman WHCA president in 1975.

The old boys club network is alive and, well, begrudgingly coming into the 21st century at The Friars, the premiere club for professional comedians and entertainers. Founded in 1904, Liza Minnelli was admitted as the first official woman member in 1988. This followed the Supreme Court upholding a New York City statute that barred discrimination at large private clubs. Previously, women couldn't join or enter the Townhouse before 4 PM to attend the notorious stag roasts.

Sally Jessy Raphael was the first officer (Prior) in 1999. Previously, women were honored but could not join. Sophie Tucker was the first woman roasted, in 1953; followed by Martha Raye, 1954 and Lucille Ball, 1961.

Joy Behar was the first woman Roastmaster, at a tribute for Danny Aiello in 1997. Rita Rudner was the first woman performer at a Roast for Chevy Chase in 1980. Phyllis Diller, dressed as a man in a suit, wig and mustache, attended the 1983 Sid Caesar Roast, because women were not allowed. She was outed at the end of the event and honored at her own roast in 1985. Diller was the first woman inducted into the California Friars Wall of Fame in 2001. Last year, at the behest of Behar, the Friars named one of its chambers for a woman, Lucille Ball. Currently, women comprise 20 percent of the Friars membership.

Women need to showcase their talent to survive and succeed in the comedy business. Barbara Walters first saw Joy Behar at a benefit for Milton Berle's 89th birthday at the Waldorf Astoria. Walters then invited her to audition for The View. Behar just debuted her nightly talk show on HLN. Her co-hosts on The View include comediennes Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd, who stars in her own show on Lifetime. Goldberg was the first woman and fourth honoree to win the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2001; Lily Tomlin won in 2003.

More Than Chick Shtick: "Seinfeld" Without Elaine? Get Out!

Imagine Seinfeld without Elaine. Get out! Actually, Elaine was not in the first show but executives insisted they add a woman to the cast by the second episode. Would an all-male cast have become the same audience success story without her? Not!

Liz Lemon told Oprah on 30 Rock that she hates her feet. Nora Ephron told the world that she hates her neck. It took Elle Woods' life experience in Legally Blonde to solve the murder case. Her Harvard Law colleagues didn't have a clue about women's hair treatments. Chris Rock parlayed that message into a feature film. Maybe the sexes can learn to live together and better understand each other through humor and women comedians?

One of the challenges for women comics is that society expects good girls to be well-behaved and to act lady-like. Comedians have to be aggressive and take control of the audience. The boys who were the class clowns and spent more time in the principal's office than the library are now making big bucks for their antics. Not to pooh pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, but the first new authorized female character believes that everyone should follow the correct etiquette. Lottie the Otter will be more like Martha Stewart than Martha Raye.

It's easier for women to get to the moon than to get a network late-night talk show. Conan O'Brien and Craig Ferguson had no experience as late-night talk show hosts when they were given their shows. Ferguson had not performed stand-up for ten years and had a strong Scottish brogue. O'Brien was an unknown SNL comedy writer with little performing experience. Joan Rivers was the first and only permanent host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. When Rivers learned that she wasn't on the list to replace Carson, she accepted the offer to host her own late night talk show to launch the Fox Network in 1986. She was fired six months later.

The talk show format is a cheap alternative to scripted TV and yields self-contained YouTube-friendly takeout promos. As viewers migrate away from appointment network TV, cable should create new opportunities for women. But the old boy network ways persist. The Daily Show was co-created by Lizz Winstead and Madeline Smithberg in 1995. Winstead was also the head writer. Then host Craig Kilborn made an offensive remark about her in Esquire in 1998. He was suspended for a week. She left the show soon after. Chelsea Handler has her own late night talk show on E!

Only two women comedians were listed on the Forbes "100 Celebrity" list: Ellen DeGeneres, Power Rank #40, $35 Million Pay and Tina Fey, #86, $7 Million Pay.

She Who Laughs, Lasts: "50/50 in 2020"

Last month more than 200 women met to hear a panel address and outline a "50/50 in 2020" initiative to advance women in the theater business. Three sponsors are taking the lead: the League of Professional Theatre Women, the New Perspectives Theatre Company and the Women's Project.

In 2007 Oxygen presented the "50 Funniest Women Alive." There are women who are ready, willing and able to perform at comedy festivals. They can turn the world on with their smile... and spunk.

Stand Up For Women In Comedy! Parody and Parity Proposals

1. Action! Organize a meeting during the New York Comedy Festival, November 4-8, to focus on "The State of Women in Comedy Today," to become part of the media coverage and raise public support. Since there is no professional organization for women comedians, create one or develop a Comedy subcommittee of the "50/50 by 2020" project or another industry-related association.

2. Produce a counter "Funny Femme Festival" during the New York Comedy Festival to showcase talented women comedians, become part of the media coverage and raise public support.

3. Distribute this treatise and contact the New York Comedy Festival.

4. Submit your comments and suggestions here.

5. Stay tuned. Watch this space for announcements and progress reports. Thank you.

See Beverly Wettenstein's PBS interview on youtube.com.

See Beverly Wettenstein's Letter in the NY Daily News, Sept. 4, 09
nydailynews.com/opinions/

See Beverly Wettenstein's Letter in the NY Times Science Times, July 21, 09

_________________________________________________________________________

"Celebrate Women Every Day!"

October 13

B. 1901 Edith S. Sampson First Black woman elected judge, in Illinois, 1962.
First Black woman named UN delegate.

1905 English suffragists Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney arrested.
Women over 30 got the vote 12 years later; all women in 1928.

B. 1925 Margaret Thatcher First woman Prime Minister in England and Europe, 1979-1991.

B. 1969 Nancy Kerrigan Olympic silver medalist, 1964; Oksana Baiul, 16, won gold medal.

1986 Rita Levi-Montalcini earned Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Source: Beverly Wettenstein's "Women in History and Making History Today
- 365-Days-A-Year Database"

2morrowknight: 12 Media Professionals on Twitter Who Rock The Planet

2009-09-18T11:32:51Z

If you're a media observer like myself, you not only follow the hot trends, and follow the new and emerging technologies, but, you also follow the people whose name, presence, and body of work permeate the social landscape. People like the twelve media professionals below. Your simple curiosity will be more than satisfied, as I'm sure you'll come to admire and respect their work, and their work ethic, as much as I do. This list is in no particular order of significance or accomplishments. Just twelve media professionals making a difference all over our planet, and undeniably making Twitter a great place to be.

Arianna Huffington / @ariannahuff

There is not one list on media professionals that does not include the unflappable Arianna Huffington. In 2005, she co-founded the Huffington Post. Now approaching just its 5th anniversary, it is the gold standard of news & blog sites, and it stands as a great example of the emergence and influence of New Media. In fact, in 2008, she won the prestigious Media Person of the Year. Why her stock is rising: The Huffington Post just launching a Denver, Colorado Page. Because Arianna is a respected businesswoman and trendsetter, it's conceivable that every major city in The United States will have a Huffpost page. And, I'm sure we'll be seeing Huffpost United Kingdom soon after that!

Stephen Colbert / @StephenAtHome

Stephen Cobert, the man, the myth, the legend, needs no introduction. This Emmy award-winning, Peabody Award-winning phenom has had one of his best years in front of the camera. And his fans at Colbert Nation are loving it. Why his stock is rising: According to the site ComicBookMovie, the rumor about Colbert being considered for the role of The Riddler in the next Batman has legs. In fact, the staff at the influential ComicVine supports Colbert being selected as The Riddler, a move that many believe would elevate the Batman franchise. Here are my thoughts on it. So stay tuned because it could happen.

Ed Schultz / @wegoted

Not only does Ed Schultz have the best show on MSNBC (in my opinion), but he is the most listened-to Progressive radio talk show host in America. His radio show gets an impressive 3-4 million listeners a day. He has been a major voice on health care for decades, and has helped shape public debate on this crucial issue. His MSNBC show is must-see TV! Plus, most of the time he stands up on his show (instead of just sitting at a desk), and this differentiates him from most anchors on cable or network news. Why his stock is rising: His bi-weekly, standing-room only town hall meetings across the country can only swell his already high TV viewership.

Betty Nguyen / @bettynguyencnn

Nguyen is a CNN superstar. She brightens up my Saturday and Sunday mornings. Her calm demeanor has been an asset in intense discussions about hot button issues, and was particularly useful when she got into the isolated country of Myanmar -- a great, heart-stopping assignment that won her major kudos. Why her stock is rising: Nguyen is so respected in her field that it's likely she'll be anchoring at CNN during the weekday in the very near future. She deserves it.

Olivia Zaleski / @oliviazaleski

Zaleski is one of CNN's rising stars, and one of the world's most respected voices on eco-matters. An engaging and award-winning journalist, Zaleski reports on sustainable business practices and corporate environmentalism. Yes, she's good. In fact, she played an integral part in the formation of Huffingtonpost's GREEN page. Her CNN page rocks with great videos. Why her stock is rising: As a I noted in The Stimulist last month, she's an eco-visionary who is poised to help get us further down the line on one of the defining issues of our time: the robust creation of a green economy.

Abiola Abrams / @abiolatv

Though known by millions by her appearances on VH1 and BET, Abiola Abrams has produced shows at HBO, and has completed short films and documentary work that deal with gender, race and empowerment. Her debut novel, Dare, is a certified bestseller, and she engages millions as creative producer and host of the Planet Abiola Show. Why her stock is rising: Her novel is doing so well and is so well-received, that it's no surprise some in Hollywood are considering it for a big screen project.

Carlos Watson / @carloswatson

MSNBC contributor Carlos Watson is a great and refreshing voice on the issues of the day. He is the founder of the hip, red hot news site The Stimulist, which is one of the best news sites to debut in 2009. He infused much needed energy into MSNBC's daytime line-up, though was never given the type of promotion he deserved. Why his stock is rising: His take on the news and reasoned analysis has always won him raves from TV critics and viewers alike, so don't be suprised if he's an occasional guest correspondent on The Oprah Winfrey Show (the way Lisa Ling is) sometime in the future.

Maegan Carberry / @maegancarberry

Carberry blogs about politics, media and technology. In addition to co-hosting Variety's "Washington & Wilshire" program on Blog Talk Radio, she's managing editor at truuconfessions, a microblog where users anonymously share secrets. Why her stock is ring: It is not inconceivable to see Carberry with her own TV show in the near future. If the question is "who can give voice and vision to the range of ambitions and angst among the 80 million American millenials", then Maegan Carberry is the answer.

Antonio Neves /@Reverse7

Neves is the host of MSN's Cool Runnings, an anchor for Advertising Age, and a noted freelance producer and writer. He has created content for BET News, Spike TV, NBC News productions and Nickelodeon, and was also a correspondent for the Macneil/Lehrer News Hour. Why his stock is rising: Riding high off of his NABJ-nominated Heart of the City: Chicago's War on Violence and high viwership of his Cool Runnings series, Neves will undoubtedly be rewarded with a higher budget, and, likely, more award nominations. http://www.antonioneves.net/

Tanya Acker /@Tanyaacker

Acker has been one of my favorite TV pundits for some time. She had some of the best commentary on Michael Jackson in the aftermath of his passing. She always comes prepared to defend her views, and to shed much needed light on any issue that needs more clarity. She's a popular contributor to the Huffington Post, and to Anderson Cooper's 360 Blog. Why her stock is rising: Having already made the rounds on CNN, HLN MSNBC, and FOX, Acker also brings her enlightened analysis to the airwaves on CNBC every week where she is winning over more viewers.

Rick Sanchez / @ricksanchezcnn

In just a matter of years, Sanchez has become one of the great anchors at CNN. His blog is great reading. In fact, he just celebrated the one year anniversary of his daily, one hour show during the week. He takes on the issues, and the people pontificating about those issues. His show was especially invaluable during the historic Sonia Sotomayor hearings. I like his interviewing style, and being fluent in Spanish helps him on-air, as it did with the recent hijacking of a plane in Mexico, City. Why his stock is rising: It's only a matter of time before Sanchez makes the permanent leap to evenings, where I'm betting he would be an instant hit.

Reza Aslan / @aslanmedia

A popular TV guest, and a contributor to the Daily Beast, Aslan's voice and reportage on the aftermath of Iran's election has been powerful and consistent. His two best-selling books, No god but God and How to Win a Cosmic War, are must-reads! Why his stock is rising: He is making serious moves as co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of BoomGen Studios, the first ever motion picture company focused entirely on entertainment about the Greater Middle East.

Comedy Central Revives 'American Comedy Awards'

2009-09-17T16:20:26Z

NEW YORK — Comedy Central says it is reviving the defunct American Comedy Awards.

The awards show took place for 15 years, the last time in 2001 and televised by Comedy Central. The network said Thursday it plans to bring the awards show back to life and is teaming with prominent awards show producer Don Mischer.

Study: 20% Agree That "People Think I'm Cool Because I Watch" Stewart, Colbert

2009-08-26T09:48:46Z

A little over 20 percent of hard-core fans of Mr. Stewart and Mr. Colbert said in a "multi-engagement study" conducted by Harris Interactive Research that "people think I'm cool because I watch" those two programs.

And, the same survey says, viewers who identify themselves as fans of other late-night hosts -- viewers who don't even watch the Comedy Central shows -- are pretty darn impressed too.

Rip Empson: Mike Birbiglia Talks Red Carpets, His Awkwardness, And Dust-Bustering In His Sleep

2009-08-25T19:36:31Z

On August 14th, comedian and storyteller Mike Birbiglia embarked on his third nationwide stand-up tour, "Comedy Central Live Starring Mike Birbiglia: I'm in the Future Also." Birbiglia isn't quite old enough not to be in the future, but, despite his young age, he's been on the comedy scene for nearly a decade. At 24, he became one of the youngest comics to perform on The Late Show with David Letterman. Since then, he's released three albums (Dog Years, Two Drink Mike, and My Secret Public Journal Live - the latter an album of comedic anecdotes pulled from his popular road blog/e-newsletter of the same name) and starred in a one-man, off Broadway show produced by Nathan Lane, called Sleepwalk with Me. The show, which closed last month and was nominated for multiple awards, tells the story of his struggle to come to terms with an unusual sleepwalking disorder - one that now forces the comedian to sleep in mittens and a sleeping bag. Today, the comic is finishing a move into a new apartment, working on book and film adaptations of Sleepwalk, and logging some fuel-efficient time on the road. I managed to catch him in some rare down time, in which we discussed a little stand-up vs. theater, Smirnoff Ice, awkwardness, and string theory.

Me: Mike, you just finished performing Sleepwalk With Me, in which you pulled off almost 200 performances in an 8 month time frame, are you okay?

Mike: Just give me 200! But, it was actually 198... At a certain point, in the final weeks of the Sleepwalk, Eli -- my producer - said, we should add two more shows, so that we could reach the 200 performance mark. My response was, no, no, no, we should just lie. I mean, is there an official counter?

Me: Maybe Nathan Lane, but I'm not sure. If you'd reached 200, you might have been given a parade...

Mike: We didn't get any calls from the Ripley's or Guinness people, unfortunately...

Me: Now that it's over, what's it like looking back?

Mike: Well it's funny, I was so disoriented by the experience, in the last weeks of the show, I was like, wow, we did 6 months, and then a couple of weeks after it ended, I realized, wait, we did 8 months. I didn't even know how many months we had done...

Me: So does that mean it flew by or was just a grueling process?

Mike: Both. It was a completely transformative experience. It was like a high-octane graduate program in acting, writing, and publicity. It was my first professional theater experience in New York, where everyone is waiting to hate you -- as soon as you arrive. And they didn't, which was great. So that was nerve racking. The acting aspect was educational, because I had to find something new about the show every night, but without the ability to improvise, really. If you saw the show more than once, the performances were all different, but the words actually stayed the same. My director, Seth Barrish, and I had developed the precision of the words so that the show built towards this crescendo of the sleepwalking story.

Me: How was the experience of writing and performing this different from your experience in stand-up?

Mike: Well, I workshopped a lot of the material in the stand-up arena, at concert halls and colleges, over the course of the last five years, but there were certain things that I couldn't workshop, like the parts of the play where I'm definitively in the wrong. For example, there are parts where I talk about cheating on my girlfriend, and if you did those kind of bits in a comedy club ... well there's a certain tenor of a comedy club and it can go one of two ways: either the audience goes, we hate you, we don't like you at all, because up until now we liked you, but now you've done something that we hate, or it can go the other way, where they think you're one of these shock comedians that does all kinds of crazy shit and then brags about it. That stuff I really had to workshop in the theater environment. The theater audiences are open to the protagonist being flawed and making mistakes and seeing the show through. Stand-up comedy audiences are like, he did, what? There's definitely this baggage that went into comedy club performances where the people came to see me and knew me in a certain way, as opposed to the New York theater audience who just didn't know me, and so the majority of the audience that came out was a combination of theatergoers and This American Life listeners.

Me: You've said before that Sleepwalk is essentially about denial, can I ask, are you in denial?

Mike: The show revolves around this bout that I have with sleepwalking - that's spanned 10 years. For most of those 10 years, I knew there was a problem. For example, I'd wake up from having a dream that I was in the Olympics up on the podium, third place, for an event like dust bustering, and I'd wake up and be falling off the top of my 5 foot book case in my living room. It got dangerous. And I'd think, maybe I should see a doctor, and then I'd think, well, maybe I should eat dinner...So this went on for years, and then I had this incident that I talk about in the show that nearly killed me (Mike, while sleepwalking/dreaming, dove out of a second story window at La Quinta Inn to save his platoon from an incoming missile), so finally I saw a doctor. It parallels some other things in my life, like this relationship I was in for a long time -- a girl I was in love with from college -- I knew I didn't want to get married, and I knew she wanted to get married, but I didn't say no. And then we got engaged, I thought maybe I should break up with her, and then I was like, well, maybe I should eat dinner...so there's definitely this pattern in my life of being in denial of things that are right in front of me.

(Mike is shuffling around.) Sorry, it's one of these rare things, I'm going to the premiere of Paper Heart tonight. (A new film starring Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera.)

Me: So you're not making many appearances at premieres these days?

Mike: No, definitely not. I think I went to one last year. There was a red carpet, which they wanted me to go on, but the thing about me and red carpets is that, even when I went to the Drama Desk Awards and was nominated, even when I was there and there was a red carpet, I had to tap someone on the shoulder, in this herd of photographers, I had to be like, (whispers) I'm one of the people in the thing...I have to herd paparazzi, they don't chase me, I chase them. I have to redirect their cameras toward me.

Me: Have you considered lighting off fireworks to get attention?

Mike: I think I need to develop an entourage.

Me: You don't seem to be much of a publicity junky...

Mike: During the process of Sleepwalk, there was a real disconnect between me and the publicist for the show. He didn't get that what I do is inherently soft-spoken. I try not to get in people's faces -- that's kind of my thing -- I do this because it's what I like in comedy. I like Steven Wright and Mitch Hedberg, comedians who don't force comedy down your throat. Some people have been known to force comedy down the throats of audiences. Not me. My publicist is like 'you gotta be more aggressive, you gotta get in there.' It's not what I do. He also kept correcting me, because I didn't dress right. He was like, 'you need to dress up.' No, that's my whole thing is that I don't like to dress up, it doesn't make me comfortable. And so he changed it to, 'try to look nice.' He gave up on the idea of look nice, and then it was try to look nice. So there was always one shirt that I would wear that he was okay with, and he'd go, 'wear that one shirt.' That was my instruction. I did a series of interviews with that shirt.

Me: Have you since retired the shirt?

Mike: I haven't seen it, so that usually means its retired; that's usually how it works.

Me: I can imagine your publicist saying, 'uh, look, Mike, I don't know how to say this, but we had to put your shirt down...'

Mike: Yeah, I'm pretty sure that they covertly took that shirt out of my collection.

Me: You seem to be aware of staying true to yourself in your comedy, but comedians inherently develop a persona, a stage personality, and so it seems that it might be challenging to resolve the two, do you ever worry about becoming a caricature of Mike Birbiglia?

Mike: I have that in mind right now a lot. I'm writing a book right now for Simon and Schuster called "Sleepwalk With Me and Other Stories," which was exciting at first, until I realized that I have to write the other stories. I am writing all these personal stories, and I've been realizing that, when you're forced to write 80,000 words about yourself, you're forced to delve into different dimensions of your self. It's been very educational, going back and studying other parts of my life. To give you an example, I sometimes portray myself as a slacker, which is very true, but when I go back and look at my high school teacher comments on report cards, you see that there are recurring patterns. My teachers tended to say, 'Mike was really good out of the gate, at the beginning of the semester, but then kind of fell off. He got distracted and went in other directions.' It's a little more complicated then just 'Mike is constantly distracted.' In this example, it begins with Mike is focused and interested and then is like now Mike is distracted, it's a little more dimensional then just Mike is always distracted.

Me: Were you diagnosed with ADD as a kid?

Mike: I was not diagnosed, but I bet I would have been if I'd seen someone, because, you know, I'm not good at reading books. I do this bit on stage where I'm reading Peter Rabbit in school with other kids, and I start reading the book, but then begin thinking about this and this and this, and while I was thinking about all that...the other kids finished the book...

Me: I can relate, I frequently start reading something, don't intentionally lose interest, but naturally begin thinking about mufflers or why Kraft singles are individually wrapped and then realize I've read the same paragraph eight times.

Mike: I know, it's disheartening.

Me: You started your nationwide tour August 14 in Newport, Rhode Island at the Newport Yachting Tent...um, were you playing a boat show?

Mike: No, but I did set sail from the South Street Seaport in my yacht and took it to Newport. But that's the only part of the tour I did on a yacht.

Me: What was it like preparing for the tour?

Mike: Well, I was doing long shows, 80 or 90 minutes to prepare. It was tiring and why I always do one show at a time. But my agent has pointed out that I should be doing two shows, because, you know, they pay twice as much. And pay him twice as much. But what I'd prefer to do is, as they say in ice hockey, I'd prefer to 'leave it all out on the ice.' Just go out there and give it everything. And then go to sleep.

Me: Speaking of ice, I see that your tour is being sponsored by Smirnoff Ice...

Mike: Oh my God, yeah it is. That's my analogy now. It's complete.

Me: I'm thinking you could say on stage, "I'm leaving it all out on the ice," and then hold up a Smirnoff and wink...

Mike: "I'm leaving it all out on the Smirnoff Ice!"

Me: So what's next for Mike Birbiglia, besides the small tasks of touring and writing a book?

Mike: I'm working on the book and concurrently on a screenplay -- an adaptation of Sleepwalk, which I'm really excited about. Hopefully we'll begin shooting this year. It's not officially announced yet, but I think I can say I'm working on a screenplay of it. I can't say what company...

Me: Do you have someone in mind to play Mike Birbiglia?

Mike: Hmmm, maybe Justin Long... No, I'll be playing myself.

Me: So, you're working on a book that revolves around sleepwalking, a screenplay about sleepwalking, you just finished a play ... I'm seeing a pattern, are you worried about keeping it fresh?

Mike: I was talking to my wife the other day about this. I said, honey, we're going to spend another 2 ½ years on this, and then we'll move on. (Laughs.) My wife is a big part of the process, I talk through everything with her. And she seems okay with it, so...

Me: I imagine you telling her that you will be working on the sleepwalk theme for another two years, she agrees, and then the two of you high five with mittens on...

Mike: That's right. We actually just moved into a new place in New York, so that's another one of the things I've been doing, a lot of moving. So we'll cover sleepwalking for another couple of years, and I think the next show will come along, The Accidental Marriage, and then I will hopefully develop that as a film as well, I mean that's what I want to do, I want to make movies. I did a pilot for CBS last year, and it didn't get picked up, but I think it's probably for the best, because I came away thinking that what I really want to do is make movies. It was fun, but it wasn't precisely what I want to do.

Me: When did you know you wanted to be a comedian?

Mike: I saw Stephen Wright live at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis, MA, which is the second stop on my tour, and I saw him and knew right then that that's what I wanted to do. I knew at age 16 that I wanted to be in comedy, but didn't gather the nerve to do it until I was 19. I loved it immediately. I won the funniest person on campus at Georgetown. Nick Kroll was in it, too, he's a very funny guy and a friend. I won the contest and that started me doing stand-up full time. But I was studying under this professor at Georgetown, who taught in the screenwriting program I was in, and it was there that I really developed this obsession with stand-up and film. I fell in love with all the Woody Allen films. I was like, I'd like to do that, that's where it's at. Making dramatic films that use comedy as a lubricant to tell the dramatic story -- that's what I admire about Woody Allen, James Brooks, Mike White -- people who tell great stories and use comedy not as an end in itself, but just as a tool for telling the story. Sleepwalk was my first stab at that, and hopefully I'll be able to take more stabs.

Me: Do you think it's possible to make it in comedy today without being part of the Judd Apatow machine?

Mike: God, I hope so.

Me: I've heard comedy writers say that when comedy becomes your profession, it can change the dynamic -- sometimes for the worse -- do you ever wrestle with not feeling funny?

Mike: When I go home, yeah. When I go to visit friends from childhood, my hometown, definitely, because I wasn't perceived as a comedian in any way growing up. I remember getting an email from someone one of the first times I was on TV, this kid goes, 'you are a comedian? You are one of the least funny people I grew up with...' That really builds the confidence. I think it's hard for people who know you so well to see you in that context. I don't know, it's almost like in the universe of my childhood, my idiosyncrasies fit into the dynamic of the people around me, there was nothing unusual. People who I grew up with were like, 'okay, I guess that's what Mike is like.' But then you go into the world, and you're a fish out of water. It's not Mike-from-Shrewsbury anymore, it's Mike-in-the-world. And then all of a sudden, the things that were small idiosyncrasies become big idiosyncrasies, and that's where a lot of my comedy comes from...

Me: Do you ever feel pressure to be "the funny guy" off stage?

Mike: I let that go years ago. Whenever people say, 'wait, how come you're not funny?' Or something like that, I'm always like, 'if I said to you casually the stuff that I say on stage, it would get really uncomfortable, and then you or I would end up leaving the conversation.' What's that worth? Why don't we just have a regular conversation? (Laughs)

Me: You touch on awkwardness frequently in your comedy, and it seems you find yourself in awkward scenarios frequently, any recently?

Mike: Well, My Secret Public Journal was devoted to awkward moments, and now that I am aware of it and observe it regularly, there's definitely the question of 'will that awkwardness go away? Will it be cured?' I recently did a show where I was talking about how I'd just been to Penn State University, and how I'd observed that the school has a serious drinking problem. When I showed up at [Penn State], the headline of their newspaper read "Drunk Driver Hits Drunk Walker." You have to start looking at yourself in the mirror at that point... There was a meet and greet after the show, and this woman came up to me and said, 'did you do that story because my son is here?' And I was like, 'uh, no? I don't think so...' Well, her son was the drunk walker. And I was like, ohhhh no...(laughs). It was so awkward. I really do not attempt to bring this stuff upon myself, I think it just follows me.

Me: That is awkward. I might have exploded. Mike, a lot of comics have begun using New Media for promotion and so on, do you think this is having a positive effect ... or is opening up comedy to people who otherwise wouldn't be seen?

Mike: Yeah, I think that's hard to avoid. More people are using Twitter than are watching TV. (Laughs.) So it's like, well, I sure as hell better be on Twitter. Social networking is kind of like a rock and roll and comedy dating service, where you plug in what kind of comedy you like, and simultaneously, comedians are like this is what kind of comedy I do, and then you pair up. It's a good way to find people with common interests.

Me: Any idea what might be next?

Mike: Well, we're open to holograms.

(Mike's doorbell rings.)

Mike: I don't know who this is at my door, hold on. Hello? I don't know what the hell...I think it's a delivery or something, I have this thing where I can see people through the peep hole.

To me: The guy said 'it's a delivery, it's okay,' and then just walked away.

Me: Wait, Mike, I don't know if I'd trust...

And that was the last we heard of Mike Birbiglia ...

Until he comes to a city near you. Buy your tickets now. And check out birbigs.com as well as Mike's appearance on Comedy Central's Friday Night Stand-up on August 28.

Mike Birbiglia plays the New York Comedy Festival November 5th at Town Hall in NYC, 8:00pm. For tickets please go to www.nycomedyfestival.com

Natalie Holder-Winfield: When Comedy Meets Workplace Diversity

2009-08-18T13:54:48Z

Last week, as I was piecing together a diversity training presentation, I came across my "Two Wongs Don't Make a White" slide. This corny play on words was used as a t-shirt graphic by the clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch in the earlier part of this decade. Thank goodness those t-shirts didn't get much play and were dragged off of the market, along with Abercrombie's image as an equal opportunity employer. (The retailer has also faced failure to hire and promote discrimination lawsuits.) Although the retailer, today, is making an effort to redeem itself, I couldn't help but wonder what they were thinking when they exposed the market to those t-shirts. Have the lines of culturally insensitive jokes been so drastically moved that even a large retailer doesn't know the difference between wrong and right?

With the advent of diversity and multiculturalism, many of the invisible racial barriers in society are slowly fading away thanks, in part, to entertainment. With Justin Timberlake and Amy Winehouse producing some of the best R&B music, it's hard to have white radio stations and black radio stations. Reality television shows openly parade mixed race-couples, making them less of a taboo or head turner.

Comedians, especially, have been the greatest catalysts for making other cultures less mysterious by lifting the lid off of what were once private inside jokes. You have Rex Navarrette openly joking about Filipino time (that is, being 20 minutes late to everything). George Lopez pokes fun at his Latino brothers and sisters on HBO specials and his network television show. Larry the Cable Guy gives Northern urbanites comedic insight to redneck life.

What happens when people at work decide to re-tell a joke they heard from Navarrette, Lopez, or Larry? Is it okay to laugh at or make a joke about another race, culture, or religion? These were the questions underlying my reasons for not watching the Dave Chappelle show.

Now, I never started a mass boycott against the show, but I was vocal about why I didn't tune in. While I never judged anyone for watching the show, I just couldn't support a show that profusely overuses the "N" word on national television. I felt that his show, which was written by a multi-racial staff, could be used to defend the use of the "N" word. I knew that some would argue that the word had evolved to the point where it was no longer an offensive racial epithet to denigrate black people and could be used by anyone and everyone. I was not ready for that level of evolution.

Comedy is tricky. The same slurs, epithets, and offensive language that comics use to get laughs can create disrespect in the workplace, school and in other social settings. I'm sure that some snarky designer at Abercrombie & Fitch probably thought he or she was appealing to the public's sense of humor about Asians with the hideous "Wong" t-shirts. As Abercrombie reminds us, context matters. Material that works in a nightclub often falls flat in the office.

Michael B. Laskoff: Comedy Central Saves America with Intelligent Satire

2009-08-15T12:16:49Z

Last night, I did something that was both enjoyable and difficult: I watched Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. Mr. Moyers is not afraid to call out both the hysterical right wing and their Astroturfing zealots for the way that are using their First Amendment Rights to stamp out other voices. He's also not afraid to call to carpet the mainstream television media -- from Fox News to MSNBC -- for obsessively covering the town hall bullying in a way that makes it seems like a majority of Americans oppose healthcare reform, which is actually not the case.

But the reality is that watching Mr. Moyers and his guests Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and Drew Altman of the Kaiser Family Foundation speak in an eloquent and informed manner is far less entertaining than watching Glenn Beck weep, Rush Limbaugh bloviate, Newt Gingrich thunder or the crew of Morning Joe posit conspiracies. Moyers and his guests care more about being thoughtful and informed than amusing; and so, they are less fun to watch. Meanwhile, the bombastic voices of the right are reliably shocking, titillating and sensational: they are entertainers of the highest order. But not journalists.

Fortunately, we have an antidote in the form of Comedy Central, which brings us The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert pass themselves off as comedians, but they are really the most influential satirists of the day: they inform and illuminate through ridicule. (A good deal of credit goes to their very clever writers.) Certainly you laugh, but what you laugh at is also worthy of serious thought.

This past week, I was particularly impressed at the way both shows mocked the "death panel" fantasy, thereby helping to defang a fraudulent and distracting scare tactic. The Daily Show did a brilliant job showing Glen Beck rant both for and against healthcare system. It's a hilarious illustration of diametrically opposed demagoguery from the same mouth. Using a very different tactic, Colbert debated himself to illustrate just how farcical extremists on both sides of the health care debate really sound.

Without question, it would be preferable if all Americans had the time to make the substantial effort to get the facts directly. That's not practical: most of us simply lack the time. That's why good satire is so important. It's a quick and painless way to draw attention to issues that have crossed from the merely sublime to the truly ridiculous. That's not the same thing as good journalism, but it's a public service nevertheless.

Joan Rivers Roast: Kathy Griffin, Melissa Rivers And More Take Shots At The 'Queen Of Mean' (VIDEO) (NSFW)

2009-08-07T15:53:56Z

Two weeks ago friends and soon-to-be-former friends of Joan Rivers gathered together to send up and put down the Emmy Award-winning comedienne and best-selling author, and last night we finally got to see what happened. Brad Garrett, Mario Cantone, Carl Reiner, Jeffrey Ross, Melissa Rivers and more eviscerated Joan for her comedy, her age, her relationship with her daughter, and her love of plastic surgery.

We all know at this point how lewd and deranged some of the jokes get at these events, but despite how dirty the roasters get, the roastee always gets the last laugh. In this case Joan Rivers, known for her quick (and sometimes evil) tongue got a two-for-the-price-of-once joke in the end the evening: "Brad Garrett, the only thing lower than your show's ratings is Carl Reiner's balls." (SEE THE REST OF JOAN'S RESPONSE BY SCROLLING TO BOTTOM.)

Kathy Griffin emceed the event and started the night off by welcoming the audience to a night of plastic surgery, ugly vagina and corpse jokes.

WATCH:

Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c

Preview - Kathy Griffin

Actress and comedy writer Whitney Cummings took it from there, saying Joan looks like David Spade after a grease fire, and mercilessly mocking her for her age and plastic surgery regimen.

WATCH:

Preview - Whitney Cummings

Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c

Comedian Jeffrey Ross (aka "the meanest man in television") followed up, revealing that Joan Rivers passed away four years ago, but nobody told her face.

WATCH:

Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c

Preview - Jeffrey Ross

Gilbert Gottfried talked about his sexual relationship with Joan Rivers and made everyone laugh in a deeply uncomfortable way.

WATCH:

Gilbert Gottfried - On Joan Rivers's Vagina

Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c

The cutest man at the roast, Carl Reiner, didn't take shots at Joan Rivers, but instead shared some wisdom imparted to him by George Burns.

WATCH:

Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c

Carl Reiner

Melissa Rivers tried her hand at comedy last night, and while she didn't have a fabulous start, her final zinger went off perfectly.

WATCH:

Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c

Melissa Rivers

Mario Cantone did a Joan Rivers impression for the crowd last night, mocking her work, her relationship with her daughter, and yes, her vagina.

WATCH:

Mario Cantone - Joan Rivers Impression

Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c

Brad Garrett took shots at Carl Reiner, Gilbert Gottfried and Joan Rivers in his stand-up, making yet another Joan-has-an-old-vagina joke.

WATCH:

Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c

Brad Garrett

Then, last, but certainly not least, Joan responded to her roasters mocking Kathy Griffin for stealing her life, and Gilbert Gottfried for making her hate Jews.

WATCH:

Joan Rivers - On Kathy Griffin

Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c

Joan Rivers - Disgusted, Disappointed and Appalled

Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c

Joan Rivers - Inner Anti-Semite

Sun, Aug 9 10pm / 9c